Chapter 4: Su Huan’s Favor Compounded with Interest

Su Huan said patiently, “There’s a nearby canning factory, but how much food will be left there is uncertain. I don’t mind chatting with you a little longer, but some people probably won’t make it onto the train tonight.”

The murmurs instantly died down.

Everyone dispersed and began to walk outside.

There were over forty carriages, but only about a thousand people aboard, which already revealed Su Huan’s nature.

If you couldn’t afford the ticket, he really would leave you off the train.

Soon, almost all of the thousand or so people had left, with only a few slow-moving ones remaining.

A girl lingered and slowly approached Su Huan.

Squinting slightly, Su Huan's tone was gentle, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

The girl nervously twisted her fingertips and hesitated, “Can you...?”

“No.”

Suddenly, her stomach growled.

Her eyes reddened instantly, tears spilling over as she pleaded, “I’m just so hungry...”

Su Huan suddenly understood. “So it was you.”

Last time, a few people hadn’t collected enough supplies and barely scraped together the money for a ticket.

Without food, hunger was inevitable.

Su Huan pulled a loaf of bread from his pocket and handed it to her.

The girl immediately devoured it hungrily, finishing the entire loaf within a few bites after opening the bag.

Su Huan thoughtfully offered her a small 330ml bottle of drinking water.

After finishing it, the girl looked up with a sweet smile, “Brother Su, you’re really kind.”

Oh, and a little beauty too.

Su Huan casually wiped the tears from her face, smiling happily.

“Remember to bring back six sets of supplies.”

Without waiting for the girl’s surprised expression, he returned to the carriage to fetch his tools.

Liang Kuan went to move the prepared metal plates.

...

Returning to the carriage, Su Huan spotted a figure skulking near his door from afar.

Seeing the familiar knit sweater and full figure, there was no need to guess—it was Yu Jing’s mother.

Su Huan activated his silent walking “skill.”

Standing behind the woman, about ten centimeters away, he could vaguely feel the warmth radiating from her body.

Using his height advantage, Su Huan peeked over her shoulder, watching her nervously twisting her fingers like a little girl.

His voice was low and gentle, “What are you doing here?”

The woman trembled all over, her legs weakening as she collapsed against the compartment door, luckily catching herself with her hands.

The fright came so suddenly she didn’t even have time to cry out.

Fearing she would fall awkwardly, Su Huan reached out and steadied her waist.

Only then did she turn around to look at him. Seeing it was Su Huan only heightened her fear.

In an awkward posture, she trembled, “I wanted to see my daughter—she hasn’t returned all night...”

“Oh.”

Su Huan felt his fingers sink into the soft curve of her waist.

“Click!”

The door lock opened, and Yu Jing, her hair tied in a high ponytail, opened the door.

The woman lost her balance and fell into Yu Jing’s arms.

Yu Jing held her mother, her dark, spirited phoenix eyes roaming over them with a trace of confusion. “Are you here to check on the results?”

Su Huan acted as if nothing had happened. “I’m fetching some tools. You should come too.”

Yu Jing moved aside, and her mother, like a frightened rabbit, slipped to the other side, avoiding Su Huan’s playful gaze.

The clutter of parts inside the room had vanished, and various tools were neatly arranged on the table.

The train body leaned diagonally in the center of the room, its front wheels slightly turned left. The mechanical supercharger’s intake gaped like fangs in the shadows, the honeycomb texture inside resembling insect compound eyes.

The air was filled with a cold mixture of machine oil and leather, like the exhaled fumes of some great beast.

Yu Jing frowned, explaining, “It’s restored, but the sound isn’t right. There must be some small issues with the engine that need to be checked one by one.”

Su Huan was unconcerned.

Just a few minor problems.

Were they worse than the chainsaw and fuel injection hybrid engine modified by the biker?

A rider braking could easily end up crippled or worse.

He could handle such wild beasts; surely these harmless little quirks were no challenge.

He simply replied with the biker’s common saying, “There are too many faulty things in this world; as long as it starts, that’s enough.”

“Hmm, if you say so... we’ll check it again when we get back.” Yu Jing paused, then relaxed.

Su Huan first pushed the large machine to the sightseeing carriage, where there was more space.

Then, taking Yu Jing and welding tools, he headed toward the front of the train.

Stepping off the front, they saw Liang Kuan struggling to lift a huge steel plate.

The steel plate was a solid 25mm thick, V-shaped, perfectly covering the entire front of the train. Su Huan had welded it at some factory a few days ago.

“Are you planning to install... armor?” Yu Jing suddenly asked.

Su Huan turned to look at her just as he was about to step forward. “Is there a problem?”

Yu Jing calmly said, “If you’re facing zombies or obstacles on the tracks, a plow-style front might be more effective.”

Su Huan’s eyes gleamed faintly. “Good idea. Do you know how to go about it?”

Yu Jing crouched before the train’s front, inspecting it. “It’s simple—just tilt the steel plate 30 degrees and weld it on. It’s a bit troublesome, though.”

“Then let’s do it.” Su Huan’s tone was resolute.

He had to survive with this train. The armoring and modifications could not be sloppy.

“Liang Kuan, lift it. I’ll weld. Yu Jing, you go to the back and adjust the position. Let’s try to finish by morning.”

Without even plugging in the power, Su Huan picked up a welding rod and sparked it directly at the gap.

Yu Jing was stunned, about to warn him, when the sparks nearly blinded her.

In disbelief, she looked again—Su Huan held only the welding tongs, no power source, welding in midair!

It completely defied her understanding.

“What is this...?”

“Just calibrate the position. If you do well, I’ll tell you how to become an evolver,” Su Huan said calmly, his back to her.

Yu Jing watched this mysterious man, her eyes flickering.

“Lift it a bit higher. The angle’s too low to have a plowing effect.”

“Hey!”

Liang Kuan grunted, lifting the heavy steel plate, his face flushed red.

After an hour, the trio finally finished welding the steel plate.

Looking at the rough weld marks on the train’s front, Su Huan nodded with satisfaction. It’s the apocalypse—no need to be pretty, just fierce!

“Next, the windows. Weld the explosion-proof mesh on the dining car windows. That’ll complete today’s work.”

Liang Kuan clapped his gloves, stirring a cloud of dust, and pulled out a large bundle of explosion-proof mesh from carriage three, beginning to cut on the spot.

Since it was difficult to get power outside, it was simpler this way. Su Huan just pinched the plug.

Yu Jing helped hold the mesh with one hand and weld with the other.

Although it felt awkward at first, the three soon found a rhythm and worked quickly.

Before two o’clock, the entire dining car’s windows were welded with explosion-proof mesh.