Chapter 324: Fruits Of Victory
The post-war cleanup time far exceeded Su Huan’s expectations.
Just clearing the zombie horde in Zhinnán District took five days, with the crew and armed corps taking turns on duty, leading scavengers to strangle the zombies left in the south district.
Xiao Ba used these five days to erect an iron wall by the river, thirty-six meters wide and twenty meters high, filled internally with earth and stone by Black Star Five Tigers’ Chen Shan, blocking the restless zombie horde to the north.
Without the matriarch’s command and unable to see humans for a long time, the gathered zombie tide gradually dispersed.
Occasionally, a jumper would leap over the iron wall, only to be shot dead by patrolling Lin Jin.
As the first on the armored train besides the train conductor to promote to Tier 2, Lin Jin gave a huge shock to officers like He Jie, who were now all striving furiously toward Tier 2.
They didn’t need to handle the super-scale zombie horde; the train conductor could rush over and snap his fingers to solve it.
The thousands of scattered zombies distributed throughout the streets were the main force they had to fight hard against. These zombies were truly down on their luck—day or night, twenty-four hours a day, squads came to harass them, nibbling away a bit before withdrawing.
By the third day of fighting, the zombies stopped chasing humans upon sight.
This phenomenon piqued Director Xu’s curiosity, and this group of unlucky zombies welcomed their nightmare.
To test the zombies’ physical limits and energy replenishment methods, Director Xu had an entire street sealed off, then arranged two groups of people on either side to lure the zombies into running back and forth.
On the fourth day, ordinary zombies that had been sprinting for over ninety hours entered a standby state.
Individual zombies exhibited cannibalism.
By the time Su Huan went to check on the fifth day, this group of zombies only gave a perfunctory roar upon seeing people, then huddled in corners lying down.
That’s right, lying down.
This was the zombies’ primary recovery method besides feeding.
Relying on general energy floating in the air to replenish body energy, according to Su Huan’s perception, the speed was quite fast—much faster than living people absorbing general energy from the air—though this replenishment efficiency wasn’t high. A completely exhausted zombie needed at least twenty hours to recover.
“But this isn’t much of a flaw for zombies; they have plenty of time.”
Su Huan said faintly from atop the high wall.
“Using this information, we can effectively weaken the zombie horde’s combat power.” Director Xu patted the sandstorm dust from the seams of his clothes and said, “Regarding the ten-dimensional basic attributes test, I’ve got some ideas. Want to give it a try?”
Su Huan asked with keen interest, “What’s the grading standard?”
“Divided into two major categories per your statement: physical system—strength, speed, defense, stamina, constitution. Energy system—total amount, intensity, fine control, duration, exemption resistance.”
“Then levels are calculated comprehensively referencing skill levels, with the final level corresponding to skill levels.”
“Alright, I’ll try it later.”
……
The current south district was only slightly “cleaner,” but that didn’t mean it was safe.
Plenty of dangers still hid in the dark corners of buildings, but for most people, this was still an uncompromised victory.
The major forces and scavengers who had fought hard for so long believed they too were qualified to enjoy the fruits of victory, hence this meeting.
The meeting was held in the hotel ballroom at Chenxi Plaza.
The eleven o’clock meeting was full by eight, and as evolvers who had shown their prowess in battle gradually appeared, the atmosphere heated up. When the three major forces—Jinfeng, Tiejian City, Black Star—took the stage, the atmosphere reached its peak.
Black Kite had fled, Fu Yuan Convoy was wiped out, and Black Star instantly gained the adoration of other scavengers due to Li Xinlong and others’ performance.
Plus with the armed convoy’s care, Black Star suffered the minimal losses during cleanup.
The Four Greats had become the three greats.
An interesting interlude occurred in between: due to the armored train’s favoritism, some scavengers privately rumored that Black Star was actually the train’s vanguard and that they were all one group.
The rumors grew more outrageous later—starting with Li Xinlong’s mom having an affair with some high-up on the train, then it became with the train conductor, and by the third day, Li Xinlong was the train conductor’s illegitimate son in the rumors!
