Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 139 The Car's Here!
The captain wiped his nose and said fiercely, "We've taken on a mission that's above our level this time. My old squad leader is in charge of logistics. I'll go up there and argue with him later. Remember, you guys better load up as much as you can. Each of you should load at least three basic loads of ammunition. Make sure you're fully loaded with grenades and grenades! Otherwise, there won't be anywhere to replenish your ammunition when the fighting starts. Don't complain if you get killed because you don't have enough bullets."

Lin Jin was taken aback. 'They've started fighting? Haven't they been fighting all along?'

However, being of low status, he did not ask rashly.

The group followed the team leader toward the logistics department.

At this moment, the entire temporary camp was bustling with activity. Two officers roared as they directed their entourage to overturn abandoned vehicles on the sidewalk. Freight trucks honked their horns but did not slow down when they encountered people, roaring past with their engines and kicking up clouds of acid rain and angry curses. A soldier holding a gun cursed a couple of times but was not satisfied. He even pulled the bolt of his gun at a military vehicle, only to be slapped twice by the captain before reluctantly giving up.

Lin Jin walked cautiously on the very edge, afraid that his skin would get contaminated by the acid rain. Although he was no longer afraid of the corrosive substances in the acid rain, the lingering effects would not disappear so quickly.

But this did not save him from disaster, even though he could hear a huge tremor from afar.

The armed helicopters flew low, skimming between the staggered buildings.

The violent gust of wind scattered the raindrops, and stirred up waves of water from the puddles on the ground.

Then they were cleaved in two by a high-end bulletproof car that looked like a yacht, which followed closely behind. A dozen cars neatly and uniformly swept through the air in a beautiful arc and disappeared around the corner, leaving the disheveled team behind.

"A bunch of sons of bitches, damn it!"

One of the soldiers cursed angrily.

The captain didn't stop him because he was still spitting out sand.

Fortunately, all of them were evolved beings, so apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable, they wouldn't lose their fighting ability because of the acid rain.

"Who are they?" Lin Jin asked cautiously.

This is the front line of war, so such behavior is somewhat unusual.

The soldier next to him sneered, "They're just rich people. Everyone says the end of the world will reshuffle the cards, but what a load of rubbish! The rich will still be rich. In the end, they'll just keep ruining us ordinary people!"

"spit!"

The captain wiped his face and said grimly, "Stop talking. It's not about who's the most glamorous now, it's about who can survive the longest. What we need to do now is stay alive in the missions to come!"

"Yes!"

The group agreed and went to the logistics department.

The captain went up and argued with the quartermaster, and then they stuffed every pocket of their bodies as full as possible until they couldn't hold on any longer.

Amidst the quartermaster's laughter and curses, the grinning captain led his men to the battlefield.

Their battlefield this time was in the Wenshu Lane residential area, and their mission was to clear out a large number of corpse cocoons that were about to advance to the next level.

The Steel Council's cleanup plan was from north to south, while the Document Community was located in the southeast of Changli County. This meant that they needed to be separated from the main force to some extent, which was quite dangerous.

However, they were not the only squad carrying out missions around them. There would also be a squad in the southwest to hold back the zombie horde and prevent the zombies from gathering on the front lines.

It took the group an hour to carefully reach the designated battlefield.

The residential area is not large, with only twelve buildings in total, surrounded by a four-meter-high light yellow outer wall. Large trees extend beyond the wall. If it were before the apocalypse, they might have cast dappled shadows, but now only a tree trunk corroded beyond recognition by acid rain remains. Eerie red plants are wrapped around the tree, like venomous snakes sucking nutrients from the tree, slithering on the wall and coldly watching everyone.

After taking care of a few wandering zombies with a silenced pistol, the captain gave a look to the scout in the team.

The latter nimbly jumped onto the electric scooter next to him, placed his hand on the wall, and sprang up.

The group could clearly see his body stiffen for a moment.

After a long while, he carefully climbed down, his voice trembling as he spoke, "It's full of corpse cocoons, scattered here and there. I counted, there should be more than forty, and there are also more than a dozen first-level zombies."

Several people took a breath.

Even Lin Jin frowned.

Previously, when they were servants, they didn't need to deal with Tier 1 zombies, but occasionally some would break through the defenses, causing huge casualties to the servants each time.

