1: Chapter 1

On a scorching summer day, on an abandoned railway track on the outskirts of Tianhai City.

A dilapidated green train, chartered by a private party, was quietly parked there.

"Su Chen, make my legs look longer in the photo! This is our Classical Dance Department's final graduation photo!"

The speaker was a pretty young girl wearing a hanfu.

Her name was Lin Momo, a sweet girl from the Classical Dance Department of the Tianhai Academy of Arts with a soft and cute personality.

Su Chen held a DSLR camera, skillfully adjusting the aperture and focal length.

"Don't worry, your legs are already long enough."

Su Chen replied casually and calmly pressed the shutter.

Inside this long and narrow carriage, a total of thirty-eight stunningly beautiful girls were gathered.

They were all elites from the Classical Dance Department of the Tianhai Academy of Arts. Any one of them, if placed outside, would be a goddess surrounded by admirers.

There was Zhao Yuxin, a wealthy heiress who was touching up her makeup in a small mirror, her expression revealing a hint of innate arrogance.

There was Zhang Man, a physical education specialist doing splits and stretching her legs in the aisle, her movements bold and generous, exuding a sense of power.

In the corner, Su Xiaoxiao, known as the class's "Know-It-All," was typing rapidly on her phone, seemingly gossiping about something.

And sitting in the front row by the window was the class monitor and school beauty of the Classical Dance Department, Chu Qingxue.

She had a cold and aloof temperament, like a flower on a high mountain that could not be trifled with, and was quietly flipping through a thick foreign classic.

Next to Chu Qingxue was the 26-year-old dance department counselor, Liu Ruyan.

She wore a tight black hip-hugging skirt paired with nude stockings, her mature and intellectual aura palpable.

Especially her extremely hot figure; even the wide collar of her white shirt could hardly hide those amazing curves.

The entire carriage was filled with the scents of various high-end perfumes, bustling with the chatter of many beautiful women.

Su Chen was just a poor student who usually relied on taking odd jobs to earn living expenses.

He knew very well that he and this group of high-and-mighty "daughters of heaven" were from two completely different worlds.

Once he finished taking this set of photos today and received the final payment, they would never cross paths again.

However, just as Su Chen was about to change angles and continue shooting...

A sudden change occurred!

An extremely ear-piercing roar suddenly came from deep underground.

It was as if an ancient giant beast had turned over underground.

The entire green carriage began to shake violently.

"Ah—!"

"What's going on? Is it an earthquake?"

The girls' faces turned pale with fright, and they screamed as they huddled together.

Immediately after, the sunlight outside the window vanished instantly.

In its place was a sky full of rolling blood-colored mist.

Su Chen's eyes sharpened as he quickly stabilized his stance, tightly protecting his expensive DSLR camera in his arms.

He looked out through the dusty train window.

His pupils constricted suddenly.

The familiar modern city buildings had completely disappeared.

What met his eyes was only a broken railway track stretching into the endless, dark mist.

The soil on both sides of the tracks was an eerie dark red, as if soaked in blood.

Vaguely, huge, twisted black shadows seemed to be writhing in pain within the mist.

This extremely oppressive atmosphere was definitely not something that could be created by a prank or movie special effects.

Just as everyone was plunged into extreme panic and at a loss...

A cold, mechanical, and emotionless voice exploded in the minds of ten billion people on Earth simultaneously!

[Warning! The Blue Star plane has collapsed!]

[Ten billion humans worldwide have been drawn into the Wasteland Train Survival Game!]

[Welcome, lucky ones, to the cruel new world.]

[I am the Heavenly Dao System. The following are the survival rules. Please listen carefully with your lives!]

[1: To prevent rapid death in solo survival, all humans have been transported to countless trains according to their original organizations, classes, or through random matching.]

[2: The train is your only sanctuary and your lifeline.]

[3: The train must keep moving forward. Once it comes to a complete halt for longer than the specified time, it will be swallowed by the mist, and all players inside will be immediately obliterated.]

[4: Both sides of the tracks are filled with endless mist and aberrant monsters. For those who venture into the mist without permission, the mortality rate is 99.9%.]

[5: The train must rely on burning basic wood, coal, or higher-level energy sources to move forward.]

