Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 338: All-front Launch Plan!
“So this is Silent City? Why does it look like it's just dead in the water?”
“Did it get hit by an S-class assault, or suffer some kind of failure?”
Staring at the blurry night-time photos sent back by Grace, Lin Xian and members of the other convoys began discussing the situation.
“We’re out of relay points. Grace is currently in standby mode,” Lin Xian said.
If they let Grace continue forward, all communications would be cut off—her AI would have to handle unknown exploration entirely on its own.
From aboard Longshan No.1, Ning Jing spoke up: “That Forbidden Item showed up in Baicheng, and yet there are signs of activity? This is all way too strange.”
“And let’s not forget the time dilation,” said Qian Dele from the Joker Convoy, reclining with a half-smile. “Looks like we all learned something new this round—days in here are just one day outside. Wild stuff…”
Monica analyzed calmly, “If that’s the case, then from the moment Boss Hu escaped the Abyss to now, Silent City has been stranded here for over a hundred days?”
Everyone immediately realized the implications.
Hu Lushou had escaped the Aksai Dead Zone about two weeks ago. Add in one day for the Sand Raiders cleanup, and comparing the timelines, Silent City had indeed been stuck here for nearly three or four months.
Since Apocalypse Day, a hundred days here would equal about 1,200 days out there. With the Dark Invasion accelerating corrosion, the state of Baicheng—decayed and desolate—made a lot more sense.
Rugged terrain. Decaying tracks. Time dilation. The Fish-Lion Colossus. A paralyzed Silent City…
Even though Grace’s recon gave the Joint Convoy a clearer understanding of their situation, everything was clearly trending toward an even bigger disaster.
“They must’ve been attacked like we were,” said Shi Diyuan, analyzing. “But from the site, it doesn’t look like a total wipeout. Some of their people may have escaped!”
Qian Dele added, “If that’s the case, laying tracks is too risky. I say we go light and flee on foot. Ditch most of the trains. If we just make it to Baicheng, we can take the hardened road out. Boss Hu probably did exactly that. They were already there, so figuring out the terrain was easier. Their chances were way better.”
Monica remained silent. If they really were fleeing light, her Queen Monica would be their biggest asset. It could carry at least 500–600 people. But in this kind of situation, she chose not to speak up—just listened.
Meanwhile, on Lin Xian’s side, the devour progress for Parrot’s nuclear locomotive had hit 36% on the Mechanical Heart interface. The MK-66 Rolled Boom Missile Rack was fully assembled. While still devouring, Lin Xian was simultaneously manufacturing Defender-86 Anti-Air Missiles and thinking through the current dilemma alongside the group. Triple-tasking like this, his brain felt like it was on fire.
“Old Mo, you’ve encountered Silent City before. What’s your take?”
Lin Xian looked toward Old Mo in the team.
The grizzled veteran leaned against the missile rack Lin Xian had just built, face serious. “Silent City is even larger than the fallen Qingluan Sky City. It’s one of the largest artificial floating structures apart from Phoenix City, the Synchronous Orbit Platforms, and the lost Southern Gate and Moonlight Ring. The Moonlight Consortium spent 14 years building it. Xinghua, Fenger, and General Aerospace all contributed. The current head of the Moonlight Consortium, Moonlight Shinji, isn’t just one of the richest people alive—he’s a physics and engineering prodigy. You’ve heard of him, right?”
“Oh, totally~” KIKI crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. “He’s the guy with an IQ supposedly evaluated by the Alpha High IQ Society as 270, described as a ‘top genius beyond real-world comprehension,’ right?”
“At 15, he completed dual degrees in physics and engineering from Kehua Polytechnic. At 17, he joined the Galaxy AI-1 project...” Qian Dele chimed in. “He even led the whole Digital Life Act movement. World-class big shot.”
Old Mo nodded. “Although Noisy City’s air-land-sea-void octopedal design was odd, as long as it had floating engines, there’s no reason it should’ve fallen if your convoys made it out fine.”