Whether it's a powerful butcher wielding weapons or an elusive Night Demon, neither can be dealt with by a group of newly evolved humans.

No wonder it was a mission beyond my level.

"Can't we just not accept this mission?" someone asked tentatively.

The captain glared at him. "A mandatory mission? You think I wanted to take it? Everyone's the same. Stop complaining and get on with it. Otherwise, it'll be even more troublesome when those night demons come out after dark."

Although they were unwilling, their long-standing practice had instilled in them the habit of following orders first.

Before the group even entered the residential area, they spotted a white corpse pupa in the security booth at the entrance.

The corpse pupae were extremely fat, filling the small security booth completely, and some even shattered the glass.

"Judging by that size, there's probably a butcher inside."

"That's what the scout said."

Seeing that there was no movement around, the captain glanced at the team members and finally landed on Lin Jin. "Lin Jin, this corpse pupa is yours."

Upon hearing this, several people in the group looked at the taciturn young man.

This is a consideration for newcomers.

The soldier next to Lin Jin patted him on the shoulder, "Don't panic. The zombies inside the cocoons are not fully evolved, and their combat power is only slightly stronger than that of ordinary zombies. Just stab them with a knife, and then aim for their heads with a pistol. Don't panic!"

Lin Jin sensed his goodwill, nodded, and was about to step forward.

Suddenly, a faint sound came from afar; it was neither gunshot nor the roar of zombies.

It was much sharper and more persistent than these sounds.

Moreover, there is an increasingly large trend.

Lin Jin turned around and saw that not only he had heard it, but also his teammates behind him.

The scouts quickly jumped onto a car parked by the roadside, stood on it, and looked into the distance through binoculars.

"I can't see very clearly..."

Hearing this made the group even more anxious, but since none of them had binoculars, they tried their best to find a high vantage point in the surrounding area.

However, Lin Jin felt it was unnecessary; he seemed to have heard clearly.

The sharp sound pierced through the misty rain and the shadowy buildings, penetrating his eardrums from three kilometers away or more.

The piercing sound of the steam horn seemed like a symbol of civilization, reigniting memories that had been rotting in the acid rain.

It's a symbol that's more direct and powerful than cars or helicopters.

"A train! It's a train with dozens of carriages!"

The investigator blurted it out.

'Is the train... still running?' A hint of doubt flashed in Lin Jin's eyes.

He felt a bit confused, but these emotions were quickly overshadowed by another, more tangible fear.

The corpse in the guard booth moved.

Heavy, almost inhuman footsteps echoed from inside the courtyard.

The piercing whistle startled all the zombies within a radius of several kilometers!
……

Freight station located directly east of Changli County.

"Quickly, quick, where are the heavy machine guns? Set them up, set them all up!"

"Run! Run, all of you!"

"The enemy is coming soon, what are you all dawdling for?!" "A bunch of useless idiots, dig the trench deeper! Do you want to be zombie food?!"

The shouts of junior officers echoed across the outermost freight station platform in Changli County.

The surviving soldiers, wearing rain boots, trudged through the mud, damaging the rails and digging deep pits.

Soldiers built layers of defenses on both sides of the railway tracks to ensure that anything coming onto the tracks could be monitored from all angles.

But in the apocalypse, what kind of monster would choose to walk on the railway tracks?

An elite evolved soldier stood inside a high-rise building, frowning as he looked down at the crowd bustling about like ants. "With this kind of firepower, even a first-tier zombie horde couldn't get through. And they're adding extra work upstairs, adding three whole floors. What were they thinking?"

A colleague standing nearby said with lingering fear, "I heard that Zhang Tie and the others also perished. Only four people from the entire team made it back."

The other person gasped, "How many? Four?!"

"Including He Jie's team, the armed train has already killed nearly forty of our men."

"Even pigs aren't slaughtered like this! How many evolved beings does the other side have?"

"I heard there are only a dozen or so, mainly relying on a metal manipulator and a heavily armed train that can't even be penetrated by 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. So the higher-ups are going to station troops here to wipe them out in one go, kill them outright!"

"Metal Manipulator, no wonder, this thing really counters us. But there are over a thousand people here today, almost a combined arms battalion. Even if we just use artillery shells, we can overwhelm them."

The other person did not refute, but nodded in agreement.

Quantitative changes produce qualitative changes.

When more than a thousand armed soldiers equipped with both light and heavy firepower are gathered together, they are ready to fight a proper battle.

