Lin Xian rubbed his nose as he walked out of Carriage No. 2, looking somewhat dazed.
“…I got bitten. Wonder if I’ll turn into a zombie…”
Passing through Carriages 3 and 4, he glanced at the mostly empty compartments. These two were the ones they had seized from Tang Hai, mainly used for storage, but since they didn’t have many supplies, they were still somewhat vacant.
In fact, aside from Carriage No. 5, Lin Xian had distributed supplies across all the carriages—a precaution against unexpected situations.
Arriving at Carriage No. 5, he found Luo Ye sitting on a chair, rifle in hand, keeping watch. Seeing Lin Xian approach, he immediately stood up.
"Xian-ge, are we setting off?"
Lin Xian shook his head. "No, you rest for now. I’ll take over the watch."
Luo Ye didn’t argue. He knew Lin Xian always had a plan, so he put his gun aside and went straight to sleep.
For Lin Xian, an armored vehicle was highly valuable—it would make ground operations much easier.
The open flatbed trailer was convenient for loading and unloading vehicles, but the lack of protection was a major flaw. If another bandit convoy attacked, they could just climb aboard and steal a vehicle.
However, dedicating an entire carriage to a single vehicle was impractical. Lin Xian thought about it and decided to drive the armored car into Carriage No. 5.
The ramp made it easy to load and unload, though it would be inconvenient when handling other cargo. Unlike his motorcycle, which was far more maneuverable, this would take some planning.
He walked over to the armored vehicle, placed his hand on the surface, and activated Mechanical Heart to run a diagnostic.
"Not bad… still intact. Armor does make a difference."
"Alright, let’s move it to Carriage No. 5 first..."
Glancing at the thick layer of snow covering the flatbed trailer, Lin Xian made a mental note: Once they reached Underground City No. 9, he would deal with this excess weight.
For now, though, he needed the flatbed trailer—just in case they found large machinery that needed towing.
With that in mind, Lin Xian stepped outside, devoured the wrecked off-road vehicle, organized the Carriage No. 5 tool rack, and drove the armored vehicle inside before sealing the ramp shut.
Then, he pulled out the old radio, exhaled, and looked toward the railway tracks in the distance.
There, a headless ghost woman in lingerie stood eerily.
Only Lin Xian, holding the radio, could see her.
"A forbidden item, huh?"
"Since you’re attached to a machine, let’s see exactly what you are."
His expression turned cold as he stared at the headless ghost, his thoughts sharp and calculating.
"If you give me just one Mechanical Source Point, I swear I’ll take you apart piece by piece…"
A faint glow flickered—Lin Xian activated his Mechanical Heart.
Immediately, the red-dressed ghost and the radio trembled violently, resisting his control.
【Devour Progress: 50%】
For small mechanical devices , Lin Xian only needed a few minutes to complete the process.
【Devour Progress: 99%】
Suddenly, a flood of terrifying visions surged into Lin Xian’s mind.
The red-dressed ghost flickered violently, her screams distorting reality.
Just as Lin Xian thought the devouring process was about to succeed, an unexpected notification appeared on his interface.
【Devour Failed—Non-mechanical energy detected. Upgrade Mechanical Heart to Level 3 to attempt again.】
【Warning: Non-mechanical energy detected. Activating Mechanical Heteromorph to seal energy.】
At that moment, Mechanical Heart whirred into overdrive.
The radio in Lin Xian’s hands transformed—its components shifting and folding like a Rubik’s Cube.
Within seconds, it became a disjointed rectangular object, with its silver antenna now coiled at the center.
A piercing wail echoed as the terrifying visions shattered.
An invisible force compressed, sealing itself into the strange mechanical cube in Lin Xian’s hands.
"...What the hell just happened?"
For the first time ever, Lin Xian’s Mechanical Devour failed.
"Non-mechanical energy... automatic activation of Mechanical Heteromorph to seal the energy?"
Lin Xian stared at the now featureless block, the horrific ghost woman and hallucinations completely gone.
He immediately tried scanning it with Mechanical Heart.
It was as if the object had turned into a dead lump of metal.
Lin Xian mulled over the word.
This wasn’t a random occurrence—his Mechanical Heart had acted on its own.
For now, he had no choice but to trust the process.
"Once I upgrade Mechanical Heart to Level 3, I’ll deal with this thing properly."
A strange feeling told him—
This forbidden item’s power might eventually become his to control.
At 3:00 PM, the Infinite Train crew had enjoyed a rare night of uninterrupted rest.
Lin Xian wanted to depart before dawn. The southern route was still over 200 km away, and since daylight was short, he had to risk traveling at night to maximize daylight efficiency.
After sleeping for over ten hours, Chen Sixuan’s complexion finally regained some color.
Since leaving Jiang City, this was the best sleep she’d had.
Inside the train, warm yellow lights cast a cozy glow, contrasting with the raging blizzard outside.
Chen Sixuan, now acting as both navigator and cook, was preparing food.
Meanwhile, Luo Ye and Shasha were fully geared up, checking their guns and ammunition.
KIKI, who had worked through the night, wasn’t working on the water-oxygen system—instead, she had been upgrading the train’s radar system.
With Lin Xian’s guidance, she adjusted the optical sensors to monitor the vertical track conditions ahead—an elegant solution to a major hazard they had been facing.
The electric and gas-powered engines roared to life.
Infinite Train rumbled forward after its night of rest.
Before long, the train reached the Mount Daluo junction. Lin Xian stepped out into the darkness to check the track conditions.
Sure enough, a newly constructed high-grade rail line lay before him—a promising sign.
He adjusted the switch, redirecting the train onto the branch line.
Moving cautiously, Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan kept the train speed low, watching the tracks carefully.
In the distance, Mount Daluo’s silhouette loomed against the night sky as the train pressed southward.
From the cockpit, Chen Sixuan pointed at the tracks.
"Six parallel tracks… this must have been a massive infrastructure project."
A wrecked car lay across the tracks. Infinite Train’s Icebreaker Shield smashed it aside, sending debris flying.
Chen Sixuan flinched, while Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed.
As they continued, the landscape changed—the highway running parallel to the tracks was now jammed with abandoned cars, many buried in snow.
"Why so many vehicles…?"
"Lin Xian… it’s getting worse."
KIKI rushed into the cockpit, face pale.
"The road is completely blocked. There must be at least 10,000 vehicles."
Lin Xian’s gaze sharpened.
"...Looks like they were all trying to escape to the underground city."
The light revealed an apocalyptic nightmare.
The entire highway was buried under bodies.