“You mean,” Luo Yang asked, “this city had floating engines just like Phoenix City—so why was it rolling on giant treads on land?”
Old Mo replied, “No aircraft can fly below 10,000 meters anymore. Phoenix City can only cruise at around 9,000 meters. Any aircraft dropping under 5,000 meters gets swarmed by micro-atmospheric monsters—minimum A-class giants.”
“...So that’s why…”
Old Mo sighed. “According to messages from Dawn City, apart from the Eerie Entities, there’s supposedly a Sky Drape covering everything under 10,000 meters—blanketing the whole planet. That’s why all satellites, space stations, the Southern Gate, and the Moonlight Ring lost contact. The Federation’s plan to escape with civilization seeds aboard starships also failed… so going ground-based was actually safer. In theory, we could float anytime.”
“…The Sky Drape…” someone murmured.
Old Mo nodded. “Maybe being small is actually worse.”
Lin Xian’s face darkened. With large-scale guided weapons malfunctioning, over 70% of major cities swallowed by the Abyss on Apocalypse Day, mutant outbreaks, communication collapse, and nuclear weapons unable to destroy the Abyss—sometimes even accelerating it—it made sense why humanity fell so fast.
Hearing this, Lin Xian recalled looking up at the sky outside Hengshan Pass, seeing a colossal eye the size of a galaxy.
And he thought of two people.
One was Wei Kexue, who’d told him during the Fortification Plan campaign that the Phoenix Society launched the Emperor Project because fusion chain-reactions failed to achieve expected destructive power. Hence, they developed massive mechanical and swarm weapons for use within the Abyss.
The second was that Professor Wang from Jiang City’s radio broadcast.
Lin Xian remembered his cries:
“Physics... such a joke. There’s no escape. No one escapes…”
Now Lin Xian suspected that maybe after Lu City’s Abyss Exploration Team entered Abyss Zone No. 3, they saw horrors that defied known physics, crushing even the most brilliant minds who survived Apocalypse Day and Polar Night.
“If we can’t reach Baicheng and the track plan’s a no-go… if even something as massive as Silent City fell, do we have any choice left but to flee using trucks and all-terrain trains?” Chen Sixuan asked, seriously.
“Lin Xian,” KIKI said, arms crossed, wearing a fatalistic “it’s your call” expression.
Everyone turned toward Lin Xian. All were silent—except for Lu Xingchen, who sat quietly, unreadable.
Lin Xian fell into silence. Abandoning the Infinite Train? Impossible. It was the stronghold his Mechanical Heart had built from scratch. Without it, even if they escaped the Abyss, surviving the next Dark Night would be uncertain. And without its protection, over 70% of the 180+ people on board would likely die…
He glanced at his Black Hawk Armor, and at the Defender-86 Missile forming in his hands. That’s when a wild idea struck him.
After a moment’s silence, he raised his head solemnly.
“If we can’t lay tracks, then… wouldn’t it be easier if we flew the train to Baicheng?”
Everyone froze.
“…Fly?” KIKI blinked.
Lin Xian’s gaze sharpened. His expression hardened. Then he turned to Old Mo.
“Old Mo, I’m guessing every large aerospace craft has a Superconducting Magnetic Anchor Array for horizon-hovering, right?”
“Yes!” Old Mo nodded. “Used in emergencies, like overloads or floating engine failures.”
KIKI’s eyes lit up. She instantly got it and stared at Lin Xian, stunned: “Wait—you’re thinking of using those anchor arrays to launch the Joint Convoy like a freakin’ railgun?!”
Luo Yang gasped. “Huh?! Maglev?! Our trains don’t have EDS stabilizers! That kind of magnetic force would shred every carriage to pieces!”
But Lin Xian simply lifted a brow. His voice grew calm. “Building distributed electromagnetic coil loops outside the train is far easier than laying tracks in the Dark Forest, don’t you think?”
“Uh…” Luo Yang was speechless.
Old Mo looked at him strangely. “Wait… this is how you intend to use those devices?”
“Holy sh*t, that’s nuts!” KIKI’s mouth hung open.
