Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 186 The boy with shining pupils

This pure physical struggle was so intense that even Su Huan's "omnipotent perception" couldn't detect any change.

Not to mention them.

However, they didn't have to wait long.

"I lost."

He Jie sighed and suddenly said.

The moment the two let go, He Jie was drenched in sweat, streams of sweat flowing down his forehead and into his collar, wisps of white smoke rising from his body.

Even his hands, which were behind his back, were clenched into fists and trembling slightly.

Looking back at Liang Kuan, his face remained completely still, only his muscles bulged slightly, stretching his ever-present T-shirt.

Because of the long-term rainfall, the temperature in acid rain areas is not high, and it remains around 18°C ​​for a long time.

The heat emanating from the two of them significantly raised the temperature in the room.

Seeing the results, Director Xu couldn't help but walk up to Liang Kuan, his eyes shining.

"Does this count as crossing levels?" Lin Jin swallowed hard and asked, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.

Judging from the power they just displayed, both He Jie and Liang Kuan could easily defeat him in terms of pure strength.

Especially the latter, he had no doubt that he could be crushed into a lump of minced meat.

I thought I had worked hard enough, but I never expected that Liang Kuan, who had been driving quietly all along, would have such strong abilities.

"It's...not really." Su Huan narrowed his eyes.

Liang Kuan's talent in strength also exceeded his expectations.

Is it going to be another SSR?
"Director Xu should be familiar with the concept of basic competence, right?"

The goat's elite soldiers suddenly realized what was going on.

The rest turned their attention back to Director Xu, wondering what kind of cryptic conversation the two were having.

“Basic attributes are quite complicated to measure. Detailed testing is only conducted during experiments. Training can improve them slightly, and basic potions can raise them by one level. However, at a major juncture, they will get stuck and cannot advance no matter how much training they receive. The first juncture is the barrier between ordinary people and evolved beings.”

"This data can be referenced from the various data of athletes around the world before the apocalypse. Without external assistance, it is impossible to overcome this obstacle. Just like 9.58 in the 100 meters, no matter how hard the later ones try, they can only change a few digits after the decimal point, because the limit of human muscle fiber contraction is 9.40."

“Only evolved beings have the ability to break through this barrier, and there is still a gap in basic qualities between ordinary evolved beings and first-tier evolved beings. I measured these points and digitized them, such as before entering a new tier…”

Seeing that some people were getting more and more confused, Director Xu kept going on and on about the situation.

Su Huan waved his hand to interrupt him and continued, "That is to say, there are two sets of standards for measuring the strength of evolved beings: one is basic qualities, and the other is the strength of their abilities. Liang Kuan has very strong basic qualities, so he can suppress He Jie."

"There are ten basic attributes: strength, speed, defense, stamina, constitution, total energy, energy intensity, finesse, duration, and energy saving."

"Like skills, it's level three, tier one. He Jie's strength is probably level four, which is only one tier stronger than a 'Defender' who just advanced to tier one."

“Liang Kuan’s strength is roughly… around level five.” Su Huan considered for a moment, then gave an accurate assessment based on experience. “It’s close to the basic strength of a second-tier ‘Defender.’ In other words, purely in terms of strength, Liang Kuan is the strongest among all of us.”

"But you only need to know about these things. Combat is about brains, mentality, and skills. Even if the opponent is much stronger than you, they will still be scattered all over the ground if they are hit by a 14.5mm bullet."

Everyone had different expressions as they watched Su Huan speak eloquently.

Seemingly noticing everyone's confusion, Su Huan casually revealed his attributes, "My strength attribute is slightly higher than level four, but less than level five. This is because of the superposition of my two domains. The first-tier 'Fighter' gave me level three strength, while the first-tier 'Energy Storage Core' gave me very little. After so many evolutions, it's only increased by about one level."

Lin Jin glanced at Liang Kuan, then at Su Huan, and suddenly thought of something—

'What if we don't rely on strength?'

Xiao Zhao asked the question on his behalf, "If we calculate it this way, the train conductor's highest attribute should be total energy, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Su Huan smiled and nodded.

These researchers are quick to grasp new concepts. Professor Ma and Vice President Deng probably understood it too, but they are older and more mature, so they wouldn't ask such a question rashly.

Su Huan did not intend to tell them how much energy he possessed.

But to be honest, if the energy is too much, even he himself would find it difficult to estimate without professional measuring equipment.

"Energy storage core" is a profession that excels in energy.

