Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Chapter 284

At the same moment, all travelers at the station received the same notification.

This time, there weren’t many complaints.

With the ongoing heavy rain, worsening infections, and the full-scale evacuation of Fran City, most people had already braced themselves for the station to be upgraded from A-rank to S-rank. In fact, to some experienced travelers, it was surprising that the difficulty had only escalated now.

Many veteran travelers had shields and protective suits, but shields had limited uses and time constraints, while protective suits made it impossible to eat or drink normally once worn.

Very few people had been as lucky as Yu Xi—having visited the S-rank station Fairy Tale Amusement Park, accidentally triggering the Nighttime Amusement Park special event, and almost single-handedly clearing the main game.

Because of this, even among veteran travelers, a high-defense, unlimited-use Glass Treehouse was an exceptionally rare item.

When the mutated fungal outbreak triggered a citywide plague carried by infected rats, even seasoned travelers had struggled to survive. Those two nights had been brutal—eating and sleeping were out of the question, and even dozing off for a moment meant risking an attack by parasite-infested rodents.

Most travelers had already felt the increase in difficulty firsthand. So when the notification came through, they merely glanced at their phones before continuing with whatever they were doing.

For Yu Xi’s group, the only real concern after the difficulty upgrade was the hidden station.

Xi Yuan: “I’ve used up my two confirmation attempts. I have a new lead, but someone needs to come check it.” Ya Tong: “Got it, I’m coming with Zhenzhen now!”

After regrouping, Ya Tong and Yu Zhenzhen had taken on several missions together. One specialized in high offense, the other in high defense—no matter how bad things got in the city, as long as they worked together, they could handle it.

That was why they never split up. Instead, one would assist the other in completing a mission before switching roles. After several rounds of this, they had successfully secured their train tickets.

By the time they received news of the station’s difficulty upgrade, they were already planning their route.

As usual, Ya Tong would drive, while Yu Zhenzhen would keep the shield up to protect the vehicle and tires. Any obstacles on the road—be it fungal parasites or travelers—would be blasted aside to clear the path.

Yu Xi also decided there was no point in waiting any longer.

Since she was already in the eastern part of the city, she and Lin Wu would leave on foot at dawn, exiting the city and then driving northward through the eastern forest area to bypass the city center.

The outskirts had fewer people and fewer fungal parasites. Unlike the inner city, where the streets were flooded with flesh and pus, the roads there should still be drivable. And if they did encounter a bad stretch of road, Lin Wu could temporarily activate his shield.

His defense card points were running low, so he had been extremely careful with its use these past two days.

Luckily, he had previously opened a loot box containing a flamethrower that used regular fuel. He had also used his replication skill to copy one and store it in Yu Xi’s inventory—otherwise, with both of them being relatively fragile in combat, they wouldn’t have dared take on any missions at all.

Yu Xi suddenly thought of something.

“You still have two uses left on your replication skill, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you directly copy a bound defense card?”

Lin Wu’s expression shifted in surprise.

That possibility had never occurred to him before.

Even if he wanted to test it, he wouldn’t risk using his own defense card—it barely had any points left. But Ya Tong had a high-value defense card, so once they met up, he could try replicating hers.

“There’s actually an even simpler method,” Yu Xi added, another idea sparking in her mind.

“You could try copying Zhenzhen’s electric baton.”

Lin Wu: …!!

If that worked, it would essentially mean a second unlimited shield.

Excited by the idea, both of them were now eager to reunite with the others.

After dinner, Yu Xi brewed two large cups of drip coffee and started mapping out their travel route for the next day using the Fran City map she had downloaded earlier.

They carefully mapped out their escape route—how to leave the city, how to travel north, and which paths to take—while also preparing alternative routes just in case. Regardless of the situation, Yu Xi had access to vehicles and even a rubber boat. If the final stretch proved impassable, they could always take the water route via Fran Lake.

After finalizing the plan, Yu Xi thought of Ron again and briefly brought it up in the group chat.

