30: Chapter 30 Wild Hunt in the Rainstorm, Acid Swamp Monster

"Hoo—"

Looking at the magnificent attributes that popped up on the system panel.

Su Chen let out a long breath of stale air and wiped a trace of cold sweat from his forehead.

This kind of magical modification that completely covered the entire massive train consumed a shockingly large amount of mental energy. Even with his maxed-out mental energy of 100 points, it was almost bottomed out at this moment.

But looking at the steel fortress beneath his feet that was now completely brand new, emitting an eerie and indestructible dark green glow.

Su Chen's lips curled into a smirk of extreme satisfaction and arrogance.

Acid immunity 90%!

It even came with the insane special effect of absorbing acid energy to automatically repair itself!

With this coating, let alone three days of acid rain.

Even if he were to drive this train no. 0099 directly into a pool of aqua regia to take a bath, it would definitely remain unscathed!

"Come on."

Su Chen looked up at the dark green clouds in the sky that had thickened to the extreme, constantly rolling with lightning and thunder.

He opened his arms as if welcoming a grand baptism.

"Let me see, this so-called first round of global natural disasters."

"What exactly can you do to me!"

...

"Drip."

A raindrop the size of a soybean, displaying a heart-stopping dark green color, finally fell from the oppressive clouds that made it hard to breathe.

This raindrop, saturated with high-concentration strong acid, landed precisely on the newly formed [Acid-Resistant Alloy Coating] on the roof of train no. 0099.

"Sss—"

Accompanied by a very faint sound, as if cold water had dripped onto a hot pan.

That drop of acid rain, which was enough to corrode a small pit into ordinary steel, didn't even stay for a second on the surface of this extremely smooth coating that emitted a dark green glow.

It didn't even stir up a wisp of white smoke before sliding down the perfect curve with a "whoosh," slamming heavily into the soil next to the tracks.

"Sizzle—"

The hard soil was instantly corroded into a small pit bubbling with green foam, emitting a pungent, burnt stench.

Immediately after.

"Drip... drip, drip..."

"Whoosh—!"

The first raindrop seemed to be a signal of death.

In just a few seconds, the dark green clouds covering the sky poured down completely!

An unprecedented [Corrosive Acid Rain], capable of melting everything in the world, crashed wildly onto this already riddled wasteland, like an overturned heavenly river!

Strong winds mixed with green rain raged across the wilderness.

train no. 0099 was like a dark green behemoth dormant in the storm, letting the acid rain that could melt metal wash over it frantically.

That top-grade black iron Acid-Resistant Alloy Coating steadily isolated it all, even greedily absorbing the weak energy contained in the acid rain, making its own defense even more indestructible.

And in stark contrast to the safety of train no. 0099.

Was the miserable scene on the distant wilderness that looked like a painting of hell.

Through the specially reinforced explosion-proof glass windows.

Chu Qingxue, Zhang Man, Lin Momo, and the other girls watched everything happening outside with pale faces.

Less than two kilometers from the tracks.

Two low-level wooden trains that hadn't managed to gather enough materials, or had only hastily applied a layer of low-quality preservative, were experiencing a catastrophe.

"Help! Aaaaah—my roof is broken!"

"It hurts! My hand! My eyes are melting!"

Those two dilapidated trains were like paper under the washing of the acid rain.

The wooden carriage walls were corroded into holes in an instant.

The green rainwater with strong corrosiveness poured in wildly through the holes.

The extremely shrill screams, despite the rain and wind, still clearly reached everyone's ears.

But the sound lasted less than a minute before coming to an abrupt end.

By the time those two trains appeared in everyone's field of vision again.

The original carriages had completely disappeared, leaving only two chassis that were pitted and corroded, like rusty iron racks, still sliding powerlessly on the tracks.

And the survivors in the carriages...

Not even a complete skeleton was left; they were all melted into pools of bloody water emitting a foul stench and green light.

"Ugh—"

A few girls from the logistics team with weaker psychological endurance, seeing this tragic scene, covered their mouths and ran to the trash can to dry heave.

Even Zhang Man, who was usually bold and accustomed to bloodshed, had her eyelids twitching wildly, instinctively touching her own [Steel Body], which, while hard, definitely couldn't withstand strong acid.

