Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 226 Bar
Thick steel beams extend out from the edge of the building.

That was preparation for future expansion.

At this moment, large fish of varying lengths were hanging on the steel beams, cut in half. The shortest was one meter long, and the longest was three meters long. There were also several fish that looked extremely ferocious.

Someone on the steel frame spotted Old Man Tie and quickly called out, "Brother Jianguo, Uncle Tie is here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several loud thuds were heard. A burly man, as wide as Liang Kuan, walked to the other end of the steel frame. As he squatted down, he revealed dark green scale armor under his wide short sleeves, which extended from his neck to his chest.

The old man quickly shouted, "Get down here properly—"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud bang.

The man had already jumped down from the steel frame, which was seven or eight meters high. He bent his knees and stood up to relieve the pressure.

Swinging its more than two-meter-long tail, it asked curiously, "Dad, what brings you here?"

Old Man Tie glared at him fiercely, a hint of heartache flashing in his eyes as he looked at the scales on his son's face, but it quickly disappeared. He angrily pointed at the large fish drying on the side and questioned him.

When did you catch fish behind my back?

Qi Jianguo quickly grabbed his father's hand, wanting to go aside to talk.

But the old man broke free.

"These have all been eaten by corpses. Who are you going to feed this to? The people in the settlement or your father?"

Qi Jianguo looked at his stubborn father helplessly and said, "We can't just starve to death, can we?"

The old man was stunned. "Not enough grain?"

"It's been a long time since we had enough. The woman brought a lot of food a while ago, which helped us last a little longer. But we're out of options these past couple of days. We'll have to get some fish to mix in tomorrow..."

"I see the pub downstairs is still open, serving grilled meat and toasted bread—all very trendy stuff."

Qi Jianguo said in a low voice, "Zhenbang said that everyone is watching the tavern now. If the tavern is open, it means that the situation in the settlement is stable. If the tavern suddenly closes, people will panic."

Old Man Tie immediately panicked, "But we already don't have enough food, and you're still wasting it like that..."

"But the food at the tavern was brought by someone else, and we're just surviving on the small processing fee we collect."

Large raindrops began to fall impatiently, and the water that had only submerged the fifth floor rose to the sixth floor, splashing against the walls.

Upon hearing this, the old man silently looked up at the sky. "Any method that can keep the settlement going is fine. Come down soon, it's going to rain."

Qi Jianguo responded and watched his father strut downstairs again.

It matched the man in his memory who always appeared in photos, wearing a military uniform and standing tall.

Although the apocalypse is a bit tough, it's just what these old folks who are used to hardship are looking for.

The torrential rain slid down his collar and clung to his scales.

Qi Jianguo shook his head and beckoned his brothers behind him to come down.

After quickly tidying up my things, I headed forward.

Several buckets were hanging under the eaves of the tin-roofed houses on both sides of the road, or several basins were placed on the ground, and rainwater splashed into them with a crackling sound.

This is the only way for the community to obtain clean water.

Fortunately, the flood-prone area has abundant rainfall and no acid rain, so as long as there are enough containers, water purification is not a problem.

Arriving at the building in front, after going down three floors of corrugated iron sheds, we entered the building.

Compared to the rooftop, the ground floor was far more congested, and the sense of security provided by the old concrete walls made more survivors willing to crowd there.

Every step you take in the hallway represents a family.

The stench of sweat, foot odor, and fermenting food mingled together, creating a foul smell that was hard to get rid of, and even opening the window couldn't dissipate it.

People along the way looked at Qi Jianguo with awe upon seeing the scales on his neck and the tail on his back.

But more than anything, there was fear and envy.

That is the most direct proof of power.

After walking a few steps, a lean young man caught up and whispered, "Brother Jianguo, our men are guarding the stairs; no one is going there."

Qi Jianguo nodded, but still went to see for himself.

I only felt safe to walk up after confirming that the partition leading to the bottom floor in the corridor was securely welded.

