Chapter 256

The news that the Infinite had arrived and the Longshan No. 1 traction locomotive's malfunction was about to be repaired quickly spread between the two trains. The passengers in the Longshan No. 1 living carriage, who had been in a state of panic, saw the oppressive atmosphere quickly dissipate. Many breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both excited and fortunate.

Lin Xian felt the eager atmosphere coming from the carriages behind and felt a bit emotional. When there are many people, emotions are very easily influenced by the group, whether positive or negative, which greatly increases the difficulty of managing the train.

Of course, the benefit is that there is strength in numbers. Combined with Lin Xian's weapon manufacturing system, they could arm a very powerful fighting force to take root in the apocalypse.

Learning that Lin Xian was using his mechanical esper ability to repair the train, many people ran over from the distant carriages. Even with armed personnel blocking them, they couldn't stop these people from peering toward the traction locomotive.

"Wow, is that Captain Lin?"

"I saw him back at the Yubei Airport; he really is a hero!"

"Mechanical esper abilities are so cool!"

"My god, we are saved."

"To think he can fix such a large locomotive all by himself..."

"Let me see, let me see..."

The crowd was noisy and chaotic. Kiki, Shu Qin, and Xiang Xiang Ningjing were preparing their gear for the outing. Seeing the people peering over, Kiki said to Lin Xian with a grin: "Look how popular you are. Once we get to Xilan City, maybe the Phoenix Society will fight to poach you."

She said this half-jokingly, but to Shu Qin, it sounded somewhat inexplicable. She looked at Lin Xian with a complex expression, not knowing what his intentions were.

If Lin Xian joined the Phoenix Society, would that mean the Infinite would have to be completely disbanded?

Perhaps the entire team would attach itself to the Phoenix Society and become a protected entity.

"Joining the Phoenix Society doesn't mean the status quo will change," Lin Xian said seriously. "The Phoenix Society is now also a mobile official institution. The Dawn Center is essentially a super-large train group or mobile city. Even if our Infinite catches up with the main force, it doesn't mean we can slack off or calmly accept protection."

Lin Xian understood the principle that with greater power comes greater responsibility. In this apocalypse, even women and children must contribute; there are no innocent people.

"Well said."

Xiang Xiang Ningjing walked over at this moment, followed by the man and woman named Abai and Xiaoqing. They were also fully armed, and it seemed she was prepared to take them along with Lin Xian to participate in the rescue mission.

"The Phoenix Society is different from Dawn City. Without a town to rely on, except for Phoenix City and the Noah sea city, all land survivor fleets are independent collectives. Whether it's trains, trucks, cars, or RVs, all types of vehicles can be considered mobile city housing. Joining the Dawn Center means having an overall organizational structure in terms of information, collective resources, and defensive combat power, but this doesn't mean we need to abandon our vehicles. On the contrary, our own vehicles are the most important foundation."

"The great migration of all humanity, it sounds like a swarm of locusts passing through," Shu Qin remarked at the right moment.

"Indeed," Xiang Xiang Ningjing nodded.

Kiki shrugged: "The Phoenix Society isn't all migrating. It should be said that the main survival force is moving. For example, the Phoenix Society's most important industrial asset, Kehua Heavy Industry, is the world's largest military technology group. So many manufacturing factories and research institutions can't all be moved, right?"

"That's certainly impossible," Lin Xian said. "Although Phoenix City and Noah possess certain industrial production capabilities, to support the Interstellar Military and even the entire Phoenix Society's weaponry, technology, and industrial product manufacturing, they definitely need super land factories. For example, that rumored super-large mecha couldn't possibly be manufactured by a mobile fortress like the Dawn Center."

"As far as I know, Kehua Heavy Industry has many bases, all currently under the protection of the Interstellar Military. Additionally, Phoenix City is cooperating with many large organizations and forces, such as the Finge Group." Xiang Xiang Ningjing looked at Lin Xian and said: "You should know Jian Xuwei from the Silver Star. The Finge Group still has many remaining assets and strength globally, not just their Eternal-class doomsday train. Besides that, there is Silent City, which is currently also one of the Phoenix Society and Dawn City's important military supply partners. Even the former Federation's Dawn City maintains a certain level of cooperation with the Phoenix Society in many aspects."

"Different stances don't mean we can't cooperate," Lin Xian said in a deep voice. "The crisis humanity faces now is the same. In fact, all survivors should hope that all of humanity can unite, rather than being like this."

