Chapter 220: Foundation Organization (Revised)

"How about it, Brother Lin? With all these guns, I'll let my convoy handle the initial sales first, then I'll come straight to you for more—deal?"

Lin Xian looked at him with a meaningful gaze: "Do you know how much I have?"

"Uh..." Hu Lushou's tone faltered, his expression shifting as he glanced at Lin Xian: "More is always better, more is always better! With your powerful convoy, you must be able to get any kind of supplies!"

Lin Xian's eyes swept over Hu Lushou and the woman behind him, then said calmly: "So if I have goods, where do I find you?"

Hu Lushou's face brightened instantly: "Our camp is at Hengshan Pass Gymnasium—why don't you come by now? I'll treat everyone to hot pot!"

"Really?"

Lin Xian smiled slightly, staring at Hu Lushou—his gaze made Hu Lushou feel uneasy.

"No thanks, you can go," Lin Xian said abruptly, his expression turning cold. He clearly saw this guy was desperate to escape, but he wasn't here to act like a bandit—no need to alienate a mobile supply convoy; they might be useful later.

"Ah, got it! Brother Lin, you're a real gentleman! Then we'll be off!" Hu Lushou grinned and waved his men over; the group quickly climbed into their vehicles and drove away in haste.

Vrrrm~

Watching Hu Lushou's convoy disappear, Kiki landed beside Lin Xian: "Just let him walk away like that?"

"What else can we do?" Lin Xian chuckled. "He didn't force us into anything, and we got a full truckload of supplies in return—what more do you want?"

Chen Sixuan looked at him: "Do you really think he wants to cooperate with us?"

Lin Xian snorted: "'Agent procurement'? That just means he'll sell our goods for us—price? We don't care. His real goal is to keep us from broadcasting prices over the radio, stabilizing prices in this region so he can sell his many Starfire-26 automatic tactical rifles at a premium and recoup costs. But whether we agree or not, his first priority is just to get out of here safely."

Kiki's brow relaxed as she murmured: "Oh, so he's actually pretty shrewd."

Lin Xian took a deep breath: "But he's right about one thing—the monsters in the night are getting stronger. Humans evolve, monsters evolve too—maybe even zombies will become more dangerous. Ordinary weapons will keep losing value."

Chen Sixuan nodded: "These survivor convoys have realized that too—they all want heavy weapons now."

Lin Xian turned to the surviving onlookers: "We still have more guns—anyone else want to trade?"

"Trade!!" Cao Hong shouted first, his eyes wide with excitement. For some reason, seeing Hu Lushou get humiliated made him secretly pleased—he'd thought his chance at a bargain was ruined, but now he realized this was the real powerhouse!

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The sudden shift in dynamics energized the survivors—this "Infinite" convoy was clearly a hidden giant, carrying enough firepower to arm a full regiment. Other convoy members stood stunned, then rushed over to resume trading.

At this moment, the middle-aged man named Liao Ming walked up to Lin Xian after watching Hu Lushou's convoy leave.

"Brother, don't believe that guy's lies—he's slick as oil, and his goods aren't even resold."

"Oh?" Lin Xian frowned. "What do you mean?"

Liao Ming pointed to a crate of military rations his subordinate had brought out: "How could someone get this much standard-issue supply from survivors? When we bought from him before, his men bragged that their Fulushou convoy had ties with official organizations—but that's nonsense."

His expression turned serious as he told Lin Xian and the others: "You know Qingshui Town? By Shijiu Lake. There's an old 095 Dragon-class transport ship that the federal government crash-landed there years ago. Rumor has it that the gold-toothed kid got lucky—he scavenged tons of survival supplies from that ship, started trading, and built up his whole convoy."

"Whoa, a Dragon-class transport ship—tens of thousands of tons! What insane luck!" Kiki gritted her teeth in frustration: "Total piece of crap luck!"

But Lin Xian's focus was different—he immediately asked Liao Ming: "Is that transport ship still there?"

"Why?" Liao Ming blinked, then laughed. "That thing's been completely stripped by countless scavengers. Now Qingshui Town is crawling with zombies—you're not seriously thinking of going there to scavenge, are you?"

"Just curious," Lin Xian replied with a faint, unreadable smile—his mind was already making plans.

What he wanted was that ten-thousand-ton transport ship. Even wrecked, its systems could be scanned and analyzed—this was the real "supply" he needed!

Nuclear turbine processors, levitation propulsion engines, engine arrays, shipboard radar, shipboard anti-air weapons...

Even just the raw materials from the aircraft carrier were far superior to ordinary train cars. Back when they left Underground City #9, if not for the encroaching night, he would've salvaged materials from the crashed Iron Guard artillery gunships and fighters—he still regretted it.

……

Outside Hengshan Pass Station, several armed vehicles sped wildly down streets overgrown with vegetation, smashing through zombies left and right.

In one vehicle, Hu Lushou sat in the passenger seat, teeth clenched; the driver was his deputy, Sun Chang.

"Damn it, we got ripped off! First comes Silver Star, then Longshan No. —now this 'Infinite'? Damn it, these train guys really pack heat!"

Sun Chang, a burly woman, drove steadily without looking back: "Their prices were great—where's the loss?"

"You don't get it!" Hu Lushou's eyes flickered, his nose flaring as he glanced at her, then softened slightly.

"Just watch—unless we sell these standard rifles fast, they'll be useless firewood in no time!"

Sun Chang frowned slightly but said nothing.

Vrrrm—the convoy sped off, drawing a trail of chasing zombies.

The Hengshan Pass area is home to numerous survivor groups, some of whom have long been building shelters within the city, others passing through with the goal of heading east toward Star City, and still others preparing to take the northern route to Dawn Center; various-sized convoys and encampments are scattered throughout the city—in supermarkets, warehouses, police stations, prisons, and other locations with stronger defenses.

