Chapter 184: Modification And Training
After hanging up the telephone, Haywood let out a long sigh of relief.
The person on the other end was his superior’s superior, the Vice President of Business Development, who had a chance to compete for the company’s top growth officer position in the strategic decision-making layer.
After returning last time, he leveled up thanks to the transaction with Su Huan, becoming a senior business development manager with the qualification to contact the Deputy General Manager directly.
These weren’t exchanged for just a Logistics Center.
Just the words “Blazing Sun Patrol Angel” alone caused chaos in the company, and it wasn’t until four or five spies were caught that things calmed down.
Haywood also gained access to some of the company’s secrets because of this.
He heard from the higher-ups that “Blazing Sun Patrol Angel” was just a concept, not even theorized to that extent yet.
The company inferred that Su Huan had heard some news from somewhere and exaggerated it.
So they only arranged two Collectors for long-term observation.
But Haywood always felt it wasn’t that simple; the confidence and assurance on Su Huan’s face absolutely wasn’t a bluff.
It’s just that he couldn’t convince the company executives with mere feelings to change their approach and take forceful measures against a small force.
In other words, he wasn’t important enough, so his feelings weren’t important either.
Walking out of the office, there was a large meeting living room outside. A man dressed impeccably was already sitting there. Even with no one around, he sat steadily on the sofa, neither restrained nor arrogant, with his collar neatly pressed.
A secretary wearing a hip-hugging pencil skirt stood beside him, her curves exquisite.
Haywood spread his hands helplessly. “Sorry, Director Li, your conditions didn’t move the company.”
Li Wangchuan wasn’t surprised by the result. “Is that so? What a regret. Then we can only cooperate next time.”
With that, he stood up to leave.
“Perhaps we can have some other cooperation?”
Haywood suddenly said.
Li Wangchuan stopped in his tracks and calmly looked at the blond, blue-eyed guy. “In whose name?”
“In my personal name, trading a batch of supplies. You know, I have this permission.”
Haywood said seriously.
“The price.”
“Go take a look at that train for me.”
“I can’t afford to provoke that disaster star right now.”
“No need to do anything to them, just take a look. I’ll give you their location later.”
Li Wangchuan pondered for a moment. “Alright, I’ll send someone.”
Watching Li Wangchuan leave with his secretary, Haywood mulled over the whole matter in his mind.
Even if Li Wangchuan’s people were discovered, that would be a matter between the Armored Train and the remnants of the Steel Council, having nothing to do with him, Haywood, and not violating company rules.
“I don’t know what those two Collectors are doing; no messages have come back after so long.”
“Idiots wasting company resources!”
……
Acid Rain Area, Shun’an High-Speed Rail Manufacturing Base.
Now renamed—Armored Train, Shun’an Station Base.
The rain was still pouring, but the entire Manufacturing Base was in full swing of construction.
Over seven thousand people divided into three shifts: skilled workers and experts handling train modification and upgrades, ordinary workers reinforcing and modifying Shun’an Station Base, and the remaining elderly, weak, women, and children providing logistics support.
The train had already entered the car body Manufacturing Center.
In the west corner of the Car Body Manufacturing Center, over a hundred large temporary pots were lined up, and twenty head cooks bustled about simultaneously, plus helpers, totaling over a hundred people.
The little cook from the Logistics Group was now a Level 2 Attendant, walking behind the cooks with hands behind his back.
Accompanied by the sizzle of hot oil, a few eggs were cracked in, followed by dozens of pounds of sauce—regardless of whether it was fermented bean paste or what brand—all poured in.
With a stir of the spatula, the aroma wafted out.
A large basin of egg sauce with only sauce and no eggs was ready.
Wang He smelled the aroma from afar. Before he even approached, someone greeted him. “Boss Wang, today’s noodles are green!”
“Green?” Wang He was stunned. “Maybe vegetable noodles…”
Lining up and stepping forward, he saw that the big iron basin indeed held green noodles, seemingly mixed with some coarse grains, the surface somewhat rough, sticking to the chopsticks.
He wasn’t picky; in this world, having something to eat was good enough.
He picked a large sea bowl of noodles and scooped a spoonful of fragrant egg sauce.
Carrying it toward the train modification area, he planned to eat at the worksite.
Since the restructuring, he had become a Level 3 Attendant, managing many people under him. Plus that colleague who didn’t like him, he wasn’t at ease without watching.
