Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 265 Request
The old man's hoarse voice was like a building collapsing, with earth and rocks falling heavily to the ground.

With a thunderous echo.

"Can iron mountains shed tears?"

Su Huan's voice carried a simple hint of doubt.

Sensing something was wrong, Qi Zhenbang put down his work and came over.

The officers, including Goat, quietly gathered around.

Upon seeing the old man's appearance, Qi Zhenbang's face paled, and he exclaimed, "Dad!"

In an instant, Qi Zhenbang snapped and looked up sharply at the train conductor standing opposite the old man.

But before he could speak, a large hand gripped his head.

Qi Zhenbang could easily break free with his strength, but after sensing that it was Old Man Tie's hand, Qi Zhenbang hesitated for a moment and was then forced to bend over, bending lower and lower in his dazed state.

The old man's straight back also bent.

The group of goats approaching from behind were startled and instinctively avoided the bowing old man.

Su Huan's eyes were like an ancient well at night, the dark surface reflecting the old man's white head.

The stubble was like needles, standing upright, yet almost transparently white.

“The organization is in trouble, but I’m old and useless. My grandson is a disappointment, but at least I still have a few sons.”

"I beg you to take him there and hand him over to the organization."

"If you agree to my request, I'll stay in the car and work for you until I die. When you no longer want this old body of mine, just find a place to throw me out of the car."

The giraffe's fists were clenched tightly, and its face was tense, as if afraid that something embarrassing might fall out. Unable to hold back any longer, it turned its head away and discovered that the white deer's eyes had reddened at some point, and large tears were rolling down its cheeks silently.

The goat on the other side unconsciously raised his hand a few times, but he silently put it down each time.

Qu Hang gave a dignified military salute, then turned and left.

The fog in Su Huan's eyes still hadn't dissipated.

His brows furrowed, clearly showing his confusion.

Old Man Tie was not a stubborn person, but he was a determined one.

He couldn't understand why there was something so solid inside this frail old body.

It's like a steel bar, impossible to bend or break.

So when he has nothing better to do, he comes here to bend and twist things.

Let's see if it's truly sturdy or just pretending to be stiff.

It's not like he can't break steel bars.

Moreover, it's a steel bar that has weathered many storms; time has long since worn away the patterns on it, leaving only a lingering remnant.

But this sturdy steel bar bent on its own before I even tried to bend it today.

The unexpected turn of events left him bewildered.

It felt as if something heavier was pressing down on his back, bending the old man over.

Su Huan snatched the note back from the old man's hand, looked at the murky tear stains on it, and tucked it into his diary.

His tone was calm to the point of being somewhat indifferent.

Who is Yang Cunyi?

The old man slowly stood up, a hint of nostalgia on his face. "He should be a general by now. He knew I wasn't tech-savvy, so he wrote me a letter every year. I could never mistake his handwriting."

"An active-duty general, right?"

"Yes."

It's good to be able to find a specific person.

As for the father and son in front of me, they are a bit difficult to deal with.

When faced with thorny problems or issues he didn't know how to handle, Su Huan would transform them into a familiar approach.

He held up one finger and said calmly, "First, you, your son, and your whole family were all saved by me. You owe me for working for you."

"Secondly, only the train conductor can decide where the train should go and who it should help."

"So your request is essentially trying to trade with me for my things, and the deal is invalid."

"However, your son can get on the bus. I will also go to find Yang Cunyi. If you provide key information, I will give you a reward of 5,000 points. You can go to Lao Hu to collect it when you get on the bus."

Su Huan's words made the old man's heart sink heavier and heavier, but after hearing the last sentence, it suddenly lifted again.

Before the tears in my eyes had completely dried, I was filled with a complex mix of emotions.

I whispered a thank you.

Qi Zhenbang, who was standing next to him, was completely baffled.

He had no idea what was going on when his father forced him to sell himself. Before he could even process all the fragmented information, he heard his father say thank you!
My own father, who's as tough as iron, actually said thank you!

He had never heard of it in his decades of life.

Normally, the old man would use a commanding tone when asking his comrades for favors, but this old man, who had never lost face in his entire life, actually said thank you.

It's like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

"Go get to work."

"it is good!"

The old man readily agreed.

He wiped his face, then pulled the bewildered Qi Zhenbang to get to work.

For him, working was much more comfortable than asking for favors.

