Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 262 Trench Crusher

Chapter 262 "Trench Crusher"

"I asked them to help me mold them. It would be such a waste to throw these jars away; they can be used to grow flowers."

Yu Yue explained softly, her voice gentle, as if afraid of disturbing something.

"Boring, He Jie. What did you write in that report?"

Su Huan turned to He Jie, who was standing to the side.

The latter put the shaped canned food aside, saying, "It's about the issue of promotion in the armed forces."

Su Huan's forehead veins throbbed. "You wrote a whole stack of reports for me just for this little thing?"

Thankfully, I backed down when I saw that pile of papers.

He Jie crossed one leg over his knee, grinned, and said, "That's what you call professional. By the way, you didn't read a single word, did you?"

Su Huan took the cup from Yu Yue, took a sip, and found it sweet with a grapefruit flavor.

"I didn't even glance at it."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have wasted my time. Qu Hang spent the whole night writing yesterday for nothing."

He Jie clicked his tongue.

Although Su Huan didn't see it, Shu Wei definitely did.

As the train conductor's personal secretary, she had to give accurate answers and suggestions no matter what questions he asked, so even if the food served up was just a lump of food, she had to savor it carefully.

He Zhenzhen, sitting to the side, was stunned.

This was the first time she had ever listened in on her father and the train conductor discussing important train matters.

I had imagined it to be a powerful and eloquent speech, full of passion and conviction, where every word carried a firm will that would determine the life and death of thousands and the continuation of human civilization.

Even if it's not that intense, it still has to be full of insightful words and hidden metaphors.

But the real scene turned out to be two social outcasts discussing how to slack off.

"So, what are the plans for my future career?"

He Jie asked directly.

When it came to serious matters, Su Huan's strange expressions all disappeared, and he became like a sculpture of an ancient Greek god, handsome and profound.

"The Steel Council originally planned for you to be a 'gunnery expert,' right?"

"Yes, it's about supplementing heavy firepower. It has poor mobility but high output capability, which suits my strategic command role. When I discussed it with Director Xu, he said your 'Berserker Veteran' was also good, but he didn't know if there was any follow-up. He told me to ask you."

He Jie said with a focused expression.

Su Huan stirred the amber-colored grapefruit peel in the cup. "I have both of these directions, but the highest I can reach is only level three."

He Jie rubbed his smooth chin. "Third tier, that's enough. I heard from Director Xu that third tier is a hurdle."

"Oh, he knows that too. That makes sense. Knowing the existence of life force, it's not hard to reach this conclusion by reasoning backwards..."

"If your vitality is poor, then just eat pears, right?"

Su Huan glanced at him, though he didn't utter any vulgar words, his eyes conveyed the message clearly.

The three words: 'You want to eat shit'.

He doesn't even have enough pears for himself, so who knows how many pears they'll need to break through to the third tier?

"It's not just about vitality, but also basic attributes and skill levels... but that's not important. What are your thoughts on the 'Berserker Veteran' class path? Are you comfortable with it?"

He Jie pondered for a moment, "I think it's good. Compared to being a 'gunner' who can only sit in the rear, I prefer to be at the forefront."

"If that's the case, choosing 'Berserker Veteran' is a good idea; the follow-up to this class is called 'Trench Crusher.'"

Su Huan smiled and said.

In his past life, He Jie's fame was built through hard-fought battles with guns and cannons.

After he advanced to the third-tier "Gun Master", he had few opportunities to go to the front lines and instead spent more time commanding the battlefield from the rear.

Su Huan speculated that this was also a major factor that made it difficult for He Jie to make a breakthrough.

Upon hearing the words "Trench Crusher," He Jie's eyes lit up. "This is it! It sounds exciting!"

"This is very dependent on weapons; don't even think about using the heavy machine guns that are already on the vehicle."

"Even high-angle shots aren't allowed?"

"It's not a matter of power, it's a matter of ammunition. How many gunpowder bullets can you carry? Even if you can withstand the force, there's no time to reload."

Su Huan shook his head.

He Jie suddenly realized, "Then that's an electromagnetic weapon, but doesn't it still need to be charged?"

"It definitely needs to be changed."

In his previous life, the Steel Council naturally didn't have this type of profession, but Su Huan had seen it when cooperating with other forces.

