Xiao Honggu rolled her eyes, seven days of freeloading off her was not enough, now they wanted to freeload for a lifetime.

On the fifteenth, Xiao Honggu said goodbye to her sisters, carrying a small backpack as she boarded the train.

On the other side, Zhong You wasn’t as lucky, looking at the mature and charming woman on the bed, his sharp brows furrowed into a bridge shape, "Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?"

The woman lay on his muscular chest, drawing circles, smiling provocatively, "Why, have you fallen in love with the taste of your elder sister?"

Zhong You remained silent, merely interrogating her with his sharp eyes.

The woman’s gaze shifted elsewhere, somewhat absent-mindedly saying, "Even the tastiest food will eventually become stale."

"What are you planning to do if you stay?"

"Business, I still have so many people under me that need support."

Zhong You’s gaze turned icy, and he exerted a bit more force in his hands, "Still doing business?"

The woman was embarrassed and annoyed, slapping him displeasedly, "Can’t I, as an elder sister, try out other things while I’m still young?"

Silence fell over the room.

After a while, the woman asked sulkily, "You don’t think I’m out here selling myself, do you?"

Zhong You’s gaze was calm, "Before, I didn’t care; after, not a chance."

The woman punched him hard, sarcastically saying, "Do you think you’re a domineering CEO, taking away my livelihood after one business transaction with you?"

"Anyway, I’m not leaving with you, I can’t abandon them."

"Also, considering how your words annoy me, your privileges are nullified now. Move without my permission, and I’ll kill you!"

Zhong You looked up, seeing the woman fiercely pressing a gun against his chest.

He didn’t care about such threats; as long as it didn’t hit the heart directly, even an emptied clip wouldn’t kill him.

He was just curious about what the woman intended to do.

The woman pressed the gun against him, then gradually slid her body downward.

The coldness on his chest and warmth elsewhere made Zhong You sigh softly.

...

"Woo—"

On a vacant lot, an old man with a round face slowly stood up, gazing at the train in the distance, gently sighing, "The train is about to leave, old pal, I have to go too. I wonder if I’ll have a chance to return in this lifetime. You’ll have to come pick me up; you know I tend to lose my way."

"Crew Chief, no need to rush. Crew Chief Hu specifically arranged a car for you; you can depart after your reminiscences,"

a young person approached softly, saying.

Vice President Deng waved his hand, snorted coldly, "What’s there to reminisce about? When alive, I couldn’t be bothered to talk to him. What’s the point after death? Just get on the train."

...

At Zhijin School, a group of children leaned against the window, watching eagerly as Zhou Qing left.

The eldest was fourteen years old, and the youngest seemed to be just two or three, but compared to the little ones back then, they at least now had the look of children, no longer sallow-faced, and their clothes were clean.

Though no one told them, they vaguely guessed the answer.

One smaller child asked, "Is the principal leaving?"

An older child replied, "Yes."

"Will she never return?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"When my mom left, it was just like this, didn’t take anything, never came back."

"It’s good, she’s a good person, shouldn’t be burdened by us."

"Let’s say goodbye."

"Hope she can be safe and sound."

"Hope she can go wherever she wants."

"Hope she can meet whoever she wants."

"You’ve all said it, what should I say?"

"That’s what you get for not properly learning to read..."

The teachers at the school soon called the students back, officially announcing Zhou Qing’s departure. Surprisingly, no children cried, nor did they make noise; they quietly accepted the news, and the silence was somewhat unsettling.

...

The treads rolled over the newly paved roadside, leaving heavy tracks that extended beyond the Iron Wall.

A fat and a thin silhouette stood on the Iron Wall, watching as the steel dragon headed towards the distance.

Pang Ke looked around, "Ah Long, didn’t Aunt Rong come?"

Li Xinlong shook his head.

Until yesterday, he felt as if he was dreaming. Until this morning, the conductor patted his shoulder and said, "From now on, Zhijin is in your hands."

Only then did Li Xinlong wake from his dream.

From now on, it seemed he had to make all the decisions by himself; the conductor would no longer cover for him.

Amidst his confusion, he unknowingly handled all daily affairs, suddenly realizing he already possessed the basic ability to manage a city.

He might face numerous issues in the future, but at least, now he knew what to do.

Chen Shan rushed over from the other side of the Iron Wall, sullenly saying, "Master Rong, people started getting unruly right after the train left. Should I give them a hard blow?"

Li Xinlong looked at the flourishing Zhijin, calmly saying, "No need, let them do as they please. Just make sure to jot down the names."

Chen Shan hesitated, "Will that harm our management status?"

"I’m not interested in squabbling with them bit by bit. Once everyone with ideas shows up..." Li Xinlong squinted his eyes as if he saw something glaring, his icy voice echoing in his ears, "Ransack them!"

...

On the dining car counter, immense meat flowers swayed with the bumps and shakes.

Su Han held knife and fork, struggling to cut a three-kilogram beef rib. The resilient evolver beef was like a rubber tire, extremely tough to cut, posing a significant challenge for the newly awakened evolver girl.

Occasionally, you could hear the sound of the knife and fork clashing against the plate.

Whenever she managed to cut down a piece of beef, a skewer would pierce it, stuffing it into a mouth, casually chewing it a few times before swallowing, and then lazily urging her to hurry.

By the time the entire beef piece was finished, the girl was drenched in sweat, fingers trembling from exhaustion, as if she had fought in a war.

Su Huan flicked the skewer away, asking, "Tomorrow, you can continue using Pan-energy Crystal. You’re physically weak now, you need appropriate exercise. Follow Xiaoba for additional training tonight."

Su Han stood respectfully to the side, "Understood, thank you, Father."

This is Su Han’s new title for Su Huan; in her mind, it sounded more respectful.

Su Huan felt slightly awkward, but thought it was much better than having a little girl following him everywhere, calling him "Daddy" or "Father," so he accepted it.

Ever since the train started moving again, the restlessness that had long troubled Su Huan vanished instantly, he no longer needed to numb himself with battles, today he even found idle time to have Yu Yue grill him a beef rib.

Though it was gloomy outside the train, the lights inside were warm and bright, the orange cat on the sofa relaxed lazily; just as a well-fed Su Huan was about to nap, the jolt of the treads startled him awake, angrily saying, "Can’t we equip each carriage with shock absorbers?"

"That would greatly increase the workload, even harder than building a Hive; the train wouldn’t depart next year."

Shu Wei walked by, saying.

Su Huan opened one eye, the tablet already pressed against his face.

The conductor looked displeased, "I gave you five people, not to cause me trouble."

Shu Wei, "This is the train’s roster for personnel change this time, please review."

Su Huan then took the tablet and started browsing.

The train’s personnel got replaced by about one-fifth overall, but few of the high-level and research members left; only a handful of old passengers were eligible to discuss stepping down with the conductor, the newly recruited ones had only the options to board or die.

Han Kexin from the engineering team stayed in Zhijin, part of the first batch of talent personally recruited by the conductor, which originally had six members, but now only four remained.

Seeing her name, Su Huan unexpectedly thought of Old Liu, and the pregnant woman he left behind.

"How’s Old Liu’s apprentice doing?"

"Eight months pregnant, she has two months to go before delivery. However, the routine maintenance department merged with the train’s transformation lab, more people there, her work got much easier."