Chapter 153: White Porridge
Compared to outside the train, Su Huan’s carriage was already quite harmonious.
“Ka-ka—”
He Jie yanked the gun bolt twice, tossed the jammed assault rifle aside, grabbed the light machine gun mounted on the car window and aimed outside the window, no time to change his cigarette, directly bit the half-smoked butt into his teeth, “A Da, light it up!”
Old Da, who was frantically loading the ammunition belt with a loader behind, shouted “Got it,” picked up the shotgun filled with incendiary rounds nearby, and fired a shot outside the broken hole in the train.
With a “whoosh,” the firelight illuminated the ferocious and terrifying world.
In the darkness of night, high-rises collapsed one by one, corpse towers rose from the ground, surging like waves from all directions, encircling and chasing the train.
From dozens of meters away, a Tier 2 Butcher over five meters tall directly used a streetlight in his hand as a javelin, hurling it toward the train.
He Jie gasped, turned and kicked over Old Da who was still dazed, then dove to the side.
However, the expected vibration did not come.
He Jie looked up and saw Xiao Ba’s electric wheelchair approaching steadily from the end of the corridor. The twelve-year-old youth’s skeleton hadn’t fully grown, but already showed a hint of refined features, with slightly long black hair falling to the nape and ears, and the metallic color in his calm eyes hadn’t faded.
“Thanks, Eighth Master.”
He Jie exclaimed in admiration, flipped over and got up.
The broken hole originally made by the engineering vehicle on the train had been filled and repaired with metal.
Xiao Ba, praised by He Jie, seemed a bit at a loss, pinched his sleeve, and shyly hummed in response.
He Jie noticed Xiao Ba’s discomfort and stopped teasing, asking solemnly, “How’s the situation behind?”
On business, Xiao Ba secretly breathed a sigh of relief, “The carriage breaches have mostly been patched. The front carriages are fine, but the last one was bitten apart by a Tier 2 Mutated Beast. We used a rocket launcher to shake it off temporarily, but it might charge up again soon. Sister Yu Jing is leading people to block it there.”
“By the way, there seem to be some Steel Council people still alive, around the train.”
He Jie scratched his thick chest hair, “Evolvers?”
“All elite evolvers.”
He Jie opened the nearby car window and fired another incendiary round outside.
Sure enough, he saw an off-road vehicle racing wildly dozens of meters away beside the railway track, and instantly understood what was happening.
These zombies and mutated beasts formed a large net, encircling the armored train from all sides, while the Steel Council’s remaining soldiers had nowhere to escape, driven to the train’s vicinity like hunted beasts.
He Jie grinned and shouted, “Want to come aboard for a sit? No fear of zombies on the train, and you can have a cola.”
He casually turned on the night light in the carriage and grabbed a bottle of cola from the nearby rack to chug it down.
He drank very boldly, deliberately for the soldiers on the off-road vehicle to see.
A loud roar came from the off-road vehicle side, “He Lao Da, keep it for yourself. Brothers still need to get home.”
A fierce light flashed in He Jie’s eyes, he raised the light machine gun with a savage grin, “You won’t drink the toast, you’ll drink the forfeit!”
“Pa pa pa…”
A series of precise bursts directly shredded the off-road vehicle’s tires.
Amid the excited corpse roars came wavering curses.
“He Jie, you old dog!”
“Bang!”
A Tier 1 Skull Crusher swung dual hammers and smashed the front of the off-road vehicle hard.
The off-road vehicle buckled like it was bending, its rear raised high. Though it escaped thanks to the soldier’s superb driving skills, the vehicle’s condition was clearly off, unknown where it was damaged, and its speed had slowed significantly.
Twenty seconds later.
Three soldiers with mournful faces squatted in the corridor of Train Carriage 4, their thumbs locked behind their backs with an iron ring.
He Jie patted a black and skinny soldier’s head, sneering repeatedly, “You little brat weren’t you going home? Go on for me, you’ve really made something of yourself, even daring to call me by my code name.”
The black and skinny soldier flattered with a smile, “He Lao Da, you must have misheard. Everyone in the company knows Long-legged Rabbit respects you the most. If our old da hadn’t insisted on picking me, I’d have followed you. Long-legged Dog sounds way more imposing than Long-legged Rabbit.”
“Such a flatterer, from now on you’re Dog Leg. Where’s your old da ‘Baldy’?”
The soldier’s face twitched, “Bad luck, got swept by that anti-aircraft machine gun on the train at the second defense line, shredded on the spot.”
