Chapter 308: Train Upgrade!

Wuuu~

At the center of the massive hive, countless life-support robots drifted slowly overhead, while a white-painted high-tech mechanical arm, driven by automated programs, rotated continuously along each level's zones, pausing to perform operations.

In the circular monitoring hall, a cabin elevator, a woman trembling violently as if suffering from withdrawal shook on the floor, her trembling dislodging broken mycelial strands that shattered into fragments when her head bumped them—seemingly no longer active.

Kiki's words startled several people, including Luo Yang; Lin Xian looked at her: "You know her?"

Kiki nodded, frowning: "If I'm not mistaken, this woman is Tang Yun." She glanced at Lin Xian, her expression slightly displeased: "She's my… father's brother's wife."

Lin Xian said: "Blood brother?"

"Mm."

"Then she's your aunt?" Lin Xian said.

Kiki shrugged: "Sort of. I don't really remember any of them, but this one… she's okay."

Due to her background, Kiki felt no attachment to the Wen family and avoided contact; the Wen family, in turn, treated her as a bastard daughter with cold words. But because this second aunt had been relatively kind, Kiki had a faint memory of her—not unpleasant.

Hearing this, Lin Xian understood. He knew Kiki's origins: her biological father was chairman of the Linglong Group, the largest conglomerate in Jinhai. Before the Dawn Day, Linglong Group was among the largest real estate companies in Long Country and also ranked among the world's top ten shipping corporations. Strictly speaking, though she was a bastard daughter, had the Dawn Day never occurred, Kiki today would have been among the highest-tier heiresses in Long Country.

If this woman named Tang Yun was indeed Kiki's aunt, she must be a core figure of the Wen family—and for such a person to appear here raised serious suspicion.

The woman on the floor convulsed uncontrollably, wearing what was called clothing but was really just two fabric panels front and back—like lab gowns—that covered nothing; she lay nearly naked, trembling on the ground.

At that moment, Kiki suddenly elbowed Lin Xian, glaring at him: "What are you staring at?"

Lin Xian's expression turned serious; he gestured toward her: "There are still mycelial strands on her head—she might already be a human-fungus hybrid."

"Then kill her?" Kiki said directly.

Lin Xian observed for a while. Though the woman convulsed, her vital signs remained normal. And given that a relative from the apocalypse had suddenly appeared here, Lin Xian kept his guard up, then spoke to the group:

"Keep your distance from her."

Then Lin Xian raised his hand; mechanical light flashed, swiftly constructing a transparent mechanical isolation chamber. He told Kiki: "Put her inside."

Kiki understood his intent and immediately used telekinesis to place Tang Yun inside. Lin Xian then pressed his communicator and called Ding Junyi over.

After finishing everything, Lin Xian said to Kiki: "Your father joined the Dawn Project, but your second aunt became a member of the Descent Faction's Crimson World, came here seeking eternal life—don't you find that strange?"

"A bit strange, but I'm not interested in them." Kiki turned to Lin Xian, eyes glinting mischievously: "But I know what you mean."

Lin Xian nodded slightly. He, Chen Sixuan, and Kiki had already discussed this: if they successfully escaped from Star Abyss No. 5, his next move would be to separate from the Union Train and divert to Jinhai, because he needed multiple contingency plans before entering the Great Ocean Orbit. The train's propulsion system was a crucial component—upgrading the all-terrain drive would increase energy consumption and reduce speed, but it would free the Infinite from orbital constraints, granting greater mobility.

To enter the Great Ocean Orbit, he might also need to consider surface, underwater, and even aerial travel, since reaching the poles offered only two routes: the Dawn Center path crossed the Qionggu Strait, passed through several continents of North America, then crossed the Black Ocean to the pole—requiring passage through one strait and one ocean. Lin Xian estimated that if the track were damaged, massive ferries would be used for transport.

The other route was crossing the Pacific directly via the Great Ocean Orbit—covering a wider expanse, and relatively riskier, since no one knew the current state of the neglected Great Ocean Orbit.

Jinhai was one of the world's largest orbital train manufacturing hubs, home to Long Country's Nuclear Atomic Physics Institute, and also Kiki's hometown—her father's Linglong Group headquarters stood right there.

Whether upgrading the train's drive or completing the "Thief Couple" plan with Kiki, he had to go there.

