Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Hu Lushou barked sharply, then glanced at the train on the tracks before jerking his chin toward Lin Xian. He grinned, flashing a gold tooth. "Alright! You're the one who said yes, so you'd better bring out everything you've got. Don't think you can just take the money and run. I'm being polite this time, but next time? Who knows."

Lin Xian nodded and looked at the massive truckload of supplies with an amused expression. Smiling, he said, "Well then, I guess I'll reluctantly help you restock."

Then, he turned back. "Luo Ye, Lü Chang, get on the train and load up for this big client!"

As soon as he spoke, the people aboard theInfinite Trainimmediately caught on. KIKI and Chen Sixuan had to stifle their laughter, while Shasha's face turned bright red from holding it in.

Meanwhile, the survivors who had come to trade weren't looking too pleased. Normally, they were the ones who got the better end of deals by using fewer supplies to trade for what they needed. But now, they'd been completely cut off from the transaction, leaving them frustrated and disappointed. Some shook their heads, ready to leave.

Seeing this, Lin Xian called out just before boarding the train, "Hey, don't go just yet! I'll trade with you guys after I finish selling to Boss Hu here."

The moment he said that, not only did the departing survivors freeze, but even Hu Lushou was stunned, thinking he had misheard. "Oi, what do you mean by that? You think I don't have enough to clear out your stock?"

At the back of the crowd,Night Phantom's leader, Cao Hong, was just as shocked. His subordinates had already started whispering among themselves.

Lin Xian, however, remained unfazed. He frowned slightly, pretending to calculate, and said with some difficulty, "I'm not sure how much you brought. How about this? I'll start by preparing what your little truckload can trade for. If it's not enough, you can always go back and get more."

Lin Xian didn't respond, only giving KIKI and Chen Sixuan a small signal before heading back onto the train with Luo Ye and the others.

Chen Sixuan had the team carry up a few crates of weapons. "This crate holds 20Xinghuo-26fully automatic tactical rifles. They're in decent condition—go ahead and inspect them."

Hu Lushou barely spared them a glance before snapping his fingers. Instantly, one of his men unloaded a table and tea set from their truck, setting it up in front of him with practiced ease. Hu Lushou lounged back in his chair while his subordinates meticulously checked each rifle. Meanwhile, his men began unloading supply crates from their truck and stacking them in front of Chen Sixuan.

Both sides got to work.

Watching crate after crate of supplies being loaded onto theInfinite Train, some survivors had already given up and left, while others lingered, hoping for an opportunity to pick up scraps. Some even considered buying directly from Hu Lushou after he was done—after all, making a supply run wasn't easy, and weapons were a necessity. Even if the price was a little higher, it was better than leaving empty-handed.

The red-haired woman standing behind Hu Lushou, clearly acting as his bodyguard, remained silent, her sharp eyes locked onto theInfinite Train's key members.

She could tell—there wereAbility Usersamong them, and they were strong.

One crate after another was carried down from theInfinite Train. At first, they were older, slightly worn-out firearms. Hu Lushou's men even rejected some of the worst ones. But soon enough, the rifles being unloaded became noticeably newer. Even the weapon crates themselves were brand new.

The man responsible for checking the weapons grew increasingly uneasy. The rifles weren't just new—they werefresh. In fact, when he picked one up, it was still warm to the touch…

Inside theInfinite Train, Lin Xian had hisManufacturing Plantrunning at full speed, churning outXinghuo-26rifles with ease. These guns were simple to produce, required minimal materials, and had decent firepower—good enough for zombies and lower-tierC-Class Eerie EntitieslikeFog SpidersorThree-Headed Phantoms.

Against heavily armored threats? You'd need heavy weapons.

Still, since the other party had clearly come to test them, there was no way he'd let theInfinite Trainget embarrassed on its first day of business. And with Hu Lushou's massive stockpile of supplies, this was a prime opportunity to fill up the train's own reserves.

As crate after crate ofbrand newrifles was carried down, Hu Lushou's men worked in silence, methodically stacking their own supplies in return. Chen Sixuan, ever composed, continued tallying the trade records.

Sipping his tea, Hu Lushou finally sensed something was off.

The crates and rifles looked like they hadjustrolled out of a military factory. And yet, instead of all being brought out at once, they were arriving at a steady pace—like they werebeing produced in real time.

The watching survivors were equally dumbfounded.

