Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 123 A Few Things Happened on the Train

After reminding everyone to take their belongings, saying goodbye to Jiang Rong and Lao Liu, he led the group through the carriage and headed forward.

The passengers' eyes lit up the moment they saw them.

Those who especially considered themselves to have some fighting skills immediately smiled and moved forward.

"Brother Xiao is back."

"Brother Xiao, I also want to go on a mission with you."

"Brother Xiao, I heard that your wife likes cherries, so I got two cans of imported cherries today. Please accept them."

Lu Xiao stopped when he heard this, took the can of cherries and looked it over. He looked up at the other person, who was around forty years old and looked tired. His wife and teenage son were with him.

A humble expectation appeared in the man's eyes.

Because the people at the front of the train don't go to the back, the highest level of contact that ordinary passengers can have with is the flight attendant crew and Lu Xiao and Jiang Rong's two teams.

Both teams suffered heavy losses at the beginning, with some leaving the team and some veteran passengers secretly rejoicing.

But now even the most ordinary members of the team have become evolved beings.

They had to go down and collect tickets themselves, which made the group of old passengers feel incredibly envious. They were thinking that the train conductor would come and give them tasks, and then they could try to become a team leader and recruit a group of subordinates to live a life of luxury.

As a result, half a month passed, and the train conductor did not issue a single task, while the two teams went out several times.

Some people couldn't wait any longer and went to inquire. They heard that there was a points system in the front carriage, but only the squad leader was eligible to earn points to exchange for items.

They belatedly realized they had missed another opportunity and had no choice but to turn to Lu Xiao for help.

But Lu Xiao wasn't stupid; how could he possibly want this group of seasoned veterans who had been repeatedly screened?

Even when he's short-staffed, he usually chooses from among the newcomers.

Newcomers who boarded the train, anyone with a bit of ability, were all recorded in the translator's notebook. Those who were useful were directly selected for the crew. Those who were left behind were either people with repetitive skills or people who were too guarded and hid their abilities.

But men with families to support are clearly not in his consideration.

Although the situation is stable, the team doesn't currently have enough resources to support two idle people.

"Newcomer, huh?"

The man nodded quickly, "I just got on the bus the day before yesterday."

Lu Xiao pondered for a moment and said, "The canned food is good, and the expiration date is fresh. What do you want? I'll trade it to you."

A look of eagerness appeared on the man's face. "No, no, if Brother Xiao likes it, just take it home and eat it. What's this talk of exchanging? It's an honor to be noticed by Brother Xiao."

Lu Xiao glanced at his wife and children behind him and sighed, "My team is full. You can come with us tomorrow, but I can't guarantee what you'll gain."

The man was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Thank you, Brother Xiao! Thank you, Brother Xiao!"

"You got Xiao Ge to take you around for just two cans of food? What incredible luck!"

"I was so envious my eyes turned red."

"Brother Xiao, what else does your wife like to eat? I'll go find it for her tomorrow!"

"Brother Xiao..."

People around started offering their flattery, and some even tried to approach with gifts.

But Lu Xiao had no intention of lingering any longer. He waved his hand, and the surrounding passengers could only retreat under the watchful eyes of Xiao Ma and the others behind them. No one dared to step forward and cause trouble.

They were just ordinary passengers on the train, while Lu Xiao was part of a combat squad.

Even if you were beaten to death on the spot, the train wouldn't care.

However, both Lu Xiao and Jiang Rong were smart and maintained a certain distance, avoiding doing anything that would put the train conductor in a difficult position.

This is the advantage of smart people; they don't need to explicitly state the rules.

They will be very careful in determining this measure.

Just like Su Huan never told them rules such as "no fighting on the train," "combat teams are not allowed to mass kill passengers," and "the crew is not allowed to resell supplies to the carriages behind"...

There are endless rules to talk about, and Su Huan doesn't want to focus on them.

But that doesn't mean there are no rules on the train.

For example, the auto mechanic Lao Liu would exchange some food for services from the female passengers in the back of the train, and the cook would secretly sell some semi-public information to the passengers in the back.

The information about redeeming points was spread through his channels.

All of this was written in Hu Shuo's notebook.

Su Huan saw it but didn't say anything.

Compared to the "two Deep Blue data collectors who snuck onto the bus" and "the unstable element named Li Hong in Professor Ma's team," these are all trivial matters.

Even these two things are somewhat insignificant compared to what the train conductor is thinking about.

……

Because of the acquisition of a lot of furniture, the layout of the restaurant has also changed a lot. Entering from carriage number 3, the cabinet on the right has been replaced with black walnut, and a small wine cabinet of the same material hangs next to it, making it look more like a small bar than a kitchen.