Infinite's first radio-based trade was a success—various daily supplies were gradually loaded onto the convoy, stacked in cargo cars #7 and #6. Survivors had exchanged low-value goods for weapons and were in high spirits.

Soon after, the trading convoys began leaving one by one, and the Hengshan Pass platform gradually grew quiet.

Only after all the graffiti-covered convoys had departed did Lin Xian notice a black armored vehicle parked in a corner. A short-haired woman in a black coat stood before it, seemingly unnoticed by everyone—she simply stood there, gazing calmly at Lin Xian.

When Lin Xian looked her way, she smiled faintly—as if greeting an old acquaintance.

Lin Xian frowned, puzzled—he didn't recognize her.

At this moment, Chen Sixuan and the others were busy unloading and inventorying supplies on the vehicle. Suspicious, Lin Xian walked over. As he approached, the woman's lips curled into a subtle smile.

The woman appeared to be in her thirties, with neat, shoulder-length hair. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, but her face was strikingly memorable—especially her deep brown eyes, which radiated profound depth.

"Hello, we meet again," she said calmly, initiating the greeting.

Lin Xian was surprised. "Have we met before?"

"Hua Xiaoling."

She extended her hand. "Climbing Elevator—I owe you thanks for your 'Traction Plan.'"

Lin Xian realized—he shook her hand. "You're also from Yubei City?"

Hua Xiaoling smiled faintly. "In that chaos, you were busy saving the world—you probably didn't notice me. But that plan? Truly brilliant."

"Flattery."

Lin Xian glanced at the armored vehicle behind her—it was a standard combat-grade vehicle, unmistakably not a survivor's rig. The blacked-out windows hid its occupants; this was clearly an official vehicle, and she wasn't here to buy guns.

"Did you hear the radio and come here specifically for me?" Lin Xian asked.

！

Hua Xiaoling pulled out a business card and handed it to him: "Our foundation is deeply interested in your mechanical ability. We've been commissioned to extend you a collaboration offer—would you be interested?"

Hearing "Foundation," Lin Xian took the card with curiosity—it read:

"SIID Foundation Laboratory, Senior Director, Hua Xiaoling"

"SIID Foundation Laboratory?" Lin Xian frowned. "Are you affiliated with the Federation?"

He remembered that after escaping the eerie radio, Kiki had shown him files on Project Angel—there was a Special Items Investigation Division called SIID, dedicated to studying forbidden artifacts.

Hua Xiaoling smiled faintly. "Technically, the SIID Foundation Laboratory was established by the Lofei Consortium. Before the Federation collapsed, we collaborated with the government—but now, we operate independently."

"Independent? What does that mean?"

"It means we remain neutral toward both the Phoenix Society and Dawn City," Hua Xiaoling said, smiling as she met his gaze. "Most people find the current Federation and Phoenix Society structures confusing—it stems from differing ideologies on civilization's survival. The widely recognized official body is still the Phoenix Society's Salvation Faction, with three core organizations: the Three Dawn Metropolises, the Nightwalkers (responsible for researching and deploying psychics globally), and the Interstellar Army."

"Meanwhile, the Survival Faction, centered on Project Dawn, still has many survivors who regard the old Federation as legitimate."

"After the First Eternal Night, Project Angel disbanded and splintered. The 'Special Items Investigation Division' you mentioned? That's one of the research teams funded by our Foundation, focused on studying anomalous night-related artifacts."

"Our Foundation's philosophy? To study the current civilization and the Dark Infiltration scientifically—to find the catalyst for human civilization's evolution."

Lin Xian frowned. "So you're the Descent Faction?"

Hua Xiaoling chuckled. "Lin, don't worry—I said we're neutral. The 'Descent Faction' you mean are those fanatics who worship the Dark as a god of apocalypse."

She tilted her head slightly. "To scientists like us, they're just mentally unstable."

"They definitely are," Lin Xian sighed. "So why are you here?"

"Mechanical Genesis."

Hua Xiaoling cut straight to the point: "If we're looking for the catalyst of civilization's evolution, as scientists, we believe AI and high-tech are our best hope—this is the last remaining will of our civilization. Genetic evolution and psychic abilities? Still too alien to us. Don't you agree?"

Lin Xian understood—she wanted his mechanical ability.

It was the only known psychic ability that directly interfaced with human technology.

Too bad my ability isn't actually psychic...

Lin Xian sighed inwardly.

"You make sense—but you might be overestimating my ability."

It was indeed extraordinary—his R&D Core could generate blueprint-level tech leaps. But he had no intention of revealing it. Even just his mechanical creation and absorption abilities seemed miraculous to ordinary people; in Yubei, many already knew. Back then, during survival's brink, he couldn't hide it—but now, it would draw attention.

Like the Phoenix Society.

But he hadn't expected the first to approach him wouldn't be the Phoenix Society—it would be this SIID Foundation Laboratory.

Hua Xiaoling merely smiled, not pressing further, and said calmly:

"No problem. We have a 24/7 lab at Shijiu Lake—with breakthroughs in night phenomena, genetic evolution, and psychic research. You're always welcome to visit. I think you'll find our work on your mechanical ability quite interesting."

"Alright," Lin Xian replied.

Hua Xiaoling smiled faintly, then turned and boarded the armored vehicle, which sped off and vanished at the station's end.

"Foundation... Lofei Consortium... Project Angel... the crashed transport ship..."

Lin Xian stared at where the armored vehicle had disappeared, deep in thought.

"Where did this 'neutral' organization come from?"

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(End of Chapter)