Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 241 Cultivation Chamber

The clouds and the water surface appeared bluish-gray, clear and deep.

The raindrops fell like a thousand needles piercing the ground, forming a shallow layer of water on the rooftop.

"Although it has been raining, the air feels much clearer than before the apocalypse."

Su Huan caught some rainwater, tidied his long hair, and sighed.

The factory manager behind him sighed, "The air quality test conducted a few days ago showed alarmingly low levels of various combustion emissions, industrial dust, carbon dioxide, and other data. It's as if we've regressed to eighty years ago overnight."

Vice President Deng said with a smile, "We've been trying to manage this for decades, but nothing has worked as well as this one night."

The factory manager said seriously, "Old Deng, you can't say that..."

"Alright, alright, you're going to lecture me again. I was just joking."

Su Huan looked up into the distance, and the three concentric circles that appeared flat when viewed from the sky became three-dimensional from this angle.

The "floating giant tree" is not tall, estimated to be just over six meters, which is the same height as the train.

Compared to the crown pear tree that is as tall as forty meters, the cultivation chamber is just a shallow pot.

Moreover, the cultivation chamber currently only has a skeleton, and the surrounding area is "hollowed out," making it look like some kind of unfinished building.

Su Huan led a large group of people over.

Up close, you can see from the skeleton that the cultivation chamber is mostly flat, with three layers of the same size skeleton arranged together on the outermost ring, like the ancient Roman Colosseum.

The main internal structure is also three concentric circles, but they get smaller as you go down.

The main purpose is to create a "pot within a pot" to restrain the root system of the crown pear tree.

If the entire pot is filled with soil, there will be no space for the power system and various maintenance systems.

Moreover, the cultivation chamber has two power systems, one for water and one for land.

It takes up more space.

Su Huan stood on the steel frame and looked around.

There weren't many people around the main body of the cultivation chamber; instead, most people were adjusting various scaffolding, cranes, and other equipment around the steel frame.

Another group gathered not far away, carrying sections of curved metal and placing them on the rooftop.

It looks similar to the circular rings on the steel frame underfoot.

It's just in segments.

Xiao Ba, sitting in his wheelchair, manipulated the metal pieces to assemble them, quickly forming a huge ring.

Su Huan jumped down from the steel frame, pointing in Xiao Ba's direction with a hint of doubt, "Wasn't the structure finalized? Why does it look like Xiao Ba is still being worked on?"

The factory manager turned slightly to the side, and Deputy General Manager Deng chuckled awkwardly, "It was a structure I added on my own initiative."

Deputy General Manager Deng often did this when modifying trains.

We always end up abandoning the blueprints while working on the project and adding some new equipment, but without exception, these additions all achieve good results.

Like escaping from underwater, it was all thanks to the robotic arm that Vice President Deng temporarily added.

Su Huan was quite tolerant of this.

"Tell me."

"The principle is a bit complicated. It involves adding a larger ring around the outside of the cultivation chamber to level it. With this, not only can the wind and waves be countered in advance, but the probability of capsizing can also be greatly reduced."

“After you set off with your team, a small storm came, and the waves even hit the roof. We felt it was not safe.”

"The crown pear tree is too tall and its branches and leaves are too lush, so we quickly added this balancing device."

Vice President Deng explained.

Su Huan nodded in satisfaction. "How long until the cultivation chamber can be launched into the water?"

The two exchanged a glance, and the factory manager hesitated for a moment before saying, "Now that the framework is complete, the rest depends on the manufacturing speed of the new materials by Yu Jing."

"Assuming all the materials are readily available, how long would it take for 5,000 evolved beings to install it at full capacity?"

Su Huan asked intently.

After a moment's thought, the factory manager gave a precise figure: "Five days, and we won't need that many people."

Just as Su Huan was about to say something, he saw Professor Ma walking quickly towards him, followed by members of the Xiao Zhaohe research group who were jogging behind him.

Raindrops hung suspended in mid-air, and a head of neatly styled silver hair shattered the water droplets.

