Chapter 126 Attack
"It's birds! Birds are attacking the train!"
The boy looked to be about ten years old, with a slightly dark skin, but it couldn't hide his beautiful facial features, especially his bright and dark eyes.
Although the boy's clothes didn't look very neat to Chen Jing'an, it was normal in the apocalypse. Not to mention neatly dressed children, even adults were often covered in dusty clothes to make a living.
Just like him, although he prepared a change of clothes before going out, after so many days, if he had not taken the opportunity to take a shower on the train, I am afraid that not only the dirt on his clothes, but also the smell on his body would have been gone.
Although Chen Jing'an and the other two were riding in the same car with the boy, they had only exchanged a few words with the old man on the bike when they boarded. The boy seemed wary, listening to them but remaining silent. Now that he spoke, the chatty Chen Jing'an finally found his chance.
As he shifted from a sitting position to a squatting position, he asked, "Hey, little brother, what's your name? What are you doing at the station?"
The boy glanced at him but didn't answer immediately, as if trying to assess his trustworthiness. After a long moment, as if deciding it was okay to tell him, he said, "My name is Chen Chen. Captain Zhang asked me to pick someone up at the station."
"Your last name is Chen too? What a coincidence, we're from the same family! My name is Chen Jing'an, the seventh child in the family. Some people also call me Chen Xiaoqi. You can call me Brother Xiaoqi and Brother Jing'an."
Chen Jing'an didn't care about Chen Chen's coldness and silence. After getting a reply, he could chat non-stop.
The two bodyguards next to them looked at each other after hearing these familiar words, and they felt numb in their hearts.
They had only seen others use this set of words to Chen Jing'an at the Chen family before, and they never thought that there would be a day when they would see Chen Jing'an use this set of words on others.
The person involved, Chen Jing'an, had no idea what the two bodyguards were thinking, and his entire attention was focused on the boy in front of him.
"Captain Zhang? Is that Captain Zhang Chongguang? Do you know him? How did you know him?"
The people on the other side were extremely enthusiastic, and Chen Chen was obviously a little overwhelmed. However, there was nothing to hide about his acquaintance with Uncle Zhang. After all, everyone who knew him in the base basically knew that they had a close relationship.
This situation happened partly naturally, and partly due to Chen Chen's deliberate promotion.
Since they followed Uncle Zhang from Qixia Village to Xiaozhao Village, in the first few days, Uncle Zhang first asked the villagers to take care of the two siblings, and privately asked teammates scattered in different places to help inquire about the news of their parents and family members.
But unfortunately, more than a month has passed, the base in Xiaozhao Village has expanded several times in size, and even the population has increased several times, but there is still no news from the parents and relatives of the brother and sister.
At that time, Chen Chen knew that it was impossible to find his parents and relatives. So he took his sister and went to find Uncle Zhang again.
Although Uncle Zhang said he paid the host family, Chen Chen felt embarrassed to stay in someone else's house all the time. He had originally wanted to ask Uncle Zhang to help rent a house in the village so that he could find a job to support himself and his sister, but Uncle Zhang rejected this idea as soon as he proposed it.
Even though Chen Chen was strong and looked precocious, Zhang Chongguang couldn't bear to see this child struggling for survival at such a young age.
It happened that the base was constantly expanding, and more and more people came, including many homeless orphans and elderly people whose parents and relatives had passed away. So, Zhang Chongguang waved his hand and directly designated two empty rooms in Xiaozhao Village as a welfare home, and Chen Chen and Chen Ling, brother and sister, were naturally sent in.
Although Chen Chen was taken care of in the orphanage, he did not break off contact with Zhang Chongguang. After all, for him and his sister, two children without family protection, having an acquaintance who was in charge of the rescue team was a deterrent to bad people who had bad intentions towards them.
Uncle Zhang was a good man, and he must have noticed his little trick long ago, but he never pointed it out, letting him do it. Therefore, Chen Chen also had a little more trust and patience for the man Uncle Zhang had personally instructed to take him to the station.
Although they were in an orphanage, the base was overwhelmed and labor was scarce everywhere. Aside from a middle-aged director who took charge and distributed food and water according to the number of people each day, everything else was handled by everyone in the orphanage.
Anyone who could move in the orphanage had to contribute to this extended family. The old took care of the young, and the young looked after the old. And Chen Chen, because he was the oldest of the children and seemed particularly mature and reliable, was assigned the job of picking up people from the station.
"...A lot of children have been rescued from the city. I'm going to pick them up..."
Since there was a new station in the urban area, Chen Chen had come to the station many times to pick up people, so he didn't think it was a big deal. But Chen Jingan heard about the situation of the welfare home for the first time and asked a few more questions.
Although Chen Chen didn't know why he asked these questions, the person in front of him had fair skin and plump cheeks, which showed that he had no shortage of food and drink. He was also accompanied by two bodyguards. With the idea of "begging" for the welfare home, he said a lot.
Just after they chatted for a while, they arrived at the station.
The situation at the previously empty airport was now quite different. Iron and wooden fences formed a large circle along the direction where the trains usually stopped, and many passengers were already waiting outside the fences.
Chen Chen, Chen Jing'an and the other two also got out of the car and waited outside.
Not long after, the train landed and people kept coming out of the carriage. After Chen Jing'an got on the train with his three bodyguards, he looked through the window and saw Chen Chen and a group of people, young and old, getting on a parked tricycle before he looked away.
