24: Chapter 24 Arrival: The Steel Fortress "Blackrock City"

The wind on the wasteland always carried a scent of rust and dry gravel.

However, inside the Black Iron, the air was filled with the faint fragrance of jasmine and the aroma of freshly baked bread.

Three days had passed since the execution of Zhao Ji.

In these three days, the atmosphere inside the train had undergone a drastic change.

If everyone had previously obeyed only out of fear, then after enjoying three days of "heavenly" life, that obedience had transformed into heartfelt reliance and protection.

After all, in this apocalypse where even a sip of clean water was hard to come by, being able to sit in a carriage at a constant 24 degrees, eat hot meals, and take hot showers was truly a life of luxury.

If anyone dared to disrupt this life, they wouldn't even need Lin Xiao to lift a finger; those hundred-plus girls would tear the person apart themselves.

At this moment, in the luxury lounge of the first carriage.

Lin Xiao was leaning comfortably on the sofa, holding a glass of iced cola in his hand.

In the open space in front of him, several girls from the Dance Department wearing tight practice outfits were rehearsing. The lead dancer was none other than Liu Ruyan.

She was wearing a black, semi-transparent gauze garment over a form-fitting sports bra. Following the rhythm of the music, her long, fair legs traced graceful arcs in the air, her waist was as supple as if it had no bones, and every flicker of her eyes carried a seductive charm.

"Conductor, is this movement standard?"

Liu Ruyan stopped after a high-difficulty backbend, looking at Lin Xiao while panting slightly. Beads of sweat on her forehead slid down her delicate collarbones into her deep cleavage, her eyes full of flattery.

After that night's "massage" and subsequent training, this once-arrogant department beauty had completely accepted her position—she was Lin Xiao's "private collection" and the captain of this dance team; her task was to please this man.

"Not bad, good waist strength."

Lin Xiao nodded in appreciation, his gaze unscrupulously admiring the beautiful sight before him. "Extra meal tonight, everyone gets an extra sausage."

"Thank you, Conductor!"

The girls cheered, looking at Lin Xiao as if he were the God of Wealth.

Just then, the door to the driver's cab opened.

Luo Yao ran out in a hurry, clutching a laptop covered in cartoon stickers, her twin tails swaying behind her head.

"Squad Leader! Stop watching the dancing! There's a situation!"

She shoved the computer screen in front of Lin Xiao.

"The radar detected a massive energy signature fifteen kilometers ahead! And it's accompanied by dense human radio signals!"

Lin Xiao instantly shed his playboy demeanor and sat up straight.

"A human settlement?"

"Yes!" Luo Yao's little face was full of excitement. "According to the thermal imaging and satellite map (though it's an incomplete version) analysis, it's a city! Or rather... a fortress!"

Twenty minutes later.

The Black Iron slowed down and slowly drove out of a mist-shrouded canyon.

The sight before them made everyone standing at the observation window gasp.

At the end of the horizon, a menacing and massive steel fortress stood on the wasteland.

It was not as tidy as the cities of the civilized era; instead, it looked like a monster built from countless pieces of scrap metal.

Hundreds of abandoned train carriages were used as bricks, stacked layer upon layer to form a wall tens of meters high.

Countless shipping containers hung on the city walls like building blocks, turned into makeshift houses.

Huge chimneys spewed black smoke, and rusty pipes wound around the entire city like blood vessels.

In the center of the city, several cooling towers that originally belonged to a heavy industrial zone had been converted into defensive towers, with searchlights flashing from them.

This was the lighthouse of humanity in the apocalypse, and also a hotbed of sin—"Black Rock City".

"This is... a survivor base?" Su Qingqian stood beside Lin Xiao, looking at the oppressive and chaotic steel city, her brows slightly furrowed.

"It looks very dirty and messy."

"Dirty and messy is normal." Lin Xiao put down his binoculars, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Where there are people, there is society; where there is society, there is business."

"We've been killing zombies and wild wolves these past few days, and there's too much 'trash' piled up in the warehouse."

"Hundreds of mutant wolf pelts, thousands of pounds of mutant beast meat that is edible but not delicious, and all those low-level crystal cores we can't use."

"In our eyes, it's trash taking up space, but in a place like this... it's hard currency."

Lin Xiao turned around and looked at the core members behind him.

"Pass the order down: all hands on high alert!"

"Show them our hardware! Raise the machine gun towers, close the armor plates!"

"We're here to do business, not to be sitting ducks. In this place, the more arrogant you are, the safer you are."

Black Rock City, South Gate entrance. This was the site of a huge former train marshalling yard.

A dozen rusty tracks extended into the massive city gate welded from thick steel plates.