Moving forward along the left aisle, you'll find a small sofa set, arranged in an arc around a table in the center.

The tables and sofas are fixed to the floor of the carriage, so even if there is a violent shaking, they will not obstruct the aisle due to displacement.

The long table that had been pieced together further forward was replaced with a solid wood table, but the red and white checkered tablecloth was still on it, as was the small porcelain vase with grass that looked somewhat shy against the backdrop of the huge table.

There are ten comfortable seats in two rows, slightly to the right, on the same side as the kitchen.

There are wide aisles on both sides, enough for Hachi's wheelchair to pass through.

The steel blinds have also been decorated, and the original dark green curtains have been replaced with bright colors. Even with the blinds down, it doesn't look like a prison anymore.

The orange cat sofa at the end, which was originally reserved for the train conductor, has also gained a few more companions, forming a U-shaped sofa group that can easily seat five or six people.

However, only Su Huan's bed had a large blanket on it; the others only had a light-colored knitted mat on it.

At this moment, the train conductor sat on the sofa, his eyes lowered in thought.

Professor Ma and Yu Jing were talking in hushed tones.

Across from them was He Jie teaching Xiao Ba the details and principles of battlefield fortifications.

The third brother and Huang Hai were having a pre-dinner drink at the bar.

It wasn't until Liang Kuan and Wan Xing walked in, and Yu Yue brought the food to the table and called out "Dinner's ready," that Su Huan seemed to wake up and looked at He Jie across from him.

"Finished?"

He Jie breathed a sigh of relief, "I've finished explaining everything, at least everything I know."

Su Huan then looked at Xiao Ba, "Did he gain any new abilities?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this and turned their gaze to Xiao Ba.

The boy hesitated and shook his head. "Nothing has changed."

Su Huan crossed his index fingers and held them to the tip of his nose, his brows furrowed.

He waited here for so many days, only to make the Steel Council sink deeper and deeper, and he was still waiting for Xiao Ba to advance to the first level of "Metal Structure".

"Metal Construction" = lv3 "Metal Mastery" + lv2 "Metal Refinement" + lv1 "Engineering Specialization"

Like most of the builder's skills, this "Construction Specialization" is a damn knowledge-based skill.

This isn't something that can be solved with gene-editing drugs. Without this knowledge, one simply cannot awaken to this state.

But "engineering specialization" is alright, it's not that complicated, you can cram for a few days and you'll be fine.

These past few days he's been urging He Jie to teach every day, and Xiao Ba has also been training regularly, so why can't it awaken?
Xiao Ba has already met the first two ability levels. As long as he can awaken the last skill, he will meet the minimum standard for advancing to the next level of a profession.

That's where it gets stuck.

He Jie scratched his head a couple of times, then asked in an incredulous tone, "I just realized, you want him to awaken the 'Construction Specialization' skill? But have you considered this: I haven't even awakened this skill myself, how do you think I can teach him properly?"

Su Huan raised his eyelids slightly. 'Could the problem really be with him?'

But that's not quite right either. Whether a person can develop knowledge-based skills depends on the teacher, but more importantly, on themselves.

A teacher's excellence does not necessarily mean that the student will be excellent.

Just because a teacher is bad doesn't mean the students are bad too.

Knowledge is not transmitted through bloodlines.

Instead, the genes awaken by taking into account many factors such as the host's environment, skills, reserves, potential, and stimuli.

It's normal that He Jie didn't awaken his "fortification expertise"; a person carrying an anti-aircraft machine gun charging forward doesn't need fortifications.

But Xiao Ba clearly needs it. He awakened it in his previous life, so what went wrong...?

"It shouldn't be..."

Su Huan was completely baffled and even doubted whether he had remembered the skill combinations wrong.

Professor Ma had observed over the past few days that Su Huan had a purpose in having He Jie teach Xiao Ba, but he hadn't expected it to be related to evolutionary abilities. He couldn't help but ask, "What is the relationship between knowledge and skills?"

Su Huan thought about it. After all, the other party was a professional, and might be able to offer some useful advice.

After thinking for a moment, he explained, "Some skills can be acquired through gene serums and training, such as 'Sniper Specialization.' You can improve your accuracy through diligent training and awaken this skill, or you can awaken it directly by injecting a serum, like Yu Yue did."

"But a skill like 'Construction Specialization' can't be solved with gene serums. The logic behind construction is too complex; it can't be solved by instinct alone. For example, if a 7.62mm armor-piercing round hits your teammate, your instincts won't make you build metal armor that can perfectly defend against a 7.62mm bullet."

"Even your instincts won't tell you that upward-sloping armor is more resistant to armor-piercing rounds."

