Chapter 25: Want to Try This?

Dog Brother’s face betrayed a flicker of apprehension. Recalling Su Huan’s mysterious methods, he whispered a warning, “Keep your voices down. That man named Su is an Evolver; he moves like a ghost.”

Old Hu offered a mocking sneer at these words. An Evolver? Who wasn't these days? But even Evolvers feared the cold, hard truth. Old Dog instinctively touched the cold piece tucked into his waistband, his mind flashing to the man who could manipulate fire. That flame was truly wicked—it had roasted three of their men before he finished them off with a single shot. Now, those bodies were nothing but skeletons picked clean by zombies. That memory was exactly why he felt confident enough to come and hijack the train, despite knowing their target was an Evolver.

The pre-dawn drizzle, heavy with humid vapor, clung to their skin as several dark silhouettes moved through the mud, stumbling with every step. Finally, they reached their destination.

The man with slanted eyes had his security uniform soaked through, sticking clammily to his back. He wiped his face and stared at the steel-forged train with eager eyes.

“This carriage!” Dog Brother hissed, pointing toward Car 3, its mechanical door bolt gleaming coldly in the rain.

“Don’t mess this up.”

“I’ve been watching for a long time. That guy Su lives right in here. Once we take him out, the women and the cripple left inside will be ours to do with as we please!”

The man with slanted eyes scoffed internally at Dog Brother’s lack of ambition; in the apocalypse, there was no shortage of things, and women were aplenty. At first, they would trade food for them. Later, they stopped bothering—they simply took whichever one caught their eye.

“Once we secure the train, all those women are yours, Third!”

When Third, the one tasked with picking the lock, stepped into a puddle, it made a loud *splat*. The man with slanted eyes shot him a vicious glare. Third trembled as he pulled out his toolkit, gripped his flashlight between his teeth, and swept the beam over the keyhole. He let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s an old-school mechanical lock. If it were electronic, I’d be finished.”

The man with slanted eyes flared his nostrils in excitement, a cruel light in his gaze. “Then hurry up. Once we’re in, the boys will have a feast.”

The group gathered around the train in high spirits, those closest to the windows crouching down, staring intently at the small tools in Third’s hands. Third remained silent, focused on his work. The faint scratching sounds were like those of a tiny mouse.

Thirty seconds passed; the man with slanted eyes remained excited.
One minute passed; his expression tightened.
Three minutes passed; his face grew tense.
Five minutes passed; his demeanor turned somber.

Ten minutes passed; the man with slanted eyes began to twitch.

“Don’t tell me that old lady from the Wang family left the door unlocked for you,” Dog Brother quipped with a biting sarcasm.

“Logically, it should be open by now. This type of lock usually works like this…” Third’s hands shook as he pried harder, but the bolt remained unmoved.

“Useless!” Old Hu grabbed Third by the collar, his face cast in shadows by the beam of Third’s flashlight. “Didn’t you say there wasn’t a lock you couldn’t open?”

“G-give me ten more minutes…” Cold sweat mixed with rain dripped from Third’s forehead as his screwdriver scraped harshly against the keyhole.

In the distance, the dragging footsteps of zombies echoed, their low growls mingling with the sound of the rain. The men’s grip on their machetes grew slick with moisture.

“Hurry up!” Old Hu cursed under his breath.

Five minutes later, the lock gave a sharp, metallic *snap*. As the group looked on, the screwdriver in Third’s hand snapped off inside the mechanism.

The man with slanted eyes lost his composure entirely, his face darkening like a storm cloud. “Third, you’ve been with me for a year, haven't you?”

Third’s expression was worse than if he were crying. “Boss Hu, please, give me one more chance…”

“Don’t be in such a rush. Why not try this?”

Someone nearby offered a pair of needle-nose pliers. Third was overjoyed and reached out to grab them. “This will work, this will work.”

Mid-reach, his hand froze. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

A figure, completely shrouded in darkness, stood inside the window, holding out a pair of needle-nose pliers through the anti-riot grate. A spray of rain hit the window frame, and the jumping droplets caught the cold light, illuminating a young face wearing a gentle smile.

The man with slanted eyes was struck with terror; he hadn't expected the target of their plot to be standing right there among them. Ignoring the cold sweat stinging his eyes, he reached instinctively for the handgun at his waist.

“Don’t need them?”

The smile on Su Huan’s face vanished. His fingers loosened, and the pliers clattered to the ground, splashing into a puddle.

Steel and rain—this was his domain. Su Huan mused inwardly as high-voltage electricity surged from beneath his feet and into the train.

Cold, blue electric arcs, like a long blade guided by the rain in the air, transformed into ten thousand blue filaments that slashed down upon the men outside. The man with slanted eyes felt his hair stand on end; it felt as if he had been stabbed, his muscles locking in agonizing tension. His attempt to draw his gun was cut short as his body began to convulse. His hand pressed against his waist, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

*Thump, thump…*

A series of bodies hit the ground.

A moment later, the man with slanted eyes regained some strength. As his muscles began to loosen, he struggled to crawl up and beg for mercy.

*Zap!*

Another arc flashed with a sharp crackle. This time, the man with slanted eyes flattened himself against the mud, no longer daring to struggle.

“It would have been so much easier to just buy a ticket instead of resorting to crooked ways.”

Su Huan muttered to himself as an invisible ripple of energy spread from his feet, the edge of it just brushing the body of the man on the ground.

[Lv1 Energy Perception]

…

Inside Storage Car 6, the night light provided a steady glow. Gao Zhe stood in the gangway, his remaining hand gripping a piece of rebar. He frowned at the metal door, which looked like a hedgehog. The tips of the metal spikes were stained with a fresh, crimson red.

Through the gaps in the metal, he could see a young man in a black shirt sitting composedly in a wheelchair, his eyes beneath his tousled hair burning with focus. If he had both hands, he would be confident in breaking through that door and landing a fatal blow in one move. After all, the boy was immobile. But now, down an arm, a forced breakthrough would only result in a mutual death.

“Su said you were dangerous,” Qi Xiaoba said, staring at Gao Zhe.

Gao Zhe observed his opponent's state while retorting without hesitation, “You’re even more dangerous than I am.”

Clear footsteps sounded from the other side of the door. As he watched Su Huan approach with leisurely ease, Gao Zhe knew the opportunity was gone. He sighed internally; he had considered that Dog Brother might fail, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly. From start to finish, he had only exchanged one blow with Qi Xiaoba.

“Mr. Gao, why are you not asleep so late at night? Is there something you need? The train can provide late-night snack services, you know.”

Su Huan wore his habitual fake smile, though his eyes remained cold.

Gao Zhe turned and walked away without even uttering a threat. He wasn't even sure he could take one of them, and with the two of them together in the cramped carriage, he had no chance at all. A forced attack would only lead to him being controlled to death, just like that Night Demon. Unless… Su Huan left the train.

“Wait a moment. I have a small job here—I wonder if Mr. Gao might be interested.”