Chapter 169: [Chapter 169]

"If you choose to board, all the vehicles here will be devoured and recycled by me. In other words, there is no turning back."

Lin Xian's words suddenly interrupted everyone's thoughts.

Whether they were weighing the pros and cons, pondering the pack-hunting effect, affected by the tragic state of the Fireline fleet, or worrying about being abandoned or used as cannon fodder...

At this moment, they all cast their gazes toward the heavy black armored train behind Lin Xian. The thick armored grilles were still stained with dried fragments of flesh, and the sides of the mechanical wheels were covered in dark brown bloodstains.

The dense bullet holes, the cavities torn by the fangs and claws of the giant white monsters and giant centipedes, and the massive dents left by the tentacles of the atmospheric mica—all of them served as proof of the fierce battle that had erupted from the dark night.

"That's right, cowards aren't allowed on the Infinity!"

A childish voice rang out. Shasha held her little face high, breaking the silence of the scene. Seeing the little girl's smug expression, everyone's faces shifted slightly.

Seeing Shasha, Miao Lu immediately stepped out, refusing to be outdone: "We aren't cowards!"

Lv Chang also said with excitement, "That's right, Team Leader Lin, we're with you!"

"Team Leader Lin, we're waiting for your orders. We'll move the supplies from these dozens of vehicles onto the Infinity right now!"

"The person Sister Qin trusts must be right."

"Exactly, exactly."

"Please let us join. We won't be deserters!"

The bleak atmosphere was broken. Lin Xian looked at Shu Qin and said in a clear voice,

"Take a headcount. Prepare to board tonight."

Shu Qin nodded and looked at Lin Xian: "Thank you, Team Leader Lin!"

She looked at Lin Xian, her eyes filled with complex emotions and gratitude. For a team like Lin Xian's, which was packed with ability users, accepting them actually seemed to have more disadvantages than advantages, at least for now.

Although there were a few people in her team with good combat skills, and she herself possessed a certain level of combat power, most of the others had yet to show any powerful combat capabilities. Aside from helping with some logistical work, they couldn't be of much help for the time being.

Hearing Lin Xian's words, everyone felt a surge of spirit! Expressions of excitement appeared on their faces.

"Lin Xian." Chen Sixuan looked at the crowd. Seeing that their enthusiasm had been stirred up, she consciously asked Lin Xian: "What are our plans for the next step?"

Lin Xian nodded. As everyone's eyes turned to him, he began to explain:

"Currently, aside from the survivors hiding in place, there are basically three choices worldwide. First, follow the Star Abyss situation and paths published by the Phoenix Society to escape the Polar Night. In the process, either gradually gather together or be accepted by rescue points dispatched by the Phoenix Society across various locations. Regardless, the final goal is to follow the Dawn Center to escape to more expansive areas and gain living space."

"Second, gather toward large shelters or main cities to form resistance forces, such as Star City."

"Will people still run to Star City? Aren't they afraid of being treated as slaves by the Federation?" Kiki asked immediately upon hearing this.

"They will." Shu Qin spoke up: "In fact, many survivors have no direction. As the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, Star City was the first destination for many people when the Apocalypse descended because Star City has very powerful city defense forces. Moreover, the Phoenix Society's guidance is mostly just a general direction for escape. Many displaced people crave a stable foothold, so even if it means hiding in the sewers, many people will desperately try to squeeze inside."

Lin Xian nodded. Shu Qin was not wrong. After the Apocalypse, information was blocked, and many survivors didn't even have the Dark Radio. Running toward large cities or shelters was merely an instinct to seek collective protection.

Just like the No. 9 Underground City they had visited before—a doomsday shelter project that hadn't been publicly announced on the internet—it had attracted tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of refugee convoys to head toward Mount Dala.

Lin Xian remembered the cars buried for tens of kilometers under the blizzard and still felt shocked.

"Then what about the third?" Kiki asked.

"The third is what Director Ding mentioned before: the Polar Ice Cap." Lin Xian took a deep breath and said: "Since most people believe that is the final safe place, there must be people who set their goal on the poles from the beginning. It's just that the area is currently in the Polar Night period. In four months, whether they are lying dormant or wandering along the way, everyone will desperately run there."

Lu Xingchen nodded: "Makes sense. What about us? Are we running to the poles too?"

Lin Xian shook his head.

Lu Xingchen frowned slightly: "Not to the poles? Are we still following the Phoenix Society's guidance?"

