Chapter 304: The Crimson Member

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In the underground secret track of Jincheng, a 15-kilometer-long United Train with over 500 carriages sat silently in darkness, all lights extinguished.

More than 4, 00 survivors hid within the last carriages, tense and waiting for changes outside.

The entire underground tunnel was filled with a damp, stifling odor; from the deep darkness, the occasional drip of seepage echoed.

Survivors in each carriage hid in the dark—mothers clamped hands over children's mouths, men gripped weapons, ready for battle; all communication occurred via communicators, every soul holding their breath.

In Carriage 12 of the Infinite, the weapons station housed the base mounts of the 1130 Close-In Cannon and YJ-03 Anti-Air Cannon; Lin Xian sat cross-legged on the floor, the only light coming from red indicator lamps on the equipment, while a silver-black ballet-dancer robot stood motionless several meters away in the dark, its form illuminated by the red glow—a perfect fusion of mechanical and human beauty.

Grace, powered down, remained utterly still; her simulated beautiful face carried an eerie quality. Lin Xian stared at the robot, his headset communicator flickering, his expression grave as he listened to the sounds outside the carriage.

The feeling of being trapped in this underground tunnel was strange: facing the bizarre entities, this environment offered more security than an open one, yet after enduring various strange attacks, Lin Xian worried this setting hindered evacuation—his mind conflicted.

But it was too late to turn back; he could only calm himself and wait quietly.

On the communication channel, over twenty convoy leaders or commanders held their breath; sounds and movements from the surface rarely reached dozens of meters underground, yet occasional faint tremors still tightened their nerves.

This meant the source of the disturbance was undoubtedly a massive entity.

As seconds ticked by, Lin Xian watched his watch and the monitoring feed on his mobile terminal—cameras and sensors he had hastily installed via the Zero Element Center's special elevator outside the bank vault, placed under time pressure to observe surface conditions.

The vibration sensor's line graph scrolled slowly before him; all three sentinel cameras showed near-total darkness, obscured by thick dust and spore fog. Had it not been for faint outlines of buildings and debris visible through infrared lenses, Lin Xian might have believed the devices had already been consumed and destroyed by fungal threads.

Creak-creeeak-creak!

A low-frequency sound, like the vibration of chitin, echoed in his headphones. Lin Xian's gaze sharpened as one monitor screen was suddenly engulfed by a deeper blackness—something vast and dark, a night-dwelling entity.

Seeing this, Lin Xian exhaled slowly, removed his headphones, and listened for sounds above the tunnel.

"The information is likely accurate—many bizarre entities have appeared on the surface, but their tier is uncertain," Lin Xian whispered into the communicator.

"Captain Lin, my audio capture devices in the subway tunnel also picked up strange frequencies—likely from the upper station platforms. But I've checked that station; it's sealed shut. The tunnel should be temporarily safe," Luo Yang's voice came through.

"Then it's confirmed," Shi Di lowered his voice: "Looks like a whole crowd of bizarre entities are throwing a party right above us. Damn, never had this kind of honor before."

"Won't all of us be discovered?"

The question came from Mo Nika: "After all, we made such a huge commotion."

"The freight station entrance has completely collapsed and sealed off—I checked. Nothing followed us," Xiang Ningjing spoke up.

"Mo Nika, Mo Nika, I'm not worried, why are you? Lin Xian already said we've got no markers, and we're hiding deep underground—if they'd spotted us, they'd have struck already. Isn't that right?" Qian Dele's tone was relaxed.

"Exactly," Luo Yang said. "We're already in perpetual night, and the enemy's in the dark while we're exposed. If we'd been targeted, we'd have been attacked long ago."

Lin Xian checked the time and pressed his communicator: "Wait another twenty minutes. If nothing unusual happens, we'll open the Eternal Storage and start moving supplies. Relay this to all convoys—don't send too many people, don't make noise. We have thirty hours—no rush. Once we've emptied this underground Crimson world's stash, we'll rest."

As seconds passed, Lin Xian's tension eased. His choice had been right. If they'd rushed out recklessly, they wouldn't have escaped Jincheng—they'd have drawn attention from the bizarre entities lurking around the city. If even one person on the United Train received a Dark Mark, their entire "lighthouse" would be lit up, snowballing into a terrifying siege like the one that once engulfed Yubei.

