9: Chapter 9 Thunderfire Double-Barreled Shotgun

"Good stuff."

Su Chen accepted it without hesitation and gave Chu Qingxue an appreciative look.

However, just as the four of them were immersed in the joy of their harvest...

From a dark corner deep within the workshop, there suddenly came a heavy and extremely oppressive sound of footsteps.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

With every step, the entire workshop floor seemed to tremble slightly.

A stench of rotting corpses, so thick it was suffocating, surged out like a tsunami.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Su Chen's expression changed instantly. He pulled Chu Qingxue behind him, gripped the iron rod tightly with both hands, and stared intently into the depths of the darkness.

Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of iron chains dragging on the ground...

A terrifying monster, standing a full three meters tall and shaped like a mountain of flesh, slowly emerged from the shadows.

Its body was crudely stitched together from various pieces of rotting flesh and cold mechanical scraps.

One thick mechanical arm dragged a huge, two-meter-long bone-cleaver covered in bits of meat.

Its head was covered by a rusted iron bucket, revealing only a single eye that flickered with a cruel red light.

[Warning! Encountered Bronze-grade peak-tier mini-boss — Stitched Butcher!]

[Monster Traits: Extremely high physical defense; mechanical arm possesses terrifying strength; bone-cleaver carries armor-piercing and bleeding effects.]

[Weakness: Slow movement speed; fears lightning-attribute attacks.]

"A Bronze-grade peak-tier boss!"

Su Chen sucked in a breath of cold air.

A monster of this level was definitely not something they could easily contend with at their current state.

"Roar!"

The Stitched Butcher let out a deafening roar, raised its massive bone-cleaver, and swung it down fiercely toward the four people!

"Get out of the way!"

Su Chen roared, shoving the three women beside him away.

Boom!

The bone-cleaver struck the ground, instantly splitting the hard concrete floor with a deep crack over ten meters long.

Debris flew everywhere, and the entire workshop was filled with dust.

Chu Qingxue suppressed her fear, waving her hands repeatedly as several thick ice spikes whistled through the air, stabbing toward the Stitched Butcher's body.

Clang! Clang!

However, the ice spikes hit the Stitched Butcher's body—composed of scrap metal and tough flesh—and were actually bounced off directly, failing to leave even a mark.

"It's useless, this monster's defense is too insane!"

Chu Qingxue shouted in despair.

Lin Momo was so terrified her small face turned pale, and even her singing began to tremble.

Liu Ruyan clenched her hands nervously, but she was at her wits' end.

Su Chen took a deep breath. He knew that conventional physical attacks were completely useless against this kind of stitched-together monster.

He quickly opened his system inventory, his gaze locking onto the worn-out shotgun and the [Lightning Attribute Mutation Core] he had just obtained.

Boom—

With another loud explosion, the Stitched Butcher swung its exaggerated bone-cleaver, missing once more.

The violent force smashed a crater over two meters in diameter into the spot where Su Chen had been standing.

The powerful shockwave, mixed with flying stones, knocked Lin Momo—who was hiding in the distance—straight to the ground.

"Ouch!"

The sweet girl let out a cry of pain as her already tattered hanfu was torn further.

A section of her fair, smooth thigh was exposed to the air, with a bit of skin scraped and oozing a trace of blood.

Seeing this, Liu Ruyan hurried over to help her up. Simultaneously, her hands emitted a faint green light of life, gently smoothing over the wound.

"Train Master! Be careful!"

A rare trace of anxiety appeared in Chu Qingxue's cool voice.

She desperately squeezed the remaining mental energy in her body, once again condensing several ice spikes in an attempt to block the Stitched Butcher's path.

But for this Bronze-grade peak-tier mini-boss with insane physical defense, these ice spikes were like scratching an itch through a boot.

The Stitched Butcher's single eye, flickering with cruel red light, locked onto Su Chen.

It could sense that this human was the greatest threat.

"Roar—!"

The monster moved its heavy, pillar-like legs, like an out-of-control heavy tank. Carrying the suffocating stench of corpses, it madly tried to crush Su Chen.

"Want to kill me? You pile of rotten meat aren't qualified!"

Su Chen sneered. Not only was there no trace of fear in his eyes, but a fanatical battle intent began to burn within them.

Without hesitation, he issued a modification command in his mind.

"Omni-Modification! Fuse for me!"

