Chapter 243: Sword of Damocles (110,000 [words] to make up for the 12th's missed update,)

*Clatter~*

Hu Lushou sat down on a stool with a thud. He looked back at his truck, then at the Gatling gun in front of him. Before he could speak, Lin Xian said directly, "No need to guess. That batch of Spark Type-26 fully automatic tactical rifles I sold you was manufactured directly by me. I didn't raid an armory, because I *am* the armory."

"Holy crap!!!" Hu Lushou was left dumbfounded. He looked at Lin Xian in terror and stammered, "You... your ability is just too heaven-defying."

"It's alright."

Lin Xian's expression darkened slightly. He was in no mood to joke with him right now and said, "Alright, the goods are here. Speak."

Hu Lushou's gaze shifted. He looked at Lin Xian in silence, his expression now incredibly complex. After pondering for a moment, he beckoned to Sun Chang. The two of them walked over together and said, "This... alright. Actually, I don't know much. At the time, I was locked in that research institute, just like you saw, participating in that 'Hatter' game. Out of that batch of games, only Sun Chang and I survived."

When he said this, the shrewdness and slipperiness were gone from Hu Lushou's expression, and his gaze became somewhat heavy.

"So after you took the supplies, you joined forces to form a convoy?" Kiki asked.

"Yes."

Hu Lushou seemed somewhat resistant to recalling the time in that research institute: "At the time, I thought I was a goner. Who knew that after winning, they actually gave us a lot of supplies."

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Xian and said earnestly, "We were locked up when we first arrived at that research institute. There were quite a few survivors there. As far as I know, not everyone underwent the same games or experiments as we did. That research institute is very sinister. The things they study are extremely mature—abilities, anomalous entities, human-anomalies, night incursions. It looks much more advanced than the Federation's underground laboratories. We all had a feeling..."

Hu Lushou said solemnly, "And that is that they have been studying the darkness for at least over 10 years."

Lin Xian and Kiki's expressions tightened upon hearing this. He recalled what Director Ding had told him inside, and now, hearing it from Hu Lushou's mouth seemed to confirm it even further.

"How can that be? The Apocalypse Day happened less than half a year ago. How could they have been researching it for over 10 years?"

Hu Lushou shrugged and gave a bitter smile: "I don't know. We were just guessing. Such a large research institute, yet we know nothing about it within our Federation system. This also surprised me greatly."

"What's so surprising about that?" Kiki asked.

Hu Lushou said with a straight face, "As a military unit, our Yunxiang warship possesses the Federation's highest airspace authority, yet we crashed into that research institute's sky-screen at low altitude. A base this large isn't in our system—isn't that strange enough? You can't possibly tell me that base was built in three months."

Lin Xian fell silent upon hearing this. He had asked Hua Xiaoling this question before, and she had told him that this research institute used to be a large-scale military project in cooperation with the Federation. He had actually always felt that something was wrong somewhere. Only now, hearing Hu Lushou mention it, did he realize that the collision of that Dragon-class transport ship did indeed look very strange, and it was impossible for a Federation warship not to know the location markings of such a cooperative unit.

Now it seemed that the SIID Foundation was not an organization on the same path as the Federation or the Phoenix Society.

"As for that person you mentioned, Tan Meng, I really don't know her. What happened to her?" Hu Lushou said.

Kiki said, "She was placed in some kind of submersible and entered the Shijiu Lake for an experiment. And as far as I know, she should be an ability user."

Hu Lushou frowned upon hearing this and shook his head.

"What kind of ghost experiment is this? Since she won the game, didn't she leave?"

"That's why I'm asking you," Lin Xian said speechlessly.

"I really don't know about this." Hu Lushou spread his hands: "Actually, I find it incredible that we were able to leave. Perhaps they felt she had other value. After all, you said she has abilities, and perhaps she's quite pretty too, heh."

Lin Xian's gaze tightened upon hearing this. Come to think of it, that woman named Tan Meng did indeed have some beauty, her temperament was not bad, and she even possessed flight abilities.

"Is that all?"

"That's all." Hu Lushou said directly: "I've told you everything I know."

He looked at Lin Xian: "I know why they invited you to go now. Brother, such heaven-defying abilities definitely have great prospects. Logically speaking, you should know more than a prisoner like me after going in. Is what I know of any use to you?"

Lin Xian stood up directly: "It's indeed of no use. Have your people prepare the supplies I want and send them to the freight platform."

Seeing Lin Xian move to leave, Hu Lushou immediately became anxious: "Hey, it was agreed upon—4 Gatling guns. Don't you go back on your word. Since we're doing business, us Longguo people don't swindle Longguo people!"

