Chapter 29

Clang~ clang!

The carriage returned to peace.

Lin Xian gritted his teeth and looked up, seeing the giant pincers still embedded in the armored grille. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned to check. He saw the metal tow hook, like a thick fishing line, dragging the lower half of the giant insect's tail, leaving a shocking trail on the tracks. The insect tail was already torn to pieces, a bloody mess.

"Dead?!"

Just then, kiki finally lowered her hand. She jerked her head up, but due to the sudden movement, her head collided squarely with Lin Xian's chin.

Boom! A crisp sound of collision echoed in the carriage.

"Ouch~" kiki cried out in pain, instinctively covering her head with both hands.

"Damn it!" Lin Xian was also dazed by the impact, covering his chin and grimacing in pain.

Neither of them had time to confirm if the giant insect was truly dead before they were both covering their injured parts and crying out in pain.

"It hurts like hell, you stinking jerk!" kiki glared at him.

"Is your head made of iron, damn it!" Lin Xian shouted angrily.

There was no time to bicker with this brat. He stood up, enduring the pain, and looked at the insect carcass outside the carriage that had stopped moving. The heart that had been hanging in his chest finally settled halfway.

To be sure, he began to slow down slowly, took his blade, and walked cautiously to the rear of the train. He poked his head out and saw that the insect torso clinging to the side of the train had been ground down to nothing but a layer of skin from its abdomen and dense clusters of claws. Half of the insect carcass had even been torn off and hooked onto the tow hook.

Screech!

At this moment, Lin Xian slowly brought the "Infinite" to a stop.

"It's really dead!" Seeing Lin Xian stop the train, kiki rubbed her head and stood up excitedly. She ran over, but upon seeing the insect carcass fragments all over the ground, her face turned green, and she couldn't help but retch. "What a disgusting giant bug!"

Lin Xian turned to look at kiki, his gaze filled with wariness.

But who would have thought, at this moment, a streak of bright red blood slowly flowed from kiki's nostrils. She didn't care at all. Seeing Lin Xian's gaze, she wiped the blood away, tilted her little face up, and looked at Lin Xian triumphantly. "How about that? I told you I'd be useful if you kept me."

"You know how to use your ability now?"

"I think I do..."

"Since when?"

"Just now, I used it to save you." kiki blinked her eyes. "See, I told you I was actually a good person."

As she spoke, a large amount of nosebleed flowed out again, and her face turned an unhealthy white. She looked at Lin Xian. "But it's so strange. After using it once, my head feels so painful and dizzy..."

Lin Xian looked at her, knowing this was because she had exhausted her energy. He became serious now. He looked at the rear tailboard, then found a towel and threw it to kiki, telling her to wipe the blood off her face.

"Is everyone okay?"

After the train stopped, Chen Sixuan ran over with a lingering fear. Seeing the tragic state of Carriage No. 3, she immediately began to retch.

The insect carcass emitted a foul, fishy stench. No matter how strong one's mental fortitude was, anyone would frown at the sight.

Lin Xian looked at Chen Sixuan. He had to admit that Chen Laoshi was much smarter than he had imagined. In that moment of crisis, it was she who had thought of the solution.

"Thanks to you this time." Lin Xian said seriously.

Chen Sixuan avoided his gaze and said somewhat embarrassedly,

"This doesn't have much to do with me."

Lin Xian said candidly, "How could it not? If it weren't for your idea, I really wouldn't have known how to deal with this monster."

"Hey!" kiki put her hands on her hips, looking indignant. "Why isn't anyone thanking me?"

As she spoke, another trickle of nosebleed flowed out.

Lin Xian frowned. Seeing kiki's complexion was wrong, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I..."

Before she could finish, kiki's eyes narrowed, and she swayed and fell toward Lin Xian. Her little face pressed against Lin Xian's chest. Before losing consciousness, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Xian's arm, saying with a weak breath,

"Don't... don't throw me off the train..."

Lin Xian's expression shifted upon hearing this. Looking at the now-unconscious kiki, the heart that had been hanging in his chest finally settled a little more.

It seemed this little girl was also aware of her situation. In a life-or-death moment, she could still be helpful. Thinking of this, he let go of some of his wariness toward her.

He looked up and met Chen Sixuan's gaze.

