Ahead of them, a sharp bend in the tracks revealed a train that had derailed and was now lying on its side next to the rails.
Luckily, it hadn't blocked the opposite tracks, so they still had a path forward. However, trains weren't as easy to maneuver as cars, and shifting from one track to another wasn't going to be simple.
"Well, this is fun," Shao Ming muttered as he instinctively reached for his rifle, only to realize it had been left behind outside the warehouse. In the rush, he had dropped it.
He squinted at the overturned train, which seemed to be a passenger train, but strangely, there were no visible mutants.
"We'll need to reverse," Lambert said. "We'll find a ramp and switch to another track."
"I'll go check it out," Shao Ming said, tucking his handgun into his waistband and opening the train door.
"I'll go with you," Feng Yusheng added, grabbing a metal rod and stepping to the door.
Shao Ming glanced at Lambert, who gave a meaningful look and said, "Go ahead, I'll manage alone."
The two of them jumped down from the train, while Lambert began to reverse the train.
Shao Ming and Feng Yusheng cautiously made their way toward the derailed train.
Luggage was scattered along the tracks, and upon closer inspection, a few decaying corpses could be seen crushed beneath the overturned cars. Flies and mosquitoes hovered around the rotting bodies.
"Ugh…" Feng Yusheng turned away, fearing she might lose the only potato she had eaten earlier.
Shao Ming eyed one of the bodies—a bloody, mangled face with eyes that seemed full of resentment.
They circled to the other side of the train and climbed into one of the overturned carriages.
It seemed there were no mutants in the car—if there had been any, the noise of the crash would have certainly alerted them.
Inside the carriage, luggage was scattered all over the place, and there were pools of blood on the floor. Shao Ming had seen bloodstains so many times by now that they didn't faze him anymore.
He had grown accustomed to the scent of blood mixed with the stench of decaying flesh. As he surveyed the seats, he wondered what had happened to the passengers on this train. All of them seemed to have disappeared, leaving no bodies behind.
"This place is creepy…" Feng Yusheng muttered, instinctively moving behind Shao Ming.
"The world's like this now," Shao Ming said, holding his handgun warily. "Even ghosts don't scare me anymore."
After checking that the neighboring carriages were safe, Shao Ming grabbed a suitcase from the floor.
"Sorry," he muttered, as he opened the suitcase.
Feng Yusheng followed his lead and started checking the luggage inside the carriage.
Shao Ming opened a suitcase to find it packed with clothes and toiletries. He thought for a moment and decided to take out some shower gel and shampoo to put in his bag.
"You never know when these might come in handy," he said as he stuffed them into his pack.
Most of the luggage on this train contained valuables—things like jewelry and gold. In fact, they even found an entire box of cash.
It seemed the passengers had misjudged the state of the world when they fled the city. Now, the value of these items couldn't compare to a single potato.
At least there was enough luggage that they were bound to find some snacks or small food items.
Opening suitcases was like unboxing a mystery. You never knew what you'd find next.
After going through one carriage and not finding much of use, they both began to feel the strain on their backs and necks from bending over for so long.
As they moved forward through the carriages, they noticed the front of the train had crashed into a field, while the engine seemed to be much further up ahead.
"Forget it," Shao Ming said, waving his hand. "Let's just see if there's anything useful ahead."
Shao Ming pulled a photo from one of the suitcases. It was a family portrait, and something about the man's face seemed familiar, like he had seen him somewhere before.
Feng Yusheng leaned over and instantly recognized the man. "Isn't this the guy who got crushed under the train?"
Shao Ming put the photo back and closed the suitcase. They continued searching through the carriages, but then, unexpectedly, they heard the distant screech of a mutant's roar.
They immediately froze and crouched low.
"Shh…" Shao Ming raised his handgun. "You stay here. I'll go take a look."
"Be careful," Feng Yusheng whispered, watching him as he moved toward the door. "I'll wait here."
Shao Ming crept to the door and peered outside. The wheat fields were eerily empty, with only scattered luggage and broken train pieces. He didn't see any mutants around.
He pressed his back against the train wreck and moved forward inch by inch.
While watching the field ahead, he also kept an eye on the interior of the train through the windows.
When he got closer to the engine, he finally heard the sound of something banging on the door.
This train's engine was similar to their own, with a large engine occupying most of the front compartment. There was no direct connection between the driver's cabin and the passenger cars, and without Lambert, Shao Ming didn't know what model this train was.
He raised his handgun carefully, inching closer to the driver's cabin. The banging noise was clearly coming from inside.
"Bang!" A face suddenly appeared on the other side of the window.
Shao Ming jumped back in shock, but luckily, he didn't instinctively pull the trigger.
It was a mutant.
The train's front had been severely damaged in the crash, and the driver had turned into a mutant. However, his lower body was trapped under the controls, leaving him to helplessly bang on the window.
Shao Ming let out a relieved sigh and tapped the gun's stock against the window before turning to leave.
Feng Yusheng was peering over the door frame, and Shao Ming clicked the safety on his gun before slipping it back into his waistband.
"The train driver," he said to Feng Yusheng, "He's stuck in the engine."
Just then, the sound of another train approaching caught their attention. They looked up to see their own train coming down a different track.
The train slowly came to a stop, and Lambert waved at them from the door.
"Find anything good?" he asked as the two of them approached.
"Toiletries," Shao Ming replied. "And some snacks."
"There were a lot of suitcases, but not much of value," Feng Yusheng added.
They climbed back aboard the train, and Lambert restarted the engine.
The derailed train gradually faded from view, and the tracks ahead were once again clear.
"At this pace, we should be near Birmingham by around noon," Lambert said.
Shao Ming checked the map on the tablet and asked, "We don't need anything else, so is there a way to bypass the city?"