Although he had obtained a crucial piece of information, Su Huan was still somewhat agitated.

There was something about the old man that he couldn't understand.

No, to be precise, there are things about most people that he doesn't understand.

People like Xiao Ba who took in orphans, Yu Yue who protected Yu Jing, Wan Xing who subconsciously cared for Xiao Ba, the meerkat who wanted He Jie to apologize, and He Jie who refused to let Qu Hang have contact with his daughter... He felt as if these people were connected by an invisible thread, but he didn't feel that connection with them.

So I always feel out of place.

He categorized it as something like blood ties or feelings.

The army is in trouble, what does that have to do with Old Man Tie? Why would he entrust his son to them?

Just because he served in the military?
Su Huan coldly surveyed the officers gathered around him.

They were soldiers too, so why didn't they do this?
No, it seems they have that too.

Sensing the train conductor's cold gaze, everyone scattered like birds and beasts. Even Bai Lu, who was a bit out of her mind, pretended to be busy.

Even these guys with blood on their hands genuinely admired Old Man Iron.

From the moment he recognized them, Su Huan also found a connection between them and Old Man Tie.

These people are clearly not related by blood, nor do they have any vested interests.

How can they have such deep feelings?
strangeness.

Su Huan interrupted Shu Wei, who was about to give a report, and frowned as he asked her, "Shouldn't relationships between people be maintained through transactions?"

“…Uh, huh?”

The bizarre question left even the usually professional secretary completely bewildered.

Looking at the train conductor in front of her, Shu Wei had no idea what tricks the other was up to this time, so she could only cautiously reply, "It depends on what aspect you're asking this question from..."

What sustains the physical relationship between you and me?

What is your relationship with your father?

"Why don't you get along with him? Is it because you're useless?"

"Is it because his deal with your mother fell through that you're being disliked?"

Shu Wei: "..." Fortunately, Yu Yue's arrival ended Shu Wei's torment.

If the difficulty of discussing issues with a normal person is 1, then the discomfort level is 0.
The difficulty level of interacting with someone who has mental issues is 3, and the level of discomfort is also 3.
The difficulty level for playing against someone with a mental disability but exceptional abilities is 6, and the level of discomfort is also 6.
The difficulty of discussing issues with the train conductor is 0, and the discomfort level is 20.
The train conductor won't kill you over this argument, but his strange speaking style and questions will make you feel disgusted, like you've swallowed a fly.

You have no idea from what angle he'll try to annoy you.

Yu Yue glanced at Shu Wei with affection; clearly, she had heard everything Su Huan had said.

"The weapons are packed up, we can surface now."

When it came to serious matters, Su Huan could only purse his lips with lingering interest; this interesting topic would have to wait for another opportunity.

"Rise up."

……

By the time everything from the lab was loaded into the car, three whole days had passed.

These three days were not just about moving supplies; because of the goals and plans set some time ago, all departments of the armed train were operating at full capacity.

First, an electromagnetic weapons laboratory was set up on the train.

We don't need to advance the experiments left by Li Xiuhua to any particular extent; we just need to be able to replicate 70% of the existing results.

The laboratory is located in sections 44, 45, and 46, directly opposite Director Xu's laboratory.

The leader selected a researcher named Ban Yunzhang from Director Xu's laboratory.

Although it sounds insignificant, even the assistants in Director Xu's lab are all PhDs, and anyone who can become a formal researcher could easily be promoted to a senior professional title before the apocalypse.

As for graduate students like Yu Jing, the biggest intersection between them and the laboratory is the word "research."

The kind of person who's too much of a hindrance to even help out.

If you were to rank the various laboratories on the train, Yu Jing's mechanical laboratory would be at the bottom.

Scientific research accounts for 1%, while capability accounts for 99%.

Then there's Professor Ma. It's not that Professor Ma is incompetent, but he has a lot of students.

The factory manager and Deputy General Manager Deng are highly professional, but due to the integration process, they are somewhat specialized in one area.

Director Xu has everything here. After all, it's a personnel reserve made by the Steel Council, so it can't be biased. Therefore, there are all kinds of people, and each one can stand alone.

It is precisely because of this talent pool that no matter what strange things the train encounters, the experts on board can provide a fairly accurate answer.

If Su Huan hadn't used such outrageous methods, wiping out the Steel Council's stronghold in one fell swoop...

