But what a few old fellows saw was not ability.
There were six people from Black Kite on the train, seven including Shu Wei, which makes seven Evolvers.
They accounted for nearly half of the Tier One Evolvers on the train.
Previously, because of Black Kite, these people were constantly suppressed by Su Huan, but that was temporary; you canât just suppress seven mature combat forces forever.
So they speculated that after Shu Wei gained the trust of the conductor, the manpower from Black Kite would gradually be used.
However, they didnât expect the conductor to be so decisive, giving away two key positions at once.
With Shu Wei as the secretary, a new faction has emerged within the train.
But such a crisscrossing arrangement actually made a few old guys feel very reassured.
From the personnel configuration, Nonsense is an old train attendant, seemingly alone, but almost all the grassroots management came from that batch, like the cook in charge of the dining car, Old Liu in charge of maintenance, and Lin Xia in charge of medical care, etc.
Nonsense alone counts as a faction.
Then the three brothers, Huang Sea and others, are close to Nonsense and He Jie, but in reality, they must also be counted separately.
They didnât have personal connections but met because of the conductor.
So itâs considered a buffer zone for different factions.
Professor Ma and Director Xu have students and subordinates all over the key departments of the train.
Now thereâs an addition of Black Kite and Licking Rabbit.
Seemingly chaotic, but actually more stable.
Because everyone is the most direct confidant of Su Huan!
Everyone was saved, thwarted, looted, captured alive, and deceived by Su Huan personally; each has a deep bond with him, so as long as heâs around, regardless of how many small factions or hills there are, itâs stable.
This is the degree of control from starting from scratch.
Itâs just a matter of assigning a few newcomers, a trivial matter.
They were more concerned about what happens next.
Seeing everyone silent about his arrangements, Su Huan nodded in satisfaction.
It seems the conductorâs words still hold weight on the train.
Shu Wei continued, "Next is the internal transfer of the research group. The original five laboratories will add one more, the Pan-Energy Weapons Laboratory, with Vice President Deng as the head, and the Boss as the deputy conductor, with treatment equivalent to deputy conductors."
"Here is the laboratory management list."
"Pan-Energy Weapons: Vice President Deng, Boss."
"Pan-Energy Communications: Professor Ma."
"Pan-Energy Evolution: Director Xu."
"Electromagnetic Weapons: Ban Yunzhang."
"Train Transformation: Factory Director."
"Ban Yunzhangâs treatment remains unchanged."
Hearing his name again, the old factory director suddenly became anxious and said quickly, "Conductor, at my age, itâs really..."
Su Huan chuckled, "The research group is just putting your name up, Xiaozhao can handle the daily affairs."
Hearing this explanation, the factory director realized that the work wasnât much different from the past, and understood that Su Huan wanted to use his age to cover up for other old guys; only then did he sigh and agree.
Because Pan-Energy weapons are new to many people, a small explanation was inserted.
Su Huan didnât know much about Pan-Energy weapons in his last life because he evolved too late, had weak professional combat power, and didnât even have complete gunpowder weapon equipment, let alone high-end stuff like Pan-Energy weapons.
The highest-end personal weapon he had ever seen was the electromagnetic sniper rifle in Qu Hangâs hand.
This time, through the battle with Black Kite, he got the "gun" activated by Pan-Energy belonging to Golden Kite, discovering that Black Kite had achieved some success in Pan-Energy weapons research.
Added to the fact that Tan Yunxi showed up at the door, the decision was made to establish the Pan-Energy Weapons Laboratory.
Su Huan had long seen Vice President Dengâs heart for making arms, this time fulfilling his wish, and the Boss was producing guns quite well now; taking him along might produce a wonderful chemical reaction.
Anyway, he got ten sets of experimental Pan-Energy weapons from Black Kite, letting them study slowly.
Su Huan was just testing the waters, hitting whether there are dates or not; the work wasnât his to do anyway.
