8: Chapter 8, Second Stop: Abandoned Military Factory

"Ah..."

Liu Ruyan cried out as if she had received an electric shock, instantly bouncing up from Su Chen's embrace.

She covered her burning buttocks, her watery peach-blossom eyes glaring at Su Chen with coquettish resentment.

The girls in the carriage were all dazed by the sight.

Who could have imagined that Su Chen would dare to be so presumptuous with that goddess-like counselor?

What was even more fatal was that there wasn't a trace of anger on Liu Ruyan's face; instead, she looked as shy as a young girl in love.

"Teacher Liu, well done."

Su Chen, acting as if nothing had happened, withdrew his hand with a light chuckle.

"Keep maintaining this level of awareness in the future. On my train, people of value will not be mistreated."

After saying that, Su Chen turned around gracefully and walked back into the driver's cabin.

Leaving Liu Ruyan standing there, biting her red lips, her beautiful eyes shimmering with emotion.

Chu Qingxue watched this scene quietly, an imperceptible flicker of complex emotion passing through the depths of her eyes.

She took a deep breath and turned to begin arranging the night watch duties for the girls.

...

With the protection of the Gale Abatis Armor, although the ghosts wailed and howled outside the window all night, the interior of the carriage suffered no further substantial damage.

Time passed slowly in a weave of tension and exhaustion.

Finally, when a pale light appeared on the horizon, the second morning of the novice protection period arrived.

The sunlight struggled to penetrate the thick, blood-colored mist, spilling onto the dew-covered, blue-black armor.

Su Chen woke up early on the simple camp bed in the driver's cabin.

After a full night's rest, his overextended mental power had completely recovered to its peak state.

He stretched, and the bones throughout his body let out a series of crisp pops like crackling beans.

Su Chen walked to the rear of the driver's cabin and glanced at the Black Iron Mid-Grade Primary Train Water Purifier.

The storage tank was already filled with ten liters of crystal-clear, absolutely pure water.

This was the hardest currency in the wasteland world.

With a thought, Su Chen directly opened the game channel of the Heavenly Dao System.

After a night had passed, the chat channel for the entire Sixth Region had not quieted down; instead, it had become even more bustling.

Unfortunately, such bustling was often accompanied by endless despair and death.

[Help! Does anyone have food! I was so hungry last night I even gnawed on my leather shoes!]

[I'm dying of thirst. The mist outside is poisonous. My friend took a sip and is still foaming at the mouth!]

[Big shots, please have mercy. I'll trade an Excellent-grade blueprint for a bottle of water, even half a bottle is fine!]

[Wuwuwu, several people died on our train last night. Their brains were sucked dry by wraiths. It was terrifying!]

Looking at these despair-filled messages, Su Chen's expression remained calm.

He directly opened the Heavenly Dao Trading Panel, which only Train Masters could use.

Yesterday he chose to wait and see because he didn't have enough chips and feared causing unnecessary trouble.

But now, he possessed indestructible armor; it was time to start harvesting resources on a large scale.

The upcoming train upgrades would surely require a massive amount of basic materials.

Su Chen drew two liters of pure water from the purifier and then divided them into twenty portions of one hundred milliliters each.

He skillfully listed these on the trading platform and set strict exchange conditions.

[Seller: Su Chen (Train Master of train no. 0099)]

[Item for Sale: Absolutely Pure Water (100ml)]

[Required Items: 50 Basic Wood, or 20 Iron Ingots, or any blueprint/special material of Black Iron grade or higher.]

[Stock: 20 portions]

[Note: No bargaining, serious inquiries only.]

As soon as this trade information was posted, the chat channel for the entire Sixth Region instantly boiled over!

[Holy crap! Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Someone is actually selling pure water?!]

[100ml of pure water? This is practically life-saving immortal water!]

[Big shot Su Chen is too awesome, to actually be able to get his hands on such a scarce resource!]

[But isn't this price too extortionate? Fifty units of wood for a hundred milliliters of water? Why don't you just rob us!]

[If you poor bastards upstairs can't afford it, then get lost! I'd even pawn my underwear to stay alive!]

The wasteland world never lacked smart people or rich people who cherished their lives.

Even though the price Su Chen set was vampiric, in this extremely water-scarce environment, a large crowd still flocked to it.

“Ding! Player Zhao Si used 20 Iron Ingots to successfully exchange for 100ml of your Pure Water!”

“Ding! Player Wang Meng used 50 Basic Wood to successfully exchange for 100ml of your Pure Water!”

