Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 213 First-Tier "Bodhi Dao Artifact"

The fair neck was beautiful, but the scene of it being held captive by a hand was violent.

Interspersed with Wan Xing's weak whisper, "It's over, I knew he'd strangle you..."

Su Huan frowned, took Yu Jing's ponytail apart, and inserted his five fingers like knives, examining every inch of her scalp, ears, and neck.

To the bewilderment of the two, the zipper of the bodysuit was pulled open with a "whoosh".

He traced his fingertips down along the collarbone, heart, and ribs, examining the front and then the back, spine, coccyx... He didn't miss a single bone in Yu Jing's body, pinching them all.

Even Wan Xing understood what he was doing by this point, her eyes filled with a thoughtful expression.

"My body hasn't mutated," Yu Jing explained helplessly.

A crimson hue appeared in Su Huan's pupils at some point, like two clusters of fire immersed in a cold pool, burning inch by inch across her skin, down to her eyebrows and eyelashes.

In his past life, he had seen quite a few flesh and blood evolutions. Bone proliferation and flesh mutations were considered normal. There were also some with multiple organs and limbs, which could make people lose sanity just by looking at them. If it was just a change in appearance, it wouldn't be anything special.

People's aesthetics at that time were already very extreme, and the pursuit of power reached a morbid level.

As long as you're strong enough, having a body full of eyes is beautiful.

But this evolutionary direction is unstable.

As they evolved, their minds became filled with nothing but blood and gore; forget about humanity, even logic was devoured by flesh and blood.

In his past life, he had personally witnessed Qu Hang execute a rampaging "creator" who had devoured his colleague.

It took five shots from the electromagnetic sniper rifle to kill him.

Ever since witnessing the headless mass of flesh charging madly at the crowd, Su Huan decided he would never team up with the "creator" of flesh and blood.

If you can survive without a brain, then what drives you on a daily basis—your brain or something else?
Even an insider is a million times better than those who break taboos.

Seeing Su Huan's increasingly dangerous gaze, Yu Jing explained, "Perhaps my path is different from the purely flesh-and-blood path you mentioned."

Su Huan tilted his head, glancing out of the corner of his eye at "Zhao Kuo" who was walking over.

Which skills did you use to evolve?

"lv3 [Pan-Energy Erosion] + lv2 [Mechanical Specialization] + lv1 [Bio-Reshaping]"

The first two skills are the traditional skills of "Mechanical Apprentice", which is also the path that Su Huan originally wanted Yu Jing to take. The last one is the key.

How did you awaken this skill?

This skill was indeed different from those flesh-and-blood evolved beings, which reassured Su Huan somewhat.

"The materials were originally extracted from zombies," Wan Xing explained from the side.

Su Huan's eyes flickered for a moment before he retrieved that memory from his mind.

"That Tier 1 material used to synthesize the 'Defender' gene serum?"

"Yes, then I researched this area and felt it was highly feasible, so I asked Wan Xing to help me. My breakthrough will determine the upper limit of the train's future upgrades, so I was a bit anxious. But thankfully, I have indeed found a new path."

Yu Jing gazed at Su Huan calmly, with a sense of composure.

Aside from machinery, she never seemed to care about anything else.

Su Huan patted her shoulder and said disdainfully, "I can barely accept the first half of the sentence because it was for the sake of the train, but the second half is a bit pretentious, and I can't accept it."

Yu Jing's eyes slanted upwards at the corners, and a faint "well" shape appeared on her forehead.

"This is indeed a completely new path, and it won't break my flesh and blood."

"A new path?" Su Huan turned to face Zhao Kuo, who had transformed into a puppet. "Is this your solution? To replace yourself with a puppet?"

"exactly!"

A look of excitement appeared in Yu Jing's eyes.

"Although a level 1 'Materials Manufacturing' skill was discontinued, the new class not only has no negative impact on me, but also greatly enhances my combat power."

Su Huan retorted mercilessly, "When he was alive, I carbonized his body. You can only use a small portion of his flesh and blood. Even if you fuse with some mechanical structures, you can only barely reach the level of a second-tier evolver in terms of strength and speed. To be precise, you shouldn't be able to defeat any second-tier evolver. The advantage is that this thing is not afraid of death and can give people a surprise. The disadvantage is that you yourself are still a weakling."

“You’re only half right, but the space here is too small to verify. Let’s go to the deck.”

After speaking, Yu Jing stood by the outer wall, and the [Engineer-I] type exoskeleton on the compartment was put on her body as if she were being pulled, without any auxiliary functions.

