Chapter 164: Hell Black Chrysanthemum (Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

Lin Xian's gaze swept over Shu Qin's convoy; he recognized most of the people inside—they'd been at the Qu Guan bonfire mutual aid gathering before, but along the way, the number had dwindled.

The survivor convoys were mostly small groups of fleeing individuals who'd banded together; initially, they didn't know each other, but facing repeated life-or-death crises over time naturally drew them closer.

Under this shared threat of survival, sticking together became the only option—but when it came to personal survival, not everyone possessed the sacrifice spirit of the Iron Guard Corps.

Lin Xian pondered slightly; integrating so many people would inevitably increase the team's survival pressure, but it could also unleash greater combat power—it depended on the team's core leader and whether its members could unite as one.

He could see that Shu Qin, as the convoy's leader, protected her members like a matriarch, but the Infinite Number faced relentless dangers on its journey—he couldn't possibly watch over everyone.

"I welcome you all to join, but I must say this upfront: the train is a sealed space, unlike cars that are more flexible. While it offers greater safety, any problem will trigger a chain reaction."

"I know each of your vehicles is a family or a close-knit group of friends, but once you join the Infinite Number, everyone becomes one unit. I don't tolerate small cliques or people who don't consider others. If anyone like that exists, I'll kick them off immediately—or you can decide now, because once you board, we'll abandon many of your vehicles, and there'll be no turning back."

Lin Xian's words earned approving glances from Chen Sixuan and the others.

The train could take on more people—that was Lin Xian's decision—but the Infinite Number had survived this far thanks to the combined efforts of every squad member.

Once numbers grew, a small society would form; the train was a moving city. If the squad lost its former tight cohesion, facing danger would become catastrophic.

Shu Qin nodded, clearly agreeing. She scanned the people behind her: "Lin's asking for your opinions—if you want to join, speak up."

She understood Lin Xian's intent: joining a team meant handing your life over to others' decisions—it concerned your very survival. Team merger wasn't her call alone; the choice rested with each individual.

"I agree! I want to join the Infinite Number with Sister Shu!" A cheerful girl raised her hand first.

Lin Xian looked at her; the girl, flustered, quickly added: "I—I'm Miao Lu. Everyone calls me Lulu. I handle logistics and food in the convoy, and I know some basic medical care."

"I agree too!"

A short young man who'd opened the door earlier shouted: "Lu Chang. I don't have many skills, but I run fast and shoot accurately."

"Me too!"

"I'm He Fang."

"Zou Yunyao."

"Zhou Yixuan!"

"My family, Zhong Jiahao, agrees too!"

"Me as well!"

Others began responding in unison. Lin Xian listened carefully to each introduction, gaining a clearer sense of the group.

Chen Sixuan looked at Lin Xian, her eyes filled with approval.

Since first contacting Lin Xian, she'd seen his cold decisiveness, and through countless life-threatening disasters along the way, she could clearly sense his survival philosophy under the apocalypse was evolving.

At first, he was paranoid about opening or closing doors; now, he was willing to accept a team of thirty people—this alone showed his inner strength had grown immensely.

"Lin Xian," Chen Sixuan said, glancing around the environment, "what's our plan now?"

"Get out of the city first."

Lin Xian said firmly: "I originally planned to upgrade the Infinite Number in Jiazhou, but given the current situation, we must leave as soon as possible—first, get rid of these crows."

He'd seen Jiazhou bathed in bright sunlight and intended to thoroughly upgrade the Infinite Number here. Besides scanning for robots at Yubei No. 1 Airport, he'd also acquired useful component blueprints.

Like the airport's automatic blast doors, the sentry monitoring system for the traction unit, and the lift base for the repair workshop—these would let him convert a carriage into a weapons station, build an 1130 CIWS cannon, and construct an engineering robot to assist with precise welding and maintenance of the ammo chain. But these plans were disrupted by the swarming crows; even massive vessels like the Silver Star and Longshan No. 1 hadn't lingered here. If the crows grew worse at night, the situation would be dire.

So Lin Xian planned to tow away the two trains Shu Qin had found in the repair depot—escape the city first, then deal with the danger.

"Then we'll drive alongside your tracks!" Shu Qin said.

Lin Xian nodded. For now, leaving Jiazhou was the only option. The train had only one carriage available for carrying vehicles, and the other two trains—one passenger, one cargo—meant they couldn't abandon their transports and just board the Infinite Number.

"Everyone, prepare. We depart in thirty minutes."

Lin Xian immediately gave the order.

"Understood," everyone replied in unison.

Tension spread. Lin Xian immediately began unloading the maintenance crane and attaching it to the rear of the Infinite Number, for later consumption and modification of the trains.

After finishing, Lin Xian returned to the train, when Ding Jun called him via communicator to go to Carriage 3.

"What is it?"

"Two issues. I need to sync with you."

!

Ding Junyi was bent over a microscope, not looking up as she said to Lin Xian: "This parasite shows strong photophobia—consistent with night aberration traits—and lacks a visual system."

"If detached from the crow host and exposed to sunlight, its vitality rapidly weakens."

"So you mean these corpse crows are more dangerous at night," Lin Xian said, knowing he'd guessed right.

"Yes. At night, these black worms use crows as carriers to attack survivor convoys, then drop onto vehicles and rapidly chew through them, swallowing people along with the vehicles."

Lin Xian frowned: "Can it chew through anything?"

"Based on the marks left on our windows, its consumption force is strong. Our train's high-strength alloy would resist longer—but if there are too many of these worms, they'll pose a serious threat."

"Didn't expect it to be this troublesome."

"There's good news," Ding Junyi said calmly. "Besides lacking vision and smell—relying only on air vibrations, i. ., sound, to detect prey—I've discovered a second weakness."

"What weakness?"

"Fire."

Ding Junyi turned to face him: "It fears light and fire. I cut a segment for a division experiment and found it contains flammable material—if ignited, it may trigger explosive combustion."

Lin Xian immediately understood: "That's better than using guns."

"What's the second issue?" Lin Xian asked.

Ding Junyi pointed to her right, where a plant growth chamber sat—the Hell Black Chrysanthemum was slowly emitting a deep red glow.

"I've been monitoring the growth of Blood Plague Plant No. 1. In a short time, this flower has undergone two changes."

"The first was after we escaped Underground City 9."

"The second was last night."

(End of Chapter)