"I won't. They're yours. If we have a chance to meet again in the future, we'll cooperate again." After Lin Xian and Kiki finished speaking, they turned and prepared to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Hu Lushou suddenly called out to Lin Xian: "Wait, I, Old Hu, don't like doing shady business. It just so happens I have another piece of intelligence. You're heading out along the northeast lines. Although it has nothing to do with the Foundation, it will definitely be useful to you. I'll give it to you for free, how about that?!"

Lin Xian stopped in his tracks and asked with some curiosity, "Oh? What intelligence?"

Hu Lushou walked over, his eyes flickering. He lowered his voice mysteriously in front of Lin Xian and Kiki:

"Do you know what the Phoenix Society is actually doing in the Parma Grasslands this time?"

"Isn't it just intercepting an S-class anomalous entity?" Kiki crossed her arms: "Is that what you wanted to say?"

"Don't be in such a rush."

Hu Lushou looked mysterious and gave a chuckle: "As far as I know, this Parma Grasslands operation is a large-scale experiment by the Phoenix Society targeting S-class anomalous entities. It's said to be one of the items in the resistance movement, named... the Emperor Project!"

"The Emperor Project?"

"That's right!"

Hu Lushou said, "Before the Federation government disintegrated, there were two doomsday plans—the Dungeon Dawn Project and the Ability User Angel Project that many people know about now. But in fact, there was another plan, originally proposed by the Interstellar Military Group Command. It planned to mobilize all human technological resources to manufacture powerful war weapons to launch a destructive strike against dark creatures. This Emperor Project is divided into two directions: the 'Steel Swarm' for mass-producing drones, and the 'Planetary Titan' for manufacturing ultra-large human war weapons!"

Hu Lushou looked at Lin Xian: "Recently, I specifically collected the content of this Parma Grasslands operation. The original purpose was also to prepare for migration and evacuation, so I discovered that this Parma Grasslands operation is very likely an experimental deployment of ultra-large human weapons!"

Lin Xian's expression changed upon hearing this: "Ultra-large human weapons? How large?"

"God knows." Hu Lushou shrugged: "But given the current situation, I estimate it failed."

He looked at Lin Xian as he spoke: "Brother, an ability like yours is definitely the perfect candidate for the Emperor Project. I think if you find the Phoenix Society, you will definitely be highly valued. With such an opportunity, do you still need to run around fleeing? Heh heh, how about it? This piece of intelligence is more valuable than the last one, right?"

Lin Xian looked at Hu Lushou with great interest. He didn't expect this guy who looked so mercenary to actually have principles. This intelligence was a complete extra harvest.

"This news is very useful. Many thanks."

"Alright, then I'll have people load the cold-weather supplies and send them over to you immediately. Lin Ge, we can consider this a pleasant cooperation?" Hu Lushou reached out to Lin Xian with a fawning smile.

Lin Xian shook his hand and said, "Pleasant cooperation."

After speaking, he and Kiki rode their bikes away.

Seeing Lin Xian leave, Hu Lushou put away the smile on his face and said to Sun Chang beside him: "I didn't expect that besides a telekinesis type, there would be such a badass ability."

"It seems the Foundation research institute also took a fancy to this point," Sun Chang said directly.

Hu Lushou nodded: "This kind of ability, no matter which faction it is, they would definitely fight to recruit him. Damn, creating Gatling guns out of thin air—he's even more badass than a production line!"

Sun Chang suddenly looked at Hu Lushou: "Why did you tell him the news about the Emperor Project?"

"Isn't he a mechanical ability user?" Hu Lushou shrugged: "Making a friend is better than having one more enemy, and this friend is also very special."

After speaking, he immediately said to Sun Chang: "Pack up the convoy. We're leaving the city before dark."

"Leaving now? In which direction?"

"Take the south line. We're going to chase the Silent City." Hu Lushou licked his lips, his eyes flickering with cunning: "That huge mobile mechanical city has cooperation with both the Phoenix Society and the Federation. Presumably, they would definitely be interested in this intelligence..."

"Plus a mechanical ability user!"

On the Infinite, the cold-weather supplies had been delivered and loaded. Now, the team members in the living area had all started laying thick cotton quilts in their little nests, preparing to deal with the upcoming extreme cold weather. Cold-proof clothing and snow boots had also been distributed. Chen Sixuan was then called by Lin Xian to Carriage No. 2.

Lin Xian assembled everyone, synchronized the information just obtained, and prepared to discuss the next route.

"It can now be basically confirmed that the bait marking at the station last night has to do with the Foundation," Lin Xian said. "This might be an experiment, or it might be a warning. This represents that the crisis humanity faces may not just be the darkness itself."

"Could it be that we've been targeted?" Shu Qin frowned.

"No."