"I can only say... I hope one day it will be like that." Xiang Xiang Ningjing sighed, turned back to look at Abai and Xiaoqing, and said: "These two young people were rescued by us from a group of Advent Sect organizations. They were used as test subjects to study biological evolution. You tell me, for such an organization, would they hope for all of humanity to unite?"

Lin Xian and the two women turned their gazes toward the two people behind Xiang Xiang Ningjing.

Abai wore thick sunglasses, and his features looked very young, about seventeen or eighteen years old. Although his eyes couldn't be seen and he didn't say a word from beginning to end, Lin Xian could still feel a sense of restless panic from him, as if it were a sequela of having a physiological fear of the outside world.

As for the girl named Xiaoqing next to him, she had a pretty face and originally looked like the obedient type, but at this moment, there was only a cold, numb feeling in her eyes, as if she had lost all emotion. Her hand gripped the gun-blade tightly, and her whole body was cold, devoid of the awkward innocence that should belong to her age.

"Test subjects? Testing what?" Kiki frowned.

Xiang Xiang Ningjing sighed, turned around, and gently patted Abai on the shoulder, seemingly to let him relax a bit. Then, in front of everyone, she gently lifted the sunglasses on Abai's face.

In the next instant, the expressions of the three changed. The area around Abai's eyes was densely packed with various pinholes and holes and scars left by sensors, and they had been stitched together with fasteners similar to a stapler. Those eyes were now gray and white, and apart from a flow of energy fluctuations, no pupils could be seen.

Abai seemed very resistant to this action; his whole body trembled, and Xiang Xiang Ningjing put the sunglasses back on when she saw this.

"His eyes evolved esper abilities, so they used his eyes for experiments."

Xiang Xiang Ningjing said calmly: "When we rescued them, I was even thinking, is the dark night more terrifying, or is the human heart more terrifying?"

Kiki's expression turned gloomy as she looked at the man and woman who remained silent and indifferent.

Shu Qin also said in a deep voice: "These guys are very hard to understand with normal human thinking."

Woo~!

At this moment, the electric locomotive's traction motor began to run, emitting a low hum.

Lin Xian stood up and walked out from behind the two women, looking at Xiang Xiang Ningjing: "Alright, let's coordinate the plans for our two teams and make it quick."

"Good!"

Seeing this, Xiang Xiang Ningjing's previously solemn brow finally relaxed, and she hurriedly said: "I just calculated that if we set off now, as long as there is no blizzard, we should arrive at Xilan City around 22:00 tonight. If we go to the Tracama Ice Valley, it will take at least 2 hours round trip. Regardless, it will be dark before we enter Xilan, so we can be a bit more flexible with the time."

Lin Xian, however, said: "The blizzard will definitely come again, and there will be no shortage of trouble in the snow. We need to make it quick. If the situation changes, we will return and set off as soon as possible. If the train doesn't run, no one will feel safe. Only by entering Xilan City can we breathe a sigh of relief."

Xilan City is heavily guarded by the Phoenix Society and has a large number of survivors gathered. It can be said to be the only safe haven in this snowstorm. Only by reaching this place can Lin Xian feel slightly at ease.

While giving the Phoenix Society the data on the Dark Mark, Lin Xian also wanted to obtain a train drive upgrade plan from them, or gain some information regarding mechanical craftsmanship and esper abilities.

In short, joining up with the Phoenix Society counts as finding an official organization for the survivors. Finding an organization in these days of endless fleeing is definitely heartening.

Clang.

In the whistling cold wind, the Infinite was connected to the rear of Longshan No. 1 through the metal connecting components manufactured by Lin Xian.

In the Infinite's carriage, Lin Xian gathered the core members to synchronize his plan with everyone.

"Kiki and I will go. Same as usual, if I'm not here, the whole train is under Chen Laoshi's command."

Lin Xian looked at the time on his watch and said: "It has already been discussed with Longshan No. 1; it will take no more than three hours at most. If a blizzard occurs, we will return early."

After finishing, he looked at Lu Xingchen and Shasha.

"Fire Brother, Shasha, you are responsible for clearing the way here. Shasha, bring out the Vulcan so you can support us at any time. Chen Laoshi is responsible for contacting Lu Yong on the Longshan No. 1 side. Dalou and Shu Qin will guard the train."

