Chapter 53 Orbit Change Escape

Under the dim night light, the passengers huddled together anxiously, listening to the corpse-like roars growing louder outside and the heavy impacts pounding against the train. Some were already regretting why they had ever boarded this vehicle.

The stench of sweat, blood, and the rotting odor seeping in through the shattered windows blended together into a foul, abyssal miasma.

And those pairs of crimson eyes were the evil ghosts come to drag them down.

"Hum..."

The interior of the carriage suddenly brightened.

A group of people walked in from the far end, the young man at the lead wearing a faint smile throughout, resembling Dante walking through hell.

He gazed at everything around him with a calm and indifferent expression.

"Snap!"

Su Huan snapped his fingers and smiled, "I am the conductor of the armored train. You can call me Su Huan, or secretly refer to me by my surname. I don't want to say too much right now; in three days, you will find that boarding this armored train is the best decision you've ever made in your lives."

"Get some good rest. The road ahead is still very long."

The people looked at each other in dismay. In this situation, who dared to sleep, and who could possibly fall asleep?

Having said his piece, Su Huan ignored the passengers' reactions and walked straight ahead, followed by a few others.

The veteran passengers hurriedly cleared a path. Although the newcomers had no idea what made this young man so terrifying, they still followed the crowd and stepped aside.

The three brothers trailed behind, acting as guards.

As they passed, the carriage behind them plunged back into gloom.

"Third, how many firearms and ammunitions are left on the train?" Su Huan asked.

"Only two Enforcer-S1 tactical pistols, two Hummingbird-9 micro-submachine guns, one Iron Curtain-A3 assault rifle, and one Night Owl-X7 sniper rifle. Aside from the sniper rifle, they all use standard 9mm rounds. I didn't count the exact amount, but there are three crates in total," the third brother said, scratching his head.

"You know quite a bit. A veteran?"

"Bulls**t. What man doesn't know about guns? Besides, these standard-issue equipment of the enforcement team can be seen all the time."

Su Huan chuckled. "The two micro-submachine guns and the assault rifle are for you brothers. Will there be any problem leaving the train's defense to you?"

The third brother did not answer immediately. Instead, he pulled a cigarette from his breast pocket, lit it, and stuck it in his mouth. By the time they had walked through two carriages, the cigarette had burned down to the filter.

Exhaling all the smoke from his lungs in one breath, the third brother spat out the butt. "I want river crabs stewed with tofu!"

"Deal!"

***

The pristine beam of light piercing the night sky cleaved through the thick, viscous darkness like a sword of judgment. The armored train, carrying a thunderous roar, pulverized the zombies blocking the tracks.

Hordes of zombies surged from all directions like black asphalt, their jagged spines merging into undulating waves of corpses under the high beams, crushed to the sides of the tracks by the cowcatcher.

The iron dragon let out a deafening whistle amid a mist intertwined with steam and flesh, resembling the angry roar of a giant beast.

The pulsing red light on the dashboard of the cab dyed Liang Kuan's pupils blood-red.

Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder, and a calm voice sounded from behind. "We're almost entering the South Station, right?"

Hearing this voice, Liang Kuan's tense nerves relaxed slightly. "There are more and more zombies. There must be parked trains occupying the tracks at the platform, but we can't stop."

"Why stop?"

"Even though our train is very heavy, crashing into another train will definitely cause a derailment, and that's even worse than plunging straight into a horde of corpses."

Liang Kuan's hand was already resting on the control lever.

Su Huan smiled. "Don't we still have Xiao Ba?"

The youth sat silently in the corner of the cab, as if melting into the darkness.

Liang Kuan said in a deep voice, "Xiao Ba's metal manipulation is very strong, but a single empty carriage weighs at least tens of tons. Xiao Ba simply can't move them..."

Su Huan raised an eyebrow. "Who said I was going to move the train? If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain. It's simple."

Seeing how confident he was, Liang Kuan hardened his heart and shoved the throttle all the way to the maximum!

Feeling the struggling vibration of the engine beneath his feet, Su Huan narrowed his eyes, driving his energy to its absolute limit and channeling it evenly into the train's prow and the other four hydrogen-powered train engines.

The guardrails on both sides turned into thick buildings.

Dense masses of zombies clogged the tracks, with even more rushing down from the platforms in a continuous wave. Within the span of a breath, looking out from the cab, the tracks were completely obscured.

The armored train plowed into the scene like entering a mass grave!

The cowcatcher and steel shovels played a magnificent role. Propelled by the violent momentum, the train carved a river of blood through the corpse tide, acting like the ferry boat crossing the River of Forgetfulness.

Soon, the trains parked near the platform ahead came into their field of vision.

"Xiao Ba, shift the tracks ahead and execute a switch!"

Su Huan stared at the train ahead, a certain light flickering in his eyes.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

The bolts on the tracks flew out one by one, and the rails weighing over a ton were forcibly bent by an invisible, massive hand, pressing flush against the empty rail alongside.

"Boom—"

The armored train, like a vigorous swimming dragon, meandered past the stationary train in an instant.

Seeing this, Liang Kuan let out a long breath.

"No problem now, right?" Su Huan asked indifferently.

"Two hours, and we'll be out of Mojing City!" Liang Kuan said firmly.

As long as it wasn't blocked by other trains, nothing could stop a four-thousand-plus-ton iron beast from breaking out of its cage.

Su Huan handed ten pan-energy crystals to Xiao Ba beside him.

"Absorb them one by one, then use this energy to stimulate your supernatural ability. Once these crystals are fully absorbed, your ability will advance to Level 2. Guard the place; I'm going to eat."

Xiao Ba gave Su Huan a surprised look and silently nodded.

Even though zombies were still slamming endlessly against the train's prow, Su Huan had already departed.

After a long while, Qi Xiaoba's voice broke the silence abruptly. "Something else is bound to happen tonight."

Liang Kuan, who was driving, paused for a moment. "We're going to drive straight through Mojing City. Who knows how many zombies we'll have to get through..."

"No, it should be something more important than the corpse tide."

"How do you know?"

"The most dangerous things are the ones he prefers to handle alone."

Liang Kuan sighed softly in his heart. That was because Su Huan never entrusted his life into anyone else's hands.

***

When Su Huan returned to the dining car, the casserole on the induction cooker was still keeping the river crabs warm, the bubbling sound drowned out by the rhythmic, muffled thuds echoing through the carriage.

Huang Hai and the young man sat on the floor nearby, while the three brothers occupied the chairs.

Seeing Su Huan arrive, the group quickly stood up.

Su Huan swept his gaze across their faces and gave a light click of his tongue. "I don't care about these formalities. From now on, we're all our own people."

Wan Xing, standing nearby, handed over a First-Tier pan-energy crystal with a hint of fatigue.

This was the fruit of an afternoon's rushed labor.

"Good." Su Huan acknowledged, pocketing the crystal. "Let's eat."

Yu Yue quickly stepped forward to serve the casserole, placing a steaming bowl of rice piled high right in front of him.

Su Huan aligned the chopsticks in his hand, extended them halfway, and then paused mid-air.

"Aren't you guys eating?"