Moreover, these thousand men were not the kind of lowly mercenaries, but rather regular soldiers who had retired from various armies and undergone secret training by the company.

Even if the armed train could fly, we'd still shoot it down on the spot!

"What exactly is this armed train for, and why does it have such a deep grudge against us?"

"Hey you—the detachment is here!"

The two immediately stood at attention, their muscles tense.

A tall man stepped out of the corridor behind them, his cold gaze sweeping over the two men and the fortifications downstairs. "No matter which board member is behind you or who your backgrounds are, you are still under my command. If anyone drops the ball in this battle today, I will kill him!"

A chill ran through them both.

This isn't the end of the world anymore, where camaraderie is valued; now they are mercenaries in a post-apocalyptic world.

If Zhong Cheng kills them, no one will seek justice for them.

He immediately straightened his back and answered loudly, "Yes!"

Just then, Zhong Cheng's adjutant hurriedly walked in, glanced at the two soldiers, and the two sensibly slipped out of the room.

The adjutant then whispered, "Chairman Li and Chairman Wang have arrived, and the entire board of directors is present."

Zhong Cheng frowned sharply, cursing inwardly.

Why are these troublesome guys on the battlefield instead of sitting in their offices waiting for results?
"Did they say anything?"

"Chairman Wang said not to see her, but to go directly to Li Wangchuan."

Zhong Cheng paused as he walked out, but resumed his normal steps after a moment.

……

A six-story building next to the platform has been cleaned up.

All obstructions between the top floor and the railway platform have been removed.

The beige floor was empty, with only two sofas in the center of the room facing the window. A woman with an elegant demeanor sat on the sofa, gazing at the drizzle outside. Her assistant was brewing coffee beside her, and steam rose in wisps, just like an ordinary rainy day before the end of the world.

It was Wang Yi, a director of the Steel Council.

"You really think so highly of this small company, Steel Council?"

A somewhat aged voice came from behind the woman.

A man of similar age to a woman walked over and sat down naturally on the sofa.

Behind me, a short-haired woman in a gray suit skirt opened a huge suitcase, took out a tea set and placed it aside, creating a strange contrast with the assistant who was making coffee opposite me.

“You look much older than me.”

Wang Yi said calmly, her composed voice carrying a hint of deliberate sarcasm.

The man shrugged nonchalantly, “It just looks like it. Actually, I’m much better off than you think. I recently had another little daughter.”

"So you do know that some things can't be understood just by looking. You've had another daughter. It seems you've really committed a lot of sins."

The man paused for a moment, then laughed, "You're always so eloquent, but I'm very curious about the inner workings of the Steel Council."

A hint of impatience flashed in Wang Yi's eyes. "You're still the same as before, always trying to blame me for everything. Divorcing you was the best decision I ever made in my life."

"Wait, let's not talk about old grudges. You're over fifty years old now. Tell me why you have faith in the Steel Council."

"Naturally, it's Li Wangchuan."

"That kid is actually pretty good, but I heard he's run into some trouble."

"He first created a crisis that caused widespread panic, and then stepped in to resolve it when everyone was at a loss. I must say, he did a brilliant job."

A hint of admiration flickered in Wang Yi's eyes.

"Oh?"

The man's eyes remained calm, but this was merely a deeper form of arrogance.

"That's a familiar tactic, but to play like that requires the ability to control the whole situation, and not everyone is... Uncle Wang."

A cold glint flashed in Wang Yi's eyes. "You have no right to mention my father."

The man waved his hand with a wry smile, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "You're not planning to marry your daughter to this guy, are you?"

"What's wrong with that? If I were twenty years younger, I would have paid him to be a man with his kind of charisma."

"But you're old."

"Shut up!"

The man frowned and took the hot tea that his assistant brought over.

The two of them mentioned Li Wangchuan at most from beginning to end; in fact, he was the only one in the entire Steel Council who was qualified to be discussed.

As for what trouble he encountered.

Nobody cared.

Until the armed train that tore through the rain appeared before everyone's eyes.

The sharp whistle, like the cry of a whale, overturned the drizzle and stirred up towering waves.

The teacup he was about to bring to his lips paused there. The man looked at the armored train, which had been modified into such a menacing form, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Will anyone still drive a train in the apocalypse?

(End of this chapter)