Chapter 257: Department Divisions
“Auto-update failed?”
Su Huan’s curious voice appeared behind her.
Shu Wei’s heart tightened, her fingers skillfully and naturally switching pages as she explained, “Only by connecting to Black Kite’s network can it auto-update.”
“Oh, I see. I thought it was some secret message.”
Su Huan said carelessly.
Shu Wei used her ability to suppress the hairs standing up on her neck, paused for a moment, did not continue on this topic, but instead brought up the notes she had just recorded.
“The handwriting is very pretty, so what did you all say?”
Su Huan pushed away the tablet, said Lethargy.
“The altar core has a general energy amplification effect, but it requires consuming a large amount of general energy. Based on this characteristic, Professor Ma disassembled his newly developed communication equipment…”
Su Huan became interested, “Then use this core to amplify the communication equipment? That’s a good idea. Where is it stuck now?”
“It won’t fit.”
Shu Wei pursed her lips.
The surrounding students each had strange expressions.
Professor Ma acted as if he hadn’t heard the two talking, his entire expression solemn and calm, checking those complex circuits and general energy crystals one by one in a specific order.
“It’s not a complete failure. Just now it succeeded for an instant, but the equipment overloaded before it could be tested. However, I have already discovered some secrets of this world.”
Hearing the old man speak mysteriously, Su Huan also became interested. He looked around and grabbed a toolbox to sit on it.
“More specifically?”
Professor Ma held the tool pliers and said seriously, “Electromagnetic waves, infrared light, sound waves, and even Bluetooth WIFI—these old transmission methods haven’t disappeared, but they have been isolated by general energy.”
Su Huan focused slightly. What Professor Ma meant by “isolated” was not hard to understand.
It was like two people queuing. Originally, the two could chat softly, but suddenly someone cut in line between them, making it hard for them to talk quietly; they would need to use a louder volume.
If more tall and burly people cut in between, even shouting loudly would make chatting difficult.
But that doesn’t mean the two people have disappeared.
Just like Yu Yue’s sonic control. If sound disappeared out of thin air, her ability would lose its foundation.
And those big men cutting in line in between were the so-called general energy.
They fill the air, they are everywhere.
It is they who caused the communication breakdown.
So the newly developed communication equipment all has the shadow of general energy crystals.
It’s not that general energy has the effects of electromagnetic waves or infrared rays.
Rather, general energy is mixed between these old media. Only by going through them can information be transmitted better and faster.
It’s equivalent to having the big men who cut in line help pass the message.
“So now we’re looking for a frequency that can ‘communicate’ with these general energies?”
Su Huan asked thoughtfully.
Professor Ma nodded, “Every time we add some general energy crystals or add some things, this frequency changes. I haven’t figured out the pattern yet, which is why the communication equipment always needs frequent repairs. But give me some time, and I can absolutely make the largest communication equipment on the train.”
Professor Ma’s tone carried certainty.
“Mm, no rush. Take your time.”
Having figured out what was going on, Su Huan stood up.
Although communication equipment is important, it’s not urgent right now.
Factory Director Yu Jing and the others need seven or eight days to repair the train, so there is plenty of time for Professor Ma to try.
By the time Su Huan crawled out of Professor Ma’s laboratory, it was already noon.
Getting up at five o’clock seemed like plenty of time, but in reality, not much could be done. After handling some main administrative work, there wasn’t even enough time left to make a round of the various laboratories.
The Factory Director and Deputy General Manager Deng’s workshop was in deputy carriages 47, 48, 49, directly opposite the bullet workshop. Because the train was being repaired, they hadn’t merged, and were currently dismantling and repairing nearby.
A group of train experts led the survivors in disassembling the train in the open space.
Su Huan stood at the window and watched for a while, then asked, “What time is it?”
“Twelve thirty-four.”
“Have the Factory Director and Deputy General Manager Deng come to the dining car to eat dumplings. What is He Jie doing?”
“He should currently be training soldiers. Exact location uncertain. Do you need to fire a signal gun to notify him?”
“Forget it then. Notify everyone except the armed corps to go eat dumplings. Call Li Han too.”
“Yes.”
Shu Wei responded crisply and turned to leave.
The leisure slacks rubbed out a rustling sound.
Su Huan watched the woman’s back, fingers together in the shape of a gun, making a feint.
……
It took Su Huan more than twenty years to realize that not everyone loves to eat dumplings.
