Chapter 176: Phase Three Renovation Plan
He Jie, who had just eaten a few bites of food, led the team to set off in a hurry, but this time he only brought one core member, Liang Kuan, plus twenty armed soldiers and three hundred strong young workers.
Tong Zizhan’s team cleared hidden dangers around the station.
Lu Xiao and Jiang Rong cleared hidden dangers inside the station.
Lin Jin led dozens of passengers carrying oil drums to clear the wildly growing mutated plants inside the station.
For a moment, the stench of burnt filled the station, accompanied by bursts of sharp whistles and shrill wails.
It was as if they
Xiao Ba led several crew members related to building, planned inside the station, relied on the existing building structures to establish a rice character-shaped settlement that spanned across the railway track, incorporating the train within it.
The interior is divided into eight areas by four four-meter-high walls crossing vertically and horizontally.
The train body is that “vertical” one right in the middle.
The watchtower was set up in the octagonal area, with soldiers patrolling with guns. Old San led the soldiers to mount some of the captured light and heavy machine guns on it, guarding against the zombies wandering at night.
Change the hole in the shed roof into a rainwater collection inlet, connected to the water purifier in the carriage.
The entire settlement’s materials use ordinary steel, merely forming a framework with gaps in between, which can later be reinforced with cement.
The cook led over a hundred people to set up large pots in the open space, then cooked instant noodles.
If we were to properly make meals for three thousand people, we could stay busy from now until tomorrow morning.
Cooking porridge or instant noodles is the most hassle-free method.
As soon as the water boils, dump several large boxes of instant noodles into it. The fried noodle cakes are cooked tender by the boiling water in two or three minutes, with soup and noodles, full of oily and salty flavor.
The pre-sliced Blood Hound meat strips, ten pounds at a time, were poured in.
The survivors who smelled the aroma quieted down considerably, their eyeballs all staring fixedly at the large pot.
Even Wan Hao and Old Yuan were shocked by the grand gesture of the armored train.
To reduce the number of times going out and survive the apocalypse whose end is unknown, most survivors tightened their belts, taking a sip of water when thirsty, nibbling a biscuit or flatbread when hungry, not daring to drink water in big gulps, let alone making this kind of noodle soup that wastes water.
In comparison, it seems pretty good.
Coupled with the armed train’s decisive and efficient manner of slaughtering zombies during the day, everyone’s resentment from being captured quietly dissipated somewhat.
In an unstable environment, people’s desire for a sense of security is absolutely the top priority.
Of course, the Train Conductor’s dinner naturally cannot be the same as that of ordinary survivors.
The Little Chef has already started getting busy in the Dining Car.
Heat the oil and add the meat foam, then toss in the peeled tomatoes, simmer until thickened, add some grilled red sausages, stew for a moment, and the rich aroma already fills the entire carriage.
Scoop out most of it, add tomato sauce and lemon juice along with a massive amount of black pepper according to the Train Conductor’s taste, then add the green noodles made from grinding Coarse Powder Grass.
A serving of apocalypse evolution edition spaghetti comes out of the pot easily.
Su Huan was lazily reclining on the Orange Cat Sofa, the throne belonging to the Train Conductor.
He held two booklets in his hand, one of which was the train supplies exchange table compiled by Hu Shuo.
He divided the increasingly complex supplies on the train into seven major categories, plus an “Other Exchange” to make up eight major sections.
respectively, basic food, basic supplies, medical protection, weaponry and equipment, industrial tools, survival information, evolutionary supplies, other exchanges.
Food goes without saying; after leaving the Logistics Center, the Armored Train has never worried about eating.
The meat skewers eaten at the barbecue that day were all from cold chain.
Plus various compressed dry rations, canned food, rice, flour, oil, and grains, freeze-dried vegetables, the food reserves on the train can completely last until next year.
