Chapter 223: Devouring Missiles (Revised)

Lin Xian descended from the upper deck all the way to the engineering room, where the door was now completely destroyed, leaving only a small opening less than a person's height.

He walked straight over, pressed his hand against the control panel, and activated his Mechanical Heart; a surge of electricity triggered the automatic door, which groaned with the whir of motors and stubbornly opened halfway, allowing Lin Xian to slip inside.

Click~

Lin Xian adjusted the beam of his flashlight, illuminating the pitch-black engine room. At its center stood a nuclear-powered turbine processor chamber. He pulled out a Geiger counter, checked it briefly, and sighed in relief—no leakage. Standing above the engine chamber, he looked down at two massive levitation propulsion engines on either side, silent as industrial titans.

"I wonder if it'll even work."

Gazing at the scene, Lin Xian's eyes burned. Scanning a ten-thousand-ton Dragon-class transport ship was beyond his capability, and with the hull damaged, he couldn't obtain a complete blueprint. The only question was whether the flight engines themselves were intact.

Without hesitation, Lin Xian descended from the upper deck along the hanging ladder onto the engine itself, placed one hand on it, and activated his Mechanical Heart.

Hss~

Instantly, he felt a tremendous amount of energy being violently siphoned away. The reach of his Mechanical Heart extended further and further, and he tried to sense the entire structure of the levitation propulsion engine—but as his perception expanded, he realized he'd been overestimating himself.

More and more systems connected to the levitation engine appeared, sub-systems so numerous his scalp prickled, and most of them were severely damaged.

【Scanning Progress: 21%】

Twenty minutes passed, and he hadn't even reached halfway—Lin Xian was drenched in sweat.

"Damn it!"

Lin Xian immediately released his grip and abandoned the scan.

"Greed makes a snake try to swallow an elephant. Guess I overestimated myself…"

"Scanning won't work. Unless I dismantle the entire engine and slowly devour it piece by piece."

Lin Xian sighed. Even if he took the engine to Kehua Heavy Industry's shipyard, with professional engineers and machinery, it would take considerable time. Alone? Impossible.

Then Lin Xian turned his gaze to the nuclear-powered turbine processor chamber. This shipborne nuclear unit wasn't large, but it was several times bigger than the nuclear electric locomotive on the Twin Stars 11R.

"Forget it. Let's try this one."

Just as Lin Xian had prepared himself for a wasted trip, he climbed onto the nuclear turbine processor chamber and began scanning—only to discover it wasn't leaking at all, and was perfectly intact.

Thirty minutes later.

【Successful Scan: "Yexing-2" Nuclear Turbine Processor (Blueprint)】

"Phew~"

Seeing the harvest displayed on his Mechanical Heart, Lin Xian finally exhaled. Though he couldn't use it yet, at least he had gained something.

He checked the time: 3: 6 PM. Less than four hours remained until nightfall. If he were to devour this thing, he estimated it would take four to six hours. If successful, he might gain over 500 Mechanical Source Points and over 200 Devouring Proficiency—enough to break through Level 4 of his 【Mechanical Devouring】.

But even if he finished devouring, it would already be dark. Returning under cover of night would invite complications.

"Let's check the weapon systems first."

Lin Xian didn't insist. He was in Hengshan Pass, where besides the locomotive, there were countless vehicles available for devouring. With time on his side, he could slow his escape and focus on leveling up.

The Dragon-class transport had once been called the "Sky Giant," boasting immense cargo capacity. Its defensive systems wouldn't match those of gunboats or fighters, but it was equipped with shipborne close-in defense cannons and short-range air-to-air missile countermeasures—this was what Lin Xian truly hoped for.

As he reached the central upper deck and arrived at the shipborne weapons station, Lin Xian suddenly spotted a familiar face on the transport's officer roster displayed in a conference hall.

He stopped, stepped closer, and took a closer look—then grinned.

"Deputy Captain Hu Lushou of the Yunxiang…"

"No way. So this guy was a pilot. No wonder he had so much Federation-standard gear—he had the inside track."

Liao Ming's rumors weren't baseless. Hu Lushou must've survived the transport's crash. That explained why he had so much Federation equipment.