[6: Stopping stations will appear randomly along the way. These stations may contain extremely rich survival supplies, or they may hide deadly dangers.]

[7: When stopping at a station, someone must get off to collect supplies; otherwise, you will starve or die of thirst on this wasteland.]

[8: Each player has a very small probability of awakening a talent at the start. Talent grades are divided into F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS.]

[9: The newbie protection period is only three days. During these three days, monsters will not actively attack the moving train.]

[10: After the newbie protection period, the real hell will officially arrive, and the monsters' carnival will begin.]

[Finally, I wish you all a long life in this feast of slaughter.]

...

The cold notification voice gradually faded away.

The carriage fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's eyes widened, frozen in place like clay sculptures or wooden carvings.

A full half-minute passed.

The suppressed emotions finally erupted completely.

"This... this is an auditory hallucination, right? It must be an illusion!"

Lin Momo's voice trembled, her large eyes filled with tears of fear, her exquisite hanfu wrinkled from her grip.

"There's no signal! My phone has no signal at all!"

Su Xiaoxiao frantically refreshed her phone screen, her face as white as paper.

"Call the police! Quickly, dial 110!"

"I want to go home, I don't want to play some survival game!"

Cries and screams rose and fell within the narrow carriage.

The usually high-and-mighty beauties of the dance department were now in a complete state of chaos.

"How is this possible? I have to go to the final interview for Xingyao Media tomorrow!"

The wealthy heiress Zhao Yuxin stood up angrily, pounding hard on the window glass.

"Open the door! I want to get off! Do you know who my father is?"

"Whoever dares to kidnap me, my Zhao family will definitely make them pay dearly!"

However, no matter how hard she tried, the thin train window remained motionless.

The blood-colored mist outside rolled, seemingly mocking her stupidity and ignorance in silence.

"Everyone, calm down!"

A cold and highly penetrating voice rang out.

It was Chu Qingxue.

She stood up, and although her beautiful face was slightly pale, her eyes were exceptionally steady.

"Don't run around, everyone. First, check the items and food you have with you."

"If what that voice said just now is true, the most important thing for us right now is to conserve our energy and not scream and shout!"

As the class monitor, Chu Qingxue held great prestige in the class.

She had a strong sense of the big picture and was the first to force herself to accept reality.

The counselor Liu Ruyan also took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Her voluptuous chest rose and fell sharply, outlining breathtaking curves.

"Chu Qingxue is right. Students, I am your counselor, please trust me."

"Sit back in your seats first, don't panic. There are many of us, we will surely find a solution."

Under the comfort of Chu Qingxue and Liu Ruyan, the panic was brought somewhat under control.

But low sobs and desperate whimpers still spread through the carriage.

Compared to the chaotic girls, Su Chen, standing in the middle of the aisle, seemed completely out of place.

He didn't panic, nor did he go to comfort anyone.

He just silently put the DSLR camera into his backpack and zipped it up.

Su Chen's dark eyes were rapidly scanning the surroundings.

This was an extremely dilapidated green train.

From the outline outside the window, it could be seen that this train consisted of only a locomotive and the hard-seat carriage they were currently in.

The iron skin of the carriage was covered in large patches of rust, and in some places, light even shone through.

This extremely weak defense, let alone resisting monsters, could be smashed through with a hammer.

"Starting on hell difficulty, huh..."

Su Chen sneered inwardly.

He was by no means a saint.

In this apocalyptic world where order had collapsed, compassion was the cheapest and most fatal thing.

Just as Su Chen was thinking about how to break the situation...

An extremely ethereal notification voice, which only he could hear, suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations player Su Chen, you have successfully awakened the server's unique SSS-grade talent—Omni-Modification!]

Su Chen's pupils constricted suddenly.

His breathing involuntarily stopped for half a second.

SSS-grade talent?!

The Heavenly Dao System had just said that the probability of awakening a talent was extremely small, and the highest grade was SSS!

He had actually awakened the server's only highest-level talent!

Su Chen suppressed his racing heart and immediately thought to check his status panel.

A translucent light blue screen instantly appeared before his eyes.