His total energy level had already exceeded three times that of a first-tier "Electromagnetic Envoy" upon his advancement. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as the sixth-tier second-tier that he had initially speculated, he was definitely at the fourth tier. Now, he was about to advance to the second-tier "Circulating Vortex," and the energy within his body had already increased many times over.

Level six?

Level seven?

The quantity is too large to say for sure.

Even the slightest error could result in the death of Lin Jin.

To put it bluntly, the combined energy of everyone present, including "energy donors" like Jiang Rong, wouldn't even equal half of his.

As evolution progresses, the differences between individuals will become increasingly greater.

Like a chasm.

Therefore, while third-tier evolved beings can still be killed with firearms, once they reach the third tier, technology and numbers can no longer bridge the gap.

Technology can only serve as an aid to evolution.

It has become a consensus that only high-level evolved beings can fight against other high-level evolved beings.

Putting aside the distant past, once Su Huan advances to the fourth rank, he becomes a high-density humanoid energy bomb. Even if he doesn't fight back and lets you kill him, who would detonate him unless they were convinced of certain death?
When Professor Ma reached the fourth level, he used a single thought to reverse gravity and send everyone ascending to heaven.

Needless to say, Xiao Ba can extract metal directly from the earth, turning any military base into a metal coffin.

Goats, which are believed to attract good fortune and ward off evil, are even less likely to be caught by you.

Of course, if one insists on firing, it is theoretically possible to do so, since missiles with ranges of tens or even hundreds of kilometers have long been developed, but the cost of putting them into practice is too high.

Science is a meticulous and rigorous subject; it is not something that can be solved by one person or a small team.

It can only be managed by a large power with population, territory, resources, industry, military strength, technology, economy, system, etc.

But this force is more likely to pursue the path of evolution.

Technology will only decline step by step as the end of the world approaches. It may rise to prominence in certain fields, but its overall decline is inevitable.

Then, some questions about evolution were answered.

Then the armed forces followed He Jie to train.

On the one hand, you need to get to know the soldiers and gain their trust; on the other hand, sometimes one person can't handle the situation alone.

According to He Jie, good soldiers need to be trained and beaten. You have to break their bad temper and beat them until they submit, otherwise they will be even less obedient to you on the battlefield.

Su Huan had only a vague understanding of this matter and could only let him do as he pleased.

Anyway, the armed forces are a unified entity, and Yu Yue, Lin Jin, and others have also been placed within it, so there's no fear of it becoming He Jie's one-man show.

"Clap--"

Su Huan clapped his hands, attracting the attention of the remaining people. "So when you have free time, if you feel that your fighting style is more physical, then train your physical fitness. If you are more energy-oriented, then train your fine motor skills. Just relying on absorbing universal energy crystals to build up your strength will not allow you to evolve when the opportunity comes."

"That's all for today. If you have anything to report, stay and report. If not, you can go and get back to work."

As soon as he finished speaking, the train conductor's top secretaries, Yu Yue and Hu Shuo, along with Wan Hao, Lao Yuan, the factory director, Deputy General Manager Deng, and all the chief purser stepped forward.

wipe!
Su Huan's eyelids twitched immediately, realizing he had spoken too much.

With so many things to take care of, I won't need to sleep tonight!

No, it's just a small, fledgling organization, how come there's so much going on?!

“Come one by one, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Professor Ma stood there with a smile, "I just have some maintenance and update matters to attend to, you can go ahead."

Since the teacher had already said to wait, Xiao Zhao naturally wouldn't go forward.

Several lab directors hesitated for a moment before backing down. Finally, the leader stepped forward first, saying, "I'm just reporting on the bullet workshop's production status and the synthesis of new materials."

Second Brother: "I'd like to report on our combat team's cleanup work on the base and its surroundings."

Wan Xing: "New drug synthesis..."

Xiao Zhao: "Database update, consumable consumption, map update, etc..."

Yu Jing: "There has been new progress in the synthesis of ironwood."

"..."

The soldiers outside also suffered greatly.

Today's training goals are all aligned with Hachiman's.

When Lin Jin was exhausted, he turned to look at Xiao Ba, who was still persevering, though his face was slightly pale.

'Lin Jin, oh Lin Jin! You can't even match the willpower of a child; how do you expect to catch the train conductor?'

So I gritted my teeth and persevered.

When his muscles started trembling uncontrollably, he noticed that Xiao Ba's face had turned even paler, but he was still continuing.

