Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 181 Black Kite Special Operations Team
After breakfast, the order to depart was given.

Liang Kuan went to prepare for the train's start-up, while Hu Shuo conducted the final inspection and docking with the station.

Boxes of processed materials were loaded onto the train by station workers, who then quickly disembarked before the train started moving.

A total of 300 people were left at the temporary site, all of them skilled workers with families.

In addition to their daily lives, they also have to continue construction on the unfinished parts of the station, plant iron-eating trees, repair living facilities, guard against forces around the station, monitor the movements of zombies and mutated beasts, and conduct external transactions with the substitute armed train.

The internal system uses a points system for trains, and once the train manufacturing base is acquired, connections will be established.

The station chief was an armed soldier who was already quite old and had a family with him, so he decided to stay.

With supplies provided by the train, the outpost assembled a 20-man garrison.

With the addition of a light machine gun that uses 7.62mm ammunition, there's no need to worry about safety issues for the time being.

Moreover, He Jie has eliminated all threats within a three-kilometer radius.

"Dududu-"

The cigar in He Jie's mouth turned into an iron whistle.

Upon hearing this voice, all the survivors shuddered.

Although only 200 people were ultimately selected, more than 1,200 people participated in the selection process, and most of the young and middle-aged people experienced He Jie's inhumane training.

This caused a thousand people to react when the whistle was blown.

The combat team members on guard nearby tensed up.

Soldiers carrying 100 kilograms of equipment on their backs, who were conducting daily training, quickly ran over and lined up.

These two hundred men belonged to the armed forces and were different from the combat team members; they were He Jie's direct subordinates.

But there was no difference. Apart from Su Huan and a few core members, He Jie could train whoever he wanted on the entire armed train, and even Lin Jin couldn't escape.

Later, Xiao Ba joined in too.

He Jie initially refused, but seeing that he insisted, he consulted Su Huan and brought him in.

At first, they even took care of Xiao Ba.

However, He Jie later discovered that the child was extremely resilient, and he was also excited about the opportunity. He secretly increased the amount of training, but no matter how much he increased it, Xiao Ba could grit his teeth and complete it.

Their willpower and ability to endure pain are simply outrageous.

He was the best performer among everyone.

This even includes Lin Jin, Goat, Qu Hang, and a group of other evolved beings.

With Xiao Bazhu as a precedent, He Jie became increasingly demanding of everyone, especially Qu Hang, who preferred to go out and fight against evolved beasts rather than participate in his training.

What would be harsh on others would be humiliating to him.

In just a few days, the "child in a wheelchair" became everyone's nightmare.

He Jie rhythmically tapped his palm with the stun gun thirty times, for exactly thirty seconds.

It's more precise than a clock.

The armed train behind us slowly started moving.

Looking at the neatly arranged crowd, He Jie revealed a satisfied smile.

Instead of relaxing, the group stood even straighter, their muscles tense, ready to receive the sudden blow.

Before each speech, He Jie would pick out two unlucky individuals who had made mistakes to serve as a warning to others.

He Jie walked casually into the crowd.

The experienced feet subtly exerted force.

Despite the rumble of the train ahead, there was no urgency whatsoever.

He Jie used the same trick again, bumping into a few people at random and finding that they all stood firmly. Then he came to the woman's side, grinned, and said, "I didn't expect that the little cat would actually get away with it."

"Report! That's strength!"

The woman said firmly.

"Oh!"

He Jie flipped the stun gun in his hand and struck the woman's lower abdomen directly. The strong electric current caused her muscles to spasm.

But his body swayed slightly; he didn't take a single step back.

He Jie roared furiously, "Did I tell you to speak? Huh?!"

"Everyone has one! Run and catch the train!"

"Yes!!"

The soldiers began to march forward in formation.

He Jie strode towards the train, took a few running steps, and leaped onto the five-meter-high front of the train, standing on it and looking at the soldiers behind him.

……

Northern part of the acid rain zone, on the edge of Quang Nhon City, Thanh Chuan Province.

Three all-terrain infantry fighting vehicles tore through the rain, their tires making a sticky, squeezing sound as they rolled over debris on the asphalt.

The lead vehicle slowed down, ignored the no-entry signs, drove onto the sidewalk, drove over large stone slabs, and followed a hole in the glass curtain wall directly into a small shopping mall.