Ding Junyi stood at the back and said, "For the Advent Sect, all survivors are potential enemies to their establishment of a new civilization. They are not tolerated in the stances of both the Federation and the Phoenix Society. As for Lin Xian, they should have taken a fancy to his abilities; it's more likely to be a recruitment."

"Doesn't matter."

Lin Xian said bluntly, "It's not like we haven't encountered thug convoys that treat survivors as enemies. For us, survival is the first priority."

"Then how shall we arrange things now?" Chen Sixuan said. "Kiki and Director Ding have Level 3 marks on them. We are very likely to be attacked tonight."

Lin Xian nodded: "So I will get the electromagnetic cannon done this afternoon. In addition, I will also replenish the firepower of that mecha. Kiki, you pick a few people and go start the mecha to conduct a mecha co-state coefficient test. Let's practice in advance."

He currently has power armor on him, which can also provide strong combat power. If he just pilots the mecha, it's equivalent to having one less person. So Lin Xian plans to find a suitable person to pilot the mecha, especially teammates without abilities.

Ordinary people pilot war mechas, while ability users or evolvers wear full-coverage combat armor. This way, everyone can be a strong combatant. This is Lin Xian's long-term plan.

"Alright!" Upon hearing that she could pilot a mecha, Kiki immediately became spirited.

"Lin Xian, then which route shall we set off on tonight?" Chen Sixuan nodded, her expression also becoming firm.

Lin Xian opened the map on his mobile terminal upon hearing this, his expression carrying a hint of solemnity.

The team's direction of travel directly concerns life and death.

"Currently, taking the south line has the lowest risk factor; it's further away from the extreme cold vortex. The biggest hidden danger is that it will be closer to the diffusion edge of Star Abyss No. 7. If we follow the original plan to take the main line of the east-bound orbital ring, we will approach the Bai Lutan swamp. According to intelligence, there are S-class anomalous entities lurking there. We have Level 3 marks on us that haven't been cleared, so the risk is the greatest."

"Finally, there's the north line, which also has a significant risk factor. First is the extreme cold vortex. Both of these lines have already entered the natural disaster of the blizzard. Furthermore, taking the north line doesn't mean we can definitely avoid that S-class anomalous entity..."

Ever since having this dark mark, the escape route is no longer just a simple matter of running to the end of the line, or fleeing to wherever is safe.

Under the darkness, there is no absolute safety, and the dark mark on his body forces Lin Xian to have to make some kind of choice about this.

Once there is a dark mark, one cannot just flee blindly. If one cannot deal with some solvable anomalous entities with decisive means, then this mark will be like a Sword of Damocles constantly hanging over the Infinite, constantly stacking and increasing the risk of destruction. No one knows whether, after escaping this night, the area they are in next time will attract some terrifying unknown existence because of the mark.

When one must flee, when one must fight—if one can find the pattern of this darkness, the Infinite might be able to constantly obtain quiet and safe nights, just like when they had just left Rain Town, and also obtain massive harvests.

But once a wrong choice is made, the ending might be like that fire-line convoy that disappeared into thin air, with over a hundred people not even leaving behind a struggle signal.

At this moment, in Carriage No. 2, everyone's gaze fell on Lin Xian. The air became somewhat quiet.

*Hoo~*

Lin Xian exhaled lightly and spoke, breaking the silence.

"I've decided. Take the north line, pass through Xilan, bypass Star Abyss No. 5, and pass through the Xidi Gobi to Quancheng."

"The north line? Is it because of the Phoenix Society?" Chen Sixuan understood Lin Xian's purpose immediately.

"That's one reason." Lin Xian nodded and said in a deep voice, "First of all, Xilan is currently the closest to us among all the Phoenix Society's official doomsday outposts. Besides the 【Dark Mark】 matter, we also need to exchange many things from the Phoenix Society. I feel that the Nightwalker organization in the Parma Grasslands is very likely to move towards the Xilan direction. So if we can make contact with the Nightwalker organization, we might be able to obtain intelligence related to abilities and blood essence."

There is another point: Lin Xian is indeed very interested in the Emperor Project that Hu Lushou mentioned. Ultra-large human weapons—he could even feel his mechanical heart trembling.

This plan also sounds reasonable. Besides relying on abilities to fight back, humanity's core desire is definitely to rely on its own industrial technology to launch an all-around counterattack. Mechas and drones are definitely a great killer weapon. As long as the industrial fire is protected, mass-producing drones and arming humanity with mechas and combat armor seems to be the most practical point among all routes. Therefore, Lin Xian is not surprised at all that the Phoenix Society has such a plan.

So he didn't choose the safest route. Besides the Phoenix Society, he also carried a certain expectation to contact the high-end combat power of human technology. Even that Hua Xiaoling had once told him, 'Artificial intelligence and high-tech fields are the only remaining will of human civilization.' After obtaining the Vulcan mecha, Lin Xian recognized this point even more deeply.