Lin Xian didn't care. He lingered a moment, then continued upward, soon reaching the outer door of the weapons station. The door had been severely deformed by the crash. Through the gap, he shone his light inside—and sucked in a sharp breath.

Inside the weapons station were two empty missile launchers—each still loaded with missiles!

"Holy shit. One Storm Eye F12 supersonic air-to-ship missile, two Guardian 86 air-defense missiles…"

As a former military enthusiast, Lin Xian knew Federation weapons well. He was stunned: the missiles he'd only seen in photos and online looked tiny—but up close, they were enormous.

"Right. Storm Eye F12: length 6. 6m, diameter 0. 6m, weight 850kg, warhead 200kg. Guardian 86: length 2. m, diameter 0. 8m, weight 100kg, warhead 30kg…"

"Each one's taller than a person. Can't be small, no matter how you look at it."

Lin Xian's eyes gleamed. He pressed his communicator: "Kiki, I found something good here—missiles from the transport. Might take a while."

Kiki immediately replied: "Missiles? Didn't the survivors take them?"

Lin Xian scoffed: "Impossible. These aren't rocket launchers. Loading missiles requires specialized equipment. How would survivors carry them by hand? Even if they did, without launchers, what good are they? Are they gonna shoulder them and ram them into weird bodies?"

Missile systems aren't infantry gear. They're not something you can jury-rig with numbers. You need the missile body, launchers, search radar, and fire-control system—all of them, and they require regular maintenance.

Lin Xian looked at the weapons station: one Guardian 86 launch rail had snapped and rolled onto the floor. He figured the survivors had been terrified just seeing it—thankfully, it hadn't detonated. No way they'd try hauling missiles back to their convoy.

Most compartments on the transport had been thoroughly looted. Any useful infantry gear, supplies, or tools were gone. The weapons station's missiles had mostly been fired. Luckily, three remained—perfect for Lin Xian's Mechanical Ability.

"That's true…" Kiki giggled, excited: "Perfect! Get these on our train, and next time a monster shows up, we blast it from afar!"

"Forget moving them."

Lin Xian took a breath, standing outside the weapons station door: "We've got two motorcycles. To move these, we'd need the radar system, launchers, and missiles—all together."

Even with Kiki's ability, it wouldn't work. It'd require dismantling compartments, and the image of Kiki carrying a pile of missiles outside with her power? Just thinking about it made him shudder.

Dismantling was out of the question—but scanning blueprints and devouring? That was doable.

Lin Xian told Kiki to keep watch outside, then prepared to study the missiles closely.

"Devouring missiles… sounds intense."

Lin Xian swallowed hard. He was nervous too—he feared one might accidentally detonate. Even if he reacted instantly, he wouldn't escape.

After confirming no living humans remained aboard the transport, Lin Xian summoned a simple hydraulic jack and slowly pried open the deformed door.

With handy tools at his disposal, his ability made exploration incredibly convenient.

Squeak~ Creak-crack-crack.

Metal groaned as the deformed door was forced open. Lin Xian propped it with a brace, stepped inside, and his gaze immediately fell on the white Guardian 86 air-defense missile lying on the ground, its casing slightly deformed.

"Bro, listen—I'll just touch you. Don't blow up."

After a moment's hesitation, Lin Xian walked over, crouched down, and placed his hand on the cold missile.

【Scanning in progress, 15%】【Scanning Progress: 50%】

After roughly twenty minutes, Lin Xian completed the full scan.

【Scan Complete: Acquired Guardian 86 Air-Defense Missile Blueprint】

No error prompt appeared. Lin Xian exhaled slightly—apparently, the missile was incredibly durable.

He felt a surge of excitement. If he could mount the entire missile system and radar on the Infinite, that'd be incredible.

The Storm Eye F12 supersonic air-to-ship missile had a minimum range of 500 kilometers, powered by a scramjet engine—its cruise speed alone reached Mach 6.

The only problem: the Dark Tides blocked long-range signals and radar. Without them, long-range targeting relied on inertial guidance, and at close range, speed couldn't be fully utilized.

"Who cares…"

Lin Xian clicked his tongue, realizing he'd overthought it.

"We're not fighting air defense systems—we're fighting weird bodies. Just smash them in the face!"

!