The meeting progressed to two-thirds when Qu Hang and Mountain Goat walked out of the cabin towards the Armed Hall.
They waved to the officers organizing the soldiers and entered the deputy No.1 readiness room compartment.
Compared to the light atmosphere of the dining car, things here were much more serious.
With He Jie seriously injured and two hundred soldiers wounded or dead, the momentum of rapid development by the Armed Corps was directly halted.
The conductor had been busy and hadnât said anything to them.
The officers, naturally, couldnât be happy.
Qu Hang wasnât one for wasting words; he glanced at the crowd and straightforwardly said, "High-level transfers, Licking Rabbit is transferred to the train attendant group, followed by this promotion list: Tong Zizhan and Gao Yuan took the lead by capturing key enemy personnel and ambushing Pan-Asian Alliance members who attacked the train. Tong Zizhan is promoted two ranks and awarded the rank of Major, while Gao Yuan is promoted one rank and awarded the rank of Lieutenant."
Tong Zizhan pursed his lips, not looking particularly happy.
But considering everyone had that deadpan demeanor, it wasnât out of place.
"Lu Xiao held the line on the front, halting the enemyâs counterattack and buying buffer time for our side, promoted two ranks and awarded the rank of Captain, Miao Qi directly awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant, Jiang Rong awarded the rank of Lieutenant."
Then several adjustment plans were announced.
The entire hearing was about commendations and promotions, with no penalties, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Alright, go out and give them some respite."
Inside the Armed Hall, the soldiers stood like rows of steel guns on the ironwood floor, anxiously waiting for the results.
The mongooseâs amber eyes had already become two concentric circles, one large and one small.
Those familiar with her knew that this state meant the mongoose was lost in thought.
She hadnât recovered from the war that night.
The night, rain, lightning...
Explosions and the sound of bullets clanging against metal fortifications echoed in her ears.
Just a momentâs distraction, and comrades who used to train and joke with her had turned into pools of flesh; the young man who liked to call her Sister Cat was cut in half by a man with a long knifeâif it werenât for Master Eightâs timely intervention, she might have been a corpse too.
âIt must hurt a lot, right...â
Qu Hang and others had announced the outstanding performance of the soldiers in this battle and declared the disbandment.
The dazed mongoose standing in place immediately caught the attention of a few people.
"Mongoose!"
A soft call immediately brought the mongoose back to her senses.
Mountain Goat looked at the mongoose with her ears perked up and said with emotion, "Youâre now a Corporal."
The mongoose reflexively tapped her right hand to her left shoulder as a sign of respect.
"No need to be so tense; He Jie isnât here anyway."
Mountain Goat lightly laughed at the rigid mongoose; despite He Jieâs firm hand on the new recruits, he admired this stubborn one the most and usually had Mountain Goat and the other officers give her extra training.
In other words, the mongoose was a soldier they collectively nurtured.
Seeing her now refined state, naturally, there was some sentiment.
"What about... those who died?"
Driven by a supernatural impulse, the mongoose asked.
Mountain Goat calmly replied, "Those with family will have compensations given to their relatives, those without will be dead and thatâs it."
"...isnât there any other way?"
"This is the best way."
The mongooseâs beastly cat ears gradually drooped.
She knew she might be nitpicking but thinking about those who used to be alive around her and were now gone, she felt an indescribable melancholy, not sadness but a numbness from gradually losing sensation.
She felt such a state would lead her further from her original intention.
"Perhaps we could offer them honor, some way to remember..."
"Thatâs for the living to see," Mountain Goat bluntly interrupted her, "Or itâs to restrain the living. Even if there were blood relations, after a few generations, no one would remember them."
Looking at the dejected mongoose, Mountain Goat couldnât help but flick her ear.
"The living must live well, donât dwell on unnecessary things, and while He Jie is in the medical carriage, rise through the ranks quickly; weâre looking forward to General Cat giving the old dog a good kick!"