Soon, Ding Junyi arrived. For safety, Da Lou and Shu Qin also appeared in the monitoring hall.

"Good, I reviewed the monitoring center's data and found something odd." Ding Junyi moved swiftly, approaching. Hearing Lin Xian mention the mysterious woman who had exited the capsule, she immediately brought a mobile terminal and a full-spectrum neural wave detection device from the medical chamber, while Da Lou carried the Hell Black Chrysanthemum behind her.

"I brought this too, just in case."

"What's the issue?" Lin Xian asked immediately.

Ding Junyi walked straight to the isolation chamber Lin Xian had built, held a multi-frequency biological ray lamp over the woman's head, then stowed the device, opened the chamber, signaled Shu Qin to hold her down, and began attaching the neural wave detector to Tang Yun's head.

"Shasha's words gave me inspiration. While observing the brainwave data of these still-living people, I noticed that when their brains generated gamma waves above 200 Hz and 70 mV during states of excitement and stress, they exhibited highly synchronized interference patterns—different from spontaneous hallucinations."

"I don't get it," Kiki pouted, blurting out.

"If this woman could produce even a shred of clear thought, she'd understand why," Ding Junyi said.

"Alright." Lin Xian nodded: "Watch her. I'll attend to other matters."

Saying that, Lin Xian called Luo Yang and the other three aside, avoiding interference with Ding Junyi's work, preparing to speak directly to Luo Yang.

…

"Really, Brother Lin? Can we really join your convoy?"

Lin Xian got straight to the point; Luo Yang's eyes lit up with surprise, his voice excited and urgent: "I've been looking for a chance to ask you this—never expected… oh, this is amazing! We all want to join your convoy, Brother Lin!"

Not just him—Luo Luo and Amin behind him were equally ecstatic.

"Brother Lin, we've discussed this for a long time."

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Back when we crossed Xilin, we already suggested merging our three convoys," Luo Yang said, then his eyes dimmed as he remembered the Eagle Convoy.

Lin Xian exhaled, clapped Luo Yang on the shoulder: "I know. Everyone surviving this disaster—uniting strengthens us. Once we escape the Polar Night from here, we'll combine the trains. I'll reorganize everything then."

The Infinite currently had sixteen cars. Adding the Sun Train's eleven cars would bring the total to over twenty-seven. The Infinite's length would exceed eight hundred meters, greatly increasing its capacity.

"Great! Great!" Hearing Lin Xian, Luo Yang beamed, adjusted his glasses, and immediately said: "Brother Lin, I'll tell them the good news right away!"

But he paused mid-step, glancing at Lin Xian with flickering eyes: "By the way, Brother Lin, there's also…"

Before he finished, Lin Xian interrupted: "Include Li Yi's group too—I'll speak to her directly."

Lin Xian's words made Luo Yang's eyes brighten; he immediately sighed in relief: "Got it! I understand."

Though temporarily merging with Luo Yang's convoy, Li Yi's group remained an independent unit, and they were numerous. Lin Xian felt that regardless of their intentions, it was better to speak openly face-to-face, to prevent resentment among allies.

The Sun Train was a black-and-yellow armored train, massive in size, powered by a Class-10A orbital locomotive—higher-grade than the Class-7F—and a fleet of Linglong small nuclear-electric units. Excluding two power cars, one cargo car, one arms car, and one dining car, the remaining six were all living quarters. Compared to the Infinite's many functional cars, this train had far more spacious living areas.

As soon as Lin Xian boarded, he felt a strong sense of daily life. Many supplies recently moved onto the train hadn't yet been fully stowed; crew members, just as they had when the Big Foot Convoy first arrived, quietly organized their personal safe corners.

The first two living cars were occupied by Luo Yang's young people, separated by gender—each car distinctly styled, full of liveliness. Many boys wore their newly acquired power armors, excitedly studying and gesturing with them; the girls' car was mostly occupied by women helping organize supplies, cleaning, and a few studying firearms—radiating an atmosphere of pure positivity.

Passing through these two cars, the next four were originally occupied by the Running Far Camp team. The first car's corridor was wide open; all living cabins were sealed off, allowing quick passage and ample space for storage.

Just as Lin Xian wondered why this living car had compressed its living space so tightly, a small head suddenly popped up from the upper partition of the cabin ahead. Beneath faint cold lighting, a pair of large, watery eyes stared at him, blinked, then whispered softly:

"B-brother… who… are you… looking for?"

