Chapter 402: Chapter 265: Test Fire, Part 2

The large tail detached from the crocodile’s body.

The wretched crocodile charged towards the small speedboat with a fierce and desperate aura.

“Old Liang, its skin is pretty nice, huh?”

“I’ll see if I can skin it.”

Squatting at the back of the speedboat, Liang Kuan, occupying the entire seat, replied in a muffled voice.

When he stood up with the shield in his hand, the speedboat slightly sank.

The shadow of the giant crocodile loomed over the small speedboat.

The next moment, Liang Kuan planted one foot on the boat’s deck.

“Boom!”

A huge splash of water spread out from the speedboat’s center.

But faster than the water was the cold blue lightning.

“Thunder Pool.”

The speedboat, nearly submerged, was miraculously held on the surface by lightning. Su Huan looked up, shading his eyes with his hand.

He saw a silhouette filled with power appear directly above the giant beast.

The recently reinforced shield in his hand was violently whipped at the crocodile’s head.

“Dong——”

The sound was like a resonant bell ringing from a temple.

A strong wind rushed forward, making earlobes tingle.

The giant beast was sent flying backward.

He Jie watched the scene before him in shock, “Is this the power of touching the Tier Two threshold?”

“It’s truly refreshing.”

Su Huan gathered his disheveled hair, a light smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Boom!”

Liang Kuan was thrown back onto the boat. Hearing the two’s conversation, he was about to respond when his chest tickled, and he spat out a mouthful of bloody foam.

Su Huan smiled faintly, “How do you feel?”

Liang Kuan gasped heavily, “Really hard!”

“That’s because your other attributes aren’t keeping up. If you improve your physique and endurance, even if the crocodile were at its peak, the shock wouldn’t be so severe.”

Upon hearing the conductor’s explanation,

He Jie then noticed Liang Kuan’s shield had disappeared, his right forearm bent at an unnatural angle.

Blood flowed steadily.

Unable to help himself, he asked, “Is the gap between Tier One and Tier Two that big?”

“Otherwise, what’s the point of evolution?”

The two electromagnetic cannon strikes had already rendered the giant crocodile near death; Liang Kuan’s strike had no real effect.

However, as a “Defender,” fighting strong opponents is the quickest way to stimulate evolution.

“Wrap up your wounds and prepare to clean up the battlefield.”

After Su Huan finished speaking, he turned to look at the giant crocodile trying to sink back into the water and escape. A sly grin flashed, his white teeth exposed.

“Thunderstorm.”

A bright and gentle ball of light blossomed in the water, growing larger and larger until it fully enveloped the crocodile, now only twenty meters long without its tail.

…

Light footsteps echoed on the restaurant car’s second-floor stairs.

Yu Yue pushed the door open and placed a cup of coffee beside the lead conductor’s hand.

Su Huan pulled his feet off the table, asking, “Has that Ban Yunzhang woken up yet?”

Yu Yue used her ability to listen for a moment, then smiled, “He was just temporarily knocked out by electricity, he’s waking up now.”

Su Huan took a sip of coffee, smacking his lips, “It’s good for him to learn a lesson. I told him he couldn’t control it, yet he insisted on standing up and getting zapped. Good thing the deck is made of ironwood…”

“Well, I’m going down to cook. What do we eat for lunch?”

“Let’s talk about lunch later. Sit down and listen first; the next bit is important.”

Su Huan instructed.

Yu Yue glanced around, seeing that everyone who had something to say was present. She politely declined He Jie and the others, who offered her their seats, instead taking a chair and sitting to Su Huan’s left.

Her position was slightly ahead of Shu Wei, who sat to Su Huan’s right.

“Toot toot——”

Su Huan tapped the table, speaking seriously, “Now that the issue with the electromagnetic weapon is resolved and the crocodile tailing us has been dealt with, we’re about to enter the Storm Zone. What are your thoughts?”