It pissed Li Xinlong off so badly he nearly lost it, but before he could act, Yu Yue, radiating killing intent with her squad, came straight back from the front lines and executed everyone gossiping.
She nipped the rumors in the bud at the source, and the scavengers finally settled down.
The numerous pursers also tacitly chose not to report upward, so the matter was suppressed.
Li Xinlong walked in, glanced around, ignored everyone’s invitations to sit near the main seat, and instead approached Wen Biao. This black old da, who once led a hundred thousand scavengers in a counterattack with boldness, was now sitting cautiously on the edge, humbly fending off the eager small and large leaders around him.
He occasionally glanced at the wall clock and the people entering.
His whole body exuded a polite sense of distance.
Seeing Li Xinlong, some wanted to approach and build relations, but they were all stopped by Old Yang’s gloomy glare.
Old Yang’s terrifying “corpse explosion” had gained widespread notoriety in the campaign. A couple days ago, a small convoy tried to stir trouble; before it could reach the armored train, Old Yang infected them with plague. The entire convoy of over a dozen people rotted alive, howling for a full three hours before dying.
When everyone went to look, the dozen people’s bones had rotted away completely. That horrific scene left a deep impression, so privately they called Old Yang “Plague Lord.”
Stared down by the Plague Lord, no one dared approach.
Chen Shan pulled out a chair, and Li Xinlong sat next to Wen Biao.
Thanks to the armored train, these two unrelated men had grown somewhat close.
Wen Biao smiled, “I thought Master Rong would come later.”
Li Xinlong shook his head, “In all of Zhijin, only the train conductor qualifies to close the show.”
Wen Biao looked at the excited scavengers discussing how much spoils they could get, sneering, “Too bad there are still some who don’t get it—they still don’t know who’s in charge.”
Li Xinlong let out a meaningful light chuckle, signaling agreement.
A team of brisk footsteps sounded outside the door. Two armed soldiers in gray-green trench coats entered first, their sharp gazes sweeping the room before they stepped aside to stand at the doorway like two unsheathed military sabers—cold and sharp!
A figure with hands in pockets strode in, black hair casually draped behind, fluffy and wild, narrow eyes seeming to smile yet not. The moment he appeared, the entire ballroom erupted in a cacophony of chair noises.
Not a single butt stayed glued to a seat.
“Train Conductor…”
Uneven but loud voices chorused together.
Su Huan walked toward the chair placed at the very front of the ballroom; a group with sharp eyes immediately pulled it out, positioning it even more forward and centered.
Su Huan hooked the chair slightly with his toe, stepped on the seat, and sat on the backrest, his line of sight level with everyone.
Seeing this posture, Jinfeng President and Old Yang in the crowd exchanged a glance.
They sensed something was off.
“I have a lot on my plate, Old Hu. Just briefly explain the situation to them.”
Su Huan said.
“Got it.”
Hu Shuo responded, and only then did everyone notice Hu Shuo in a suit behind the train conductor.
Hu Shuo handled the train’s logistics; many present had dealt with him and saw him as the armored train’s butler.
Hu Shuo stepped forward, opened the documents, and got straight to the point without lengthy preamble.
“According to statistics, about 120,000 scavengers participated in the later stages of the south district cleanup war, with over 25,000 deaths. As of today, over 10,000 have left one after another, leaving 86,000 in Zhijin, over 600 large and small forces, 104 of which existed before the battle.”
“Forces over 500 strong total twelve, with 16 Tier 1 evolvers.”
“The armored train decides to establish an armed station in Zhijin City, projected for a 100,000-person residential scale…”
At first, hearing these numbers brought sorrow, as the dead were their people—over 600 forces, but only just over 100 predated the war.
But hearing the later plans, they couldn’t help but be shocked.
The armored train was building a 100,000-population metropolis!
The base city plan was actually moving forward!
Though they had anticipated it, hearing the result firsthand made everyone’s blood boil with a sense of witnessing history.
But the unease in leaders like Jinfeng President grew thicker.
They’d heard bits about the data stats, but nothing on establishing the base city—not even when the train had formulated the plan!
They were completely sidelined!
And from the name “armed station,” one could sense the train’s dominance—this was clearly claiming the base city as its own.
