Chapter 230: Marked (Revised)

"Afterwards, using the restroom and taking showers in the carriage should be done during the day." Chen Sixuan said: "We'll all need to get used to not having the concept of night and day anymore; night is far more dangerous. Based on past experience, resting during the day is far safer."

"But we need to travel during the day and search for supplies." Miao Lu nodded: "You're right—we should just rotate shifts, but avoid doing anything at night so we can react quickly in emergencies."

"Mm."

Thud thud thud

At that moment, a female team member rushed over from the front carriage, her face tense—she was one of Chen Sixuan's specially assigned lookouts.

"Sister Chen, come quick! There's a container on the platform—just appeared out of nowhere!"

"Container?" Chen Sixuan and Miao Lu both froze.

They immediately dropped what they were doing and headed to the front carriage; as they walked, they saw a black container far out on the platform.

"The sentinel system should've triggered." Chen Sixuan frowned.

"It must be too far away to register, but how could something that big appear without making any noise?"

The group stared intently at the container—it wasn't ordinary. It resembled a laboratory module, equipped with an electric door, bearing the Phoenix Society's phoenix emblem.

"Phoenix Society?"

Chen Sixuan recognized the emblem instantly—after all, they'd all seen the organization's insignia on Bai Shuangwei's person during the elevator ascent.

"Didn't the sentinel system detect who placed it there?"

Miao Lu held up her mobile terminal: "The front vehicle's targeting and radar systems didn't react at all. It's strange—I thought it was just a blind spot in the sentinel's observation angle."

Chen Sixuan stared at the black container. A woman's intuition told her something was deeply wrong.

Meanwhile, other survivor convoys in the station had also noticed the sudden appearance of the box; eyes turned toward it in small groups. Even the Green Night Phantom train had many watching.

Chen Sixuan picked up her communicator—but all three channels were dead. The time for the patrol teams to return was nearly here; she needed to warn Lin Xian immediately.

"Should we go check it out?" Miao Lu asked.

"No. Activate the defense system. Have everyone grab their weapons and go on alert."

Chen Sixuan spoke decisively. Always be cautious. Never open the door to anyone who isn't one of yours—that was the first lesson Lin Xian had taught her when she boarded.

Clank.

At that moment, the black container suddenly emitted a metallic sound—then its four walls dropped straight down. Chen Sixuan and the others tensed—inside the container stood a woman.

The woman was disheveled, her hands and feet bound in specialized mechanical shackles, a fixed device clamped over her mouth silencing her. She wore only a thin red evening gown, bare-legged and barefoot, her hair matted, her body filthy. Yet even in that state, one glance was enough for everyone to recognize her.

"Ah… isn't that—?" Miao Lu gasped upon seeing the woman's face.

"Eileen Clark? Isn't she that Hollywood star?"

Because this woman had once been famous—her devilish figure, her beautiful face streaked with tears—now she stared in terror at the train, struggling desperately.

This sight immediately stirred panic among other survivor convoys. On the Night Phantom, their leader Cao Hong, surrounded by his female subordinates, peered through the window.

"No way—Eileen Clark! How the hell did she end up here?"

"Could this be a trap?"

"Let's watch first." Cao Hong wasn't stupid. Besides, the container was on the Infinite's side—everyone's attention was now fixed here.

"Sister Chen, this is definitely a trap!"

On the Infinite, Miao Lu's first instinct was that something was off.

Chen Sixuan raised a hand to calm everyone, her gaze fixed on the shackled woman. "Whoever she is, we wait until the other squads return."

Chen Sixuan knew well: their Liushou personnel had low combat strength and no special abilities. Only Miao Lu had decent skills—they were essentially defenseless. Lin Xian had assigned them to guard the train precisely because the Infinite itself was their strongest defense and offense. As long as they didn't act foolishly, they could handle any danger.

"Alright. Let's watch first—see what's really going on with her."

At that moment, the facial restraint and leg shackles on Eileen Clark suddenly unlocked—with a thud, they fell to the ground.

Eileen Clark, as if granted mercy, opened her mouth, fixed her gaze on the nearby train, and cried out in panic: "Help me! Please, save me!!"

"She can speak—looks like she's not a fake." Having survived the Rain Town incident, Chen Sixuan had learned to be cautious.