[Ding! Target detected: Damaged Double-Barreled Shotgun, Lightning Attribute Mutation Core (Rare), Damp Gunpowder, Iron-Clad Scales.]

[Talent effect triggered: Searching for hidden fusion recipe...]

[Recipe locked: Consume 100 mental energy points to reconstruct targets into a Bronze-grade peak-tier weapon!]

"100 mental energy points? I don't care if I'm drained dry!"

Su Chen shouted inwardly.

In an instant, a dazzling burst of light, interwoven with blue and red, exploded from between his hands!

This light was more brilliant than any previous modification, even lighting up the dim armory as if it were broad daylight.

Within the light, the rusted and bent shotgun began to tremble violently and disintegrate.

The damp gunpowder was instantly purified, turning into violent kinetic energy.

The Iron-Clad Scales melted into a layer of indestructible dark-black gun body armor.

And that precious Lightning Attribute Mutation Core turned into countless streaks of purple lightning, madly roaming the surface of the gun body before finally fusing perfectly with the energy of the gunpowder.

The entire process lasted only two seconds.

When the light dissipated...

An exaggeratedly shaped heavy shotgun, full of violent aesthetics and cyberpunk style, landed steadily in Su Chen's hands.

The gun was 1.2 meters long, its body covered in mysterious purple lightning patterns, while the barrel emitted a terrifying, dark-red high temperature.

[Ding! Modification successful!]

[Obtained Weapon: thunder-fire roarer shotgun (Bronze Peak-tier)!]

[Weapon Attributes: No need to load physical bullets. Each shot consumes 10 mental energy points to condense dual-elemental lightning and fire energy buckshot.]

[Exclusive Special Effect (Thunder-Fire Judgment): Bursts with the dual destructive power of lightning and fire when fired, causing large-scale penetration and crushing damage to the target. 100% damage bonus against evil/stitched-type creatures!]

"Good gun!"

Su Chen felt the heavy texture of the killing machine in his hands, and a bloodthirsty curve hooked his lips.

By now, the Stitched Butcher's massive body had charged to within five meters of Su Chen.

The huge bone-cleaver, covered in bits of meat, was raised high. Carrying the wind pressure of death, it was about to split Su Chen in half.

"Go to hell, piece of trash."

Su Chen did not retreat but advanced, his legs firmly planted in a lunge.

He raised the thunder-fire roarer shotgun with both hands, aiming the thick, high-temperature barrel directly at the Stitched Butcher's disgusting face.

His finger pulled the trigger hard.

Boom—!!!

A deafening, terrifying explosion that seemed to tear even the soul apart boomed within the enclosed workshop!

From the muzzle, a blinding beam of blue and red light surged out!

It was destructive buckshot woven from violent lightning and thousand-degree flames.

This terrifying energy instantly tore through the air, smashing into the Stitched Butcher's chest with an unstoppable force.

Boom—Crack!

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The Stitched Butcher's proud, insane defense that even ice spikes couldn't mark...

Before the destructive power of [Thunder-Fire Judgment], it was as fragile as paper.

Its massive, mountain-like body jerked mid-air.

Immediately following, half of its chest cavity was directly blown to pieces by this violent shot!

Charred flesh and broken mechanical parts, mixed with dazzling electrical sparks, flew everywhere like fireworks.

"Aow—"

The Stitched Butcher didn't even have time to let out a complete scream before its bucket-covered head flew off along with the disintegration of its upper body.

Its tattered lower body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Insta-kill!

A complete and total insta-kill!

The entire workshop fell into a deathly silence, with only wisps of white smoke still rising from the barrel of the thunder-fire roarer.

Chu Qingxue, Liu Ruyan, and Lin Momo stared blankly at Su Chen, who stood there holding his gun.

The afterglow of fire and lightning reflected on his sharp-featured, cold face.

At this moment, Su Chen was like a Terminator walking out of hell—domineering, wild, and invincible.

Gulp...

Liu Ruyan swallowed with difficulty. In her charming peach-blossom eyes, besides shock, there was an unmaskable infatuation and submission.

Her full chest heaved violently, and she felt her heart beating so fast it was almost jumping out of her throat.

In this desperate post-apocalyptic world, what could be more fatally attractive than a man who could protect you behind him and shatter all fear with a single shot?

Chu Qingxue's beautiful eyes also shone with brilliance. She clenched her pink fists, making a brand new assessment of Su Chen's strength in her heart.

"Big Brother Train Master... so amazing..."

Lin Momo was even more star-struck, her small face flushed red and her big eyes full of stars.

[Ding! Slayed Stitched Butcher (Bronze Peak-tier) across levels. Obtained survival points: 50.]

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

[Ding! First kill hidden mechanism triggered. Congratulations, Player Su Chen, on obtaining: Silver-grade Treasure Chest * 1!]

The system notification sounded in Su Chen's mind.

"Silver-grade Treasure Chest?"

Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he immediately walked quickly to the pile of charred minced meat.

He saw a treasure chest emitting a dazzling silver light, with exquisite patterns carved on its surface, quietly floating in mid-air.

This is an extremely rare high-level treasure chest at the current stage, and its value is immeasurable.

Su Chen did not hesitate at all and chose to open it immediately.

[Ding! Opening Silver-grade Treasure Chest...]

Accompanied by a soft flash of silver light, three items emitting different colored lights appeared in Su Chen's system backpack.

[Congratulations on obtaining: Level 1 Train Core Upgrade Blueprint * 1!]

[Congratulations on obtaining: Ecological Planting Carriage Mounting Module * 1!]

[Congratulations on obtaining: Skill Book "Thunderclap Step" * 1!]

Looking at these three items, Su Chen's heart began to beat wildly uncontrollably.

This is simply a huge windfall!

[Level 1 Train Core Upgrade Blueprint]: This is the essential item for upgrading a Level 0 train to a Level 1 Primary Steam Armored Train.

[Ecological Planting Carriage Mounting Module]: It can be mounted on the back of the train, providing a piece of ecological soil unaffected by external pollution, used for planting various wasteland crops, which is the fundamental solution to long-term food sources.

As for that skill book...

Su Chen took it out directly; it was an ancient book shimmering with faint lightning.

[Skill Book "Thunderclap Step": After learning, you can master the lightning-attribute movement technique. When activated, it consumes a small amount of mental power, coating the legs with lightning energy, bursting with astonishing speed and explosive power in a short time, and has a certain probability of leaving an afterimage in place to confuse enemies.]

"Good stuff!"

Su Chen was overjoyed. Although he now had heavy firepower like the thunder-fire roarer shotgun, his own mobility had always been a weakness.

This "Thunderclap Step" is exactly what he needed.

He chose to learn it without hesitation.

"Swish!"

The skill book turned into a beam of lightning and drilled into Su Chen's glabella, and a large amount of technique for applying force and spiritual energy circulation routes for Thunderclap Step were deeply imprinted in his mind.

Su Chen closed his eyes slightly, feeling the faint lightning power flowing between his legs, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Train Master, are you okay?"

Liu Ruyan had calmed her excitement by now and walked quickly to Su Chen's side in her high heels.

Her voluptuous body leaned intentionally or unintentionally against Su Chen's arm, bringing a soft touch and the unique fragrance of a mature woman.

"I'm fine."

Su Chen pulled his arm away without leaving a trace and scanned the vast armory.

"The BOSS has been dealt with. Next, it's time for a big harvest."

A greedy smile curled at the corners of Su Chen's mouth.

The entire military factory was like a huge treasure trove, with scattered supplies everywhere.

"Qingxue, Ruyan, Mo Mo, you three spread out and scrape up everything useful here for me."

"Especially military canned food, first aid kits, tactical suits, and those scattered gunpowder and steel parts—don't miss a single thing."

"Yes!"

The three women answered in unison and immediately turned into diligent little bees, starting to rummage around the workshop.

In this world where supplies are extremely scarce, even a rusty screw could potentially become a lifesaver.

Soon, various supplies were piled into a small hill.

"Train Master brother, look what I found!"

Lin Momo ran over excitedly, hugging a box of well-packaged military beef canned food, her little face full of an expression asking for praise.

"Well done."

Su Chen casually patted her little head, causing the sweet girl to blush shyly.

Chu Qingxue found a dozen brand-new black tactical suits and bulletproof vests under a row of collapsed shelves.

"Train Master, these tactical suits are not only made of tough material but also have good warmth retention, perfect for everyone to change into."

Chu Qingxue handed the tactical suits to Su Chen, a rare smile appearing on her cold, aloof face.

"Very good, Qingxue, you are very thoughtful."