Just like some people never watch the Spring Festival Gala, dumplings are not a universal holiday gourmet food.
In some sense, the popularity is even not as high as zongzi.
To satisfy most people’s tastes, Yu Yue made three kinds of dumplings this time.
Boiled, pan-fried, steamed.
Almost covering the taste buds of most people from south to north.
Su Huan looked at the steamed semi-transparent dumplings in front of him, impassively using the end of his chopsticks to push them aside, then took a plate of hot boiled dumplings and poured cold water over them from the side.
Yu Jing took all these small actions in, and asked indifferently, “Want chili oil?”
“Mm, I’ll do it myself.”
Su Huan had a particular persistence about dipping sauces.
One spoonful of oyster sauce, one spoonful of minced garlic, two spoonfuls of light soy sauce, one spoonful of vinegar.
This was a common northern noodle shop way of eating.
But Su Huan didn’t stop, continuing to add a few drops of sesame oil and a few drops of chili oil before stopping.
He picked up a plump dumpling with a little dog printed on top, rolled it in the bowl, and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth.
Faint white mist rolled out from between his teeth.
With an evolver’s stomach, food being cold or hot was no longer a concern.
Even eating it raw would still leave one full of vigor.
Seeing the train conductor move his chopsticks, everyone praised Yu Yue’s craftsmanship while eating the steaming hot dumplings.
After finishing a plate of dumplings, Su Huan looked up.
Yu Yue held a bowl of dumpling soup, leaning against the cabinet, her finger gently poking at a meat flower raised in the basin. The thick petals were like dog ears, annoyed by Yu Yue’s poking, flapping open to push away her hand.
It amused the woman into a knowing smile.
“About enough. Eat while we talk. You all speak first.”
Su Huan thought for a moment, planning to have everyone report.
Some things he already had a grasp on in his mind, but still needed to compare.
Because He Jie and the others weren’t there today, their spots were taken by Yu Jing and the others.
Li Han sat at the end, next to Xiao Zhao and Huang Hai, his expression slightly restrained.
The several persons in charge looked around and settled their gazes on Yu Jing.
Yu Jing had been in charge of material manufacturing recently, as well as assisting the Factory Director and others in repairing the train, which was the most urgent matter at hand, so she would go first.
Yu Jing furrowed her brows lightly, “The manufacturing group should make some adjustments.”
Su Huan was not surprised.
The manufacturing group originally had only three hundred people, more than enough to handle the original daily affairs. After all, at that time the train had just finished upgrading, with no urgent material demands.
But now various projects came one after another, so it was normal to be overwhelmed.
Fortunately, many survivors were added to help, but these new collectors were quite unskilled in using their abilities.
If Wan Xing could collect five kinds of materials from a tier 1 mutated beast, these new collectors could at most get two kinds, and most of the time could only collect general energy crystals.
The manufacturers were similar; they couldn’t even understand more complex materials.
This direction required knowledge as a foundation after all.
“Need to expand the scale?”
Su Huan asked.
Yu Jing shook her head, “No, it needs refined classification. Currently, the abilities everyone has evolved are too miscellaneous. Although it feels like a hundred flowers blooming, it’s not good for the train’s overall production. Without standards, it’s even hard to formulate standards.”
The Factory Director and others perked up upon hearing this.
“Refined classification…”
Su Huan pondered these words, his gaze falling on everyone’s faces, “If you all have this idea, don’t beat around the bush with me. Everyone say something.”
Old Da spoke first, “I don’t know much about the others. I’ll just talk about our manufacturing group. Although most are manufacturers and collectors, there are big differences among everyone. For example, I’m good at firearm-related things. The attendants in the bullet workshop are all good at bullet processing and manufacturing. Then the batch following Yu team’s are better at material development and fusion, with higher compatibility with the research group.”
“There’s also a batch that’s better at tinkering with various machinery, like repair equipment and such.”
Su Huan looked at Xiao Zhao, “Is the research group the same situation?”
Xiao Zhao hesitated for a moment, “The research group’s situation is more complex. The research group is actually divided according to Yu team, Factory Director Deng Deputy General Manager, Teacher, Director Xu’s laboratories. The gaps between each laboratory are even bigger…”
“What about the logistics group?”
Hu Shuo put down his chopsticks and said thoughtfully, “The logistics group is fine. After all, the logistics group’s work is miscellaneous to begin with.”
Giraffe, standing behind eating, lifted his head slightly, a flash of thought between his brows.