The electromagnetic weapons used are all modified, allowing users to directly infuse them with general energy, which is then converted into power, saving the hassle of a charging backpack.

The development of electromagnetic weapons and ammunition has advanced by countless steps before the end of the world.

Take the Citybreaker gun in the car, for example. Despite its huge size, the bullet is actually quite small, making it much easier to produce and carry than traditional gunpowder weapons.

"Then this is it."

He Jie nodded readily and continued.

"During our research these past few days, we all agreed that the 'Firepower' class should definitely be preserved. Although it relies heavily on logistics, this class is easy to develop, performs well in combat, and is very cost-effective. After hearing your suggestion today about its future direction—that it could be developed as a core member of the team—I think it's even more important to retain it."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a 'damage dealer,' any class that can maintain pressure will do."

"As per the standard five-person squad configuration, right?"

"Correct."

Su Huan thought about it for a moment. Although "firepower hand" was the main profession for gunners, it was a bit too common.

However, the mainstream approach represents stable combat power, ensuring a minimum standard.

He Jie: "According to the pre-apocalyptic configuration, it is nothing more than assault troops, gunners, marksmen and a medic. Usually there are two assault troops, but sometimes it is changed to multiple anti-armor troops or to replace the marksmen with snipers, covering long and short range, special operations, and a certain degree of logistics."

"However, I think some configurations need to be changed for the battles after the apocalypse. The most crucial position should be given to scouts, that is, perception-type evolved beings."

Su Huan agreed, "This is the team's brains. Firepower + reconnaissance, that's two of them already. What about the remaining three?"

"One medic is needed. Besides combat, they can also gather materials. Most medics are 'gatherers,' as they understand mutated plants better and know which materials can be collected."

"good."

"The remaining two..."

He Jie looked up at Liang Kuan and said solemnly, "I want to equip each team with a pure 'fighter' like Lao Liang."

Liang Kuan was slightly surprised, but only for a moment.

Su Huan glanced at the two of them and chuckled to himself.

Clearly, Liang Kuan left a deep impression on He Jie.

It is in men's nature to glorify violence.

And Leung Foon, to some extent, is the embodiment of violence.

“Liang Kuan is an exception. You’ve met Zhong Cheng from the Steel Council before. Other ‘fighters’ can’t reach his level. Besides, Liang Kuan’s profession is different from that of a ‘fighter.’”

"I understand, but the team needs a melee evolved human. Otherwise, if we leave the train, we'll be instantly killed if other evolved humans get close to us."

"Okay, how about the last one?"

""mechanic""

A clear, melodious voice echoed down the corridor. The metal door opened, and a tall figure in a white-scaled tactical uniform walked in, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

The outer layer of the tactical suit is a dark gray exoskeleton with lines that are six or seven parts similar to the Engineer-I, but much more restrained and not as tall as before. Some of the layout has also changed, and it is clear that the whole thing has been redesigned.

"Jing-jie is so cool..."

He Zhenzhen's eyes were practically sparkling.

He Jie glanced at it with a hint of jealousy, then couldn't take his eyes off it.

"This is the new exoskeleton?"

Yu Jing's gaze swept around the room, then landed on the white porcelain cup that Su Huan had placed on the coffee table. Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, as if she had locked onto her prey.

He stepped forward, drank Su Huan's honey grapefruit tea in one gulp, sat down to the side, and gave a soft reply.

"【Engineer-Type II】, just finished rushing out, some engineering components haven't been installed yet, just taking it out for the first phase of testing."

Su Huan looked at his empty cup. "Didn't you say the research and development had just made progress? How come you have a finished product so quickly?"

"The supercomputer is very powerful. Parameters that would normally take a long time to calculate were completed in just one day. The remaining manufacturing and assembly will not take long either."

He Jie coughed lightly, his eyes shining as he looked at the exoskeleton, "When can we start mass production?"

"The Engineer series is not mass-produced and is only for engineering use."

“Train conductor, this is a real gem! It’s far superior to that ‘Scavenger’ thing. If all the soldiers were equipped with it, their overall combat effectiveness would increase by at least 30%,” He Jie said, turning to Su Huan.