Ability research is a completely unfamiliar field, and genetic evolution is still being explored, but mechanical industry is the most powerful and potential means of human civilization!

"Wow~" Shasha rubbed her hands in excitement: "I heard there are many no-man's lands over there. It looks like we're going to have a long adventure."

Shu Qin had just taken the north line to scout the route and said at this time: "The tracks out of the city on the north line are clear. There are more zombies gathered there, but once we leave the city, the terrain will be quite open."

Chen Sixuan nodded: "Our supplies are relatively sufficient now, so we aren't afraid of encountering blizzards." She took out the logbook and said:

"Now our cold-weather supplies are all in place. If the whole train eats two meals a day, we can last at least 42 days. Now we also have a medical pod. In other aspects—clothing, snow goggles, body temperature maintenance devices, gloves, masks, goggles, including daily hygiene items like soap, shampoo, sanitary napkins, toothbrushes, and toothpaste—we have obtained quite a lot in this collection at Hengshan Pass and the research institute. We even brought back some entertainment items like poker, books, and music players. Overall, we basically have everything we should have on the train."

Lin Xian was somewhat surprised: "So much? It seems everyone considered things very thoroughly."

"What about water?" Ding Junyi stood out and asked at this time.

"The train already has a water circulation purification system. We don't need to store extra water, right?" Kiki said with a confused look.

Lin Xian looked at Ding Junyi: "Director Ding, is there a problem?"

Ding Junyi pushed up her glasses: "The information I've paid attention to in the last two days is that the blizzard brought by the extreme cold vortex is one we've never encountered before. There are a few problems we need to pay attention to in advance. First is the deep snow. The snow accumulation in some areas has exceeded 1.2 meters, and it is still increasing due to the blizzard. This has led to some convoys being completely buried and unable to pass at all. Except for tracked vehicles and our rail vehicles that can barely pass, it's basically impassable. Although we have an ice-breaking shield, we definitely won't be able to drive fast because of the road conditions and snow accumulation."

"Second, there are unknown creatures in the blizzard, referred to by some survivors as Snow Demons. It's not yet clear what kind of existence they are or how threatening they are. We also need to pay special attention to them."

"Third point: snow water that has been invaded by darkness is polluted. Although we have a water purifier, from the information coming from the survivor radio this time, it seems to be much more severe than the snow disaster on the Dazhu Plateau before. I suggest we use the previous bottled pure water bottles to store some more, in case we are unable to obtain water sources, leading to the depletion of drinking water on the train."

Ding Junyi's analysis made everyone's expressions begin to grow complex. Chen Sixuan nodded upon hearing this and looked at Lin Xian: "Director Ding makes sense. I also have this premonition. This blizzard might be much more severe than we imagined."

"Hmm."

Lin Xian pondered slightly: "It just so happens, let's store some more drinking water and fill up the water tanks. In addition, according to our actual situation, let's adjust the water allocation daily to avoid shortages."

At minus forty-plus degrees, heating is also a big problem. If the nuclear-powered locomotive breaks down now, he wouldn't even be able to last an hour relying on Lin Xian's mechanical heart to supply heating for 14 carriages. Moreover, full-train heating will inevitably lead to greater water loss, and the demand for drinking water, sanitary water, etc., is not small. These are all things that need to be considered.

"Let's arrange it like that."

Lin Xian looked at his watch: "Let's hurry. There might be a fierce battle tonight. Teacher Chen, you and Shu Qin are responsible for preparations. Kiki, you pick a few people to pilot the mecha for the mecha co-state coefficient test and practice in advance. I need to get the electromagnetic railgun out now and also get some more ammunition."

"Alright!"

"Understood!"

After the arrangements were made, everyone had a sense of urgency as if a storm were coming, and they all started to act according to Lin Xian's arrangements.

In the temporary camp at the freight platform, although the sun was overhead, there was not much warmth. A bleak cold wind started to rage in Hengshan Pass. Overnight, the temperature dropped by several more degrees, and the Infinite's personnel all put on thick clothing.

Lin Xian prepared to manufacture the super-energy capacitor for the G-3 electromagnetic railgun, and after that, he had to upgrade the sealing of all the train's connection points to ensure the warmth inside the carriages. In addition, bullets were also a major item. The 1130 close-in defense gun, the Vulcan mecha, and the several Roaring K23 electric rotary machine guns in the train were all big consumers of bullets.

Just thinking about it gave Lin Xian a sense of pressure with a long road ahead.

After assigning the tasks, Lin Xian didn't waste a single second. He started manufacturing the follow-up systems for the electromagnetic cannon directly in Carriage No. 2. His physical strength had only recovered to 40%, but there was no time left for him to rest.

