Chapter 179: Candlelight (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Votes—Thank You!)

Strange events kept occurring, and Lin Xian was filled with deep unease.

The preparation center on his hand lit up; Lin Xian checked the material conversion progress—almost all materials needed for 1130 were already gathered.

"Get one built quickly, or I won't be able to sleep peacefully."

"Lin Xian."

As soon as he stepped into Car 2, Kiki's voice came through—Chen Sixuan and Shasha were gathered before the information center, watching Kiki's drone footage.

"Come take a look," Chen Sixuan called out to Lin Xian.

He walked over and saw the drone flying toward the town beyond the platform; strangely, under the night sky, faint lights glimmered in many of the town's buildings—as if lit by gas lamps or candles.

Seeing this, Lin Xian frowned.

"Does this small town have this many people living in it?"

"Strange," Kiki floated cross-legged on her stool, continuously zooming in on the drone's feed, but due to the distance, only faint outlines of buildings were visible: "If these are survivors, who would light lamps like this?"

Lin Xian instantly understood Kiki's meaning—the lights looked exactly like those in a town that had lost power before the apocalypse, when residents lit candles.

In short, it didn't resemble a place that had suffered the apocalypse at all…

"This town is weird—not only are there people, but the monsters in the night can't get in. Could there be some special adept here?" Kiki rested her chin on her hand, thinking.

"If such an adept existed, they'd be invincible," Shasha exclaimed, eyes wide, arms spread wide: "One person could protect everyone!"

Chen Sixuan looked at Lin Xian: "Lin Xian, what do you think?"

Lin Xian shook his head; he had no clear thoughts yet: "I'm not sure, but judging by the situation, we're safe for now."

"Girl, how's the recon up ahead?"

"Just a train of chemical tank cars—we can move it out of the way, and the track ahead is clear."

"Good."

"Should we go check out the town?"

"No."

Lin Xian looked out the window at the dark, empty platform and the distant silhouette of the town: "Even if we go, we wait until daylight. First, we move that oil tanker to keep the track open. Then we'll see how things develop tonight. Someone deliberately diverted us onto this branch line—I'm worried there might be trouble. For now, we hold our position and use this place to avoid the night."

Chen Sixuan and Kiki both nodded; Lin Xian's caution was still sharp—under such strange circumstances, rushing out to explore the town would be unwise.

Hss~

The driver's cabin door opened; Lin Xian and Kiki stepped out one after the other, while Dabao and Lu Xingchen also exited to stand guard beside the train.

The Yuzhen train platform was a large chemical freight terminal, with a sealed warehouse on one side; under the moonlight, the dark platform was bathed in a pale glow, utterly silent.

Lin Xian moved nimbly, racing along the tracks to the locomotive of the freight train, activating his Mechanical Heart to scan the entire train.

Soon, scanning completed—Woo~

He activated the freight tank car; Kiki adjusted the switches, then under the Infinite's headlights, he swiftly moved the tank car off the track, clearing the path for the Infinite.

Jiji~

Insects chirped softly around him; he was anxious and hyper-alert, yet no unexpected events occurred—the car-moving operation went smoothly.

Once done, he didn't hesitate—he ordered everyone back on board.

As Lin Xian was about to step onto the Infinite's driver's cabin, he suddenly stopped, turning to look back at the empty, dark platform behind him—a chill crept up his spine for no clear reason.

"What's wrong?" Chen Sixuan whispered.

Lin Xian turned back, said nothing, and boarded the train.

Hss~

The driver's cabin door closed; everyone felt a sense of safety.

But Lin Xian didn't know why—he kept feeling as if something was watching them.

"I'll take watch tonight. Chen Laoshi, Kiki, you two sleep. Shuqin and I will stand guard," Lin Xian called everyone together and began assigning duties. "I'm not sleeping," Kiki said. "I'm wide awake—you're assembling the 1130 CIWS and engineering robots tonight—I can help you calibrate the systems."

Lin Xian looked at her and nodded.

"Alright."

At that moment, Lin Xian noticed Shasha looked uneasy, so he asked: "Shasha, what's wrong?"

"Lin Gege~" Shasha frowned slightly: "I feel this place is terrifying—I'm getting the creeps."

"Me too…"

Chen Sixuan also spoke gravely: "Even though the monsters are gone, this town gives me an uneasy feeling."

"So we stay on the train until dawn," Lin Xian said directly: "I'll seal the train—only I can open any door. Rest now."

Though Lin Xian himself was filled with doubts, as team leader, he didn't want to deliberately spread negative unease. After giving instructions, the others grew slightly calmer—those who needed rest went to rest, those on watch took their posts.

"Lin Xian."

!

After everyone left, Chen Sixuan stood at the doorway of the bedroom in Car 1 and said to Lin Xian: "Be careful."

Lin Xian nodded: "Yeah, I know."

He opened the Hetero Cube and scanned the train again.

【Ding! Non-mechanical force detected—reflective scan in progress.】

【Scan successful. No fear risk detected inside train. Dark influence blocked.】

He then picked up the Soul-Resonance Detector, clicked the button—Kak.

【0】

"Neither inside nor outside the train seems abnormal."

Lin Xian's gaze flickered; for some reason, despite the good results, he still felt uneasy.

"Can it block… adept powers?"

"Or…"

As he pondered, he suddenly looked at the Hetero Cube he had just used—and frowned: "Could it be some forbidden object?"

Lin Xian could only think of these two possibilities—and after considering them, he leaned more toward the latter.

If a survivor possessed such an ability, it would be invincible—far more extraordinary than his Mechanical Heart.

"If it's a forbidden object…"

Lin Xian now had an idea: the Hetero Cube on board was already an incredible artifact, capable of blocking the Dark Corruption—could there be something that repelled the Strange Entities? If so, every survivor faction in the world would fight to the death for it.

"Forget it—I'll wait until tomorrow to see."

Lin Xian connected the train's response system to his communicator, held it in hand, and walked through the cars to the rear.

Many in the living car were already asleep; Shuqin and several skilled members like Lu Chang had turned off the lights and stood guard outside the corridor.

Kiki followed Lin Xian into Car 11, where three vehicles and a motorcycle were parked—intended for off-train mobility. Car 12 was completely empty; Lin Xian planned to build the 1130 CIWS here, turning it into a weapons car.

Entering Car 12, bright lights illuminated the empty space; Kiki held a portable computer and said: "Lin Xian, if you can build a Gatling gun, why not build more? We'd have way more firepower."

"Do you think I don't want to?" Lin Xian sighed helplessly: "You little brat, you think I'm a factory, don't you?"

(End of Chapter)