Chapter 263: Underwater Laboratory
Flood Zone, Xiushui City.
A bizarre vehicle that was neither boat nor car drove across the water surface.
All around were rooftops of varying heights protruding from the water.
“Woo——”
The deep whistle sound rippled out, causing the drizzling rain to fluctuate slightly before falling back into the water.
This time, although the armored train had no major upgrades, its appearance had undergone a massive change.
On the sixteen-meter-wide body, both sides featured two Hammer of the Alps shaped like “horns,” and a massive white arc-shaped ring encircled the body, protecting the entire train like ribs.
These rings covered the entire train.
Whenever fierce winds and waves swept in, the outer rings would rotate to ensure the inner train traveled steadily.
This was the final version of the anti-rollover frame researched by the Factory Director and others.
The massive anti-rollover frame had nearly used up all the bone material from the entire Blue Whale, with the core spine section melted into the train undercarriage, enhancing the train body’s resistance.
Now, even if the armored train encountered that vortex again, it wouldn’t need to worry about being torn apart by the water flow even if it couldn’t escape.
Inside the vehicle, Glasses turned back to look toward the highest command platform, where under the bright lights, a large dark shadow appeared.
“No need to look at me, just proceed with your salvage procedures.”
The voice carried a hint of laziness, yet it was like injecting everyone with a stimulant.
“Understood, Electromagnetic Weapon plan, first salvage begins.”
“Divers, please prepare.”
“…”
On the deck outside the vehicle, watching the surging waves outside, the Second Priest and Third Priest, who were only wearing shorts all over their bodies, looked furious and turned to question Old San, who was fully armed.
“Why do we have to go into the water again? Hasn’t that Data Center already been salvaged?”
Old San smiled and fastened the camera equipment to their chests with straps. “The Train Conductor said you two performed well last time, so keep up the good work this time. But this time it’s not the Data Center, this time it’s the electromagnetic weapon.”
The Third Priest said stiffly, “Can’t we switch with someone else? Last time in the water I was already in dire straits…”
Old San patted his shoulder and handed him the cigarette butt that was smoked down to the filter. “What dire straits? Wasn’t it just almost getting eaten by a crocodile? I’ve already taught that crocodile a lesson for you, it absolutely won’t appear again. Besides, on the entire train, only you two have diving experience. If you don’t go, who will?”
Looking at Old San’s blatant threatening tone and the rifle butt pressed against his lower back, the Third Priest cursed inwardly.
The Second Priest beside him felt his face stiffen from the wind and rain, and he couldn’t wait any longer before interjecting.
“He has strong combat power, but I’m just a puppet manipulator. If I go down, I won’t be able to come back up.”
“Right, that’s exactly why we need you as a puppet manipulator. There are plenty of ‘puppets’ down there for you to manipulate.”
Old San said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“But…”
Old San’s expression suddenly turned cold. “Quit dithering like a big man. Give them a hand!”
Two combat group members stepped forward and kicked.
With a “plop,” the Second Priest, with weak physical fitness, didn’t react in time and was directly kicked in.
The remaining Third Priest grabbed the train’s mechanical arm, staring in horror at the flood below like an abyss. “Something’s coming from below, pull me up quick, up!”
“Pull your ass!”
A burst of cursing came from on the train.
The Third Priest looked up just in time to see Old San’s ferocious face and an enlarged gun stock.
His vision went black.
Seeing both of them fall into the water, Old San stood on the train and sneered coldly.
The Train Conductor said the Second Priest was temporarily useful, while the Third Priest should be used to the death.
Anyway, they weren’t loyal to the train. If they didn’t die from use, they’d be worn out. Better to make use of them while they were alive.
“You watch here. If they come back empty-handed, gun them down!”
After instructing, Old San hurriedly slipped out of the carriage, ran through the repaired armory hall in the middle to Carriage 1, then entered the front of the train.
To ensure the front of the train’s strength, it had only one formal entrance, set behind the Hammer of the Alps, so otherwise one could only enter the front via the corridor in Carriage 1.
The second floor was off-limits; that was the Train Conductor’s bedroom.
Just as he entered the front of the train, he saw on the panoramic screen a group of water ghosts with wing membranes under their armpits and scarlet eyes charging madly.
Judging by their appearance, they were all Tier 1 zombies.
The surging turbulent flow not only failed to hinder them but instead boosted their speed by thirty percent.
Just as the water ghosts were about to pounce on the lens, a black shadow flashed by, piercing a water ghost at the edge of the frame straight through and sending it flying back.
