Chapter 268: Shadows of Xilan

"Object 03: Iris-like Star Ring, captured by the Harper Space Eye before its crash; the Angel Project hypothesizes it to be an interstellar organism hidden within dark matter clouds, but due to lack of empirical evidence, it is not currently classified as a Weird Phenomenon, pending further observation, retained designation."

"Object 04: Unknown deep-sea organism from the Pacific, first detected on July 11, 2069, in the Pacific and Black Ocean Trench; form unknown, observed size exceeds thirteen kilometers, previously triggered a tsunami on Bore Island..."

"Oh my god, why are these things appearing on Blue Star...?" Looking at the Phoenix Society's Weird Entity Catalog, Shasha's eyes seemed to have lost their light as she muttered involuntarily.

Chen Sixuan sighed and said: "These are even more despairing than zombies and darkness."

Seeing these, Da Lou also looked astonished; Fire Brother, usually arrogant and confident, now seemed completely deflated, standing aside muttering to himself, while Ding Junyi remained expressionlessly calm.

In her view, the fear of death was identical; from her materialist scientific perspective, confronting a abyss monster was no different from confronting a zombie that could kill her—both meant physical annihilation.

"It's not that hopeless—we're still alive, aren't we?" Lin Xian, seeing the group's gloom, spoke up: "We've just escaped death. As long as humanity still exists, there's still hope."

Lin Xian's words lifted some of the oppression from everyone's hearts. Chen Sixuan nodded: "Yes, humans have built sky cities weighing hundreds of thousands of tons and weapons with megaton yields. We're not without a chance to defeat these monsters."

Kiki sat on the swivel chair, her gaze sweeping repeatedly over the Weird Entity Catalog, when suddenly she exclaimed:

"So not every Weird Entity produces Weird Blood Essence~"

Her words drew everyone's attention. Ding Junyi lifted her glasses and leaned over to examine the content.

"According to over a thousand C-class and B-class Weird Entity experiments by the Nightwalkers Organization, the generation and accumulation of Weird Blood Essence correlate directly with the scale of human predation by each Weird Entity..."

"So, the Blood Essence... is human blood..."

Ding Junyi's face turned cold as she exhaled slowly: "I suspected it before—the human experiments on the seventh floor of that Foundation lab were probably testing humans as 'rainwater collection and filtration devices' to harvest dark energy and feed to Weird Entities to generate Blood Essence."

At these words, everyone was stunned.

Chen Sixuan immediately covered her mouth; the others turned pale.

"Is this real?!!" Kiki stared wide-eyed at him.

Lin Xian frowned deeply: "Are you saying the stronger the psychic or evolved individual, the higher the grade of Blood Essence produced when consumed by a Weird Entity?"

If true, this was terrifying—raising humans as livestock for Blood Essence was no longer merely inhumane...

But when he finished speaking, he noticed everyone staring at him in shock.

Ding Junyi, hands in pockets, looked at Lin Xian: "I merely inferred from the experimental data—but your idea is far more horrifying than mine."

Lin Xian fell silent, thinking: Didn't I just follow your logic?

"Enough. Let's look at what everyone's most interested in." Kiki stole a glance at Lin Xian, then pulled up the third item in Fire Book's data packet—the one everyone cared about most.

Psychic Abilities.

Until now, everyone's understanding of Psychic Abilities came from the early data Kiki obtained from the Angel Project. Lin Xian only knew that several members of the team had reached Evolution Level, but no one knew the details. Only Fire Brother was obsessed with developing different skills; Kiki and Da Lou had grown wildly, with no direction whatsoever.

Of course, Fire Brother's "direction" wasn't really a direction—his skills were all based on trial, error, and naming. As for how to improve power, Lin Xian knew only two methods: energy from the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, and combat experience.

Three: Psychic Abilities

According to the latest Psychic Ability intelligence released by the Phoenix Society's Nightwalkers Organization, the Phoenix Society has cataloged over a hundred types of Psychic Abilities, divided into more than ten major categories. The Nightwalkers Organization classifies them into S, A, B, C, and D grades based on uniqueness, potential, and threat level.

Among them, Morphological Proliferation, Limb Mimicry, and Gigantism are rated D-class—the most common Psychic Abilities currently.

Above them are over a dozen C-class types: Bestial Form, Blood Aura, Corpse Liberation, Water Walking, Metal Skin, etc. Lin Xian studied them carefully; from the descriptions, Da Lou's ability was likely Blood Aura—enhanced strength, accelerated physical recovery, increased power with blood loss, but with severe strain on the heart, lungs, and spinal regeneration.