Others stared blankly at the group. Most didn’t understand mechanics. But Lu Xingchen suddenly stepped forward, heroic: “This is a heaven-breaking plan! I support it fully!”
“…Do you even know what they’re talking about?” Shasha rolled her eyes, pointing to the train-mounted Rail Electromagnetic Cannon. “Lin-ge wants to launch the 15-kilometer-long Joint Convoy like a railgun shell!”
“Nice!” Lu Xingchen’s eyes sparkled. “Steel train flying through the sky—that’s power incarnate!”
He declared boldly:
“With sun in hand and stars in reach, none can match me! Brother Lin, this plan is divine!”
Shasha: “...”
Old Mo looked stunned. As a senior engineer from Xinghua Heavy Industries, he absolutely understood how insane this was. “A wild idea… but in theory, yes.”
“Wait,” Shu Qin asked, “Old Mo, what exactly does this mean? Like, literally railgun stuff?”
Old Mo explained: “The principle is simple. Large aircraft like Silent City use superconducting magnetic anchor arrays. They fire anchor nodes to fixed locations, generating a magnetic field. When aligned with the craft’s magnetic base, it creates lift—hovering 5–20 meters up, like a maglev train. Think of it as electromagnetic landing gear.
“What Lin Xian’s proposing is to repurpose Silent City’s system—send the array here, lay a floating maglev track to launch our train with electromagnetic force!”
The explanation stunned the room—and even startled those listening on comms: Shi Diyuan, Qian Dele, Monica. All turned pale.
Convoys scrambled, engineers buzzing. Public comms exploded.
“Launch the whole train line?!”
“Lin’s lost his mind...”
“D*mn, this might actually work!”
“Fly? Are you nuts? We’re not planes! No flight control!”
“Romantic my *ss! 20 Gs and you’re paste!”
“Shut it! Start running the calcs now!”
Meanwhile, the captains' channel went silent.
Shi Diyuan couldn’t sit still. Qian Dele was watching his engineers lose their minds—yet he himself wasn’t worried. Instead, he smiled. Every time Lin Xian came up with something, it felt insane… and genius.
On Queen Monica, her engineers and onboard AI ran simulations of Lin Xian’s idea. Monica stood quietly in Car No. 1, smiling faintly at the transmitter.
None of the captains interrupted yet. They were waiting for Lin Xian to finish.
Zhang was very likely connected to them. And now that Grace had discovered that eerie colossus in Baicheng, along with signs of human presence, Lin Xian speculated that there were still many secrets hidden around Baicheng and Silent City. The area might be dangerous—or it might hold untapped opportunities. Either way, as long as Lin Xian could enter Silent City, he probably couldn’t activate the entire massive city. But when it came to unlocking the Superconducting Levitation Magnetic Anchor Array, he was confident that his Mechanical Heart could handle it.
“Once the range exceeds 100 kilometers, Grace loses signal. So I’ve already ordered her to return. On the way back, I’ve instructed her to conduct a targeted path scan. While she’s en route, we’ll use the time to finalize the entire engineering plan. Once she returns, we’ll organize a team and head for Silent City!”
As long as the current balance of safety held along the Infinite Train line—and with the Eerie Cube still shielding them—they still had some time to prepare.
During that window, Lin Xian planned to devour both nuclear-powered locomotives. He had a hunch that regardless of whether the plan succeeded or not, mastering the Phase Resonance Ring of the Superstring Reactor would be crucial.
“I like the sound of Lin Xian’s plan~” Qian Dele voiced his support enthusiastically. “A solid primary goal, plus a chance to scout the unknown and maybe pick up new opportunities. Sure, it’s risky, but better than sitting around here going in circles. If you want to survive, you’ve gotta take bold chances—there’s no such thing as 100% safe.”
Aboard Longshan No. 1, Ning Jing looked toward Shi Diyuan. “I agree. If we don’t go into the darkness and see for ourselves, any solutions we think up might be completely wrong.”
