Chapter 951: All Rivers Flow to the Sea (Part 7)_2

The leader of the convoy was none other than Old Yang, one of the Black Star Five Tigers. His mastery of corpse burst allowed Li Xinlong and the others to endure until the armed train’s rescue.

Meeting old acquaintances after many years, Su Huan was in quite a joyful mood.

“How’s Li Xinlong doing?”

“I’ve already informed them. Master Rong said he’d come to greet you. When you left back then, Master Rong told us he’d turn Zhijin into the best outpost, and he hasn’t left Zhijin even once all these years…”

Things didn’t go as Ma Hongyu expected—no conflicts, no antagonists, no one insensitive the entire time.

Zhijin was forcibly merged by Su Huan back then. In the early days after his departure, there were signs of division, but they were all forcefully suppressed by Li Xinlong.

Zhijin has thrived over these three years, establishing more standardized schools and markets, with its influence extending to nearly half of the Storm Zone; the only one comparable to it was the severely damaged Black Kite.

From afar, Su Huan saw Li Xinlong, Jiang Rong Muzi, and familiar faces from the days of reclaiming Zhijin. Evolution had left their appearances largely unchanged; they didn’t look old, at least not for three to five years, but their charisma had transformed dramatically, making them seem like different people.

Of course, most faces were unfamiliar.

The car slowly decelerated and stopped beside Jiang Rong, who was dressed in a green trench coat. Looking at the young man with a warm smile inside the car window, this woman, who had been strong her entire life, found her throat choked with emotions, unable to find words. Her long-prepared expression eventually turned into just three words: “Train Conductor.”

Su Huan chuckled, “Save the touching words. If I break down crying in front of all these people, my reputation won’t hold.”

Jiang Rong was visibly surprised, staring at Su Huan for a while. This didn’t seem like the conductor who used to force them to buy tickets; aside from when he was tricking them, he never said something so nice.

Could this be a fake?

Seeing Jiang Rong’s hesitant and questioning look, Su Huan sighed helplessly, his eyelids slightly drooping, with a half-smile, “What, you don’t plan to return that big package of supplies I gave you back then?”

The tone was just right!

Jiang Rong sighed with relief, wearing an odd smile as she opened the car door, “Welcome back, Train Conductor.”

Su Huan turned sideways, one leg resting on the ground, leaning his body on the chair, and gestured to Li Xinlong behind the woman.

Li Xinlong, who was smiling contentedly, suddenly froze, looking at Su Huan’s face, feeling as if he was back many years ago when the conductor leaned on the orange cat sofa, asking if he had finished them off.

The confidence and mindset built over more than three years vanished completely, turning him back into the naive kid who knew nothing.

Not everyone knew the conductor; most had only heard snippets of his legend. One month in the apocalypse was like a year before it; in three to four years, who knows how many people had changed. Compared to the legendary train conductor, Li Xinlong’s impact on them was substantial.

So when they saw this cheeky gesture, many frowned.

But the next moment, under their astonished gazes, Li Xinlong stepped forward and was embraced by the man who wrapped an arm around his neck.

Master Rong, usually so stern, not only showed no anger but even had a respectful expression. The elders of Zhijin around them felt this was entirely natural, even though it left many puzzled. Regardless of that confusion, everyone etched this scene deeply in their memory.

After a few simple pleasantries, Su Huan declined the offer to continue entering the city by car, insisting on trying the nearby vehicle pulled by a massive rock beetle.

The crowd had no choice but to go along, with Li Xinlong walking beside Su Huan, providing introductions.

Zhijin had no oil fields nearby. Early on, they could manage with “stripping cars” or digging at gas stations to get some gasoline, but Zhijin was a developed area where electric cars accounted for over seventy percent, so that bit of oil was long exhausted. Now, nearly all of Zhijin’s vehicles ran on electricity, with the remaining oil stored as strategic reserves.

Yet electricity was also an expensive resource, and not everyone could afford a “Power Supplier” driver. Ordinary Scavengers also needed to travel, so Zhijin entered an era of diverse transportation means.

The massive rock beetles had been tamed by Zhijin early on for various construction projects, so naturally, they were used for transportation as well.

Although they were slower, these creatures didn’t tire easily and were very stable, unlike other Evolution Beasts that were prone to stress reactions.

The beetles had transitioned from a nuisance to a unique scenic feature of Zhijin.

“Oh, Uncle He asked me to tell you to send him a message when you reach Zhijin. He has some matters to discuss with you.”

Li Xinlong suddenly mentioned.

Su Huan raised an eyebrow, “When did he contact you guys?”

“Several days ago. I was quite surprised at the time…”

Su Huan had a vague sense of foreboding, which he quickly confirmed beside a remote communication terminal.

He Jie’s rough voice chuckled coldly, “Not just Zhijin, I’ve informed all major regions, all outposts. They’ll help you search for Rule Stones. Save the time to power the communication devices and work online; there’s a heap of mess here. Did you think by leaving, you could escape the work?”

Su Huan rubbed his forehead, “I thought everything was handled. What else is there?”

“We’re planning to establish a base in the Wind Snow Zone capable of holding over a million people. Even if temporary, there’s a ton to arrange…”

“How many?!!”

Su Huan was taken aback, even suspecting if the communication device glitched and He Jie got the wrong unit.

The armed train, at most, barely held two thousand people. Where did over a million come from?

Could it be they intended to drag everyone from Iron Pine Forest Camp over as cannon fodder?

“Over a million, if not more!”

He Jie said assertively.

Su Huan sucked in a cold breath, gritting his teeth, “No need for so much cannon fodder. Except for burdening supplies, it’s pointless.”

“Who said it’s cannon fodder?”

“Don’t tell me it’s elite troops? Where from?”

“Naturally, they’re assembled from various factions.”

Su Huan processed this information, suspecting, “Do they plan to push through?”

A top power would have tens of thousands of people at most, and having fifty thousand combat personnel would already be extremely militaristic, not to mention elites like Donghuang Heavy Industry Heavy Armor Brigade, where having ten thousand would be considered fortunate.

They’re more often kept as population reserves.

Moreover, this is the apocalypse, where people are difficult to regenerate, so Su Huan couldn’t fathom why they would field over a million people.

“Most are from Iron Pine Forest and Changbai Pharmaceutical. They’re closest to Eternal Night Zone and can’t avoid it; the rest were pieced together by Dragon Gate Six Great and other factions, but they have conditions. They hope we release the ‘Gunfire’ series transformation potion, and you’ll have to decide on that.”

Su Huan realized, understanding this million was still an empty promise for now, only to convert into actual combat power once the train disclosed the potion formula.

But no matter what, it showed the sincerity of each major faction.

After some brief reflection, Su Huan agreed.

He Jie continued, “Another matter, I discussed with various factions, going through the Celestial Disaster Zone remains tricky, but currently, we’re the only ones who can travel from the Acid Rain Zone to the Wind Snow Zone, and we’ve done it twice, so they hope to move their forces using our train.”

He Jie was undoubtedly referring to the second train ridden by Iron Old Man.

Even though there was a stroke of luck involved, the armed train had undeniably achieved a south-to-north passage.

And did so twice.

(This last section was struggling to decide between advancing the story or glossing over it, but I didn’t want to pile on too much melodrama. Fighting minor foes isn’t meaningful at the status of the train conductor. This segment will serve as a buffer, wrapping things up without much else to cover, simply conclude with the final battle, then some epilogues, mainly capturing everyone’s state of life after the main storyline, as the world hasn’t ended for them yet.)