Chapter 628: Program Activated

"Good, Program One sounds great, Program Sister is awesome!"

"This name is perfect—so fitting, Xiao Su, you're brilliant."

"Hey, I contributed too! You guys just kiss up, right?"

Wu Lue, seeing everyone fawning over Zhang Su, pouted as he tried to claim credit.

"That's right—the main inspiration for this name came from Luezi!" Zhang Su affirmed Wu Lue's contribution, then turned to the female zombie: "From now on, you're Program One. You can be called Program, Program Sister—those are all for you. Understood?"

"Aoo!"

Program Sister fully accepted her new identity, nodding vigorously.

"She looks like this… does she still have her memories from before?"

Chen Hanzhou suddenly asked a question.

Zhang Su had planned to wait until returning to camp before asking Program One about Longtou Camp, but since Chen Hanzhou brought it up, he decided to ask directly: "Do you remember anything from before you became a zombie?"

Program One's pale gray eyes blinked blankly; her stiff neck swiveled slightly, then she pointed at her head with her fingers.

"It seems… she probably doesn't remember anything."

Zhang Su shrugged. Becoming this state was already a miracle beyond miracles; even if she lost her memories, he could accept it.

"Wait a minute, Xiao Su—I spotted something!"

Chen Hanzhou suddenly spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Don't you feel it? The zombies in this carriage haven't been enhanced!"

Chen Hanzhou pointed to the window.

Hearing this, everyone fell into thought.

Zhang Su pondered a moment, then nodded: "From their attack behavior just now, they're roughly like the zombies at the start of the disaster. But it doesn't make sense—they weren't rained on, yet the zombies in those buildings were all enhanced…"

"Maybe the high-speed train car is too sealed? Air doesn't circulate, so the enhanced rain couldn't penetrate?"

"No, no, no—you're just imagining they aren't enhanced."

Wu Lue had somehow slipped into another carriage, now walking back with a smug grin, as if he'd uncovered something and meant to reclaim his lost face.

Everyone turned to him, waiting for him to continue.

"I just checked—Carriage Six has a big guy."

"Yeah!" Guo Dachao returned from Carriage Four, spreading his hands: "Carriage Four has two of them."

"Big guys… alright."

Chen Hanzhou sighed and shrugged.

Big guys were special zombies that only appeared after the last rainfall. If there were big guys, then these zombies had definitely been enhanced—their earlier calmness and lack of frenzy might have multiple causes.

"Who cares if they're enhanced or not? As long as Program Sister controls them, we just lock them all down—cleaning the carriages becomes easy!"

Pang Dakun pointed to where the zombies had been fighting, grinning happily.

"Hmm…"

Zhang Su pursed his lips: "Controlling zombies to attack each other is too slow. Maybe practice will improve it, but we don't have time to train. Let me ask."

He turned to Program One: "I noticed you struggle to make zombies attack their own kind—but can you calm them down so they don't attack us? Is that easier?"

"Aoo!"

Program One nodded, her finger still pointing at her head, then swept it sideways toward the adjacent carriage.

"You mean… you can calm the zombies in one entire carriage?"

"Aoo!"

Program One nodded.

"So confident? Fine!"

Zhang Su nodded in agreement, then turned to the group: "Let's run an experiment with Program. Yu Qing, can you blow open the door with minimal explosive force?" "I'll do my best!"

Yu Qing responded sharply, then gave a thumbs-up to signal no problem.

"I just observed—the doors on both ends of this carriage are sealed; zombies from other carriages can't get in. First, have Program calm the zombies in Carriage Five. Then Yu Qing blows the door. If they don't react, we go in and kill them!"

"If they break free after the explosion, don't panic—the door's narrow enough. Let them come out one by one and kill them all. I counted—only thirty-some. Even adding the other carriage, it's no pressure. Everyone understand?"

"Understood!"

Everyone replied in unison.

"Good."

Zhang Su drew his steel rod from his left waist, then told Program One: "Stay right here and calm the zombies inside. Don't pay attention to what we're doing—nothing will hurt you. Understood?"

This time, Program One made no sound. She mimicked Yu Qing's gesture, twisting her hand into a clumsy thumbs-up.

"Holy shit, Program Sister is hilarious…"

"Yeah, never expected we'd pick up a companion like this on this trip."

"I hope she stays like this forever—it's too interesting."

The group accepted Program One wholeheartedly. She showed zero aggression and carried a melancholy, unique humor that felt strangely comforting.

While others chatted, Yu Qing didn't. She took the C4 Zhang Su brought back from LeGou Mall from her pack and began cutting it, then mixed the explosives as needed.

Over the past days, Yu Qing hadn't been idle on the mountain—hand-making bombs was just one part; studying explosive power had become a subject. It proved true: explosion was indeed an art—the motion of molecules held irresistible charm; a fraction too much or too little made everything feel awkward!

The person who studied explosive art with Yu Qing was Mo Qianlan, the youngest member of Tianma Yu.

The group didn't wait long. Under Pan Guoliang's guidance, Yu Qing affixed the explosives, pressed the remote, and—boom, boom, boom…

A series of dense explosions erupted, sending up clouds of dust—but the noise was quieter than zombies slapping the windows.

Clang!

The door crashed to the ground—louder by several times than the explosions.

"Stay alert!"

Everyone braced themselves, in combat stances, as if a flood of zombies would burst through any second.

But the reality was surprisingly calm—the zombies, calmed by Program One, stood still. Only two near the door showed slight resistance, then quickly returned to stillness.

"No problem! Program activated—stable. Excellent job!"

Zhang Su praised her enthusiastically, then added: "Hold it. We're going in to kill these zombies!"

Program One didn't respond. Her neck trembled slightly, her eyes locked on the window—any glance away, and the zombies would regain freedom.

"Come on, follow me!"

Zhang Su didn't send everyone into the carriage—it was too narrow. He simply pointed, selecting five or six.

He stepped forward first, sniffed the air—faint rotting stench filled his nostrils. He'd smelled it only at the start of the disaster; after the big freeze, it vanished. He turned back and gestured for everyone to put on masks.

Not because of virus fear—but to avoid the "chemical attack" making them vomit and alert the zombies.

Dried blood on the floor had hardened into crusts; the rough texture increased friction underfoot. Stepping on it, memories of the carriage's desperate final moments involuntarily surfaced—his mood grew heavy.

In the aisle, Zhang Su glanced toward Carriage Four. Most zombies had awakened, dazed, slowly circling in place. From the count, some still hadn't stirred.

"We're just walking in like this?"

Zheng Xinyu followed behind Zhang Su, whispering as she peered into the carriage—each zombie standing stiffly between seats felt deeply eerie.

"What else would you do?"

"Alright… first time hitting a dummy—still feels weird…" Zheng Xinyu gripped her steel rod tightly, her gloves creaking.

"Watch your step. Move!"

Zhang Su gestured toward Carriage Five and stepped inside first. Behind him, Zheng Xinyu, Guo Dachao, Zhang Ya, Liu Tianji, and others followed.

(End of chapter)