A few wandering zombies suddenly turned their gaze toward the pitch-black tunnel, confirming the noise came from there, and rushed over like a swarm of bees.
The next moment, a giant steel beast roared out, crushing and grinding several zombies like squashing a few bugs.
Its speed didn't even reduce slightly, with the only difference being a few more bloodstains on the plow.
The train gradually slowed down and stopped on the crisscrossing tracks outside the steel mill.
On both sides, several trains were also parked, with zombies in various uniforms wandering in the gaps.
However, their numbers were not many overall.
The population was mainly concentrated in cities, with workers unable to return home because of the sudden apocalypse, like in these factories.
"December 18th, early winter, temperature 26°C"
Seven days left before the heatwave struck, and everything was going smoothly according to plan.
As per usual, Su Huan took Liang Kuan down to clear a few zombies.
Then they let the passengers in the back out. Today's special ticket was a steel plate; just one plate would fulfill the objective, and if you brought back an extra one, you'd earn a day's free three meals, hot box lunches.
After clearing the last passenger off the train, Su Huan gathered everyone in the dining car for a brief meeting.
And to have breakfast in the meantime.
Breakfast was freshly made by Yu Yue in the morning: buttery mashed potatoes, luncheon meat sandwiches, and canned yellow peaches.
After finishing the last sip of canned juice, Su Huan said, "It'll be a while before they bring back the steel plates, and we can't waste this time. Apart from Wan Xing's extraction task, everyone else will organize the materials inside the train with me, and build some shelves to classify and store them."
"Let's dismantle all the partitions in carriage six and convert it into a storeroom, storing easily preserved foods so that each carriage can hold at least enough food for one person for three months."
"Let's get started now. Liang Kuan, you go ahead and turn on the air conditioning in carriage number six to maintain it at 22°C from now on, and there's no need to turn it off."
"Yu Yue, you wash the dishes first, then come over."
"The rest, follow me."
Everyone quickly moved according to Su Huan's orders.
Although the team was small, everyone could play their part, and most importantly, there was no half-heartedness in following commands.
That's what Su Huan was most satisfied with.
Bringing Yu Jing and Qi Xiaobai to carriage number six, as soon as Yu Jing saw the tools, her plain eyes started to light up with brilliance.
Without needing Su Huan to say anything, she tied her long hair into a bun and started rummaging through the soft-sleeper compartments.
"This air pump is pretty good, nice find!"
"Finally, a power drill, and it's a professional-grade lithium drill with a torque ring."
"..."
It was Qi Xiaobai's first time seeing Yu Jing like this, a big question flashing across her small face. How could one person's temperament have such a big contrast?
Su Huan twitched the corner of his mouth, "Don't mind her. See if you can dismantle this obstructive partition."
"Okay!"
Su Huan felt a faint wave of energy spreading from Qi Xiaobai.
The screws on the partition trembled.
Soon, several "semi-melted" metal screws were pulled out and placed to the side.
Raising an eyebrow, Su Huan said, "You can try 'twisting' the screws directly, or use more delicate operations to reduce energy wastage."
Qi Xiaobai paused for a moment, then focused on a screw to activate her ability again.
Quickly, the screw was unfastened.
"Is this right? It does save a lot of energy..."
Qi Xiaobai clutched the armrest of her wheelchair.
"Yes, keep going."
Su Huan shrugged.
Qi Xiaobai continued to dismantle the internal devices of the carriage, while Su Huan dismantled the non-metal panels beside her.
These lightweight materials could be kept to make interior dividers; after all, the outer armor was already heavy, and lightweight materials could relieve the burden on the train body.
For others, this job would be time-consuming, but for the two of them, it couldn't be easier.
When encountering integrated materials, Su Huan directly melted them with high heat.
In no time, carriage number six was entirely opened up.
"Su, almost done with the dismantling." Qi Xiaobai called out.
Yu Jing, holding a power drill, also came over, surveying the new space, "The shelves need to consider weight balance, so as not to damage the frame."
Su Huan stood up, holding a seat, glanced at the transparent carriage, "First melt the existing metal materials into steel bars. If that's not enough, we'll dismantle some more from the back, Yu Jing, you arrange the positions."
Pausing for a moment, he suddenly said, "Remember to reserve space for the water tank and fuel tank."
Yu Jing raised her chin slightly, lost in thought, "How big should the water tank be reserved?"
"Like the supplies, every carriage should have one; what's the maximum it can hold?"
Yu Jing lowered her eyes in silent calculation, "A carriage can theoretically hold dozens of tons, but considering not to affect operation, around ten tons, otherwise, the load will be too much."
"Ten tons..." Su Huan weighed it for a moment, "No need for that much, storage is the priority. Reserve space for four tons of water per carriage."
"What about the fuel tank?"
Yu Jing asked rigorously; this man's every requirement seemed to follow some predetermined result.
"Enough to support a flamethrower."
Yu Jing became a bit excited, revealing her beautiful little canine teeth, "Then just fuel won't do; we'll need to add some more potent propellants."
Then Yu Jing began directing the two to start building the shelves.
With Qi Xiaobai, the most troublesome tasks—metal cutting and welding—were spared.
Even those bits of metal scraps could be pinched by Xiaobai into a pretty metal bar.
Just as they were starting, Liang Kuan and Yu Yue, having finished their tasks, joined in too.
"A little more to the side, yes, higher up; the middle of the shelf should be easy to access, there will be more small items, so you can cut more grids..."
"Xiaobai, first seal the window in the back... not enough?"
"There's a lot of metal in carriage number five; dismantle a bit more."
Swayed by her direction, the group was put into a spin, but Su Huan was much more at ease.
Looking at the storage carriage gradually taking shape, all the windows sealed shut, a sense of security was being built up inch by inch in his heart.
As far as the eye could see, rows of metal shelves connected directly to the roof, standing firmly in place despite any shaking of the train body.
Bright lights replaced the sunlight, illuminating the shelves.
The group tossed the debris outside, Liang Kuan brought box after box of easily preserved canned food, while Yu Yue took notes with pen and paper nearby.
The woman was meticulous in her record-keeping, fulfilling her new role assigned by Su Huan.
Warehouse manager.
Responsible for recording the inventory quantity and daily resource consumption.
Su Huan walked to her side, glanced at the wild handwriting in the notebook, furrowing his brows slightly, "How much is there?"
Startled, Yu Yue quickly replied, "The bulk of the food is various canned goods and fresh water, like canned meats, fruit, and grains, totaling over three thousand cans."