She picked up the train's external speaker, looked at the woman, and spoke softly.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I—I'm Eileen Clark. You must have heard of me." Eileen opened her mouth, her eyes darting nervously. "If you help me contact the Phoenix Society or the Federation, my family will reward you generously."

"Why are you here? Who tied you up?" Chen Sixuan asked again.

"I don't know." Eileen shook her head, glancing at the container. "When I woke up, I was already locked inside."

"Then I'm sorry—I can't help you." Chen Sixuan replied coldly.

Her sudden, inexplicable appearance—she didn't even know how she got here—was far too suspicious. Chen Sixuan couldn't help but doubt.

Hearing this, Eileen Clark panicked. She tried to scramble up, but after being bound so long, she couldn't stand—so she crawled on hands and knees toward the train, pleading: "Please, I don't know who locked me up! I'm not bad!"

"She's coming closer." Miao Lu watched, her expression turning alert.

At that moment, in Car 3, Ding Junyi, who was conducting routine research, suddenly noticed the Darkland Chrysanthemum beside her slowly emitting a crimson glow.

She instantly reacted, leaping from her workstation and heading straight for the front of the train. Seeing Chen Sixuan and the others in the cockpit, she demanded:

"Did they come back?"

"No. What's wrong?" Chen Sixuan replied immediately upon seeing Ding Junyi.

"The Dark Mark is increasing—someone marked by it is approaching us!" Ding Junyi shouted.

"What?!"

At once, Chen Sixuan and Miao Lu turned sharply toward the outside. Ding Junyi also noticed the crawling woman.

"Don't let that woman get any closer—she's marked by the Dark Mark!"

Ding Junyi realized it instantly.

Chen Sixuan immediately ordered: "Quick—close the windows!"

Whoosh!

In an instant, the Infinite's atmosphere tightened—everyone went on full alert.

Vrrrrm~

At that moment, the sound of a motorcycle approached. Chen Sixuan turned her gaze—and there, entering the station entrance, was Lin Xian and Kiki. Her face changed instantly; she pressed the communicator and shouted urgently:

"Lin Xian, be careful! There's a woman outside our train—she's marked by the Dark Mark."

Lin Xian, just entering the station, slammed on the brakes. He and Kiki turned their eyes in unison—and there, crawling toward the Infinite, was a woman.

"Drive back. Reverse. Don't let her touch the train."

Lin Xian was stunned. He hadn't expected the second time he sensed the Dark Mark's nature would manifest like this.

Why was a woman marked by the Dark Mark here?

Hearing Lin Xian's order, Chen Sixuan immediately activated the Infinite, moving forward along the platform to avoid the woman.

Lin Xian, meanwhile, drove his motorcycle beneath the tracks, circling toward the Infinite.

Seeing the train move, Eileen Clark panicked. Confused, she turned her head toward the other survivor convoys on the platform.

In desperation, she struggled to her feet, staggered toward the green train, and cried out: "Save me! Please, save me…"

On the other side, the Infinite had moved a distance away, now far from the woman. It stopped. Lin Xian drove his motorcycle onto the train and entered the cockpit, then used the loudspeaker to shout toward the platform:

"Everyone, keep your distance from that woman! She's marked by a strange entity—if night falls, it'll bring serious trouble!"

At once, the other survivor convoys on the platform turned pale.

"Marked? What's that?"

"Is this real…?"

"Better safe than sorry. Maybe we should leave."

"She's just one person—how could she attract strange entities?"

"Could this be a lie?"

On the Night Phantom, Cao Hong's crew erupted.

!

"No way—that's Eileen Clark! She doesn't look like a threat!"

"Boss, isn't the Infinite trying to pull something?"

"Exactly—look, they're not even leaving."

Cao Hong, watching the woman through the window, frowned: "Wait—wasn't there a Phoenix Society emblem on that container? Why would they do this?"

"I think it's fake," said a clever subordinate. "They probably want us to leave so they can keep the platform for themselves."

Cao Hong's eyes lit up: "That's it—the herd effect!"

He glared at the distant black train. "Damn, they're clever."

"Then what's with this woman?"

"Who knows? But she looks harmless—no weapons, just a frail woman."