At 21: 0, after nearly an hour of waiting in darkness, the United Train finally opened its doors—with a hiss, the sudden noise pierced the silent tunnel.

Lin Xian, carrying a cold-light night lamp, descended with several core convoy members; Kiki followed, monitoring Lin Xian's patrol drone feeds on her mobile terminal.

Following the coordinates from Grace's password device, they found the hidden door to the Eternal Storage behind several emergency maintenance zones along the secret track. After unlocking it with the device, the massive blast-proof automatic door slowly opened; a hiss of inert gas released, white smoke cleared, and layers of backup lighting ignited—everyone's eyes brightened.

Beyond the door lay a vast three-layered wartime supply warehouse. Stepping inside, bright lights revealed clearly divided zones: neatly stacked shelves held rice, flour, oil, sugar, freeze-dried compressed rations, canned goods, synthetic protein gels—all high-grade provisions. A separate frozen section stored meat.

Food was strictly categorized by storage standards: one-year, five-year, up to thirty-year shelf-life, all uniformly arranged. Further in, special supplies appeared: chocolate, red wine, frozen seafood, steak, ham, cheese, caviar.

A dedicated medical supplies zone held broad-spectrum antiviral/antibacterial agents, surgical emergency modules, anti-radiation drugs…

The quality was astonishing—especially the wine, all rare global vintages, luxuries most people had never even seen.

The dozen or so people walked through the pristine, bright warehouse, faces filled with expressions—shock, delight, wry amusement…

"Romanée-Conti 2025. Nice taste," Qian Dele picked up a bottle sealed in a special container from the wine cellar, snorted: "These guys know how to live."

"Absorbing so many wealthy members, pulling off these terrifying plans," Shi Di, still bandaged, stared at the opulent shelves: "This Crimson World must have serious backing."

Mo Nika walked beside Qian Dele, smiling, picking up a bottle, tracing the triangular emblem on its container with her fingers, and inhaled deeply: "I think I've encountered this Crimson World before."

"Years ago?" Xiang Ningjing asked, surprised: "You mean before the Apocalypse Day?"

Mo Nika nodded: "I only know they told me they were an organization studying human genetic defects, aiming to push humanity into perfect evolution. Many in elite circles joined. I looked into them briefly—just medical aesthetics, cancer prevention, embryo gene screening. Nothing unusual. They approached me many times, but I thought it was the same scam as selling doomsday bunkers to the rich, so I had no interest."

She looked at the wine in her hand, eyes holding three parts delight, seven parts regret: "It seems this organization had foresight after all."

Lin Xian and Kiki both stirred at her words, their gazes meeting.

"Why does this feel so familiar?" Kiki whispered beside Lin Xian.

"You're thinking of Qingshui Town?" Lin Xian said.

Kiki nodded.

Lin Xian stayed silent, recalling the Ninth Underground City—built after the Apocalypse Day by the Federation using trillions and the most advanced automated engineering. The Foundation and the Crimson World couldn't possibly have matched the Federation's pre-collapse power. Yet less than a hundred days after the Apocalypse, evidence suggested both organizations had extraordinary foresight.

He remembered asking Hua Xiaoling this question before; she'd claimed it was a repurposed construction project. But this Crimson World's underground Eternal Storage looked entirely designed for the apocalypse. Was this coincidence?

"Do you think this Crimson World has any connection to the Foundation?" Kiki asked.

Lin Xian paused: "These organizations grow more mysterious by the day. We're always reacting too late. Only the Crimson World's own people can give us answers."

In the bright warehouse, Mo Nika's words left the group stunned.

"You mean this organization knew the Apocalypse Day was coming?" Li Yi's eyes widened.

"Of course," Luo Yang frowned: "How could a warehouse like this, or that underground hive center, be built in just one or two months?"

Mo Nika shrugged: "I just remembered this. Honestly, I don't fully believe it. Building underground facilities isn't hard if money's available—modern mechanical production can handle it easily."

"You're all being paranoid," Qian Dele added. "Why would a pharmaceutical company know about the apocalypse before the Federation did? Look how hastily the Federation built its underground cities. If humanity had truly foreseen disaster, we wouldn't be in this state now."

