Chapter 264: Three-Kilometer Front

The bitter wind howled, and the Longshan No. 1 and the Infinite had already prepared their defenses as they sat idle on the North Line tracks.

On the very front of Longshan No. 1's locomotive, Lu Xingchen sat atop the roof in a thick winter suit, gazing into the snowstorm, his communication headset ready for any signal, while Lu Yong and the others aboard Longshan No. 1 also prepared to start the train.

Inside the double-decker carriages, no elderly or children remained—all adults were fully armed; heavy machine guns, turrets, anti-aircraft cannons, and electromagnetic cannons were all in position, everyone staring toward the endless snowy plains to the east, waiting for something.

"Three kilometers? I understand."

In the Infinite's cockpit, Chen Sixuan, hearing Lin Xian's words, grew tense; the Whale 03e heavy gas turbine locomotive had already been preheated by the electric de-icer, the twin-star nuclear-powered locomotive behind it had ignited its engine, and the carriage heaters maintained a comfortable temperature.

"Everyone, get ready—we'll start the train in just a few minutes!"

Click-click-click~

After prolonged idling, ice shells coated the train's outer armor; the once-black heavy train was now blanketed in frost, its side flaps buried under snow layers, and beneath the train, the tracks and iron wheels emitted continuous metallic groans.

As temperatures continued to drop, some train systems began failing or shutting down entirely—water tank pumps, air circulation units, and even alarm lights for certain brake valves had ignited inside the cockpit.

Chen Sixuan frowned, her gaze heavy, hand resting on the forward throttle lever, focused and waiting for Lin Xian's signal.

Inside the rear carriages of the Infinite, silence reigned; everyone waited in tension, soldiers with machine guns stationed behind blast doors, ready to deploy fire support; atop the train, the 1130 CIWS and G3 electromagnetic railguns had already risen, their search radars active, each rotation of their bases shattering newly formed ice shells.

……

On the other side, the steel tide of the defensive line surged across the snowy plains with ferocious force; behind them, endless waves of snow wraiths converged from all directions, strange creatures growing ever more numerous—large four-legged monsters smashed through surrounding snow wraiths and burst forth from the blizzard, lunging straight at the polar vehicles on the convoy's flank.

As the enemy drew closer, the cacophony of light and heavy fire became deafening; at the convoy's front, a dark red laser beam, like a lighthouse, periodically swept from the massive all-terrain train, slaughtering entire swathes of snow wraiths.

Haah, haah~

Bai Bai readjusted his sunglasses, gasping heavily; prolonged laser use had begun to overwhelm his body.

Xiaoqing, with a grappling hook slung at her waist, dashed across several carriage roofs, cutting down every snow wraith that tried to leap onto the train.

On the right flank, Sergeant Sun's armed unit had nearly exhausted their ammunition and were forced to relinquish their outermost position, allowing Old Zhou's armored vehicles to take their place.

On the polar vehicle, Lin Xian, judging the return signal's direction, wore an expression of intense focus, silently counting under his breath.

"One kilometer left." To ensure communication, Lin Xian had locked onto Chen Sixuan's frequency on the Infinite.

"About one minute."

"All units, prepare to turn!"

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~

Lin Xian gazed ahead—still a blinding blizzard obscuring vision—but at this distance, he knew the train lay just beyond that direction!

"Three kilometers! Teacher Chen, go!"

Finally, the entire convoy entered the designated zone; Longshan No. 1 and the polar vehicle began turning right.

The sky darkened gradually; no sooner had he spoken than a ground-shaking tremor roared to life—everyone in the convoy froze, instantly fearing the Abyss Worm—but the tremors came from all directions.

Sun Kai sat in his war vehicle, watching red dots surge around the convoy on his search radar; his face suddenly paled.

Behind the dense clusters of red dots surrounding the convoy, a deep crimson wave, nearly solid in appearance, advanced from all sides; the radar's recognition module froze, emitting a piercing alarm.

He snapped his head up and slammed his comm button, shouting:

"It's a surge!!"

……

On the Infinite, Chen Sixuan immediately used the internal frequency to shout at Lu Yong and Huo Ge aboard Longshan No. 1.

"Go!!"

"Inferno·Heaven's Path!"

The voice in her ear triggered Lu Xingchen to rise, arms raised high overhead; instantly, a crimson fire surged skyward like a blazing pillar, then he roared and slammed the colossal flame column forward, while blue Mach rings erupted from the flame, triggering a thunderous air blast!

BOOM!

The jet of fire instantly vaporized a hundred-meter stretch of snow along Longshan No. 1's track, melting and evaporating the snow, turning the rails blackened and charred.