They arrived in front of Su Huan in a flurry of activity.

Su Huan sensed that the old man was about to bring some bad news, so he asked the question first.

"The equipment is faulty?"

"This supercomputer is sufficient to support a large base city."

"So it's broken?"

"It's not broken, it works normally."

Su Huan hesitated and asked, "Can we use it directly?"

Professor Ma shook his head. "Not now."

Su Huan sighed helplessly. Director Xu was like this, Yu Jing was like this, and even Professor Ma was like this. Once these people got involved in professional issues, their brains turned into binary computers.

They only know "yes" and "no," and can't even make a turn.

"So we still need that data center, right?"

"Yes, once we have this supercomputer and data center in place, the previously slow progress in artificial intelligence and database issues will be resolved. Even for the next twenty years, we will no longer be troubled by system and hardware equipment."

Professor Ma's eyes were bright and alert, and he didn't even notice the silver hairs flying up at his temples.

Su Huan sighed inwardly.

I originally wanted to be lazy, but I didn't expect that I still had to go to this lousy place, Jingchao Lake!

However, Jingchao Lake is some distance from the city center of Guanchong.

Given the train's slow speed on the water, it wouldn't be a round trip that could be completed in just one or two days.

If an unexpected event like a "deep-sea worm" were to occur, it could take ten days to half a month to lose everything.

There isn't much food stored at the construction site, so accidents could easily happen.

Seeing that Su Huan did not respond for a long time, Professor Ma thought he had put the other party in a difficult position and hurriedly wanted to say something.

But Su Huan interrupted, "Once Yu Jing's materials are ready, the cultivation chamber can be launched, right?"

Vice President Deng patted his chest and said, "Absolutely no problem. The remaining internal facilities can be modified as we go, without delaying things."

"Okay, let's proceed according to plan!"

Su Huan walked forward.

Shu Wei jogged a couple of steps to catch up and whispered, "Colonel He Jie said that when we left, a group of New Eden agents attacked the construction site and are currently being held downstairs. Should we go check on them?"

Su Huan licked his teeth. "Let's go check on my tree first!"

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Yu Jing's new material was still under development.

Experiments have only two states: research and development and producing results.

As for the progress, it remains uncertain.

Nobody knows what might happen next.

Since the outbreak of the apocalypse, Yu Jing has spent most of her time in the car and has not experienced the same worries about food, clothing, shelter and transportation as other survivors. Even so, she has only been able to develop three to five new materials in three months.

Various discarded products could fill half of the carriage.

The only good news is that the crown pear tree is thriving under Li Han's care.

It took three days to dig up, dry the soil, and do some simple composting.

The pear tree is currently placed in a "big bowl" on the top floor.

Once the cultivation chamber is complete, it can be directly transferred onto it.

The crown pear tree was not standing there alone. Because of its strong ecological impact, Li Han and Huang Hai selected some plants to plant next to the crown pear tree.

Two small pear trees were also planted next to it.

However, this did not slow down the decline of the Crown Pear Tree. According to Li Han's experience, accumulating some evolved beasts and evolution materials could slow down the rate of decline.

Many experts have concluded that the problem likely stems from the concentration of various energy sources.

The proposal is to bury the polycrystalline material in the soil.

Then Su Huan used a more efficient method: he sat directly under the tree and released pure omnipotent energy.

After a day and a night of release, the condition of the Crown Pear Tree finally stopped declining and began to slowly recover.

The bare branches also began to sprout new buds.

Huang Hai and Li Han were busy grafting a small pear back onto the tree.

Su Huan was worried that the situation might relapse, so he didn't leave these past two days and just squatted under the tree to maintain the concentration of the universal energy.

On the fifth day, Yu Jing's new application materials finally yielded results.

As a first-order material, this material has a weight between that of steel and titanium steel, and is characterized by its extremely high toughness.

Somewhat similar to the nacreous layer of a seashell, it uses a layered structure of nanocrystalline grains to disperse stress through microscopic sliding when subjected to impact, thus preventing brittleness.

Moreover, this material has certain absorption properties for lightning.

