Chapter 205: Followers
Rich juice burst in his mouth, just like biting into a water bag.
The pear’s fresh fragrance instantly filled his mouth.
Massive vitality surged eagerly into his body, almost worlds apart compared to the other pears on the mountain.
The gap among them couldn’t be made up by quantity.
Perhaps the other pears on the mountain were just induced by the exposed energy of the Crown Pear.
In less than a minute, Su Huan finished gnawing a basketball-sized pear without any waste.
The vitality lost from gene leap and collapse rapidly recovered.
One Crown Pear increased his lifespan by three years!
The whole tree had a full eighteen Crown Pears, three large, five medium, ten small ones.
The largest was the one he just gnawed off.
Excluding the small ones, just the three mature Crown Pears could add nearly ten years to his lifespan!
The rest, even if not as good as the large pears, should total enough to fill over ten years of lifespan.
But eating them like this would be a waste of heavenly resources.
Su Huan jumped to another thick trunk, picked another large Crown Pear, and while gnawing it, lowered his gaze to the thick trunk under his feet.
Earlier during the mountain collapse, there was a great turmoil, but the Crown Pear Tree was rooted extremely deep; its branches and leaves just shook, blocking the rolling gravel. Not only was it not damaged by acid rain, it became even more lush and verdant.
It looked just like a divine tree embedded in a stone grotto.
The Train Conductor wasn’t marveling at nature’s wondrous craftsmanship; he simply felt this thing was a bit too damn big.
Over forty meters tall, longer than a carriage.
But if he didn’t drag the trunk back, who knew if these pears would still grow after detaching from the tree?
After all this effort, what was the point of just taking a few pears? Was that worth the Train Conductor’s hard work?
“Rumble…”
Another boulder rolled down from above, snapping several branches as it fell all the way into the flood below.
On the tree came the “crunch crunch” of loud chewing.
Su Huan gnawed on the third pear while tossing a small light sphere down.
Below the mountain, turbid waves crashed against the mountain body; standing above gave a sense of viewing the sea from a rock.
Some snakes, ants, mosquitoes, birds, and beasts attached to the mountain howled as they fled toward the mountaintop, but as soon as they reached the edge of the tree, they were struck down by a layer of high-voltage electricity that appeared out of nowhere.
Su Huan wasn’t too worried about his own safety.
If evolver who just used general energy crystal had gained extraordinary potential, then he was the transcendent who had realized that potential.
Though he couldn’t fly either, and his flesh couldn’t stop bullets, if dropped into the wasteland, he was no longer a panicked prey on the run.
He was the hunter, the danger, part of this catastrophe.
Even if separated from the train now, he could live well; it was just that his living standard would plummet.
That was unacceptable to the Train Conductor. Besides, a Train Conductor without a train was like a man without a gun—what was the point of living?
After finishing the third pear, Su Huan let out a satisfied burp.
Though this thing didn’t fill the stomach, its size was unstoppable, managing to make him water-full.
As estimated, it added a full ten years to his lifespan.
Ignoring the storm outside, Su Huan strolled through the treetop, counting all the pears like a landlord tycoon, mainly to observe the internal energy state.
Then he snapped off several branches, and with fingers glowing high temperature, smoothed them, kneading and shaping the branches into fifteen baskets of various sizes, exquisite and durable, no worse than Yu Yue’s little vegetable basket for bread.
The Train Conductor actually knew many life skills: weaving baskets and hampers, fishing and hunting, even wasteland building was one of his specialties.
It was just that he never had a chance to show them in this lifetime.
Su Huan fixed these small baskets one by one under the pears, tying them securely.
Before he finished here, he heard Yu Yue’s slightly anxious call.
“Mm, still alive…” Su Huan tugged at the secured small basket, seeing it very sturdy, then said satisfied, “Playing monkey on the tree.”
With the lifespan issue resolved, the Train Conductor’s mood brightened considerably.
Yu Yue: “…The severed peak is on your side; the train can’t get close, but they say the water level keeps rising. By tomorrow morning it can dock. Don’t rush down; there’s something in the water.”
Su Huan glanced at the pitch-black mountain below.
“How are Liang Kuan and the others?”
