Chapter 8: Furniture City Bulk Purchase

According to Lin Xian’s plan, to achieve a true long-term survival cycle for the train, the most fundamental issue was energy.

His ability solved most of this, but the only drawback was that it consumed his physical strength and required constant focus, making it hard for him to multitask on complex matters.

Next came defense and food for survival.

But Lin Xian knew none of this could be accomplished overnight; even just outfitting the No. 1 car and its external armor had taken him months—wanting to achieve it all at once was pure fantasy.

And he was alone; Chen Sixuan could offer almost no help in these areas.

“I still need to find a few teammates—first, a power crew to handle the train’s mechanical maintenance and driving, and someone who can grow crops…”

“Like a botanist or hydroponics expert—someone who can provide fresh vegetables and fruit, and also help with water and oxygen purification.”

“By the way, speaking of food, I need a cook…”

“And a doctor too—if anyone gets sick or injured…”

“Not everyone can be a specialist—I also need fighters, preferably with abilities.”

“Hmm, and a lookout team…”

The more Lin Xian thought, the more absurd it became; he quickly exhaled and focused on driving the train.

“Austen Furniture City…”

Seeing a massive building in the distance, Lin Xian’s expression turned serious: “This place normally sold all kinds of furniture—few people came here, so there probably wasn’t much left, but I could still grab some cold-weather gear, bedding, that sort of thing.”

Lin Xian wasn’t thinking about romance; since the Day of Revelation, temperatures had plummeted across the globe. Jia City was in August, yet daytime temperatures had dropped to just twelve or thirteen degrees, and nights were down to a few degrees.

And the temperature kept dropping every day.

He guessed the Dark Tide caused by the Star Abyss had drastically altered the climate—perhaps triggering a freezing ice age—and preparing for cold weather now was clearly foresight.

Squeak~

Lin Xian parked the train on an open track, surrounded by a tall wire fence, with city roads on either side.

The road was littered with abandoned vehicles; since this area had few people, there were hardly any zombies—quiet and still.

Because the terrain was flat, neither in a tunnel nor on an overpass, it was easy for him to carry things onto the train, and the nearby fence added safety—so he chose this spot.

“Chen Laoshi, wait on the train. I’m going inside to check.”

Lin Xian slung his backpack and picked up his short knife. “And no one else—under no circumstances—gets in unless it’s me.”

“I understand.”

Chen Sixuan looked tense. “If there’s a lot of stuff, shouldn’t I come with you?”

“Not yet.”

Lin Xian said, “This place clearly got looted already—there might not be anything useful. I’ll scout first; if there is, you can come down and carry it up.”

He tossed her a walkie-talkie. “We’ll use this to stay in contact—cell signals might not work.”

“Got it.” Chen Sixuan gripped the walkie-talkie.

Lin Xian opened the hatch, leapt down from the train, scanned his surroundings, then climbed the wire fence and dropped into the greenery beside it, crossing the road.

In front of the furniture city was a huge parking lot, now in ruins, with a few clearly broken-down cars scattered sparsely. His ability to devour vehicles was ideal—cars were everywhere after the collapse—but the process took too long. He figured his [Mechanical Devour] skill would become more efficient once upgraded.

So for now, he could only bring portable mechanical items onto the train and operate them in safe conditions.

At the main entrance of the furniture city, the ground was stained dark red with dried blood; many brand-new items lay shattered everywhere, and the cold wind made the scene utterly desolate.

Lin Xian entered cautiously—the space opened up instantly. He’d visited before; every store had been luxuriously decorated, the corridors wide and quiet, with little foot traffic. After the collapse, it was completely empty.

He hadn’t even seen many corpses.

As he walked past the former furniture brand stores, most remained clean and tidy—just without lights. Sofas and mattresses lined the floors; upstairs were bathrooms. The entire building was vast and hollow; walking through it alone felt eerie.

“This Simmons mattress isn’t bad—firm yet soft…”

“Latex mattress, thick cotton quilt…”

Such supplies seemed unimportant in the apocalypse—most stores here had escaped looting.

It made sense: when survival was at stake, everyone rushed to supermarkets and convenience stores—who’d come to a furniture store for pillows?

!

Lin Xian had been browsing when he suddenly realized a headache: these items were bulky—moving them wouldn’t be easy.

He wandered around, walked to the loading zone from the fourth exit, and suddenly spotted several forklifts and a flatbed truck—his eyes lit up. But as he stepped closer, a rotting zombie burst from the freight elevator shaft and lunged at him!

Ughhh!!

A foul stench hit him—he instinctively stepped back, then instantly raised a finger!

Puff!

A wind cannon shot out, blasting a hole straight through the zombie’s skull.

Thud. The zombie missed its target, collapsed face-first, twisted twice, then lay still.

The zombie wore an orange-yellow warehouse worker’s uniform—he must’ve been a worker hiding in the building.

[Wind Cannon Lv.14/100]

Each use increased proficiency slightly, but Lin Xian noticed it drained his energy significantly—he had to use it sparingly.

Thinking of this, he drew his short knife from his back. Against ordinary zombies, as an ability user, he felt little pressure—as long as he didn’t attract a horde or other monsters, it was manageable.

The flatbed truck’s door was open, the fuel cap removed—clearly looted already. He climbed into the driver’s seat, gripped the steering wheel, activated his Mechanical Heart, and quickly found the reserve battery was dead—engine wouldn’t start.

No wonder no one even tried to salvage it—just siphoned the fuel and ran.

This small truck had a crude setup, low horsepower—few survivors chose such a low-capacity model.

But for Lin Xian, it was a gift.

He got out, found a forklift, activated his ability to power it on, then drove it boldly through the back entrance into the furniture city.

He planned to make his No. 1 car compartment more comfortable first—in the apocalypse, a decent living space boosted morale. With his ability, he refused to live like a sewer rat in dark, filthy shelters.

New book, seeking reads!

(End of Chapter)