It just can't be kept for too long.

Because it is a new material made by combining crab shells with steel, it belongs to the same series as blue steel and titanium steel.

Therefore, it was named Tier 1 Armor Steel. The cultivation chamber began the process of attaching the outer shell over a large area.

The original three thousand survivors and two thousand people in the Iron Mountain Refuge were dispersed and reassigned according to their abilities.

All the manufacturers and a small number of collectors belong to Yu Jing. Recently, He Jie led an armed corps to start clearing out the nearby evolved beasts. Whether they survived upstairs or sank to the bottom of the water, they all had to be pulled up.

The generator factory was turned into a slaughterhouse, where various corpses were collected and processed.

The remaining people, following the instructions of the factory manager and others, built cultivation chambers upstairs.

The Qi brothers have adapted to the working rhythm of the armed train over this period of time.

Perhaps because they were fellow countrymen, the armed train didn't have any supervisors. Each crew member simply led a group of survivors to work. Although some people occasionally slacked off, the efficiency was still very fast.

On the second day of work, the two were still wondering why they weren't off work.

The flight attendant gave him a strange look.

Tell him to just wait a little longer.

Two or three different crew members came and went, but they never left work again.

Even the donkeys in the production team donkeys don't do that!

Qi Zhenbang cursed angrily.

Qi Zhendong looked up and down, then said in a low voice, "We're changing shifts today, so I should get some more rest."

“What’s the use? We still have to work. I’m young and can handle it, but I’m worried about Dad’s health…”

"Dad is fine."

Qi Zhenbang was taken aback. "How did you know?"

“I went to see him. Dad only works eight hours a day. He wanted to work more, but they wouldn’t let him. Xiao Dong was also asked to go back.”

"They're actually quite humane. Xiao Dong is definitely benefiting from this."

"It's still too early to tell who's benefiting from whom."

Qi Zhenbang remained silent for a moment, then gradually began to understand.

Since the incident at the shelter, the father has kept Xiao Dong by his side. At first, it seemed like he was protecting the child, but now it looks like he's grooming him as an heir.

"I haven't met Xiao Dong before, but from what I've seen recently, he seems to be of good character, though a bit naive."

"Dad sees things better than we do. Alright, I'll go out for a walk while I have some time."

Qi Zhenbang felt the light distort, and his second brother disappeared before his eyes.

All I could do was whisper a reminder, "Be careful."

Qi Zhendong gave a soft "hmm," but he didn't really care. He had secretly visited his father twice during this period, but neither time had he attracted anyone's attention.

I no longer feel as awe towards armed trains.

I hesitated whether or not to go inside the train, where it was considered more confidential.

"This guy is quite filial; he always makes time to visit his dad."

Tong Zizhan sighed.

Gao Yuan, standing nearby, turned the ring in confusion, but quickly realized who the other person was talking about. He carefully searched the area below and roughly determined Qi Zhendong's location.

He asked, "Should we report it?"

Tong Zizhan stared at Qi Zhendong with interest. "He just went to see his own father and didn't do anything. Why is it being reported?"

Because their abilities were primarily reconnaissance and stealth, they didn't go hunting with He Jie.

Instead, they stayed behind to maintain order, standing guard and patrolling.

Just then, a lithe figure emerged from the train, looked around, quickly climbed upstairs, and came to the window where the two were.

"The command center has issued an order to begin the shift change. This is the group list. First, take everyone to the logistics group to report on the work results."

"receive."

Tong Zizhan jumped off the ground and walked towards Qi Zhendong, sighing, "It seems I have no choice but to become this villain."

Gao Yuan followed silently behind, then suddenly said, "This doesn't count as making a contribution, does it?"

"What merit you make, whether you make merit or not, is completely unimportant!"

Tong Zizhan said, embarrassed and angry.

With his achievements, he could have gone back to headquarters to enjoy a comfortable life, but his damned boss forced him to stay here.

March after March, when the hell will we ever get back!
The thought of this made him furious.

Even the way he looked at Qi Zhendong changed.