With ample time, Lin Xian could scan every missile and launcher. He moved decisively toward the massive Storm Eye F12 supersonic air-to-ship missile…

【Scan Complete: Acquired Storm Eye F12 Supersonic Air-to-Ship Missile Blueprint】

【Scan Complete: Acquired Mk-66 Roll-Over Cantilever Missile Launcher】

【Scan Complete: Acquired T1 Fire-Control Radar Blueprint】

【Scan Complete: Acquired T1-2 Detection and Search Radar Blueprint】

【Devour Successful: Mechanical Source Points +100, Devouring Proficiency +40, Speed +5】

【Devour Successful: Mechanical Source Points +120, Devouring Proficiency +50, Strength +6】

"No way!"

Lin Xian stared at the Mechanical Heart's display, stunned.

He'd spent less than an hour on two missiles—and gained a total of 220 Mechanical Source Points. He hadn't expected such high returns—far better than the locomotive!

"Looks like this trip was worth it. Too bad there aren't more missiles… if there were more…"

Lin Xian stared at the remaining slightly deformed Guardian 86 air-defense missile. Without hesitation, he began devouring it.

Just as the devouring progress bar lit up before Lin Xian's eyes, Kiki's voice crackled through his communicator.

"Lin Xian, get out now."

Lin Xian frowned, immediately stopped what he was doing, and sprinted out without delay. He leapt over the upper deck, jumped from the transport's broken edge, and landed on top.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xian scanned the area and saw Kiki flying rapidly toward him from afar, landing on the deck, holding a mobile terminal, eyes wide: "Look—my device triggered a signal! Your communicator on that armored vehicle—it's northeast of us!"

Lin Xian walked over, glanced toward the outskirts of the town—only a dense forest by the lake lay in that direction.

"Strange. The communicator should only work within five or six kilometers under Dark Tides' interference. But there's nothing there…"

"Could it be… under the lake?" Kiki gasped. "That's hiding it too deep."

Lin Xian looked at Kiki's mobile terminal and said firmly: "Let's go. See what kind of monster this Foundation really is."

Kiki frowned, glancing back at the transport: "Did you finish everything?"

"Pretty much," Lin Xian said, brushing his hands. "I got everything useful."

"Whoa! You got the missiles? That's amazing?!" Kiki gazed at him in awe: "Then make one for me to play with~"

Lin Xian sweatdropped: "Why not play with something else? Missiles?"

"Pfft~"

Kiki rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's go check out that research institute. Maybe there's something fun inside."

Lin Xian checked the time and set off decisively. The two of them climbed down from the transport, mounted their motorcycles, and sped through the zombie horde toward the town's edge.

Vrrrm~

The two of them left Qingshui Town, driving along the road heading northeast for a while; the signal on Kiki's terminal grew steadily stronger, confirming Lin Xian was on the right track.

"Strange, there's just a forest ahead—where's the research institute?"

"Be careful." Lin Xian himself was puzzled. His first thought was that someone had found his communicator and tossed it by the roadside; but if he dug deeper, the only possibility left was that the research institute was hidden within that forest.

They slowed down and drove into the forest.

It was an ancient, primitive woodland—dense trees, branches blotting out the sky; as soon as they entered, visibility dropped sharply.

As the motorcycle plunged into the forest, countless branches slammed against the front guard, clanging loudly. The ground rose and fell unevenly. Lin Xian raised his hand and conjured a protective iron frame to deflect the branches, while Kiki simply activated her ability—unaffected entirely.

Soon, the terrain leveled out.

Squeak~

Lin Xian rode his motorcycle out of the forest first, but suddenly, his bike skidded sideways and stopped.

Because Lin Xian realized—the sky had gone dark!

Hum, Kiki followed right behind and, seeing this, gasped in shock.

"Whoa, what's going on? Why is it dark inside here?"

Lin Xian said nothing, turned back to look at the forest they'd just passed through—and saw it was pitch black as well.

"Lin Xian, look over there."

At that moment, Kiki pointed ahead.

Lin Xian followed her gaze—and saw, beneath the night sky, the silhouette of a small town ahead.

And to Lin Xian, that town seemed strangely familiar.

"This… this is Qingshui Town?" Lin Xian stared in disbelief.

Guys, double moon tickets until the 7th! Please support with early-month moon tickets—I'm deeply grateful!

(End of Chapter)