Chapter 198: Pear
In this scene, the most emotional person in the crowd was Miao Qi.
She didn’t know when the three words “the Su guy” and that oldest batch of passengers had completely disappeared on the train.
Now this batch were mostly newly recruited from Steel Council Headquarters and Shun’an.
She was already the oldest passenger on the train, just one day later than Yu Yue and Mother.
It was only two months.
But it felt like two years had passed; everything had changed enormously. They had crossed Mo Jiang, escaped the high-temperature zone, and arrived at the northernmost part of the acid rain area.
Battle after battle, personnel changes one after another, expansions and reforms one after another…
Su Huan’s prestige and power had seeped into the depths of the armored train like flowing water, into every part, into everyone’s heart.
Even the most arrogant person felt deep fear toward the three words “Train Conductor.”
Even this ambitious man beside her who wanted to replace Su Huan had unknowingly become a supporter of the Train Conductor.
What was the reason she wanted to kill him back then?
Was it her ex-husband or the one who caused her to fall into her current situation?
It was laughable.
She couldn’t even remember what her ex-husband looked like.
Even Gao Zhe and his group had become just a symbol in her memory.
They existed, but were blurry and indistinct.
Only the man in front of her was no different from back then—not in appearance, but in temperament.
Due to evolution, everyone was worlds apart from their initial selves, with huge changes in temperament.
Only Su Huan.
His temperament hadn’t changed much from the beginning of the apocalypse.
However, that feeling of being out of place with the world had lessened a lot.
More accurately, everyone on the train had become like him.
The wind and rain battered them; the raindrops splashing on their skin brought slight stinging pain, but the soldiers who had undergone He Jie’s perverted training didn’t care about pain of this degree.
Everyone was just a bit puzzled: why hadn’t the Train Conductor spoken yet?
Su Huan stared blankly at the corps soldiers in front of him.
He was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.
What would be the most appropriate first sentence to say at this moment?
“Welcome to becoming reserve soldiers?”
Too ordinary; this was the first day of the official establishment of the Armed Corps, destined to be recorded in the Train Conductor’s logbook.
How could he use such a mundane sentence?
Su Huan rubbed his fingertips anxiously.
“You’ve all worked hard?”
Not appropriate either; it was their job to work hard, otherwise the one suffering would be him.
Forget it; anyway, the logbook was written by him, so he could just add a sentence later at night.
History of the past was lost; the history of the future was whatever the writer said.
Just say something a bit stylish and motivational.
So on this gloomy and restless day, on the train speeding at 120 km/h.
Su Huan showed what he thought was his warmest smile and said, “Nice weather today.”
The chaotic cold rain slapped wildly on her face; Yu Yue felt her mouth twitch involuntarily twice, her delicate brows lowering as she awkwardly relayed the sentence to everyone’s ears.
The team fell even more silent.
Only the howling of wind and rain.
The soldiers were well-trained; Su Huan was very satisfied and continued.
“There are mainly two things today; I’ve just finished the first one. The remaining is about our next goal.”
“In one hour, we’ll arrive at Wangjiang Peak in Guangren City. When fighting in the city, you’ll face mostly zombies, few mutated beasts, and common ones like blood hounds and terror claw cats, but on the mountain, your main enemies will be mutated beasts and mutated plants.”
“But similarly, the more enemies, the more merit. The Armed Corps is just starting; many positions are vacant, saved for you. Wasn’t that someone before wanting to surpass He Jie…”
Su Huan’s gaze scanned the crowd and landed on the mongoose’s face.
The latter stood tall and said loudly, “Yes!”
“Great spirit, but—” Su Huan smiled, his narrowed eyes holding a bit of frost as he swept over everyone’s faces, “There are plenty of opportunities on the train; no need to eye your superiors, and don’t get crooked ideas during battle.”
“Shooting in the back, stealing merit, inadequate support, luring disaster to others…”
Su Huan listed more than a dozen in a row.
They were all means he commonly used in his previous life, but he didn’t want them to happen in the newly formed Armed Corps.
“So here’s a reminder: I never care about evidence when judging cases.”
Surging general energy poured out from Su Huan, without any conversion, domineeringly occupying the space on the deck.
Seeing the slowing rain threads and gale in front of them, everyone showed horror in their eyes.