The young man flattered him, "Brother Jianguo, you're really cautious."

Qi Jianguo chuckled, "This isn't about being cautious; it's just a necessary procedure. There's nothing to praise about doing it, but not doing it is what makes you a fool."

After greeting the men guarding the area, Qi Jianguo headed towards the middle unit on the top floor.

The other houses were divided into extremely small rooms to accommodate more people.

Instead, the original partitions in this house were knocked down and the windows were sealed off, just to make it look more spacious.

The security door was open, and a sign made of cardboard boxes hung at the entrance, with the word "Bar" written crookedly on it.

Men and women of all kinds were coming and going inside, making the entire corridor completely blocked.

They only reluctantly made way for Qi Jianguo when they saw him approaching.

The room didn't have the colorful lights of a bar, not because they didn't want to, but because they didn't have that many LED lights.

There were only a few dim candlesticks.

However, this perfectly fits the atmosphere.

Doomsday, flood, dimly lit room, faint yet precious light, strangers from all walks of life gather in a narrow space to indulge in a life of debauchery, talking about past glories and the beautiful life that can no longer be reached, talking until their mouths are dry, their backs are sweating, and their emotions are surging, finding a suitable member of the opposite sex to have a big fight in a dark corner.

This resulted in the entire space being filled with a strong smell of hormones.

When Qi Jianguo squeezed in, he couldn't help but frown.

But I didn't care what they thought.

It's better to guide than to block; the same applies to people.

It's good to expend some energy on these meaningless things.

Upon seeing Qi Jianguo, the men acting as bartenders approached him, saying, "Brother Jianguo."

"I hope nothing bad happened."

"It's very quiet."

Qi Jianguo said seriously, "Is that alright? As long as she gives you food, you should serve her well and absolutely not provoke her."

Several men shook their heads repeatedly, saying awkwardly, "Who dares to mess with her? We don't want to have our heads ripped off and thrown into the water to feed the fish."

"Ah."

Qi Jianguo looked towards the front of the room.

That used to be a bedroom, and it was the only place in the entire bar where the window wasn't sealed off.

It's also the only booth in the bar.

Compared to the crowds here, the other side was eerily deserted; there was only one person sitting by the window with their back to them in the entire room.

Although her face wasn't shown, her alluring back view alone was enough to make one's throat dry and one's back hunch.

Half the people here are here for fun, and the other half are here specifically to see this woman.

Qi Jianguo chuckled softly, "She really is a vixen."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

He has a wife and children, so he has no interest in doing those unnecessary things.

After he disappeared into the bar, a young man reeking of alcohol emerged from the crowd, still shaken, and asked, "My dad's gone?"

The person next to him immediately laughed, "He just left, Young Master Qi can still catch up if he goes now."

"Get the hell out of here!"

Qi Zhiyuan cursed and swaggered to the front desk, saying to the bartender, "Give me that bottle of red wine."

The bartender said with difficulty, "There's only one case of red wine in the entire gathering place..."

Qi Zhiyuan sneered, "This entire settlement belongs to the Qi family. You don't want to live here anymore?"

The bartender was speechless and had no choice but to obediently take out the red wine.

Taking the wine, Qi Zhiyuan warned, "Keep your mouths shut, or I'll kill you if my dad hears about it!"

The bartender lowered his head, his face grim.

Qi Zhiyuan muttered a curse as he walked toward the booth.

"You lucky idiot, what would you be without your dad..."

Qi Zhiyuan was naturally unaware that the bartender was cursing him.

At this moment, his attention was completely drawn to the woman in front of him.

"Miss Zhang, I have one here produced from..."

Qi Zhiyuan looked at the bottle, which was covered with a bunch of fancy words. After searching for a while, he couldn't find the place of origin or the year of manufacture, so he simply said, "Would you like to try it together?"

But the woman did not respond.

She just stared out the window, her eyes glazed over, at the rolling waves and torrential rain.

It's as if they're trying to figure out what's going on.