"Train Master... If it weren't for the armor you prepared in advance."

Chu Qingxue turned her head, looking at Su Chen, who was sitting leisurely on the leather sofa in the master bedroom, holding a glass of red wine, her voice trembling with undisguised relief.

"Would we... would we now also..."

"There are no ifs."

Su Chen gently swirled the blood-red wine in the goblet, his deep eyes flashing with a coldness that transcended life and death, watching from the sidelines.

"In the wasteland, weakness and ignorance are the greatest original sins."

"They died because they weren't strong enough, not decisive enough."

Su Chen tilted his head back, drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp, and his lips curled into an overbearing and confident arc.

"And we can sit here alive, drinking wine and watching the rain."

"It is because your Train Master is named Su Chen."

Hearing this, all the girls in the carriage straightened their backs involuntarily.

The look in their eyes when they looked at Su Chen, besides awe, added a kind of near-blind fanaticism and loyalty!

In this doomsday where one could die at any moment, how lucky it was to be able to follow such a powerful, decisive king who could shield them from the wind and rain!

[Ding! Detected a collective increase in loyalty among all train crew members!]

[Current average loyalty: 88 points (Fanatic level)!]

Listening to the system prompt in his mind, Su Chen smiled with satisfaction.

This natural disaster not only did not weaken the strength of train no. 0099, but instead acted like a raging fire, tempering the cohesion of the entire team into an iron plate!

...

This terrifying Corrosive Acid Rain fell for two full days and nights, still showing no signs of stopping.

But one thing made the survivors feel relieved.

The blood-colored mist that had always shrouded the wasteland, hindering vision and exploration, had miraculously dissipated under the washing of the acid rain.

The view outside the train window became unprecedentedly open.

However, there was no beautiful scenery in this open view.

On both sides of the tracks, the originally dry and hard wilderness land had turned into patches of acid swamp, bubbling with eerie green foam and emitting a pungent sulfur smell under the continuous corrosion of strong acid.

And the cold, mechanical voice of the Heavenly Dao System sounded at the right time.

[District-wide announcement!]

[The acid rain disaster has entered its middle stage!]

[Stimulated by high-concentration acid, some low-level mutants in the wilderness have undergone violent mutations, evolving into special disaster monsters—[Acid Swamp Monster]!]

[Note: Killing this special mutant will grant double survival points! And there is a very high probability of dropping rare anti-corrosion materials and water-attribute elemental cores!]

"Double points? Rare drops?"

Hearing this announcement.

Su Chen, who was lying on the big bed in the master bedroom, enjoying the massage from Liu Ruyan that was comparable to a professional technician's strength, opened his eyes abruptly.

He pushed away Liu Ruyan's plump and soft body and sat up from the bed.

"Display the current regional train combat power ranking."

Su Chen gave the instruction to AI Ling Yi in his heart.

Soon, the leaderboard appeared on the holographic projection screen.

Sure enough.

In the face of this unprecedented natural disaster.

The vast majority of Train Masters could only hide in those temporarily reinforced or natural shelters, shivering.

Even the guy ranked second had his point growth completely stagnant at this moment, obviously not daring to risk his train being corroded to go out and kill monsters.

"Heh, everyone is hiding from the disaster."

Su Chen looked at the undisputed top spot, his lips curling into a bloodthirsty and crazy smirk.

In the wasteland.

Crisis is often synonymous with opportunity!

Others don't dare to go out because their trains can't withstand the acid rain.

But his train no. 0099 not only has the perfect defense of the [Acid-Resistant Alloy Coating].

Even last night, Su Chen used the remaining materials to fine-tune the train's power system.

Coupled with the extremely smooth repulsive force of the coating, this armored train was actually able to perform a short shallow-water stealth in this acid swamp!

"Ling Yi!"

Su Chen stood up, picked up the incomparably heavy [guillotine battleaxe], his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit.

"Start the train, lift the silent state!"

"Target: The acid swamp two kilometers to the left!"

"Notify Chu Qingxue, Zhang Man, and Lin Momo to be fully armed and gather at the rooftop machine gun turret!"