B-class abilities included many Lin Xian had never seen: Demon Form, Earthstone, Evil Bone, Weird Eye; all flight-based abilities were classified as B-class.

A-class abilities currently documented include Wind, Water, Hyperbody, Resonance, Sonic, Laser, Mental, Speed Force, Telekinesis...

Among these, Jiang Yun's Wind, Li Guangwen from the Chasing Sun Convoy's Resonance, Bai's Laser, and Qian Dele's Speed Force—all were abilities Lin Xian had witnessed.

Finally, S-class: Telekinesis, Fire, Lightning, Light—all were expected to be powerful. But one entry surprised him.

Evil Desire.

He paid special attention to the description of this ability—and was astonished to realize they had already encountered it!

The green-haired woman from the Black Crow quartet they met when first entering Hengshan Pass, who could control zombie hordes.

"Wow, that woman was an S-class Psychic!" Kiki couldn't help exclaiming.

"Controlling zombie hordes—extremely threatening," Shu Qin said to Lin Xian: "She nearly wiped out our entire convoy by herself. This ability is no joke."

Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan nodded. That night had indeed been perilous—the massive zombie horde had surged like an avalanche.

And her ability level wasn't even high. Imagine how terrifying it would be if such an ability continued to grow.

"But we have two S-class Psychics on our convoy."

Shasha glanced at Lu Xingchen: "Fire Brother, you're an S-class Psychic—any comments?"

"Hmph~"

Lu Xingchen sneered: "I am the Fire God incarnate—why would I care about such trivial rankings?"

He added: "Still, I'm pleased this list ranks Fire above Wind, Lightning, Rain, and Light..."

"Then why are you behind me?" Kiki perked up.

Lu Xingchen waved his hand: "That's probably alphabetical order by pinyin—doesn't count."

Da Lou frowned: "Huh... that makes sense."

"Bullshit!" Shasha slapped her brother: "Bro, how are you counting? Light should come before Fire!"

"Exactly," Kiki grinned.

"Stop arguing."

Chen Sixuan interjected: "Didn't I say? It's just a list, not a ranking. Why argue? Use this time to learn how to level up your abilities."

The moment Chen Sixuan spoke, her teacher-like tone instantly silenced the group.

Lin Xian sighed and rubbed his forehead. He realized his Mechanical Ability wasn't on the Phoenix Society's list—and neither was Director Ding's.

Plant Ability—sounded as obscure and strange as his Mechanical Ability, but with enormous potential.

He even felt Plant Ability might be more promising than his own.

Now he understood why the Phoenix Society was so interested in his ability—its rarity surpassed even Kiki's Telekinesis. Since such a list exists, it likely means Kiki isn't the only Telekinesis user.

Lin Xian also noticed that even within the same ability type, different users could develop vastly different results—something deeply intriguing.

Chen Sixuan's words ended the argument. Everyone immediately turned their attention to the ability upgrade section in the data packet.

"Uh~"

"There doesn't seem to be any upgrade method."

Kiki sat cross-legged, scrolling through the mouse, but found no more detailed information than the Angel Project's data—even the ability tier classifications were identical.

The Nightwalkers Organization summarized all Psychic Ability growth into two points.

One: Strengthening the Psychic's mental power to resist the growing darkness within.

Two: Absorbing more dark invasion energy while maintaining balance.

"Absorption" refers to enduring the night—called passive absorption.

Killing Weird Entities and consuming Blood Essence are called active absorption, but due to extreme risk, the Cold Dark Reagent and sun exposure with vegetable juice were developed as balancing methods.

That was all.

"Seems like there's no truly effective method~" Kiki crossed her arms: "Dark invasion always has side effects."

"Actually, there's a key issue."

Lin Xian's expression turned grim: "If humans can't block dark invasion, then chasing dawn is the only path—this path is unavoidable if we want to level up."

Ding Junyi looked at him: "Are you saying the Federation's underground city plan will lose meaning and public support because of this unavoidable problem?"

"Yes."

"But maybe not," Kiki turned around: "What if they produce tons of vegetable juice?"

"Then wouldn't their Psychics become even stronger?"

"Mathematically, yes—but practically impossible," Ding Junyi said directly: "Unless the human body's 'metabolism' of this dark energy exceeds the balance threshold, or humanity can fully suppress dark invasion, allowing humans to adapt to eternal night and grow stronger. But that's clearly impossible now."

"Right," Shu Qin added: "If we weren't afraid of eternal night, we wouldn't need to flee at all. But the Federation's Dawn City probably has its own countermeasures—they won't just sit and wait."