But lately, Jiang Lun hadn’t been causing him trouble for a long time.
He didn’t know if he’d wised up or was holding back something.
Loud shouts rang in his ears, blending into the familiar clamor he knew.
“Group Two, get on; Group One, prepare to follow!”
“Got it!”
“Bring the forklift; can this guy handle it?!”
“They’re all Evolvers; no problem.”
“Defender from the Manufacturing Group, come over; the forklift can’t get in here…”
Crew and Manufacturing Base workers were mixed together. Experts occasionally emerged from the nearby rooms, ignoring others, taking surveying tools to measure, then silently returning to draw and write.
They never spoke to anyone during this.
Wang He looked around and spotted a stack of three-meter-high composite armor nearby. He leaped onto it in two steps with his bowl, the noodles in his hand not spilling at all.
He was now an Evolver too. To be precise, everyone in the Crew was an Evolver.
But as a Level 3 Attendant, he had accumulated some merit before.
Purser Hu Shuo said the Train Conductor had made an exception for them veterans, allowing a small amount of points to exchange for Skill Potions.
He hadn’t decided yet whether to use that merit for a potion or something else.
Finding a comfortable squatting position, he ate the green noodles in big mouthfuls while observing the situation below.
Supplies from inside the Armored Train had all been moved out, including Water Purifiers and other equipment, piled up to one side.
Interior decorations and fixtures that would interfere with modifications inside the train had been dismantled.
The birdcage that the brothers had long complained about was also completely removed. He heard they were going to create a spacious space for them this time.
But Wang He wasn’t too optimistic.
The train space was only so big; how much could it expand?
Living on the train definitely wouldn’t be as comfortable as on the ground.
He hadn’t dared to think of it before, but he heard the higher-ups were turning the Manufacturing Base into Shun’an Base, as a long-term fortress base for the Armored Train.
This immediately made him a bit conflicted.
“Keep idle people away; get ready, we’re demolishing the side!”
Someone shouted below, drawing Wang He’s attention and making him lift his head from the sea bowl.
He saw Xiao Ba in the wheelchair wave a hand, and the over twenty-meter-long carriage side suddenly slid off, the break clean and neat, much more natural than cutting.
The forklift was already prepared and moved forward to lift the entire side armor away.
Several workers operated the forklift as if with one mind; the over twenty-meter-long armor sat steadily on top.
A round-faced old man with glasses stood beside Xiao Ba, marveling nonstop. “This metal manipulation ability is truly amazing, truly amazing…”
Xiao Ba pursed his lips; lately, more people were praising him, making him feel awkward.
“What next?”
Deputy General Manager Deng came to the side of the carriage, touched the edge. “First extend the carriage edges, then use your ability to check the carriage’s airtightness, see if there are any leaks…”
Although it had already been checked, Xiao Ba patiently checked again.
After confirming none, he widened the carriage.
Workers brought over brand-new custom tracks from the factory, fully two meters wide.
Because the carriage body was too long, each carriage needed four pairs of tracks, and each pair was independent, so even if one failed, it wouldn’t affect the others.
The track design took only one day; just as the train side finished transporting and dismantling, the blueprints came out.
The rush-made prototype was being installed today.
If this carriage modification succeeded, all subsequent carriages would follow the summarized process.
Deputy General Manager Deng stayed by Xiao Ba’s side throughout, supervising while explaining mechanical principles to him.
“The body outer walls should tilt outward a bit; no need for a large angle, ten degrees is enough. It can effectively prevent climbing and deflect bullet shooting angles. At the top, curve it back in to form a shooting hole; add a little structure and you can mount a machine gun.”
“I say the roof shouldn’t have some anti-aircraft machine gun; it needs cannons, even close-in defense guns would do. What can that small-caliber machine gun hit…”
“Off track. This indented part can house the mechanical arm. Not sure when Xiao Fan’s mechanical arm design will be ready; I’ll go urge him tonight…”
Deputy General Manager Deng muttered on, while Xiao Ba listened seriously.
He wasn’t picky; good or bad, whoever taught him, he learned whatever he heard.
By noon, Carriage 1 was roughly modified. Though many details remained, the framework was done.
It looked like a multi-prism, covered in bluish-black armor, exuding a cold, heavy, thick aura.
Completely changed from the previous wasteland-rusted appearance.
Although the armor wasn’t thickened, the carriage body was now sturdier and more solid than before.