“They’ve safely boarded. Now just you left.”
“Have them prepare more steel cables, and launchers…”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Prepare a portion of corn rice noodle roll, add a bit of five-spice diced sauce.”
Yu Yue: “…Don’t want you anymore. Stay up there as a monkey.”
A meaningful light tsk slipped from Su Huan’s teeth.
He turned to find a place to rest; even the branches of the pear tree were water bucket thick, the main trunk extremely sturdy, fully able to lie down on.
Plus the layered leaves blocking, not a drop of rainwater could leak through.
If not for already having the train, he really wanted to build a treehouse on the Crown Pear Tree, and with his ability, he wasn’t afraid of lightning.
Hands behind his head, listening to the howling wind and rain and the occasional vibrations from below, his long-tense mind greatly relaxed.
……
The dining car atmosphere was tense and oppressive.
Armed Corps senior officers and the purser gathered together; several smoke addicts lit one after another. With their terrifying lung capacity, even cigars weren’t enough for one puff. Soon the entire dining car was filled with smoke, faces across impossible to see.
Until Yu Yue relayed Su Huan’s steady voice, everyone sighed in unison.
White Deer clapped, excited, “I said the Train Conductor is fine, right?!”
“Just forgot to tell the Train Conductor to bring back some ginseng fruits to taste…”
He Jie kicked over with a bang, flipping him to the ground and still not venting anger, kicking while cursing, “Was that fucking ginseng fruit? That was Crown Pear! And you idiot, when digging on the mountain, didn’t know to watch? Fucking shoveled right to my heel! I was too embarrassed to shout then, whispered to you it hurt hurt hurt, and you fucking what! What! What!”
“Today I’m fucking gonna show you what this is! What is this?!!”
Goat watched He Jie’s punctured tactical boots and bleeding ankle, holding back laughter.
Until Giraffe staggered over expressionlessly and added two kicks; he really couldn’t hold it.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Only Old San still smoked one after another, sitting on the sofa with no smile, eyes fixed on Tong Zizhan standing aside, one hand subconsciously reaching for the cigarette pack, somehow touching the gun handle instead.
“Eh, out of smokes?”
Two cigarettes were offered before him; Lu Xiao had come over unknowingly.
Old San shook his head but didn’t refuse Lu Xiao’s kindness, took them, lit one, and walked toward Tong Zizhan.
Lu Xiao felt something was about to happen, but amid the chaos, before he could figure it out, Yu Jing walked in, followed by the manufacturing group’s attendant, carrying exoskeletons.
“Steel cables are prepared, but after dawn the storm and flood will intensify. Deck personnel must wear exoskeletons; these have basic assist functions and bionic adhesion.”
He Jie stepped on White Deer, asking, “How long until action?”
Yu Jing’s gaze calm, “One and a half hours, but estimated two hours later the flood will trigger scenic area’s chain collapse.”
Everyone’s expressions slightly changed.
“What about Wangjiang Peak?”
Yu Jing shook her head, “Uncertain. If Wangjiang Peak collapses again, it might hit the train.”
He Jie said coldly, “Supplement supplies, prepare for combat.”
Yu Yue silently soaked corn kernels, began grinding glutinous rice.
……
The low-hanging clouds in the sky gradually gained color; amid the rolling ink black, pale blue electric light occasionally flashed. Though still dim and murky, one could barely distinguish cloud from mountain.
Thunder wasn’t explosive rumble but prolonged dull roar, rolling from distant mountains, vast and crushing over, shaking chests; mixed in the thunder was a sharp whistle sound, piercing and high-pitched.
Su Huan was woken by this whistle sound; he dreamed he was home.
Lying on his home’s gray-blue sofa, one ear sunk into the sponge, the other standing guard outside.
Mom brought a tray calling him to eat.
Several dishes, small iron plate almost overflowing, and not token stir-fried potato shreds or radish cabbage, but braised pork, fish-flavored shredded pork kind.
But before he could eat, he heard train sound outside; damn train noise growing louder, screeching at the top of lungs, brutally shaking him awake.
‘Good years since eating mom’s cooking.’