Shi Diyuan nodded. He understood well enough—if Lin Xian hadn’t sent Grace to investigate Baicheng, they wouldn’t even have known the Abyss Zone there was undergoing time dilation and redshift anomalies. Nor would they have found that massive, immobilized mobile city slumped in the valley. After some thought, he spoke into the communicator:
“That colossus is still a problem. We all got dragged in because of that thing. And we still don’t know what it really is. If we’re going, that’s something we need to account for.”
Lin Xian responded via communicator, “The signal delay’s a major issue. So if we head to Baicheng, I’ll assign Grace to scout the wastewater plant area. Our objective is Silent City, straight up.”
“There’s also the risk of Dark Marks. If we get tagged, how do we make it back?” Monica chimed in.
Lin Xian exhaled slightly, his eyes sharp. “Once we complete the suspension coils and secure the carriages, the next challenge is protecting human bodies from the intense magnetic fields. As for Dark Marks, we have to assume the worst. If the plan works, we’ll need to be ready for a full-on breakout—blast our way out of Starfield!”
“A full-scale escape? Sounds exciting.” Monica smiled slightly. “So, Captain Lin, may I join your daring expedition?”
“I’m in too,” Qian Dele added. “Opportunities like this don’t come often.”
If they were bringing the whole team, Qian Dele might’ve felt more pressure. But true to his free-spirited nature, he wasn’t about to pass up a life-or-death thrill in the Abyss Zone. That said, deep down, it was also because the Joker Convoy needed him.
“Alright, it’s settled. Current time: 4 AM. While Grace is returning, she’s already generating the first phase of the plan. I’ll sync it to everyone soon. All engineering teams are to join in, refine the final plan, and once that’s ready, I’ll handle the manufacturing. Then the exploration team departs. The rest will focus on internal and external modifications to the train. Let’s save time and work in parallel!”
“Perfect!” Shi Diyuan clapped. “Let’s do it!”
On the Infinite Train, with all major convoys approving Lin Xian’s daring plan, the atmosphere in the carriage became a bit odd.
KIKI, Chen Sixuan, and Shasha were smiling. Daluo and Shu Qin had serious, resolute faces. Newer members like Li Yi, Luo Yang, Liang Lei, and Old Mo looked a bit unsure—but no one objected. They all took deep breaths and began thinking hard.
Lu Xingchen, meanwhile, looked absolutely fired up.
“What’s there to fear in the vast sky? Let’s just burn it down!”
His usual over-the-top comment somehow fired everyone up this time. Amid the chaos and despair they had just escaped from, that boldness to face the dark head-on was exactly what they needed.
“Lin Xian,” Chen Sixuan called out.
He knew what she meant and nodded. “You’re coming with me. KIKI, Fire Bro—stay back and continue guarding the train.”
Chen Sixuan’s eyes lit up, and she nodded firmly.
“Got it!” Everyone else responded in unison.
Right now, the chaotic debates among the convoys turned into serious planning. Launching the joint train convoy via the Superconducting Levitation Magnetic Anchor Array wasn’t as simple as launching a maglev train. It meant building an airborne electromagnetic tunneling route. That meant every carriage would face extreme structural stress. Most external components would have to be dismantled. This escape plan needed every convoy engineer to participate.
On the Infinite Train, Lin Xian had already made six launch racks and anti-air missiles, and was working on a large Storm Eye F12 hypersonic airship missile as a high-powered fallback.
The F12 was 6.86 meters long, 0.36 meters in diameter, weighed 850 kg, with a 200 kg warhead. It was the largest explosive Lin Xian had ever made. Materials flowed nonstop through the Disassembly and Manufacturing Centers. The missile’s dual-pulse engine was taking shape within the carriage.
Meanwhile, the Parrot’s nuclear locomotive was nearly devoured.
[Devour Progress: 99%] [Devour Complete – Mechanical Source Point +700, Mechanical Devour Proficiency +300!] [Surge: Prerequisite for Mechanical Amplification Upgrade – 140 MW Achieved!]