Moreover, the carriage farm now has its first batch of output. The staple crop is the extremely high-yield Coarse Powder Grass, the seasoning is Sweet and Spicy Scallions, and there’s also the Iron-skinned Pumpkin obtained from the Steel Council, which is specially used for oil extraction and has a crispy and fragrant taste.
Plus the highly corrosion-resistant mutated beast meat, just the front section of the carriage plus the crew of about a hundred people simply couldn’t finish it all.
So, use the three thousand survivors outside to consume some.
Basic supplies are living supplies, such as “Humanity’s Last Dignity”—toilet paper, and tobacco, alcohol, tea, and sugar are all classified among them.
In addition to the standard tourniquets, antibiotics, gas masks, and oxygen tanks in the medical protection kit, two potions researched by Wan Xing have been added, one of which is [Life Potion], and the other is [General Energy Recovery Potion], which can quickly increase the recovery speed of general energy in evolvers’ bodies.
Because the quantities are scarce, the prices for both potions are set very high. The reference price given by Hu Shuo is 100 points.
The Train Conductor swiped his hand and directly changed it to 135.
Don’t think it’s just a consumable, but this is something that can save your life on the battlefield, 135 is absolutely not a loss.
At the speed at which Lu Xiao and the others earn points, they could gather it in just a few days.
Weaponry and equipment goes without saying; just a few new items were added to the original lineup, then Hu Shuo made minor price adjustments based on inventory quantities, with the original price, current price, sales quantity, and so on all marked afterward.
Among them, drones and exoskeletons have been classified under industrial tools.
This field is quite broad, ranging from some small equipment to large machine tools, all kinds of things. Listing them out is to prepare for transactions with other settlements. Ordinary survivors wouldn’t buy this either.
Survival information is relatively complex and is currently being compiled. The list only includes some of them, involving apocalypse survival guides, characteristics of different zombies, habits of mutated beasts, and so on…
Plus evolutionary supplies and miscellaneous exchanges for replenishment, it almost encompassed all the resources on the armored train.
Moreover, Hu Shuo has marked a reference price for every single item.
Su Huan only needs to make simple adjustments to this list.
Cross out the ones you don’t want to exchange, and pull up the price for those with too high cost-performance ratio.
There’s just one principle: expensive, but make it something they can afford by gritting their teeth.
After finishing the thick booklet, Su Huan not only had a clear understanding of the points system, but also gained an intuitive grasp of the train’s current supplies inventory.
“How much longer?”
He tossed the booklet he had finished reading onto the table and asked Yu Yue, who was busy in the kitchen.
The latter remained silent, simply plating the spaghetti and placing it in front of him, with sea salt, black pepper, and chopsticks neatly arranged along the edge of the plate.
Su Huan glanced at the suspiciously plated green spaghetti and immediately knew that their current relationship was still in the “ignoring you” state.
He pinched his chin, not in a hurry to eat, and turned to look at another booklet beside his hand.
This is the train upgrade list designed by Director Xu, Professor Ma, and Yu Jing based on the requirements he made this afternoon.
Yu Jing’s some plans regarding the train phase II renovation had already been completed ahead of schedule.
For example, train-wide surveillance, unified train power manipulation, large 3D printer, bullet production line, medical carriage, and so on.
This plan is more complete, no longer scattered modifications.
But rather a complete plan given for phased goals.
“Armored Train Phase III Renovation and Upgrade Project”
The renovation goal of Phase III is how to resist the sudden flood after the acid rain area.
After several people discussed, they divided it into three major goal blocks.
The first is the internal circulation within the train.
Not only the recycling of water and food, but also the handling of household waste in a sealed environment, and oxygen circulation.
The second is the armored train ship modification.
This is the only solution after the few people discussed it.
At the same time, this method can also temporarily solve the train’s current problems of excessive self-weight and dependence on the track.
The key points are in the carriage body sealing, buoyancy system, and power system adjustments.
To reach the level of a ship or being able to go into the water, it’s no longer as simple as just the previous sealing against rain; besides the sealing of the doors and windows and the carriages themselves, issues such as the toilet, carriage bridge connections, and drainage holes must also be considered.