[Player: Su Chen]

[Age: 22]

[Constitution: 12 (Standard for a normal adult male is 10, representing strength, defense, and endurance)]

[Agility: 11 (Standard for a normal adult male is 10, representing speed and neural reaction)]

[Spirit: 100/100 (Excessive consumption will lead to a coma; reaching zero will result in brain death)]

[part:deepseek-chat]

[Talent: Omni-Modification (SSS-Grade, Unique)]

[Talent Effect 1: You possess an instinct to perceive the essence of all things, allowing you to uncover hidden fusion formulas.]

[Talent Effect 2: You can consume mental energy to reassemble low-grade, useless materials into supernormal items of Black Iron grade or above with a 100% success rate.]

[Attached Passive Skill: Monarchs Halo.]

[Skill Description: You are a born Monarch of Trains. When you appoint a female player as a train attendant and her loyalty towards you reaches 80 or above, a portion of her attributes will be proportionally fed back to you.]

[The higher the loyalty, the greater the feedback ratio. Simultaneously, attendants will receive a slight all-attribute boost within the range of your train.]

As Su Chen looked at the panel before his eyes, his gaze grew increasingly profound.

Omni-Modification!

In this post-apocalyptic world where resources were scarce, and even scrap metal was extremely precious,

this talent was nothing short of an unreasonable, overwhelming advantage!

Others could only cobble together crude weapons from sticks and stones.

Yet, he could reassemble low-grade materials into items with supernormal attributes with a one hundred percent success rate!

Not to mention the attached [Monarchs Halo].

Su Chen's gaze swept imperceptibly over the thirty-eight girls inside the carriage.

These art department goddesses, who usually looked down on him—a poor student taking odd photography jobs—from their lofty perches,

had now, in his eyes, completely transformed into potential 'resources' he could use to enhance his own strength.

As long as he made them attendants and maxed out their loyalty, his own attributes could stack infinitely.

But Su Chen absolutely refused to be a sycophant.

The apocalypse had descended, and the rules had been rewritten.

Only by possessing absolute martial power and resources could one control everything and make others dependent.

Just as Su Chen was silently calculating,

the cold, merciless voice of the Heavenly Dao System once again echoed in everyone's minds.

This time, it was a broadcast specifically for their train.

[Alert: Detected that the current train (Initial Serial No.: No.0099) has not yet bound a Train Core.]

[Train cannot be activated!]

[All players currently inside this carriage must elect a 'Train Master' within five minutes.]

[The Train Master will bind the Train Core, gaining absolute control over this train, upgrade permissions, route selection rights, and access to an exclusive trading market.]

[If a Train Master is not elected within five minutes, the Heavenly Dao will randomly eliminate half the players in the carriage as a delay penalty.]

[Countdown begins: 04:59...]

[04:58...]

As soon as this bloody alert appeared, the panic that had been barely suppressed within the carriage exploded once more.

'Train Master? Control rights?'

'And half of us will be eliminated? This is absurd!'

'I don't want to die! Who will be the Train Master?'

Under the terrifying pressure of life and death, the instincts of human nature began to lay themselves bare.

The shadow of death loomed over everyone's heads.

Zhao Yuxin's eyes darted around frantically. She abruptly shoved aside the classmates blocking her way and strode to the center of the carriage in her high heels.

She lifted her chin, struggling to regain her haughty, young mistress demeanor.

'Everyone, listen to me!'

'I should be the one to become the Train Master!'

She looked around, her voice sharp and urgent.

'My father is the chairman of the Zhao Group, the richest family in Tianhai City. I've received elite management education since childhood.'

'In terms of leadership skills and strategic vision, who among you can match me?'

'As long as you vote for me and elect me as Train Master,'

'once the rescue team finds us, or we leave this damned place and return to reality,'

'I, Zhao Yuxin, swear to the heavens, I'll arrange a job with an annual salary of a million for each of you!'

'And even in this game, I'm absolutely confident I can lead everyone to survive with my brains!'

It must be said, Zhao Yuxin was quite skilled at painting a rosy picture.

Under the lingering awe of real-world wealth and status, many of the terrified girls began to waver.

'Yuxin seems to have a point...'

'Yeah, her family is so rich, she must have seen the world and knows a lot.'

'And an annual salary of a million... What if we really can go back?'

'Maybe we should just choose her. The countdown is almost out of time!'