Who knew what kind of sudden situation would be encountered tonight? Knowing that there was a dark mark on the train, this feeling of dealing with a crisis made everyone feel somewhat uneasy.

*Click-clack~*

Materials from the manufacturing factory and decomposition center kept flying out. Various precise circuits were quickly manufactured and printed in front of Lin Xian following the blueprints of the mechanical heart. A large super-energy capacitor device gradually took shape.

This thing occupied a significant area and had quite a few high-voltage cable pipes. The demand for materials was even more of a major item. To configure this thing, Lin Xian had to arrange an isolation device in Carriage No. 2 to block ionizing radiation. After all, Kiki and Shasha still lived here.

Although the electromagnetic railgun was a big electricity consumer, for the Infinite, which possessed a Gemini nuclear-powered locomotive, it was still within the bearable range. However, while manufacturing, Lin Xian was also considering backup plans for this problem.

After coming out of Underground City No. 9, Lin Xian thought the Infinite had almost solved the problem of continuous energy, but now he had to worry again.

Once the nuclear-powered locomotive had a malfunction or damage, relying solely on Lin Xian's mechanical heart now could not support the long-term endurance of such a large train. Traction, electric knives, power supply, heating, weapon stations, internal water circulation systems—everything was becoming increasingly complex. It was no longer as simple as when he had just left Jiang City, where he only needed to drive the train forward and then light a lamp.

"Energy needs a backup subsystem," Lin Xian thought while manufacturing the super-energy capacitor.

"And the problem of the drive system. Modifying the polar all-terrain tracks is a huge project. Although it can avoid the hidden dangers of the tracks, the energy consumption is much greater than rail driving..."

"It seems these problems can only be solved by asking the Phoenix Society or going to Dawn City."

Lin Xian calmed down, simply freed up one hand, and started manufacturing bullet ammunition, trying to use this simplest manufacturing object to attempt multitasking to improve efficiency.

*Hum~*

A fluorescent light also appeared in his left palm. Following the rotation of the mechanical heart, bullets started to fall one by one.

Lin Xian gritted his teeth, trying to adapt to this operation. Because of the distraction, the speed of manufacturing bullets couldn't be fast at all, and even the speed of manufacturing the super-energy capacitor was affected to some extent. He suppressed the chaos in his mind, trying his best to maintain stability, and fine sweat started to appear on his forehead.

Gradually, the manufacturing speed of both hands started to accelerate somewhat, recovering to 90% of the normal speed. Although this was the case, he was now manufacturing with two hands, and overall, the efficiency had improved quite a bit.

*Clatter, clatter*, a large number of bullets started to be manufactured. At the same time, the super-energy capacitor also reached the final stage.

*Ding. *

【Manufacturing Complete - G3 Electromagnetic Railgun Super-Energy Capacitor Group】

Lin Xian opened his eyes and looked at the large black equipment group in front of him, his eyes full of excitement. He exhaled a long breath: "Finally~"

So he first stopped the bullet manufacturing work of his left hand and first connected and debugged the equipment group and the main electromagnetic cannon.

Not long after.

*Woo~*

The top cabin of the weapon station in Carriage No. 2 opened, and the electromagnetic cannon slowly rose. The acceleration rail lines started to light up with azure light, and a surging power seemed ready to go!

"Wow, the electromagnetic railgun configuration is complete!!"

!

On the open ground outside the platform, a dozen young people were surrounding the Vulcan mecha. Kiki, Shasha, Miao Lu, and the others heard the movement of the train, looked back, and were all filled with amazement, speaking with joy one after another.

"Our firepower has become stronger again."

"Team Leader Lin is badass!"

"That goes without saying!" Kiki looked at the big cannon with a smug look: "Someone did a good job. This efficiency~"

"Alright, alright, whose turn is it?" Kiki's gaze swept over: "Quick, hurry up. Anyone who wants to pilot the mecha, come and try."

As she spoke, her gaze caught a busy figure in the distance, and she immediately flew over.

"Chen Jiejie, do you want to come and try? Test your co-state coefficient index?"

Chen Sixuan was busy cleaning the train's water tanks with people. Hearing Kiki's words, she looked back at the huge war weapon and hurriedly shook her head to refuse: "I won't. I'm not very good at this aspect. I'll definitely fail, so I won't waste your time."

"Alright then~"

"How did your tests go?" Chen Sixuan saw that she had called quite a few people, so she asked.

Kiki looked back and sighed: "Most of them failed. Only Lv Chang, Miao Lu, and Xiao Yuan are a bit better. Piloting a mecha is different from wearing combat armor. Piloting a mecha is more troublesome, and the burden on neural control is also heavier."