Su Huan pulled down his trouser leg, showing him the exoskeleton that was attached to his calf. "I'm still wearing the [Scavenger] set. Strictly speaking, combat exoskeletons haven't been developed yet."

“Soon.” Yu Jing blinked. “When the [Engineer-II] is produced in a month, the combat exoskeleton will also be available.”

"It wasn't this slow before."

He Jie was somewhat puzzled.

"Previously it was a modification, now it's all self-developed and self-produced, and the speed at which we can achieve this is already quite impressive."

Yu Jing explained.

Su Huan remained noncommittal. As his own strength increased, the exoskeleton would only become less and less valuable to him, and he could only use it to develop his subordinates, so he wasn't very interested in it.

"Let's continue with the previous question. It's almost time to eat after we finish discussing it."

Yu Jing said calmly, "I just overheard that Director Xu called me in when the Armed Forces were discussing this issue, and in the end, the profession was decided to be 'Mechanic'."

He Jie nodded. "Yes, the last position requires control of a large amount of machinery, vehicles, and electronic equipment. After thinking it over, only a 'mechanic' has this capability. Moreover, Director Xu mentioned that there are multiple evolutionary paths for 'mechanics.'"

Su Huan is very clear about the evolutionary path of the "Mechanic".

The Evolver database on the vehicle, apart from Deep Blue Data and the Steel Council, was all provided by him.

"It seems there are no 'manipulators' or 'power providers'?"

He Jie explained, “After discussing with experts, we found that the ‘Controller’ ability is quite good, but too uncontrollable. To maintain a stable organization, we must find a way to create replicable professions. Therefore, most of these five people come from the three categories of ‘Defender,’ ‘Gatherer,’ and ‘Manufacturer.’ Only ‘Controller’ and ‘Power Supplier’ will be included if they meet the above conditions…”

"To summarize, it's fire suppression, medical gathering, reconnaissance and analysis, close combat, and mechanical manipulation..."

……

Inside the dining car, Su Huan and He Jie were discussing the future training direction for evolved individuals in the armed forces.

Shu Wei, who was in the room, slowly woke up and subconsciously touched her surroundings.

Pick up the tactical tablet and swipe around a few times.

Suddenly remembering what Su Huan had told him before he left, he frowned.

I opened the log of the failed system upgrade and spent a long time typing away at it.

I dialed the phone in carriage 12 through the train's internal communication channels.

"Hello Professor Ma, this is your secretary, Shu Wei. I'm requesting a one-minute communication boost... Yes, it's already been reported. Your personal terminal should have the train conductor's approval record..."

Seeing the communication icon light up, Shu Wei bit her lower lip and sent out a negotiation letter that was almost a declaration of war.

An arrogant man.

Shu Wei sighed softly, looked up at the sky, and the sheet slipped off, its whiteness dazzling.

……

Storm Zone, Black Kite Headquarters.

A room of about 180 square meters is embedded in the cliff. The excellent house design allows every corner of the room to be brightly lit by the sun, but it is not so hot that people feel uncomfortable sitting or standing.

The room's interior is mostly decorated with a dark yellow wood-grain wall panel, edged with black piano lacquer-textured ceramic tiles.

It doesn't look like it's built on a cliff; rather, it looks like an upscale neighborhood before the apocalypse.

There was no kitchen in the room, but there was a black walnut sideboard. Mr. Shu, with graying temples, stood in front of the sideboard, making hand-drip coffee.

Suddenly, a blue light appeared on the edge of the cabinet.

Mr. Shu frowned. "Xiao Yi, open the door."

A moment later, a woman whose voice sounded about 70% similar to Wang Yi's suddenly said, "Okay, Brother Xin, we're opening the door for you."

The voice is lively and pleasant to the ear; it was a recording Wang Yi made for him when he was young.

The electronic door opened silently, and a tall secretary stood respectfully in the doorway, saying, "Miss has replied to the message."

As Mr. Shu made his coffee, he asked, "Where is she?"

"Armed train".

Mr. Shu paused for a moment, then asked, "How are the negotiations going?"

"The armed train has agreed to negotiate with us, but the timing is uncertain."

The only sound in the room was the coffee being poured into a cup. After a while, Mr. Shu's low, hoarse voice rang out.

"At least it's not completely useless."

The secretary continued, "Madam wishes to see you."