"The limb transformation was successful, moving to the next step..."
"The organ transformation was successful, beginning the next step..."
"Head transformation begins..."
"..."
"Beep beep, clone heart rate is too fast, please intervene promptly..."
"Operation failed, switching to Clone #2, recording failure data, head transformation at 20%..."
The newly awakened Clone #2 was quickly pushed into the operating room.
"Head transformation failed again, progress reached 35%, switching to Clone #3..."
"Clone #3 failed, 56%."
"Clone #4 failed, 72%."
"Clone #5 failed, 93%."
"Clone #6 failed, 99%."
"Clone #7 succeeded!"
Seeing the man on the operating table open his eyes, the mechanical arm immediately rotates, holding a gun while coldly asking, "Do you remember who you are?"
The man facing the gun, his voice more indifferent than a robotâs, "I am Number 1."
"Congratulations on your rebirth!"
The mechanical arm retracts the firearm, issuing a gentle blessing, like a family member beside a recovering patient, its tone light with relief.
"A clone is ultimately not a person, the original has died, but I will continue the originalâs research."
"Replenish the number of clones, transfer the originalâs memory to me."
"Transfer all data in the database regarding Su Huan and Tier Three."
The reborn "Number 1 Chair" lies on the hospital bed, his eyes clear and bright, after all, having changed people, his evolution level reset to zero.
As he watched the memory transmission showing Su Huan destroying a city with a snap, Number 1âs eyes showed admiration.
âIs this the power of Tier Three.â
...
Weinan District.
The explosion sound comparable to an atomic bomb rings out once again.
And right where the zombies are most concentrated.
The exhausted Wen Biao stood on the roof of a school, seeing the explosions in the distance, he suddenly became excited like a zealot, shouting to the few dozen brothers left behind him, "The conductor is back! Weâve won!!"
Although thereâs no communication between the scavengers, this signature explosion sound is more effective than any signal.
The zombie roars in Weinan District have finally been suppressed, and human shouts have taken the upper hand.
This is the fruit of their nightâs battle, so it tastes exceptionally sweet.
When Su Huan found He Jie, the latter had already turned into a bloody mess, wielding a rubber baton to battle within the corpse crowd, appearing coarse, yet each attack was extremely precise, accurately breaking the zombiesâ necks or skulls.
The speed of killing was faster than the soldiers with guns nearby.
When killing these ordinary zombies, the material of the weapon is irrelevant, using a rubber baton is simply more convenient.
"Is Captain He working out?"
Hearing Su Huanâs voice mixed with astonishment and derision, He Jie angrily kicked out, the dozen zombies in front of him immediately embed into a car, as if squeezed into a clump by a giant hand, indistinguishable from each other.
Looking at the conductor squatting overhead, He Jie lamented, "Do you think I want to use a stick to smash, all the bullets are fucking gone! If you donât come back, Iâm going to lead people to run!"
"All gone?"
Su Huanâs eyes slightly widened, grabbing a Night Demon Claw protruding from behind, snapping it as easily as a panda breaking bamboo, then pulling it over entirely, slapping the restless skull and snapping the neck, tossing it off the building like a rag.
"An entire compartment of 12.7 bullets all used up?"
A compartment of the train, not a box of bullets.
"Did you think those two hundred guys on the roof were fire sticks!"
"Gone so fast..."
Su Huan sighed, he had thought the bullets supported by Black Kite could last to the north, but a single battle consumed them completely.
Had he known beforehand, he would have requested fewer millions of rifle bullets, and filled everything with 12.7 rounds.
But it wouldnât last long either.
The bullet chain takes up too much space and load capacity.
And there are a bit too many heavy machine guns on the train, 12.7Ă99mm such large-caliber ammunition has become regular consumable ammunition.
A production line needs to be setup, self-manufacturing is the way to go.
With a leap, Su Huan descended, a circle of thunderlight evenly spread from him as the center, the surrounding zombies, like flies encountering a fly swatter, flickered with a crackle, then collapsed instantly.
But the mixed soldiers and scavengers among them were entirely unharmed.
"Conductor!"
"Conductor..."
Su Huan waved, approaching He Jie, taking out crumpled cigarettes from his pocket, lighting one for the steaming man.
He Jie exhaled a smoke ring, said in a deep voice, "The corpse tide has already been lured out."
"I saw it, the remaining have been cleared by me."
"I donât know what youâre thinking, but today itâs impossible to finish, Zhijin is too big, there are at least over three million zombies left, we could kill how many overnight, including the ones you bombed to death, a little over a million at most."
Su Huan annoyedly said, "Canât finish then we stop, continue tomorrow, the train is all damaged, wonât move for a while, a whole bunch of work is waiting, wonât be able to step out of Zhijin without two months."
Hearing this, He Jie also breathed a sigh of relief.
Afraid the conductor would make an extreme decision, if a death order was issued, the hard-won seeds cultivated would be exhausted.
"As long as you are prepared."
Su Huan had already circled around, the most dangerous spot was He Jieâs place, his presence here announced humanityâs victory in the counterattack against Zhijin.
Accompanied by the strong foul stench, the two men talked leisurely.
Occasional oblivious zombies were promptly cleared by Yu Yue overhead.
Holding the City Breaker, Yu Yue is, apart from Su Huan, the most powerful single attacker on the train, spot killing some sporadic Tier One zombies with ease.
The pair treaded on the corpses, arriving at the place where the battle began.
The blood had already been covered and dried by sand and wind, but the ferocious smell still made one wrinkle their nose.
The broadest road in Zijin South had been stained red with thick plasma, corpses filled every corner within sight, under cars, alleyways, building crevices... even half bodies hung on the rooftop intercept net, swaying in the wind and sand.
In the center of the road is a giant pit over ten meters wide, the buildings on both sides have partially collapsed, the side facing the pit has simply vanished.
Within the large pit, viscous plasma mixed with fat and various strange things occasionally bubbles, a couple of skeleton-exposed corpses sink down.
The terrifying road of carcasses extends forward to Chenxi Square.
Piled into a mountain of bodies.
Meanwhile, the crew had started cleaning the battlefield, several elders personally led the manufacturing team to collect materials.
Upon seeing Su Huan approach, the crowdâs gazes brightened.
Some showed awe, others exposed unabashed fanaticism.
Strength is more worshipped than power, humanity engraves this instinct into their bones.
A group of people approached.
"The Tier Three Queen was shattered too much, we only found a portion..."
Director Xu handed out a white shard, indeed the Queenâs porcelain-white mask portion.
The shard felt cool and smooth, like human skin, to some extent it is indeed the Queenâs skin.
Looking at the shard in hand, some memories not belonging to him churned in Su Huanâs mind.
The fragmented scenes werenât difficult to understand.
They told of how a young couple met, fell in love, encountered the apocalypse after marriage, became evolvers, were betrayed by companions, one trapped in Zhijin, the other turned into a Slaughterer in Pingqiao Village due to severe injuries.
The final scene fell on the womanâs ring finger, a gold-silver intertwined ring.
Perhaps due to Tier Three, or due to the Lordâs difference, she recognized the ring at the last moment.
What she wanted to protect wasnât Su Huan.
She simply instinctively wanted to protect her lover.
"Itâs good shattered, find someone, send it to Pingqiao Village, bury it next to the Slaughterer."
Su Huan tossed the shard back.
Director Xu looked surprised, "You know her?"
"Does it matter?"
Ultimately itâs just a story remembered by no one.