He Jie opened his mouth; that burst was probably his own.
But he didn’t spare words, “Looks like my marksmanship’s improved. Been wanting to blow that son of a bitch away for ages.”
The soldier quickly chimed in, “From now on I’m Dog Leg. We’re brothers from the same place after all, He Lao Da, you’ve got to take care of us.”
All were elite soldiers trained at great expense; none were fools.
In this situation, even without their own people on the train, they’d still surrender.
Anyway, same kind of people, no psychological pressure in surrendering.
He Jie was hot-tempered but soft-hearted, always good to his own, one of the best-liked among the three hundred.
A shout from him could get a dozen to charge with him.
If not for the theory score gap, he’d at least be on an A-team out here.
He Jie’s eyes bulged, “Don’t get chummy with me. During training, you and that Baldy old da of yours didn’t hold back on sniping me! And this is an armored train, you’re prisoners now. If the train conductor takes a dislike to you, I’ll send you off first!”
The three soldiers’ hearts tightened, and they shut their mouths tight.
He Jie turned to Xiao Ba nearby and explained in a low voice, “I know these three: one demolition man, two medics. We’re short on these on the train, so the train conductor had me round them up.”
Xiao Ba nodded, but puzzled, “Then why tie them up?”
He Jie shook his head, “Friendship’s friendship, rules are rules. They’re prisoners now, no one to watch them, better to control them for everyone’s good.”
Xiao Ba nodded thoughtfully.
“So, the more we capture now, the stronger the train will be later?”
“That’s the idea.”
Even with Xiao Ba, He Jie was more patient.
Light shone in Xiao Ba’s eyes, he pursed his lips and pointed outside the window, “Seems a few more came outside, I’ll help you catch them!”
……
In the dining car, only a small warm light was on in the corridor.
Su Huan could see it just stepping out of his room.
As for the kitchen, only faint indicator lights glowed on the electrical appliances.
With Yu Yue’s current familiarity with the kitchen, she could whip up a delicious meal even with eyes closed.
Seeing the time at 1:49 AM, Yu Yue ladled a bowl of white porridge onto the table to cool. Su Huan didn’t like food too hot; room temperature or cold was better, but putting freshly boiled hot porridge in the refrigerator would make the rice grains hard, ruining the texture.
Cooling it now would time perfectly.
Then she added some fresh-cut beef, seafood, and freeze-dried vegetables to the white porridge.
This was everyone else’s breakfast.
Of course, breakfast couldn’t just be porridge; there were also some pastries and such.
Preparing breakfast for over a dozen wasn’t easy, but for Yu Yue, it was far simpler than dealing with patients’ families.
Various kitchenware swapped in her hands with orderly rhythm.
By the time all breakfasts were ready, it was already 2:20.
She took out her Night Owl X7 from the nearby cabinet, checked it per He Jie’s method, then pressed armor-piercing rounds one by one into the magazine.
Though she’d never handled firearms before, picking up this cold killing tool always brought exceptional calm.
More effective than the meditation her university teacher taught.
Main weapon, sidearm, grenade, tactical vest…
Yu Yue equipped each piece carefully, wrapping her fingers completely in bandages, leaving only the slender tips exposed.
She thought and fetched two recovery potions from Carriage 3, carefully placing them on her.
Just back in the dining car, she heard the room door in Carriage 1 open.
The long-haired train conductor arrived at the dining car, slightly surprised at her outfit.
Before he could speak, she cut in, “I’m going with you on the mission.”
She didn’t want to stay in the carriage anymore.
……
The white porridge had no seasonings, yet was still sweet and tasty.
Just like Yu Yue before him, bare-faced.
The night outside the window remained thick, the inducer lasting longer than he expected. The Yu Yue before him had changed into clean high-elasticity black jeans, tapered into tactical boots, her rounded legs together, exuding faint elegance.
Similar outfit, but on He Jie and rough men, it felt completely different.
“How did you know I was going out?”
Su Huan asked calmly.
“Guessed.”
Yu Yue lowered her brows and eyes, looking obedient.
But today the train conductor found this aggrieved look displeasing, leaned forward, lifted her rounded chin, forcing her to meet his eyes, and smirked, “If I die, no one to force you anymore. Isn’t that good?”
Yu Yue was used to Su Huan’s sarcasm; good words always came twisted.
Before, she’d have been embarrassed into silence.
But she didn’t want Su Huan going out alone; waiting in the carriage was too agonizing.
“Not good.”
The train shook, white porridge rippling gently in the bowl, the overlapping shadows blurred and tender.
