Chapter 139: In Your Prime!
A railroad is often the center of a city.
In Changli County, the railroad runs right through the middle of the county seat.
But—
This is something the Steel Council absolutely cannot tolerate!
So when the fully armored unicorn train roared in, war broke out at that very moment.
Pieces of steel flew out from the surrounding buildings, billboards, and telephone poles, converging toward the train like swallows returning to their nests, adding another layer to the already heavy armor, sealing all the windows shut, leaving only pinhole cameras to observe the outside.
Various rockets and shells exploded around the train body, like grand fireworks, lifting the armored train onto this ready-built stage.
Yet the first to make contact was the train's prow-like ram, ferociously plunging into various abandoned trucks that blocked the way, pushing forward with a ferocious momentum that could move trucks weighing over ten tons.
"Bang bang bang—"
High-strength interception locks, densely packed on both sides of the railroad, were triggered by the train, springing up like ropes binding a giant dragon, intercepting the train ahead in an attempt to slow it down.
The screech of metal against interception locks resounded, with streams of rust washed down by acid rain.
To prevent Xiaoba's metal manipulation, these interception locks were made entirely of non-metal materials.
Accompanied by a surge of electric light, the train got a new burst of power, with eight hydrogen-powered carriages and the locomotive working together, its speed slowly increasing.
The first high-strength interception lock finally reached its limit, breaking with a snap a few seconds later and springing back to the sides.
Thick concrete poles were snapped in half by the ropes, crashing down with a rumble.
One broken lock after another, accompanied by the train's sprint, exploding sounds echoed.
The commander of the first line of defense stared at the armored train, watching it approach the position where explosives were buried, only to hear a massive explosion, deforming the twenty-five-ton rails with rocks and sleepers flying over ten meters high, creating a huge crater right on the spot.
Yet the train was still twenty meters away, struggling with those interception locks.
The commander was dumbfounded, raising his hand and looking around.
"Who the hell detonated it?! Who the hell gave the order to detonate?!!"
In the next second, dense gunfire erupted, with flashes of fire emerging from the pitch-black buildings on both sides of the rails, drowning out the commander's angry roar.
The bullets first struck the thick armor, then ricocheted off, with a metallic clatter like a torrential rain.
But the bullets that flew out didn't fall to the ground; rather, they floated weightlessly around the train, like small meteors in space, forming a net of interception.
New bullets had to collide once or several times with these previous bullets before hitting the train armor.
Bullets that originally couldn't harm the train only added to the spectacle.
As the shooting continued, more and more bullets gathered around the train, the golden shimmer even blocking raindrops.
The commander's eyes were bloodshot, watching the armored train bathe in the hail of bullets, despair washed over his face.
He could only hope that the two anti-aircraft machine guns brought in would be effective.
But not only did they have anti-aircraft machine guns, the armored train did too, and it shot even more accurately than they did.
The rain of 14.5 mm tracer rounds swept into the buildings on both sides, turning up billowing dust and flashes of blood, leaving He Jie with no joy on his face.
Taking advantage of a reloading pause, he dived down.
Compared to the "lively" atmosphere outside, the cab was rather quiet.
A dozen screens lined up inside the carriage, glowing coldly, serving as replacements for windows, allowing the driver to judge the outside situation from the screens, deciding whether to accelerate.
At this moment, only Liang Kuan, Xiaoba, Professor Ma, and Xiaozhao were in the cab.
The premature detonation of the buried explosives was precisely the masterpiece of Xiaoba and Xiaozhao working together.
But He Jie still didn't think the train would achieve victory in the upcoming battle. After the previous two battles, the Steel Council had almost figured out the train's capabilities. This was not only their territory but also had abundant human and material resources, with resources and Evolvers at their disposal.
What could the armored train rely on to break through?
Of course, that wasn't the most critical issue.
The most unsettling part of the entire battle for him was that the damn conductor wasn't even on the train!
Thinking of Su Huan smilingly letting them drive the train into the Steel Council's ambush while he himself drove off halfway, He Jie felt like going mad!
What kind of spell had he fallen under to believe his nonsense?
"Don't worry, Su said we'd definitely win."
Xiaoba, who was manipulating metal to repair the tracks in the corner, saw his unease and seriously comforted him.
Beside him, Professor Ma chuckled, saying, "Didn't expect that at over sixty, I could still experience a hail of bullets, Xiaozhao, life really does have infinite possibilities..."
Though Xiaozhao was a bit nervous, the inexplicable humor in her teacher's words dispersed even the tension in her heart.
Irrationally, she joked, "Yeah, sixty is the age to fight bravely, you're in your prime!"
"Slap!"
He Jie slapped his forehead hard, then wiped his face.
'It's karma, there's hardly anyone normal on this whole train.'
With a silent sigh, He Jie hoisted a few more boxes of ammunition and dashed forward. Despite his anxiety, evading battle was not an option for Captain He.
In the dining car, Yu Yue stared blankly at the neatly arranged table.
With the carriage in full lockdown mode, there was no chance for her to snipe, so she could only use her ability to listen in on the situation outside.
But it was just gunshots and shouts, nothing pleasant to hear.
This was Su Huan's first operation out without taking her.
No need to wash clothes or cook, no need to serve tea or food, able to relax with large blocks of idle time.
She should have been happy.
But for some reason, Yu Yue couldn't feel any excitement, feeling emptier, as if missing her backbone.
She washed the dishes, organized the fridge, tidied the cabinets, wiped the range hood, prepped dinner ingredients, replenished the seasonings...
'Forget it, I'll go see what my daughter is doing.'
After thinking this over, with nothing left to do in the dining car, Yu Yue headed back.
Wan Xing wasn't dissecting a corpse recently but was instead working with strange potions, currently holding a vial of crimson liquid.
The sight felt vaguely familiar.
Before she could fully appreciate the charm of the liquid, it turned black, contaminated.
The entire vial's contents became an ominous dark color, with a hint of pomegranate red swirling within.
Like the most mouthwatering forbidden fruit, with deadly allure.
Yu Yue, as if entranced, subconsciously stepped forward.
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