Evolvers mainly absorbed general energy from the air besides using general energy crystals, so they could naturally sense the sudden surge in general energy concentration in the air.
It felt like falling into a deep pool; even drawing out all the general energy in their bodies was just a handful of clear water from the pool.
And the Train Conductor in front of them was like a thundering waterfall, dense general energy flooding everyone unabashedly like pool water.
Lin Jin’s eyes widened slightly; under this concentration of general energy, he felt his flame manipulation time could extend by thirty percent.
As for ordinary soldiers, they had completely lost the desire to compare.
When you have a vat of water, people might compare, but you have a pool—why bother comparing?
This was the first time the soldiers had a direct sense of the Train Conductor’s power.
“Clap clap!”
Su Huan clapped his hands. “That’s all for today; you can go prepare.”
The crowd snapped out of their daze and entered the train.
He Jie gave a look to Qu Hang and the others, telling them to go down, leaving only him and Su Huan on deck.
Su Huan looked at the distant peak towering into the clouds; the somewhat mundane peak before the apocalypse had become lush and overgrown, looking a whole circle larger due to mutated plants.
“Take Professor Ma’s improved communication equipment later, then go up the mountain to find a Crown Pear Tree.”
“Pear Tree?” He Jie was stunned.
He had just learned the specific task.
They had traveled such a long distance and mobilized so much just to find a pear tree?
“It’s a Crown Pear Tree.” Su Huan corrected seriously.
He Jie scratched his head. “Such a big mountain; which specific one?”
“Don’t know, but it should be the largest one, probably over twenty meters tall now…”
Su Huan himself was a bit uncertain.
In his previous life, he had only glimpsed it from afar on the outskirts; the hundred-meter giant tree was very striking, but that was four years into the apocalypse; now it was three months in, and he didn’t know what that Crown Pear Tree looked like.
He Jie sucked his teeth. “What if we can’t find it?”
Su Huan raised his brow; one black eye showed faint blood color, his tone mild. “We will find it.”
He Jie saw Su Huan’s attitude toward this matter, even more solemn than facing the Steel Council in that great battle.
His heart shook; he didn’t ask why to find that pear tree.
He just lit a cigarette amid the raindrops, smoked it to the end, and said, “You’re the Train Conductor; you call the shots!”
…
Half an hour later, the train abandoned the railway track and switched to track driving.
After all, Wangjiang Peak was a scenic area without direct tracks.
Another half hour passed before the armored train reached the foot of the mountain; original human traces were completely buried under layers of scarlet vines, and the scenic area facilities around Wangjiang Peak were eroded much worse than city buildings.
Most were collapsed and buried, like graves of human civilization.
The landmark stone at the scenic area entrance reading “Wangjiang Peak” was drowned in blue-purple wildflowers; this was the deepest the armored train could advance.
Further in, there were remnants of cement roads, but with slopes the train couldn’t climb.
Even if it could, it would be useless; Wangjiang Peak had steep terrain, only man-made bluestone steps, so even entering the scenic area, the train could only stop at the foot.
The Armed Corps had already set off up the mountain under He Jie’s lead.
Xiao Ba stayed behind; Lin Jin went up the mountain.
After all, there was no space for Xiao Ba to perform on the mountain.
Just after landing, He Jie displayed his highly aggressive combat style; over a dozen flames shot out, sweeping a path up the mountain amid the twisting and howling vines.
Watching the corps disappear into the mountain, Su Huan turned and returned to the train.
He was almost unable to suppress his promotion speed.
Due to the “Circulating Vortex,” general energy flowed in his body, not only growing and strengthening but also slowly attracting surrounding energy.
It constantly replenished his “Energy Storage Core,” expanding its capacity.
He had tested the train earlier, draining energy in two goes, and released general energy to intimidate soldiers today, both to curb energy growth.
Now suppressing evolution speed at Tier 1 peak, he could live about another year.
He had a premonition: if he let it promote to Tier 2, the greater power would devour vitality even faster.
Might not last three months.
The armored train had stopped, but it didn’t mean the people on it could stop.
While the Armed Corps fought on the mountain, the crew below was also working overtime.
While handling train affairs in the carriage, Su Huan heard gunshots and beast roars from the mountain.