"Instinct can make you react quickly, but it cannot make accurate judgments beyond what you know; these things belong to the realm of knowledge."

Su Huan summarized knowledge-based skills based on his own understanding.

Some things aren't that complicated, but it takes a lot of talking to explain them to others.

Fortunately, everyone present had good comprehension skills.

Professor Ma placed his hands on his lap and spoke slowly and methodically, “I think I understand now. Skill awakening should be a summary of a person’s ability in a certain area, not just basic values ​​such as neural reflexes and memory, but also his level of knowledge in this field.”

Su Huan's eyes suddenly lit up, and the corners of his mouth turned up.

Professional people do professional things.

That's what professionalism is all about!
"Yes."

Seeing that the confusion in everyone's eyes had lessened considerably, Professor Ma continued.

"But there are some areas where cognition and understanding are not required, but rather instinct takes over this part of the operation. Just like our breathing, how much oxygen we inhale and how much waste gas we exhale will vary slightly depending on each person's constitution, but no one will pay attention to this because our bodies have taken over this part of the operation."

"Many of the defender's skills are about the body, so they don't need to know which movements will strain their muscles or which movements will make them run faster, because their bodies have already adjusted for them. This is what the conductor calls instinct."

Yu Jing, who was standing nearby, suddenly chimed in, "Following this line of reasoning, Xiao Ba's skill is a combination of instinct and knowledge. Now that it has learned the knowledge, the problem must lie in its instincts."

"In other words, either the training is insufficient, or the stimulation is insufficient."

Except for Xiao Ba, who was a little embarrassed, everyone else looked enlightened.

He Jie muttered to himself, "If I go digging holes and building bunkers every day, can I also develop this skill?"

"There's a chance, but I suggest you don't go. Your skills are already quite mixed up, and it would be difficult to reach the second tier if you continue awakening them." Su Huan promptly interrupted his bold idea.

He Jie scratched his head dejectedly, but a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

The Steel Council also has theoretical achievements in this area, but they are all derived from their own research.

Where did Su Huan learn his skills from?

Just guessing?

That's utter nonsense.

Even Professor Ma wouldn't have thought of something so obscure without guidance.

"If I cook every day, will I unlock a cooking skill?"

A gentle voice came from behind.

Su Huan stood up and flicked her smooth forehead. "Don't try to engrave everything into your DNA. We're not a garbage can."

Professor Ma, however, chuckled and explained, "Probably not. Genes will actively select those skills with evolutionary potential."

"Alright, let's eat first. I'll talk about the next plan after we finish eating."

The seafood feast on the long table shimmered with magnificent colors under the lights.

In the very center is a bowl of shelled, tail-retained, chilled to a translucent state, peony shrimp. Around the edges are thinly sliced ​​shellfish and large chunks of salmon and tuna, along with nourishing braised sea cucumber with scallions, garlic oysters and stir-fried squid strips (a must-have for every meal), and seafood soup that appears only in my dreams.

The table was set with meat, vegetables, and soup.

In the context of the apocalypse, such a meal would be considered a delicacy.

But after eating this feast three times a day for several days, everyone's expressions became rather subtle when they saw it.

So, you're saying you won't eat them and will just let them rot?
That's impossible!

The train conductor was the first to disagree!

Yu Yue reached for the soup spoon, but the train conductor took it first and then served each of them a bowl of seafood soup with a smile.

Anyway, everyone at this table is an evolved being, so even the oldest person, Professor Ma, doesn't need to worry about gout.

But even the most evolved humans would get tired of eating over ten kilograms of raw seafood every day!
Evolvers have strong abilities, but they also consume a lot of energy. They can eat two or three times the amount of food a normal person would eat in one meal. People like He Jie and Liang Kuan can eat five or six times more.

This also doubles the torment of eating the same food repeatedly.

But this soup was served by the train conductor himself, so you have to drink it whether you want to or not.

He Jie's mind was filled with Su Huan's plan, and he mechanically tossed slippery shrimp into his mouth without tasting anything.

Thinking of his wife and daughters still in the Steel Council, a sense of anxiety suddenly arose in his heart.

Although he knew the company wouldn't do anything to his wife and daughter in the short term, the matter remained unresolved, leaving him feeling uneasy and anxious.

Although Su Huan agreed, he didn't take any action.

Will tomorrow's plans... be related to the Steel Council?

Should we cause trouble first or rescue his wife and daughters?

Aside from the last time they sabotaged each other, there shouldn't be any irreconcilable conflicts between the train and the Steel Council, right?
Various thoughts came to mind, and He Jie felt increasingly uneasy.

Looking at the train conductor at the very front, who was only picking out cooked food, I couldn't help but ask.

"What...are we going to do tomorrow?"

(End of this chapter)