Chapter 18: Roadblock

The train left the urban area of Jiang City, and the surroundings gradually grew quiet, with only the faint hum of the rails echoing.

Lin Xian looked up; the massive cloud mass above Jiang City remained utterly still, and every time he saw it, his heart trembled—many had witnessed it, and it surely contained some colossal atmospheric creature, far more terrifying than zombies or weird bodies.

But no one knew what it was; for humans, besides huddling in fortresses, there was only frantic flight—who dared investigate the true form of such an apocalyptic being?

After leaving the city, the scenery around gradually turned to mountains, rivers, and farmland, with far less decay, bloodshed, and smoke, giving one a fleeting illusion of escaping the apocalypse.

Lin Xian originally thought he’d see hardly a soul along the way.

Unexpectedly, along a dirt road near the railway, several vehicles appeared one after another—mostly off-road Jeeps, with the rare sedans caked in mud, overloaded with belongings, and flooring the accelerator.

When one of the Jeeps saw the train pass by, its window rolled down, and a middle-aged man leaned out, shouting:

“Holy shit, a train!”

“Awesome!”

Another Jeep, covered in graffiti, opened its roof hatch, and a shaved-head youth stuck his head out, raising an AK and firing a burst into the air—tatatata!

“Hey!”

"That train—do you have any food or drink? Want to join our Oasis convoy?!"

The youth shouted toward the train, but Lin Xian in the cab ignored him completely, still focused on operating the train.

“Fuck.”

Seeing no response, the shaved-head youth cursed under his breath and climbed back in.

“Boss Zhang, should we notify Brother Liu Wei up ahead?” asked a yellow-haired kid in the passenger seat, his voice muffled.

Zhang Dayong shrugged indifferently: “What for? Are we all switching to the train?”

The yellow-haired kid blinked, looking strangely at him: “Boss, fuel.”

Hearing this, Zhang Dayong suddenly realized—he smacked his thigh and spat:

“Holy shit, right!!”

A functional train—conservatively speaking—could have thousands of liters of fuel; even if it had only a few hundred, it’d be enough for their whole convoy for one or two days.

He immediately grabbed his walkie-talkie.

"Brother Wei, Brother Wei, a big rig is moving along the Jiang-Yu line—a train. I bet it’s loaded with fuel."

“Hmm, a train?” came a hoarse voice over the walkie-talkie; the tone suggested the other end had grown interested.

“Yeah, I estimate it’ll reach Yushan in about ten minutes. What do you say…”

“I’ll intercept. Team Two, flank from behind.”

“Got it!”

Meanwhile, ten kilometers ahead, a small convoy was racing forward—the lead vehicle was a modified F-150. Liu Wei, a square-faced man, sat in the backseat with a fierce expression, an arm wrapped around a heavily made-up young girl.

“Third brother, take the fork ahead—there’s a big rig coming to Yushan Station.”

“Yes, Boss!”

Everyone in the convoy looked to Liu Wei as their leader. Liu Wei wasn’t some gang boss—he’d been just a small stall vendor before the apocalypse. But after it hit, he accidentally awakened an ability, instantly making him superior to others.

Desperate for protection, former relatives and friends flocked to him, fawning and groveling. But he was clever—he used his ability to recruit a large group of heavily armed thugs, then waited for others to scavenge supplies and bring them to him.

In just a few days, he gathered over twenty men, living like a local emperor—even high-class women who’d once looked down on him now offered themselves. For a time, Liu Wei felt invincible, reveling in nightly debauchery.

Now, hearing his subordinate’s report—that a big rig hadn’t “paid tribute,” and was even fleeing right under his nose—how could he not be enraged? He immediately prepared to become a roadblock… after all, he’d planned to do exactly this when leaving Jiang City.

…

On the train, Lin Xian heard the rifle shot and frowned. Out of caution, he slightly increased speed—the smooth rails allowed the train to move far faster than vehicles on dirt roads.

"The Oasis convoy... I just heard them on the radio. Their leader is also an ability user," Chen Sixuan said, worried after hearing the gunfire.

“I heard too. But they’re on land, we’re on rails—no overlap. We won’t cross paths.”

Hearing Chen Sixuan mention other ability users, Lin Xian still felt uneasy.

His train plan had many advantages, but its flaw was glaring: it was far too conspicuous—a whole train rolling through the wasteland would draw attention from countless survivors.

“We need more allies. Otherwise, everyone’ll target us, and we won’t be able to handle it.”

!

Chen Sixuan glanced at him, surprised, then lowered her eyes.

“I read your post before. I think if people don’t know your ability, they won’t believe your plan.”

“I know.”

Lin Xian waved it off: “Allies matter in quality, not quantity. My ability isn’t to be a driver for everyone—I won’t just pick up anyone. Only those with value. Otherwise, don’t bring trouble. And even then—I have to approve of them.” He glanced at Chen Sixuan and smiled: “Besides, I have to find them appealing.”

Chen Sixuan’s face flushed unexpectedly—she thought Lin Xian was flirting, and felt awkward.

“That’s not what I meant,” Lin Xian coughed lightly. “Not about looks—about character, personality, things like that…”

His explanation made her face burn even redder. She avoided his gaze entirely, burying her head in the train logbook, scribbling something.

Clatter, clatter,

The train raced across the flat plain.

At that moment, Lin Xian’s enhanced vision spotted ahead on the Yushan Station tracks a wrecked sedan deliberately placed across the rails—its positioning was too perfect, unmistakably intentional, meant to stop the passing train.

Ambush!

Lin Xian’s expression hardened. He shouted to Chen Sixuan beside him: “Go to the back! Quickly, hold on!”

Chen Sixuan sensed the danger, her face paled, and she obeyed instantly, running to the first carriage. There she saw the sleeping girl and grabbed her too, pulling her close.

Behind the platform pillars at Yushan Station, Liu Wei’s men were already armed and hidden. Hearing the approaching rumble of wheels, Liu Wei peeked out—only to see the train showing no sign of slowing. Fury surged in him. He roared:

“Shoot! Make this bastard stop!”

His men sprang from cover, raising rifles and pistols without hesitation, unleashing a hail of bullets at the train’s cab.

Bang! Bang! Bang-bang-bang! Bang-bang!

The gunfire erupted. Lin Xian gritted his teeth, gripping the handle and crouching low—yet his willpower forced the train to accelerate further!

Fuck you—I chose to drive a train precisely to crush every last one of these roadblock bastards under its wheels!

New book, please follow and read!

(End of Chapter)