Bloody Resonance

Su Huan crouched down, pulled a dagger from his calf, and began cutting into the Blood Hound's skin.

"Having a chance is enough."

A metallic glint appeared in Qi Xiaoba's eyes. He raised his hand, and the twisted metal doors and windows quickly returned to their original shape.

Su Huan looked up. "Do you still have enough Pan-Energy? If you do, seal everything shut."

"It should be fine."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the metal wrapped around the Blood Hound flew up into the air and shot toward the window frame, forming a metal plate that sealed the entire window.

The moment the window was sealed, Su Huan was enveloped in a sense of security again, though it wasn't as strong as before.

A mere 3 mm steel plate couldn't provide him with enough security.

Su Huan stood up, holding something he had pulled from the Blood Hound's body.

He grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the nearby pile of supplies and took a long swig, then poured the remaining half bottle over the blood-soaked lump of flesh in his hand.

The deep red blood washed away, revealing its true form.

It was the Blood Hound's heart.

Qi Xiaoba looked at the heart in his hand, lost in thought.

The two of them went to the dining car. When Qi Xiaoba saw what was inside, his expression changed dramatically.

"What happened to Xingzi?"

Yu Jing furrowed her brows. "She collapsed as soon as she came in. She's still conscious, but her face has gone pale. It looks a lot like the signs of those zombies mutating."

Qi Xiaoba turned to Su Huan beside him.

Su Huan crouched beside the frail Xingzi and said calmly, "There's a way to heal your injuries and possibly turn you into an Evolutionist with an ability. The price is that you might die. Do you want to try?"

Xingzi stared blankly into Su Huan's eyes. She still couldn't see any emotion in them.

He had an air about him that made people trust him for no apparent reason.

Looking at Qi Xiaoba beside her, Xingzi's reddened eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. "What do I have to do?"

Su Huan raised the Blood Hound's heart in front of her and said seriously, "Eat it."

The scene inside the dining car was bizarre. A group of people stood nervously in a circle, watching a woman covered in blood resolutely gnaw on the heart in her hands.

Only the faint sound of chewing could be heard inside the car.

The atmosphere had turned strangely eerie.

Su Huan leaned back on the sofa, watching with interest.

There were generally two ways to become an Evolutionist.

One was to slowly accumulate Pan-Energy by spending time near newly dead zombies, then quietly evolve once you reached a certain threshold.

The other was much more straightforward. You did as Xingzi was doing and ate the heart of an Evolutionary Beast raw.

That instantly brought the Pan-Energy in your body to the threshold.

The advantage was that it was fast.

The disadvantage was that turning into a zombie was just as fast.

By the time she had eaten half of it, Xingzi seemed less frail, and she began to eat faster and faster.

After eating the last bite, her eyes were covered by a white film, like a thin membrane. She collapsed straight onto the floor.

Qi Xiaoba looked nervously at Su Huan.

Su Huan spread his hands. "Looking at me won't help. The rest is up to her—whether she can tough it out."

Xingzi had been a free windfall anyway. If she became an Evolutionist, he'd come out ahead.

Even if she died, it wouldn't be a loss. It was just one Evolutionary Beast heart; it wasn't that important.

At that thought, Su Huan unconsciously shifted his gaze to Liang Kuan. He had seen Liang Kuan's performance just now, though he didn't know how much of it had been an act.

But as far as Su Huan was concerned, Liang Kuan had passed the first test.

He was tentatively added to the list of internal members.

He glanced at the thermometer on the wall. The temperature had already shot up to 27°C. He couldn't help wondering how quickly it was rising. At the hottest point in the afternoon, it might reach 28 or 29 degrees.

"Liang Kuan, go turn on the air conditioner."

Liang Kuan got up and went to the front of the train. Five minutes later, cool air flowed into the VIP dining car.

"So the way to become an Evolutionist is to accumulate enough... Pan-Energy?" Yu Jing suddenly looked up at Su Huan, a hint of confirmation in her eyes.

"Clap!"

Su Huan snapped his fingers. "Correct."

"Once absorbed, Pan-Energy promotes biological evolution. Flowers, trees, cats, dogs—you name it, they can all evolve, just like the Evolutionary Beast we saw earlier, the Blood Hound."

"And you've all seen what happens when evolution fails. You turn into a zombie, with the ability to infect others."

But zombies could evolve, too.

In his previous life, there had been a theory that people who turned into zombies were simply competing in a second-chance round of evolution.

He had heard too many rumors that might or might not be true. There was no need to tell them about it.

"So zombies and Evolutionary Beasts have large amounts of Pan-Energy in their bodies. With frequent exposure, some people can awaken abilities and gain powerful powers. But pay attention to the word 'some.' Most people get infected and turn into new zombies," Su Huan said seriously.

Qi Xiaoba listened intently, too. Although he was also an Evolutionist, he knew far less than Su Huan about the apocalypse, Pan-Energy, and Evolutionists.

From those few words alone, everyone could tell that Su Huan had laid out a complete, coherent system of concepts.

He wasn't just making guesses.

Yu Jing didn't ask how Su Huan had come by this information. Her beautiful phoenix eyes moved over to Xingzi.

She had heard him clearly.

Long-term, frequent...

Not one of those words described the way Xingzi had just used.

"This method of rapidly absorbing Pan-Energy is called Bloody Resonance."

Perhaps noticing her confusion, Su Huan explained slowly.

"Oh."

Yu Jing responded coolly.

Su Huan felt a little uncomfortable and looked up in surprise. Yu Jing was staring at him with a strange, probing gaze.

It wasn't the way a woman looked at a man. It was more like a researcher had found an intriguing... subject.

"Hah..."

More than ten minutes passed. Xingzi, who had been lying on the floor, suddenly sat up. Everyone was startled, and Liang Kuan instinctively got to his feet and reached for his axe.

Only Su Huan had clearly seen the nonreflective film over Xingzi's eyes. A smile appeared on his face.

He walked over and crouched in front of her, holding out his hand.

"Welcome aboard the Armed Train."

Xingzi stared at Su Huan for a long while before reaching out her hand. With difficulty, she forced two words from her throat.

"Thank you."

"If you feel dizzy, try turning off your Visual Analysis. Think carefully. You should have a memory of how to do it."

"I think... that's right?"

The dull film over Xingzi's eyes gradually vanished, reflecting Su Huan's image.

Su Huan snapped his fingers, the corners of his mouth lifting. "Correct. You've entered the world of Evolutionists. By the way, what's your full name again?"

"Wan Xing. The Xing in 'apricot blossoms and spring rain.'"

"Su Huan. The Huan in 'renewed life.' You can also call me the train conductor, Lao Da, Boss, Brother Su, or Su Huan... Call me whatever you like. But understand one thing: as long as you're on this train, you do as I say. I'll only say it once."

Su Huan's tone was calm, but it carried a chilling authority that brooked no argument.