Bai Lu clapped his hands, invigorated, “I told you the train conductor would be fine, right?!”

“Just forgot to tell the conductor we brought back two Ginseng Fruits to taste…”

He Jie kicked over angrily, flipping him to the ground but still unsatisfied, cursing while kicking, “Is that damn thing a Ginseng Fruit? It’s a Crown Pear, you idiot, didn’t you pay attention when digging on the mountain? You almost hit my heel with a shovel! I was too embarrassed to shout at the time, whispered to you ‘ouch, ouch,’ and you just kept going with ‘what! what! what!'”

“Today I’m going to show you what this is! What is this?!!”

Mountain Goat looked at He Jie’s torn tactical boot and blood-stained ankle, barely holding back a laugh.

Until Giraffe stumbled over with a blank face and added two more kicks, unable to hold it in anymore.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Only Lao San kept smoking one after another, sitting on the sofa without any hint of a smile, his eyes fixed on Tong Zizhan standing by, one hand instinctively reaching for a cigarette box, somehow ending up on his gun handle.

“Hey, out of cigarettes?”

Two cigarettes were handed over, Lu Xiao had unknowingly walked over.

Lao San shook his head, but didn’t refuse Lu Xiao’s kindness, took one, lit it, and walked towards Tong Zizhan.

Lu Xiao sensed something was going to happen, but while everything was chaotic, before he could figure it out, Yu Jing came in, followed by the crew from the manufacturing group, carrying exoskeletons.

“The steel cables are ready, but after dawn, the rain and floods will be more intense. Everyone going on deck must wear the exoskeletons, which only have basic assistance functions and bionic adhesion.”

He Jie, stepping on Bai Lu, asked, “How long until action?”

Yu Jing calmly replied, “An hour and a half from now, but it’s expected that two hours later the flood will cause a chain collapse in the scenic area.”

Everyone’s expressions changed slightly.

“What about Wangjiang Peak?”

Yu Jing shook her head, “Not sure, if Wangjiang Peak collapses again, it could hit the train.”

He Jie coldly said, “Replenish supplies, prepare for action.”

Yu Yue quietly soaked corn kernels and started grinding indica rice.

…

The low-hanging clouds gradually acquired color, with flashes of pale blue and white in the rolling darkness. Although still dim and drowsy overall, it barely allowed one to distinguish between cloud and mountain.

The thunder was not a loud crack but a long, muffled roar, rolling in from distant mountains, sweeping grandly over, making one’s chest vibrate. Mixed in with the thunder was a sharp steam whistle, high-pitched, and shrill.

Su Huan was awoken by this whistle; he dreamt he was back home.

Lying on that gray-blue sofa of his, one ear buried in the sponge, the other on guard outside.

His mom brought a tray, calling him to eat.

Several dishes, almost too much for the small iron tray, not the usual potato shreds, radish, and cabbage fillers, but braised pork, and fish-flavored shredded pork.

Just before he could eat, he heard the train outside; damn thing got louder, yelling nonsensically, waking him up.

‘Been years since I last ate mom’s cooking.’

‘I wonder if they returned home from their trip…’

Just before the apocalypse erupted, Su Huan called them; one was a void number, the other still out of town, couldn’t reach them.

Later, when he tried again, it was too late, communication was cut off.

Su Huan sat up, his whole body dampened by vapor.

Activating heat energy, his clothes emitted white smoke instantly, even smelling scorched at tighter places like the shoulders.

He quickly stopped, looking at his hands in surprise.

‘It seems like the output energy has increased.’

A moment later, he realized.

Turned out “Pan-energy Transformation” had upgraded from Level 6 to Level 7.

“Is this what being a genius feels like? Not bad…”

Su Huan stepped out from under the tree canopy, gazing into the distance. The rain didn’t seem as muddy now, but it fell even harder.

It wasn’t like the rain was falling; rather, it felt like some invisible force was pulling it down from the sky, pouring it onto the ground with a splash, creating a misty white fog.

The distant mountains had only blurred outlines remaining, like silhouettes soaked in ink, occasionally lit by lightning before plunging back into darkness. The forest danced wildly in the wind, tree canopies undulating like waves, the sound of leaves rubbing drowned in the rain, leaving only a chaotic, continuous rumble.

The air was filled with the scent of earth, the bitterness of vegetation, and the ozone of post-lightning.

The entire world seemed to lose its boundaries under the rain, the sky and earth, mountains and rivers, trees and grass, all merging into this chaotic cleansing.

And beneath this violent rain, a cold, hard steel dragon snaked through the flood.

Pressing down on the raging flood like a dam.

“We are ready to climb the mountain.”

“Climb the mountain?” Su Huan raised an eyebrow, “Who told you to climb the mountain? Are the supplies ready?”

“The steel cables are ready, Xiaojing and the others temporarily modified a batch of launchers; the standard launch can reach over a hundred meters, with explosives…

“I meant the rice noodle rolls.”

“…”

“Oh, they’re out now.”

Su Huan waved downwards, dozens of people emerged on the top of the train one after another, led by Yu Jing, her phoenix eyes gazing up at him with an indifferent condescension.

“What needs to be done?”

Yu Jing’s calm voice came through their communication.

Su Huan’s eyes carried a scrutinizing smile, “Just fire the steel cables at my position, I thought you guys drove off.”

Yu Jing lightly said, “Are you so insecure?”

Several steel cables were fired at the Crown Pear tree beneath Su Huan’s feet.

However, even with the flood adding distance, a hundred meters was clearly not enough.

Su Huan’s eyes flickered, his tone like a devil luring one into temptation, “Supplies, purified water…a perfect shelter, no tyrant oppressing you, what’s not to like?”

Yu Jing switched to another launcher, setting it up on the train roof.

With a bang, it pierced through the tree trunk beneath Su Huan’s feet, just an inch from his calf.

“Someone told me the same thing last night.”

“Oh?”

Su Huan’s interest piqued, removing the steel cable from the tree canopy, he moved to the tying point he found yesterday.

“The mole on the train has shown up…”

“Who’s the mole?”

“Don’t you know since you raised it?”

Su Huan grinned, “Who is the mole… such a hard guess.”

“Bang, bang, bang…”

More steel cables were fired up, Su Huan tied them one by one to the Crown Pear tree’s trunk.

He not only wanted to eat the fruit, but also to uproot the tree.

Working and chatting at the same time.

“Were you tempted?”

“Of course not, at least before you die.”

Su Huan looked at the tightly bound small Crown Pear tree beneath his feet, satisfied, he patted his hands, “Are you in love with the train conductor?”

“There might be better reasons, next, we’re going to pull back? Analysis shows Wangjiang Peak might collapse again.”

“So smart, but I don’t think besides blood and milk bonding, anything could make you so resolute.”

The train engine roared, Su Huan could even see waves form on both sides of the train above.

The steel cables were drawn taut, creaking noisily.

Yu Jing looked up at the canopy, the strong wind whipping at her falling black hair, with sparks of blue and white lightning occasionally flashing through them, making the eyes overseeing the train even more profound; it had to be said, the train conductor’s appeal was ever-increasing.

The kind of attraction born from genetic instinct was indeed irresistible.

Perhaps from looking up too long, the respect in those phoenix eyes mixed with a trace of admiration.

“Apart from a romantic relationship, why can’t it be your partner, comrade…or follower.”

No response came from the other side.

As if those words were never heard.

The Crown Pear tree was being pulled by the train’s great force, gradually detaching from the mountain, Wangjiang Peak’s fragile mountain body collapsed once more.

Amid deafening roars, the giant tree fell into the water.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep