Chapter 13: The Storage Carriage

Several wandering zombies suddenly turned their gaze toward the dark tunnel, confirming that the noise came from there, and swarmed in that direction.

In the next moment, a steel behemoth roared out, crushing several zombies as if they were mere bugs under its wheels.

Its speed did not diminish in the slightest; the only difference was a few specks of blood on the plow.

The train gradually slowed and stopped on the crisscrossing tracks outside the steel factory.

Many trains were parked on both sides, with zombies in various uniforms wandering through the gaps.

However, the overall population was not large.

Most people were concentrated in the city; these factories seemed to house only workers who couldn’t return home after the sudden outbreak of the apocalypse.

“December 18th, early winter, temperature 26°C.”

Seven days remained until the high-temperature outbreak, and everything was going according to plan.

As usual, Su Huan took Liang Kuan down to clear out a few zombies.

Then they let the passengers at the back disembark. Today’s special ticket was a steel plate; bringing back one counted as completing the mission, and if they brought back an extra one, they would earn a day of free three meals, hot boxed lunches.

After clearing the last passenger off the train, Su Huan gathered everyone in the dining car for a brief meeting.

They also had breakfast together.

Breakfast was buttered mashed potatoes freshly made by Yu Yue in the morning, luncheon meat sandwiches, and canned peaches.

After finishing the last sip of the canned juice, Su Huan said, “It will be some time before they bring back the steel plates. We can’t waste this period. Except for Wan Xing’s extraction mission, the rest of you will help me organize the supplies on the train and build some shelves for sorting and storage.”

“We’ll remove all the partitions in the sixth carriage and convert it into a storage room to keep some easily stored food. Then, every carriage will have shelves built to store at least three months’ worth of food per person.”

“Let’s get started. Liang Kuan, first go and turn on the air conditioning in carriage 6. From now on, we’ll keep it at a steady 22°C and won’t turn it off.”

“Yu Yue, wash the dishes first, then come over.”

“The rest, follow me.”

Everyone quickly sprang into action according to Su Huan’s orders.

Though the team was small, each person played their role effectively. Most importantly, the command was effortless; no one acted insincerely.

This was what pleased Su Huan the most.

Bringing Yu Jing and Qi Xiaoba to carriage 6, Yu Jing’s usually indifferent eyes began to sparkle when she saw the tools.

Without Su Huan saying a word, she tied her long hair into a bun and started rummaging through the soft sleeper compartments.

“This air pump is excellent, a good find!”

“Finally, an electric drill—a professional-grade lithium-ion one with a torque ring.”

Qi Xiaoba had never seen Yu Jing like this before; confusion flashed across his face. How could one person’s aura change so drastically?

Su Huan smirked slightly. “Ignore her. You try to remove that annoying partition.”

“Got it!”

Su Huan sensed a faint ripple of energy emanating from Qi Xiaoba.

The screws on the partition trembled.

Soon, several “half-melted” metal screws were pulled out and placed aside.

Su Huan raised an eyebrow. “You can try to ‘twist’ the screws directly or use more delicate maneuvers to minimize energy consumption.”

Qi Xiaoba hesitated briefly, then focused on a screw and called upon his ability again.

Quickly, the screw was unscrewed.

“Like this? It really saves a lot of energy…”

He gripped the wheelchair’s armrest.

“Good, keep going.”

Su Huan shrugged.

Qi Xiaoba continued dismantling the internal fixtures of the carriage, while Su Huan dismantled the non-metal panels nearby.

These lightweight materials could be saved for internal partitions; after all, the exterior armor was already heavy, and lighter materials would ease the burden on the train’s body.

For others, this kind of work might be time-consuming, but for the two of them, it was effortless.

When they encountered integrated materials, Su Huan simply melted them with high heat.

Before long, the entire sixth carriage was opened up.

“Su, it’s almost cleared,” Qi Xiaoba called out.

Yu Jing came over holding the electric drill, inspecting the newly created space. “The shelves need to consider weight distribution to avoid damaging the frame.”

Su Huan lifted a seat and stood upright, scanning the transparent carriage. “First, melt the existing metal materials into steel bars. If that’s not enough, we’ll dismantle some from the back. Yu Jing, arrange the layout.”

He paused, then added, “Remember to reserve space for the water and fuel tanks.”

Yu Jing raised her chin thoughtfully. “How large should the water tank be?”

“Like the supplies, every carriage should have one. Max capacity.”

Yu Jing lowered her eyes and calculated silently. “Theoretically, a carriage can hold dozens of tons, but to avoid affecting operation, about ten tons is feasible. Anything more would be too much of a burden.”

“Ten tons…” Su Huan pondered briefly. “That’s too much. Storage is the priority. Reserve space for four tons of water per carriage.”

“What about the fuel tank?”

Yu Jing asked meticulously. This man’s every requirement seemed to be a precise replication of some predetermined outcome.

“Just enough to support the flamethrowers.”

Yu Jing’s eyes sparkled with excitement, revealing her pretty little tiger teeth. “Fuel alone won’t suffice; we’ll need to add a more potent accelerant.”

Then Yu Jing began directing the others to build the shelves.

With Qi Xiaoba, the most troublesome tasks—metal cutting and welding—were eliminated.

Even metal scraps could be twisted and stretched by Xiaoba into neat metal strips.

Just as they started, Liang Kuan and Yu Yue, having finished their tasks, joined in.

“A bit to the side, yes, a little higher. The middle of the shelves should be easy to reach. There will be more small items, so cut more compartments…”

“Xiaoba, seal that window at the back first… not enough?”

“There’s plenty of metal in carriage five. Dismantle some more.”

Under her direction, everyone spun around busily, while Su Huan found himself much freer.

Watching the storage carriage take shape, with all windows sealed off, a growing sense of security built up inside him.

Rows of metal shelves reached the ceiling, standing firm even amid the train’s vibrations.

Bright lights replaced sunlight to illuminate the shelves.

They tossed miscellaneous items outside; Liang Kuan brought boxes of canned food for easy storage, and Yu Yue held a pen and paper nearby, recording carefully.

The woman was very diligent—this was her new job assigned by Su Huan.

Warehouse manager.

Recording inventory quantities and daily resource consumption.

Su Huan walked behind her and glanced at the notebook, frowning slightly at her hurried handwriting. “How much do we have?”

Yu Yue was startled but quickly answered, “The majority are various canned foods and fresh water—meats, fruits, mixed grain cans—over three thousand cans in total.”