As Su Chen's order echoed through the carriages via the broadcast.

The entire train no. 0099 was like an ancient beast waking from its slumber, letting out a deafening whistle.

"Others hide from the disaster."

Su Chen strode out of the master bedroom, leaving behind an overbearing declaration.

"We are going out to hunt!"

...

The rain poured down, and the entire wasteland world seemed to be shrouded in a green filter of death.

"Woo—!"

Accompanied by a low and wild whistle.

The heavy steam armored train no. 0099, like a behemoth clad in dark green armor, plowed through the acid swamp bubbling with eerie foam.

That top-grade black iron [Acid-Resistant Alloy Coating] showed amazing defensive power, perfectly isolating the swamp acid water that could corrode steel.

"Decelerate the train to 20 kilometers per hour."

Su Chen stood in front of the console in the driver's cab, his deep gaze fixed through the explosion-proof glass on the muddy area ahead, which was rolling with green bubbles.

"Ling Yi, open the number one and number two shooting ports on the roof."

"Prepare to take over the secondary machine gun turret, turn on radar automatic locking."

"Understood, Master. Shooting ports are open, radar scanning system is ready, target identification is in progress..." The cold, mature AI voice echoed in the cab.

Su Chen turned his head to look at Chu Qingxue, Zhang Man, and Lin Momo, who had changed into full black tactical camouflage and were standing by with weapons.

"Let's go, to the roof."

Su Chen casually grabbed the top-grade bronze [Thunderfire Roarer] and strode towards the steel ladder leading to the roof.

The moment he climbed onto the roof, the pungent smell of sulfur mixed with the scent of strong acid hit his face.

Although there was a specially designed rain-proof canopy that blocked most of the acid rain, the harsh air environment still made it difficult to breathe.

"This damn place, even the air is poisonous."

Zhang Man rubbed her nose, gripping the giant fire axe in her hand, which had been re-handled and coated with a simple anti-corrosion material.

Although her [Steel Body] was strong, its combat effectiveness was undoubtedly greatly reduced in this acid rain environment.

After all, the restraint of strong acid on metal was natural.

"Train Master, the radar shows that a large number of high-energy life signs are rapidly approaching from beneath the swamp ahead!" Chu Qingxue looked at the portable tactical terminal on her wrist, a flash of seriousness in her cold expression.

"They're here."

Su Chen sneered.

Just as he finished speaking.

"Gloop... gloop..."

The surface of the swamp on both sides of the train, rolling with green bubbles, suddenly swelled violently, like boiling water.

Immediately after.

Blobs of huge, translucent monsters, like a mixture of mud and phlegm, slowly crawled out of the swamp, wriggling.

[Discovered special mutant: Acid Swamp Monster!]

[Rank: Low-grade Bronze!]

[Characteristics: A soft-bodied monster born from a mixture of acid rain and mutated fungi. Extremely high physical immunity, capable of spraying high-concentration strong acid. After being killed, there is a certain probability of splitting into two smaller individuals!]

[Weakness: Fears sonic vibrations and extreme cold.]

These monsters had no eyes or limbs, only an dark green crystal similar to a core wandering inside their translucent bodies.

They wriggled their disgusting bodies, like huge slimes, desperately rushing towards the train no. 0099 running on the tracks, seemingly wanting to use the strong acid in their bodies to completely melt the train's tires and chassis.

"Fire!"

Su Chen didn't hesitate at all, directly pouncing in front of a twin-mounted Vulcan machine gun turret, gripping the handles tightly with both hands, and slammed the fire button.

Meanwhile.

At the same time, the other machine gun turret taken over by AI Ling Yi, under the precise locking of the radar, instantly spewed out two long tongues of fire!

"Dadadada—!"

The deafening roar of the machine gun instantly tore through the clamor of the rain.

A dense barrage of metal bullets, like a storm, poured wildly onto those Acid Swamp Monsters.

However.

A tricky scene occurred.

Those heavy machine gun bullets, which were enough to tear elite Ghouls into pieces, only made dull "pfft, pfft" sounds when hitting these soft-bodied monsters.

The bullets easily penetrated their translucent, slimy bodies and shot deep into the mud below.