“Ding! Player Lin Heihu used the Black Iron grade material [Damaged Power Core] to successfully exchange for 100ml of your Pure Water!”

Accompanied by a series of pleasant system notification sounds, the twenty portions of water Su Chen listed on the trading panel were snatched up in less than a minute.

And in his system personal inventory, a large pile of heavy basic resources instantly appeared.

There were over five hundred units of wood, over two hundred iron ingots, and he even got some strange special materials.

"Excellent. With these things, I won't have to worry about materials for the train's next upgrade."

Su Chen closed the trading panel with satisfaction.

He understood the logic of hunger marketing; the water he released today was enough to cause a sensation. He needed to keep the remaining pure water for emergencies and to control his subordinates.

At that moment, there was a light knock on the iron door of the driver's cabin.

Lin Momo walked in timidly, carrying a clean stainless steel lunch box.

"Big Brother Train Master, Sister Qingxue asked me to bring you breakfast."

Inside the lunch box were two pieces of slightly toasted bread and half a sausage.

In this period, this was definitely the highest-standard food the carriage could provide.

Today, Lin Momo had combed her messy hair back into two cute twin-tails.

Although there was still some unwashed dust on her cheeks, her large, soulful eyes seemed to speak, looking at Su Chen with full admiration.

Ever since Su Chen dominantly protected her yesterday, this little girl's heart had been completely tied to him.

"Leave it there."

Su Chen nodded faintly, not showing much enthusiasm.

Lin Momo obediently put down the lunch box, hesitated for a moment, and then couldn't help but whisper:

"Big Brother Train Master, everyone didn't sleep well last night and is very tired now."

"But Sister Qingxue has already cleaned the carriage and reorganized everyone into groups, ready to follow your orders at any time."

Su Chen took a bite of a piece of bread, feeling very satisfied with Chu Qingxue's management ability.

That cold school beauty was indeed good material for an internal affairs manager.

Just as Su Chen was preparing to finish breakfast and take a patrol around the carriage.

A cold, piercing Heavenly Dao notification, carrying a strong sense of warning, suddenly exploded in everyone's minds!

[Ding! Attention all players!]

[The train is entering a high-risk area!]

[Ten kilometers ahead, you will arrive at the medium-sized high-risk station—'Abandoned Military Factory'!]

[Mandatory stay time at this station: 2 hours 00 minutes!]

[Danger level assessment: Extremely High!]

[Tip: This station is occupied by a large number of mutant monsters and unknown high-level infected entities. It is extremely dangerous!]

[But at the same time, this station contains a large amount of standard-issue weapons and equipment, train upgrade blueprints, and rare metal materials!]

[Opportunity and death coexist. Train Masters, please prepare for battle!]

Hearing this notification, the girls who were still resting in the carriage instantly sat up in terror.

The color drained from everyone's faces in an instant.

Yesterday's small abandoned mine had already brought them to the brink of death.

Now they had to enter a medium-sized high-risk station like an Abandoned Military Factory?

And they had to stay for two mandatory hours?

Su Chen stuffed the remaining half of the bread into his mouth, his gaze instantly becoming incredibly sharp.

"A high-risk station, huh?"

He licked the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, the warlike blood in his body beginning to boil uncontrollably.

"This is practically a treasure trove tailor-made for my Omni-Modification!"

In this wasteland world, any abandoned military facility meant a massive amount of metal materials, precision mechanical parts, and potentially powerful weapons.

And these were exactly what Su Chen needed most right now.

He strode out of the driver's cabin, his gaze sweeping over the thirty-plus girls in the carriage like a blade.

After a full day of life-and-death trials yesterday and a night of rest, the girls' mental states had recovered slightly.

But hearing the words 'high-risk station', their faces were still written with fear.

"Everyone, listen up."

Su Chen's low and authoritative voice rang out in the carriage, instantly suppressing all the whispers.

"The train is about to arrive at an Abandoned Military Factory. The danger level this time far exceeds yesterday's."

"I can't cover every direction by myself, so I need to form a core exploration team."

As soon as these words were spoken, the carriage became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone knew that following Su Chen off the train to explore meant a slim chance of survival.

But at the same time, it was an excellent opportunity to establish an irreplaceable position on the train.

Su Chen didn't give them much time to think and directly began calling names.

"Chu Qingxue, step forward."

Chu Qingxue didn't hesitate for a moment. She stood up, tightened her thin trench coat, her beautiful face filled with coldness and determination.

