MDT Chapter 176 (Patreon)

Chapter 176: From Songs to Sledgehammers

"Next, number 2000."

A girl about 155 cm tall stepped forward and said timidly, "I was a bar singer before the apocalypse. I can sing."

"Sing something."

The girl took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and then mustered her courage and began to sing.

"Hands up high, feel the beat."

"Sweet girl beside me, oh so neat."

"Moving smooth to the dubstep flow."

"Robot steps, she steals the show."

"Sips her drink and calls out 'nice'."

"Loosens up, rolls the dice..."

"Alright." Lao Zhu stopped her, looking at the girl with some surprise. "You sing quite well. Your voice is very sweet. And it's an anime song."

"It's a pity. If you were on the Anime Train, you'd at least have high-level treatment."

He silently recorded the girl's number in his notebook again. He'd ask Boss Mang later if he liked listening to songs. To be able to sing like that a cappella was quite impressive.

And she was very cute.

He didn't know if Boss Mang was into this type, but he'd note it down first.

"Next, number 2001."

"I was a prostitute before the apocalypse. My specialty is… giving head."

"Excellent."

Lao Zhu rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Straight to the point. Your three-day stay is waived. You can start working immediately. You, Li, take her to the logistics team."

"Next."

"I'm good at applying putty. Is that useful…?"

"I used to be a lawyer."

"What's Article 150 of the Federal Marriage Law?"

"Uh… I specialize in criminal law."

"What's Article 236 of the Federal Criminal Law?"

"We… lawyers don't memorize every single article. We have to look them up."

"It's the article on rape, you idiot. Next."

"I was an e-commerce livestream assistant, the one who shouts 'Three, two, one, link's up!' I've got a loud voice, a lot of passion."

"Next."

"I swung a sledgehammer on construction sites."

"Relevant experience. Next."

"I used to be a bureau chief, I have manage—"

"Wait a minute."

Lao Zhu suddenly paused. He looked at the portly middle-aged man before him, stood up, and broke into a wide grin, extending both hands. "Isn't it Bureau Chief Zhu? It's me, Lao Zhu! Remember me? I worked under you for three years back in the day."

"Carriage Chief… Zhu," the middle-aged man stammered, his eyes darting away evasively. "About the past… this old brother did you wrong."

"It's nothing."

Lao Zhu waved a hand cheerfully and sat back down. "The past is the past. The apocalypse is here, we're all just trying to survive. What's the point of bringing up old grudges?"

"You'd think I was the kind of guy who holds a grudge. You know me better than that."

"Xiao Li, take this down."

"This man, from now on, he mines until he dies."

"Next."

…...

The young man who always followed Uncle Li stared at Lao Zhu, his eyes wide with shock. After a long moment, he murmured, "Uncle Li, how does Carriage Chief Zhu know everything from astronomy to geography?"

"Isn't his range of knowledge a bit too wide?"

"He's not a lawyer, so why is he so familiar with the Federal Criminal Law?"

Uncle Li shook his head, his expression complicated. He had thought that with his own management experience, he could have done just as well as, if not better than, Lao Zhu as vice-captain. Now, it seemed he had underestimated Lao Zhu and overestimated himself.

He wasn't surprised that Lao Zhu knew criminal law; he'd likely had opportunities to learn.

But knowing anime songs?

That was absurd.

He hadn't even recognized the song. By all rights, Lao Zhu's line of work would never have exposed him to that kind of music. The breadth of his knowledge was simply too vast.

"Uncle Li, with so many new people on the train, the competition for good positions is probably going to get more and more intense."

"Mm."

Uncle Li let out a long sigh and nodded. As a set of data, 1,900 people wasn't a huge number.

But their pre-apocalypse professions were from all walks of life.

Every trade imaginable was represented.

…..

Aboard the Stellar, everyone was at their post.

Sentinel Team Two was on watch outside the train, supervising the residents' mining and preventing any violent incidents. Sentinel Team Three was responsible for maintaining order within the train.

Sentinel Team One was fully engaged in training within the "Combat Training Virtual Space."

And in Carriage #11, inside a refrigerator with a red cloth hung over its entrance.

This was what the residents jokingly called the Red House.

Inside the refrigerator were several single beds, each with a curtain that could be rolled up or down. When a customer came, the curtain was lowered to provide a relatively private environment. When there were no customers, the curtains were rolled up.

At this moment.

About thirty young women were gathered inside, laughing and playing around.

There were no customers.

The residents were all outside mining. Customers would only start trickling in after their shifts ended in the evening.

"Sister Qiu Mei."

A girl lying on a single bed, her bare feet dangling in the air, said in a small, helpless voice, "Can you keep the noise down? Your card game is really loud."

"You're screaming day and night. I feel like I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown."

"Listen to you."