If these experts are allowed to conduct their research for a few days, even an armed train will suffer a serious setback.

The deputy was chosen from among the factory manager's subordinates and from among the survivors.

Although it's not the most suitable option, it's the best of a bad bunch, as long as it works.

The fifth laboratory on the train was built in a very whirlwind.

Their first task was to install the two electromagnetic railguns, Thor-7 and Thor-8, onto the train.

For ordinary vehicles, dealing with railguns that are often more than ten meters long would be a bit difficult.

But for a 1,500-meter-long armed train, it's less than half the length of a single carriage—a piece of cake.

The expansion of the crew and armed forces is also nearly complete.

The armed forces were reinforced by a total of 200 soldiers, with no officers.

Among them, Mongoose and two others were promoted to private first class.

To round up the numbers, He Jie filled the vacancies left by the previous personnel with officers, bringing the total to seven hundred.

They account for one-third of the total number of passengers on the train.

The crew consists of 1,300 people.

The logistics team saw the smallest increase, adding a total of eighty people, bringing the total to three hundred.

The majority of the personnel came from the expansion of the Huanghai carriage farm and the expansion of the cultivation cabin.

The logistics team has only two tasks: material management and logistical support.

But in practice, it's not like that at all.

For example, materials management includes vegetable and fruit production, ammunition depot management, etc.

There are also some production and maintenance tasks in the logistics support.

Does the water purifier need to be cleaned?

If a vehicle breaks down, someone needs to repair it, right?

After all, repairmen like Lao Liu are usually affiliated with the logistics team.

Therefore, in implementation, it is still necessary to break down the work into departments.

Currently, it mainly has eight important functions: carriage farm, cultivation compartment, dining car kitchen, material management, locomotive dispatch, daily maintenance, accommodation allocation, and medical carriage.

Each item cannot be merged or canceled.

For example, the locomotive control console is currently the sole department responsible for the entire train's schedule and the dispatch of important matters.

While the allocation of housing may seem like a leisurely task, it should actually be more accurately termed administrative management.

Any issues that need to be reported or that the crew cannot resolve should be handed over to this department.

This is the department that has the most extensive contact with passengers on the train.

The least busy compartment was actually the medical vehicle, which had very few full-time doctors.

Currently, including Lin Xia, there are only three people: a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who cannot perform surgery, a gynecology resident (not an attending physician), and a traditional Western medicine doctor who can interpret X-ray images.

But even these three items cannot be cancelled.

There are no major battles on the train now, but if a high-intensity confrontation occurs, the medical team will be the last resort for the soldiers.

One group, eight departments.

This is why Su Huan refused to be regrouped.

If you divide it like this, you'll never finish.

There are now four flight attendants blocking his way, and he has a lot of administrative work to do every day.

If he were in charge of dozens of departments at the same time, he wouldn't have to do anything.

Approving documents every day is exhausting enough.

The combat team consisted of fifty people, all clean and organized, with no subordinates or assigned tasks.

The research team consists of 120 people and five laboratories in total, which need not be counted.

The manufacturing team, with a total of 830 people, is the largest department of the armed train.

Only one bullet workshop was relatively independent; the rest of the staff were scattered, somewhat like an adjunct department of the research group.

Most of the work involves assisting the research team in manufacturing.

Because of its low technical requirements, large number of personnel, and high number of survivors absorbed, this department is the most diverse and unrefined.

After recovering from his illness, Zhang Qiang joined this department.

The new generation of Tongzhou Club is also developing very successfully.

Businesses like tailor shops and Lao Liu's car repair shop have too few functions and too few employees, so they can't be considered independent departments and are all categorized as routine maintenance.

According to regulations, the management positions in these subordinate departments should be promoted to Level 5 flight attendant, just like the glasses.

But someone like Li Han, who hadn't been on the train for long and hadn't made any contributions, was simply promoted because a vacancy happened to be open, and unexpectedly received Level 5 treatment. This could easily breed resentment among others.

Although no one dared to say anything about Li Han, who was directly promoted by the train conductor.

However, most of the others were promoted based on nonsense and discussions with the flight attendants, which naturally failed to convince the public.

Therefore, these management positions are temporary, and once someone performs well, they will replace the original manager.

The current managers maintain their original rank and treatment. If they want to secure their positions, they must follow the rules and advance step by step, just like everyone else.

(End of this chapter)