"You watch her first. I'll go check the situation. If it's safe for now, we'll wait here until dawn." "Okay." Chen Sixuan looked at the messy Carriage No. 3 and the pitch-black wilderness all around, nodding uneasily.

Lin Xian took a flashlight from the toolbox in the carriage, jumped off the train from the tailboard, and looked at the broken insect carcass with a frown.

He hurried back to the carriage, dragged out the small crane, and pried the red insect's giant pincers off the armored grille. The remaining insect carcass then fell from the side of the train to the ground.

Then he walked to the back, unhooked the tow hook from the half-section of the insect tail, and brought it back onto the train.

"This is going to need repairs."

Lin Xian looked at Carriage No. 3 after the battle, his expression somber.

"Just as that girl said, this train needs to be equipped with some weapons and defense systems. Just being able to run isn't enough."

If it weren't for Chen Sixuan's quick thinking, Lin Xian really wouldn't have known how to handle it tonight.

His wind gun was comparable to firearms at close range, but its power dropped significantly at a distance. And whether it was that white giant monster or today's red giant bug, they were all thick-skinned monsters.

Conventional weapons basically didn't have much of an advantage against them.

!

Just as Lin Xian finished cleaning up the wreckage and was about to return to the train, he suddenly felt the ground shake, as if something were surging beneath it.

In an instant, a rustling sound appeared in his ears. He picked up the flashlight and shone it over, only to see a surge of black energy rising from the giant insect carcass beside the train. That black energy wasn't going into the air, but was instead being sucked into the ground by some strange force.

Lin Xian frowned and stepped over. The rustling sound in his ears suddenly grew louder, as if thousands of people were crying and wailing, making one's scalp tingle!

"What the hell is that!"

Lin Xian was startled and took a few steps back, moving away from the black smoke. Those cries and wails turned back into a faint rustling sound.

Within just a few breaths, the black energy vanished, leaving only the insect carcass on the spot, emitting a foul stench.

"Did I hear wrong?" Lin Xian was stunned. Approaching that black energy had indeed made him hear human wails, which were heart-wrenching, as if the victims swallowed by this giant bug were all wailing at once. It was incredibly eerie.

Woo~

Returning to the train, Lin Xian attempted to raise the tailboard.

Although the train body was cracked in several places, fortunately, the hydraulic machine for the tailboard was still sturdy. After Lin Xian activated his Mechanical Heart to raise the tailboard, he looked at the mess in Carriage No. 3. Many tools were scattered on the floor.

Including the welder, the small crane, and his own motorcycle.

These things were very useful; it would be troublesome to repair them if they were damaged.

Lin Xian's mechanical repair and manufacturing abilities were linked; he had to have the corresponding materials and also spend a considerable amount of time.

After the battle just now, he was exhausted. Fortunately, they were in the middle of nowhere, and the massive commotion hadn't attracted a large zombie horde, allowing him to catch his breath.

He checked the time; it was already 21:15. They had been fighting and fleeing from the giant insect for over two hours.

"How is it?"

Seeing Lin Xian close the door and walk over, Chen Sixuan stood up and asked.

"Safe for now." Lin Xian picked up a bottle of water from the storage rack and gulped down a third of it.

He scanned the room and saw that the little brat had already been helped onto the sofa by Chen Sixuan and was asleep. It was clear that although the girl's newly awakened ability was powerful, the energy consumption was also extremely exaggerated.

Lin Xian's expression was somewhat complex. Although he had saved her just now and they had fought side-by-side, this girl's mind was truly cunning. And after she awakened her ability, Lin Xian felt he wasn't necessarily confident he could be her match. Thinking of this, he began to worry.

"Are you hurt?"

Chen Sixuan saw the bloodstains on Lin Xian's hands and face and couldn't help but ask.

"Superficial wounds." Lin Xian sighed and looked at Chen Sixuan. "We ran quite far tonight. Tomorrow, depending on the situation, I'd like to rest and reorganize at Beiwan Station."

Chen Sixuan nodded.

"Beiwan Town isn't big, so the situation shouldn't be too complicated. The next largest city after Beiwan Station is Yubei City. Only from there do you truly enter the Orbital Ring Line. The road conditions..."

She had wanted to say that the road conditions of the Orbital Ring might be better, but she wasn't sure. After all, not encountering broken tracks or rubble along the way was already lucky. Who knew if the road conditions ahead would be better or worse?

New book, please follow!

(End of this chapter)