"Professor Ma gained some inspiration from that amplification stone and proposed the creation of a new type of āradar,ā which is even more comprehensive than the Pan-energy monitoring equipment confiscated by the Steel Council. It mainly monitors land, sea, and air terrains, using supercomputing to analyze geological conditions. He believes the trainās environmental observation capabilities are still too weak, especially since the Storm Zone severely limits the performance of drones."
"Based on this, Glasses suggested building a Hive and designing various detection devices, but an expert in the field of drones is needed."
"Director Xu thinks weāre about to enter the Spore Zone, so we should create devices that can restrict plant growth..."
"In short, there are many directions, but no one can convince anyone else."
Su Huan raised an eyebrow, "Canāt we do them all together?"
Yu Jing said helplessly, "With the current manpower on the train, we can only pursue one direction, and even that might not succeed because weāre severely short-staffed. Evolution can bridge some technical gaps, but theoretical knowledge is just a complete unknown, and it canāt be invented out of thin air."
After all is said and done, itās still a matter of a personnel shortage.
Take advantage of the peace in the Storm Zone to recruit enough talent at once.
At this moment, Shu Wei, who was handling documents behind them, suddenly said, "Conductor, Jiang Rong wants to see you."
Su Huan was surprised, "If she has something to say, she can just come. Did she submit a formal request?"
"A resignation request."
"Oh?"
...
Carriage No. 3, Auxiliary Train.
When the train was refurbished in Anshun, the carriages were also reorganized, and Jiang Rong was moved from the main train to the officersā carriage in the auxiliary train.
The infrastructure inside the carriage was more complete, and Jiang Rong hadnāt settled in much, but it no longer felt like a prison.
The woman came down from the second floor, wearing slightly old jeans with specks of white paint and a washed-out blue-and-white striped shirt, holding two sets of freshly aired Armed Corps uniforms.
After folding them and placing them neatly on the bedding, Jiang Rong packed her personal items in an old backpack. Once packed, the backpack was only half full.
She then placed the backpack on the nearby metal cabinet, picking up her tools to start cleaning the room as usual.
When every corner was spotless, she checked her firearms, oiled them, and loaded them. With a crisp click, the gunstock was already shouldered, aiming at the cabinetās handle. Viewing her reflection in the metal, Jiang Rong found herself very unfamiliar.
Although she had changed back into familiar clothing, her skin was taut, and her brows bore a hint of a fierce aura, completely unlike the worried woman in her forties from before.
"Captain Jiang Rong, please come to the dining car when you hear this..."
Upon hearing the voice from the carriageās broadcast, Jiang Rong promptly ejected the bullets and placed her firearm into the weapon cabinet within her room. She suddenly noticed two copper sheets shaped from shell casings at the cabinetās bottom.
After some hesitation, she pocketed the two copper sheets, picked up her backpack, and headed toward the dining car.
Since most soldiers were training in the armed hall at the time, there were few people inside the train, and nobody noticed her.
"Youāre here."
An enthusiastic greeting came from behind the counter.
Yu Yueās voice had a tone shift, making it sound warm and gentle.
Jiang Rong responded with a smile, the faint tension in her heart dissolving under Yu Yueās warmth, and she walked confidently to the couch at the end of the carriage.
The conductor was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, reading a tablet.
"Conductor."
"Hmm, sit down."
Su Huanās voice was very calm.
But with evolution and slaughter, an inexorable ominous aura clung to him. Even silently sitting in the corner, other creatures would instinctively pay attention to him. This feeling was hard to describe.
The color of that area seemed to have deepened.
He looked up to see the woman quietly sitting across from him. Taken aback by her familiar attire, he said with a faint smile, "Youāve changed back into your old clothes. I guess I canāt keep you."
"Clink."
Two porcelain cups were placed on the table by Yu Yue.
The voice of the petite chef was gentle, "Sister Rong, have some tea."
"Thank you."
Jiang Rong cradled the teacup, apologetically saying, "Iām sorry for withholding some information. My home is in Changxing County, over a hundred kilometers from Zhijin, where my husband and child live..."