Everyone exchanged looks, and He Jie, sitting on the far left, was the first to speak, “The precision of the electromagnetic railgun seems off…”

“The power of [Thunder God-8] is undoubted, but we had two shots just now, both missing. If it hit, it could take out a Tier Two Evolution Beast in one blow.”

Ban Yunzhang, seated at the far right, quickly said, “The targeting system is affected by the energy field, but we recalibrated just now.”

“This afternoon, find some targets and recalibrate a couple more times, don’t worry about wasting ammo.”

Su Huan said.

This was an experiment, so errors were normal.

Saying this reminded Su Huan of something, and he looked at the silent Wan Xing, “Let’s dismantle these two crocodiles’ materials early. I suspect their skin has a shielding effect against the energy field.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, there’s another matter I need to inform you about.”

Everyone knew a serious discussion was coming and focused intently on the conductor.

Su Huan pondered and said, “Black Kite wants to negotiate with us, and I’ve agreed.”

The news came so suddenly that everyone was a bit stunned, and several instinctively looked toward Shu Wei behind the conductor.

The latter remained icy cold, with no intention of answering.

Although He Jie and others thought it was unwise, their military discipline made them accustomed to obeying orders, silently waiting for Su Huan’s next words.

On the crew’s side, the Boss’s three brothers followed only Fourth Brother’s lead, so they naturally offered no objections.

Only Professor Ma, the factory director, and the old-timers furrowed their brows.

“I’m curious, when was the communication established?”

Although in a meeting, Yu Jing suddenly asked while still scribbling on her notepad.

“When Professor Ma last adjusted the equipment.”

Su Huan said.

“Does this mean the network can be reconnected?”

“Not our current concern.”

Su Huan interrupted Yu Jing’s divergent thinking.

Hu Shuo asked, “When exactly will the negotiation take place, and what do we need to prepare?”

Su Huan rested a hand on his chin, “Shu Wei.”

The secretary opened the projection screen opposite, quickly pulling up a map on it.

It roughly depicted the border area between Ningxi Province and Lanshu Province.

“The boundaries of District 12 aren’t strictly divided by province; the border of the Storm Zone and Flood Zone is within Ningxi Province.”

Shu Wei traced a rough line on the screen with a laser pointer.

Everyone understood.

“So it’s on the plateau, no wonder…”

“Is this Yanbei Pass?”

“Yes, the Flood Zone and Storm Zone meet at Yanbei Pass, but some areas overlap, so it’s not entirely accurate.” Shu Wei explained.

Hu Shuo drew out a pen to make notes, “So, we’re negotiating with Black Kite at Yanbei Pass?”

“Not quite at Yanbei Pass, but a bit ahead of it. There is a county town that hasn’t been flooded, which Black Kite has turned into a temporary port. We’ll negotiate there.”

“The content?”

“Still undecided.”

He Jie suddenly interjected, “Must we enter the Storm Zone through Yanbei Pass? Knowing they’ve set up a firepower net there, why not bypass it?”

Shu Wei calmly shook her head, “The division is due to the floods being unable to spread further because of the terrain and other reasons. Unless the armed train can fly, it’s impossible to surpass those unique terrains and we must pass through Yanbei Pass.”

He Jie frowned, “What about the northwest direction?”

“That’s currently a large swamp area; the train could easily get stuck.”

Seeing He Jie stop asking, Shu Wei continued, “Refusing negotiation means facing the blockade from Black Kite and other major forces…”

Professor Ma sighed, “But this is a death trap.”

Director Xu agreed, “They’ll surely take a fierce bite of the armed train, and I’m afraid they want more than just a bite.”

The atmosphere became tense, with Li Han and the other new managers not daring to speak, instinctively looking at the silent conductor.

The conductor rested a hand on his chin, eyes downcast.

No emotion showed on his face.

The new arrivals inwardly sighed.

’As expected of the conductor, unflinching in the face of such a thorny problem.’

After three breaths, perhaps realizing the silence,

Su Huan snapped back, asking, “Where were we?”

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