"We have passed through the flood zone and arrived at the acid rain zone. All departments are reporting their situations."

The combatant in the co-pilot's seat tapped the tactical tablet on her lap, the fluorescent blue light illuminating her taut jawline beneath her gas mask.

The left chest has a special painted number, HT-426, which can only be seen when wearing special tactical glasses. The tactical suit also has an additional sample collector on the right shoulder, with several segments of fluorescent green mutated plant tissue suspended in the glass tube.

"Team Two has arrived."

"The three teams have arrived."

Two voices came clearly from the tactical tablet.

The car door slid open, and the combatant stepped out, followed by ten other figures.

A soft, intermittent whimper suddenly rang out from the dark corner, carrying a sense of impatient malice.

HT-426's fingertips moved from the tactical tablet to the pulse pistol at his waist.

The exoskeleton's servo motors are locked in sync, and the trigger is pulled almost without aiming.

Because of the exoskeleton, the arm did not tremble at all.

A muffled thud came from the corner, and the whimpering stopped completely.

"Conduct environmental testing."

HT-426 said calmly.

A dozen or so people responded and began to work together to conduct a comprehensive test of the surrounding mutated plants, air environment, and soil.

Black Kite's special operations personnel are not purely combatants, but rather a combination of top experts and tactical personnel in various fields.

HT-426 arrived at his land vehicle, opened the trunk, pulled out a two-meter-long aviation aluminum alloy box, laid it flat on the ground, and opened it only after fingerprint and password verification.

Inside the box was not a weapon, but a young man in pajamas, sleeping peacefully with one hand behind his head and the other on his stomach.

The only slightly out-of-place item was the silver iris brooch pinned to the neckline of the pajamas.

HT-426 said seriously, "Commander, we have arrived at the acid rain zone and can officially begin the mission."

half an hour.

There was not a sound.

The commander inside the aluminum alloy box remained in the same position.

HT-426 frowned suspiciously, his gaze quickly sweeping over the data on the glass panel of the box. After a moment, a possibility occurred to him.

His eyebrows furrowed into a "well" shape.

Taking a deep breath, he changed to a gentler tone and said, "Respected Commander Zhao, the rest time is over. If you want to sleep so much, I can talk to the doctor after this mission and let you sleep in a more comfortable and safer petri dish. The lab has been wanting a second-tier living evolver for a long time."

"426, long time no see."

Inside the metal box, Zhao Kuo opened one eye, glanced at HT-426 who was suppressing his anger, and seeing that the other party's emotions were relatively stable, he slowly stretched.

A muffled thud!

HT-426 punched the commander in the stomach and roared, "We just met three days ago! How could the company have chosen a piece of trash like you for the second-stage experiment!"

"Cough cough..."

Zhao Kuo sat up, clutching his abdomen and coughing violently a few times.

Upon hearing about the second-order experiment, a hint of unease flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly masked by an awkward laugh.

"What was the objective of this mission again?"

'As expected, he didn't even listen to the mission instructions!'

HT-426 clenched his fists, suppressing his anger as he calmly said, "The mission to capture two Primarchs was supposed to take ten days, but it took us seven days to reach the Acid Rain Zone."

"So rushed, only three days left?"

Zhao Kuo's eyes held a hint of doubt.

"Ten days is the time difference that the adults bought for us. In reality, other forces don't know about this news yet. It will be officially reported to the company in three days, and then it will be discussed and implemented. It will take at least two or three days. By the time the company organizes the second wave of capture teams, another half month may have passed."

"So, we actually have almost a month, right?"

Zhao Kuo sat up, his loose pajamas falling down to reveal a large amount of metal structure below his collarbone.

"That's true, but I don't want to stay in this cold and damp place for a month."

HT-426 issued a warning.

"Ah, the Acid Rain Zone is peaceful enough. Do you want to go to the Spore Jungle?"

"Aside from being a bit dangerous, those little mushrooms are quite cute. Maybe a completely new kind of life will emerge on land in the future."

"Alright alright……"

While the two were talking, the other team members returned one after another.

“Commander Zhao,” a man with a completely flat voice said.

Zhao Kuo sat in the box, raised his hand, and greeted them with a light laugh, "447, long time no see, still alive?"

The latter's lips twitched, and he turned his head away.

"The corrosion rate in the acid rain zone is 12% higher than expected, and the wear and tear on various metal coatings will accelerate." A voluptuous blonde bombshell walked in and gave Zhao Kuo a flirtatious wink.