At the back of the crowd, Cao Hong's eyes were practically glowing. He never imagined that the train wasthiswell-stocked.

"…Motherf—"

Hu Lushou abruptly stopped drinking, lowering his teacup and pressing down his sunglasses to stare at the train's entrance.

Just when he thought they'd run out of guns, another two people emerged with another crate.

Then another.

And another.

It was like… they wererespawning.

His heart clenched.

Turning back, he saw that his truckload of supplies had dwindled to less than one-third. His expression darkened.

"F*ck… Sun Chang, tell me theydon'tactually have a whole train full of weapons." Hu Lushou lowered his voice as he spoke to the red-haired woman behind him.

Sun Chang's expression was grim. She could tell they had underestimated this train crew. Slowly, she replied, "These weapons are too fresh. They must've gotten their hands on some high-grade military stock."

Hu Lushou's brow twitched. "You serious?"

Sun Chang remained silent.

His face sank further, and he muttered under his breath as he eyed the heavy train warily, "Well, sht… I think I fcked up."

But the endless cycle of weapon crates being unloaded continued.

Thud!

The final crate was placed before Hu Lushou's men.

The guy handling the inventory turned to check on their own truck—only to find that they had been completely cleaned out. Instead, their vehicle was now stacked with neatly arranged gun crates.

"…That's it?" Chen Sixuan finished her final count and raised an eyebrow at them. "That's all you brought?"

Hu Lushou jolted so hard that his tea spilled. He shot to his feet, his hand trembling as he looked between his truck—now filled with guns—and theInfinite Train, where yet another crate of weapons was still being carried down.

He was utterly numb.

Lin Xian finally stepped off the train, with KIKI beside him, grinning as she glanced at Hu Lushou. "I thought you were bringingseriousbusiness. We haven't even filled half a carriage."

A truck was nothing compared to a train car.

Hu Lushou's entire load had barely filled athirdofCar No. 7—one of the train'sstorage carriages.

Lin Xian approached, his expression calm. "Didn't you say you were here toclear stock? Should I wait while you go back and grab more? You know the deal—once you start, youcan't leave until we're done."

"Hey, you guys—!?"

Hu Lushou's face darkened, fluctuating between anger and dread as he realized he had just walked into a colossal trap. He was about to explode, but then—he sawthatlook.

Lin Xian was watching him with amusement.

Mechanical Heartactivated.

In an instant, two armored blast doors on the trainwhooshedopen. The top hatches ofCar No. 2andCar No. 11retracted, revealing two towering, monstrous death cannons that slowly rose into position.

Woooooooom—Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

What had looked like an ordinary, heavily armored train just a moment ago had suddenly transformed into amobile battleship.

Hu Lushou and his entire crew turned pale as theG3 Electromagnetic Railgunand1130 CIWSemerged with a deep mechanical hum, their turret bases rotating into place.

At that moment, everyone's pupilscontracted.

The survivor convoys standing nearby were instantly gripped by fear, instinctively retreating as those twomassivegun barrels locked onto their targets.

Hu Lushou was frozen in place. His oversized sunglasses slid down to the tip of his nose, revealing a pair of wide, terrified eyes.

Stammering, he forced out, "N-Now, hold on a sec… Big… Big Bro, w-what are youdoing?"

His heart pounded violently. Just moments ago, he had been on the verge of losing his temper—but somehow, Lin Xian had anticipated that exact moment andpreemptively countered him.

"Oh, nothing much," Lin Xian replied casually, glancing at the massive railgun. "No need to panic. This is just routine train system maintenance. And don't be fooled by how big these cannons are—getting hit by them doesn't evenhurt."

Everyone: …

Sun Chang's expression twisted in horror.

Weapons ofthiscaliber weren't just for killing beasts—they could take downmonsters.

How the hell were they hidden inside what looked likeregular passenger train cars?

Hu Lushou felt like he had just seen a ghost.

He had people watching the trainsince it entered the city. Sure, it had heavy armor, but from the outside, it had looked like an ordinarycivilian train. In this post-apocalyptic world, unless you had a full-scale military industry backing you, how could anyone possibly hidetwo giant war machinesinside standard railcars?

In the distance, Cao Hong—the leader ofNight Phantom—and his female subordinates, along with over a hundred people aboard the green train, had fallen into stunned silence.

All that could be heard was the sound of peoplesucking in cold breaths.