"Didn't I tell you we were going to run along the Circumstellar Orbit?" Kiki glanced at Lu Xingchen: "Of course we're continuing east along the orbit, right, Lin Xian?"

Lin Xian smiled and said nothing.

"Neither?" Kiki grew anxious: "Hey, you don't want to go to Star City, do you?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Lin Xian took a deep breath, looked at the crowd, and said in a deep voice:

"Before we passed through Yubei City, my idea was always to enter the Circumstellar Orbit and escape eastward. But now, my thinking has changed somewhat." Chen Sixuan looked at him: "Are we not taking the Circumstellar Orbit anymore?"

"No."

Lin Xian said in a clear voice: "The change in thinking I'm talking about isn't about changing routes, or transportation, and it's not about the destination..."

Everyone was confused. Lin Xian looked around and said slowly:

"We've been to the No. 9 Underground City, a multi-trillion-dollar underground defense project, but underground, even larger subterranean creatures devoured 360,000 people overnight."

"In the sky, the Iron Guard Brigade's powerful aerial gunships and lightning fighters—even the sky city, Azure Phoenix, couldn't escape the fate of crashing..."

"Entering Yubei City, the more people who escaped, the more monsters there were. This world has turned into a giant hunting ground. Those hunters hide in the dark night, turning us humans into prey."

"I told my team before that I would definitely use my mechanical ability to make the train fly into the high sky. That goal hasn't changed. I also said that if we are destined not to escape the night, we might as well start preparing for the worst from now on."

"This point is the same as the Phoenix Society's goal."

"That is, in the process of chasing the dawn, gain the power to defeat the darkness!"

Lin Xian's words suddenly shocked everyone's hearts.

!

Against the backdrop of the Apocalypse, everyone was fleeing frantically, living every day just to survive and see the new sunlight.

But the Phoenix Society's doomsday broadcast also said that Blue Star would enter a global night in 1 year and 96 days, and this Polar Night would last for over 571 years.

If the whole world is destined not to escape the fate of destruction, such an escape is very negative and torturous for the survivors' spirit and mentality.

Without a safe destination, without a harbor to dock in, waiting for death after barely surviving for 1 year and 96 days is still waiting for death.

Escaping with such despair is equivalent to slow suicide.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why the old Federation government has been insisting on the Underground City project. In a war where one cannot see the dawn of victory, one can only rely on the firm belief and will of a few.

After experiencing the events at Yubei Airport, Lin Xian felt incredibly suppressed and heavy.

"If the sacrifice of the Iron Guard 52nd Brigade can only buy these 20,000 people a chance to survive for 1 year and 96 days, it has almost no meaning. Those young soldiers who died for us must have believed that we who survived could one day defeat the darkness."

Lin Xian said, looking at Shu Qin: "Shu Qin, you certainly didn't expect that you could fight those monsters with your bare hands and become this strong, did you?"

Shu Qin was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then nodded.

"And these people..."

Lin Xian looked at the others: "Whether they are ability users or not, we are constantly evolving every day we survive. There are many people like us resisting all over the world. This is our chance."

"So our goal from now on is not to escape for the sake of escaping, but to find every opportunity to improve and strengthen ourselves in the process, so that one day we can face the night. If we can defeat the night by then, is the Polar Night still the end of the world for us?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes widened. Chen Sixuan, Lu Xingchen, Shasha, and Kiki all felt a sense of sudden realization, and even Gao Ta nodded repeatedly.

"That's right!" Kiki crossed her arms and looked at Lin Xian with surprise: "As long as we can survive in the night, it doesn't seem like a big deal if the whole world is swallowed by darkness."

Chen Sixuan also nodded: "Thinking about it this way, the countdown of 1 year and 96 days doesn't seem so scary anymore."

"Hmm, makes sense."

*Ssh! *

A ball of flames ignited in Lu Xingchen's palm: "My god's flames will illuminate the endless long night!"

Shu Qin looked at Lin Xian with a relaxed gaze, the fatigue in her expression seemingly fading away: "Compared to endless fleeing and survival, this goal sounds much more motivating."

"Then, Team Leader Lin, what is our next step?"

Lin Xian's eyes lifted slightly, looking at this empty platform, the two trains brought from Jiazhou City, and the thirty-plus cars parked on the road.

The sun was bright, and the breeze was gentle.

"In such a good place, of course, we should refit the train!"

(End of chapter)