“Knew it!” Lin Xian let out a relieved breath. Thankfully, it didn’t ask him to devour a full 300 MW-class reactor. Now, once he finished with the Ocean, the prerequisites for upgrading to the Phase Resonance Ring of the Superstring Reactor would be complete!
“Keep going!” Lin Xian checked the time. The intervals between Grace’s status updates were shrinking—she was getting close.
[Route correction complete. Environmental scan complete.]
Grace reported as she scanned the Magnetic Anchor Array path. [Based on initial analysis, Silent City’s external structure has not suffered significant damage. The cause of the aerospace city’s shutdown is still undetermined. However, calculating the feasibility of your escape plan using the Superconducting Magnetic Anchor Array and a modified train, the success rate is 23.1%—surpassing the rail-track solution.]
“The biggest threat is the darkness,” Lin Xian said. “Dragging thousands of people through it would be the real bottleneck. The technical parts are actually easier.”
[I admire your problem-solving approach. Please allow me to express my praise.]
Lin Xian frowned slightly. “Are you… complimenting me?”
[Yes. Psychological stress is a major factor in decision-making. Based on your interactions with multiple female members of your team, I’ve determined that praise and recognition from the perspective of a human female will boost your testosterone and excitement levels—thus aiding your judgment.]
Lin Xian: …
By 6 AM, the Ocean’s nuclear locomotive was halfway devoured, and a white F12 Storm Eye Missile had taken shape inside Carriage 21.
This was the most intense use of Lin Xian’s Mechanical Ability yet. Back at Clearwater Town, devouring the nuclear engine of the Dragon-Class Transport Ship had left him utterly drained.
Now, with both Mechanical Heart and Mechanical Devour at Level 5, the strain was much more manageable. Two other reasons helped as well:
The Ocean and Parrot’s nuclear engines weren’t as massive as the Dragon-Class’s.
The Eerie Cube on the Infinite Train was still converting energy into mechanical source points, letting Lin Xian recover his stamina.
Right now, he felt like a nuclear-powered ox—building ammo and missiles all night, devouring two doomsday locomotives. The Disassembly and Manufacturing Centers were running non-stop. Even the fully-automated bullet press in Carriage 13 was going at max capacity.
Around that time, after being cleared by A Bai, Director Ding, and Chen Sixuan on Longshan No. 1, Grace returned to base with four PX05 robots. Daluo, Liang Lei, and the rest of the defense crew finally breathed easy. As long as the perimeter held, the plan wouldn’t be disrupted.
Lin Xian immediately tasked Grace with scanning the entire convoy line. Using parameters from Federation spacecraft anchor arrays, she began auto-generating exterior modification plans.
[Train Aerodynamic Solution: Plasma Flow Shroud – releases low-temperature plasma at the front to ionize air and reduce resistance.] [Propulsion &Stability: Distributed Electromagnetic Coil Array – provides thrust and levitation, synced to magnetic tunnel fields.] [Crew Protection: Reverse Helmholtz Coils – cancels magnetic interference to prevent neurological disruption.] [Emergency Safety Systems…]
With her immense processing power, Grace rapidly outputted feasible solutions and sent them to all engineering teams for verification. Once confirmed, she generated blueprints for each device.
They sounded complex but were surprisingly easy to make—essentially forming a protective shell for high-EM environments.
Lin Xian also had to manage speed control and soft landing for track reconnection in Baicheng. These would require pre-fab work once they arrived.
Under the twisted, suffocating black sky, the joint train base—shielded by the Eerie Cube’s glow—resembled a round fortress in the Dark Forest beside the Bottomless Lake. Giant, shifting silhouettes slithered across distant mountain ridges—massive beasts drifting through the fog.
The survivors dared not look at the Dark Forest for long—not just from fear, but because it physically hurt. Like rusted steel needles stabbing into their brains via the optic nerve, it caused a searing pressure on the retina.
If not for the Cube’s glow shield, the dark infection and environmental stress would’ve already caused mass mutations and deaths.
Lin Xian began building the distributed coil array. Engineers from every team were mobilized. Equipment was offloaded from the Infinite Train. Installation happened carriage by carriage. The curved coil supports looked like insect exoskeletons welded onto the train's steel body—welding sparks flashing continuously.