But some kept a clear head.

Zhang Man, a physical education specialist, sneered and retorted bluntly.

'Zhao Yuxin, what era is this? And you're still putting on your young mistress airs?'

'This is survival in the apocalypse! There are man-eating monsters outside! Not your family's make-believe amusement park!'

'You can't even twist open a mineral water bottle cap on a normal day. When you encounter a monster, are you going to kill it with your empty promises?'

Su Xiaoxiao also pushed up her black-framed glasses and analyzed calmly.

'Zhang Man is right. What we need now is someone with initiative, strong mental fortitude, capable of handling sudden crises.'

'Zhao Yuxin, you're not suitable.'

Chu Qingxue slightly furrowed her delicate brows, about to propose a compromise.

However, just as all the girls were arguing and eyeing each other warily over the selection of the Train Master,

no one noticed that a tall, slender figure had silently stood up.

Su Chen had absolutely no interest in listening to these frightened women bicker like startled birds.

He understood very clearly that so-called 'democratic election' was a complete joke in the apocalypse.

The Heavenly Dao System said 'elect,' but in the earlier alert, Su Chen had keenly caught a hidden loophole.

[The Train Master will bind the Train Core].

Understanding this statement in reverse meant: As long as someone could physically touch the Train Core, they could directly force a binding!

No one's agreement was needed!

And at this moment, Su Chen's position happened to be the closest to the very front of the carriage—the driver's cab!

Without any hesitation, he turned and strode towards the tightly shut iron door of the driver's cab.

'Su Chen? What are you doing?'

Instructor Liu Ruyan, who had remained vigilant, was the first to notice Su Chen's unusual action and couldn't help but call out.

This exclamation instantly drew the gazes of all thirty-eight girls in the carriage.

Seeing Su Chen heading for the driver's cab, Zhao Yuxin's face immediately changed, as if someone had touched her cheese.

'Hey! That poor loser with the camera! Stop right there!'

'Where are you going? We're choosing the Train Master, it's about our lives. Don't run around!'

Su Chen didn't stop, nor did he even look back.

He reached the driver's cab door and found it locked with a rusty, heavy-duty padlock.

'Are you deaf? I told you to stop!'

Zhao Yuxin rushed over in a fluster, extending a hand adorned with exquisite manicured nails, trying to grab Su Chen's clothes.

In her view, Su Chen was nothing but cheap labor they'd pooled money to hire for photos, a dog that came when called. How dare he ignore her?

Su Chen suddenly turned his head.

His pitch-black eyes held a heart-stopping, extreme coldness.

That gaze was as if looking at an utterly lifeless corpse.

Swept by this icy stare, Zhao Yuxin's entire body stiffened violently.

Her outstretched hand froze mid-air. It felt like a thorn was stuck in her throat, and she didn't dare take another half-step forward.

'Noisy.'

Su Chen coldly spat out two words.

Then, he took half a step back, his right leg suddenly lifting, power surging from his waist.

Boom—!

A deafening crash exploded within the carriage.

The already dilapidated, rusty iron door was struck hard by Su Chen's powerful kick!

The fragile padlock snapped off and flew away, hitting the glass with a sharp crack.

The iron door slammed heavily against the metal wall of the driver's cab, emitting an extremely grating screech.

Dead silence filled the carriage!

All the girls covered their mouths in shock, staring in disbelief at this usually quiet photographer.

No one had expected Su Chen, who seemed gentle and weak, to possess such terrifying explosive power.

Ignoring the stunned gazes behind him, Su Chen strode into the driver's cab.

The interior of the cab was extremely simple and rundown.

A grease-stained lever, a few blurry mechanical dials, and an empty furnace.

And right in the center of the control panel, a fist-sized, rhombus-shaped crystal hovered, emitting a faint, ghostly blue light.

This was the core of this train!

Su Chen strode forward and, without hesitation, reached out his right hand, pressing it firmly onto the blue crystal.

[Ding! Detected player contact with Train Core.]

[Force binding to initial serial No.0099 train?]

'Bind.'

Su Chen coldly commanded in his heart.

Voom—!

A blinding blue light instantly erupted from the crystal, surging madly into Su Chen's body along his arm.