"Save me~"

Eileen Clark, stumbling, reached the Night Phantom's side, lost her footing, and collapsed. She looked up at Cao Hong, her face filled with despair: "Please, save me. My family will give you plenty of supplies."

The female members of the Night Phantom watched, their faces softening; they began whispering among themselves.

"Maybe we should save her."

"Look how pitiful she is."

"The Infinite crew are heartless. They won't help—and now they're telling others not to either."

"No wonder they have so few people on that huge train. They're cold-blooded!"

On the Infinite, Lin Xian saw that many convoys remained unmoved. He frowned and shouted louder:

"Don't touch that woman! She'll attract massive strange entities! Do you hear me?!"

No one answered. Strange glances turned toward the Infinite from all over the platform—especially from the Night Phantom's female crew, who erupted into angry shouts.

"Hypocrite! How can you call yourself a man if you won't even save a woman?!"

"You've got so many weapons—what are you afraid of with a weird body?"

"Exactly! Can't you see how pitiful she is? You're heartless!"

"She's Erin Clark!"

"You're trying to trick us all into leaving this station so your convoy can hide safely here—how calculating of you."

"Oh, these hags!" Kiki heard this and immediately flew into a rage, rolling up her sleeves and rising onto her toes to fly out and confront them—but Lin Xian grabbed her foot and yanked her back.

"Ow!"

"Stop fooling around," Lin Xian said, his expression darkening.

"Lin Xian, what do you think?" Chen Sixuan asked, her face tense with worry.

Lin Xian turned to Ding Junyi: "Director Ding, why would a single person carry such a powerful 【Dark Mark】?"

Ding Junyi adjusted her glasses: "We don't know yet, and we don't know how this mark might be transferred. But I strongly advise against any contact with that woman—let alone letting her board. The intensity of her mark is stronger than what we encountered in Rain Town. I fear a large-scale catastrophe will occur here tonight."

"That's terrifying."

"Captain Lin, could someone be using the 【Dark Mark】 to poison us?" Miao Lu instantly realized, her first thought turning to poisoning.

"Poisoning..."

Lin Xian's brow furrowed at this. Miao Lu's words sent a chill down his spine.

He had never considered that the 【Dark Mark】 could be used this way. If true, then whoever was behind it had already mastered the theory of the 【Dark Mark】—and even learned to weaponize it for poisoning.

Not only did they understand it, but they were using its properties to turn people into bait for marked poisoning. It sounded utterly insane. What kind of organization could do such a thing?

"Chen Laoshi," Lin Xian said, turning to Chen Sixuan: "Can you eliminate that woman with a long-range shot?"

Ding Junyi reacted: "You mean to remove the 【Dark Mark】 by killing her?"

Lin Xian countered: "Why not?"

Ding Junyi shook her head: "I can't be certain. Normally, when prey dies, the hunter stops. But if this mark is merely an odor or an energy signature, as long as the corpse remains, it might not be avoidable."

Lin Xian frowned. If that were true, they couldn't shake it off.

He checked the time. Nightfall was imminent.

"Could it really be the Phoenix Society?" Chen Sixuan's face darkened.

They had assumed they were the first to discover this trait, planning to report it to the Phoenix Society. But now, such a drastic twist had appeared.

Lin Xian shook his head: "It doesn't matter what organization it is right now. What matters is we must evacuate immediately."

He turned to Kiki: "Kid, quickly—use the drone to check if Shasha and Shuqin are returning."

Lin Xian glanced at his watch: 18: 5. Less than forty minutes remained until nightfall. By now, Shasha and the others should have returned.

"What about the people at the station?" Miao Lu asked.

"Can't convince them? Then don't bother," Lin Xian said, his voice nearly gone from shouting. Since they refused to listen, he no longer cared. He only worried about his own convoy members—no amount of reason could save a fool bent on death.

"One's on the east line, one on the north. Should we send someone to meet them?" Chen Sixuan said. "If we leave now, they won't know our location. I'm worried they'll return to the station too late to escape. If we don't warn them and they come into contact with that woman, it'll be worse."

Lin Xian nodded: "You're right. Wait five more minutes. If they haven't returned, Kiki and I will split up and go look."

Of everyone on the vehicle, only Kiki's flight ability and his powered armor offered rapid mobility—the fastest response.

…

(End of Chapter)