Before he could figure it out, White Deer across from him suddenly said, “The armed corps has this problem too. The soldiers are divided too miscellaneously. They should be properly teamed based on evolutionary abilities. The old set of assault troopers, firepower specialists, etc., is outdated. Should consider factors like collectors and manufacturers.”
Old Da slapped his thigh upon hearing this and said loudly, “Train Conductor, I have an idea too!”
“Speak.”
“How about we separate collecting and form a separate collecting group?”
Everyone looked at Su Huan.
Everyone who could sit here was sharp; for problems like the ones mentioned above, each could come up with a dozen solutions.
But except for these two honest ones, the others only mentioned problems and didn’t bring up suggestions.
It wasn’t them hiding their light.
The armored train system had always been the train conductor’s one-man show. Even with suggestions, they had to see what mood the train conductor was in today.
Doing it right was forever more important than doing it well.
“Grouping?”
Su Huan thought about it, but still shook his head in refusal.
He considered and said, “I’ll draw a line for you here. Unless necessary, I won’t split the existing crew groups. Splitting back and forth would never end. However, you can divide functional departments under each group, like the front of the train, cultivation pod, for some departmental refinement.”
As he spoke, Su Huan seemed to think of something and looked at Hu Shuo, “How many formal members does the armored train currently have?”
“After several supplements, about one thousand two hundred people.”
“The scale can be expanded. Absorb those survivors outside casually. Upper limit two thousand. Right, can it accommodate them?”
Su Huan asked somewhat uncertainly.
Adding population to the train wasn’t something that could be decided on a whim.
Since deciding to absorb formal crew, all aspects of configuration had to keep up.
If resources couldn’t keep up, training intensity couldn’t keep up, and various treatments couldn’t create a gap with survivors, why would they serve the train conductor wholeheartedly?
Energy, supplies, evolution materials… even whether the oxygen produced at the train’s bottom every day was enough for consumption had to be considered.
Hu Shuo quickly flipped through the booklet in his hand, “According to current standards, one carriage eight rooms, each room four people, one double-decker carriage is sixty-four people…”
“Deputy 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 are currently armed soldier carriages. Main 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 are crew personnel carriages…”
“The main train can free up fifteen carriages, the deputy train even twenty carriages, more than enough for formal crew to live in. Survivors are only temporarily stationed in carriages, not considered in the scope.”
Su Huan nodded, “Then go by this standard. Coordinate other issues among yourselves.”
“Next, I’ll talk about our short-term goals.”
“After repairing the train, salvage the data center, then head to Xiushui City, obtain the electromagnetic weaponry, and after arming the train to the teeth…”
Su Huan looked straight into Shu Wei’s light gray eyes and smiled.
“Go test the quality of these major forces.”
“I want to see what comes after the flood, and what comes after the storm.”
“I want to experience all the heavenly calamities in District 12, and see where the edge of this world is.”
“I need the train, talent, supplies, strength. I need everything you have.”
“But this is not a request.”
“It’s an order.”
……
Su Huan leaned back in the chair. His calm words made the atmosphere at the dinner table heavy as water.
Everyone felt enormous pressure.
Even Old Da didn’t dare speak easily.
“Sixty years old is just the prime age to dare to fight and strive.”
Professor Ma smilingly repeated what Su Huan had said back then.
“Hm?”
The Factory Director, Deputy General Manager Deng, Director Xu, and several other old men were all stunned.
Then they couldn’t help but chuckle.
Deputy General Manager Deng said with a smile, “I didn’t expect Old Ma you would tell jokes. Since the train conductor doesn’t treat us as outsiders, although I’m just an old thing, I’m also curious about how the apocalypse is and what this world has become. I’ll state my position too: this old bone is handed over to the train conductor!”
Su Huan tilted his head slightly, his gaze deep, “Can’t guarantee you won’t die, but can guarantee you’ll die with purpose.”
Deputy General Manager Deng: “…”
The Factory Director, who had just wanted to pledge loyalty, was also choked back by this sentence.
Director Xu, “You can visit me more often…”
Su Huan rolled his eyes.
Although he didn’t lack that bit of blood, he didn’t like being drained every day either.
Every time he went to Director Xu’s, whether for serious business or small matters, they would find excuses to ask for some of his bodily fluids.
If no blood could be drawn, substitutes would do.
Insisting on not being picky.
“Have those sacrifices been figured out?”