Chen Sixuan nodded upon hearing this: "Could there really be an S-class anomalous entity over there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shasha followed up: "It sounds very dangerous."

"That's why we are traveling light," Lin Xian explained: "Fewer people make it easier to run."

"Alright, then be careful," Chen Sixuan said.

"Let's go, kiddo." Lin Xian finished arranging everything and called out to Kiki, only to see Kiki bring the PX05 robot over from the rear carriage, saying: "Let's take this guy along; it might come in handy at a critical moment."

Lin Xian nodded upon seeing this: "Fine."

Hum!

Two camouflage-colored tracked polar vehicles rolled over the snow layer and drove out. Lin Xian and Kiki drove one, while Xiang Xiang Ningjing took Abai and Xiaoqing in the other. Without much hesitation, the two vehicles quickly drove toward the northeast, kicking up a large amount of snow dust, and soon disappeared into the vast snowfield.

"Calculate the positioning, make marks."

"Alright, got it~"

Kiki sat in the passenger seat. Every time they drove a certain distance, she used her telekinesis to control a device connected to a long pole and inserted it into the deep snow layer outside. Then, she operated the mobile terminal, and a small communicator on top of the long pole immediately began to flash green light.

This was a device temporarily manufactured by Lin Xian for relaying information transmission. Even if they encountered a blizzard blocking signals, they could find the direction back through short-range positioning, so they wouldn't get lost.

Rushing into the vast snowfield, the two polar vehicles were like driving on a white ocean.

The original Parma Grassland was vast and open for ten thousand miles without hills. At this moment, it was covered by a layer of white snow, making the horizon seem boundless. The white snow layer was incredibly dazzling, making it difficult to distinguish whether the route they were driving was a straight line. The navigation system on the vehicle only had a simple concept of east, west, south, and north directions; other than that, there was nothing.

kiki crossed her arms: "You are a mechanical esper. This kind of thing is simply a nuclear-level weapon for you. Are you not curious?"

"Mechanical esper abilities are truly do-whatever-you-want. In this icy doomsday, you can actually create signal transmitters out of thin air."

"He... he is very powerful," Abai said softly from the back, hearing Xiang Xiang Ningjing's words: "He can... block my rays."

Xiang Xiang Ningjing looked surprised upon hearing this, then said: "Lin Dui's train is also full of hidden talents. The girl next to him is a telekinesis-type esper. I've seen many powerful esper abilities for a long time, but this is the only telekinesis-type I've seen, and the mechanical type is unheard of. His ability doesn't look like an esper ability at all; it's more like something bestowed by a creator."

"Mechanical type... he's not the only one," Xiaoqing, who had been silent from beginning to end, suddenly said numbly.

"Hmm?" Xiang Xiang Ningjing looked up at the girl in the rearview mirror: "You've seen other mechanical-type ability users?"

Xiaoqing looked at the dazzling white snow outside the window and fell silent again, saying no more. Seeing that she didn't speak, Xiang Xiang Ningjing didn't continue to press. She knew that both of them had suffered a lot of inhuman torture in that mysterious Advent Sect organization, and they had an extremely strong psychological rejection of the outside world. Xiang Xiang Ningjing had also spent some time with them after rescuing them before gradually gaining their trust. And these two were almost insanely reckless for the safety of the train, so much so that when the two of them attacked Lin Xian before, Xiang Xiang Ningjing had lost her composure a bit. Fortunately, nothing happened between the two sides, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

In Lin Xian's vehicle, Kiki was operating the mobile terminal while saying to Lin Xian:

"Do you think the organization where Abai and Xiaoqing were could be the previous Foundation Research Institute?"

"I don't know," Lin Xian blurted out: "But this sounds like something they would do."

Kiki curled her lips and then looked at Lin Xian: "Then I know why they invited you. It looks like they want to study your esper ability."

Lin Xian smiled helplessly: "If you hadn't said that, I really wouldn't have thought of this point. I thought they took a fancy to my excellent genes and my rich knowledge."

Nonsense, he certainly knew that his greatest value to such an institution was his esper ability. Even the Phoenix Society's huge interest in him stemmed from this point.

"It's different," Kiki said, changing the subject: "I mean, shouldn't wanting to study your esper ability be like them—catching you and then conducting inhuman experiments? Why, for you specifically, did they need to invite you, and spend so much patience letting you appreciate their human games, and even easily let us leave? Don't you think the logic here is very strange?"