Lin Xian weighed the Cold Dark Reagent in his hand and said: "Absorb darkness, assimilate darkness. Even snow wraiths dare emerge in blizzards to attack—meaning these Weird Entities are adapting to dawn too. Survival of the fittest—we humans must accelerate our progress."

!

"Try this?" Chen Sixuan frowned at the green liquid.

Ding Junyi replied: "We can allocate some vegetable juice for now."

Some green vegetables in Car 4 had grown considerably. Out of scientific rigor, Ding Junyi had isolated her own plant-enhanced plants in a separate chamber for observation, mainly to check for differences.

"This stuff really is..." Lin Xian stared at it, his gaze heavy.

The Heteromorphic Cube could sense dark invasion energy. Lin Xian hesitated—he'd forgotten to ask Zhou Wuer whether only Psychics could use it, or if gene-enhanced users like Chen Sixuan and Shu Qin could too.

Da Lou stepped forward: "Boss, let me try—I've got strong recovery, I can handle it!"

"I know you're just hungry, bro," Shasha rolled her eyes: "One bottle costs ten Level 1 Blood Essences—enough to buy dozens of canned goods! Are you seriously using this for testing?!"

Da Lou scratched his head awkwardly—he was genuinely worried about the damage, not just hungry.

Lin Xian thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Testing won't hurt, but since the Nightwalkers in Xilan City have equipment to detect Psychic Abilities, I think we should wait until we understand it better—then we'll know what changes occur. Right now, drinking it is just guesswork."

"True~" Kiki agreed: "I want to see if my power has broken through the Diamond Level."

Lu Xingchen instantly lost his drowsiness and declared: "Interesting—I think testing is absolutely necessary."

Lin Xian smiled helplessly. His Mechanical Heart had a complete growth tracker—he wasn't worried. He was just curious about his new skill reward.

He was deeply grateful he'd risked swallowing the nuclear turbine engine in Qingshui Town and gained the Gravitational Lens—this skill had saved his life three times. Though it drained immense energy, looking back, it was worth every risk.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The Combined Train surged through the blizzard, racing through the night.

The rescue convoy, the Emperor Project team, and the reinforcement detachment from Xilan City—hundreds of armored vehicles formed a steel tide, crushing through snowdrifts toward Xilan City.

Lin Xian rested for several hours, regaining energy. During the break, he quickly manufactured ammunition for emergency use.

Soon, thunderous explosions erupted through the blizzard. Intense artillery fire and detonations jolted awake many passengers on the Combined Train, who immediately grabbed weapons beside their beds—preparing for disaster had become ingrained in their blood, blurring the line between day and night.

"All survivor convoys, Longshan-1, Infinity—this is He Zhen, Commander of the Seventh Investigation Detachment. We're approaching Xilan City. Recon report: Xilan City is under Weird Entity attack—moderate intensity. We'll provide covering fire to clear your path. Stay calm—we're entering the city directly!"

He Zhen's voice lifted everyone's spirits. Clearly, Xilan City's defense forces were no strangers to these night-time waves—many hearts eased slightly.

It seems Xilan City falls under Jucheng's defense perimeter—every part of the city should be safe.

On the Infinite, Shu Qin exclaimed in surprise upon hearing Commander He's words.

Probably.

Lin Xian felt a surge of excitement within him. Throughout their journey, they had never once encountered a city untouched by zombies or mysterious corpses. This was unexpected. No wonder that night-postman Zhou Wuer had said they needed to find him inside the city—clearly, under the Phoenix Society's protection, Xilan City still retained some semblance of urban functionality.

Chen Sixuan nodded: "My father once told me Xilan City was originally an industrial powerhouse built atop an iron mine. Though small, it possessed a nuclear-defense-grade fortification system. It was constructed by Longguo before the Federation's founding as a northwestern defensive stronghold. Moreover, it connects multiple oil and natural gas transportation hubs, granting it immense strategic value—even housing complete production lines for heavy tanks and mechs."

Kiki sucked on a lollipop, her fingers tapping rapidly on the computer, soon pulling up a city layout map.

"Though small, this city was built into the mountains. Fenglan Mountain may only rise over a thousand meters, but it's the tallest peak in this grassland and desert. Wow—this city still retains its wartime walls!"

"Those were built in the last century…"

"There's also the famous Du Jia Lei Da array—a relic from the last century. With over ten terawatts of radar power, its activation disrupts every radar across the Yunjiang Plain. Now it's a tourist attraction."

"I remember before the Awakening Day, this place had many heavy industrial bases, very few residents, and almost no tourism."

"Look quick!"