"Among the three of them, I thought Lv Chang had the best conditions, but I didn't expect Xiao Yuan to be even more powerful. She actually tested a Level 2 co-state coefficient, which belongs to being very talented. Lv Chang and Miao Lu are both Level 1. It can only be said that there's no problem with normal operation and piloting."

"And you?" Chen Sixuan looked at her: "Aren't you the one who wants to pilot it the most? Are you saying you also failed?"

"How is that possible!"

Kiki put her hands on her hips, lifted her little face, and said very spiritedly: "Chen Jiejie, you underestimate me too much. This girl is a genius girl. Of course, I was the first to test."

As she spoke, she raised three fingers and shook them in front of Chen Sixuan: "I have a Level 3 co-state coefficient rating. How about it? Awesome, right!"

Chen Sixuan's almond eyes widened upon hearing this: "So powerful? What level is Level 3?"

"Simply put, it's matching degree and sensitivity. After all, a mecha is a machine and not as flexible as us humans. The larger the mecha, the greater the difficulty of control. There are many integrated systems. There are several engine groups on one leg alone. To achieve flexible control, the requirement for neural matching degree is higher. For example, some people are born with a weak sense of direction or lack developed motor nerves, so they can't pilot a mecha at all. Driving a car is already a big trouble." Kiki explained eloquently.

Chen Sixuan nodded. She herself didn't have a very strong concept of this mecha, but at this moment, she could still feel Kiki's genius side.

"Kiki~" Chen Sixuan looked at the large mecha in the distance and said to Kiki: "Then if that's the case, will you pilot this mecha from now on? I feel that your abilities are so strong—if you go to pilot a mecha, isn't it a bit of a waste?"

Kiki smiled and waved her hand: "Oh~ I just like playing. It's fine to pilot it occasionally. Usually, I still like flying everywhere."

For Kiki, she was interested in these things as if they were game toys, and the freshness was full. Of course, she also knew that her telekinesis ability had a higher cost-performance ratio when used alone. The only thing she was troubled by was that there were no mecha pilots in the team with a higher co-state coefficient evaluation level.

*Woo~ Screech! Clatter, clatter! *

Just at this moment, the Vulcan mecha suddenly made a sound of movement. Kiki and Chen Sixuan hurriedly looked over, only to see that the Vulcan mecha was moving quickly, retreating, turning, and raising its arms, with very sensitive speed.

After being proficient for a while, it even attempted a sprint, and then completed a very smooth jumping action!

*Clatter! *

Dust rose everywhere, and the onlookers were all filled with amazement, clapping their hands one after another.

"Who is this?" Kiki's eyes widened and she hurriedly flew over. Even Chen Sixuan looked over there curiously.

*Ssh~*

After the mecha landed steadily, the heavy cabin cover slowly lifted. At this moment, a little face filled with joy appeared in everyone's sight.

【New Pilot Neural Connection Co-state Coefficient Evaluation Level: 4】

A loud metallic voice sounded at the same time. Shasha stood up from the cockpit and looked at Kiki, who flew over, with surprise.

"Sister Kiki, I got a 4!!"

Seeing Shasha sitting in the cockpit, Kiki couldn't help but open her little mouth, full of surprise. She stood directly at the cockpit entrance, reached out, and pinched Shasha's cheeks: "Good for you, you're even more powerful than your Sister Kiki at such a young age. Did I let you try, and you climbed up?"

She was lecturing her with her mouth, but her eyes were full of joy: "Let's go, I'll take you to find your Lin Ge."

"Oh~ I was wrong, okay? I just wanted to try it~" Shasha begged for mercy immediately upon hearing this, but Kiki didn't care at all, directly picked her up, and excitedly headed towards the carriage.

In Carriage No. 2, Lin Xian was boxing the manufactured ammunition and letting the PX-05 robot drag it away for the robot to assemble.

At this moment, he saw Kiki pulling Shasha and running in quickly.

"Lin Xian, look, I found you a Level 4 genius mecha pilot~"

Lin Xian cast his gaze over with great surprise, but ended up seeing that it was Shasha whom Kiki was pulling behind her.

"Shasha?"

"That's right, this little girl is actually more powerful than me!"

Lin Xian looked at Shasha. The little girl secretly glanced at him, hurriedly looked away again, and gave a giggle.

"If I remember correctly, this Vulcan mecha belongs to the heavy mecha sequence. To be able to reach Level 4 using this mecha for testing is definitely genius-level."

Moreover, Shasha is only 12 years old. To be able to have this level of co-state coefficient performance without specialized mecha piloting training—just thinking about it, one knows she is full of talent.

"That's right, that's right. Why don't we let her pilot this mecha?" Kiki suggested directly.

Lin Xian looked at Kiki thoughtfully, then said to Shasha: "Shasha, do you want to pilot the mecha?"