After all, it was an integrated modification; all structures were expertly designed, no risk of falling apart after a couple hits.
The Manufacturing Group had recently developed a nano repair coating—simply put, a special memory metal. Not very strong, but with extremely strong self-repair ability, and it could slowly heal attached metal.
Covering the armor with repair coating wouldn’t add much load, yet give the armor self-repair capability.
It could also serve as an anti-corrosion coating normally.
But if damage was too severe or armor shattered, the repair coating couldn’t restore it.
The repair coating was freshly made, only experimentally used on this one carriage.
The modified carriage wasn’t interior-finished next, but thrown into a huge water tank outside the Car Body Manufacturing Center to soak. It was now filled with highly corrosive acid rain; those old men thought it wasn’t extreme enough and added some harsh stuff manually.
To simulate flood effects, pressure tests were also needed.
After pulling it out, more tests: shooting, demolition, burning, impact… and various experiments.
Per the plan, these tests would proceed synchronously during modification.
Meaning if any step had issues, other modified carriages would be torn down and redone.
This approach was labor- and resource-intensive, but no choice.
Su Huan didn’t have time to wait for their weeks-long tests.
So time was tight.
At one in the afternoon, Xiao Ba hurriedly ate lunch, then headed to the central building in the Residential Area.
With the Crew busy modifying and upgrading the train, the Armed Corps wasn’t idle either. Under He Jie’s lead, they began screening and training five thousand inside the base.
Recruitment conditions were the same as always; all selected would become Evolvers.
Xiao Ba hadn’t arrived yet when he heard footsteps—chaotic and noisy, with the distinctive heaviness in water.
He Jie never trained considering the weather; accurately, the heavier the rain, the more it sparked his training enthusiasm.
Looking up, he saw a crowd rushing past—some running, some jumping, some gliding in water, truly all showing their unique skills like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.
“Xiao Ba!”
“Eighth Master is here!”
“Great, it’s Eighth Master; we’re saved.”
Everyone saw Xiao Ba and greeted him chaotically—excited wails and cheers, all sorts.
Though laced with flattery, the genuine recognition felt good, and Xiao Ba quite liked it.
At the end, a woman with cat-like pupils flashed past the wheelchair, limbs airborne, twisting mid-air to nod at Xiao Ba.
Like a beast, her four limbs landed softly in one spot, her supple body launching forward again.
“Why the wailing during warm-up?! Double today’s training volume!”
He Jie’s burly figure emerged in the rain curtain, his army-green tank top dyed ink-green by acid rain, tactical boots stepping in water—not fast, but giving a strong sense of oppression.
Just like being chased by a ferocious bear-like figure.
He Jie shook his electric baton and grinned at Xiao Ba. “Lin Jin and the others finished warm-up and are inside.”
“Good, but I won’t attend tonight’s class; need to assist the Crew with train modification.”
Xiao Ba lifted the metal awning over his head a bit to better see He Jie’s face.
He Jie rarely showed a warm smile. “The Train Conductor told me in advance; if you’re too busy, no need to come here.”
This kid Xiao Ba was truly likable—serious but not rigid, smart, eager to learn, upright. Much better than his own bratty son. Sighing inwardly, he turned from Xiao Ba to continue urging the soldiers.
Watching He Jie’s bellowing departing back, Xiao Ba entered the central Staircase Building.
From that messy warm-up, it was clear He Jie didn’t pursue rigid training but let Armed Corps soldiers leverage their Evolver advantages.
As long as they completed training tasks under his watch, any method was fine.
But don’t expect He Jie to list rules one by one.
His training method was simple: beat whoever he didn’t like.
The quick ones learned after a few hits what could and couldn’t be done.
The slow ones kept getting hit.
No one had been beaten to death by He Jie yet.
The over twenty casualties from initial screening died to Mutated Beasts and Zombies during cleanup tasks.
“The final test is always the battlefield, so I give them the feel of war.”
That was He Jie’s stated training goal to the Train Conductor.
The wheelchair floated up, over the steps, heading indoors.
The first floor of the Staircase Building was very spacious, used by He Jie for indoor training.
Lin Jin, Liang Kuan, Goat, Qu Hang… and others were all there.
Base alert duties were currently with the Crew’s Combat Group, so Corps Members trained daily when free.
Though regular training helped them little, it kept their bodies in peak state.