WHOOSH~ Simultaneously, the combined power output of over 250, 00 kilowatts from the Infinite and Longshan No. 1 roared to life; the locomotive engines thundered, and due to the excessive number of carriages, Longshan No. 1 deployed its horizon brake pads to grip the icy rails tightly!

Screech-screech-screech!!!

In that instant, the 82 carriages of both trains experienced immense traction; ice shells on their outer armor shattered in layers, snow atop the roofs slid off to either side, the connecting gangways between carriages shrieked in protest, everyone felt the train lurch violently—then began moving forward.

The locomotive's power reached its limit; the deep snow pressing against both sides of the train began collapsing inward; inside the Infinite's carriages, snow had already risen nearly to window height—no one knew how many monsters lurked beneath that depth.

"20km, 30km—speed's building."

Chen Sixuan stared fixedly at her comm device; their signal with the convoy had been lost, indicating the distance had exceeded two kilometers.

Woooo~

The blizzard raged wildly, nearly blotting out the sky; visibility had shrunk to just ten or twenty meters—Chen Sixuan could barely make out the last carriage of Longshan No. 1 ahead, beyond which lay only endless white.

One minute

Two minutes

Chen Sixuan's eyes locked onto her comm device; the frequency held only static hiss, the signal light glowing red.

"Lin Xian, can you hear me…?"

"Lin Xian, can you hear me?!"

Outside, only the howling blizzard remained.

Chen Sixuan looked out the viewport—snow had collapsed between the two trains, surging upward and splattering against the Infinite's windshield.

THUD!

Suddenly, from somewhere, a monster shrieked and lunged, slamming into the Infinite's front window; Chen Sixuan recoiled— the snow wraith shattered the ice shell on the hull and slid down, instantly crushed into fragments by the train's iron wheels.

And now, more snow wraiths emerged from the snowdrifts up to window height, attacking both the Infinite and Longshan No. 1.

Watching these surging strange creatures, Chen Sixuan seemed to hear distant explosions through the blizzard; her eyes brightened instantly, she glanced at her comm—its signal light now flickering between red and green.

Click-click…zzzz…Chen…

"Lin Xian!!" Chen Sixuan shouted.

"Teacher Chen!" Lin Xian's voice finally came through—but the next words made her heart leap into her throat.

"Open fire!!"

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!

On the right flank of the two-kilometer-long apocalyptic train, before Lin Xian and Shi Di's convoy appeared, what came first was a sky-darkening swarm of snow wraiths, like locusts devouring the land.

Thousands, tens of thousands, countless, endless—no horizon in sight!

In mere breaths, the train's right side was struck as if by a tidal wave, crashing against the armor plates; those aboard the Infinite and Longshan No. 1 felt the entire train tilt violently leftward, the massive rail fortress groaning in protest, its sheer force threatening to overturn this ten-thousand-ton rail bastion!

BEEEEEP!!!!

The 1130 CIWS opened full fire into the blizzard; over a dozen heavy machine guns and CIWS units across the combined train unleashed simultaneous volleys.

Instantly, a torrent of iron rain drenched the tidal wave of monsters; the fire fan swept through the horde like auroras cutting through insects, spraying chunks of bloody snow-dust, mercilessly slaughtering the creatures!

WOOO-ZZZ!

At that moment, the electromagnetic railguns and anti-aircraft cannons on both the Infinite and Longshan No. 1 detected hostile targets; under fire-control radar guidance, they all raised their barrels skyward and fired.

BOOM!

Blue electrical pulses shot straight upward, exploding in the sky, illuminating a giant-winged unknown creature within the blizzard clouds above.

The next instant, more winged creatures emerged from the sky, their massive wings churning frigid vortices as they dove downward; one slammed into the central carriage's anti-aircraft turret on Longshan No. 1, instantly tearing it apart along with its crew, leaving only a severed steel base and shredded gray-black flesh.

WOOO-ZZZ!

On the Infinite's side, the G3 electromagnetic railgun reacted swiftly and fired again, striking a fast-approaching flying monster at close range; the winged creature's torso was half-obliterated, thrashing wildly as it plummeted, letting out a piercing shriek before crashing into a group of climbing snow wraiths on the train's flank.

The winged monster was enormous—nearly half the size of a train carriage, its body gray-white like a snow wraith, its head split into multiple jaws, covered in spines, emitting ear-splitting screeches.

HISS!

The automatic door of Carriage 5 opened; Da Lou fired his Gatling gun wildly at the tidal wave of snow wraiths outside.

DUDUDUDU!