Hum hum hum!

The tracked load-bearing wheels roared. Lin Xian thought about Kiki's words while driving, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"Actually, I can't figure this out either."

With the Foundation's strength, Lin Xian didn't believe the other party changed their way of studying espers because they feared his and Kiki's combat power. But Hua Xiaoling's attitude seemed somewhat mysterious to him.

Because in his contact with Hua Xiaoling, besides mystery, he also felt a kind of sincerity.

!

That's right, sincerity.

It was that kind of sincerity where different understandings and opinions on things were completely inclusive and open, and she was also incomparably firm about the cause she was pursuing.

So much so that when she invited Lin Xian, it was completely with an appreciative and approving tone, which was completely different from the bloody experiments being conducted at the Qingshui Town test site.

Rumble~

Above the sky, the extreme cold vortex covering the horizon constantly emitted bursts of thunder, pressing down on the snowfield, and even the air could feel the tremor.

【Low-temperature warning, minus 60 degrees.】

The cold wind whistled, and the temperature detector inside the polar vehicle flashed red light. The outer windows and frames were already covered with terrifying white frost, and the cold air seeped in from the sealed gaps of the polar vehicle, almost in a solidified form, making it impossible for the temperature inside the vehicle to rise.

Lin Xian and Kiki were both fully armed in the vehicle, wearing thick cold-proof helmets, and the body temperature maintenance devices on their bodies were also maintaining power output.

Kiki was so cold that she shrank her neck and couldn't help but add a protective shield to herself with telekinesis, which made it a little better.

Lin Xian watched this scene and remembered his 【Mechanical Amplification】. At this moment, he opened the light screen and looked:

【Ice Wall—Mechanical Amplification】

【Mechanical Amplification started: Ice Wall 8:44:59】

"The AT Field will successfully upgrade in about 8 hours. This skill sounds like its defense level is much stronger than the Ice Wall. Having more life-saving skills is always good..."

At the same time, he opened his R&D center again.

【R&D Center】

【TRP 4th Generation Special Industrial Active Exoskeleton Power Armor (Blueprint): 2 days 2 hours】

The upgrade of the power armor blueprint is also crucial. If he manufactures this, he can directly improve his and his teammates' combat and survival levels. As long as his mechanical manufacturing level continues to improve and manufacturing efficiency speeds up, he can equip the entire train with this power armor. Then the Infinite's strength would be equivalent to everyone being a genetically evolved mechanical warrior.

The two polar vehicles drove in the snowfield, like two grains of sand moving in the boundless white ocean on the horizon. After driving for about an hour, the terrain began to have some rolling hills.

Kiki used the PX05's scene scanning radar to observe the terrain ahead and found that the two vehicles were beginning to approach a huge glacier canyon stretching for dozens of miles.

And in Lin Xian's line of sight, the white snowfield ahead suddenly came to an abrupt end, appearing as a neatly cut cliff. He immediately turned the direction, and the two vehicles drove along the edge of the canyon up to a high slope before stopping.

"We've arrived. This should be the Tracama Ice Valley."

The two opened the vehicle doors at this moment, and a whistling snow wind rushed toward them. Lin Xian, wearing a black snow-blindness mask, stood on the tracks of the polar vehicle. Xiang Xiang Ningjing, who was behind, also arrived immediately. Everyone stopped their vehicles and looked ahead together.

Not far ahead, a huge canyon that tore through the earth appeared in their line of sight, stretching continuously.

The whistling cold wind formed a vortex airflow over the canyon, and tiny white snowflakes kept flying around.

"According to the previous map data, this canyon originally had a glacier landscape all year round. After being covered by the blizzard, even the glaciers can't be seen," Xiang Xiang Ningjing said through the communicator, braving the cold wind: "We haven't searched for Old Shi and the others' signals all the way, but the orientation is indeed on this side."

"How can we find them in such a big canyon? Are we supposed to go down?" Kiki controlled the PX-05 robot to fly out over the cliff ahead. On the mobile terminal, the camera system was blocked by wind and snow, and only a very blurry view of the ice valley could be seen. Below, it was not only deep but also had complex glacier terrain.

Lin Xian looked up and gazed into the distance. This ice valley had open areas and vertical narrow deep valleys. Exploring downward would definitely be extremely dangerous, and having walked so far without seeing any snow monsters, this only increased the sense of unease in his heart.

"Sister Ning, let's search with this place as the center and control the time."

He looked at the dark clouds swirling in the sky. In the center of the extreme cold vortex, there were bursts of wild thunder from time to time, reflecting a cobalt blue storm sky, which was heart-stopping.

Whoosh whoosh~ It seemed to confirm his guess, as the cold wind began to intensify at this moment.

"The blizzard should be coming soon. This place is not suitable for a long stay."

Xiang Xiang Ningjing nodded: "From the situation we just came from, there shouldn't be any unexpected dangers. It seems Old Shi and the others must have encountered some other situation. Could it be that they went into the canyon?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xian shook his head directly: "Probably not. If you go down in this terrain, you can't come back up. Even if he were driving a train with a modified strong-magnetized all-terrain drive module, he wouldn't be stupid enough to drive down."

"Hmm, then let's not delay."

Xiang Xiang Ningjing returned to the vehicle decisively. She brought 10 small drones for rescue and search. At the same time, on Lin Xian's side, Kiki also flew to the high altitude, taking the PX-05 robot to explore down the canyon.

"Kiddo, be careful."

"Don't say that~" Flying over the deep valley and looking at the icy canyon below where the cold wind was biting and the light was dark and bottomless, Kiki couldn't help but feel a little nervous: "This place is quite scary."

Lin Xian wasn't idle either. He went directly to the edge of the cliff, stretched out his hand, and the light screen appeared. A large amount of materials flew out and quickly forged and combined in the air.

Soon, a signal tower about three meters high was manufactured by Lin Xian and stood on the edge of the cliff. At the same time, he took out the communicator and began to broadcast on all frequencies.

Zzz, click~

The search frequency unfolded in the wind and snow. Lin Xian squatted on the ground, constantly watching the signal waveband of the communicator in his hand.

Click~

Xiang Xiang Ningjing looked at the gloomy sky and the goose-feather snow that was gradually drifting over. The drone control screen in her hand was completely blurry, and she couldn't search for anything at all. Before long, drones were constantly being frozen by the wind and snow and falling into the snow.

At this moment, Abai behind her suddenly walked up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Over... over there."

Abai pointed toward the direction along the edge of the canyon to the south.

"What did you see?" Xiang Xiang Ningjing asked immediately.

Abai opened his mouth and said slowly:

"The breath of death... monsters', people's..."

Xiang Xiang Ningjing's expression changed upon hearing this, and she immediately found Lin Xian.

"Captain Lin, this way!"

Lin Xian, who was searching for signals, stood up immediately, and the group climbed toward a steep slope ahead.

Creak, creak.

Braving the wind and snow, stepping on the thick snow that could bury a person, when Lin Xian and the others climbed over the steep slope, a huge open field appeared in front of them.

Crack.

Just as Xiang Xiang Ningjing walked over, her feet seemed to step on a stiff object. She looked up and saw a gray monster's leg several meters long appearing in the snow in front of her, half-covered and half-buried, with only a sharp claw extending into the air, hanging with solidified white frost in the wind and snow.

"Careful!" she shouted immediately.

At this moment, the wind and snow gradually decreased, and the visibility ahead became clearer.

And at this time, more and more frozen corpses of anomalous entities appeared in their field of vision. At the same time, there were a large number of damaged vehicles, dead human corpses, and huge bat-like wings. Further ahead, Lin Xian also saw a black Hercules transport vertical-lift aircraft crashed in the ice and snow, with its huge engine unit inserted into the ground.

Looking around, it was as if a terrifying fierce battle had taken place here, and only the word "tragic" could describe it.

And besides a large number of snow monster corpses, there were many anomalous entities they had never seen before. A large monster shaped like a four-legged beast, several meters tall, was stuck on the vertical wing of an aircraft, dying in a tragic state, with gray-black scales all over its body, looking very terrifying.

And those strange wings—Lin Xian had seen similar ones when passing through Dalat Town before, but that one was much larger than what he saw at this moment, but the wingspan looked like it was at least four or five meters. One can imagine what kind of terrifying monster was buried under the snow.

The cold wind whistled, and hundreds of anomalous entity monster corpses were presented on this battlefield, along with countless damaged aircraft and cars.

It was like an anomalous hell in a snowstorm!

(End of chapter)