3: Chapter 3, First Stop: The Abandoned Mine

"Clang—clang—"

No longer making that old, teeth-grinding friction sound, Train No. 9527, equipped with the S-grade [Infinite Coal Core], was now traveling across the dim wasteland with an extremely smooth and rhythmic cadence.

Inside the driver's cabin, Lin Xiao comfortably propped his feet up on the console, holding a bottle of half-finished Happy Water (a bonus from the sign-in gift package).

If one ignored the despair-inducing dead trees and the occasional flash of white bones outside the window, it would almost feel like a pleasant retro train journey.

"Big Brother Conductor, there seems to be half a body hanging on that tree to the left. It's so disgusting~"

Luo Yao was kneeling on the high stool in the passenger seat, her slender legs, clad in white silk over-the-knee socks, swinging back and forth.

She was leaning against the window, eating a biscuit as a reward while observing the outside world with those big, curious eyes.

To her, possessing the [Data Insight] talent, this world filled with data felt just like a massive holographic online game, and her sense of fear was greatly diluted by the sense of novelty.

"Focus, watch the road."

Lin Xiao reached out and lightly flicked her twin tails, which were swaying with her movements. "We've been driving for almost two hours. Based on the typical nature of the novice protection period, the first resource point should be arriving soon."

"Ugh… I know."

Luo Yao covered her head and muttered, then green data streams flashed once again in her grape-like eyes.

Suddenly, she pointed a small hand toward a shadow on the front right.

"Got it! 2.3 kilometers ahead, a large complex of ruins detected! Data shows… it is an abandoned mine named 'Black Stone'!"

Luo Yao turned her head excitedly, looking at Lin Xiao as if to claim credit: "The resource abundance is listed as 'Low,' but the danger level is also 'Low.' And… the system indicates there is a special energy reaction inside!"

Lin Xiao perked up and immediately sat straight.

"A special energy reaction?"

This was good stuff. In this survival game, any special energy could mean upgrade materials or rare items.

"Well done, credit to you. I'll add a chicken leg to your dinner tonight."

Lin Xiao quickly pulled down the deceleration lever, and the train's speed began to gradually decrease.

Then, he turned on the train-wide broadcast. "Buzz—"

"All hands attention, this is the Conductor. We are about to reach the first stop: Abandoned Mine. Everyone, prepare for arrival."

"Su Qingqian, Zhao Xiaotang, and… I need three more volunteers who are brave and strong. Assemble at the front of the train immediately; we are getting ready to disembark and get to work."

Five minutes later, the train slowly pulled up outside a dilapidated wire fence.

The massive black mine resembled a sleeping beast crouching on the wasteland, with several collapsed chimneys pointing toward the sky, and the air was filled with a heavy smell of coal ash and a faint, lingering stench.

At the connection between the carriages, Lin Xiao was already fully armed.

Actually, that just meant he had the revolver tucked into his waist and was holding a solid steel pipe he'd dismantled from a chair.

Behind him stood five girls with different expressions.

Su Qingqian remained as cold and aloof as ever. She had tied her waist-length hair into a high ponytail with a rubber band, revealing her long, fair neck. She gripped the iron axe that emitted a chill tightly, her whole person resembling a sharp sword ready to strike.

Next to her was the sports representative, Zhao Xiaotang.

It had to be said, this "muscle Barbie" who worked out year-round was indeed well-endowed.

Because it had been hot in the carriage earlier, she had tied her sports jacket around her waist, wearing only a tight sports tank top on her upper body.

Her bronzed, wheat-colored skin shimmered with a healthy sheen in the dim light, and her clear ab lines and full pectoral muscles were simply the perfect combination of strength and sexiness.

However, right now, this fitness enthusiast was holding two chair legs taped together, her face a bit pale.

"Squad… Squad Leader, are we going down there? I've seen in movies that places like this always have monsters…"

Zhao Xiaotang's voice was trembling slightly. She wasn't afraid of the iron plates in the gym, but she really had no confidence in this eerie wasteland.

Besides these two core combatants, there were three other girls who had been forced to sign up out of necessity.

One was too hungry and wanted to get something to eat, while the other two were dancers who had slightly better physical fitness.

"If you don't want to starve to death, you have to fight for your life. This is the first lesson of the apocalypse."

Lin Xiao said coldly, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Later, no matter what you see, you are not allowed to scream. Whoever screams and attracts a big monster, I will throw them out as bait."

