237: Chapter 237 Building a pool and setting up a market!

Zhou Jun first accompanied Little Eight to the carriage to set up the venue.

They had just left when Captain Lu Gongda arrived right on their heels.

The honest-looking man poked his head out from the carriage junction.

He carried a polished toolbox in his hand, followed by two apprentices helping him carry materials.

He trotted up the spiral staircase, and before he could catch his breath, his gaze landed on the dozen or so sea fish drying on the roof, as well as the strange humanoid creatures nearby.

Captain Lu Gongda paused, swallowed hard, and forced himself to stay calm. "Brother Lin, are we building..."

"A reservoir."

Lin Xiao stepped aside, clearing a space on the roof.

"We need to temporarily house these Flying Fish. It needs to be tall enough, and the water needs to circulate. Tell me whenever you need materials."

Captain Lu Gongda stood on the roof and looked around, walking a circle around the dozen Flying Fish while quickly estimating the dimensions and materials in his head.

Then he opened his toolbox.

A tape measure, an ink fountain, and several wooden boards with sketches were laid out one by one.

He crouched down and used chalk to outline the pool on the anti-slip steel plates, then looked up and said somewhat sheepishly, "It's not hard, it's just... if I do it alone, it'll take half a day."

"You're not alone." Lin Xiao looked at the caravan members on the roof, then at Fan Sinian and the others behind him.

Boss Crab was the first to step forward.

His pincers struck his chest plate with a dull thud. "Leave the heavy lifting to me. A few hundred pounds is nothing."

The jellyfish named Im moved silently to the side of the Flying Fish.

A translucent arm reached out from under her cloak, gently covering the gill cover of one Flying Fish.

The fish's tail fin struggled twice before gradually quieting down.

She seemed to be using some method to soothe these anxious creatures.

Captain Lu Gongda nodded and, without further pleasantries, crouched down to start working, then reported the materials needed to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao sent a private message to Jiang Wanwan, who was back at the territory organizing supplies.

Soon, the required materials were traded over.

Little Eight also thoughtfully provided some homemade waterproof film, which was usually used for packing cargo crates but had now found another use.

Boss Crab carried bundles of timber while the waterproof film was spread out under Shaman's guidance.

Captain Lu Gongda's hands were steady; with a snap of the ink line and a strike of the hammer, the mortise and tenon joints between the wooden boards fit perfectly.

His skills weren't combat-oriented, but at this moment, they were more useful than any battle technique.

A pool three meters high, twenty meters long, and five meters wide was quickly erected.

Next was drawing the water.

Fan Sinian volunteered, leading Fang Yuan and the others as they leaned over the edge of the roof with large wooden buckets to scoop up seawater.

As soon as the bucket's mouth extended past the Coating, seawater poured in, but when they tried to pull it back, the Coating blocked the flow of water.

Never mind the seawater; they couldn't even bring the bucket back in.

After several failed attempts, the Flying Fish in the reservoir were nearly stiff.

Fan Sinian set the bucket on the ground and panted with his hands on his hips. "This Coating is being way too stubborn. The Black Tide has already receded, so why is it still blocking the seawater?"

Lin Xiao stepped forward and pressed his palm against the surface of the Coating.

Originally, the seawater contained dark matter, so the Coating had isolated it.

This was the Coating's characteristic [Calamity Barrier] at work.

Now, the dark matter in the seawater had been completely purged, yet the seawater still couldn't enter.

As for the reason...

After the Astral Express was upgraded, all of its functional modules had been upgraded simultaneously.

[Autonomous Defense System: LV.2 → LV.3]

The [Coating] module included in this function naturally received a corresponding upgrade and evolution.

With the increased protection level, the Coating would independently judge whether external substances would cause harm to the train and the life on board.

This judgment wasn't a simple matter of blocking harmful substances.

It had become smarter.

The salinity, microorganisms, trace radiation, and even the water pressure itself were all within its scope of assessment.

Even the caravan members behind him were being evaluated for their malice based on their hormone secretions.

Unless they were extremely good at disguising themselves, they would be blocked by the membrane and unable to even enter.

The membrane now covering the entire surface of the train was thicker than before.

Looking up, the seawater surged slowly outside the Coating.

Occasionally, glowing plankton would drift past, their light refracting into soft ripples that projected onto the roof.

At first glance, it felt like being inside the glass tunnel of an ocean park.

Lin Xiao's thoughts shifted slightly.

He was the actual controller of this train and the holder of the highest authority for the functional modules; he should have some special powers.

Just as expected.

The area where his palm touched the Coating began to dissolve rapidly, forming a circular hole with smooth edges.

Under high pressure, the surrounding seawater instantly sprayed in, bursting into a cloud of white mist on the roof.

The water current slammed into the inner walls of the reservoir with a dull roar, and the water level rose at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Lin Xiao repeated the process, filling all the reservoirs on the surrounding carriages to about eighty percent full.

The seawater swirled in the pools, and strings of bubbles floated to the surface, refracting into delicate rainbows under the lights.

He withdrew his hand, and the Coating sealed itself back up, as good as new.

No trace was left where the hole had disappeared, as if it had never been opened.

"Transfer the Flying Fish inside."

Lin Xiao wiped the water stains off his hands.

Im was the first to step forward. She raised her translucent arm and touched her fingertip to the forehead of a Flying Fish.

The fish acted as if a spell had been cast on it; it had been lying on the ground on the verge of death, but now it was suddenly full of vitality, its tail fin flicking gently as it obediently leaped into the pool.

The moment it hit the water, its gill covers snapped open, its side fins fully expanded, and it carved a smooth arc underwater.

The other Flying Fish were also guided into the pool one by one. The water surged for a while before gradually returning to calm.

Everything was arranged.

Lin Xiao led the crowd as they turned and descended from the roof via the spiral staircase.

As soon as they stepped into Dining Car 09, a lively atmosphere hit them.

Zhou Jun, the young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, was usually quiet, but he possessed unexpected talent for organization and coordination.

He was directing the caravan members to arrange folding tables along both sides of the aisle, dividing them into several sections based on product category.

Weapons and Armor, Medicines, Sundries, Decorations...

Every table was covered with a clean tablecloth, and the goods were categorized and neatly stacked.

There were even handwritten labels.

With his assistance, Little Eight briskly set up her stall, her eight tentacles pushed to their limit during the bustle.

The hardworking Boss Crab continuously moved cargo crates from the roof into the carriage.

The dining car, which had been so spacious it felt empty, was transformed into a small market in just half an hour.

Simple folding tables were set up along about two-thirds of the aisle, leaving only a wide passage in the middle.

After all, including the Active Armor on the outside of the train, the carriage was a full fifteen meters wide.

That was equivalent to a four-lane road.