“Whoa, that fish spear is really powerful! It can even pierce Tier 1 zombies!”
Old San found an empty command platform to sit down and watched the live broadcast on the screen with keen interest.
But the remaining water ghosts relentlessly charged forward, raising their hands with fin membranes unfolding like knife edges below, their scarlet eyes openly craving flesh and blood.
“Oh no, oh no. Should’ve given them a knife at least.”
The nervous Old San slapped his thigh repeatedly.
Suddenly the screen shook wildly, bubbles mixed with dark red spreading in the water.
The light sources were chaotic, making it impossible to make sense of it.
But soon, a blinding blue light bloomed in the water, electric light wrapping around each water ghost like an octopus.
With the electric light’s intervention, the screen quickly stabilized.
The originally aggressive water ghosts seemed fixed in place, floating stiffly in the water.
The camera’s owner hesitated for a moment, then swam over swinging both arms, stuffing a red crystal into a zombie’s mouth. After doing the same to the others, these zombies seemed injected with new energy.
They actually started moving.
Only their eyes changed from scarlet to pitch black.
Old San sneakily glanced at the Train Conductor on the command platform, then lowered his head with a sigh.
He’d wanted to watch some excitement, but now with the Train Conductor making a move, there was no suspense left.
Still, thinking that the Train Conductor would personally lead the action soon, Old San grew eager inside.
Ever since the armored train got on track, the Train Conductor not only didn’t lead task teams but even made moves visibly less often, with fixed action time only for weekly charging.
“Armed Corps, all officers Second Lieutenant rank and above except Xiao Ba and He Jie, follow me.”
“Yes!”
Qu Hang, Yu Yue, and others responded in unison.
“Combat Group…”
“Here!”
Hearing it involved them, the fully armed Old San immediately stood up, chest out and head high, his all-black new military uniform making him look even more spirited.
Meeting Old San’s expectant gaze, Su Huan’s lips curved slightly.
“Stay behind to guard the train.”
“You stay in the front of the train to watch for me, prevent accidents.”
“The rest, follow me into the water.”
After Su Huan finished decisively, he left Old San dumbfounded.
Old San took two quick steps wanting to say something but was blocked by He Jie smirking beside him.
“Don’t you know military orders are like mountains? Just stay here obediently and watch.”
Old San sat back down dejectedly, staring darkly at the screen as if he could teleport through it.
In just the time of a few words, the situation on screen had reversed. The Second Priest had gained control of eight Tier 1 water ghost puppets, fighting back and forth with the Third Priest and other water ghosts, blood spreading farther away.
Various red and black eyes lit up under the faint light.
Dozens of figures silently bypassed the chaotic underwater battlefield, swimming toward deeper areas.
Su Huan’s pair of deep blue eyes carefully searched below.
Li Xiuhua’s laboratory was located underground in a mountainous area at the edge of Xiushui City. It had once been a very remote military restricted area, but later with era development, people gradually appeared around it, and the military restricted area was converted into an electromagnetic laboratory.
If the apocalypse hadn’t come, perhaps in a few years this laboratory would have been relocated too.
But even unguarded, such a place would be hard for ordinary people to find.
Fortunately, Shu Wei had marked the general range, and before Su Huan’s side had swum a few circles, a few old soldiers in the team had already recognized the laboratory entrance.
The warning line fenced with iron wire was covered on the surface with barnacles and rust-colored deposits, with several crooked support posts nearby, warning cables long without power wrapped around the posts, swaying silently with the current.
Goat swam to the front of the team to lead the way.
The group hadn’t brought extra lighting equipment; lighting mainly relied on the Train Conductor’s occasional faint light releases.
Fortunately, everyone’s strength was superior, not affecting their movement.
Soon, led by Goat, everyone arrived before a pitch-black gate.
Approaching and observing for a while, Su Huan barely made out the door’s shape.
He didn’t know how this group had found it.
But he was too lazy to care, waving his hand, and immediately an expert swam forward to try opening the door.
Li Han at the rear also advanced, waving his hand, and the mutated plants quietly surrounding from all sides all retreated, even the water grass on the door pulling back, taking away a large patch of mud.
Su Huan was thinking about how to violently break the door later.
Although he hadn’t looked into it, per Dong Huang’s habits, once war was involved they’d exercise twelve times caution. This door absolutely wouldn’t be easy to open.
“Hm?”
Su Huan looked up in astonishment.
“Rumble——”
In the time he had his head down, the gate actually opened!