Just then, a discordant voice came from the carriage.

"Lin Xiao! You are murdering people!"

Zhao Ji had squeezed to the front of the crowd at some point and screamed, pointing at Lin Xiao's nose.

"It's so dark and dangerous outside, and you're actually making us girls go down? Are you even a man? You should go down and find supplies yourself, then come back and distribute them to us!"

Her shout immediately resonated with a few timid girls.

"Yeah, Squad Leader, it's too dangerous…"

"Wuwuwu, I don't want to go down, it's so scary in there."

Lin Xiao's movements paused.

He slowly turned his head, his eyes looking as if he were staring at a dead person.

That cold, bone-chilling gaze made Zhao Ji swallow the profanity that had reached her lips.

"It seems the lesson from just now wasn't profound enough."

Lin Xiao didn't get angry; instead, he revealed a faint smile. He walked up to Zhao Ji and, amidst her terrified gaze, helped her straighten her messy collar.

"Classmate Zhao Ji, get the situation straight. This isn't a university spring outing, and I am not your nanny."

He pointed to the pitch-black mine outside the carriage door.

"Every biscuit and every bottle of water here is exchanged for with our lives. If you don't want to go, fine. Then stay obediently on the train and don't expect to get a single bit of supplies."

"And…"

Lin Xiao leaned close to her face, his voice low. "If you dare to shake morale again, I don't mind throwing you down to see if the things in this mine like eating tender, rich girls."

After finishing, Lin Xiao ignored Zhao Ji, who was paralyzed with fear on the ground, and pulled open the heavy carriage door.

"Whoosh—"

A cold wind mixed with the scent of decay rushed in.

"Let's go!"

Lin Xiao jumped off the train first.

Su Qingqian followed closely behind; although her expression was grave, her footsteps were firm.

Zhao Xiaotang took a deep breath and patted her firm thighs to encourage herself: "Whatever happens, happens! It's better than starving to death!" She then jumped down as well.

The group of six stepped into this land of death.

The ground beneath their feet was black, mixed with gravel and coal cinder; stepping on it made a "creak-creak" sound, which seemed particularly jarring in the silent mine.

The surroundings were deathly silent, with only the occasional clatter of wind blowing through damaged iron sheets from afar.

"Luo Yao, report points." Lin Xiao pressed his earpiece (the system's built-in communication channel, with a coverage range of 500 meters).

"Received! There is a resource reaction in the half-collapsed warehouse to the front left! But… there are over a dozen red dots moving at the entrance! The speed is very slow, it should be… uh… zombies?"

Luo Yao's slightly nervous voice came through the earpiece.

"Only a dozen or so? That's fine."

Lin Xiao tightened his grip on the steel pipe and looked back at the army of women behind him.

"Listen up, there are over a dozen Level 1 zombies ahead. Their movements are sluggish, and their intelligence is zero. As long as you don't get surrounded, it's as simple as playing Whac-A-Mole."

Hearing the word "zombie," except for Su Qingqian, the legs of the other four girls started shaking.

Soon, they bypassed a pile of abandoned mine carts, and that warehouse appeared in their field of vision.

By the faint moonlight, the girls finally saw the true appearance of those "red dots."

"Ugh…"

One girl couldn't hold it back and directly covered her mouth, retching.

Those were a dozen or so "humanoid creatures" wearing tattered work uniforms.

Their skin presented a grayish-purple hue; some had a piece of flesh missing from their faces, revealing ghastly white bones; others had their intestines dragging on the ground, covered in crawling maggots.

They still gripped rusty pickaxes or shovels tightly in their hands, wandering aimlessly in the open space, emitting "he-he" low growls from their throats.

** [Monster Name: Miner Zombie (LV.1)] **

** [Weakness: Head, Cervical Spine] **

** [Description: A corporate slave zombie who was a miner in life and still doesn't want to get off work after death. Strength is slightly higher, but movement is slow.] **

"This… this is just too disgusting…" Although Zhao Xiaotang was a tough girl, she had never seen this kind of scene, and her hands gripping the chair legs were covered in sweat.

Just then, the sound of the retching girl startled the nearest zombie.

It jerked its head around, its turbid eyeballs staring fixedly at the group, then let out a roar and rushed over, brandishing the half-broken shovel in its hand.

Although it was called a "rush," the speed was actually about the same as a normal person jogging.

"Ahhh! It's coming over!"

Except for Su Qingqian and Zhao Xiaotang, the other three girls screamed and turned to run.

