The group stared at the shriveled corpse of the Demon Eye Frog. Teacher Zhou frowned.
"Let's hurry. We'll head back as soon as we're done exploring the train. It's too dangerous here."
"We've only gone a little over two hundred meters and have already run into at least three different types of Soul Beasts. The density of Soul Beasts here is much higher than on campus," said Teacher Li, another member of the group who rarely spoke.
"Right, let's move." Han Ning stuffed the Demon Eye Frog's corpse into a burlap sack and gestured for Yin Yi to continue forward.
They carefully avoided the corpses on the path. If a body was blocking their way and couldn't be bypassed, they had Yin Yi use its Vine Whip to fling it aside, doing their best to avoid conflict with the Soul Beasts roaming the area.
Gradually, they approached the train, which was over a hundred meters long, stopping about two meters away.
Near the train, a dozen or so wandering corpses shambled about. Not a huge number.
It seemed most of them had made their way to the academy's South Gate.
Yin Yi fired off a dozen Silver Thorns in quick succession, dealing with them easily.
The train had a total of eight cars. Several had toppled over, with one side's doors completely buried in the mud, leaving only the other side's doors facing the sky.
The dark green cars were covered in bloodstains and gory bits of flesh. Below the windows, a line of distorted characters was spray-painted in white.
At a glance, it was clear it wasn't the Xia Country Language.
"This… is probably the writing from the Shan State," Teacher Li analyzed, studying the surface of the car.
"Shan State… That's very close to the Xia Country."
When it came to the Shan State, all Han Ning could think of were organ harvesting and scams. He didn't have a good impression of the place.
Teacher Zhou surveyed the length of the train, then pointed to the five cars that hadn't toppled over. "Han Ning, you're the strongest. You and Teacher Liu will search from the left side of the train. The three of us will take the right. If you find any supplies like firearms, medicine, or food, collect as much as you can. If you run into danger, bang on the train cars as hard as you can to warn each other."
"Teacher Zhou, what if we run into survivors?" Han Ning asked.
Teacher Zhou's tone was decisive. "First, observe if they're aggressive. If they aren't, we can rescue them. If they show any hostility toward us, just ignore them."
"Got it."
After agreeing on the plan, the group split up in the middle of the train. Han Ning and Teacher Liu headed to the left.
Although part of the train's tracks had crashed into the mud, the windows were still a bit higher than the two of them.
As he passed by a train window, Han Ning had to stand on his tiptoes to peer inside.
But… one look was all it took. The scene inside nearly made him vomit up last night's dinner.
Through the clear glass, he could see the car's interior was packed to the brim with bodies.
Countless black leeches and white maggots writhed over the corpses. Dried entrails and filthy blood coated the floor and walls.
'If the glass wasn't blocking the stench,' Han Ning thought, 'I'd probably puke on the spot just from the smell.'
"Dead… They're all dead…" His face was pale, and a chill ran through him.
"It's just a normal passenger car. Let's keep moving." Teacher Liu's face was equally pale. Anyone who saw such a sight would be deeply shaken.
There weren't many upright cars on the left side, only two. The pair walked past them at a quick pace. Aside from a car full of a depressing, hellish scene, they didn't find anything of note.
"The car is full of luggage and convenience foods, but it's also crawling with leeches and corpses. It's not worth going in for those few supplies."
After passing the second car, Teacher Liu shook his head.
"There are still two toppled cars and the locomotive over there. Should we go check them out?" Han Ning pointed to the cars about twenty meters to their left.
"Yeah, let's go see. There might be something in the locomotive." Teacher Liu agreed.
The toppled cars were harder to inspect. Under Yin Yi's protection, Han Ning and Teacher Liu had to take the risk of climbing onto the cars, walking along them while looking down into the interior.
"Wait, Teacher Liu, look. Is that a rifle?"
Han Ning had sharp eyes. Passing by a window, he spotted a dark metal tube sticking out from under a pile of bodies.
Near the bottom of the metal tube, an arm in a camouflage sleeve was visible.
"I think so…" Teacher Liu wasn't sure.
"Yin Yi, grab that thing and bring it over." Han Ning pointed at the black metal tube.
"POP~"
Following his command, Yin Yi flicked its Vine Whip, easily shattering the train window. It tossed aside a few corpses, skewered several leeches that tried to crawl up the vine, and wrapped around the metal tube, pulling it out.
A black rifle appeared, dangling from the Vine Whip.
"It really is a gun." Han Ning fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a tissue, and casually wiped the grime off the weapon before holding it to inspect it closely.
"This is an MA-series rifle, a firearm produced domestically by the Shan State. Its design is very similar to our country's QBZ rifle."
"I'm not sure of the exact model. Based on the design, it's probably a fully automatic rifle, maybe an MK2 or MK3?"
Teacher Liu took the rifle from Han Ning, stroking it for a moment as he analyzed it.
"Teacher Liu, you even know about this stuff." Han Ning recalled that Teacher Liu was a computer science teacher. He hadn't expected him to be able to identify the rifle's general model at a glance.
"Haha, I just like to browse military forums in my spare time. I'm no expert."
Teacher Liu caressed the stock, familiarizing himself with it, then gripped the magazine and gave it a hard tug. The black magazine came free.
He inspected the magazine and counted. "Only 15 rounds left. We'll have to use them sparingly."
Seeing how Teacher Liu couldn't seem to put the rifle down, Han Ning smiled and said, "You should hold onto it for self-defense. Let's go check the locomotive."
He had Yin Yi for close protection, plus his own physical abilities far surpassed everyone else's. Teacher Liu needed a weapon for self-defense more than he did.
Teacher Liu opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing that Han Ning had already started walking, he simply closed it and followed.
Next to the two toppled cars was the head of the train.
Anyone who has seen *Train to Busan* would find it familiar. The part with two rows of iron railings, a few steps at the front, and a generally rectangular shape was the train's engine room.
The two of them walked up the steps to the outside of the engine room and peered through a small window. A complex array of machinery was visible inside.
"It's a diesel-powered train. There should be a row of large fuel tanks toward the back." Seeing the layout, Teacher Liu's face lit up with joy. "This much diesel will be enough to last us for a while."
"Then how do we get the diesel out?"
"I'll figure something out."
As he spoke, Teacher Liu was about to open the door.
"BANG!"
Suddenly, a loud gunshot echoed from the right.
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