Chapter 20: The Perpetual Motion Pivot

Qi Xiaoba paused for a moment before saying with firm conviction, "I choose the second option!"

Su Huan’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. For a fifteen-year-old disabled boy to survive the apocalypse and protect a group of people, he relied on more than just a saintly heart.

"Remember, you must use thunderous means to perform acts of mercy," Su Huan said, echoing the assessment someone else had made of Eight-Ye in his previous life.

Qi Xiaoba was stunned; he fell into deep thought, silently reciting the phrase to himself.

Su Huan stood up, his smile fading. "We’ll take shifts for tonight’s watch. Wan Xing, go to the front of the train. Tell Liang Kuan to reduce speed, switch from the Wenshi line to the Mojiang City route as planned, and keep an eye out for water plants and zombie movements along the way."

Wan Xing glanced at Xiaoba, then rose and left.

Su Huan turned to Yu Jing and her daughter. "Xiaoba and I will take the first watch. I’ll come to wake you when it’s time."

As the two were about to leave, Su Huan suddenly remembered something and called out, "Right, bring me another chair."

The mother and daughter departed. Su Huan took two cans of yellow peaches from the shelf and tossed one to Qi Xiaoba. The boy instinctively wanted to refuse, but Su Huan opened the can himself and shoved it into his hands.

"Eat something. Your pan-energy recovery will be faster."

Qi Xiaoba hesitated for a second before accepting the small fork and taking a slow bite. The smooth texture made the boy’s eyes brighten, and he began to eat much faster. Su Huan smiled to himself; he had learned by accident that Xiaoba loved canned yellow peaches. However, supplies were scarce in the apocalypse, let alone such high-quality fruit, so he usually gave most of them to the children.

"There’s a specific way to eat canned yellow peaches. The first mouthful must be a sip of the syrup..." Su Huan explained patiently.

Before long, Yu Jing and her daughter returned with a chair and his sniper crossbow. Su Huan reclined in the chair, cradling the crossbow, and listened to the rhythmic clattering outside as he dozed. The sound of movement was far more reassuring than silence.

...

Of course, Su Huan wasn't entirely idle. If he didn't occupy his mind, he would fall asleep quickly. He was primarily thinking about the direction of his own evolution. Once his primary ability—pan-energy conversion—reached level 3, he could start considering a profession. By combining different skills with suitable genetic agents or specific environmental stimuli, an evolver could develop into a professional. Evolvers at this stage were known as Tier 1 Professionals.

Their combat power was roughly equivalent to a Tier 1 zombie locked outside the carriage. Whether they were stronger or weaker depended largely on individual combat proficiency. Evolvers relied mostly on pan-energy, while zombies relied on mutated flesh, leading some to argue that zombies represented an entirely different path of evolution.

Su Huan possessed several key pieces of information regarding the evolutionary path for "Energy Providers," which left him conflicted.

One option, developed by Deep Blue Data, was the Tier 5 "Blazing Sun Patrol Angel," which favored large-scale combat and energy bursts—essentially a weapon of mass deterrence for major factions. However, he only had the synthesis formulas for the first three tiers of this path; the final two were locked by Deep Blue Data, making them inaccessible to outsiders.

There were two others: the "Light Energy Explorer," which only reached Tier 2, and the "Cinnabar Cauldron Adept," which reached Tier 3. Because they were developed by different companies, their naming conventions varied wildly. While these were highly functional, their subsequent professional paths had not been developed, making them non-viable.

The only complete Tier 1 to Tier 5 evolutionary path in his possession was called the "Perpetual Motion Pivot." According to the madman who gave it to him, once an evolver reached Tier 5 on this path, they would become a perpetual motion machine, possessing infinite pan-energy. It had been researched by the Church of the Mechanical God, but no one had ever verified it.

If it had been developed by Deep Blue Data, Su Huan wouldn't have hesitated for a second. But the group from the Church of the Mechanical God was second only to those who toyed with forbidden arts in terms of danger. They were a bunch of lunatics who believed they weren't sick—which was dangerous enough—but the truly terrifying part was that they actually engaged in research!

Su Huan was caught in this dilemma. The Tier 1 profession for "Perpetual Motion Pivot" was "Energy Storage Core." The requirements were not overly complex: Level 3 Pan-Energy Conversion + Level 3 High-Energy Compression + Level 1 Energy Shaping, along with absorbing the entire pan-energy of a Tier 1 zombie during the evolution process. Of course, these conditions weren't absolute. If one had a Deep Blue Data bracelet, they could monitor their internal energy levels and evolve once they reached 10 units. Without accurate monitoring now, Su Huan estimated his energy was still insufficient.

Following these conditions to the letter was the way to go. Looking at the Tier 1 "Energy Storage Core," this evolutionary path seemed quite reliable. Perhaps... he should give it a try?

A knock on the door interrupted this dangerous thought. Looking up, he saw Gao Zhe’s gloomy face peering through the gap in the three-bolt lock.

"Open the door."

Su Huan stood up and said calmly.

"Click, clack—clang!"

A series of mechanical sounds echoed. Qi Xiaoba undid the locks and pulled the door open, revealing the entirety of Storage Carriage No. 6 to Gao Zhe. Seeing the vast amount of supplies, Gao Zhe’s expression darkened even further as he tossed the corpse of a Night Demon onto the floor.

"It’s dead," he said coldly. "From now on, I don't need a ticket to be on this train."

Su Huan glanced at Gao Zhe’s severed left arm, then at the Night Demon at his feet, whose head had been beaten into a bloody pulp. He drew a sharp breath. Fighting a Tier 1 zombie in hand-to-hand combat—what kind of iron-blooded war god was this?!

He quickly grabbed a medical kit from the shelf, walked over, and smiled warmly. "The armored train will serve Mr. Gao with the utmost dedication from now on!"

The two were almost within arm's reach, but looking at the smile on his face, Gao Zhe felt an odd sensation of having nowhere to strike. He stared deeply at Su Huan, took the medical kit from his hand, squatted on one leg, picked up a fifty-centimeter-long piece of rebar from the floor, and limped back to the rear carriage.

The many workers moved aside with reverence, clearing a path. Su Huan watched Gao Zhe’s figure fade into the darkness, a trace of regret in his eyes. To beat a Tier 1 Night Demon to death with nothing but a short rod—he had never heard of such a fierce warrior in his previous life. He must have been unlucky and perished in some forgotten corner.

"Close the door."

The iron door slammed shut, and the locks engaged one by one. Su Huan felt a bit like a villain, having backstabbed a hero and sealed him away. But there was no help for it; reality was that cruel. In the short term, Su Huan could not allow him into the front carriages. If such a powerhouse were brought into his team, he wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly.

Energy Providers were far too weak in the early stages; until they became high-tier evolvers, they had to rely on the train beneath their feet. Liang Kuan, Wan Xing, Yu Jing, and Yu Yue—they might all have their respective values, but they shared one crucial trait: they posed no threat to Su Huan. The only exception was Qi Xiaoba, and he knew everything about him.

For the foreseeable future, these would be his standards for selecting team members.