"Letās skip the story, just make your decision."
Interrupted by Yu Yue, Su Huan straightforwardly put away his teasing expression.
Although Jiang Rong didnāt have much presence on the train, she never made a mistake on any mission she undertook. With a steadfast mindset, she had a character akin to Liang Kuanās.
Su Huan admired her very much.
But he didnāt intend to retain her; people come and go on the train, each with their own paths and things to do.
As long as they didnāt block his path, he didnāt care.
"Well, Iāve left all the weapons issued by the train in my room, and thereās not really any work to hand over. Iāve already spoken with Captain He in advance."
"Tsk, so Iām the last to know?"
Su Huan couldnāt help but remark.
"You can actually take those things with you; the conductor wouldnāt miss those trinkets. By the way, how much more do you need to break through Tier One?"
Jiang Rong sighed, "My skills have all reached Level 3, but unfortunately I missed the Flood Zone and the Storm Zone hasnāt had thunderstorm weather, so the special condition canāt be met."
He pondered, "It doesnāt necessarily have to be thunderstorm weather; there are many opportunities. It depends on your luck."
Jiang Rongās target for Tier One profession was the "Electromagnetic Mage" from his previous life, and Su Huan had a lot of say about this profession.
"Hmm, thank you, conductor."
"Go home."
He casually felt around in his pocket and tossed her a Tier Two Pan-energy Crystal.
Su Huan paid her no more mind, lowering his gaze back to his tablet.
Jiang Rong looked at the Pan-energy Crystal, her eyes flickering. She stood up and bowed deeply to Su Huan.
Until the sound of the door closing, Su Huan never looked up again.
Yu Yue, gazing at the slender figure gradually moving away through the window, had worry in her eyes, along with a hint of envy and blessing.
"Su Huan, will familiar faces become less numerous in the future?"
"Kill more unfamiliar ones, and those remaining will all be familiar."
Yu Yue let out a soft snort and turned to continue experimenting with new pastries.
With his fingertips sliding over her tablet, Su Huan asked, "Where has her points been spent?"
Shu Wei replied, "She mostly used her previous points for basic necessities and supplemental firearms and ammunition. Because she had to care for her teammates, her expenses often exceeded her income. When she had more points, aside from survival essentials, she used them to support the younger members of the corps."
The pitch-black eyes reflected the sparse exchange list.
Su Huan responded indifferently with a soft acknowledgment.
A hundred meters away, Jiang Rong, struggling against the wind and sand along the wallās edge, suddenly looked up in confusion.
āMust be a hallucination, it should be the wind.ā
She lowered her head and took two more steps.
"Rumbleā"
But this was clearly thunder.
Where did the rolling thunder come from in the midst of raging sand?
Jiang Rong stopped in her tracks.
In the sand-stormy sky, a suddenly appeared, ghostly blue bolt of lightning.
The thick lightning spread like a river across the sky, branching...
Passing right overhead.
For a moment, the wind and sand dimmed, leaving only the galaxy-like lightning above.
Sparking electric lights stimulated her inner energy, and Jiang Rong instinctively converted her energy into electricity, channeling the skyās Thunder River.
The Thunder River in the desert lasted for a full three hours.
When Jiang Rong opened her eyes again, she had thoroughly become a Tier One Evolver, "Electromagnetic Mage."
A sand bike mysteriously appeared beside her, with a large camouflage military pack hanging on it.
The spectacular view of the Thunder River in the sand began to slowly dissipate.
Jiang Rong knelt on the ground, reverently kowtowed towards the direction of the train, took a deep breath, mounted the bike, and headed towards home.
Sand whirled all around her.
In harmony with the piercing whistle of the train.
With the motorcycle, Jiang Rong rode over a hundred kilometers on the first day, then found an old house to spend the night.
The house was inhabited by two Corpse Pupas, and two ordinary zombies, a total of four.
If it were the early days of the apocalypse, she would have carefully avoided them with her strength.
But as a captain in the Armed Corps, in just three minutes, Jiang Rong had cleared a safe haven for herself.