"Metal Manipulator"

Su Huan put on a perfectly measured, bitter smile. "What rescue? We're just a bunch of refugees. Who could have imagined the world would turn like this overnight? We figured if we headed north where it's colder, maybe those living dead would just freeze to death."

"We're running low on food on the train, so everyone's out scavenging. Do you want to come aboard?"

The man in glasses glanced at the silent crowd around him, hesitating.

Su Huan continued to persuade him, "There are plenty of people on the train; we can look out for each other if anything happens."

In that short time, the man's family had crowded around. An old woman with a face full of wrinkles spoke up, "Let's get on, let's get on! We all need to stick together to keep warm. It's just, this ticket price..."

The old woman's eyes darted around, feigning a pitiful air. "Our whole family had such a hard time escaping; we didn't bring much money. We do have a car parked outside, though—I wonder if that could cover the fare?"

Su Huan cursed the old hag in his heart.

Did she think he was blind? He had just seen her hiding jewelry with her daughter-in-law in the back.

But his face remained impassive. Instead, he blinked a few times, his eyes reddening slightly as he sighed. "It's truly not easy for a family like yours, dragging everyone along. I'll pay for your tickets out of my own pocket, but you must not tell anyone, or the conductor will punish me."

The old woman's wrinkles deepened as she beamed. "Young man, you really are a good person. Don't you worry, our family knows the rules—we won't say a word!"

Su Huan smiled and opened his ledger. "Just leave your names and you can board. You'll be in Carriage 20."

The man in glasses still felt something was off. Keeping his guard up, he gave a fake name.

After recording their names, Su Huan said, "Just head inside and keep going toward the back. It might be a bit crowded, but since you're elderly, I'm sure people will make room for you."

"Good, good, what a fine young man."

The old woman heaped praise upon him.

The family didn't suspect a thing and happily boarded the train.

Watching them climb on, Su Huan let out a cold laugh. That family was no bunch of saints.

The young woman had begged him for help several times, and the old woman's youngest son had a vicious look about him, his hand constantly shoved into his pocket.

Worst of all was that little brat; the moment he got on, he swiped a bag of chips. His technique was so practiced it was clear this wasn't his first time.

And the worst part was, it was his favorite flavor.

Yet, despite all that, Su Huan had let them on board without a second thought.

In fact, he felt a flicker of anticipation.

In a confined space with scarce resources, the speed at which moral boundaries collapse only accelerates.

Of course, Su Huan was the primary reason the atmosphere on the train was the way it was.

He was the one exacerbating the imbalance of resources.

Su Huan looked at the group of veteran passengers, whose expressions were strange, and gave a lopsided, insincere smile. "I covered your tickets too. If you have any complaints, feel free to speak up."

Everyone shook their heads frantically.

Newcomers boarded for free, but once they reached a new location the next day, they would have to repay the conductor's "kindness" twofold.

Otherwise, they would be kicked off the train.

By now, the train had traveled countless kilometers, long since leaving behind the places they were familiar with. To be cast off the train now was essentially a death sentence.

The collection of supplies continued until the sun began to dip toward the west.

Su Huan suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure and froze in his tracks.

"Master Ba..."

"Can we board the train?" a young woman wearing a welfare home t-shirt asked.

Su Huan's eyes were locked firmly on the person in front of her.

A boy in a black shirt sat in a wheelchair, his distinct black-and-white eyes still shimmering with a lingering metallic luster.

There were, in fact, two cores to the construction of the Armed Train.

One was Su Huan, who provided all the energy, and the other was Master Ba, who could reconnect broken tracks.

In his previous life, he was the most versatile metal "manipulator" Su Huan had ever seen; any type of alloy could be kneaded and shaped at his will.

He had intended to find him once he was finished with his current tasks, but he hadn't expected to run into him here.

What a marvelous twist of fate.

Su Huan felt his confidence in his train project grow even stronger.

Seeing that Su Huan didn't reply, the woman gritted her teeth and asked again.

Su Huan licked his lips. "No problem. Come aboard."

A glimmer of joy finally appeared on the woman's face. She pushed the wheelchair to the edge of the train, gritted her teeth at the height difference, and grabbed both sides of the chair.

The heavy wheelchair was lifted directly up.

The crowd looked on in surprise.

Su Huan saw it clearly from the side: the metallic sheen in the boy's eyes had grown even more intense.

"Go over and give them a hand."

Su Huan said to Liang Kuan, who was standing beside him.

In his past life, when he first met Qi Xiaoba, the man was already a Tier 2 professional in the "Manipulator" domain.

He only knew that the man had come from an orphanage in Wen'an City; Qi Xiaoba had always been tight-lipped about anything else.

As for this young woman, he had never seen her before, so she must have died.

Qi Xiaoba was most famous for taking in many orphans of the apocalypse and frequently helping others, which had earned him a reputation as a saint.

No one understood him, Su Huan included.

In the apocalypse, everyone looked out for themselves; who would be willing to play the saint?

Yet, whenever Qi Xiaoba was mentioned, everyone would give a thumbs up and respectfully address him as Master Ba.

Because no one knew when Master Ba's saintly radiance might shine down upon them.

Su Huan was very lucky; he was someone who had been sheltered by Master Ba's saintly radiance twice.

Liang Kuan stepped forward and took the wheelchair from the woman's hands.

By this time, there weren't many people left outside, and Su Huan intended to close the doors after collecting this last batch of fares.

Suddenly, a faint, muffled sound caught his attention.

He looked up in confusion, but the strange noise had already vanished.

For some reason, a prickling sensation crawled up his spine, and he instinctively activated his Lv1 Pan-Energy perception.

There was nothing unusual within a one-meter radius.

"Paranoid..."

Su Huan muttered to himself, just about to call for the next person, when a scream suddenly erupted before him.

Su Huan instinctively looked up, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks.

He saw a beast the size of a medium-sized dog arc through the air, pouncing directly onto a passenger who was preparing to board the vehicle.

With one bite, blood sprayed everywhere.

The beast had no fur, as if it had been skinned; its raw, crimson flesh was exposed to the air, and the veins on its body wound like external pipes. A pair of scarlet eyes narrowed slightly as it scanned for its next target.

It locked eyes with Su Huan.

"An Evolved Beast, a Blood Hound!"

In an instant, every hair on Su Huan's body stood on end, and he roared, "Close the door!"

At the same time, he slammed the window shut.

"Bang—screech!"

Sharp claws scraped against the tempered glass, producing a piercing sound.

Several passengers scrambled and crawled their way inside.

Seeing that it couldn't break the window immediately, the Blood Hound pushed off the ground and lunged toward the vehicle's door.

Its mouth was full of fangs, its ferocious nature fully revealed!

But what it faced was Su Huan's cold eyes and a raised index finger.

"Bang!"

The Blood Hound was sent flying backward.

The energy within Su Huan's body poured out like a floodgate being opened, draining him completely.

However, the primary effect of this strike was knockback, and its lethality was not high.

Su Huan shouted in a deep voice, "Close the door!"

Liang Kuan hurried forward to pull the door shut.