Qi Zhendong had only taken two steps when he noticed two armed soldiers moving. At first, he didn't pay much attention, but he felt that their gazes were fixed on his area.

I felt a little apprehensive.

They thought their abilities had failed.

I instinctively raised my hand, but couldn't see anything, and then I felt relieved.

He refused to believe that just anyone on the armed train could see through his disguise.
Qi Zhendong stood cautiously in place, holding his breath and not making a sound.

But he felt increasingly uneasy. At first, their eyes were only on him, but now that they were closer, they were staring directly at his face!
Just as Qi Zhendong's heart was in his throat.

Two people walked past him.

It was indeed a coincidence!
Qi Zhendong felt a surge of excitement.

"Hurry up and catch up. We need to report to the logistics team and then prepare to change jobs."

A resentful voice urged from behind.

The expression of relief after surviving the ordeal was completely frozen on his face.

This time, he dared not take any chances.

The two stopped in their tracks when they saw that he didn't move, and a hand with a ring was waving in front of him.

Gao Yuan asked in confusion, "What kind of ability do you have? How can you become invisible and also make yourself deaf?"

Qi Zhendong paused, revealing his figure.

He followed the two men out, dejected.

Somewhat unwillingly, he asked, "How did you see me?"

Tong Zizhan glanced at him, too lazy to answer.

Gao Yuan said, "Your ability seems to only be able to deceive the eyes, right?"

"Isn't deceiving the eyes enough?"

"Vision is the most useless thing. Not to mention the two of us, there are plenty of people on the bus who can spot you."

Qi Zhendong recalled the strange looks Su Huan and Zhang Min gave him at the same time in the bar.

They fell silent immediately.

The stealth ability that was invincible in the Iron Mountain Refuge became a joke on the armed train.

Tong Zizhan and his companion went to find Qi Zhenbang, who was also surprised to see his second brother behind them.

Qi Zhenbang shook his head at him to reassure him.

The four people entered from the middle of the train and arrived at carriage number 27.

This is the main office for the logistics team, and also the most important resource storage room for the latter half of the train, occupying a total of six double-decker carriages.

Chief and deputy 27, 28, 29.

It supplied almost everything the entire train passengers needed for food, clothing, and daily necessities, including everything from tailor's fabric, food reserves, scavenger exoskeletons, firearms and ammunition, to toilet paper, playing cards, and other daily necessities.

Points redemption in the rear carriage is also conducted in this carriage on weekdays.

It is managed by the chief flight attendant, Hu Shuo.

Although the outside of the armed train was under construction at full speed, the exchange carriages were still bustling with people, though they seemed a little more hurried.

When they arrived, soldiers had already led the survivors who had been dismantling the materials to the scene.

However, they come in waves.

Unlike the two of them, they only brought two people.

Because the Qi brothers are special, they need to be singled out.

The logistics team had made preparations in advance, and specially opened a window in carriage 27 for everyone to report.

Behind the window sat a woman with a hot figure. She wore an ordinary dark green short-sleeved shirt, but the neckline was stretched very low by her. Her elbows were resting on the edge of the window, and you could even glimpse her round buttocks over her waist, showing off her voluptuous figure.

Upon seeing her, Tong Zizhan's throat tightened slightly, and he awkwardly chuckled, "What are you doing here?"

Su Leiya winked, "Aren't you here too?"

The two knew each other's backgrounds and were afraid that the other might say something they shouldn't. Tong Zizhan quickly said, "I mean, how did you, a first-level evolver, become a window clerk?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of resentment immediately appeared on Su Leiya's face.

She hasn't been idle lately either; she's been busy seducing her immediate supervisor, the flight attendant Hu Shuo.

But to her surprise, Hu Shuo remained unmoved, which made Su Leiya so anxious that she almost stripped naked and crawled into his bed.

She actually did it, tirelessly spouting nonsense to get him to work as a window clerk.

Su Leiya was so angry that her nipples hurt.

She even began to doubt whether it was a problem with her own charm.

(End of this chapter)