"428, why did you dye your hair blonde?"

"It seems Commander Zhao doesn't care about me at all. You were like this when you woke up three days ago."

"Is that so? Hahaha..."

"339, how did you, a veteran in your 3s, end up like this?"

"Commander Zhao, you still know how to talk..."

"..."

Zhao Kuo greeted each of the dozen or so people one by one, his face completely bare, yet he could accurately call out each person's number.

HT-426 and the others were already used to it. Not to mention the dozen or so in front of them, Zhao Kuo could remember any number he had ever seen before.

The key issue is that he hasn't awakened his memory abilities yet; his memory is only at the average level of a second-tier creator.

After finishing their chat, HT-426 retrieved his custom exoskeleton from the vehicle.

Compared to the minimalist exoskeleton converted from logistics equipment for armed trains, the Black Kite's military exoskeleton is much more versatile. It features a matte black metallic finish, a detachable backpack on its back, and bulletproof armor in the front capable of protecting against 12.7mm armor-piercing rounds. When deployed, it can cover the entire body, and there are also many weapon mounting points throughout the exoskeleton.

Even if the power supply is cut off, this exoskeleton can reduce the burden on the user through its mechanical structure.

Depending on each person's different evolutionary capabilities, these exoskeletons also have many personalized accessories.

(Exoskeleton reference diagram)

It's like Zhao Kuo's exoskeleton; no one else could wear it except him.

Everyone turned around on their own. Zhao Kuo took off his pajamas, revealing a body that was a combination of metal machinery and flesh to HT-426. You could even see the functioning of some of his organs.

Not only did it not weaken in the slightest, but it also grew strangely together with the surrounding machinery.

It's as if it were innate.

HT-426 calmly put the exoskeleton on Zhao Kuo, and the various interfaces corresponded perfectly with the machinery on his body.

With the sound of the motor turning, Zhao Kuo raised his hand. Unlike the other team members, he did not feel any sluggishness. The external mechanical support seemed to grow out of him. After the exoskeleton was put on, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

This is the complete second-tier evolver, the "Flesh and Blood Armor" of the Creator Domain.

"How much longer are you planning to dawdle?" one of the combatants suddenly asked.

There were three other people standing next to him, who were clearly not with HT-426 and his group.

Zhao Kuo's icy gaze swept across the room, and in the next instant, a storm seemed to erupt out of nowhere.

The tall combatant's muscles bulged as he spoke, but before he could reach his peak condition, he was suddenly lifted into the air by a hand, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror.

Ignoring the other three who were like startled birds, Zhao Kuo grabbed the latter by the throat and slammed him directly into a cement block next to him.

Rocks flew everywhere, and blood and flesh splattered.

It wasn't until the second blow that someone shouted for them to stop.

Seeing the three men who were ready to launch a sudden attack to provide support, Zhao Kuo threw the combatants he was holding at their feet, his eyes filled with coldness and undisguised ruthlessness, "Are you planning to attack me?"

The three men looked at their injured teammate at their feet and swallowed hard in unison.

When he felt the storm stirred up by Zhao Kuo's movement, he knew something bad was going to happen. However, his companion, who was a first-level "fighter", was defeated by the opponent in one move, and his heart was already in turmoil.

Although I knew that second-tier evolved beings would be very strong, I had never fought one, so I couldn't feel that kind of despair at all.

The fact that "fighters" skilled in close combat were taken down by hand means that they were no different from ordinary people in front of Zhao Kuo.

They are the best among the evolved beings!

This stark contrast instantly made them feel like ordinary people again.

With a hint of reverence, he explained, "We just wanted to remind you of the time."

"Remember, I am the commander of this mission. Gather all information and prepare to execute the mission."

A cold voice rang in everyone's ears.

Everyone, including 426, immediately tensed up and replied solemnly, "Yes!"

The atmosphere immediately became serious.

It was as if all the casual conversation and banter just moments before had been fleeting.

……

The armed train station is only about 1.2 kilometers away from the EMU manufacturing base, while Su Huan's cleaning order covers a three-kilometer radius around the station.

In other words, He Jie and his team had already thoroughly investigated the situation at the manufacturing base while eliminating the surrounding threats.

They could clearly see how many lice were on the people inside.

(End of this chapter)