"Me? Anything is fine. I'll listen to Lin Ge's arrangements." Shasha looked at Lin Xian with a sensible look.

Lin Xian nodded: "Hmm, it's possible, but isn't Shasha too young..."

"Young? What's young? How can she be young? She pilots it better than anyone else." Seeing Lin Xian's hesitation, Kiki immediately became a bit anxious: "I'm only Level 3, and Xiao Yuan and Lv Chang are only Level 1 or 2. Shasha is definitely the most suitable. When she usually hugs a grenade launcher and goes out to fight zombies, why don't you think she's young?"

Shasha didn't expect Kiki to be so excited and hurriedly held her hand: "Sister Kiki, I'm not young anymore~"

Lin Xian gave a faint smile. He naturally saw through Kiki's little thoughts. Actually, she just wanted Shasha to fight while sitting inside the heavily armored mecha so she could be safer. This little protective instinct was completely grasped by Lin Xian.

However, he didn't expose it. Lin Xian would naturally prioritize giving Shasha the pilot seat since she could reach a Level 4 co-state coefficient rating. He had even thought about this point before. Shasha was small and clever, proficient in weapons, and bold. Letting her pilot the mecha to provide support from the rear would make Lin Xian feel more at ease. It was much safer than her running around with a grenade launcher schoolbag.

"Alright, then let Shasha pilot it."

Lin Xian said directly to Shasha: "Shasha, take advantage of the daytime to get more familiar with the piloting system. I will replenish the ammunition for the Vulcan mecha before dark."

"Really? Yay!!!"

Shasha's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she jumped up in cheers.

"You have an eye for talent." Kiki was satisfied, blinked at Lin Xian, and immediately prepared to take Shasha to practice mecha operation.

But halfway there, she suddenly turned back.

"By the way, you piloted it last night. What is your co-state coefficient level?"

"Level 5."

Lin Xian lowered his head to organize the wire harness of the electromagnetic cannon and said with a straight face.

Kiki's eyes widened upon hearing this, and she was stunned directly.

Lin Xian looked up at her and said calmly: "Did you forget my mechanical ability? All mechas feel like clothes on my body when piloted. If a mecha isn't flexible enough, it must be a problem with the mecha's power, drive, and materials, not my problem."

Mecha co-state connection has always been a complex problem in the military industry. The difficulty of selecting an excellent mecha pilot is no less than that of a hypersonic fighter pilot. Although the mecha intelligent integrated drive system has been constantly improving, robots cannot replace the battlefield combination efficiency of human + mecha, especially large mechas with powerful firepower. The problems to be dealt with on the battlefield are often multi-state, multi-perception, and extremely complex.

Therefore, Level 4 or even Level 5 mecha pilots can be said to be extremely precious talent wealth for the Interstellar Military.

However, this mecha industry problem had no difficulty at all for Lin Xian. Once his mechanical heart covered the entire body, it was almost like an arm directing a finger.

Just as he said, if the movements he wanted to make couldn't be made, it must be the mecha's problem, not his.

The mechanical heart is like billions of nerves covering the machine, turning it into a living body, freely controlled by Lin Xian. So, it is no exaggeration to say that Lin Xian, who possesses the mechanical heart, must be the best mecha pilot in this world.

Kiki opened her mouth, then sighed long and deeply, looking at Lin Xian meaningfully.

"That's true, you mechanical pervert."

"What the hell?!"

"Let's go, let's go, let's go test the mecha." Kiki fled as if escaping.

In Carriage No. 2, the G-3 electromagnetic railgun manufacturing was completed, with a firing frequency of 15 seconds/time. After the configuration was completed, Lin Xian hurriedly started manufacturing ammunition for the 1130.

At the same time, he started using the mechanical heart to cover the carriage. Some damage from the fierce battle last night had not yet been repaired, and he still needed to perform some gap repairs to prevent the train carriage from leaking wind.

Chen Sixuan walked into the carriage at this time. She knew Lin Xian had been busy, so she brought him a bottle of water and some food.

However, Lin Xian couldn't free up his hands at all right now. He had already turned into a fountain of labor, supplying the operation of the entire train.

"If only there could be more mechas like this," Chen Sixuan said with some worry, seeing that Lin Xian hadn't rested for a moment: "Then you could rest more."

"One step at a time."

Lin Xian lifted his chin towards Chen Sixuan. On the ground in that direction lay a Meteor No. 3 sniper rifle. He had manufactured it in advance when he came to Carriage No. 12 just now, but Chen Sixuan was busy outside, so he didn't disturb her and focused on manufacturing bullets.

Chen Sixuan was startled upon seeing it. She walked over and picked it up, her gaze lingering on the beautiful gun body, and said:

"Manufactured for me?"