While working, Lin Xian monitored the Cube. It was still converting mechanical source points—though at a slower rate now.
[Converted non-mechanical energy. Gained +1000 Mechanical Source Points.]
“Silent City supposedly housed 90,000 people. After so long… it’s hard to believe anyone’s still alive,” Lin Xian thought.
Even with the Cube, the joint train wasn’t sure how long it could last. The most likely scenario? Most people had already fled after the city shut down.
Back in Akesai, Lin Xian hadn’t received any global broadcasts—no way of knowing Silent City’s condition. All he could do now was guess.
Still, he was deeply intrigued by that legendary physicist and engineer. Before Apocalypse Day, people like that were only seen on the news. Moonlight Consortium’s tech branch, Moonlight Tech, had once supplied nearly one-third of the world’s prosthetics, artificial limbs, and robots.
They were also the main supplier of Starfleet’s exosuits—like the early Ghost Wolf and Iron Hunter series, both named by Moonlight Tech. The first interstellar-class battle armor? That too was developed under Shinji Mochizuki’s lead.
As the glowing interface flashed, Lin Xian felt a jolt.
“Amplify!” he declared.
[Mechanical Amplification in Progress – Surge: 23:59:59 Countdown]
Finally, Lin Xian breathed easy. He opened his Mechanical Heart panel. In one single night within the Abyss, he’d made massive progress.
[Mechanical Heart – Lv.5 (8640/20000)]
Whew...
Lin Xian stood up and stretched. He’d been running at full capacity all night. If not for the Cube converting that lingering black mist into energy, he’d have collapsed hours ago.
“If only we had a device that could convert Eerie Blood Crystals into Cold Dark Reagents.” Lin Xian thought to himself—there were so many blood crystals stored on the train, yet none had been put to use. If they had Cold Dark Reagents, the combat capabilities of several ability users would significantly improve.
He looked at the missile launcher in front of him: six Guardian-86 anti-air missiles and one Eye of the Storm F12 hypersonic air-to-air missile. Lin Xian’s expression hardened. The Infinite Train had just added another doomsday weapon!
“If we’d had this thing when we fought that Eerie Serpent…” Lin Xian’s gaze turned icy. “That would’ve been a hell of a punch.”
Everything was ready. All distributed electromagnetic coil arrays had been manufactured and stacked at the center of the circular camp, along with stabilizers and plasma deflection shields. The rest was up to the engineering teams from each convoy to install.
On the Infinite Train side, Luo Yang, Old Mo, Liang Lei, and their engineering teams were prepping with PX-05 robots.
This time, the Infinite Train would be the lead vehicle. The plasma deflection shield was installed at the front of the Whale 03E Heavy Gas Turbine Locomotive. Fortunately, Lin Xian had designed all the weapon stations with lifting and sealing mechanisms in mind, so no dismantling was necessary.
Lin Xian quickly chugged a large bottle of water, grabbed some food, then finished charging the Black Hawk Armor and all Thunder Falcon drones, preparing to rally the team for departure.
Just then, KIKI called out to him.
“Lin Xian, should we consider bringing along the Hell Black Chrysanthemum or the Silver Dragon Tenfold Thorn?” KIKI frowned thoughtfully. “Grace gave us that reminder earlier. If they’re native to Star Abyss, maybe they could help.”
“They already have.” Lin Xian replied bluntly. “The Hell Black Chrysanthemum would just attract Eerie Entities. As for the Silver Dragon Tenfold Thorn, I checked on it earlier—no new buds have formed. That means its trait is incredibly rare. And since it’s also a disaster flora, it’ll definitely draw Eerie Entities too.”
He understood what KIKI meant, but in truth, if anything could be of use, it would be the Eerie Cube. As for Lu Xingchen’s Infinity Loop, so far it had only displayed anti-gravity and plasma acceleration abilities. When they faced the Fish-Lion Colossus, it had caused a devastating calamity—that alone showed how drastically different each forbidden item’s traits could be.