At that moment, the surveillance feed from the Infinite's rooftop grew clearer. A towering mountain silhouette emerged in view. Beneath the snowstorm, visibility widened, and a steel city—entirely cast in reinforced concrete—began to reveal its formidable form.

Snow wraith tides surged from all directions, yet all moved toward Xilan City. Onscreen, massive war walls encircled the industrial metropolis, while heavy artillery behind fired relentlessly—flames and smoke shook the heavens!

Above the snow-capped peaks behind, radar towers and countless spotlights bathed the city below, casting a cold, oppressive weight.

The first structure the United Train neared was a massive oil refinery. Giant pipelines, draped in snow, resembled veins stretching from the earth. Countless snow wraiths and monsters surged through them, howling. Many charged toward the convoy—then the Survey Corps' support units opened fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A colossal explosion, like thunder from heaven, detonated within the snow wraith tide. A massive thermobaric bomb went off several kilometers from the convoy, unleashing a white hemispheric shockwave that surged toward the United Train. Every vehicle and train lurched violently sideways; the shockwave left everyone momentarily deafened.

"That's support artillery and bombing units—don't panic!!"

"We're entering the city now!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

On the city wall behind the refinery, dozens of large-caliber railguns fired in unison, triggering chain explosions within the charging snow wraith tide!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Doo!

The power of the city's defensive base weapons far surpassed anything aboard the United Train. Caliber equals power. The Great Wall-50 base railgun array, the Iron Curtain air defense system combining anti-air missiles, electromagnetic cannons, and CIWS, over a hundred heavy artillery turrets, the main force of the Interstellar Survey Corps, and Xilan City's unique terrain—all combined made it an impregnable fortress, easy to defend, nearly impossible to take.

Under cover, the United Train rode the snowstorm along the Xilan Mine Line, racing into the outer city. Behind them, the snow wraith tide vanished. The storm eased. Before all eyes appeared a heavy city nestled beneath a mountain range.

The city's large buildings lay shrouded in darkness, but as they advanced deeper, countless lights flickered on across the central district and streets—various convoy camps, even makeshift shelters inside buildings where people had taken refuge from the storm. Some streets glowed brightly. Many eyes in the city turned toward the United Train, storm-borne and arriving. As the Infinite and Longshan No. 1 passed the outer passenger rail line and entered Xilan City's main rail terminal, they saw dozens of apocalypse trains parked on standby and branch tracks.

These trains came in all shapes and sizes—some carriages still lit, others armored with thick steel plates, airtight and sealed.

The waiting hall was packed with people, the floor littered with tents and makeshift bedding.

Everywhere on the platform stood Survey Corps guards armed to the teeth. Since entering the city, Lin Xian and his group had seen at least dozens of various mechs.

Besides the frontline's "Iron Guard 3" military assaulters, the Guard 2 and Guard 3 light assaulters, their own T8-Z Vulcan military assaulters, even the Destroyer heavy military assaulters.

Within the city, there were also numerous specialized industrial mechs like the Great Horn Star model, used for cargo transport, and various drones.

Most belonged to the Phoenix Society, bearing uniform mechanized paint schemes. Some belonged to survivor convoys, modified in bizarre ways.

Unlike their entry into Yubei City, many survivor convoys here had undergone high-level firepower upgrades, with more large and specialized vehicles appearing. Convoys of over a hundred vehicles linked by small nuclear devices were now considered medium-sized. Lin Xian's group even spotted a vast plaza filled with a massive convoy group called the Arctic Wind Alliance, all bearing identical paint.

"There must be fifty thousand people in this city," Chen Sixuan said, gazing out the window.

"By today's date—the 29th—the Phoenix Society's official evacuation deadline is the 31st. That's extremely late, nearly skirting the edge of the Fifth Star Abyss's tidal surge. Why haven't these convoys left earlier?"

The Phoenix Society delayed evacuation to rescue more survivors heading to Xilan City. The deadline was public—so the official organization would never depart before its end.

But survivors had a choice: they could replenish and rest in Xilan City, then head east to catch up with Dawn Center earlier.

Lin Xian said gravely: "They fear the herd-hunting effect, but they understand better than anyone that sticking with the main group is safest."

Shu Qin nodded: "Some will leave early, but most prefer to follow the Phoenix Society. In the apocalypse, people become more herd-like, more dependent—so they'd rather wait until the last day."

Lin Xian watched the snow-laden city. Above, aircraft occasionally streaked across the sky. Tactical spotlights on the distant walls flickered, offering an almost precious sense of safety.

"Two days left… I hope everything goes smoothly."

(End of Chapter)