In Carriage 12 behind, Shasha sat inside Sally, firing both the Minigun and flamethrower simultaneously, blasting away the piled-up monster heaps like human pyramids.

Shu Qin, clad in powered armor, wielded dual rifles, moving with blinding speed to cut down snow wraiths climbing near the 1130 CIWS and Sally.

"Too many!!" "Oh my god."

"Hold the line!!"

"Lin's team hasn't shown up yet!"

The tidal wave of monsters was an unprecedented sight for everyone aboard the Infinite; before the convoy even drew near, the entire combined train had become a chaotic mess, weapons pouring out fire uncontrollably.

THUD-THUD-THUD~

The train's speed climbed steadily—50~! 60~!

Chen Sixuan, clad in powered armor, rushed to Carriage 2, ascending via the firing lift to the roof; she knew Lin Xian's convoy was just a few hundred meters away, now led by Longshan No. 1, so she immediately joined the fight.

WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH~

As she stepped onto the roof, aided by her powered armor, Chen Sixuan executed a backward flip to evade a snow wraith's ambush—BOOM! Even mid-air, the Meteor 3's armor-piercing round had already pierced through that snow wraith and the several behind it; the massive cavity effect shattered their carbon-based bodies.

As soon as she landed, she crouched and aimed skyward; the Meteor 3's barrel aligned almost simultaneously with the G3 electromagnetic railgun.

BAM!

In the blizzard, no monster was yet visible—Chen Sixuan fired without hesitation.

WOOO-ZZZ!

Simultaneously, the electromagnetic railgun fired!

A brilliant blue pulse streaked skyward; a diving winged monster's head was pierced by a single armor-piercing round, leaving a ten-centimeter blood hole—then its chest was instantly blown open by the electromagnetic railgun's impact!

URRGH!!

!

The massive winged monster, nearly half a carriage in size, tumbled over the train roof, crashing down into the snowy plain behind with a thunderous explosion of snow dust.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

At that moment, artillery fire erupted ahead; Chen Sixuan immediately scanned with her infrared sight and spotted a stream of black steel vehicles in the snowstorm several hundred meters away.

That was Longshan No. 1 and Lin Xian's polar vehicle!!

To avoid the train's line of fire, the convoy began approaching from its rear flank; over a hundred vehicles gradually appeared behind Wuxian Hao.

"Lu Yong, Chen Laoshi, accelerate further—hit 80!"

The moment the convoy appeared, Lin Xian's voice crackled over the comm.

"Can everyone keep up?"

Kiki unleashed a shockwave that scattered a wave of snow wraiths, then shouted urgently to Lin Xian.

Lin Xian glanced at the massive monster silhouette behind the convoy: "We must push full throttle—even if you can't keep up, you have to!"

If we don't run hard now, once our ammo runs out, we'll have no chance to escape.

Thud! Thud!

A tremendous trembling sound rolled through the air.

The massive convoy surged forward behind Longshan No. 1 and Wuxian Hao, their combined firepower line stretching nearly three kilometers—yet beneath the oceanic tide of wraiths, the giant winged beasts soaring overhead, and the unknown abyss worms lurking underground, they felt like a solitary island drowning in a frozen sea.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Longshan No. 1's all-terrain power bike drove directly onto the northern track; its triangletrack high-magnetism all-terrain drive module, under control, reshaped itself—automated rail wheels clamped onto the rails, spewing brilliant sparks, then the engine roared to life, locking firmly onto Wuxian Hao's active towing hook.

"Lin Xianwei, I'll guard your rear car for you!" Shi Di shouted.

"All non-combat vehicles, move to the train's left side for cover!"

Lin Xian and Kiki drove their polar vehicle out of the convoy, guiding the rear life-support and Emperor Project tech team vehicles across the track to the left of Wuxian Hao, evading the tidal assault of snow wraiths from the right.

Meanwhile, the original vehicle line surged forward, lining up behind Longshan No. 1.

Beep!!

A furious metallic storm from 1130 swept through, crushing the onrushing tide into fragments, blasting snow and shattered rock into the armored vehicles' windshields.

Shali Hao's flame throwers ignited vast swathes of snow wraiths, providing full-cover fire for the advancing convoy.

The firepower of 1130 and the Fire God mechs eased the convoy's pressure significantly; Kiki grabbed Lin Xian and leapt from the polar vehicle back onto Wuxian Hao's roof.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A shrill flapping sound suddenly pierced the air; Kiki instantly raised a psychic barrier—before she could react, a massive winged beast plummeted down.

"Help me!"

"Kiki-sis."