After a long while, she took a thin cigarette from the cigarette case next to the cup and held it to her delicate red lips.

The burly man standing at the door, acting as a bodyguard, opened his waterproof satchel as if facing a formidable enemy. He carefully took out a white handkerchief, unfolded it layer by layer to reveal a metal lighter inside, lit it with his fingers through the handkerchief, and then cautiously handed it to the woman.

He said in a low voice, "Boss, Young Master Qi would like to invite you to a wine tasting." The woman elegantly lit a cigarette, took a light puff, and said indifferently, "Don't talk such boring nonsense. If there's a next time, you can jump down yourself."

The man's hair stood on end. He carefully put away the lighter, tiptoed out of the booth, and pretended not to see Qi Zhiyuan's ugly expression.

The drifting smoke blurred the woman's beautiful face in the glass, making it appear and disappear in a hazy, indistinct way.

All that remained were her luscious red lips and a wisp of crimson hair.

Just as Qi Zhiyuan's expression was shifting between light and dark.

The woman suddenly turned her face to me, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "You're going to buy me a drink?"

The charming voice instantly sent a shiver down Qi Zhiyuan's spine.

His blood seemed to be filled with red wine, and his cheeks were flushed.

(Approved but rejected, sorry)

"So, the actual controllers of the industrial park are Qi Tieshan and his three sons?"

Su Huan sat on his own sofa and asked casually.

The thin man squatting to the side added, "Old Man Tie also has a daughter, two grandsons (one big and one small), and his two sons and one grandson are all evolved beings, so he has a lot of influence in the settlement. Brother Lei... Chen Lei made a fuss a few times, but it was suppressed."

"They also looted a small military base?"

"Yes, there are many firearms."

"How many people are there in total?"

"Five thousand."

"Ok?"

Su Huan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

A gathering place of five thousand people can already be called a base.

He wasn't surprised that there was such a large-scale base in the acid rain zone, since the acid rain zone only had scarce clean water, but plenty of open land.

Flooded areas don't have these conditions.

Not to mention the occasional high tides and storms, even on sunny days, the ground is flooded with more than ten meters of water.

Unless humans mutate into "water ghost" zombies, there is no way for them to survive normally in water.

"Theoretically it's possible."

Shu Wei walked over from the front of the car carrying a tablet, and at some point, she was wearing glasses.

Similar to Wan Xing's tech glasses, only thinner, Su Huan would have thought they were non-prescription glasses if it weren't for the green flashing on the temples.

Su Huan shook his head. "What I'm curious about is where all these people came from."

"It is a clustering effect caused by the flood area. Because a large area is covered by floods, people can only concentrate in a few high-rise buildings and shelters."

"Oh... but when did you change your clothes?"

Su Huan asked with some suspicion.

The woman wore a black striped sweater, a pencil skirt, black over-the-knee stockings, and a trench coat over it.

Visually, those legs alone are longer than the train conductor who is 1.86 meters tall!

(For the effect of wearing glasses, refer to 'Zhang Liangying's 90,000-word essay')
Yes, after multiple evolutions, especially after the fighters' abilities were enhanced several times.

Su Huan has grown a bit taller.

The secretary adjusted her glasses and said casually, "This makes me look more professional."

The silver glasses made her face appear even more aloof and fair.

Su Huan said speechlessly, "How much of your ability can you perform when you're wearing high heels?"

"My melee ability is practically nonexistent, so it doesn't have much of an impact."

Su Huan thought about it and realized that it made sense.

Although her vacuum manipulation ability is good, her control is not as strong as Xiao Ba's, and her lethality is not as good as Lin Jin's. She can only supplement some special combat methods.

Although he is a first-tier evolved being, he is not very effective in fighting enemies of the same level.

Its main function during the previous battle with the armed train was to silence ordinary soldiers.

It was quickly broken by Xiao Ba and his friends.

At present, it seems to be in a limbo, without any decisive effect.