With the crystal in his pocket, Chen Jing'an didn't treat himself harshly. He directly bought tickets for a private room with his bodyguard. After putting away his backpack, he led his men directly to the dining car.
The car had already traveled for a while and there were already people in the dining car. Chen Jing'an had something on his mind, so he didn't show off as usual. After buying the food, he found a corner to sit and quietly listened to the conversations of other people in the dining car.
But who would have thought that just by listening to it, he made a new discovery.
Will the trains start running at night from today?
Chen Jing'an subconsciously turned his head to look at the departure timetable hanging on the wall on the other side of the dining car, and found that the latest departure and arrival times were indeed scheduled from the evening to tomorrow morning.
The sounds of discussions around me kept coming into my ears.
"I heard that the establishment of new stations is related to the mileage of the train. If the train does not stop at night, does this mean that there may be a new station soon?"
"If there is a next stop, I hope it will be in the south. My parents and brothers are from my hometown in the south. I don't know where it will be yet!"
Chen Jing'an listened, his eyes lit up for a moment, but returned to silence in the next second.
When the news of Fifth Brother's disappearance first came, he did think about how great it would be if the train could go directly to the southern region, but he also knew that even if the train really had a stop in the Jiangnan region now, the fact that Fifth Brother was missing would not change at all.
Although it might be a good thing that there would be a new site soon, Chen Jing'an couldn't feel at ease when he thought of his fifth brother who was missing.
The two bodyguards looked at his gloomy face and didn't dare to say anything more. They even ate more quietly.
But others were unaware of their concerns and never lowered their voices. As more and more people got on the dining car, the discussion grew louder.
"If you ask me, it's better to move the new site further north. The north has more plains and a larger population. If we clear it out before winter, we might even be able to grow some wheat."
"I think the south is better. The temperature is higher and crops can be harvested three times a year. If we want to alleviate the food shortage problem, we have to rely on the south."
"The south is good, but it's full of hills and mountains, which isn't conducive to unified mechanized operations." Those who objected had other reasons. "Plus, there are many wild animals in the mountains. Wild animals are injuring people so frequently in the mountains these days. I think the vast northern region is better. At least it's suitable for human survival and safe. As the old saying goes, 'Whoever controls the Central Plains controls the world.' Isn't the Central Plains just a plain..."
"Even if it's wide, it won't work. Won't we get attacked by birds? So what's the difference between being in the south and the north?
"That's different. At least a train has never hit a flying bird in all this time..."
Chen Jing'an was listening to the two people arguing, but suddenly he felt out of the corner of his eye that something seemed to be stuck on the window between the seats, and the light became dim.
And in the short time when he turned his head to check, some slight vibrations began to come from the wall of the carriage on the same side.
They weren't the only ones who noticed this. Some immediately looked out the window, trying to figure out what was happening.
"What's wrong?"
"Something keeps banging?"
More and more people gathered towards the window, and Chen Jing'an turned around and finally saw clearly what was stuck on the car window.
"It's birds! Birds are attacking the train!"
Although the bird looked bigger than any bird he had seen before, and its claws and beak were sharper, and Chen Jing'an couldn't tell its species, there was no doubt that it was indeed a bird, and judging by its constant attacks outside the carriage, it was a mutant bird.
Chen Jing'an's words caused a huge stir in the dining car. Some people who had planned to get closer to take a look were stunned where they were, and some even took a few steps back.
At the same time, there was also a commotion in the other carriages.
"What should we do? The train was attacked? Is everything okay?"
"We're only halfway to the next stop. What should we do?"
"Will this car break down like the helicopter?"
"My wife was worried when I left home today, and I tried to convince her that I'd been riding the train for so long and had never been attacked by a bird, so I was sure it would be fine. I didn't expect it to be so scary!"
"It's all because of your bad mouth. The birds came right after I finished speaking..."
"I didn't expect that I could speak so effectively..."
"Stop talking so much and think about what to do."
"Yeah, what should we do?"
Everyone stood in the carriage, feeling the impact coming from outside, and felt a little at a loss for what to do for a moment.
While they were stunned, someone had already quietly entered the driver's cab from the carriage.
"System, what's going on?"
Jiang Qian entered the cab and turned on the surveillance cameras outside each carriage on the large screen. "Didn't they say the train is equipped with a more advanced bird-repellent system? How did we still encounter bird attacks?"
The light blue icon in my mind flashed, and the child's voice sounded a little depressed and aggrieved.
The bird-repellent system on the train is indeed more advanced than the one you have now, but it's designed based on bird habits. It has a 99% protection rate. I didn't expect to encounter that 1% today...
【Author’s words】
Update is here!
Thank you all for your support. I felt good for two days a few days ago and was very happy, but these past few days, things haven't been going well. I haven't been able to rest well at night, and I've been feeling really bad about myself. I've been having nightmares. They must be nightmares, right? I can't remember what I dreamed about when I woke up. Anyway, I haven't been sleeping well, and I'm not feeling well. I don't want to see a therapist, so I can only express my feelings through the internet.
I hope you won't be affected by my mood. I've been feeling down lately and haven't read the comments section. If I've made you uncomfortable, please let me know.
After being away from happiness for a long time, I realized how precious the carefree and happy days were.
I hope everyone can be happy and free from worries. I never thought that one day the simplest blessing would now seem like a luxury and so difficult to achieve.
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