Maybe Chu Yan was right: forbidden items weren’t treasures, but manifestations of some force from the dark world. They were nodes connecting two realities, reflecting traits that could range from life-saving to outright catastrophic.
Heading to Baicheng, Lin Xian couldn’t risk taking the Eerie Cube. This scouting team would have to withstand the dark invasion on their own—each member was the best of the best.
Just as he said that, his eyelid twitched. A sudden thought came to him.
He quickly made his way to the Gemini 11R Nuclear-Powered Military Carriage. From a lead-sealed box, he retrieved a metal container—inside was a silver-black bullet head given to him by Hu Lushou. He’d had a hunch about it ever since Hu told him it was something other convoys had traded to him after getting sucked into Star Abyss.
Lin Xian had never fully believed that story. Something about the bullet felt connected to the strange phenomena in Star Abyss. Since Hu had carried it this long without any anomalies, Lin Xian thought it was worth taking along.
A 12.7 mm bullet head—he could easily turn it into a full round using his mechanical ability.
“Maybe... just maybe, it’ll work against Eerie Entities.”
That was Lin Xian’s thought.
Outside the Infinite Train, the Silent City Exploration Team had gathered.
From Dragon Mountain No. 1, it was Ning Jing, Xiao Qing, and A Bai. All three wore fully enclosed power armor. Xiao Qing carried a gun-blade, with grappling hooks mounted on the armor’s wrists. A Bai was there mainly for protection and support.
From the Joker Convoy and Monica Queen, it was only Qian Dele and Monica. Their numbers were smaller—Qian had only Xiaomeng, and Monica’s team didn’t require reinforcement.
On Lin Xian’s end, Chen Sixuan accompanied him, also wearing Black Hawk Armor, along with KIKI and Fire Bro. Grace led the way, while the rest stayed back to guard the train.
Apart from Lin Xian, Chen Sixuan, and Monica—who all wore Ghost Wolf-class power armor—everyone else wore Lone Wolf S Tactical Armor for safety. All other gear was prepped and ready.
At this moment, Shi Diyuan and a large force of combat personnel, along with members of the Infinite Train, were fully armed and on high alert. This mission was different from Grace’s previous one. These were humans marked by the darkness—their presence might very well shatter the fragile balance at the train's defenses.
So Lin Xian’s plan was simple: KIKI would lift the whole team and fly them straight out of the camp.
“Brother Lin, stay safe. We’ll be waiting for your signal.” Shi Diyuan’s face was grim. His ability wasn’t suited for rapid deployment, and he had to stay behind to lead the entire convoy. Lin Xian wouldn’t ask him to join the op—besides, knowing Shi was in charge back here made Lin Xian more at ease.
“Alright. Sync the clocks.”
Lin Xian adjusted the comms frequency inside his power armor. “Remember—we can’t get more than 1 km apart. Short distances will cause temporal dilation, which will mess with visuals. We’ll need to rely on the armor’s radar and tactical systems.”
“It’s 9:15 now.” Chen Sixuan reported.
“Copy that.” Fire Bro clenched his fists, breathing heavier.
Monica and Qian Dele both gave silent nods. Everyone was ready.
Lin Xian took a deep breath and turned to KIKI. “Ready?”
KIKI nodded, her eyes glowing. With a raise of her hand, the 9-person squad—plus Grace—rose into the air, suspended in a psychic shield. She looked ahead at the Dark Forest, her gaze sharp.
“Let’s move out!”
Whoosh! In an instant, the squad burst into the sky within the invisible psychic barrier. They surged toward Looking Sun City, flying above the Dark Forest at lightning speed.
On the ground, an eerie tremor began to echo. From all around the dark, ghostly woods, low whispers of the Eerie Entities echoed ominously.
Back at the United Train Encampment, the light seeping from the train windows dimmed slightly. An overwhelming sense of crisis washed over everyone.
“Silence! No one makes a sound!” Shi Diyuan’s voice came sharply through the comms.
At that moment, the hearts of more than 3,000 people all tightened at once.
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