Yu Xi: “…I’m one hundred percent certain that the Kayo in this station is the same Ron from Paradise Island Station. My current theory is that if we view each station in the Endless Train world as a data copy, then the native inhabitants of these instances are pre-programmed with settings and memories before being inserted into the world. Ron appearing in this station might be related to Paradise Island exceeding its threshold and shutting down—but that’s just a guess. Another possibility is that the key to escaping the Endless Train might lie with these NPCs. So from now on, let’s start paying closer attention to the locals around us. See if we recognize anyone from other stations. Of course, the chances of that happening are low… NPCs can be altered with just a few data modifications, presenting an entirely different appearance. Ron might just be an anomaly.”

Ya Tong: “Got it. Whether it’s true or not, we’ll keep an eye out. This at least gives us something to investigate. Otherwise, hopping from one station to another endlessly—who knows when we’ll ever reach the final stop.”

Yu Zhenzhen: “Mom, get some rest. We’re already on our way to Ordo Town. If we confirm the station’s location, we’ll let you know immediately.”

Meanwhile, in his private chat with Yu Xi, Xi Yuan sent a string of “……” messages. After she replied with a simple “?”, he hesitated for a long time before finally sending another message.

Xi Yuan: “Stop chatting with Lin Wu so much. Go to sleep earlier…”

Yu Xi: “I was

asleep. Your message woke me up. Heh.”Xi Yuan: “Wuu…”

**

At dawn, Yu Xi woke up right on schedule. After washing up, she changed into a comfortable T-shirt and athletic pants for easy movement, then laid out breakfast on the bar counter.

Beef and cheese burgers, crispy chicken sandwiches (Ya Tong’s recipe), Queen’s Coffee, orange juice, cocoa milk tea, chicken wonton soup, fresh bone broth noodles, spicy beef noodles, crab roe soup dumplings… Chinese and Western options, all available for the choosing.

“Eat well in the morning. Once the protective suits are activated, we won’t be able to eat or drink for the whole day. We’ll only be able to eat again once we meet up with the others. Eat more now so you don’t collapse on the road.”

Lin Wu was already accustomed to Yu Xi’s ways. He picked what he wanted, and she stored the rest.

The two of them sat at the bar, eating breakfast while looking out at Fran City through the glass walls. The rain had finally stopped, and a faint glow of light was beginning to spread in the east. Both of them had a feeling that today, the sun would come out.

Sunlight would help evaporate the infected water mixed with pus on the ground, making the roads easier to traverse.

Lin Wu gazed at the city outside. From their vantage point, the streets were littered with exploded remains, a scene that could only be described as a massacre.

Last night had been the best sleep he’d had in days. Having a treehouse like this, something portable and secure, provided an immense sense of psychological safety.

“Maybe today, we could try replicating the treehouse item,” Yu Xi suggested, reading his thoughts.

Lin Wu nodded. “Yeah. We’ll figure it out once we meet up with the others.”

At exactly 6:30 AM, they donned their breathing masks and activated their Self-Cleaning Protective Suits. Carrying no extra items, they traveled light, climbing down from the parking garage rooftop and sneaking out along the vehicle ramp.

The moment they set foot on the street, several wandering fungal parasites turned toward them and started approaching.

Yu Xi grabbed Lin Wu’s arm. “Ready?” she said.

Then, she took off running.

She controlled her speed to ensure Lin Wu could keep up, half-dragging, half-supporting him as they sprinted eastward along the pre-planned route.

They could have moved even faster—if Lin Wu had agreed to let Yu Xi carry him. But the moment she suggested it, he turned red with embarrassment and refused outright.

Even at their current speed, they were already moving incredibly fast. There was no way he could accept the image of himself being carried by Yu Xi while running.

Along the way, besides fungal parasites, they also encountered other travelers.

Most of them merely gave them a quick glance before continuing with their own tasks—probably working on missions to earn train tickets or searching for their companions.

However, there were also some less rational travelers, whose eyes gleamed with greed at the sight of their protective suits. They pulled out weapons or activated skills in an attempt to block their way.