At the city gate, two squads of guards wearing patchwork armor and holding old-fashioned rifles were checking survivors entering and leaving.

"You there! Open your bag! What are you hiding? If you dare to bring an infected one in, I'll shoot you!"

A burly squad leader with a vicious face was cursing as he kicked over the basket of a ragged old man, causing a few shriveled potatoes to roll onto the ground.

The old man knelt on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, but was ruthlessly driven away by the guards.

The people waiting in line were all sallow and thin, their eyes numb, watching this scene with indifference.

In this apocalypse, dignity is the least valuable thing.

"Woooo—!!!" Just then, a low, deep whistle, like the roar of an ancient beast, shook the entire city gate.

The ground began to tremble slightly, and the tracks groaned under the unbearable weight.

"Earthquake?" "No! A train is coming!"

The crowd scattered in panic to both sides.

In the mist in the distance, a pitch-black, sci-fi-looking train slowly approached.

It wasn't covered in rags and patches like other survivor trains, but was covered in a layer of matte special alloy armor, gleaming with a cold texture in the sunlight.

The giant V-shaped ram on the front of the train still had dark red bloodstains, the marks left by countless zombies and beasts with their lives.

What was most chilling was the roof.

A twin-mounted automatic machine gun turret was slowly rotating with the radar, its dark muzzles exuding an aura of death. And that grenade launcher, which looked very menacing, was aimed right at the city gate.

"Holy shit..." The squad leader who had been so arrogant just a moment ago was so scared he dropped his cigarette.

"This... who are these big shots? A secret military unit?"

On this wasteland, anyone who could afford to drive such a vehicle was definitely a hegemon!

The Black Iron stopped fifty meters from the city gate. With a sound of air pressure leaking, the side armor door slowly opened.

Lin Xiao stepped out with Su Qingqian. He had specially changed into a new outfit today.

A black tactical trench coat, military boots, sunglasses on his face, and a toothpick in his mouth; he looked both roguish and domineering.

Su Qingqian was wearing a tight dark blue combat suit, outlining her breathtaking S-shaped curves. The Tang sword hung at her waist, her long hair tied into a high ponytail, and she was so cold and beautiful that people dared not look directly at her.

Behind them followed Shen Man and a few clever girls, each carrying a tactical backpack and holding shotguns that were simple but still intimidating.

The appearance of this group instantly became the focus of the entire scene. They were too clean. Too decent.

Their skin was rosy and lustrous, their clothes spotless, and one could even smell a faint scent of shampoo.

This formed a stark contrast with the surrounding survivors, who were covered in dirt and exuded a foul stench. They were simply people from two different worlds.

"Gulp." Someone swallowed hard, though no one knew who.

Countless greedy, jealous, and even lecherous gazes were cast from all around, but after seeing the heavily armed train and the cold, gleaming sword in Su Qingqian's hand, they quickly turned into fear.

Lin Xiao ignored the surrounding gazes and walked straight up to the dumbfounded squad leader.

"Is this Black Rock City?" Lin Xiao took off his sunglasses and looked down at the other person.

"Ah... yes, it is Black Rock City." The squad leader replied stutteringly, his momentum completely gone. "Th-that, there's a tax to enter the city. 10 catties of food per person, or one Level 1 crystal core. Parking fee... is extra."

His heart was pounding as he said this, fearing that if this big shot in front of him got unhappy, he would just have that cannon on the roof fire at him.

"Can I pay with crystal cores?" Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow.

He lacked many things, but not that.

With the ones the system gave for signing in over the past few days, plus those he killed on the road, the Level 1 crystal cores in his bag were piled up like a mountain. Besides using them to charge the system, the rest were almost being used to prop up table legs.

"Yes... yes!" The squad leader nodded repeatedly.

Lin Xiao casually pulled a cloth bag from his pocket and, without even looking, threw it into the squad leader's arms.

"Here are fifty Level 1 crystal cores."

"Arrange the best dedicated parking space for us, one with an independent power supply interface."

"Keep the rest as your tip."

The bag was heavy, hitting the squad leader's chest painfully. But when he opened it and looked, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

They were all crystal-clear Level 1 crystal cores! And of extremely high quality!

In this Black Rock City, normal people might not even be able to dig out a crystal core after risking their lives to kill a zombie, and this bag... was enough to buy all the women on a street!

"Boss! You are the boss!" The squad leader's waist instantly bent to ninety degrees, his fleshy face smiling into a chrysanthemum.

"Please, come in! It must be the VIP parking area! I'll take you there myself!"

"Who the hell dares to block the way? Get out of my way!" He roared at the surrounding crowd, clearing the path ahead like a loyal pug.