"It's lighter and more portable than the previous one, and it's also equipped with an intelligent recoil reduction system. It should be easier to use. Try it." Lin Xian said faintly.

Chen Sixuan reached out and stroked the gun body for a while, saying joyfully: "You actually considered everyone?"

"I originally planned to do so anyway." Lin Xian opened his eyes and looked at Chen Sixuan: "After we survive tonight, I will start equipping everyone with power armor. It can directly improve our combat power and mobility, and our survival rate will also be further improved."

He currently has this team of over thirty people, and most of them are ability users and genetic evolvers. Lin Xian only needs to use his mechanical abilities to perform weaponized and armored upgrades for the whole team, which can increase the Infinite's risk resistance as a whole.

And this can also help improve his 【Mechanical Manufacturing】 proficiency, and the improvement of the manufacturing level can increase the 【R&D Center】's research and development progress on new blueprints.

That's why Lin Xian decided to develop his mechanical abilities without stopping for a moment.

Devour faster! Manufacture faster!

Build mechanized combat power and lead the entire Infinite into glorious evolution!

Mechanical Manufacturing: 3 (960/1000)

Looking at the proficiency of mechanical manufacturing in the light screen in front of him, the speed of improvement was already much faster than before. Just now, manufacturing the super-energy capacitor had improved it by a large chunk. Added to manufacturing automatic rifles and Gatling machine guns for Hu Lushou, manufacturing the Meteor No. 3 for Chen Sixuan, and numerous bullets, he estimated that before dark, he would be able to directly push mechanical manufacturing to Level 4.

【Wind Cannon - Mechanical Amplification】

【Mechanical Amplification Started: Wind Cannon 12:44:22】

【R&D Center】

【TRP 4th Generation Special Industrial Active Exoskeleton Power Armor (Blueprint): 13 days 4 hours】

"After rising to Level 4, the R&D center will probably be much faster."

"The wind cannon also needs to be upgraded."

Lin Xian looked at the time. It was already 16:50 in the afternoon, and there was less than an hour left until dark.

"Chen Laoshi, gather everyone to board the vehicles and prepare, and arrange dinner in advance. We will depart from Hengshan Guancheng at 17:30 and dock in a relatively open area before nightfall. There were many people in the city before, and the number of gathered anomalies and markers there is not small, so we should try to stay away from the urban area to be ready for battle!"

"Alright!" Chen Sixuan nodded and started to act immediately.

In the freight platform camp, the Infinite's various sentry points received orders and started to withdraw in batches. Kiki also sent the Vulcan mecha back to Carriage No. 11.

Lin Xian looked at the Vulcan mecha that Kiki had lifted in and laid down with telekinesis, still pondering how to place this thing later.

Kiki actually gave him a very badass plan, using the Interstellar Military standard orbital mecha delivery carriage.

This is a rail carriage specially used for loading mechas. Both sides and the floor of the carriage can be flipped open. A whole row of mechas is hung directly in the mecha hangar, with only a very narrow passage in the middle.

This kind of carriage is custom-made and has very complex hanging, charging, and boarding systems, which can perfectly solve Lin Xian's problem.

However, Kiki only had photos of this thing, and even if she had the blueprints, he couldn't manufacture such a large mechanical carriage out of thin air. Unless he captured one, he would probably have to wait a long time to realize the orbital mecha delivery carriage.

*Scrub, scrub, scrub. *

Following batches of bullets, shells, explosives, and spare magazines being manufactured by Lin Xian, 【Mechanical Manufacturing】 was finally livered hard by him to Level 4.

*Ding*

【Congratulations, Mechanical Manufacturing level upgraded to Lv. 4 (Manufacturing scale and efficiency greatly improved)!】

Instantly, Lin Xian only felt that the smoothness of his two-handed manufacturing improved significantly, and the speed became extremely fast. This directly led to a significant increase in the material consumption speed of his decomposition space and manufacturing factory.

He immediately opened the R&D center. When he saw the updated progress inside, his expression changed immediately.

【R&D Center】

【TRP 4th Generation Special Industrial Active Exoskeleton Power Armor (Blueprint): 3 days 16 hours】

"Holy crap, 13 days became 3 days!"

"What is called productivity upgrade!! Awesome!"

The improvement of the mechanical manufacturing level directly affects his manufacturing efficiency and the efficiency of blueprint R&D, which is crucial for him to perform a full-train mechanical upgrade!

With this efficiency, he could later manufacture the MK-66 roll-on/roll-off cantilever missile launcher scanned from the Dragon-class transport ship, and then manufacture a batch of missiles as the train's trump card!

At the same time, he was also looking forward to this newly developed power armor blueprint. Lin Xian could first equip several key members with power armor.

Perform the first phase of the full-team mechanical upgrade!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 244 =====