Shasha, realizing the threat, saw the creature's black bulk above—its gaping maw snapping wildly—blocked by the invisible psychic shield. She immediately commanded the Fire God mech to raise its main cannon and fired straight into the monster's throat.

Boom!

A direct hit—the armor-piercing round pierced its throat and detonated inside its belly, spraying blood and flesh chunks. Kiki roared, seized the writhing carcass, and hurled it down into the snow wraith horde—CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! its massive body crushed a wide patch of wraiths.

Seizing the moment, Lin Xian dashed to the rear of Longshan No. 1, where Ningjing, Xiaoqing, and Abai were still holding the roof.

The sea of snow wraiths surged forward, testing the convoy's firepower line, trying to swallow it whole; as the combined train accelerated violently, the monsters nearly encircled both the train's flanks and the entire convoy.

The Emperor Project team's remaining firepower was exhausted; only Qian Dele and five other vehicle groups still fought desperately. The moment the two forces merged, more vehicles were overturned and devoured—deaths spread.

"All vehicles out of ammo, move to the train's left side, keep moving forward along the track!"

Lin Xian shouted over the comm.

Watching the surging snow wraiths, Lin Xian realized they must use the train as a fortress. Aside from heavy polar vehicles, any small vehicle that broke down would mean immediate destruction and death.

The monster tide was too vast—even the train itself, Wuxian Hao and Longshan No. 1, were crawling with snow wraiths.

At that moment, the combined train's arc pulse string resonator began charging.

Zzzt!

White-hot plasma sparks erupted along the train's side armor!

A high-voltage discharge field emitted a piercing, air-splitting shriek, instantly incinerating every snow wraith clinging to the flanks—charred limbs and blackened chunks rained down; combined with Wuxian Hao's external electric blades, the wraiths could no longer climb onto the roof.

Crew members inside the carriages jumped at the crackling ionization sounds outside; as the obstructing wraiths fell away, they immediately resumed firing through the firing ports to suppress the onrushing monsters.

With the first arc pulse burst, vast swathes of snow wraiths burned and fell; the pressure from the initial assault dropped sharply.

"The string resonator needs 40 seconds to recharge—everyone, stay in safe zones!!"

Lu Yong's voice came over the comm.

On Longshan No. 1's lead car, the assault was ferocious—large blood demons and winged beasts relentlessly battered the heavy fortress-train; its 68 carriages unleashed battalion-level firepower; the heavy locomotive accelerated relentlessly under Lin Xian's orders!

Boom! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Massive waves of snow wraiths crashed forward, compounded by snow deeper than 1. meters; the train, surging with kinetic force, crushed through them—snow ahead erupted dozens of meters high like a geyser of ice, blinding Lu Yong. All he heard was the relentless drumming of impacts against the icebreaker shield and steel armor, mixed with the howls and shrieks of monsters.

The track was invisible; the horizon was gone. Longshan No. 1 now charged blindly, relying on the horizon gate to lock onto the rails, praying the track ahead remained intact.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud~~~!

Longshan No. 1 plowed through the snow dust like a chain of explosions; bones and skulls shattered under the kinetic force of this two-kilometer steel behemoth; viscera and blood coated every window.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lu Xingchen, clearing the path, ran along the roof, spraying fire to hold back the monster tide; flames ignited entire clusters of wraiths along the way. The blood and fat of the snow wraiths sizzled and cracked in the snow—perhaps fearing Lu Xingchen's flame ability, this fire-wielding man quickly became the target of the large blood demons and winged beasts overhead, who surged toward him in frenzied attacks.

"Hold them off!!"

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! The sheer volume of the first wave, even after the string resonator's suppression, quickly swarmed back like locusts—sharp tail spines pierced armor plates and windows; cries of pain echoed from inside Longshan No. 1's carriages—wounds and deaths spread.

"Ahh!!"

"Reload!"

"Medical team! Peng is wounded!!"

"Give me a flame thrower!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Taptaptap!

Whoosh!

A searing wall of flame swept past, easing the burden on the carriages; atop the roof, besides Lu Xingchen, numerous Longshan No. 1 frontline fighters now fought.

There were limb-ability users, beast-formers, strength-enhanced, blood-aura wielders, demonic-bone users—strange, bizarre abilities—and many highly skilled augmented soldiers in powered armor, all fighting desperately against the tide.

Lu Xingchen's face was grim; staring at the oceanic monster tide, he had lost all his usual calm, sprinting rapidly toward the rear.

He knew that once speed built up, the greatest pressure would fall on Wuxian Hao at the rear—then, the terrifying wave would surge forward with devouring force toward the convoy and Wuxian Hao. Night was coming; this three-kilometer chase had only just begun!

(End of Chapter)