"True," Shi Di nodded: "This place clearly looks newly built. As for supplies—these are standard military and regional storage protocols. Nothing unusual, just higher-end goods."

"Speculating won't help," Lin Xian stepped forward to cut off the discussion. "Since the goods are here, let's use them to replenish properly."

"This stock is designed for a thousand people—huge gain for us. Let's divide it fairly here."

"Exactly! So much good stuff—we're rich!" Kiki giggled. "I haven't eaten steak and rice in ages. I say we empty the whole place!"

"Haha, good idea," Shi Di boomed, turning to Lin Xian: "Brother Lin, you found the place, you're leading us—how do we split it?"

At his words, all eyes turned to Lin Xian.

"Easy," Lin Xian smiled faintly. "Our combined convoys make up over half your total numbers. We did the most work—we take 70%. The remaining 30% gets divided among the other convoys by headcount."

"Hey, your Infinite has so few people—won't that leave you at a disadvantage?" Qian Dele crossed his arms, eyeing Lin Xian. "And since you found this, I won't take advantage."

"Agreed," Shi Di strongly disagreed: "My Dragon Mountain No. has over a thousand people. Even if this method gives us the biggest share, I won't be that greedy. I take supplies for a thousand, you take for thirty—do you think I can sleep at night?"

Xiang Ningjing nodded: "This distribution isn't fair. Your Infinite Convoy should get more."

Li Yi added: "I suggest dividing by convoy. Let Captain Lin decide the ratios."

"Agreed," Luo Yang said.

Dividing by convoy would be most advantageous for the Infinite—fewer people, more supplies per person.

"Captain Lin, I have a suggestion," Mo Nika said, walking over with a bottle of wine and a box of frozen steak. "There are many types of supplies here—each convoy has different needs. My convoy doesn't lack essentials—just give me wine and steak. The rest I don't need."

"So I suggest your Infinite Convoy picks first. Then the rest can be claimed based on individual needs. There's still a weapons warehouse—perfect. Those needing medical supplies take less rice and flour; those craving meat take less gear. Simple."

At her words, everyone's eyes lit up, all nodding in agreement.

"Hey, that works!"

"Makes sense. Brother Lin picks first—I'm relieved, haha."

"A few convoys are critically short on medical supplies—food isn't their main problem."

"Yeah."

Lin Xian glanced at Kiki, then nodded: "Alright, let's do it. I'll have Chen Laoshi send people to inventory everything. Then each convoy submits requests—we'll balance it out."

Lin Xian didn't refuse the proposal—he wasn't one for false modesty. If these twenty-two convoys hadn't survived together from Xilan City, he'd give them one-tenth only if the Infinite couldn't fit more.

Also, the Infinite's survival supplies were already abundant. With the Full-Spectrum Medical Pod, demand for medical gear had dropped sharply—only needing surgical modules, stem cell gels, and antibacterial agents.

So like Mo Nika, Lin Xian was more interested in the frozen meats, seafood, and wine—to upgrade the Infinite's living standards.

After leaving the Eternal Storage, the group headed straight for the weapons warehouse. Xiang Ningjing and Li Yi stayed behind to await Chen Sixuan and Dragon Mountain No. 's team for inventory and distribution.

Lin Xian had long been curious about Grace's mention of the Interstellar Class III Individual Weapon System—1, 00 sets? A massive deployment. So more than supplies, he was drawn to the weapons warehouse.

The group walked deep into a maintenance tunnel, activated a hidden switch with the password device, and soon, a concealed door in the wall slowly opened.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rows of massive anti-air warehouse lights blazed on. On the black fireproof floor, the first thing they saw was a line of all-terrain armored vehicles!

Fully equipped, covered in standard armor, there were ten of them. Behind them, the group gasped—in the center of the warehouse stood four Nightstar-3 Ultra-Cruise Flyers!

These were highly mobile advanced aircraft, capable of carrying two to three people, powered by Hall-effect thrusters for vertical lift and plasma pulse engines for propulsion, with a cruising speed of Mach 5. Powered by plutonium-238 isotope nuclear battery arrays, their wings folded, and aside from lacking weapon systems, they represented peak-tier technology.

