The midnight mob coupled with an encounter with the Big Strange Body left everyone breaking out in a cold sweat.
The panel of Car No. 5 was lowered, and twin flashlight beams flickered on; Lin Xian and the Building watched the scene outside, their faces involuntarily turning pale.
Other than "horrific," Lin Xian couldn’t think of another adjective.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The blizzard furiously rushed into the car. Lin Xian closed the gate connecting Car No. 5 and Car No. 4. His light passed over, and of the two vehicles on the flat railcar behind them, you could still make out the shape of the armored vehicle, while the other off-road vehicle had turned into a lump of scrap metal.
The Atmospheric Jellyfish’s tentacle had swept across the railroad track, and the large fleet that plundered at midnight had been completely wiped out.
No need to mention people; not even bones were seen. On both sides of the road and the slopes were splatters of blood and various car wreckage, and the ground had been turned into black ravines almost a meter deep, quickly covered by a layer of white from the blizzard.
Lin Xian tightened his collar, jumped off the vehicle, and, looking at the train’s outer armor, exclaimed gravely,
"It’s good we reinforced the roof; otherwise, we’d surely be done for this time."
Most of the train’s armor was now bent out of shape. Traces of dragging marred the sturdy High Manganese Steel armoring, and nearly all the ballast stones under the train track were shattered.
Lin Xian was filled with relief at this moment. If it weren’t for spending two nights at Yuchi enhancing the armor of the entire train, probably no one would have survived tonight.
"Brother Xian, can we fix this?"
It was the first time Lin Xian saw a look of panic on the face of this big guy. Indeed, Lin Xian was shocked.
But strangely, he found that after entering the fear illusion on frequency 1542, his threshold for fear seemed to have increased quite a bit, and now he wasn’t as scared.
"No big problem," Lin Xian breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the entire train, "It’ll just take some time, which is still better than losing our lives."
Under the apocalypse, everything is scarce, but as long as lives are not lost, there’s no issue.
"Let’s go; we need to get the tracks fixed first. If we encounter any other trouble, we’ll just end up trapped here."
At that moment, KIKI stepped out of Car No. 5 and leaped down nimbly.
"Lin Xian, I’ll help, too."
Lin Xian looked at her, "Didn’t I tell you to scout around with the drone?"
"I’ve checked it already. Guess what." KIKI pointed at the dark sky, "After that thing passed by, nothing else around here can move except us..."
KIKI nodded, "This thing is definitely not on the same level as the Abnormal Bodies we’ve encountered before. Just now, Sha Sha even told me that during the day, she saw an Iron Guard Brigade. I guess they came to deal with this thing."
"The military? Then we need to hurry."
Lin Xian spoke with a somber tone, "If this thing gets past Daluo Mountain and into Yu Bei City, we might not be able to get onto the aerial corridor."
"That’s why I’m here to help." KIKI put on a thick down jacket she had found in Yuchi City, given to her by Sha Sha. The ceaseless blizzard howled, reddening her little face from the cold.
She walked toward the front of the train. Lin Xian watched her figure and suddenly called out to her,
"Zhao Enqi is actually a pretty nice name."
"What’s nice about it? Just call me KIKI, bumpkin." KIKI spat at him, striding forward without looking back.
Lin Xian smiled and said no more.
From KIKI’s reaction, she was aware of what had happened while she was unconscious.
Laying down tracks was simple yet complicated.
Lin Xian’s Decomposition space had plenty of rail steel; the trouble was, the roadbed along the entire railway section was damaged, needing more soil fill and ballast laying.
However, Lin Xian chose a simpler method by directly using steel framing for makeshift paving. Thankfully, the damaged area wasn’t too large, so it was feasible to get the train across without much trouble.
Steel frames and rail steels quickly took shape under the craftsmanship of Lin Xian’s Mechanical Heart, setting up beams and welding columns; everything was conducted in an orderly fashion.
KIKI watched Lin Xian fixing the tracks and glanced at him,
"How did it feel when the train took flight that day?"
"Thrilling." Lin Xian smiled helplessly, "I didn’t expect us to be that crazy."
"If we weren’t crazy, we’d be dead!"
KIKI wrinkled her cute little nose, with an expression seeking credit, "You talked about taking to the skies, look, I helped you achieve the first step, didn’t I?"
"Indeed, credit goes to you for that."
Lin Xian looked at the trench on the tracks ahead and sighed, "Nighttime is riddled with crises. We haven’t even reached the Star Orbital yet and have already encountered two track breaks. Looks like we won’t be seeing the last of such issues; we have to resolve this first."
KIKI raised her hand to activate her superpower, placing a section of the rail steel crafted by Lin Xian onto the steel frame, then said,
"If we go by your idea, the first phase is to let the train operate off the tracks. Then, the most direct solution would be to make the drive wheels track-like. However, there are many drawbacks; speed, energy consumption, noise, and failure rate are all issues..."
Lin Xian didn’t argue, but instead said, "It’s impossible to solve everything at once. The main line of the Star Orbital should be clear for now; otherwise, the Federation Phoenix Association wouldn’t be able to mobilize the Interstellar Army Iron Guard Brigade in such large numbers. In fact, it’s only been a few months since Apocalypse Day, and both the Federation Phoenix Association and the remaining survivors have already started adapting, investigating, and researching throughout the ongoing flight..."
"Although we are currently in hiding, what’s certain is that we are gathering more and more information. The truth about the strange beings will gradually come to light, and our exploration of the superpower’s Spirit Swinging Value is continuously growing. Only because we currently lack the power to resist, do we have to flee to the east to gather resources for survival and breathing space. So whether it is track-laying, magnetic levitation, or becoming wheel-based, as long as it temporarily solves the problem of track breaks, we will have achieved our goal..."
"I get what you mean." KIKI took a deep breath, "After all, having one more option is better than having none, and living one more day is always better than waiting to die where you are."
"Right." Lin Xian nodded, "First, we address the issue of availability."
"So, we absolutely must go to Underground City Number 9," KIKI walked over and seriously patted Lin Xian on the shoulder, "we all depend on your mechanical superpower, Train Captain. Join the glorious evolution of machinery, ha!"
"What now, I’ve been promoted from a bad guy to train captain?" Lin Xian looked at her with interest.
"That’s right, you’re now officially my very own train captain, KIKI."
KIKI winked at him, "Do well, my life is in your hands."
Back on the train, the heating in Lin Xian’s compartment had already been turned on; it was incredibly warm inside.
Although several armors were deformed, the Infinity was not significantly damaged overall, and the interior compartments were intact with no drafts.
The howling blizzard furiously struck the heavy train parked in the darkness. Through the gaps in the blackout boards, the car was filled with yellow light and warmth, providing a great sense of safety.
Chen Sixuan, like a family elder, cooked a big pot of ’Doomsday Hotpot’ with canned beans, canned beef brisket, braised pork in brown sauce, canned vegetables, along with bagged bamboo shoots, and glass noodles. From the dining car wafted the savory smell of meat, and the table steamed with heat. Chen Sixuan even gave KIKI her favorite canned fruits and the red wine confiscated from Tang Hai.
"To Brother Lin’s safe return and KIKI’s recovery, cheers!"
At the dining table, Sha Sha raised her glass excitedly.
"To having survived another day, cheers!" Lin Xian raised his glass as well.
"To the evolution of my superpower, cheers!" KIKI giggled.
"Huh?" Everyone turned their gaze to her.
KIKI clicked her tongue and looked around the table, "What are you staring at? Just cheers!"