Lin Xian frowned, immediately holding his breath.
The sound grew closer, somewhat muffled. A shock went through him; this didn't seem like any kind of Zombie.
It was more like the noise of a walking stick or cane tapping on broken stones.
He slowly opened his eyes, unsure if the light in his eyes could be seen, but when he looked around, he found nothing, only the vague black outline of a small cargo truck before him.
He turned around; the "Infinity" sat silently on the tracks, and inside, Chen Sixuan hadn't made a sound because of the nightfall, perhaps she had fallen asleep.
Everything was eerily silent!
Lin Xian felt unease in his heart; he was certain he had heard something, and his keen sixth sense told him he was being 'watched' by some presence.
Thinking this, his heart leaped into his throat, and he began to anxiously activate his Mechanical Devouring Skill.
Now, Lin Xian didn't feel the relaxedness he had when moving furniture at the furniture store that afternoon, remembering 'Uncle Li' from last night, a chill covered his whole body, wishing he could hurry back to the train.
[Devouring Progress 98%]
Almost there! Nearly done!
Although it had taken nearly an hour and a half, it would all be worth it if he succeeded.
[Devouring Successful, Mechanical Source Point +30, Mechanical Devouring Skill proficiency +10, additional rewards: Your strength and speed increased by 5, defensive power increased by 2]
[Congratulations, your speed attribute has increased to LV.1 3/50]
A flash of light before his eyes, Lin Xian looked at the surging Mechanical Source Point, finally heaving a sigh of relief.
With the increase in speed attribute, his eyesight fluctuated between blurriness and sharpness.
Gradually, he noticed his vision was becoming clearer and brighter.
As he finished devouring, the entire small cargo truck suddenly turned to ash, with its miscellaneous contents clinking and clattering to the ground, causing a commotion. At that moment, Lin Xian suddenly heard a low humming sound from above.
The sound was extremely strange, like a damaged ship's horn echoing through a rusty iron pipe.
Neither human nor machine.
Lin Xian's back chilled instantly, and he jerked his head upward. Then, he saw a terrifying sight that almost made his soul fly out of his body.
A gray-white humanoid creature, three meters tall, had appeared beside him at some unknown time. Its slender form, arms almost reaching its knees, and its uncanny head adorned with a wide blood-red maw, round eyes bloodshot, stared straight down at Lin Xian.
How long this creature had been standing by Lin Xian's side, only coming to his attention after the small truck vanished, thinking about this made Lin Xian's scalp tingle with dread!
The deep, cavernous roar came again; the gray-white Monster suddenly raised its long arms, five fingers like spears, viciously clawing towards Lin Xian.
Lin Xian's pupils contracted, he sharply inhaled.
If he was caught by that claw, he could well become skewered meat!
Fortunately, his speed attribute had just increased a level, his agility exceeding Lin Xian's self-perception by far. Before the white talons reached him, he reflexively stepped back!
A harsh metallic clanging sound rang out, the White Giant Monster's claw scraping against the rail, instantly sparking and screeching, causing Lin Xian's heart to race, as he raised his hand and aimed a Wind Cannon at the creature's head!
A dull noise was heard; the Monster's towering head seemed to have been hit by something, teetering and stumbling backward several steps.
Lin Xian was shocked; this thing's skin was so hard, the Wind Cannon couldn't penetrate at all!?
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lin Xian didn't hesitate for a second and sprinted onto the "Infinity" carriage while activating the Mechanical Heart. He raised the tailgate and started the train moving at the same time.
The lights came on, Chen Sixuan, startled by the noise in Carriage 1, shouted at him.
"Lin, what's wrong!?"
"Quick, go to the cockpit and help me watch the road!"
Chen Sixuan saw Lin Xian frantically closing the door and immediately realized the danger, turning around without hesitation and running into the cockpit.
The hydraulic tailgate slowly closed, and for the first time, Lin Xian felt the door was closing too slowly.
Indeed, as the door was halfway closed, a gray-white giant hand suddenly grabbed onto the tailgate, and its ominous black nails immediately left several dents in the steel tailgate!
"What tremendous strength!"
Lin Xian's eyes widened, and only now, in the carriage's light, could he clearly see the monster outside.
On the oddly shaped head, there were only two red, bloody holes for eyes, like an abyss, followed by a half-faced mouth, brimming with dense sharp teeth, sending shivers down one's spine.
This was definitely not a Zombie!
Lin's first reaction was, this thing was definitely not a mutation of an infected corpse; it was not a creature from this world at all!
In a moment of urgency, Lin Xian disregarded his fear, got tough, and with a drawn Short Knife, he leaped and chopped down at the gray-white giant hand.
The response was not the satisfying feeling of cutting flesh, but the hardness of steel, causing his grip to go numb from the force of his full-powered slash.
Looking at the notch on his Short Knife, Lin Xian gasped in shock!
The White Giant Monster seemed to move slowly; with one hand on the tailgate, it was dragged down by the train's enormous power, tumbling over the tracks as the "Infinity" pulled it along, appearing angry. It lifted its other hand and reached for Lin Xian's entire carriage.
Squeak squeak squeak!!
Due to the dragging force, sparks flew between the carriage wheels and the tracks, producing a piercing squeak.
Seeing the creature's actions, Lin Xian's heart pounded wildly; this fellow had immense strength and was impervious to blades and guns. If it overturned and derailed the carriage, then today he would surely perish here.
So, with decisive action, he raised his hand, gathered his full power, and aimed at one of the giant's bloody eyes, firing another Wind Gun shot!
This time, with the light's aid, the Wind Gun hit precisely, and dark red plasma sprayed out from the giant's left eye, staining its ghastly pale face red. The plasma trickled into its mouth, and the giant immediately let out a shrill, agonizing scream!
The sound was so high-pitched and grating that it made one's skin crawl, nearly rupturing eardrums.
Following Lin Xian's attack, the giant's hand also fell from the tailgate, and only then did the door of carriage three finally close slowly, emitting black smoke.
The train gradually accelerated.
Lin Xian immediately got up to look, but without outside lights, the White Giant Monster disappeared into the darkness in a blink of an eye.
At this point, Lin Xian finally heaved a sigh of relief, collapsing to the ground, staring blankly at the three vicious scratch marks on the tailgate.
This was the first time in months that he had encountered something so terrifying!
"If the eternal night is full of these things... damn..."
He muttered, truly experiencing the terror of the night for the first time in that moment.
He must escape from the Dark Tide of Star Abyss, from the monster that controlled corpses last night to today's White Giant Monster, no one knew what kind of horrors lurked in the night. The idea that survivors want to live through the darkness was sheer folly.
The only way out for humanity was to escape the tide, to escape the eternal night!