Su Chen nodded appreciatively; with these tactical suits, the girls' survival capabilities would be greatly improved.

Liu Ruyan's haul was not small either; she found several strong painkillers and a large amount of antibiotics in an old medical box.

As the team's healer, she had an innate sensitivity to these medical supplies.

However, looking at the mountain of supplies before them, a realistic problem was placed before everyone.

"Train Master, with so many things, the four of us won't be able to move them all even if we move until dark."

Liu Ruyan looked at that "small hill" and rubbed her sore wrists with some distress.

The tight white shirt she was wearing today had become a bit dirty and messy during the battle and looting.

One of the buttons on her chest had even popped open, revealing a glimpse of an extremely alluring, deep cleavage.

Su Chen glanced at that patch of snow-white skin, then his gaze quickly turned to an old forklift in the corner of the workshop.

"Who said we have to move it ourselves?"

Su Chen walked to the forklift; it looked like it had been scrapped for a long time, with flat tires and the engine covered in rust.

But in front of Su Chen's [Omni-Modification], this was not a problem at all.

"Omni-Modification!"

Su Chen extended his right hand and pressed it onto the forklift, consuming 20 points of mental power to perform a primary repair on it directly.

Accompanied by a sound of metal restructuring, the originally dilapidated forklift miraculously took on a brand-new look.

The engine emitted a low roar and started steadily.

"This... this is too magical, right?"

The three women, Chu Qingxue and the others, watched in dumbfounded amazement; although they knew Su Chen's talent was very strong, every time they saw this scene of turning decay into magic, they couldn't help but feel shocked.

"Don't just stand there, load the supplies onto the pallets."

Su Chen skillfully jumped into the driver's seat and operated the forklift, transporting the tons of supplies out of the military factory, one load at a time.

...

At this time, on the train no. 0099 parked outside the main gate of the military factory.

Zhang Man, with more than thirty girls, was nervously guarding near the train door.

Through the gaps in the heavy explosion-proof shutters, they looked out from time to time, their hearts full of anxiety.

"Sister Man, the Train Master and the others have been inside for so long, will they encounter danger?"

Su Xiaoxiao pushed up her glasses, a flash of worry in her sharp, big eyes.

If Su Chen had an accident, this group of defenseless girls would definitely not survive a single day in this wasteland world.

"Don't talk nonsense! The Train Master is so powerful, he definitely won't have any trouble!"

Zhang Man glared at her; although she said so, her hand gripping the rusty iron pipe turned slightly white from overexertion.

Just then, a roar of an engine came from the direction of the military factory's main gate.

"Look! It's the Train Master and the others, they're back!"

A sharp-eyed girl shouted excitedly.

Everyone crowded to the shutters.

In the fog, Su Chen drove a forklift loaded with various supplies, slowly driving out of the factory area.

Chu Qingxue, Liu Ruyan, and Lin Momo followed closely beside the vehicle; although everyone was covered in dust, their faces were filled with unmaskable joy.

"Oh my god! So many supplies!"

"Is that military canned food? I think I even saw tactical suits!"

"Long live the Train Master!"

The girls inside the carriage erupted into a burst of enthusiastic cheers.

Zhang Man immediately pressed the button, raised the shutters, and opened the heavy steel door.

When Su Chen parked the forklift next to the train and looked at the mountain of military supplies, all the girls went crazy.

"Line up, Su Xiaoxiao, you are responsible for counting and stocking."

Su Chen jumped off the forklift and ordered in a calm tone.

"Yes! Train Master!"

Su Xiaoxiao's voice was trembling with excitement; she immediately took out her little notebook and directed the girls to start moving the supplies.

Watching this group of once high-and-mighty art department goddesses moving supplies like diligent worker ants, a look of satisfaction flashed in Su Chen's eyes.

"Train Master, thank you for your hard work."

Chu Qingxue walked to Su Chen's side and handed him a bottle of pure water that had just been drawn from the water purifier.

In her cold, aloof gaze, there was a hint of imperceptible tenderness.

Su Chen took the water bottle, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp; the cold water flowed down his throat, dispelling the fatigue brought by the battle.

"This is just the beginning."

Su Chen looked at the Gale Abatis Armor train that looked increasingly ferocious in the fog, the flames of ambition burning in his eyes.

"With these supplies and blueprints, our train is about to undergo a true transformation."