Chapter 96: Rush Repairs Overnight
Su Huan was taken aback, got up, and walked to the window side.
The louvers of the steel plate had just opened a gap when acid rain poured into the carriage with a whooshing sound.
A flash of electric arc passed over his fingertips, and in that instant, he saw the situation outside clearly.
—The railway tracks on both sides had become a vast ocean, with turbid water flows carrying miscellaneous items flowing under the gravel, and the train seemed like a lone boat trapped in the middle of the river.
Acid rain poured down, the pounding sounds deafening.
A super heavy acid rain like this had happened in his previous life too, but back then he was a lone wolf, casually finding a high-rise building to hole up in for a couple of days, so subconsciously he hadn’t taken it seriously.
But now he was already the train conductor in charge of over a thousand people, and to maintain his plan, he had to manage the train well.
He glanced at his wristwatch; it was exactly 03:35 in the early morning, and the logbook on the table wasn’t closed yet.
The handwriting from last night had a smudge at the end.
“Who exactly is trying to harm me…”
He calmly closed the logbook and tucked it into his bosom, then Su Huan put on his clothes and quickly walked out, only to see figures moving about in the carriage.
Everyone was holding tools and rushing around to make repairs.
Seeing him come out, they all seemed to find their backbone, and the tension on their faces eased considerably.
“Which carriages are leaking the most severely right now?”
Su Huan glanced at Yu Jing, who was wearing overalls and long rain boots, and asked.
“Right now, aside from carriages 4 and 5, no carriage has completely intact car windows; only the storage carriage is fully sealed and unaffected, while all other carriages have been eroded by acid rain to some extent, with the most severe being after carriage 15.”
“Their carriages weren’t sealed with steel plates, and the car windows are large, so they’ve been eroded more severely.”
Su Huan took a breath; as long as the supplies carriage was fine, it wasn’t a big problem.
“No casualties, right?”
Lin Xia nearby raised his hand. “Two in the rear carriages: one from asthma caused by absorbing too much acid rain, and the other from poisoning symptoms. By the time I found them, it was too late.”
“What about the others?”
“Three got acid rain splashed in their eyes, but they’ve already been flushed with purified water; the specific sequelae will take a few days to know. Also, dozens have large areas of erythema from skin contact with acid rain, some with peeling skin—all ordinary people.”
After Lin Xia finished, Yu Jing took over. “The ordinary people in the rear don’t dare to touch the acid rain anymore.”
“There are rain boots, raincoats, and rubber gloves in the pile of miscellaneous items in carriage 8. Let Old San… Where’s Old San?” Su Huan said halfway, suddenly not seeing the familiar figure, and turned to ask Old Er.
Old Er was holding an assault rifle, wearing a black raincoat. “Old San is afraid the people in the rear might get crooked ideas, so he’s guarding the fire truck. He sent me to hear what arrangements the train conductor has.”
Su Huan realized. “Old San thought it through well. Your three brothers’ task tonight is to guard the weapons and ammunition for me. No one is allowed to approach without my order. If they ignore the warning, use whatever equipment is on the train and execute them on the spot!”
“Understood!”
Old Er responded loudly and quickly walked back.
His footsteps clacking on the ground.
A thin layer of acid rain had accumulated on the dining car floor; the situation in the rear carriages was imaginable.
Yu Jing said from the side, “The carriage design should have drainage holes; use a high-pressure air pump to blow them clear, and the drainage efficiency can be quickly improved.”
Su Huan slapped his forehead; he’d almost forgotten—these things were already designed that way.
They must have considered all sorts of special situations. With the emergency, Su Huan quickly assigned tasks.
The translator took defender Zhang Kai to distribute the rain gear to Wang He, then had the workers lead the drainage work in the rear carriages.
There were air pumps on the train, and power banks too; drainage wouldn’t be a problem.
Liang Kuan was responsible for cutting the power supply to the whole train and checking the damage to the front of the train.
Huang Hai and the female engineer were responsible for inspecting the carriages, especially the hydrogen-powered train, and removing any potentially dangerous components if necessary.
For Su Huan, as long as there was an engine, that was enough.
Su Huan’s gaze finally turned to He Jie, who stood nearby with arms crossed. “You go back and rest.”
He Jie looked around at everyone busy working. “Don’t you need my help?”
“Who makes someone work on their first day.” Su Huan raised an eyebrow and turned to the youth in the wheelchair. “Xiao Ba, you go repair the carriage. I’ll take He Jie back.”
Xiao Ba nodded seriously, his black-and-white eyes looking at He Jie. Though he didn’t speak, the meaning “you should go back to your room now” was clearly conveyed.
He Jie sucked in a breath through his teeth and turned to leave in a huff.
“Not giving me any trust at all!”
He’d wanted to take advantage of the chaos to check out the setup on the armored train.
Such a long train—what exactly was hidden on it? So intriguing…
“The rear is all just ordinary people; nothing worth seeing.” Su Huan said flatly.
He Jie glanced at him, thinking, ‘Say whatever you want; do you think I believe you?’
The two returned to the room in carriage 4.
He Jie sat on the bed, looking at the smiling Su Huan opposite him, somewhat unable to keep composed. “No need to look at me like that…”
“You’re a distinguished guest of the train.”
He Jie’s demeanor suddenly changed; the helplessness on his face turned fierce, his finger joints cracking as he grinned menacingly. “Though I mainly rely on firearms for combat, I’m still a defender with strength, defense, and constitution all at level 3. Train conductor, isn’t it a bit lacking in consideration to get this close to me?”
Su Huan’s expression remained calm as a wisp of flame rose in his hand, starting as a weak flicker like a lighter.
It then stretched between his index finger and thumb, and finally between both hands.
Terrifying energy gathered in his hands as time passed.
The speed was extremely slow, every change clearly visible.
But there was no sign of rising temperature in the carriage. The firelight illuminated He Jie’s uncertain face; feeling the energy surpassing the warning line, his expression finally calmed, and he smiled. “It was just a little joke with the train conductor.”
Hearing him say that, Su Huan also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
High-energy compression took time, but He Jie didn’t know that. He’d never seen Su Huan’s profession and thought he was deliberately slowing down to pressure him.
He opened the window nearby and tossed out the fire spear in his hand.
A corpse pupa swept over by the water flow shattered gently, accompanied by soaring flames.
The unadvanced zombie inside wasn’t even visible before it was burned to ashes in the acid rain.
Seeing that burst of energy, a hint of wariness appeared in He Jie’s eyes.
Su Huan’s complexion remained calm; this was the most direct affirmation of his strength.
“Right, you just said your strength, defense, and constitution are at level 3, yeah?”
He Jie immediately knew what he wanted to ask. “This is our company’s grading for basic constitution.”
“Logically, your company should have it too, right?”