The noisy sounds continued until nightfall.
He Jie and the others didn’t return.
Pangtu carried back a box of pears, dropping them on the ground; acid rain wet the carpet in Carriage 1.
“Where’s He Jie?”
Su Huan felt it wasn’t that simple and stepped forward to open the box.
One by one, golden pears appeared before him, emanating strong general energy fluctuations.
But…
The effect was far weaker than he imagined!
Pangtu panted and said, “Colonel He is still on the mountain. He said he didn’t find the goal and told me to bring these back to check.”
Su Huan picked up a pear, examined it for a moment, and bit down.
Sweet juice burst in his mouth.
This pear was sweeter than before the apocalypse; most importantly, a faint energy rolled down his throat into his stomach, gradually dispersing into his limbs, so faint even general energy perception couldn’t detect it.
Su Huan’s expression shook; he grabbed another pear and gnawed.
He ate a whole box straight, feeling only a slight boost in vitality.
“Any more?”
Su Huan’s eyes gleamed.
Pangtu subconsciously swallowed; these pears were too tempting, plus the Train Conductor’s ravenous eating showed they were good stuff.
“Yes, lots of pear trees up there, but hard to pick; many mutated beasts and mutated plants around. Afraid of damaging the pear trees, so it took half a day for this one box.”
Su Huan calmed himself, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside, and pondered. “Get one more box then withdraw; continue tomorrow!”
“Yes!”
That night, He Jie brought back two more boxes of pears before withdrawing.
Except for a small portion given to Director Xu and Wan Xing for experiments, the rest went into Su Huan’s stomach.
The next morning, misty rain and thick fog sealed off the entire Wangjiang Peak.
Taking advantage of the acid rain not pouring heavily, He Jie led the team up the mountain again.
With yesterday’s experience, by noon they brought down three boxes of pears and even dug up two pear trees.
The pear trees weren’t tall, just six meters, with four-meter crown diameter, similar to traditional autumn pears.
Su Huan glanced and knew they weren’t the Crown Pear Tree he sought.
He directly tossed them to Huang Hai, who was overjoyed.
Actually, Su Huan wasn’t sure if it was a Crown Pear Tree; the plan in his previous life was called the “Crown Pear Plan,” growing over a hundred meters tall—so even if it was a Crown Pear Tree now, it was unrecognizable.
By afternoon, He Jie sent word.
They had searched the entire Wangjiang Peak; no abnormally tall pear tree found.
Not even any with special fruit.
The atmosphere in the dining car instantly dropped; Yu Yue, busy cooking, quietly muffled the sounds around her.
Standing behind Su Huan, Hu Shuo was silent as a cicada in winter, body slightly bowed, face showing increasing awe.
Su Huan lightly tapped the documents in his hand with his index finger; they were data collection on the armored train’s recent travel, analyzed by the Factory Director, Deputy General Manager Deng, and other experts before reaching him.
“Just follow their predicted results for improvements. As for… have He Jie and them come back first.”
“Understood.”
Hu Shuo responded respectfully.
Soon, He Jie on the mountain received the Train Conductor’s order, gathered personnel, and headed down.
Just like that old saying, the way down felt much harder than up.
Mountain rain was coming; hearts felt heavy.
…
All high-level personnel gathered in the dining car; besides the Armed Corps, even the crew’s Purser came.
Su Huan openly informed everyone of the Crown Pear’s existence, especially emphasizing its vitality-replenishing effect.
After two days of searching, everyone vaguely guessed Su Huan’s purpose.
Director Xu reacted most strongly upon hearing this, murmuring, “Vitality…”
Professor Ma looked at Director Xu and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Director Xu looked up, excited with sudden realization. “I finally understand where the bottleneck of evolution lies!”
Everyone turned to the meticulously dressed old man.
Director Xu organized his thoughts and said, “Before, we tried piling general energy crystals on a high-level evolver, while consuming massive basic potions to boost his basic attributes, but he still died—not from gene collapse, but suddenly without warning!”
Su Huan’s eyes flickered.
He had considered this before; big forces early on had guns and cannons, could easily amass general energy crystals to stack a high-level evolver.
But in reality, even in big forces, high-level evolvers were rare.
(4k, kept my word)
