Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Conductor’s Log_2

Pushed the compartment door open.

“Bang!”

A dull thudding sound came from the window in front of him.

A large smear of crimson blood spread across the window as the shadow was flung away by the high-speed train.

This chilling scene did not affect Su Huan in the slightest. For others, it was the first week of the apocalypse, but for him, it was four years and one week into the apocalypse.

The first thing he did after rebirth wasn’t collecting supplies or building a safe house.

Rather, it was buying a retro global train tour ticket.

Because only he knew that the ground beneath his feet would continue to heat up for the next month, reaching a terrifying temperature of over a hundred degrees.

Water sources dried up, society collapsed, and coupled with a massive outbreak of the zombie virus, the city instantly turned into a Purgatory. (Note: the high temperature is regional, not global)

After discovering that the temperatures were lower in the north, surviving humans began to flock north to escape.

In his past life, he barely escaped with his life and faced wave after wave of terrifying natural disasters, struggling for four years before dying in despair.

So, after being reborn, the first thing he had to do was run north.

He looked at the sweat gradually seeping out of his arm, and then at the thermometer hanging on the wall, the red line had already reached 27°C.

Su Huan calmly took out his journal.

Flipping to the most recent entry.

“December 16, early winter, temperature 23°C-27°C”

A scattered array of words was written on it, with several more heavily circled, including [Vehicle] [Sixteen Days] [Resources] [Team]…

Though temperatures would exceed a hundred degrees in a month, it didn’t mean people would survive until then.

The optimal temperature for humans is 22°C; any fluctuation above or below that would cause discomfort.

Exceeding 35°C in a humid environment, or 50°C in a dry environment, posed a risk of death.

So, the real time left to him was only sixteen days.

Seven days had already passed, leaving nine days left.

And there was still three thousand kilometers to escape the high-temperature zone.

The train’s speed was 120 kilometers per hour, moving at full speed, it would only take two days to leave the high-temperature area.

But other areas were equally disastrous.

Clean water, food, medicine, shelter, clothing…

Every resource was incredibly hard to obtain.

So the escape vehicle needed to have not only strong defense capabilities and ultra-long endurance but also the ultimate load capacity.

This ruled out household vehicles and airplanes.

Considering everything, only trains met the criteria.

During the early stages of the apocalypse, even this discontinued sightseeing car underfoot could provide strong shelter.

By the time personnel and materials were in place, arm the train.

And it would become a moving fortress.

The train Su Huan chose was an old-style diesel locomotive with electric transmission, simply put, it burned oil for power generation.

In total, the train had forty-two carriages, two for luggage, and forty for passengers. Next to the locomotive was a VIP dining car, then a two-level sightseeing car, followed by two deluxe sleepers, ten standard soft sleepers, and twenty-six hard seats.

Currently, Su Huan directly occupied the first five cars, driving everyone else to the back.

But this was only temporary.

These people, including the zombies on the train, were all part of his plan.

The large glass panels on the carriages were fine for sightseeing and could handle the current level of zombie attacks.

However, when facing the Corpse Kings and Evolution Beasts later, tempered glass was as vulnerable as crackers.

So, he planned to arm this train, tearing through the zombie tide, escaping northward all the way.

Imagine, amid thunderstorms and floods, Corpse Kings with half their bodies cut away leaving long bloody marks in vain on the armored train’s steel as they roar uselessly, watching them sit in the warm and comfortable train, eating hot pot and singing, rushing away.

That feeling was more exhilarating than running on the Overpass on a stormy night.

…

“Time to eat.”

After simply recording a few things that happened today in his notebook, Su Huan put down his pen.

This was a habit he retained after four years of apocalypse, using documentation to combat the collapsing sense of time.

He locked the door and went to the dining car upfront.

The dining car was very quiet, with only the muffled sound of the train rims pressing against the track junctions.

Warm sunlight poured over the red and white checkered tablecloths, and the green plants in the white porcelain vases trembled slightly with the vibrations.

Outside the carriage window, scattered zombies were disturbed by the sound, gathering into a horde on either side of the tracks, howling and chasing after the train.

And then they smashed into the iron skin of the carriage.

“Bang!”

Su Huan closed the fridge door.

He placed the last green pepper on the cutting board, deliberately rinsing his hands under the water, awakening his touch, feeling the cool water trickle through his fingers. For Su Huan, it felt like a wanton sense of indulgence.

This precious vegetable had to be prepared by hand and finally consumed to fully experience all its pleasure.

Once the vegetables were ready, Su Huan casually tapped the induction cooker.

The unpowered induction cooktop made a crisp “ding” sound.

This was the core ability of the Power Supplier, Level 1 Pan-energy Transformation, which currently allowed him to convert his internal energy into light, heat, electricity, and similar, at a ten percent rate.

Previously, he had used a small thermal technique to kill that middle-aged man.

Ordinarily, at this stage, a Power Supplier could only activate small appliances and electronic devices, but Su Huan, with four years of experience, could bypass restrictions to use some minor skills.

Like—point and kill.

This name was given by the passengers in the back, odd but effective.

Once, a woman incited her brother, husband, and seven or eight others, the so-called geniuses hoping to seize control of the train, to launch a nighttime attack.

They spent about five to six minutes using tools to violently smash the compartment door.

Then, like fools, they lined up in the narrow carriage to offer their lives.

By the time the third person had died, Su Huan could see that the people at the front didn’t want to move forward, but they were pushed forward by those behind, and then they were picked off one by one by Su Huan, killing more than a dozen in a row. Those pushed forward cried like pigs and dogs.

The door was left open all night.

Unfortunately, no one dared to cross those dozen or so corpses all night.

The next day, the woman who had incited everyone disappeared. Su Huan found her by the grassy trackside, her hair yanked out, and her intestines pulled out.

Half the people ran away that morning.

And some returned by night, restoring the numbers to their original level when they reached a new place.

New fools and those who fancied their “leadership skills” reappeared.

And the same boring cycle began again.

At first, Su Huan stated the rules, but people swapped out too quickly, and those with ability preferred to trust themselves and left the train to survive alone.

Only the newly boarded ones, and those unable to kill and unwilling to face the apocalypse alone, stayed behind.

Those spineless ones even developed a strange tacit understanding, pushing out the hot-blooded, ambitious people to challenge Su Huan and then get killed.

Of course, no one said outright we should do this.

But in reality, that’s exactly what they did.

Su Huan really looked down on these people, so he didn’t bother to set any rules anymore.

Initially, he killed them seriously; later, it was more perfunctory.

The number of deluded hot-blooded fools decreased.

Why would anyone risk their life for others over nothing?

…

Su Huan’s ability was also the core of the armed train plan.

The source of the train’s power.

But that’s for the future; for now, the tank was still full enough, affording him the time to grow strong enough to drive the train.

Evaporating moisture in the pan, turning on the range hood, pouring in oil… the hood made a low humming sound.

Trees on either side of the tracks shaded the sunlight, casting flickers across Su Huan’s face.

Smoke ensued, food lowered, and the crackling sound of stir-frying overshadowed the howling outside.

Su Huan looked up in surprise, a deathly pale lucky zombie just happened to be hanging outside the window, its eyeballs completely a dark and dull red-black, with a gaping mouth, desperately wanting to eat him through the glass.

Su Huan smiled warmly, “Share for everyone.”

He casually opened the window and shoved the leftover packaging outside into the zombie box.

Zombie: “＼(〇_ｏ)／”

Losing its balance, the zombie hadn’t even bit down before the speeding train flung it away.

Its body was crushed under the iron wheels, but the last faint words could still be heard from that person.

“Remember to eat well…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep