Chapter 252: Endless Winter Night (120,000 Wishes for a Happy New Year at Month

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A black heavy train smashed through thick snowdrifts, roaring with earth-shaking force amid the blizzard.

Above, a violent polar vortex blotted out sky and sun, plunging heaven and earth into premature darkness, all around white howling snow.

"Mark about to exceed Level 4!"

"Prepare to fire!"

Squeak squeak ahhhh!!

Snow wraiths beneath the snow layer surged like fish crossing a river, stirring up boiling clouds of snow dust.

Thud thud thud.

The impacts against the train and tracks grew deafening.

Lin Xian stood in Car 2, watching all external points on the sentinel system, his expression grim.

"Lin Xian!" Chen Sixuan's voice came through the comm: "A large number of monsters have appeared ahead at the pass."

Kiki immediately switched to the front electro-optical targeting system, seeing dense black-and-white long tails surging like waves across the vast white snowfield ahead—perhaps because night approached, or because the blizzard obscured all light, these snow wraiths now emerged from beneath the snow, sweeping toward the train like a gale devouring clouds.

"It seems our Level 4 mark has drawn the attention of larger-scale anomalies," Kiki frowned at the monitor.

Lin Xian's gaze hardened; he immediately pressed his earpiece.

"Accelerate. Crush them!"

Whoosh!

He immediately activated his Mechanical Heart, boosting Infinite's thrust by several notches—speeding up again!

Lin Xian glanced at the time: 17: 3. None aboard had experience with the approaching dark tide, so the onset of darkness could only be estimated—now it seemed night would fall in roughly half an hour!

"Girl, go ahead."

"Mm." Kiki nodded seriously.

Lin Xian then turned his gaze to the rear corridor, waiting for Ding Junyi's response.

"Level 4."

"Fire!"

Bang bang bang!

Oooze!

Above Lin Xian's head in Car 2, the G3 electromagnetic railgun erupted in thunderous roar, its ionizing shockwaves spreading, making his face tingle.

The next instant, Lin Xian stared at the snow wraith tide rushing toward them on the monitor and shouted again:

"Everyone, brace for impact!"

Boom boom boom!!

Snow dust flew wildly as the heavy rail train, fueled by violent momentum, charged straight into the snow wraiths leaping and surging up from the snow like waves.

Chen Sixuan and Kiki stood together in the cockpit, both faces darkening as they watched.

"Here it comes!" Chen Sixuan snapped, gripping the control panel tightly.

"Ha!"

Kiki's eyes blazed brighter white, her hair stirring without wind; she uttered a sharp cry, raised her palm forward, and unleashed a violent psychic wave in a chopping motion.

Whoom!!!!!

A conical shockwave split the air like a blade, slamming forward from the icebreaker's front and cleaving the snow layer wide open as if parting a river, revealing the railbed beneath—dry grass and track. The massive shockwave surged onward, instantly carving a hundred-meter-long hollow path, while hundreds of snow wraiths were violently ejected from the snow like fish swept from a wave.

Those nearby shattered instantly; those farther away were flung skyward—Kiki's blast carved a gaping hole through the advancing tide.

This allowed Infinite to accelerate again, smashing into the snow layer and the snow wraiths rushing toward it with furious force.

Boom! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

In an instant, the entire train lurched violently from the impact, everyone feeling a powerful forward thrust; debris tumbled everywhere inside each car, clattering and clinking.

Ahead, the train's impact hurled snow dozens of meters into the air like an explosive geyser—Chen Sixuan's windshield was instantly obscured, only the dense patter of impacts against the icebreaker and steel armor audible, alongside the howls and shrieks of monsters.

Thud Thud Thud~~~!

Infinite plowed through the snow dust, each collision like a chain of explosions—bones and skulls shattered under the steel behemoth's kinetic force, viscera and blood splattered thickly across the glass.

Chen Sixuan activated the windshield washer and wipers, but to no avail; fortunately, Kiki stood beside her, raising a psychic barrier ahead, gritting her teeth against the wind, snow, and charging wraiths as they pressed forward.

Whoosh! Zzzt!

The electromagnetic railgun operated at full load and maximum rate; the AI system automatically locked onto dense clusters or larger targets—each shot dimmed the train's lights slightly before they instantly restored.

Taptaptap! Bang bang bang!

In the rear cars, the firefight intensified even further—this wave of snow wraiths was bolder, more frenzied. Dali's K23 electric rotary machine gun swept away swathes with each burst of metal storm, but the problem grew: more wraiths climbed onto Infinite, and now they clearly endured light longer than before.

Countless tail spines hammered against the train's armor plates; with Kiki gone to the front, only Lu Xingchen remained as a wide-area adept holding the rear.

He stood atop the speeding train, wearing a cold-weather helmet; as the storm worsened, frost rapidly thickened across his face shield.

"Freezing heavens, perfect time for trial."

Lu Xingchen breathed heavily, now with no thought of showing off—his hands' flames never ceased, massive firewaves scorching just above the car floor; the constant tug between extreme cold and heat made the car body groan with metal fatigue.

Scrape scrape scrape.

The heat source in the hurricane seemed to threaten the snow wraiths—many that had climbed aboard abandoned attacking the steel plates and surged en masse toward Lu Xingchen.

These wraiths rotted continuously yet kept charging forward, crawling densely over the roof.

Lu Xingchen watched this, not worried—but pleased.

"Perfect! Perfect!"

Previously, these monsters attacked scattered across cars; crew inside were limited by firing ports and couldn't reach many. With Kiki helping him clear them, it was manageable—but now she was gone, and defending over a dozen cars alone was impossible. Now, with so many converging on him, it was simpler.

"Flame Cloud!"

Lu Xingchen crossed his fingers into a sword gesture, compressing and blasting fire outward, directing a broad wave of flame to sweep the entire roof space—wasting not a single spark.

Hss!

At that moment, the train's electric blade armor system activated—snow wraiths crowding the roof had no time to react and were instantly sliced apart, tumbling down the sides in a shower of fragments; the long blades glowed with electric arcs—even their sharp tail spines shattered on contact.

"Dark Mark, Level 3!"

Boom boom boom—the front slammed forward as Kiki and Chen Sixuan gritted their teeth and charged through.

"Dark Mark, Level 2!"

Taptaptap! Bang bang bang!

Team members Sha Sha, Shu Qin, Dali, Lu Chang, Miao Lu—all fired at full capacity!

"Dark Mark, Level 1!"

Lu Xingchen's flames blazed like meteor trails across the snowfield, fire blazing across the sky, incinerating the surging snow wraiths.

Finally, Lin Xian spotted a mountain pass ahead with a depression in terrain—he slammed the brakes!

Squeeeee!

Infinite decelerated violently; snow cascaded off the roof like a waterfall, wheels locked, melting track ice into scalding red-hot surfaces, steam billowing wildly!

Aaahhh! Squeak squeak squeak!

After the train halted, everyone began systematically eliminating the attacking snow wraiths—fifteen minutes of relentless fire left piles of corpses stacked high on both sides; only then did the assaults from all directions gradually subside.

"Sss! So cold!!!"

Lu Xingchen was nearly exhausted; the extreme cold overwhelmed even his fire-based ability. Seeing no wraiths nearby, he prepared to open the roof hatch and return to the train.

But the roof lift gate was frozen shut—completely immovable. Helpless, he blasted another fireball to melt the ice, then climbed back into Car 5.

Ooo~ ooo~~~~~

The howling blizzard became the only sound in heaven and earth; as firing ports closed, the heating systems roared to life, pumping out warmth.

Lin Xian, Shu Qin, Dali, and others donned full cold-weather suits, thermal regulators, and insulated helmets, then opened the door to Car 11 and jumped down.

Ooo~~ huuu~~~~

Outside the train, the blizzard had turned horizontal, completely obscuring vision—visibility reduced to mere meters.

Lin Xian stepped down and immediately crushed several frozen snow wraith corpses, hearing crisp crackling sounds.

He thought: "These things fear no snow alive—but die and freeze solid instantly…"

"Captain Lin."

Shu Qin's voice came from behind; Lin Xian turned—and frowned.

Infinite's side armor was in ruins: large holes, even signs of plate fractures.

"Boss, it's too cold—the armor plates are becoming brittle," Dali said.

"I know." Lin Xian exhaled heavily, his mood grim.

In less than a day, the temperature had plunged to minus thirty degrees.

Extreme thermal shifts—let alone the train's armor—even the car bodies themselves were undergoing metal deformation.

Clank clank clank! Scrape scrape scrape!

At every point on Infinite, metallic groans echoed constantly—the temperature differential between inside and out caused constant metal fatigue at every joint and weld; this extreme cold wasn't just about night monsters.

"Hurry—inspect everywhere, get back on board. Nightfall's coming."

Lin Xian saw frost rapidly forming on his face shield—alarm bells rang. He led the group in a quick perimeter check.

Aaah!

Shhh!

【Mechanical Energy Cannon】

A snow wraith erupted from beneath the train—Lin Xian blasted its head clean off; it writhed twice, stiffened—just as he stepped forward, the corpse suddenly twitched, whipping its thick tail spike straight at his face.

"Captain Lin!" Shu Qin saw this and lunged forward—but it was too late.

Scrape.

Lin Xian stood in place, his third mechanical arm gripping the sharp tail spike tightly.

Gurgghhh…

The snow spirit let out a low moan and finally died, its body turning white, encased in frost.

Crack.

The mechanical arm crushed the tail outright; Lin Xian reached out, took it in hand, and found it surprisingly heavy—the monster's tail weighed far more than he'd imagined.

"Such high density, no wonder…"

"This damn thing ambushes—so cunning," Shu Qin said as she stepped forward, voice low.

"Yeah, without heavy armor, it's hard to deal with," Lin Xian said.

He tossed it aside without wasting time; the group checked the vehicle thoroughly. Just as Lin Xian was about to return to the train, he glimpsed a shadow ahead of the cab.

"Activate collision volume sensing system! Turn on radar range!"

Beep!

The powered armor's auxiliary system locked onto the humanoid shape in the snowstorm, but the system soon flashed yellow.

"Beep-beep. No life signs."

Lin Xian frowned, drew his black pistol, and walked closer. He realized the shadow was a middle-aged woman, completely frozen into an ice sculpture, clad in thick down jacket, half-buried in snow.

"Lin Team Leader, there's more ahead."

Shu Qin, beside him, also noticed.

The group looked ahead and saw more survivors frozen into ice statues. Lin Xian walked forward and found many buried beneath snow, clutching firearms or resistance weapons, dead where they fell.

Further ahead lay a car camp, but most vehicles were half-buried by snow, their roofs piled high with snowdrifts.

Across the undulating wasteland, countless cars half-buried in snow; the foremost black SUV was angled into the snow slope, its roof rack's rain cover swollen into a pale sail. The driver's window shattered, howling wind pouring in—inside, a man's hands, sunken into ice shells, gripped the steering wheel; his frozen corpse slumped over it.

Nearby, a bus lay overturned at a 45-degree angle, its escape window clogged with snow into a funnel shape. A woman in a red down jacket had crawled out through a broken armored window; her infant's swaddling had frozen into an ice cocoon. Her scarf, trailing in the wind, chimed like wind chimes as ice shards clinked. The diesel heater pipe at the rear burst, fuel spilling and congealing into stalactite-like ice spikes on the hull, reflecting a gray light like dead fingernails.

Wind swept through the vehicle array, snow grains whistling through door gaps like a requiem. On the rearview mirror of a white SUV hung a talisman; its red tassel had frozen into rigid ice needles.

"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…"

Shu Qin glanced and whispered: "Lin Team Leader, twenty-three vehicles—sizeable. From their parking, it looks like a camp."

"They must've been attacked," Da Lou said, grabbing a frozen monster tail from the snow, pulling it up with a rustle. He saw the snow spirit's mouth still clamped onto half a human hand, its crimson tissue preserved in ice.

"Completely wiped out."

Lin Xian sighed softly.

"Alright, let's get back on the train."

"Mm."

The group fought through the violent blizzard and returned to the train.

Hiss.

As the automatic blast door sealed, the howling wind vanished outside. Before Lin Xian could remove his windproof helmet, Chen Sixuan's voice came through his earpiece.

"Lin Xian, come to the cab. Something's happened."

Lin Xian immediately took off his helmet, stripped off his cold-weather suit for PX05 to clear the snow, then hurried down the corridor to the front cab.

"What is it?"

Chen Sixuan pointed to the train's responder: "Someone's calling us."

"Still receiving messages?"

"The blizzard's too strong—long-range signals are gone. They must be nearby," Kiki said.

Lin Xian pressed the comm button.

"Who?!"

His words had barely left his lips when a frantic, broken shout crackled through:

"Hey, you train people—get out of here fast… night's coming… don't endanger us…!!"

Lin Xian realized they were survivors, like him, sheltering near the Wuliyas Tai Pass from blizzard and snow spirits.

He paused, then said directly:

"We've cleared all the monsters. We're camping here tonight. No hostile intent."

Immediately, another voice, harsh and impatient, replied: "Clearing? You think we don't know? We've got four convoys here already—too many people! Don't you understand the pack-hunting effect? Night's falling, and you're dragging in more monsters—get the hell out, don't stay!"

"Hey!" Kiki snapped, ready to shout back—but Lin Xian stopped her.

Lin Xian pressed the comm again, briefly explaining the Dark Marker: "So if you're not under attack now, neither are we. That means we'll be safe tonight. Even if trouble comes, it won't be severe. Just stay put and wait for dawn."

The pack-hunting effect and the Dark Marker were similar in some ways, but fundamentally different. The former made survivor groups reluctant to unite, even hostile toward others' proximity. Under such conditions, survivors rarely clustered unless seeking powerful official groups like the Phoenix Society.

But Lin Xian knew they misunderstood. Snow spirits were dense across the plain. If they weren't attacked, they were safe. Lin Xian's Infinite Train had just charged in and slaughtered nearly all pursuing snow spirits—the Dark Marker, even if not fully erased, was nearly gone. Staying together for the night posed no real risk.

Even if they didn't want to interact, staying apart was fine—but someone must've spotted the Infinite Train barreling into the mountain pass, and now they were nervous.

"You say it's safe? Are you the monsters' father?" The angry middle-aged man didn't hesitate: "Do you know how much we lost clearing monsters today? Why not park anywhere else on the tracks? Why here? Get out!"

"Hey, we're the Speed Convoy! You can drive ahead to Dalaite Town—there's a platform. Can't you just go there?" A woman's voice added.

"Yeah, just leave already… don't endanger us…" The original frantic voice echoed.

In the cab, Lin Xian's face darkened; Chen Sixuan's eyes narrowed with irritation.

"How stupid are these people? Why believe the pack-hunting effect and ignore us? It's not even officially confirmed…"

"Forget it."

Lin Xian's expression turned cold. He pressed the comm: "We're camping here. Stay or go—your choice."

Had they not been fellow survivors heading west to Lan, he'd have cursed them outright.

"Asshole!" the angry man roared: "You think I won't blow you to hell with a shell—"

Before he finished, other voices came from his side:

"Boss, their firepower's insane—they've got an electromagnetic cannon."

"Yeah, they killed at least a thousand snow spirits when they charged in…"

Rustle-rustle-rustle…

On the responder, a flurry of noise and murmurs erupted.

Moments later, engine roars sounded.

"Lin Xian, look."

Chen Sixuan's vision was sharp—she saw faint lights flickering through the blizzard atop the mountain hollow.

"Are they coming to cause trouble?"

Kiki squinted: "No. I think they're leaving."

"Now?!" Chen Sixuan exclaimed. "Don't they want to live?"

The headlights faded into the distance. Several large vehicle streams merged in the snowstorm, heading away.

Lin Xian pressed the comm again: "Night's coming. You won't reach Dalaite Town. Listen to me—stay here. It's safe."

Click-click~

As they moved farther, the signal deteriorated.

"Can't fight 'em… we'll just run… bye now."

"Who believes your damn marker? Watch too many movies…"

"Hurry… hurry… go… don't… respond…"

"Vrrrrrrr" (engine roar)

"Snow spirits… bang-bang-bang!" (gunfire) "Keep moving, fight your way out…"

…

Inside the Infinite Train.

"Those idiots!" Kiki growled, hearing the final exchange. "Night's falling—do they really want to die?! Sounds like hundreds of people across those convoys—this is going to be deadly…" Chen Sixuan frowned, sighed, and looked at Lin Xian: "Now I finally get what you meant. Better to let them flee than fight. Normal people just can't accept this 'pack-hunting' idea."

Lin Xian sighed: "It's fear."

He gazed out the viewport at the darkening blizzard: "After fleeing so long, survivors have developed a physiological terror of the strange and the dark. Choosing to stand and fight the dark is a hundred times harder than choosing to run."

Hoo~ Hoo~

The blizzard howled, whistling through gaps in the Infinite Train's armored plating.

The responder was silent—the other convoys were unreachable.

Beep-beep.

At Luo Yang's reminder, his pre-adjusted watch emitted a faint alert, nearly drowned by the storm.

"Night's coming. Prepare for combat."

Beneath the extreme cold vortex, the blizzard night pressed down. Though Lin Xian was confident in his team's Dark Marker status, the extreme weather bred deep unease.

Add to that the endless snow spirits beneath the snow—and his worry deepened.

He immediately ordered full alert.

!

"Bullets loaded. Watch out—snowwater's toxic. Wear your gas masks. Even after sealing the firing ports, wipe all snowwater from inside. No one drinks water during this!"

The Heterogeneous Cube had not stopped its warnings all day.

Snowwater seeped in; the vehicle's shell had been pierced. The interior was saturated with the fear-force of invading darkness. Everyone's nerves had been taut since morning.

Hearing Lin Xian's order, Shu Qin and the others sprang into action.

Lin Xian led Kiki and Chen Sixuan toward the rear, tossing each a gas mask: "Put it on. Don't take it off until the threat's gone."

The night in the blizzard shifted subtly; the sky had turned utterly dark, and as night fell, all anyone felt was a dimming of light—outside the windows, only blackness and howling blizzard remained.

Drip. Drip~

Snowmelt dripped onto the carriage floor; every crew member in the living cars held weapons, even Xiao Yuan clutching an automatic rifle, masked and fully protected.

Lin Xian sat in the storage compartment of Car 7, the train's center, where he could easily use his Mechanical Heart to cover and repair the entire train.

Wuuu~

The roof heaters ran at full power, pumping warmth into the carriages; atop the roof, the 1130 CIWS and G3 electromagnetic railguns were coated thickly with frost and ice spikes—each rotation shattered the ice frozen to their bases, only for new ice to re-form within seconds.

The windows were completely fogged white; ice patterns formed and melted rapidly, repeating endlessly.

Lin Xian prioritized repairing internal damage and gaps before tackling external armor, first sealing the interior against the snow and wind.

Creak. Creak. Creak~

Ice-forming sounds seemed to rise from all directions; Lin Xian's heart filled with dread—under this blizzard's onslaught, he feared the Infinite Train would be entirely buried in snow before dawn, and if that happened, no matter his skills, he'd never get it moving again.

Thinking of this, a sense of helplessness rose within him—darkness, mysterious entities, natural disasters—this apocalypse never ceased to drown him in endless despair.

"Fuck! Fuck!"

Lin Xian gritted his teeth in silent curses, his inner turmoil now unbearable.

Every carriage was utterly silent; everyone waited for change outside.

Minutes passed; Lin Xian checked his watch—it was already 7 PM.

Outside, the sky remained the same: darkness and blizzard.

"It's dark already…"

"It's been dark for a long time."

Lin Xian stood, face grim, exhaled slowly, his expression taut as he sensed the exterior of the entire train.

The entire Infinite Train was now coated in snow; its steel armor plating bore a thick shell of ice, frozen by wind and snow.

Between heaven and earth, only the howling blizzard remained—nothing else.

"All carriages," Lin Xian decisively pressed his earpiece.

"Lin Team, no issues."

Shu Qin moved swiftly from Car 12 toward the front, reporting as she went.

"Car 11 is fine," Sha Sha said.

"Car 10 is fine," Miao Lu reported.

"Car 9 is fine," Lu Chang reported.

"Car 8 is fine too," Xiao Yuan reported.

"Cars 6 to 5 are fine," Da Lou and Lu Xingchen moved quickly down the corridor.

"Cars 3 and 4 are fine—the plague plants show no further reaction," Ding Junyi said, watching the faint energy glow. After killing so many snow wraiths, the Hell Black Chrysanthemum must be full.

"Cars 2 and 1 are fine," Chen Sixuan and Kiki replied.

Lin Xian stood in Car 7, finally exhaling in relief.

"Everyone, keep your cold-weather gear on—don't take it off yet. We'll observe for a while; once things stabilize, we'll begin shift rotations for rest."

"Understood."

Only now did everyone's taut nerves loosen slightly; Chen Sixuan began distributing food. They'd planned to prepare hot meals, but Lin Xian feared the complexity, and since the train's heating was already at maximum, they'd keep it simple.

First, ensure everyone's basic needs were met.

In Car 2, Kiki continuously scanned radio frequencies—found completely dead.

"The Extreme Cold Vortex has fully engulfed this region. Even the global radios of Xilan City and the Phoenix Society are unreachable. Nearby survivor radios don't work either."

Chen Sixuan looked up at the ceiling; she knew that above, the colossal Extreme Cold Vortex was rapidly regressing the world into an ice age—the blizzard, laced with dark invasion forces, had completely blocked even Dark Radio frequencies.

At this moment, the Infinite Train had become a solitary vessel adrift in the boundless snowy wasteland.

"At today's speed, we'll need at least ten more hours to reach Xilan," Chen Sixuan said.

Lin Xian shook his head: "Too optimistic. Tomorrow's snow will be at least twice as deep—we'll be lucky to hit 50 kph. Unless this blizzard stops."

"Ah…"

Kiki's face darkened with worry; she rubbed her hands. "If the snow keeps getting worse, we'll get buried."

"Then we might have to convert a few snowmobiles—or you'll have to carry everyone flying to Xilan," Lin Xian said half-jokingly.

If that happened, he could think of no other option but to abandon the Infinite Train.

At this, Kiki's face fell instantly, her expression heavy: "Whoa—what about our train? I thought the tracks were the worst problem. Never thought it'd be this blizzard."

"Lin Xian," Chen Sixuan stared at him gravely. "Is there no other way?"

Lin Xian took a deep breath, thought for a moment, then said seriously: "We must first observe how this blizzard evolves. If the wind and snow lessen after midnight, we'll be fine. But if they intensify…"

Here, his gaze sharpened. "Then we'll have to risk everything and charge forward!"

Night was a dead end—but being buried under snow was annihilation. Compared to that, even a one-in-ten chance of survival was worth gambling on. At least pushing forward, however perilously, was better than staying put and abandoning the train to walk—or relying on Kiki to fly everyone to Xilan.

Of course, the snow depth hadn't yet reached that point.

Chen Sixuan nodded: "I understand. Then I'll take the night watch."

Lin Xian shook his head: "No. Same as always—I'll take the night shift."

Adept users had stronger mental energy, and Lin Xian knew the Hell Black Chrysanthemum would continue releasing energy tonight. Letting Chen Sixuan and the others rest well would accelerate their bodily evolution and improve their long-term survival odds.

Chen Sixuan looked at him with concern, then nodded.

The blizzard gnawed at the Infinite Train's external armor; the gale howled like wailing ghosts.

In the living carriages, crew members huddled in their tightly sealed nests; those on shift removed their cold-weather gear and wrapped themselves in thick quilts.

The carriage heating system ran continuously, but as the blizzard intensified, interior temperature could only be maintained at 12–13°C. Besides the heaters, other areas rapidly lost heat as the metal carriages were devoured by the outside cold.

Fortunately, the Infinite Train had pre-stocked cold-weather supplies, and Chen Sixuan had distributed meat cans tonight—everyone huddled in their warm little nests, relatively comfortable.

In a neatly arranged, cozy living cabin, Xiao Yuan pulled back the blackout cover, wrapped in thick blankets, watching the blizzard rage through the blackness outside. Her face showed worry; she touched the glass—immediate bone-chilling cold made her frown.

She shut the blackout panel, curled back onto her small bed. Beside her pillow, two cans of pear canned fruit were carefully stored.

Fruit cans were distributed randomly; according to train supplies, Chen Sixuan usually gave everyone one can every other day. Xiao Yuan refused to eat hers, hoarding them all—specifically trading with teammates for pear cans, secretly guarding them on her bed.

Looking at the pear cans beside her pillow, Xiao Yuan smiled sweetly, sighed deeply, and quickly closed her eyes to sleep.

In four hours, she'd have to wake and join others on night watch.

Due to the blizzard night, Lin Xian had arranged a four-shift rotation to ensure rapid response in emergencies.

Hum. Hum!

Lin Xian kept both the Whale 03e heavy gas turbine locomotive and the Twin Star 11r nuclear-electric locomotive running to prevent their motors from freezing, and the carriage heating system now operated at full capacity, desperately pumping warmth inside.

This was energy consumed for survival, but the Twin Star nuclear locomotive had a thermal output of 100, 00 kW—this power demand was negligible.

The only problem was the extreme water consumption from heating—both human hydration and the train's water tanks. They couldn't use snow to refill the tanks; though Chen Sixuan had already filled them fully and placed several large barrels as backup, the issue remained critical.

Time quickly reached 9 PM.

Extreme cold: minus 40 degrees!

Lin Xian worked every second, manufacturing ammunition while also building TRP-4th-gen active exoskeleton power armor.

He wanted to produce two more sets during this time—not only to improve his mechanical crafting, but to equip several others with this armor. Movement in snow was a major problem; this armor would provide immense assistance.

Lin Xian had grown increasingly adept at multitasking, especially with bullets—he produced them effortlessly.

So his left hand crafted ammunition, his right began assembling the power armor.

The challenge in building active exoskeleton armor was the same as with the PX-05 robot: the exoskeleton material was manageable, but the integrated intelligent combat system, power source, joint drive shafts, and hydraulic power hubs were complex. Total weight: 30 kg. Equipped with one small high-energy electric drive unit and thirteen hydraulic power units—all required precision manufacturing. First build: still started from a single chip to construct the central controller.

But after upgrading Mechanical Crafting to Level 4, speed and efficiency surged dramatically. Around four hours later, Lin Xian produced a set of light-gray-painted armor—brand new, radiating the scent of fresh industrial materials.

Except for the arm sections, the armor's protective capability was nearly zero—but its advantage was lightness.

Though it weighed 30 kg, the full-body support structure transferred weight to the ground. Its power units delivered over 500 kg of explosive force, 100 meters in 3. seconds of linear acceleration, and 270 degrees per second joint angular velocity.

It also featured dynamic detection and a small radar targeting system. Beyond enhancing biomechanical ratios, it had safety thresholds: forced knee shock absorber activation, arm bone pressure sensor fuses, myocardial overload alarms, and more…

Overall, for gene-evolved individuals like Shu Qin, Chen Sixuan, Lu Chang, and Miao Lu, this auxiliary power armor was like adding wings to a tiger.

"This first set goes to Chen Laoshi."

Lin Xian took a breath and immediately resumed work.

【Ding! Non-mechanical force detected for reflection check.】

【Check successful. No fear risk detected within train. Dark-side intrusion blocked.】

【Non-mechanical energy converted. Gained 1000 Mechanical Source Points.】

"Hmm…"

As soon as Lin Xian moved, the Mechanical Heart's interface flashed—he immediately smiled. Killing so many snow wraiths had benefits after all—the Hell Black Chrysanthemum could absorb this much dark energy.

【Current Mechanical Heart Level: LV. (2690/7000)】

Mechanical Crafting: 4 (360/2000) — Improves construction efficiency

"Each power armor built increases Mechanical Crafting proficiency by at least 200. Excellent."

Feeling his energy slowly restored by the faint glow, Lin Xian took a deep breath—now, with this boost, he'd seize every second tonight to craft.

In the night, Lin Xian crafted while monitoring the howling blizzard outside. He occasionally glanced at the external temperature—it had approached minus 50 degrees.

Time reached 5 AM. Having finished the second power armor, Lin Xian grew restless. He rose, opened the blackout panel, and found the windows completely covered in thick frost. Whether because the train was frozen too thickly or not, the howling wind outside seemed quieter.

Lin Xian shivered. Even with heaters at full power, the carriage temperature hovered around ten degrees; even corridor junctions and restrooms were thick with frost and ice.

He immediately donned the power armor, thermal regulator, cold-weather suit, and helmet, then headed to the nuclear locomotive car to open the cockpit door.

Clang~

The gate motor groaned in pain—the door didn't budge.

Lin Xian frowned, stepped forward, and manually forced it—the power armor's torque surged sharply, and outside the door came a loud crackling sound, like ice shattering.

Whoosh~

As the train door opened, a wave of nearly solid white cold air slammed into his face; under the cabin's lights, snow outside had piled up to the threshold—and was already spilling inward.

Lin Xian's expression changed; the train door stood 1. meters above the track, meaning the snow was now at least 1. meters deep—utterly terrifying.

Yet what brought Lin Xian a sliver of relief was that, aside from the still-violent wind, the snow had stopped!

Buried under thick snow, Lin Xian stepped forward against the wind—and his leg sank in with a crunch, nearly up to his thigh.

Lin Xian stared at the scene and sighed softly: "Good."

Good—the snow was deep, but not compacted.

Lin Xian struggled out of the snow layer, then closed the door and climbed onto the roof, stepping along the seams of the train's armored plating.

Beyond the howling wind, everything was pitch black; he switched on his flashlight and scanned around—everywhere was a blinding white expanse, as if the Infinite Train had rolled into a white platform, completely encased.

The roof was piled high with snow; both sides of the carriages were sheathed in a transparent ice shell, making the entire train look like it had just been dug out of a polar ice layer.

The engine motors and heaters hummed steadily; Lin Xian walked forward along the roof, checking the external conditions.

【Low Temperature Alert, Low Temperature Alert】

The power armor blared its warning; thick thermal gear quickly crusted over with ice shards.

Lin Xian moved swiftly across the roof, taking in the train's condition—his heart tightened.

"This should still be drivable—if the snow doesn't keep falling…"

By his calculations, nightfall was still seven or eight hours away; if the blizzard continued, he'd have no choice but to risk the entire team, launching the train into the dark to push through the storm.

But with this depth of snow and the darkness, if hundreds or thousands of snow wraiths attacked, they'd have virtually no chance of resealing the markers. In this vast snowfield, with no ammo resupply and no escape, they'd simply wait to die.

After completing his patrol, Lin Xian exhaled slightly—then suddenly remembered something and leapt off the train, trudging through deep snow toward the destroyed convoy ahead.

He needed Mechanical Devouring.

Though those cars added little to his mechanical source points now, his decomposition center's material reserves were nearly gone; the past two days had seen heavy use for weapon and ammo production. Since entering the snowfield, he hadn't found a single mechanical object—not even a power pole. Here was a whole convoy—he couldn't afford to waste it. What tomorrow might bring, he had no idea.

Most of the vehicles in the destroyed convoy were buried under deep snow, leaving only mounds rising from the white; Lin Xian had to sweep away snow with his hands to see the buried hulls.

His foot stepped down—and the slope's snow layer suddenly sank; the SUV tilted over with it.

Thud—crash!

As the SUV tipped sideways, the frozen corpse of a man inside smashed through the windshield, his head half-exposed; Lin Xian's flashlight beam landed on a face caked in frost, eyes wide open, staring motionlessly at him.

Lin Xian's expression didn't change; he placed his hand on the car and began devouring, all the while shining the flashlight on the corpse: "Better dead than stuck here. Don't come back to this world next life."

"Brother, living's hard," the frozen man sighed to him.

"I know," Lin Xian swept the flashlight's beam around: "You've done well—getting so many this far."

"But none made it," the frozen man twisted his brittle neck toward the bus: "Too bad—if not for those monsters…"

He looked at Lin Xian: "Your train could carry more. But if everyone dies, won't that weigh heavier on you?"

Lin Xian shook his head: "I'm no savior. I can't guarantee my team survives tomorrow. So I won't take on more people—not until my abilities reach a certain level."

"You're afraid," the frozen man said, staring at him: "Otherwise you wouldn't be running nonstop. Sleep must be a luxury for you."

Lin Xian shrugged, denying it: "I'm an adept. I've boundless energy. The Hell Black Chrysanthemum on the train converts energy to replenish me—I'm still in decent shape."

"Decent?"

The frozen man touched his broken neck, sneering: "Then why are you seeing me? Why are you talking to a dead man?"

Lin Xian glared at him, speechless: "I'm just lonely at night."

The frozen man sighed, studying him seriously: "Honestly, with this much pressure, haven't you thought of just joining the Phoenix Society? You'd be so much lighter. Your ability, combined with them, could accomplish so much—you don't have to carry the whole train alone."

"There's some sense to that…"

Lin Xian exhaled a plume of frost, his gaze sweeping over the buried convoy beneath the wind, then the corpse before him—already dead, already silent. He muttered to himself.

【Devour Successful: Mechanical Source Points +20, Mechanical Devouring Skill Proficiency +10】

【Decompose: Obtained High-Manganese Steel ×10, Hot-Rolled Forged Steel ×10, Cold-Rolled Dual-Phase Steel Plate ×5, Ordinary Carbon Steel ×20, Non-Metallic Foam Material, Non-Metallic Composite Material…】

As the devouring ended, the SUV rapidly decayed into a small pile of brown ash; its contents and the man's corpse sank into the snow pit. The surrounding deep snow, deprived of support, collapsed with a rush—within seconds, the man vanished beneath fresh snow.

"Good luck."

Before being buried, the frozen man said to Lin Xian.

Boom.

Suddenly, the snowfield began to tremble faintly.

Lin Xian saw the snow layer and air before him quivering; he looked up—and heard a subsonic roar, distant yet unmistakable, rising from the snowfield. Above, a rippling ionospheric wave swept across the sky. Instantly, Lin Xian felt a rustling, churning noise beyond the pass.

Just as he thought it was a snow wraith uprising, the noise faded—then vanished entirely.

Around Wuliyasi Tai Mountain, an eerie silence returned.

Lin Xian gazed upward, where the distant polar vortex pulsed with occasional thunderbolts, illuminating cobalt storm veils like the hide of a cosmic beast—heart-stopping.

(End of Chapter)