"I'm here."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

She walked up to Su Chen. Her S-rank talent [Extreme Cold Frost] made her position in Su Chen's heart irreplaceable; as a sub-DPS and controller, she was the perfect choice.

"Liu Ruyan."

Su Chen's gaze turned to the mature counselor, who was still blushing slightly.

Liu Ruyan bit her lower lip gently, her voluptuous body trembling slightly, but she still walked out bravely.

"Su... Train Master, I am ready."

Her S-rank [Life Recovery] was the team's only guarantee for sustainability. With this super healer around, the team's fault tolerance would be greatly increased.

"Lin Momo, bring your voice, and come with me."

Su Chen finally looked at the sweet girl hiding in the crowd.

Although Lin Momo was so scared that her calves were shaking, she ran over without hesitation upon hearing Su Chen call her name.

"Train Master brother, Mo Mo will definitely not hold everyone back!"

Lin Momo's A-rank talent [Vitality Notes] was currently the best group buff, capable of instantly boosting the team's combat power by a whole level.

Thus, an elite four-person squad consisting of Su Chen (Main DPS/Melee), Chu Qingxue (Sub-DPS/Control), Lin Momo (Buff Support), and Liu Ruyan (Healer) was officially formed.

This was a tactical system that could be called perfect.

Su Chen turned his head to look at the physical education student Zhang Man.

"Zhang Man, you lead the remaining people and stay in the carriage to await orders."

"Once we leave, immediately lower the blast shutters and lock the carriage doors."

"No matter what happens outside, without my orders, no one is allowed to open the doors without authorization."

Zhang Man nodded heavily. She knew that although she had some strength, she wouldn't be able to help in battles of that level, and staying behind to protect the rear was the wisest choice.

"Don't worry, Train Master. As long as I, Zhang Man, still have a breath left, I will never let any monster step into the carriage!"

"Woo—!"

Just then, the train let out a long whistle, and its speed began to decrease rapidly.

Outside the train window, the thick fog was forcibly pushed aside by the Gale Abatis Armor.

A massive, eerie, Abandoned Military Factory, tightly surrounded by tall, rusted barbed wire, slowly appeared in everyone's line of sight like a dormant steel beast.

The perimeter of the factory area was scattered with numerous rusted tank wrecks and abandoned military jeeps.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of motor oil and a nauseating stench of rot.

"Hiss—"

The train stopped steadily in front of the military factory's main gate.

"Open the door, get off."

Su Chen gripped the explosive combustion iron staff in his hand and stepped out of the carriage first.

Chu Qingxue and the others followed closely behind.

As the four of them stepped onto this land covered in bullet holes and black slime, an intense aura of slaughter rushed toward them.

"Roar—!"

The moment they stepped into the factory gate, a low, savage roar came from the shadows of an abandoned tank.

Immediately after, three terrifying mutant dogs, the size of cattle and covered in blue-black metal scales, lunged out!

They were incredibly fast; with a violent kick of their limbs against the ground, they turned into three blurs, pouncing on the four in a triangular formation.

In their gaping, bloodthirsty maws, two rows of fangs, sharp as daggers, flashed with a chilling, cold light.

"Warning! Encountered mutant creature—Berserk Armored Dog (Bronze Low-grade)!"

The red warning of the Heavenly Dao System flashed on Su Chen's retina.

"Bronze-grade monster!"

Su Chen's eyes narrowed. The grade of this monster was one level higher than yesterday's Elite Ghoul.

"Mo Mo, sing!"

Su Chen roared without looking back.

"O-okay!"

Although Lin Momo was scared pale, she did not falter at the critical moment.

She took a deep breath, clasped her hands together, and her clear, melodious singing voice instantly echoed throughout the empty factory area.

"In that distant horizon, starlight guides your path forward..."

Individual materialized musical notes emitting a pink-gold light appeared out of thin air, quickly turning into streaks of light that merged into the bodies of Su Chen and the other two.

[Ding! Obtained [Vitality Notes] buff, stamina recovery speed increased by 50%, movement speed increased by 30%!]

Su Chen felt his body instantly become so light it felt like he was about to float, and his muscles were filled with explosive power.

"Qingxue, block their retreat!"

Before Su Chen finished speaking, he had already rushed out like an arrow released from a bow.

A cold light flashed in Chu Qingxue's beautiful eyes, and her hands quickly formed seals in front of her chest.

"Extreme Cold Frost—Ice Wall!"

Accompanied by her cold, delicate shout, the moisture in the air was instantly drained.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle!"

