Chapter 878 - 496: Embers of the Long Night (Part 5)

Several people instinctively turned their gazes toward Yu Jing at the far end of the table.

There were many Makers on the train, but only one was allowed to touch human modification. If anyone was most eager to have those restrictions lifted, it could only be Yu Jing.

"Why didn’t you bring this up when the Train Captain was still here?"

He Jie jumped in with a question before the others.

He didn’t know what Yu Jing was trying to do, but at this point in time, he didn’t want any destabilizing factor appearing on the train.

Hu Shuo gave a light cough. "Because it’s a freshly broken-through technology. That’s why I convened everyone to discuss it."

With Hu Shuo vouching for it, the furrow in He Jie’s brow smoothed out. Out of anyone else’s mouth this might sound like a cover story, but from Hu Shuo it could only be fact.

—The train had many factions. Take He Jie’s Armed Corps for example: current active-duty soldiers like Ding Hui, the Officer Corps of the Steel Council with He Jie as representative, Black Kite personnel absorbed during the war, Deep Blue Data, heavy-industry elites recruited later from the Four Nations, the apocalypse-born newcomers represented by Mongoose and others, small surviving forces and the Scavengers...

And that was with the Corps’ structure being relatively simple and its factions clearly defined.

On the crew side the manpower was six times that of the Corps: family members, survivors, research experts, people from mixed forces—far more complex than the soldiers.

With so many factions and people packed together, the reason things hadn’t blown up so far was, on one hand, the apocalypse crisis was still ongoing and everyone’s goal was the same: to stay alive. So there wasn’t that much petty scheming. On the other hand, the "Train Faction" led by Hu Shuo handled matters fairly, in a way that convinced everyone.

The so‑called Train Faction was the first batch of crew and Warriors personally recruited by the Train Captain at the outset of the apocalypse.

Some had died in battle, some had gotten off the train, some now held high positions. But ever since Hu Shuo took charge of logistics, there had been no embezzlement, no muddying of military merits, no chaotic dispatching of resources!

That was the achievement of Hu Shuo and his people!

So when he smoothly advanced to the position of Secretary General after Shu Wei left, no one objected.

On the strength of that alone, no one had any reason to doubt him.

Seeing that no one was questioning, Yu Jing began to explain her idea.

As he listened, the tight crease between He Jie’s brows relaxed as well. The human modification Yu Jing described was not the "sawing off arms and legs" he’d imagined, nor was it like what the Makers did, using themselves as carriers for genetic‑level modification. Instead, it followed the human body’s structure, adding certain biological organs or supports.

For example, a Power modification based on the Fungus Carpet: embedding a special fiber into the body that could greatly enhance the skin’s defensive capability, recovery, strength, and speed, with none of the side effects of the Genetic Transformation Potion, while still allowing evolution.

As for the modification effects being overwritten by evolution, that didn’t even count as a flaw.

"It’s not going to turn them into puppets like yours, is it?"

He Jie asked suspiciously after listening.

"No." Yu Jing shook her head. "That was an incomplete fusion of machinery and Life. Unless the person being modified has disabled limbs, we won’t add mechanical structures."

"What about Evolvers like me—can we do it?"

"No need. The current material strength can’t keep up with a Tier Two Evolver’s physique. Forcing the modification wouldn’t give you much of a boost, and might even negatively affect your combat ability."

"So this modification is only for ordinary people?"

"It’s suitable for those below Tier Two Evolver level—ordinary people with no evolutionary potential."

"Then the problem is: where are we supposed to find that many ordinary people?"

He Jie tossed out question after question, and Yu Jing answered them smoothly. It was only at this one that she finally got stuck.

Chairing the meeting, Hu Shuo said, "That’s the next agenda item. We need to vote on the first item before we move on."

Hu Shuo asked if anyone else had further questions. Since He Jie had already played the bad cop and asked everything that needed asking, no one else had much to say, so they simply went straight to a vote.

Yu Jing was the first to raise her hand, followed by Director Xu and Lao San.

That didn’t surprise anyone. On the whole train, no one was bolder about experimentation than Director Xu. Though he didn’t experiment on his own people, he truly didn’t treat people as people.

As for Lao San’s use of the Transformation Potion, that was no secret. When it came to improving strength, he was more desperate than anyone else present. As long as there was a chance, he would never pass it up.

What surprised Xiaoba was that Sister Xingzi also raised her hand. Luo Jingyi, Wang Duoyu, Vice President Deng, Zhou Qing and the other researchers basically all agreed. Only Professor Ma remained still, looking toward the upper seat where Yu Yue sat silent.

Xiaoba felt something was off and decided to keep watching.

"Anyone against?"

Hu Shuo asked again.

Under the strange looks of the others, Yu Yue firmly raised her hand. Professor Ma sighed and followed suit. Xiaoba looked to Yu Jing on one side and Yu Yue on the other, and decided to hesitate a little longer.

Besides Xiaoba, quite a few people did not participate in the vote at all, just silently watched.

The most conspicuous of these was Liang Kuan, sitting in the chief seat on the left. His burly frame was like a silent mountain. Although he never voiced any opinions, no one had ever dared ignore him.

Even He Jie, who commanded the entire Corps, had to line up behind him.

"Old Liang, what’s your take?"

He Jie suddenly asked.

Liang Kuan looked at Yu Jing at the far end, her face expressionless, then at Yu Yue beside him, her stance resolute. He let out a faint sigh. "Why do you have to oppose it?"

Yu Yue lowered her eyes without speaking, but the hand she had raised showed no sign of coming down.