Yu Xi usually responded to ambushes by pulling out a heavy weapon and blasting the area. If her attackers still wanted to pursue them, she would take out a megaphone and shout at them, “This station has already been upgraded to S-rank and could close at any time! Are you really planning to wait here and die instead of finding the station?”

Most travelers had never experienced a station closure before. Those attempting to block their way were usually travelers who were neither new nor truly experienced—they lacked enough information. When they heard her words, they would hesitate for a moment.

Yu Xi used that moment to grab Lin Wu and sprint away.

By the time they were about to leave the city, Lin Wu, pale and exhausted, finally understood the meaning behind Yu Xi’s words that morning—”Eat more so you don’t collapse on the road.” It hadn’t been an excuse to enjoy a big breakfast. He was really about to collapse.

Yu Xi noticed. “Still don’t want me to carry you?”

“…No… no need…” Lin Wu panted.

Yu Xi nodded, gripping his arm tightly with one hand while subtly placing the other on his back, giving him a slight push to help him along.

At the same time, she made a mental note—once she got in touch with Xing Min, she needed to buy a whole batch of endurance boosters and make sure all her teammates improved their physical stamina.

**

By a little after 8 AM, after an hour and a half of sprinting, the two of them successfully exited Fran City, reaching the eastern outskirts. As planned, they deployed a jeep onto the road and drove away.

Not long after, Yu Zhenzhen sent a message in the group chat. After using up two of Ya Tong’s confirmation attempts and one of her own, they had finally pinpointed the location of the hidden station.

Yu Zhenzhen: “…The station was just built. It’s located at one of the entrances to Ordo Town’s defensive perimeter. No idea how previous travelers confirmed the station, but Xi Yuan said this used to be a plaza entrance. Maybe earlier travelers only needed to confirm the plaza entrance itself…”

Ya Tong: “We’re planning to stay at Xi Yuan’s villa in Ordo Town for now. It’s not very big, but there are a few trees in the backyard, so your treehouse can be set up there. If the situation in town worsens, we can retreat into the treehouse at night.”

Xi Yuan: “You won’t be able to enter the town right away. You’ll need to go through a full-body scan and a quarantine period first. But the military has improved their equipment with help from scientists, so quarantine only takes four hours now. Zhenzhen and Ya Tong already got their entry permits—we’re just waiting on you.”

The chat was filled with good news, which only made Yu Xi more eager to reach them.

She and Lin Wu continued driving north through the maple forest road. Just as she had predicted, the road conditions were still manageable.

Along the way, they passed several refugee camps, avoiding them from a distance.

Before reaching Ordo Town, they had to take a detour around a massive refugee center. For this, they ended up using the rubber boat. Fran Lake was vast, but fortunately, Lin Wu had been meticulous with his preparations—he had even bought paddles and a motor, which saved them a lot of trouble.

Deploy the car, put out the boat, cross the lake, retrieve the boat, deploy the car again.

By the time they finally arrived at Ordo Town, it was nearly 1 PM.

The level of military security here was far greater than at any of the refugee camps they had passed. Along the road, soldiers and military vehicles were transporting large amounts of supplies into the town while also escorting incoming civilians to undergo screening and quarantine.

Before entering the town, Yu Xi took out a random vehicle she had picked up along the way and retracted her Self-Cleaning Protective Suit. Both she and Lin Wu changed into ordinary chemical protective suits and each grabbed a backpack.

For the last stretch, Lin Wu drove while Yu Xi sent a message to her friend, Lu Yong, informing him about the hidden station’s location and the need to acquire an entry permit.

Unlike Xi Yuan, Lu Yong didn’t have the advantage of being a local resident in Ordo Town. While he had suspected that the station was somewhere nearby, he hadn’t been able to confirm it. When he suddenly received Yu Xi’s message, he was both surprised and grateful.

Yu Xi: “No need to thank me. Just returning the favor. Take care.”

With Xi Yuan assisting them from inside the town, Yu Xi and Lin Wu successfully completed their screenings and began their quarantine period.

By the time 8 PM rolled around, all five of them had finally reunited at Xi Yuan’s villa.