To go further, more propellers and a carriage stabilization system need to be added in large quantities.
Even with the help of various supernatural abilities, this is still a terrifying amount of work. It is simply impossible to complete the transformation with the existing researchers and engineers on the armored train.
Therefore, that batch of talent from the Train Manufacturing Base is absolutely necessary.
The only good news now is that the carriage extensively uses a double-layer armor structure.
This structure can effectively resist pressure.
Plus, Su Huan has a habit of collecting new materials, such as Ironwood, which saved a lot of trouble for the train modification.
If the train’s ship modification succeeds, the third modification will follow naturally.
The third modification is the train space expansion.
Without the constraints of the railway track, the train no longer needs to be limited to seeking upward and can also expand laterally.
The most direct way is to add another row of trains alongside the existing body of the armored train.
Have Xiao Ba weld them together to form a dual front of the train water train, which can not only double the space expansion but also enhance the train’s stability.
It has to be said that having professionals makes all the difference.
This directly pulled Su Huan’s train of thought out from the constraints of the “train” framework.
Transform the armored train from an apocalypse vehicle into a “mobile shelter” for the apocalypse.
However, this kind of design is not perfect.
Adding one more train is equivalent to adding a full fifty-five carriages, plus the welding platforms in between, with the weight at least increasing by one-third.
If the flood recedes, the most direct problem the train will face is that it won’t be able to move.
Even setting aside factors such as floods washing away the railway track and silt accumulation.
The train simply cannot travel normally on the railway track.
Even adding those two objective factors above, splitting the two rows of trains apart wouldn’t help.
It’s too heavy; the ground’s load-bearing capacity is insufficient.
Even tracks can’t carry a behemoth weighing tens of thousands of tons forward through the silt left after the flood.
This was also the reason for Su Huan’s hesitation.
“Click—”
The plates on the table suddenly began to shake, and two chopsticks slid slightly along the edge of the plate.
This disturbance attracted Su Huan’s attention. He lowered his head to look at the spaghetti in the plate, where the tomato sauce rippled in small circles in the plate.
“Earthquake?”
Su Huan wasn’t too surprised and looked up at Yu Yue, who was stunned.
The little chef held a spatula in one hand and gripped the edge of the counter with the other, her expression dazed and somewhat cute.
The entire carriage began to shake slightly, and the fabric curtains hanging on the car window started to sway left and right, casting uneasy shadows on the wall.
The vibration rapidly intensified within a few seconds.
The rusted sheet metal on the station canopy emitted a groan of unbearable weight, with fine rust falling down like a rain of blood.
Suddenly, bursts of noisy discussion erupted outside, accompanied by the hurried footsteps of soldiers on the metal wall.
“Train Conductor!”
Old San rushed in with several big steps, fully armed all over, holding his gun and said solemnly, “Unidentified vibration appeared on the west side of the settlement, with a high-rise building collapsing. We…”
His words were interrupted by an even more violent shake.
In the distance came the rumbling sound of buildings collapsing, mixed with the crisp crack of glass shattering.
“Is it a zombie tide?”
Su Huan calmly looked toward Yu Yue, who had closed her eyes, as faint general energy fluctuations swirled around her ear.
When she opened her eyes again, her pupils had already turned into ripple shapes similar to sonar.
“It’s not a zombie tide. The movement speed is very slow, there’s no roaring sound, but there are many whipping sounds. It sounds more like the kind of big tree that approached the train during the day.”
“Iron-eating Tree?”
Su Huan was somewhat surprised.
Can this thing riot too?
“Bring Wan Hao to see me, and have Old Er stabilize the workers and passengers outside. I don’t want anyone taking advantage to cause trouble.”
Old San mimicked He Jie’s signature ferocious grin, “The passengers and workers on the train are all separated, with several heavy machine guns aimed at them. If they dare to cause trouble, they’ll be turned into meat paste directly!”