"Nobody is allowed to run! Turning your back on a zombie makes you die faster!" Lin Xiao roared, suppressing the situation.

The zombie's target was very clear; it went straight for Zhao Xiaotang, who had the largest build (besides Lin Xiao).

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

"I... I..."

Zhao Xiaotang stared at the decaying face just inches away; in that moment, fear completely overwhelmed her reason.

Despite having a body full of gym-toned muscle, she was now as stiff as a stone, instinctively holding up a chair leg in front of her and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Xiao Tang, get out of the way!" Su Qingqian shouted, trying to rush to her aid, but she was too far away.

It looked as though the rusty, blood-stained shovel was about to slam into Zhao Xiaotang's beautiful abs.

Suddenly, a dark shadow lunged out like a leopard.

Thump!

A dull thud echoed.

Zhao Xiaotang didn't feel any pain. She opened her eyes tremulously, only to see a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Lin Xiao, their class monitor who was usually always grinning and never serious, was now standing before her like a god of war.

One of his legs was raised high, held in a perfect side-kick posture.

Three meters away, the zombie looked as if it had been hit by a truck; its entire ribcage was caved in, and it hung off an abandoned mine cart like a ragdoll, black blood spraying out uncontrollably.

Dead silence filled the area.

"This..." Su Qingqian's pupils constricted.

Kicking someone three meters away? And a zombie that felt no pain at that?

Was this Lin Xiao's true strength?

"Stop dazing off!"

Lin Xiao pulled back his leg and shook his slightly numb ankle. Triple Constitution was no joke; that kick felt amazing.

He didn't stop, as the surrounding zombies had been attracted by the commotion and were beginning to stagger toward them.

Lin Xiao's eyes sharpened as he quickly drew the starter revolver gifted by his S-grade Talent from his waist.

Though he only had six bullets, he had the passive bonus from [God-level Sign-in]—for these three days, his dynamic vision and hand-eye coordination were at their peak.

He raised the gun with one hand, not even needing to aim for long.

Bang!

A burst of orange-red flame erupted from the muzzle.

The massive gunshot echoed through the hollow mine.

In the distance, a zombie that had been raising a pickaxe to ambush Su Qingqian had its head explode like a watermelon, red and white matter splattering everywhere.

A headshot!

Bang! Bang!

Two more shots.

Two zombies trying to approach Zhao Xiaotang collapsed instantly.

The pungent smell of gunpowder spread, stimulating everyone's nerves.

Lin Xiao blew the smoke from the muzzle and turned around, his dark eyes shining terrifyingly bright in the night. He looked at the group of terrified girls and roared:

"Did you see that clearly?! They're made of flesh too! If their heads blow up, they die!"

"Zhao Xiaotang! Did you train those muscles just for show? Or are they just for men to grope? Get up! If you don't want to die, smash their heads in!"

"Su Qingqian! Use your axe! Don't tell me you only know how to chop wood!"

Lin Xiao's words were crude and blunt, but they acted like a shot of adrenaline, instantly bursting the bubble of fear.

Zhao Xiaotang's face flushed with shame, her humiliation intertwining with her will to survive. Looking at the tall back of the man standing in front of her, a strange surge of power welled up in her heart.

"Damn it! I'm going all in!"

Zhao Xiaotang let out a roar as if to vent her fear. She swung the tape-wrapped chair leg (solid wood and very heavy) and smashed it down on a zombie that had just crawled up.

Clang!

Though she had no technique, her strength was immense. The zombie was sent stumbling by the blow.

At the same time, a cold light flashed.

Su Qingqian moved.

She wasn't like Zhao Xiaotang, who relied purely on brute force. She nimbly stepped aside from a zombie's pounce, her iron axe already covered in a layer of bone-white frost.

"Die!"

She gave a low shout, the axe blade striking the zombie's neck with precision.

Crack!

Accompanied by the sound of shattering ice, the zombie's neck was instantly frozen and then violently severed by the massive impact!

A decaying head rolled onto the ground. No blood sprayed from the stump; instead, it was covered in frost.

"Beautiful!" Lin Xiao couldn't help but cheer loudly.

Su Qingqian's move was a perfect example of violent aesthetics.

With these two leading the way, the remaining three girls, though still afraid of close combat, mustered the courage to pick up stones and throw them from a distance, providing a distraction.

Lin Xiao didn't fire again; bullets were precious. He charged into the crowd with a steel pipe, and with agility and strength triple that of a normal person, he was like a tiger among sheep.