Three thick ice walls rose from the ground without warning behind and on both sides of the Berserk Armored Dogs, directly cutting off their ability to use speed to kite them.

One of the Armored Dogs in the lead, due to its excessive speed, crashed directly into the ice wall, letting out a painful howl as its speed plummeted.

"Now is the time!"

Su Chen's murderous intent surged. He exerted force with his legs and leaped high into the air.

Twisting his waist in mid-air, he swung the twenty-five-pound explosive combustion iron staff with both hands, smashing it fiercely onto the Armored Dog's back.

"Boom—!"

The moment the iron staff made contact with the metal scales, the explosive combustion effect was triggered perfectly.

A ball of high-temperature red flame, over a thousand degrees, exploded outward!

The Berserk Armored Dog's prideful defense appeared vulnerable in the face of this violent attack.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound of bone cracking rang out as the Armored Dog's spine was snapped by Su Chen's strike!

Its massive body slammed heavily into the ground, creating a large crater, and after twitching twice, it completely lost its life.

[Ding! Successfully killed Berserk Armored Dog (Bronze Low-grade), obtained Survival Points: 5 points.]

[Dropped items: Armored Scales 2, Berserk Blood 1.]

"Well done!"

Liu Ruyan, in the back, couldn't help but cheer.

She gripped her hands tightly, green light of life already gathered in her palms, staring intently at Su Chen, ready to provide him with healing at any moment.

Seeing their companion instantly killed, the remaining two Armored Dogs not only did not retreat but were instead provoked into ferocity.

They pounced frantically toward the nearest person, Chu Qingxue.

"Courting death!"

Su Chen snorted coldly, and with the speed boost from Lin Momo, he instantly moved sideways in front of Chu Qingxue.

He swung the iron staff horizontally, bringing up a wave of scorching fire, directly forcing the two Armored Dogs back.

Chu Qingxue was not idle either. She waved her hands repeatedly, and several sharp ice cones whistled out, piercing accurately into the soft, unarmored underbellies of the Armored Dogs.

"Thwip! Thwip!"

The ice cones pierced the flesh; although they did not cause fatal injuries, the extreme cold temperature caused the movements of the two Armored Dogs to become sluggish.

Su Chen seized this fleeting opportunity, his figure weaving between the two dogs like a ghost.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two consecutive muffled explosions rang out, and Su Chen, in an extremely violent manner, smashed the heads of the remaining two Armored Dogs into pulp.

The battle was declared over in less than a minute.

The four of them cooperated seamlessly, like a precision killing machine.

"Phew..."

Su Chen shook the black blood off his iron staff, turned back to glance at the three women whose faces were full of admiration, and a satisfied smile curled on the corners of his mouth.

This feeling of entrusting one's back to teammates and outputting damage without any concerns was indeed much more satisfying than fighting alone.

"Clean up the battlefield quickly; we are continuing deeper."

Su Chen put the dropped materials into his backpack and led the three women toward the workshop inside the military factory.

Along the way, they encountered a few more sporadic monster attacks, but thanks to the tacit cooperation of the four, they were all easily resolved.

This greatly improved the practical combat experience of Chu Qingxue and the other two, and their inner fear also decreased significantly.

Especially for Chu Qingxue; her control over her own talent was becoming more and more proficient, and the accuracy of her ice cones was getting higher and higher.

Passing through several damaged iron doors, the four finally arrived at the core area of the military factory—the Armory Workshop.

It was a mess, with scattered parts and collapsed shelves everywhere.

Su Chen's gaze swept quickly across the workshop. Suddenly, he discovered something good in a weapon crate in a corner.

It was a double-barreled shotgun with a slightly bent barrel and a surface covered in rust.

Next to it was a damp, moldy wooden crate containing dozens of scattered, oxidized shotgun shells.

"Although it's a bit broken, for me, this is a rare and top-tier embryo!"

Su Chen was overjoyed and immediately put the broken gun and the damp bullets into his backpack.

As long as [Omni-Modification] was available, this scrap metal would soon become a lethal weapon.

Just then, Chu Qingxue discovered a crystal flickering with purple electric light next to the corpse of an Elite Armored Dog that had just been killed.

"Train Master, look at this."

She picked up the crystal with a handkerchief and handed it to Su Chen.

Su Chen took it and looked at it, and the system prompt immediately appeared.

[Item: Lightning Attribute Mutant Core (Rare).]

[Property: Contains violent thunder energy, can be used to modify high-level weapons or equipment.]