Su Huan focused his mind slightly; he could sense that it was a general energy fluctuation, rather than a simple mechanical drive.

"Then I won't go..."

Wan Xing, who was standing to the side, said.

Su Huan responded softly.

"Go tell Lao Hu later that you and Yu Jing will each have a week's salary deducted."

"I'm just collaborating."

"One month."

Wan Xing opened her mouth, but said nothing more; her steps as she left the house were simply heavier.

Su Huan and Yu Jing went up to the deck, followed by "Zhao Kuo".

A light drizzle was falling from the sky; it wasn't acid rain, just rainwater with a normal pH level.

The rain was tilted by the wind.

Waves crashed against the train one after another.

Like a lonely island in the sea.

Only when some buildings stubbornly rise above the water can one discern traces of human existence in the area.

Su Huan waved his hand, creating a large energy barrier that deflected the rain. "I didn't expect you two to have such a good relationship."

Yu Jing gave him a meaningful look. "The reason you can't see this side of Wan Xing is because she treats you as her boss. During work hours, she naturally won't show too much emotion."

"It's quite surprising. I thought she was an emotionally detached person."

Su Huan exhaled, like a long white dragon, passing through the barrier, blowing away the rain, and finally merging into the gloomy sky.

"Wan Xing's indifference is simply because she doesn't care about these things, but you've really hit a nerve this time."

What hurts?

Su Huan was somewhat curious.

"She hasn't eaten grains in a long time. Recently, she's spent a lot of points to exchange for materials, planning to make her own grains."

"What is all this nonsense? What is 'grain'? Rice?"

"It's just a name for anime and manga merchandise. She likes it a lot, but she's lost all her old ones."

"I thought she would like children."

Su Huan sighed softly.

Yu Jing shook her head. "The orphanage was what her parents wanted to do. She wasn't interested in most things; she was just an ordinary girl who liked to immerse herself in the world of anime and manga."

"A twenty-six-year-old girl... well, that's not bad after human evolution. Let's talk about your abilities first."

Su Huan steered the conversation back on track. Yu Jing said seriously, "The reason I say you're half right is because the puppet is indeed only at the initial second-tier level, but I'm not without combat power. Right now, I'm essentially a combination of machinery and flesh. It's not that machinery replaces part of my flesh, but rather that the mechanical properties are completely integrated into my flesh."

After saying that, he threw a punch at Su Huan while wearing the exoskeleton.

Su Huan narrowed his eyes, slightly turned his body, raised his knee and turned his hips, kicking the attacking puppet away.

Then he straightened his body and raised his hand to catch Yu Jing's fist.

The fists and palms collided, producing a muffled "thud".

Su Huan said calmly, "Your strength is average, and your coordination is a bit lacking."

The next moment, Yu Jing, who was being held firmly, suddenly took off her exoskeleton, just like taking off an ordinary coat, so fast that Su Huan didn't even have time to react.

Then she snuggled into Su Huan's arms.

"Oh!"

The woman groaned and knelt on the deck, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Su Huan was left standing there in astonishment. "Your physical defense has increased this much? Normally, this punch should have been enough to keep you lying down for a day."

Even the usually composed Yu Jing was somewhat on edge, gritting her teeth, "I've only offended you a few times, and you want to kill me?"

Su Huan bent down and patted the woman's head, saying with a smile, "I wouldn't kill her, but I'm still thinking of crippling her."

"So this is your main ability to evolve? To drive machinery in a special way, manipulate a puppet, and greatly improve your physical abilities."

Yu Jing looked up helplessly, "Not only that, it also has a certain ability to devour flesh and blood, it's just that your skin and flesh are too tight... I can't bite it."

Su Huan then noticed a tiny bloodstain on the surface of his fist, like a little person baring its teeth and claws, trying to bite off a piece of his flesh, but the force was so weak that he would have missed it if he wasn't paying attention.

With a flash of lightning, the blood droplet on the back of his hand vanished into thin air.

"Flesh and blood manipulation is the primary method, with machinery as a secondary method."

Su Huan thought for a moment and realized that if the danger was transferred to the puppets, the path of flesh and blood mechanics was not out of the question, which would be equivalent to an alternative "mechanic".

"But there's no one to help you make mistakes on this path, and it's not even certain whether you can reach the second stage."

"I was prepared a long time ago."

"Since it's a completely new road, let's give it a name."