Before he could react, a powerful suction dragged everyone and the mud inside the gate.
Ten minutes later.
The group stared blankly at the scene before them.
Warm yellow emergency lights lit up, the wide passage inside dry and bright, the ground without any standing water, only water marks from everyone climbing up.
“Has the military area’s waterproofing already reached this level?”
Deputy General Manager Deng, looking at the laboratory, also wore a shocked expression.
Goat spread his hands. “I never entered this kind of military area before retiring, not sure. Maybe this is the standard…”
“Nonsense, the whole province is flooded but this inside is dry?”
Deputy General Manager Deng looked left and right.
Scared, Goat hurriedly stopped him. “This is still a converted military area after all…”
Deputy General Manager Deng dismissed it. “You think this is a novel? Step in the wrong place and a bunch of traps and hidden arrows pop out to shoot me dead…”
Watching the two backs heading forward, Su Huan turned to the expert who had opened the door earlier.
“By the way, how did you open it so fast?”
The latter removed his oxygen mask and spread his hands blankly. “I just tried, and it opened right away… To be precise, it wasn’t locked at all.”
“Not locked?”
Su Huan narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled twice.
“Pretty interesting. Let’s go inside and take a look.”
…
In the hall, six ring accelerators were arranged on anti-vibration platforms, thick insulating mud wrapped around the coils, even carrying that fresh-out-of-factory smell.
At this moment, everyone was gathered before the central platform, gazing up at the pinnacle of human technology above, lost in collective thought.
The electromagnetic railgun was 9.8 meters long, 2.4 meters high, and 1.5 meters wide.
Overall in streamlined matte black coating, two gallium nitride-plated rails extended parallel, 50 mm gap between, embedded with superconducting electromagnetic coils inside, surface covered in dense discharge patterns.
The barrel base supported by a titanium alloy frame, bottom fitted with adaptive hydraulic buffers, six supercapacitors arrayed on each side, each group 1.2 meters long and 0.8 meters wide, surface covered in carbon fiber cooling mesh.
Deputy General Manager Deng was leading several experts in climbing up and down to inspect.
“Main barrel body intact, no damage traces…”
“Laser rangefinder intact, no damage…”
“Infrared tracking module intact…”
But as the experts reported one by one, the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie and silent.
Gao Yuan behind Lu Xiao turned his ring while signaling Tong Zizhan with his eyes.
‘What’s going on?’
Tong Zizhan rolled his eyes back.
‘How should I know?’
Gao Yuan: ‘Military’s own, you really don’t know?’
Tong Zizhan: ‘When I left the company, my permissions were only one level above yours.’
…
White Deer suddenly said, “Train Conductor, once we find this thing, our mission this trip is complete, right?”
“Heh.”
Su Huan let out a light scoff, his eyes full of vigilance.
Anyone with eyes could see that this railgun, including the surrounding electromagnetic weapons, had been pre-arranged and placed in the room by someone.
Just like the ammunition in the armored train, normally stored in the ammunition depot—who the hell would put bombs in the front of the train except in special cases?
The situation in the laboratory was like someone knew they were coming and had hauled out all valuable items in advance, afraid they wouldn’t know which were most valuable, arranging them by importance right on display!
The gate opening at a touch could be called a coincidence.
But considering the current situation a coincidence would mean his four years of prison in his previous life were for nothing.
Feeling the narrow eyes glance over, Shu Wei cautiously shook her head.
“Black Kite knows the laboratory’s location, but the weapons inside are just a supplement to Black Kite, not worth expending huge manpower and resources in the flood zone.”
Su Huan neither confirmed nor denied, looking toward the little chef sensing with eyes closed on the other side.
After a long while, Yu Yue opened her eyes, her round almond eyes carrying some doubt.
“No people, no animals, not even plants.”
Su Huan said thoughtfully, “Goat, Yu Yue, Qu Hang, you three lead teams to search the laboratory interior. Be careful not to touch anything.”
“Understood.”
Numerous armed personnel hurriedly departed.
Deputy General Manager Deng, who was buried in studying the electromagnetic railgun, suddenly looked up and shouted, “We have the gun, where are the cannonballs?!”
Xiao Zhao wandered around the small equipment nearby with a camera.
Hearing Deputy General Manager Deng’s shout, her gaze instinctively fell on the box at her feet. Just as she was about to ask if it was this, she saw a piece of paper on the box.
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
She cried out in alarm, “Train Conductor, situation!”