Looking around, Liang Kuan was doing high-intensity training with He Jie and was in good condition.

'Lin Jin, Lin Jin, even those more talented than you are working hard. How will you catch up with the train conductor?'

Clench your teeth and keep going!

When his vision became blurry, he couldn't even see Xiao Ba, who was nearby, clearly.

The body is shaky.

Just as she was about to collapse, a hand grabbed her shoulder, and a cold medicine pierced her neck. Behind her came Wan Xing's calm voice, "If you can't do it, don't force yourself."

After sitting there for a long time to recover, Lin Jin finally felt like he had come back to life once the recovery potion took effect.

A huge sense of shame came over me.

Wan Xing extended a slender white finger from her wide sleeve and waved it in front of Lin Jin, making sure he was alert before saying, "The recovery potion will be deducted from your points."

"Ah good."

He gave an awkward reply.

"Sister Xingzi, is it over inside?"

Xiao Ba sat in his wheelchair and came to the two of them. Except for his hair being damp with sweat, the boy's gaze was as clear and firm as it had been at the beginning.

There was not the slightest sign of disarray.

Wan Xing shook her head. "It will take a long time. You should go back first."

Without wasting any more words, he finished explaining and turned to leave.

Xiao Ba glanced at Lin Jin sitting on the ground, manipulated his exoskeleton to stand up, and then vacated the electric wheelchair.

"Come on up, I'll take you home."

Lin Jin: "!"

Finally, Lin Jin was lifted into a wheelchair by Xiao Ba without any resistance. The two said goodbye to He Jie and then left.

Once Xiao Ba's figure, pushing the wheelchair, disappeared outside the door, a collective sigh of relief filled the lobby on the first floor.

Because the train was undergoing upgrades and renovations, everyone's dormitories were arranged in temporary dormitories within the train body manufacturing plant.

Sitting in a wheelchair, I watched as Hachi used metal to prop open a canopy.

Lin Jin raised his aching fingers, and a faint flame rose from them, but it didn't last long before it went out.

His body was too tired, which affected his energy output.

He couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Ba, how did you manage to stick to that level of training?"

The boy's clear splashing sound came from behind him. He said casually, "I wouldn't call it perseverance. It's just that I can't do anything but endure, so I've gotten used to enduring."

Lin Jin, in his wheelchair, felt a tightness in his chest.

He silently clenched his fists.

As soon as I got back to the dorm, I saw a small figure emerge from inside. From a distance, seeing the two figures, I burst into tears.

"Little Eight...Brother, I...I thought...you didn't want me anymore!"

The little boy was crying uncontrollably.

Xiao Ba quickly went to greet him, patted the little boy's head, hugged him, and gently comforted him, "I brought you some delicious food, look what's here..."

Lin Jin looked at the two children, one big and one small, with a puzzled expression.

When did Hachi get a younger brother?
After Xiao Ba finished comforting the little boy and pushed him back to the dormitory, she explained the situation to him.

The boy's voice was somewhat shy, "Um... although it's a bit unbelievable, this child is someone I adopted."

"what?"

Although Lin Jin was mentally prepared, he was still a little confused.

I was simply confused.

A twelve-year-old boy adopted a five- or six-year-old child?

"Was it saved by the Steel Council back then?"

Lin Jin asked, as if possessed.

Xiao Ba nodded. "Yes, he's only four and a half years old, so he doesn't remember many things."

"hiss……"

Lin Jin felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about the intricate cause and effect involved.

The two had arrived at Lin Jin's dormitory. Lin Jin stood up, gripping the door frame, and looked at Xiao Ba outside the door, asking again.

Does the train conductor know about this?

"I don't know, so I hope you can keep it a secret for now."

The rain continued to fall outside, but the boy's eyes seemed to be filled with sunshine as he pleaded.

……

February 24st, sunny.

"The most desperate thing is not being flooded, but being overwhelmed by an endless stream of problems."

……

January 26th, light rain.

"Xintian has been suffering from a long drought, and no rain has come."

……

Thanks to the train conductor's hard work, the train's complicated affairs were finally sorted out.

Good progress has been made on both of the recent important goals.

First, the train manufacturing base needs to be transformed into a long-term platform, and the original security measures for preventing petty theft are no longer sufficient.

However, the base area is too large to be completed in one go.

This renovation also targets the core area, encompassing some residential areas and the vehicle manufacturing center.

(End of this chapter)