A hint of appreciation appeared in Su Huan's eyes as he extended a hand, "The pioneers have the right to use her methods to name the new roads."

Yu Jing was slightly taken aback. She took Su Huan's hand and stood up from the deck, her expression returning to calm.

"Skin and bones, though weathered, are all vessels for the path to enlightenment. From this day forward, all metal and flesh must bow before me; let us call them 'vessels for the path to enlightenment.'"

"A first-tier 'Bodhi Dao Artifact'..."

Su Huan looked at the puppet standing in the rain. Its metal body and half-exposed arms did indeed resemble a mechanical robot.

Suddenly, a little noise appeared in my ears.

It was as if a world was rapidly approaching his ears. Just by the sound, he could sense a woman wearing stockings, a coat, and wide-leg casual pants, holding a spatula in her hand, standing on the front platform of the vehicle, surrounded by the sound of staff members constantly typing on keyboards.

The only system in the entire carriage that can achieve this is Yu Yue's "shared sound field".

Soon, Yu Yue's soft voice, like fingertips gliding across a quilt, came through: "Su Huan, Guanchong City is right ahead of us. They say it's been flooded. The fastest route is to go directly through the middle of the city. Should we go through it, or take a detour?"

Su Huan narrowed his eyes, looking at the vaguely visible cluster of buildings in the distance. "Of course we have to go through it. Trains are slow in water, and it would take forever to go around it."

"Okay, according to the drone's reconnaissance, there seems to be someone in distress ahead."

"A person calling for help?" Su Huan was taken aback. "In the water? I can't see them."

"Let me adjust the distance."

Soon, Su Huan felt his hearing pass through the waves and reach the front of the train, where he heard the sound of someone splashing water. Judging from their figures, they really did look like humans.

"They haven't drowned after so long, could they be zombies?"

Su Huan said suspiciously.

"Xiao Zhao said the rain is too heavy and the drone can't fly. We'll know when the train gets closer."

The light rain quickly turned into a downpour, and compared to the downpour on land, the floodwaters made this rainstorm even more terrifying.

The entire body of water seemed to be boiling, the crests of the waves shattering into pale foam under the lash of the rain, only to be swallowed up by the deeper, dark waves.

The pale white light reflected the distorted crests of the waves, like the jagged back of a giant beast.

The train gradually moved into the city.

The once bustling city still exists, but it has sunk into the water, and the train flies over it.

Occasionally, overpasses and signal towers emerge from the water, and in the distance, the sign for a certain international financial center is still visible above the water.

The train even flew over a giant stadium.

This was also the first time Su Huan had ever seen a city from this height. The water was surging, and all sorts of debris floated on the surface, as if they were being thrown aside by the train like garbage.

More and more tall buildings are emerging in the surrounding area, including signal towers and high-rise residential buildings...

Su Huan even saw a skyscraper crammed with zombies, and saw a train floating in the water, rushing out one after another.

They fell into the water like dumplings being dropped into a pot, struggled haphazardly for a bit, and then sank to the bottom.

Su Huan frowned; he sensed a massive, omnipotent energy reaction underwater.

Several blurry figures appeared before my eyes, struggling and thrashing about, unable to swim out or sink.

"Is there any equipment that can go underwater to see what's inside? I'll go down right away."

After saying that, Su Huan led Yu Jing directly towards the front of the train, bringing it closer to the struggling figure ahead.

Before entering the front of the car, Su Huan caught a glimpse of several rotting faces.

Without any surprises, we entered the command console at the front of the train.

Yu Yue looked at the mechanical puppet following closely behind her daughter, slightly puzzled. Before she could ask, Xiao Zhao walked in.

The person following behind was carrying two cylindrical pieces of equipment.

"Because the train modifications are all geared towards water areas, the teacher specifically asked us to study some equipment for underwater exploration. This is a small submarine. Because it is much larger, the transmission method has changed from fiber optic to universal communication, and a lightweight communication device is installed inside."

Su Huan took it and examined it. "So, this thing can be used to explore separately from the train, without needing to be connected by a wire?"

Xiao Zhao nodded, "Yes, but we haven't had a chance to test it out yet. Today is the first time we've used it."

"Then give it a try."

Su Huan waved his hand.

Xiao Zhao led a team to debug the equipment. Soon, as the exploration equipment was launched into the water, a slightly blurry image appeared on the monitor.

Xiao Zhao calmly instructed, "Turn on the dim lighting."

The murky, dark image on the screen became clear.

"What it is?!"

(End of this chapter)