Thump! The steel pipe crushed a zombie's skull.

Crack! A kick snapped a zombie's knee.

In just three minutes.

The battle was over.

Over a dozen miner zombies lay scattered on the ground, not a single one intact.

Wait... huff... huff...

Zhao Xiaotang leaned on the chair leg, panting heavily. Her impressive chest heaved violently, and sweat trickled down her neck into her deep cleavage. Though she looked a mess, her eyes shone with an unprecedented light.

It was the euphoria of conquering fear.

"I... I killed one! I really killed one!" She looked at Lin Xiao excitedly, like a child waiting for praise.

Su Qingqian was much calmer. She silently wiped the foul blood from her axe (though most of it was frozen), walked to Lin Xiao's side, and looked at him with a complex gaze: "Your aim is very precise."

It wasn't just the accuracy; it was that poise of laughing and joking in a life-or-death situation that made this School Beauty, who was usually quite haughty, feel a sense of 'admiration' for the first time.

"It's nothing special, just third in the department," Lin Xiao joked, easing the tense atmosphere.

He walked over to the zombie Su Qingqian had decapitated, his gaze locking onto a crystal emitting a faint gray light beside the corpse.

**[Item Discovered: Level 1 Zombie Crystal (Common)]**

**[Uses: Train energy replenishment, credit exchange, advancement material for ability users.]**

Lin Xiao calmly picked up the crystal and pocketed it.

"Everyone did a great job," Lin Xiao clapped his hands. "Now, it's time for our spoils of war."

He kicked open the rusty warehouse door.

Clang!

The door swung open.

The sight inside made all the girls cheer.

Although most of the shelves in the warehouse were empty, a pile of supplies remained in the corner.

Dozens of pieces of unrefined [High-purity Iron Ore]—the basic material for repairing the train and manufacturing weapons.

In the corner, there were also three dusty cardboard boxes.

Lin Xiao walked over and sliced them open.

First box: Some slightly damp but still usable [Work Gloves] and [Hard Hats].

Second box: A whole case of twenty-four bottles of **[Mineral Water]**!

Third box: Although they were a month past their expiration date, they were still edible **[Canned Luncheon Meat]**!

"Water! It's water!"

"And canned meat!"

The girls, whose legs had been weak with fear just moments ago, now had eyes glowing with greed. If Lin Xiao weren't standing there, they probably would have pounced already.

Lin Xiao was satisfied with their reaction.

He stepped forward and picked up the case of water and the cans.

"Same old rules: distribution based on labor."

He took out two bottles of water and two cans from the boxes and handed them to Su Qingqian and Zhao Xiaotang respectively.

"This is the share for the main force."

Then he took out three bottles of water and three cans and gave them to the other three girls.

"This is the reward for your courage."

Finally, looking at the remaining supplies, Lin Xiao grinned:

"As for the rest, we're taking it back to the train. Let those 'young ladies' who are waiting to reap what they didn't sow see what it means to 'not work, not eat'."

Zhao Xiaotang unscrewed a water bottle and took a huge gulp; the cool sensation instantly dispelled the smoky air in her throat.

She wiped the water from the corner of her mouth and looked at Lin Xiao's tall back, her gaze becoming a bit heavy with longing.

That kick earlier was really cool.

And this powerful, masculine aura was so much better than those meatheads at the gym who only knew how to drink protein powder.

"Monitor,"

Zhao Xiaotang leaned in, intentionally puffing out her chest, her voice carrying a trace of subtle flirtatiousness, "My hand got a bit jarred just now. Could you take a look for me when we get back?"

Lin Xiao glanced down at the sweaty cleavage and smiled meaningfully. "Sure, I am the only 'doctor' on this train, after all."

...

Half an hour later.

When Lin Xiao returned to the train with the Exploration Team, covered in blood (mostly from zombies) and carrying bags of supplies, the carriage instantly erupted in excitement.

The girls who had stayed behind stared at the water and cans in their hands, their mouths watering.

Especially Zhao Ji; as she watched Zhao Xiaotang eat the luncheon meat, the aroma filling the entire carriage, her stomach growled uncontrollably.

"What are you looking at?" Zhao Xiaotang, now full of confidence, glared fiercely at Zhao Ji. "Want some? Why didn't you have the guts to go down there just now?"

Zhao Ji bit her lip, her face turning ashen, but she couldn't say a single word.