Qiu Mei, sitting on the floor with a hair clip holding back her wavy hair and a cigarette dangling from her lips, said nonchalantly, "You should be grateful you even have a chance to scream. When you're on your deathbed, your biggest regret will be that you didn't talk more."

"Besides, you're about to leave anyway. Why do you care what we do?"

"You're about to move into a big house with your little lover."

At that, the surrounding women broke into peals of silvery laughter.

The girl on the bed said no more, just continued to lie there, a look of longing in her eyes. From the first day she stepped into the Red House, her first customer had been a middle-aged man.

Perhaps it was fate. The two had fallen in love at first sight.

The man forbade her from taking any more customers, saying he would work hard to earn enough Stellar Vouchers for them to live in a refrigerator together.

She had believed him.

Since then, she hadn't taken another customer. Every night, she would lower the curtain and sleep curled up on the bed, waiting for the middle-aged man. During the day, she would do cleaning work on the train to earn her food for the day and a few meager Stellar Vouchers.

She could have left the Red House, since she wasn't taking customers anymore.

But no other place offered such comfortable living conditions.

So she had stayed.

It was a loophole in the train's management, but with the train developing so fast, no one had noticed a minor character like her. Every night, she and her lover would live on this single bed.

Life was pretty good.

Just then—

"Damn, I'm exhausted."

A middle-aged man walked into the Red House, cursing.

The women who had been playing cards instantly stood up, their expressions fearful and respectful as they said in small voices, "Carriage Chief Zhu."

"Mm."

Lao Zhu glanced at the women, his gaze finally settling on the girl lying on the bed. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes. "I don't think I've seen you before. You'll do for today."

With that, he strode to the girl's bed, sat down, and began taking off his shoes.

"What are you waiting for? Pull the curtain."

"Ah… ah?" The girl froze, a look of panic in her eyes. She instinctively took a step back. She wanted to refuse, but facing Carriage Chief Zhu, she didn't dare. And if she was exposed, her man wouldn't be able to sleep with her on this bed at night anymore; he'd have to go back to the crowded dormitories.

"Carriage Chief Zhu."

Just then, Qiu Mei stood up and walked over with a fawning smile, leaning against Lao Zhu with a seductive look in her eyes. "What, you don't like me anymore? She's just a little girl; she doesn't know anything. What's the point of looking for her?"

"Heh."

Lao Zhu looked at the two of them and chuckled. He put his shoes back on, stood up, and said, "Just tell me. Don't wait for me to find out. If I find out, you'll both be dead."

The smile on Qiu Mei's face instantly froze. After a long moment, she said in a low voice, "She has a lover. Although she lives in the Red House, she doesn't take customers."

Five minutes later.

Having figured out the situation, Lao Zhu left the Red House. His mood for relaxation was gone. Since the girl had a lover and wasn't taking customers, he naturally wouldn't do anything.

But this was a clear management loophole.

He had to go back and fix it.

Damn it.

Can't I just have a moment of peace? I'm so tired. And these damn residents, can they stop looking for loopholes? It's so annoying!

……

Inside the "Combat Training Virtual Space."

Biaozi held a dagger in his hand, his breathing steady and slow as he lay on a rooftop. He was like a seasoned assassin, his entire being seemingly merged with the night.

This was a new map.

"Dragon's Fortress."

He had already tried several times, and every time had ended in death. This was his ninth attempt. Like the Biohazard map, clearing this map would also reward him with an increase in comprehensive physical fitness.

It was a castle map.

Inside the castle were many dragon-like monsters. In the center was a dragon egg. He needed to sneak into the castle, steal the dragon egg, and then escape successfully to complete the mission.

His only weapon was the dagger in his hand.

At first, his plan had been to sneak in without alerting any of the monsters. He later found that was impossible. He had to kill the monsters patrolling the critical routes.

But as long as he killed a single monster, its roar would summon all the others.

He had to be precise and ruthless, killing with a single blow, so the monster couldn't make a sound before it died. Only then could he sneak in successfully.

The map had no time limit.

The rooftop was the starting point. He had been lying on this rooftop for a full fifteen minutes, his life flashing before his eyes like a running horse lamp. He was reviewing his life.

This might be the last time he had to think in this life.

He was a little reluctant.

He had once thought that after a year in the apocalypse, he no longer feared death. After all, in the apocalypse, it was hard to say if death was a good thing or a bad thing. No one would be reluctant to leave this terrible world.

But now—

He found that he was still reluctant.

How should he put it?

After eight consecutive failures, after eight consecutive failures under extreme mental concentration, he was already a little mentally exhausted. Before entering the map for the ninth time, he had dazedly selected "Extreme Difficulty."

Yes, just like that.

He had failed the normal difficulty eight times in a row, yet on the ninth attempt, he had accidentally selected extreme difficulty.

In this map, death meant brain death in the outside world.

In extreme difficulty, the monsters' attack strength would be even greater.

Under these circumstances.

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