Their own lineup of machine guns and auto-turrets suddenly looked liketoysin comparison.

Woooooom—

Almost as if it had never happened, the twomonstrouscannons silently retracted back into the train's armored compartments.

Hu Lushou's heart was still hammering.

Lin Xian smiled at him. "Boss Hu, no need to worry about those things. Now, where were we? Ah—right,the deal."

"Right, right! The deal! The deal!" Hu Lushou was cursing internally, but on the surface, his face was all smiles. The arrogant attitude from before had completely vanished as he repeatedly swallowed his saliva.

Forcing himself to remain composed, he carefully asked, "So… Big Bro Lin, right? Listen, I got all these guns at such a good price—I feel kinda bad. How about this? For every two crates of rifles, I'll throw in an extra crate of dried meat, free of charge. Sound good?"

His shrewd gaze gleamed.

Realizing he had provoked thewrong people, he switched gears atlightning speed, instantly adapting from an arrogant dealer to a smooth-talking businessman.

"Hmm?" KIKI crossed her arms andlevitatedoff the ground. Her hair floated, her glowing eyes narrowing with a dangerous glint. "Didn't you just say you haddozensmore trucks of supplies to trade?"

Up on the train's roof, Lu Xingchen had somehow perched himself there unnoticed. Flames danced in his palms, and he sneered arrogantly. "Yeah,Iheard it too. You said once we cleared our stock, we had to get the hell out, didn't you? But guess what—we're not done yet."

A collective gasp rippled through the station.

Even anidiotcould tell—both of them werehigh-tierAbility Users. And they weren't even trying to hide it anymore.

Hu Lushou's face turned ghostly white. He immediately realized that these people werewaybeyond his ability to mess with. Hissurvival instinctskicked in.

In an instant, hisshameless modeactivated.

Spinning around, he barked at his men, "Did I say something like that to Brother Lin just now?"

"NO! NEVER!!!" His men frantically shook their heads, sweat pouring down their faces.

"It's a misunderstanding! A total misunderstanding!" Hu Lushou plastered on a grin and stepped forward, lowering his voice as he leaned in toward Lin Xian. "Brother Lin, I thought you guys were just doingretail. I swear on my life, I never imagined you were inwholesale! Listen—why don't you let me be yourdistributor?"

Lin Xian raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.

This gold-toothed bastard wassomething else.

Most people in his position would either beg for mercy or try to save face.

But this guy?

The moment he realized he was outmatched, heimmediatelyflipped the script and startedsucking up—as if he had justdiscovered a business opportunityinstead of facing potentialdeath.

"…So, your whole business is just flipping goods for profit?" Lin Xian asked flatly.

Hu Lushou straightened his back with a righteous expression. "No! Absolutely not! OurFortune-Longevity Convoyoffers priceslowerthan the official blood crystal exchange rate! It's just… well, you know how it is—people are dying every day, every survivor convoy and settlement needs different things. We just—uh,adjustprices based on demand. And, well, you know, trading in the apocalypse isdangerous. We risk our lives out there. So honestly… we're just earninghardship money."

"…Hardship money?" Lin Xian almost laughed. "You'remonopolizing the market, and you're telling me it'snotprofitable? Weren't you just bragging about havingdozensof trucks earlier?"

Hu Lushou's face twitched.

Glancing around quickly, he leaned in even closer and whispered,

"I don't actually havedozensof trucks. More like… ten. And they'resmalltrucks. This big one here? It's ourmain inventory. If you take all our food, my seventy, eighty people will be left chewing on bullets for dinner.

"Plus—zombies andEerie Entitiesare getting stronger by the day. Small-caliber automatic rifles? They'relosing value. I stocked up on too many, and when I heard your radio ad, I panicked—I thought my inventory was gonna go to waste. So, I figured I'd… you know,flip them fast…"

Hu Lushou looked like he was about to cry.

His original plan was tobuy outLin Xian's stock of rifles, thenslowlyresell them for a profit before the market tanked.

But instead—he hadcompletely miscalculatedand ended up swapping all his valuable supplies for hundreds ofthe same damn rifles.

And now?

He wassurroundedby rival survivor convoys, standing before anunstoppable armored train.

So, like any true businessman facingimminent death, he did the only thing that made sense.

He thickened his skin, adjusted his attitude, and startedsucking upfor dear life.

Even if he couldn't cut a deal—at the very least, he needed toget out of here in one piece.