Chapter 11: Armored Train Phase One
“Don’t worry, I won’t sell you all off, but resources are limited. Everyone on the train has to work, and in the future, anyone who wants to board must have my permission.”
Su Huan reminded them meaningfully.
In his previous life, Qi Xiao Ba had adopted many apocalypse orphans.
He could accept Eighth Master’s saint mother behavior, but only within the range he allowed, to stabilize the team’s emotions.
He didn’t want a perfectly good armored train to turn into a mobile orphanage.
“Alright, next, let’s talk about what we need to do.” Su Huan clapped his hands to attract everyone’s attention.
“We will stay here until tomorrow morning, then go to the steel factory to get a batch of steel to reinforce the train.”
Su Huan turned his gaze to Yu Jing. “I need you to design a preliminary scheme for train modification. The modification range is all carriages, the goal is to withstand large zombie tides, and also leave positions for installing weapons later.”
Yu Jing lowered her head in thought.
Su Huan frowned. “Can’t do it?”
Yu Yue beside her looked nervously at her daughter.
“No, this morning I walked around and already have a preliminary modification scheme. It should meet your goal.”
Yu Jing met Su Huan’s gaze directly, her phoenix eyes sparkling brightly.
Su Huan was pleased inwardly but said calmly on the surface, “Tell me about it.”
Yu Jing cleared her throat. “The main steel plates on the front of the train are 15-25mm thick, the front anti-collision area can reach 20-25mm, sides 15-20mm, roof about 15mm. It looks thick, but this old-style A3 carbon steel has poor impact resistance.”
“Ordinary carbon-based lifeforms indeed can’t stop the advancing train, but since it’s the apocalypse, we have to consider the most extreme situations. Suppose an elephant appears on the railway track; the current train front would definitely be damaged upon collision. If it hits the side steel plate, it might even tear.”
“This morning we welded 30° inclined steel plates, which can push away track obstacles and low tier zombie hordes, but it’s far from enough. I think the front of the train should add a ramming horn.”
“To violently ram open evolved beasts like the blood hound!”
Yu Jing clenched her fist and gestured a ramming motion. The blood hound from this morning had left a deep impression on her.
“Then there’s the reinforcement of the carriages.”
“The old-style green-skinned carriage actually only have about 3-5mm thickness, including side walls, most at 3mm. The rest are insulation and lining layers. This is the part that needs heavy strengthening. I suggest welding 1.2cm steel plates.”
“Then use honeycomb buffer layers inside to increase thickness. It will take up quite a bit of space, but the train’s safety absolutely takes priority over carrying capacity.”
“There are too many windows on the carriages. For storage carriages, I suggest sealing them directly with steel plates. For windows that need light, use explosion-proof nets to make light-transmitting fences, but all car windows must have an additional 10mm steel plate installed inside to ensure no light leaks from inside the carriages.”
Su Huan imagined Yu Jing’s plan in his mind; many points coincided with his own thoughts.
The phrase “safety over carrying capacity” especially resonated with him.
“This consideration is very good. What about the roof and carriage bridge connections? Explain simply.”
Yu Jing took a sip of cola and continued, “My idea for the carriage roofs is to attack as defense. The current train body is already quite high; due to the air conditioners, even ordinary carriages are 4.8m high, comparable to small city walls.”
“I plan to build a carriage bridge on the second floor of Number Two carriage, the sightseeing car, connecting to the roofs of the rear carriages to create a combat platform.”
“That’s the general idea.”
She spoke frankly and sharply.
Not a bit of shyness or hesitation, just like in an interview, showcasing her strengths and expertise to the fullest.
Most crucially, Yu Jing wasn’t just talking; she also took out a sheet of paper filled with dense calculations.
It listed the material sizes needed to arm all carriages.
1.25m×2.5m standard steel plates, a total of three thousand pieces.
Though just a rough estimate, it was still impressive enough.
Su Huan looked at the confident Yu Jing, his eyes lighting up slightly, his appreciation undisguised.
“The overall design is fine. I have two points: first, besides the ramming horn, I hope to add a weeding function. Did you notice that a kind of red mutated plant has already grown on the ground?”
“I suspect this plant might be everywhere in the future. If it grows on the railway track, it will greatly slow down the train’s speed.”
“Second, the roof must be thickened. You’ve all seen today’s blood hound; four or five meters height is nothing to evolved beasts. The combat platform plan on the roof can be kept, but the carriage roofs must be strengthened.”
“That’s the first phase plan for the armored train. Do you have anything to add?”
Su Huan asked.
Yu Jing had said a lot in one go and was now lost in thought, not answering.
The youth hesitated for a moment, looked around and saw no one speaking, then said, “If it’s to block zombies, why not add some spikes or things like that on both sides of the train?”
“Spikes have too small an area and are easy to break. They have strong visual effect, but not practical against zombies without pain sensation. However, we can weld some steel bars to prevent climbing and also serve as protective bars.”
The seemingly distracted Yu Jing immediately gave professional feedback.
Su Huan encouraged, “Xiao Ba’s suggestion is very good. By the way, I’m curious how large an area of metal your ability can manipulate?”
Hearing this question, everyone looked toward Qi Xiao Ba.
A spoon on the wall floated up into the air without any external force.
“My ability is called metal control. I can influence all metals using the energy in my body, including levitating like this, and… flying.”
Su Huan’s mouth curved slightly.
As expected, what an enviable talent.
In his previous life, Su Huan had guessed Xiao Ba’s ability was “metal control”; otherwise, he couldn’t have manipulated metal so skillfully.
He had also seen other “manipulators,” but their core traits were just “metal affinity” or “flame affinity.”
Metal control, this high-level ability, though it could later be promoted via gene potions, had an extremely low probability.
The spoon circled steadily around the carriage, then returned in front of everyone.
“In this mode, heavier metals consume more energy. If it’s to change…” The metal spoon gradually thinned, the wooden handle automatically fell off, and the metal piece clamped it onto the table. “…the energy consumption is affected by metal strength; harder metals cost more energy to change.”
“Similarly, complex operations also consume a lot of energy, but I haven’t tried my ability’s limits.”
Qi Xiao Ba gave a simple summary, giving everyone a clear impression of his ability.
