Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 130 Armored Train
Three days later, Xinfu, freight station in the safety zone.

A group of people stared in awe at the enormous vehicle approaching from afar.

"It's really thanks to those people in Binhai that they were able to come up with this thing."

"It's a four-way locomotive, that's normal."

Su Xun has also returned here, surrounded by many familiar faces. This time, as they set off south to the Haizhou front-line command post, the Taimeng Block has sent out its strongest forces.

After all, the opponent was an entire horde of zombies, and the zombie king within it was merely a key node in this massive group. Such a huge threat was beyond what Su Xun could handle alone.

Xu Huan also wanted to go, but Su Xun refused, telling him to stay at the base and study his potatoes.

Besides him, this operation also brought Chen Cheng, Sentinels, Xiao Zhenru, Tao Yue, and even Tang Rong from the computing center, who was going to participate in the allocation of supplies to the front lines.

Needless to say, the guard platoon was composed of elite members led by Yin Danyi, whose combat prowess was considerable. Even the third-tier black bear had joined the battle this time.

However, the reason why the bear decided to go together was more likely that it didn't want to stay at the base for tutoring—although the mutated beasts had reached the required intelligence level, their knowledge level was somewhat of a hidden problem.

Initially, these two third-tier mutated beasts volunteered to learn, but it was clear that the black bear had already given up and was preparing to skip class.

I heard that the sika deer wasn't much better off; when it got desperate for knowledge, it even tried to eat books to absorb it... But that's beside the point.

In short, with the addition of more accompanying personnel, this entourage was quite large.

More importantly, a batch of spiritual energy crystals that are about to travel to Lingnan will also be traveling with them, along with tons of newspapers and magazines that have been printed in the past few days.

Although broadcasting can transmit information, it is ultimately inefficient, and the recipient may not have the resources for large-scale printing.

Since they had come all this way, they should bring back more supplies. The local shelter in Lingnan didn't actually lack some essential supplies. After thinking it over, they decided to allocate some of their transport capacity to deliver these newspapers.

The journey may take a lot of time, but although newspapers have a time limit, in many cases, outdated newspapers are still readable. Many people just want something to read when they have free time.

Taking into account various needs, they chose an armored train as their mode of transportation.

This thing was prepared before the Cataclysm, and after the Cataclysm, many adjustments were made based on the actual situation. As for the technology, there were no bottlenecks. Historically, this kind of equipment was truly widely used. And just a few years before the Cataclysm, a certain major power in the north actually took this thing out and put it on the battlefield.

Unlike the base vehicle that serves as the command center for rescue operations, this vehicle, originally designed for anti-guerrilla and anti-cavalry warfare, is perfectly suited to the needs of a long-distance, post-apocalyptic journey. It boasts enormous carrying capacity, robust protection, and fierce firepower, and is unafraid of railway damage—it carries spare rails on board, making it perfectly capable of laying tracks on-site.

With society increasingly reliant on transportation lines, the production of such trains has become a crucial task for locomotive factories in various regions.

Heading south from there, route planning is crucial. Taimon Base contacted various safety zones in advance and put a lot of effort into this, which is why it took so long to start the journey.

If this route can be successfully completed, a long-term transportation line can be built based on it in the future, connecting the north and south of the country more effectively.

The heavily armored train gradually approached. It was a diesel locomotive, powered by a diesel engine. Its advantages were that it was highly adaptable and did not rely on the power grid. Similar to traditional armored trains, the power engine of this train was located in the middle of many carriages.

Even if the zombies haven't learned to plant landmines yet, they might still encounter some special situations along such a long journey. However, because it needs to carry out freight transport, the train has many more freight and personnel carriages than a regular armored train.

Naturally, the various armored vehicles have also been adjusted according to the current situation, reducing the large-caliber artillery turrets that are inconvenient to resupply and ineffective, adding more machine guns and autocannons, as well as flamethrowers to deal with mutated plants, and carrying more tanks.

The group boarded the vehicle in an orderly fashion. The space inside was even more spacious than the base vehicles used in the city. Since the movement was not very fast, the atmosphere in the command carriage was quite relaxed, like riding a slow, old-fashioned train. Of course, this might also be because they had brought along a rather unruly character.

"I just went to see that big black bear over by the freight truck! It hasn't named itself yet. I asked it if it wanted to be called Black Wind, and it didn't object. It seemed to like it quite a bit!"

"When shall we make it a cassock?"

"Don't look so gloomy, don't worry! I've already calculated it, this trip will go smoothly!"

Su Xun said helplessly, "Didn't you say your ability wasn't fortune telling?"

Tao Yue chuckled and said, "I just said it offhand, hehe."

"Behave yourselves. We're going to the battlefield, not on a picnic. Even if we know the outcome will be good, it's still an outcome we have to fight for."

"I wonder when you'll find someone and get married so you can settle down..."

Hearing Su Xun's grumbling, Tao Yue stuck out her tongue, glanced at Jiang Yi who was working seriously, didn't dare to say anything, and then looked at Xiao Zhenru who was sitting idly in the corner.

"Hey, Sister Zhenru, you're not getting any younger, do you have someone you like?"

"Me?" Xiao Zhenru, who was in a daze, was completely confused: "We're not sisters, you're the one who's going to suffer, why are you dragging me into it?"

"Hey." Tao Yue leaned closer: "Good sisters share weal and woe."

"Who's your best friend? I don't know her, we're not close."

That being said, everyone in the carriage was amazed by Tao Yue's popularity; she seemed to be able to strike up a conversation with anyone.

Of course, it could also be because she never lacks snacks these days.

Tao Yue pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds from somewhere and handed it to her: "By the way, have you ever been in a relationship?"

Xiao Zhenru, who had no intention of paying attention to this clown, took the melon seeds and stammered, "Ah... we dated once. I was young and naive. It was a long-distance relationship... I think he was from Haizhou. I don't know if he's still alive."

"My first love!" The girl's gossipy nature was ignited, and she chattered on and on in the corner.

"...How could I forget my first love?"

"...It's been so many years, I really don't remember."

"I once got caught in a heavy snowfall with my first love, and now all I remember is what the snow looked like..."

Su Xun shook his head helplessly and looked out the window through the narrow bulletproof glass of the armored train. The train had already started and was steadily heading towards the outside of the safe zone. A lot of people had gathered outside the freight station to see them off. They held up banners wishing them a triumphant return and cast expectant glances. Some people even found firecrackers from somewhere and lit them on the roadside.

Inside and outside the vehicle, it seemed that no one was overly worried about the situation on the front lines. This was probably because the various measures taken during this period had taken effect, and most people were full of confidence in the future. In their eyes, perhaps this war would soon end, and even the entire apocalypse would no longer pose a threat.

This should be considered a good thing; the safe zone is protecting these people very well. But Su Xun knows that this is a train to hell, and soon they will have to face the real darkness.

(End of this chapter)