Moreover, he was usually the one inviting others, what’s the situation today?

Reversing the order of the heavens?

But the conductor still reached out his hand for a shake.

Dean Zhou’s hand was very "smooth," its fingerprints worn away, yet it was warm.

There was an unexpected feeling of elder’s care.

The conductor felt extremely odd.

"Let’s talk about the Power Armor instead..."

...

Neutral Town, at the junction of Zhijin and the Three Counties.

The sounds of clattering were drowned in the storm.

A group of people in jeans and black leather jackets were busy in the town; some were holding shovels, pushing carts, piling sand from the streets into abandoned buildings, or scattering it onto the sides, while others were using tools to repair protective measures.

The steam was puffing from the exhaust fan of a noodle shop, the faint aroma of noodles snuffed out by the wind and sand before anyone could catch a whiff.

Inside the noodle shop, the fifty-year-old Master Cook scooped boiling hot oil into a wide bowl of noodles, with a sizzling sound, the chili surface released its fragrance.

Then he brought out a plate of peeled garlic, carrying the noodles to the front, where the shop’s lone customer sat.

The man was broad-shouldered, wearing a leather jacket as well, with three items next to him: car keys, a duckbill cap, and a handgun.

"Chairman, noodles are ready!"

The Master Cook placed the noodles and garlic on the table.

"Hey, don’t pretend around here, just call me the usual way," the man feigned dissatisfaction.

The Master Cook smiled, "Boss, try and see if my skills have dropped."

The man stirred the noodles and said with a smile, "Smelling this, it can’t be wrong. By the way, how’s business been lately?"

The Master Cook smacked his lips, "Eh, there’s only a little business during market times, otherwise I don’t even need to fire up the pot; barely anyone in Zhijin City is breathing now, and how many can afford to eat this white noodle? Maybe we should sell some small stuff like others do?"

The boss bit into a piece of garlic and shook his head, "As long as you can do one thing well in life, that’s enough, don’t mess around, just make this bowl of noodles well, if resources run out, tell the council, I’ll replenish you."

The Master Cook sighed, "If it weren’t for you seeing my worth..."

"Alright, alright, hurry back to the kitchen, you’re interrupting my meal."

The boss waved his hand, while gulping down the spicy wide noodles.

Just as the Master Cook stepped away, a low wolf howl was heard outside.

The sound of claws scraping the ground echoed at the door.

The shop’s rolling door flung open with a clatter, the man’s hearty laughter and the wind and sand poured into the room, the boss quickly clutched his bowl.

Outside stood a man in a gray wool coat, accompanied by four wolves over two meters long with yokes attached to their bodies, several leather-clad patrol team members were busy removing the yokes.

Four wolves dug into the room, shaking their fur.

Sand falling with a rustle.

"I knew you’d be here!"

The wool-coated man said, shouting towards the kitchen, "One bowl of spicy soup, four fat-and-lean with green peppers!"

"Got it!"

The Master Cook’s voice answered from the kitchen.

The boss glanced at those four majestic wolves, murmuring while eating, "Four now?"

The man took off his coat, "What did you think I was working on in the West? Yesterday’s storm was huge; if it hadn’t eased today, I wouldn’t have made it back, today’s market might be affected."

The boss looked at the sky, "Not necessarily."

The man was slightly surprised, "Why, did Black Kite bring out something good this time?"

"Ever heard of the Armed Train?"

"I actually heard it from Black Kite, a very fierce wandering force, a leader in this type of convoy, heard that the conductor is like a beast of three heads and six arms, fights like Thunder God and Lightning Mother..."

Seeing his old friend so excited, the boss put down his half-eaten noodles, his eyes serious.

He didn’t believe anything about Thunder God and Lightning Mother, but didn’t expect the Armed Train’s reputation to reach the West.

I fear the original estimation needs to be adjusted upward.

"That force is now in Xinma County beside us, and recently flattened the entire Xinma County, leaving only Wen Biao’s Xinma Gang."

The boss said.

The man took a big bite of the meat-filled bun from the Master Cook, muttering, "Just that Xinma trademark?"

"One of the Double Biaos, Dai Biaozi was hung on the Horse Doctor’s sign and dried into jerky."

The man was somewhat puzzled, "Indeed they seem to have some real capability, but flattening a Xinma County is doable for our Jinfeng Chamber of Commerce; no need for such a surprise from you."

The boss calmly replied, "Old Xie, if you were to flatten Xinma County, how many people would you need, how long?"

Old Xie took a sip of the soup, thinking aloud, "Xinma County’s strength is average, only Dean Zhou is notable among Evolvers, but her profession isn’t combative, just too many heads to clear, we would at least need a third of the personnel for two or three days, to ensure complete destruction, best with full chamber deployment, within a week, could clean it up."

"Half an hour."

Old Xie shook his head vigorously, "Impossible, absolutely impossible, even if they were pigs, catching a few thousand pigs would take two or three days..."

Wait, Old Xie felt something was off.

He looked up at the chairman, throat moving, "Are you saying the Armed Train took half an hour to flatten Xinma County?"

Jinfeng Chamber of Commerce’s chairman sighed, "According to information cross-verified from multiple sources, even less than half an hour."

Old Xie’s brows furrowed tightly, although their Jinfeng Chamber of Commerce also had the ability to crush and split Xinma County, they couldn’t operate like the Armed Train, striking from all sides, solving it simultaneously.

"This only proves they have enough Tier One Evolvers, flattening Xinma County doesn’t mean they can crush us right?"

Watching his stubborn old buddy, Lu Kang shook his head.

Since the apocalypse, the two had gone through various crises, but similarly, have been changed significantly by it.

Old Xie’s evolution had soared, becoming increasingly confident in his own strength.

"Just be prepared, all forces will soon gather, let’s first allocate the Zhijin clearing zones."

"I feel the base city is just an excuse, Black Kite must be eyeing the Zhijin inside..."

Seeing that Old Xie had nearly finished eating, Lu Kang bade farewell to the Master Cook in the kitchen, and walked towards the door, his men had already parked the SUV by the roadside, as soon as the car door was opened, one of Old Xie’s wolves slipped inside, the remaining three, one jumped onto the roof, and the other two followed behind the car.

With ears perked up, narrowing their fierce eyes to scan the surroundings.

Humans and Evolution Beasts, after turmoil, once again collaborating.