‘Don’t know if they returned from traveling…’
Just before apocalypse broke, Su Huan called them; one empty number, one still out of town, neither connected.
After that, too late to call; communications cut off.
Su Huan sat up, whole body damp from water vapor.
Urging heat energy, his clothes instantly steamed white smoke; spots like shoulders gave burnt smell.
He quickly stopped, surprised looking at his palm.
‘Output energy seems stronger.’
Moments later, sudden realization.
Turns out lv6 “general energy conversion” became lv7.
“So this is the genius feeling? Not bad…”
Su Huan walked out of the treetop, looked into distance; rainwater seemed less turbid, but falling even more fiercely.
Rain didn’t seem falling but pulled down by some invisible force from sky, pouring crashingly on ground, splashing vast white water mist.
Distant mountains left only blurry outlines, like silhouettes soaked in ink, occasionally lit by lightning for an instant, quickly sinking back to darkness; forest sea danced wildly in wind, treetops undulating like waves, branch friction drowned in rain curtain, leaving only chaotic, continuous roar.
Air filled with soil’s fishy smell, plants’ bitterness, and post-lightning ozone.
Whole world seemed boundaries washed away by rain, sky and earth, mountain and river, tree and grass, all melted into this chaotic baptism.
And under this violent rain curtain, a hard-lined steel giant dragon snaked through water.
Strongly holding back rolling flood head-on, standing across there.
“We’re ready to climb the mountain.”
“Climb the mountain?” Su Huan raised a brow, “Who told you to climb? Things prepared?”
“Steel cables ready, Xiao Jing they temporarily modified a batch of launchers; regular launch reaches over hundred meters, with explosives can reach…”
“I mean the rice noodle roll.”
“…”
“Oh, came out.”
Su Huan waved down the mountain; dozens emerged one after another on train roof, leader Yu Jing, her phoenix eyes looking up at him, yet giving a sense of aloof superiority.
“What needs doing?”
Yu Jing’s calm voice appeared in their call.
Su Huan’s eyes held scrutinizing amusement, “Launch steel cables to my position. Thought you drove off.”
Yu Jing faintly, “That little confidence in yourself?”
Several steel cables launched at Crown Pear Tree under Su Huan’s feet.
But even with flood adding distance, hundred meters length clearly insufficient.
Su Huan’s gaze flickered, tone like devil tempting fall, “Supplies, purified water… perfect shelter, no tyrant oppressing you—what’s not to like?”
Yu Jing switched launcher, set on train roof.
After explosion, “bang” pierced trunk under Su Huan, inch from his calf.
“Last night someone said that to me too.”
“Oh?”
Su Huan immediately perked interest, pulled steel cable from treetop, walked to yesterday’s binding point.
“Traitor on train jumped out…”
“Who’s the traitor?”
“You raised it, don’t you know?”
Su Huan grinned, “Who’s the traitor… so hard to guess.”
“Bang bang bang…”
More steel cables launched up; Su Huan tied them one by one to Crown Pear Tree trunk.
He not only wanted the fruits but to uproot the whole tree.
Working while chatting idly.
“Did it tempt you?”
“Of course not, at least before you die.”
Su Huan looked at little Crown Pear Tree bound five-flowered underfoot, satisfied patted hands, “You wouldn’t have fallen for the Train Conductor, would you?”
“Perhaps better reason. Next is backward drag? Analysis shows Wangjiang Peak may collapse again.”
“So smart, but I don’t think anything but blood-milk fusion could make you so firm.”
Train engine roared; Su Huan atop even saw waves on train sides.
Steel cables tautened, creaking.
Yu Jing looked up to treetop; wild wind tore his dangling black hair, pale blue electric light flashing through strands, making those overlooking-train eyes deeper. Had to say, Train Conductor’s looks increasingly good.
That gene instinct attraction even more irresistible.
Perhaps from looking up too long, awe in phoenix eyes mixed with a trace of worship.
“Besides man-woman relations, why not your partner, comrade… or follower.”
No sound from other end.
Like not hearing the words.
Crown Pear Tree pulled by train’s giant force, gradually detaching from mountain body; Wangjiang Peak’s fragile body collapsed again.
Accompanied by deafening roar, the giant tree fell into water.