Wen Biao and Li Xinlong listened particularly intently.
This concerned their future.
“The base city’s main departments are three bureaus and two institutes: Food Production Bureau, Energy Administration Bureau, Residential Planning Bureau, Academy of Sciences, and Medical Institute. Security is split in two: internal city defense army handles it, external station garrison corps for outposts—the former replaces enforcers, the latter handles early warning and exploration.”
“All aforementioned departments will be appointed by merits from this battle, announced after the meeting.”
“Finally, all base city matters are under the station master’s responsibility. The first station master will be Black Star Convoy leader Li Xinlong.”
After speaking, Hu Shuo looked up and scanned the room.
As expected, the massive information volume had stunned everyone—some stared at Li Xinlong, some flushed red with unconvinced anger, others sneaked glances at the train conductor beside them.
Su Huan was observing a Tier 1 evolver; as for the meeting content…
A small meeting had already been held on the train.
Only after settling every detail did this meeting happen.
It was less a meeting and more a unilateral announcement by the armored train.
Zhijin Station differed from Shun’an and Guan Chong—huge population, complex internal composition. It couldn’t be handled with simple structures like before; it required a complete urban administrative framework, with the train in control.
This would take much time, but fortunately, train repairs weren’t a quick fix either.
As for the scavengers’ dissatisfaction and resistance…
They weren’t raised as important factors in the meeting.
“Any questions, raise them now.”
Su Huan’s clear voice chilled everyone to the core.
By now, everything was set—leaving no room for discussion.
Whispers immediately filled the ballroom.
Wen Biao’s gaze toward Li Xinlong instantly heated up, “Brother, you’re set—take good care of us from now on…”
Li Xinlong was dazed by the pie falling from the sky. Though he’d anticipated some benefits, he never imagined such a huge chunk of fat.
Straight to turning him from a 2,000-person convoy leader into mayor of 100,000!
100,000 people pre-apocalypse might be an insignificant county town—not even worthy of being called a city without millions.
But this was the apocalypse!
Controlling a 100,000-person base city already meant he could influence human civilization’s direction.
Even if he did nothing, as the mayor of the first base city established from humanity’s counterattack on a major city, he’d inevitably go down in history!
The huge implications left Li Xinlong somewhat dazed, not even knowing how to respond to Wen Biao.
Various relations, factors, influences churned in his mind.
On the other side, Old Yang frantically signaled Jinfeng President with his eyes, but the latter acted like he didn’t see.
It anxious Old Yang into yanking his arm twice, “President, say something! For fuck’s sake, say something quick! If you don’t, it’s all over.”
Before the armored train entered, Jinfeng Chamber of Commerce had lost its vanguard; by war’s end, half its central army was gone too.
Brought 8,000 total, now only half remained—devastating losses.
Dozens of small forces had their entire populations wiped out just like that.
Ammunition and supplies lost were beyond count.
If they couldn’t even get a sip of soup post-war, the remaining 4,000 would bolt too. Half a year’s empire would dissolve after one meeting—they couldn’t afford not to panic.
Jinfeng President’s heart bled too, but he comforted his old partner and nodded toward the opposite side.
Tiejian City leader sat across with a grim face.
Jinfeng Chamber had deep roots—could still salvage something even halved—but Tiejian City was truly decimated.
Though the “Tiejian City” residential community was retaken, everyone was dead—what use was a ruined building?
Tiejian City hadn’t been renamed yet only because this Tier 1 evolver was holding it up.
One had already split off to form his own faction.
“Every battle participant qualifies to enjoy the fruits of victory.”
Tiejian City leader’s cold voice rang out, instantly silencing the venue to a pin drop.
Though no one dared voice it, this represented everyone’s thoughts.
All eyes turned to the train conductor, waiting to see how he’d handle it.
Su Huan looked over—it was a lean man, short hair, cold eyes, body radiating lingering killing intent.
Su Huan wasn’t angry, smiling, “A correction: only victors have the right to enjoy the fruits of victory.”
As he spoke, his mild gaze swept the room.
“Here, only the armored train is the victor.”
“And you are the fruits of victory.”