Lin Xiao put his sunglasses back on, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. "Sure enough, no matter when, money (resources) is omnipotent."

Under the guidance of the squad leader, the Black Iron drove into a relatively enclosed area guarded by heavy troops.

The vehicles parked here were all relatively "decent" looking, clearly the gathering places for various factions.

But as soon as the Black Iron parked here, it still stood out like a crane among chickens; its massive body and menacing armament made the modified trucks next to it look like toys.

"Lin Xiao, do we really all have to go down?" Inside the carriage, Shen Man looked at the malicious gazes outside with some worry.

"Of course not." Lin Xiao shook his head, a glimmer of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"Don't flaunt your wealth; although we already have, we must keep our trump cards hidden."

He turned around and began to call out names. "Zhao Xiaotang, you stay behind to guard."

"Luo Yao, activate the train's highest alert mode. Full radar, set machine gun turrets to automatic counterattack. If anyone dares to come within five meters of the warning line, don't bother with warnings, just fire."

"All the girls from the Dance Department stay on the train, close the curtains, and don't show your heads. You are too flashy; if these hundred-plus long legs are exposed, I reckon all the men in the city will riot tonight."

Zhao Xiaotang pouted with some disappointment: "Ah? I wanted to go look around too..."

"Behave." Lin Xiao patted her sturdy arm. "You are our anchor. If our home gets stolen, we'll be left with nothing to eat."

"Alright..." Although Zhao Xiaotang was reluctant, she obediently followed the order.

"Su Qingqian, Shen Man, Liu Ruyan. You three come with me." Lin Xiao pointed to the three chosen ones.

"Qing Qian is responsible for security, Shen Man is responsible for money and bargaining, Liu Ruyan..."

Lin Xiao looked at Liu Ruyan, who was wearing a tight leather outfit that wrapped around her sizzling hot figure. "You are responsible for holding up appearances. We are such a big 'merchant caravan', how can we not have a beautiful secretary by my side?"

Liu Ruyan blushed, but a trace of joy flashed in her eyes. Being taken out meant Lin Xiao trusted her and also meant her status was higher than the others.

"Everyone change into casual clothes. Don't dress too revealingly, and don't dress too raggedly." "Bring defensive weapons. Remember, outside, except for the four of us, no one else can be trusted."

A quarter of an hour later. Lin Xiao took the three stunning beauties and stepped into the interior of Black Rock City.

Even though they had tried their best to be "low-key," wearing long trench coats and hats, their unique temperament was still as dazzling as fireflies in the night.

Especially Su Qingqian's icy, frost-like aura, Shen Man's mature and intellectual charm, and Liu Ruyan's seductive manner in every gesture. They were simply a "Goddess Team."

On both sides of the street were various shops converted from shipping containers.

The air was filled with the smell of engine oil, the charred smell of grilled mutant meat, and the hard-to-mask stench of sweat and excrement.

In the shadows by the roadside, many ragged survivors were squatting, watching passersby with hollow, numb eyes.

There were also some women wearing heavy makeup and revealing clothes standing at the doorways soliciting business, who could be taken away for just half a steamed bun.

"Is this... the current survival environment for humanity?" Shen Man looked at all of this, her stomach churning, and she subconsciously grabbed Lin Xiao's sleeve.

In comparison, life inside the Black Iron was simply heaven.

"Adapt to it." Lin Xiao patted the back of her hand, his voice calm. "This is the law of the jungle. The weak can only struggle to survive here, selling their bodies and dignity. While the strong..."

He pointed to the most magnificent building in front—the Black Rock Exchange. "The strong make the rules there."

They walked through the crowded crowd. From time to time, a few clueless thugs wanted to come up to take advantage or steal things.

"Get lost." Lin Xiao didn't even need to make a move; Su Qingqian just coldly spat out one word, and the Tang sword in her hand unsheathed an inch.

The chilling murderous aura instantly made those thugs feel like they had fallen into an ice cellar, and they scrambled away.

In this place, beauties aren't scary; beauties with knives are the scariest.

Finally, they arrived at the lobby of the exchange.

It was much cleaner here than outside, and the people coming and going were mostly dressed neatly, clearly leaders or elites of various factions.

The circulating currency here was "Energy Points" (a type of electronic currency issued by the official Black Rock City) and "crystal cores."

The lobby was filled with hawking sounds everywhere.

"Selling fresh mutant rat meat! Five catties for one Energy Point!"

"Ancestral mechanical watch! Trade for two anti-inflammatory pills!"

"Does anyone want a female slave? Just caught, only ten catties of rice!"