86: Xiyue's character portrait

“If we take them, all of us will starve,” Hou Jun declared unequivocally.

A subordinate next to Hou Jun, seeing his grim expression, quickly said in a cold voice, “Li Xigen, a soldier’s duty is to obey orders.”

“Understood!” The young soldier glanced, then saluted and turned to leave.

Hou Jun watched the young soldier’s retreating figure and sighed, “Sometimes, shouting slogans too much can restrict oneself!”

“Haven’t we always been this way? Just a tool in the hands of politicians. No matter how shiny and beautiful its appearance, when held by someone, it’s just a weapon that can be manipulated at will, pointed at any opponent.”

Hou Jun’s gaze drifted out the window; he didn’t speak.

Before, he might have relied on a burst of passion, but after entering the political cesspool, he no longer had that former fervor. Even if he had some impulsive ideas, considering the bigger picture, he had no choice but to give them up.

“Let’s go! Let’s go out and see.” With that, Hou Jun led the way out of the Train.

“You soldiers, why won’t you take us with you?”

“My dad is the director of the cultural relics bureau, take me first.”

“What’s a director? My grandpa is the Minister of the Patrol Department.”

“Soldiers killing civilians, I’m going to complain to your superiors.”

“Please, please, take us away!”

...People in the crowd kept shouting, pushing forward, trying to rush towards the Train.

Five or six hundred people gathered in front of the Train, shouting indignantly, but no matter how much they clamored, they were eventually stopped by five soldiers armed with guns.

After a few ringleaders were shot dead, the rest of this disorganized mob dared not move. They could only stand in place, letting out helpless shouts.

Hou Jun grew a little impatient. These few hundred people had tightly surrounded the Train, preventing them from going out to search for supplies.

Most importantly, he couldn’t kill this group of people. If he did, it was highly likely that other Train Conductors would broadcast it on the Train chat channel, which would cause a huge negative impact on the reputation of the Great Xia Interstellar Federation.

The Train channel was not like the Great Xia’s network, where the imperial court had absolute control and could immediately block any unfavorable information.

“Tell them to quickly screen out the personnel,” Hou Jun commanded, frowning.

The Vice Train Captain next to him nodded.

Hou Jun paused, then continued, “As for the extra people, try to divide them. Those who get a spot and those who don’t will inevitably be antagonistic, which can reduce some of the numbers. Also, we can direct other unselected people to other Trains.”

After speaking, Hou Jun turned and returned inside the Train.

Some of these people seemed to be second-generation elites; he needed to communicate with his superiors.

Behind the crowd, the group of girls following Luo Chen gathered together, discussing in low voices.

“Those soldiers said they can only take about a hundred people. I wonder if we still have a chance.” Xu Xuan looked at the continuously crowded people, her face quite grim.

She had originally thought that after encountering the imperial court’s soldiers, they would be rescued, but she didn’t expect that the imperial court also couldn’t take everyone.

How could ordinary girls like them get a chance to be chosen among those five or six hundred people?

At this moment, Xu Xuan only regretted not being prettier, so she could have been taken directly like Cheng Yihan and her friends.

Or if her studies had been better, she wouldn’t be so useless among this large crowd.

A young soldier set up a table in front of the Train and shouted loudly to the crowd, “I’m starting to select people now. Everyone, please line up in an orderly fashion. Only those who meet the requirements can stay.”

Hearing the young soldier’s voice, the previously noisy crowd immediately pushed and shoved, forming a long line in front of the table, fearing they would fall behind and lose their chance... At the same time, zombies from other areas gathered towards a black Train, then entered the Train.

Without the threat of zombies, the Train’s collection of supplies became smoother.

People on other Trains began to continuously expand their collection range.

Even if people from different Trains met, no one attacked; instead, they tacitly turned in opposite directions and continued to collect supplies.

Currently, supplies near the campus were abundant, and no one was willing to risk their lives to compete with others... Xi Yue’s Train was only level five, and could be merged with one core. Luo Chen happened to have extra white cores.

With a huge tremor, a red Train merged into the second layer of the Train.

Currently, the first layer was four locomotive-widths wide, and besides Luo Chen’s original Train, which was 14 sections long, the other Trains were all 5 sections long.

The second layer was also four locomotive-widths wide, with three being 5 sections and one being 4 sections.

The third layer was one locomotive-width wide, and three sections long.

“Welcome to join us.” Looking at Xi Yue’s avatar that appeared in the Vice Train Captain module on the screen, Luo Chen smiled and extended his hand in welcome.

“Thank you!” Xi Yue shook his hand, and remembering the previous matter, she said seriously, “Then, are we going to do that?”

“What thing?” Luo Chen was startled, somewhat not understanding what she meant.

“You know, that thing between a man and a woman?” As she spoke, Xi Yue made a circle with her hand, then pointed her index finger of the other hand into the circle she had made.

“Uh... you’re too eager! It’s still broad daylight. We’ll talk about it tonight.” Luo Chen shook his head.

Currently, the most important thing was to collect supplies. Time was urgent and could not be wasted on lovemaking. And since he had already done it once with Cheng Yihan, he didn’t have many thoughts about it right now.

“I’m giving you a task: help me buy passenger tickets and personal wristbands for your classmates, and then help me collect supplies.”

Luo Chen checked the time; it was not yet ten o’clock. The Train would stay in this world for another ten hours, so he couldn’t waste time; he had to make these people help him collect supplies.

“Okay!” Xi Yue nodded and turned to leave the cockpit.

This was a task for her joining the team, and she had to complete it perfectly.

“What? Is this your new woman?” As the elevator door slowly opened, Luo Wan Ning came out, holding a cup of tea.

After using the anti-gravity elevator core, all the stairs in the cockpit had disappeared, replaced by a more aesthetically pleasing and convenient elevator.

And only two elevators were left, both located in the cockpit. Riding the elevator required corresponding authorization, so people without the appropriate authorization could not enter the second layer. Thus, the second layer of the Train and above would also be safer.

“Not yet!” Luo Chen shook his head, took the teacup from Luo Wan Ning’s hand, and drank it in large gulps.

Having been out for two hours, running around, he was indeed a bit thirsty.

“All gone!” Luo Chen chewed the tea leaves in his mouth and handed the cup back.

“It’s fine!” Luo Wan Ning rolled her eyes at Luo Chen and smiled, “How many women did you pick up this time?”

“About a dozen!” Luo Chen smacked his lips, “These tea leaves taste quite fragrant when chewed.”

“That few? Aren’t there many young and pretty girls in this university town?” Luo Wan Ning was a little surprised.

“It’s summer vacation now, so how many are left in the school? And a dozen is already a lot; I can’t afford to support any more.”

“Find a few more! The Train is really short on people right now. And can’t you farm cores?” Luo Wan Ning thought for a moment and said.