"Damn! Trucks and planes? This Crimson World really equipped its members well!" Shi Di stared in shock.

"Looks like they were meant for Zero Element Center personnel—to help those in survival pods escape," Qian Dele said.

Lin Xian was surprised—Grace's earlier negotiation details hadn't mentioned these vehicles.

"That AI butler's hiding something," Kiki realized the same thing.

Lin Xian scanned the area: "Maybe she thought these were useless to our train convoys."

"Or maybe they were meant for those seeking immortality—people who didn't want to trade them."

"Makes sense," Lin Xian and the group moved deeper into the warehouse, talking as they walked. "The trucks are good, but even with elevators, we can't drive them away."

"What about the flyers?" Kiki asked. "Their folded size—if we modify a carriage…"

Lin Xian frowned, thinking: "Carriage 11 has a mech bay. We could use a six-axis mechanical arm to load one aboard."

Kiki nodded: "Yeah, with this, our mobility improves a lot."

Passing the flyers, they entered deeper, where rows of black tactical display cabinets appeared. Lights turned on, revealing sets of black powered exoskeletons, each with a silver primary weapon—likely an arc-pulse rifle—and two secondary weapons, plus power packs, holographic night-vision helmets, small medical kits, and more. Countless Interstellar Class III Individual Weapon Systems stretched into the distance, overwhelming in their abundance.

"Whoa! So many powered suits!!" Kiki's eyes widened: "This Crimson World is insanely rich!"

Others were equally stunned. Luo Yang stepped forward, pressed a button, and one cabinet door slid open. He checked the specs and exclaimed:

"This… this is the Lone Wolf S military rapid-response powered suit—the latest tactical model! Even many frontline interstellar armies haven't adopted this yet!"

Mo Nika, watching, crossed her arms: "My troops use the Lone Wolf A. Didn't realize they'd upgraded to the S model."

"Come on, don't be modest," Qian Dele grinned. "All tactical-grade—how big a difference can new vs. old make? But with this many sets, we could turn a thousand ordinary people into Diamond-level combatants."

"Hah! We've hit the jackpot this time!" Shi Di yanked off the bandage around his neck, flexing his hands as he exclaimed excitedly: "With this, our convoy's strength will increase significantly!"

Lin Xian stared blankly at the rows of tactical cabinets, neatly aligned like dominoes, and couldn't help smiling.

He had originally planned to equip everyone on the Infinite with TRP power armor, but now, as if fate had handed him a pillow just as he was dozing off, a full thousand sets of professional tactical power armor suits lay right before him.

Power armor tiers were established by the former Federation based on combat purpose, functional coverage, output power, intelligence level, and propulsion capacity, divided into three grades: Tactical, Iron Hunter/Purple Wolf, and Interstellar. Strictly speaking, there was once another class before Tactical: Industrial.

As the name implies, this class of power armor was designed for civilian industrial use and lacked tactical capability. For instance, the TRP power armor Lin Xian obtained from Ding Qing was a specialized industrial model; however, because Ding Qing had it illegally upgraded with a tactical AI computer, radar, and situational awareness systems, and had removed all safety limits on its power motors, it could now function as a semi-military tactical unit.

The Lone Wolf A equipped by Mo Nika's team was genuine military-grade tactical armor—far superior to his own, with more complete features. The Lone Wolf S before him was an upgraded version of that model, with slightly better technical specifications. But as Qian Dele said, even with upgrades, it remained within the Tactical tier.

The Iron Hunter/Purple Wolf tier no longer belonged to the category of power armor, but to 【Battle Armor】—true full-coverage exosuits akin to Iron Man. The most basic standard for full-coverage battle armor is tri-domain combat capability: land, low-altitude, and aquatic environments, making it a highly versatile miniature humanoid mecha. Due to its exceptional agility and tactical versatility, it is typically deployed in special operations.

The distinction between Iron Hunter and Purple Wolf lies primarily in tactical role: the former emphasizes heavy armor and firepower for breakthrough assaults, while the latter prioritizes high mobility.

Judging by the tier standards, the Black Hawk battle armor worn by Chen Laoshi and the red soft battle armor on Mo Nika's body should both belong to the 【Purple Wolf】 tier!

(End of Chapter)