Her positioning is similar to Yu Yue's.

"Then you can wear it. By the way, how long until we arrive at the Information Industry Park?"

"We're about two kilometers away, and the tide is starting to come in, which is actually making us faster. But why don't we just charge in?"

"Don't you think it's romantic to build a shelter at sea?"

"Creative architecture is reborn in this world ravaged by natural disasters..."

Shu Wei said coldly, "The shelter has not formed a complete system. As long as the Qi family is killed, this creative building will belong to the armed train."

Su Huan looked at her in shock, his expression exaggerated, "How could you have such a cruel and cold-blooded idea?"

"Get rid of all that dross that big companies have in your head as soon as possible. You're always grabbing things like barbarians. It took humanity hundreds of thousands of years to develop morality, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame to restrain ourselves and form a social system. And you've thrown it all away in one day. It's terrifying."

Shu Wei's eyes widened, and she bit her lower lip in disbelief.

Who was it that led a million-strong zombie horde to overwhelm a large city without batting an eye?

This lunatic...

Now people say she's cold-blooded, barbaric, and lacks any sense of propriety or shame?
"Are you scolding me?"

Su Huan's narrow eyes flashed with a cold light.

Shu Wei calmly said, "This is the way to minimize losses. There may be bloodshed, but it is definitely the fastest method."

Su Huan remained noncommittal.

This might be the best approach when chaos first begins, such as on a confined train.

No one knows anyone; all regional and blood ties have been severed, and everyone is a stranger.

Killing one can indeed serve as a warning to a hundred.

When order collapses, no one will risk their life for a stranger.

But the gathering place is another matter entirely.

The social structure of the refuge is shifting from turmoil to stability, as evidenced by Qi Tieshan and his sons.

At this point, the armed train's forced intervention was like an outsider forcibly intervening in a small county town.

He will face backlash from everyone.

Although with the current strength of the armed train, it could crush the entire shelter without paying a heavy price.

But this has nothing to do with his purpose.

If you go through all that trouble and end up with nothing to show for it, what's the point?

He had no irreconcilable conflicts with the Qi family or the refuge.

Now that time isn't so urgent, and he's somewhat interested in this shelter, he might as well try to get in touch with it first.

Let's see if there's any possibility of a deal.

……

After half an hour.

A quarter of the shelters were in turmoil.

A group of people actually made it downstairs in a small boat through the storm; this was the first time anyone had ever arrived during high tide.

On the seventh floor, Qi Zhenbang peered warily through a small window in the iron gate at a group of people outside.

He had seen many people who came to the shelter, including once-wealthy business owners, minor internet celebrities, families, the elderly, and young people.

But they all looked disheveled and miserable, as if they had encountered a great calamity.

Even though he had lived in the shelter for a long time, he still carried a lingering sense of dejection.

But these six people in front of me seem to have wandered in by mistake before the end of the world.

Handsome men and beautiful women, dressed in bright and beautiful clothes.

If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't dark yet, Qi Zhenbang would have suspected he was seeing a ghost.

There were six people in total, four men and two women. The leader was a young man with long hair and black clothes, who had a smiling face. It was pouring rain outside, but he wasn't covered in a single raindrop.

A woman next to him was wearing a large knitted sweater with sun-protective sleeves on her arms. Her loose, lazy side braid hung down in front of her chest. Her gaze was always on the young man in front of her, and the tenderness in her almond-shaped eyes was almost overflowing.

The other one was even more outrageous; she was wearing black stockings and a bodycon skirt at this point.

Compared to these three, the strange behavior of the remaining three guys was nothing.

So what if I'm carrying a lot of weapons? These days, who goes out without carrying a couple of guns?

Perhaps noticing the hesitation in his eyes, the young man stepped forward and smiled.

"Hello, my name is Su Huan, a lost survivor."

(I forgot to mention yesterday that I watched "I'm Not a Literary Master" and "Warm Monsoon")
(End of this chapter)