Lin Xian froze. The little girl looked no more than four or five years old, with a bob haircut, a dirty face that couldn't hide her bright, clever expression.

At this age, she should have been enjoying a happy childhood—but her face bore the marks of endless flight and hardship. Lin Xian sighed inwardly, smiled at her: "I'm looking for…"

"Shhh~"

Before he finished, the girl's finger gently pressed against his lips, then whispered again: "Li Yi Mama says… to speak quietly~"

"Okay~" Lin Xian smiled, mimicking her tone.

"Brother Lin!"

At that moment, Li Yi's voice rang out. Lin Xian looked up to see her holding a repair toolbox filled with wrenches and screwdrivers, a large rifle slung on her back. Seeing him, she looked surprised: "Brother Lin… you're looking for me?"

"Li Yi Mama~"

Li Yi's voice drew attention from the car. One by one, small heads popped out from the living cabins, curiously watching.

Lin Xian nodded, glanced at the children in the car, and gestured to Li Yi.

Li Yi nodded, quickly set down her toolbox, wiped oil from her hands, and called up to the girl:

"Duo Duo, time to sleep."

"Okay~" The girl named Duo Duo grinned, tucked her head in, stole a glance at Lin Xian, then quickly ducked back inside.

Lin Xian stepped off the train; Li Yi hurried after him: "We put the children in a separate car, placed in the middle for easier care. But this train is much wider than our buses, so we've piled a lot of extra stuff in the empty spaces—we haven't finished organizing yet. Sorry for the mess, Brother Lin."

"How's Liang Lei's injury?" Lin Xian asked.

"Better." Li Yi looked at Lin Xian gratefully: "At first, Chen's team sent Lei Zi to your medical chamber for a recheck. All his vitals… are recovering. He's tough, and his ability healed quickly."

Lin Xian nodded, then got straight to the point: he told her about inviting Luo Yang's convoy to join.

"Luo Yang's group has agreed. I'm here asking if your convoy will join the Infinite too."

Li Yi's expression froze. She stared at Lin Xian, mouth slightly open, incredulous:

"Brother… Brother Lin… is this real?"

"You don't want to?" Lin Xian asked.

"No… no," Li Yi was stunned and delighted, tears glistening in her eyes for reasons she couldn't explain: "Lei Zi and I and Luo Yang have discussed this for a long time… but…"

She glanced back at the car, then at her swollen belly, helplessly: "I just worry… we'll slow you down…"

Lin Xian's expression hardened; he said seriously: "I heard you've rescued dozens of stranded survivors along the way?"

Li Yi gave a bitter smile: "It's hard for everyone. Helping each other… gives us one more chance to survive."

Lin Xian took a deep breath and said: "Meeting your convoy is my fortune. If I were a survivor struggling through the apocalypse, I'd dream of finding people like you—how could I ever think you're a burden?"

At first, Lin Xian's goal for adding people to his train was clear:

Loyalty, usefulness.

He believed these were the only traits necessary to survive the apocalypse.

That is, absolute self-interest—everyone was a tool.

But during the Dawn Journey, Lin Xian realized: only those who truly united, who hadn't lost their humanity in the apocalypse, who reached out to their fellow survivors, who jointly resisted disaster, had the right to climb higher mountains and pass on the flame, to break through the dawn.

Those children in the car might lack combat ability, might offer little help in the apocalypse—but weren't those innocent hearts precisely what humanity must ultimately protect?

"Brother Lin, I…" Lin Xian's words left Li Yi speechless.

Lin Xian said directly: "From now on, join us. We'll protect this family together."

Hearing him, Li Yi instinctively clenched her lips, then immediately covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. She nodded at Lin Xian: "Yes, thank you, Brother Lin."

"Take care of Lei Zi and the children first. Let the others adapt to the new gear. We'll need to break through the Polar Night soon—it won't be easy."

"Understood."

After communicating with Luo Yang and Li Yi, Lin Xian felt a heavy stone lift from his chest.

If nothing went wrong, his Infinite would soon undergo a major upgrade—not just weapons, but also intelligence and propulsion.

Checking the time, it was already past five in the morning. Lin Xian immediately returned to the Zero Element Center and began frantically consuming items.

【Consumption successful. Mechanical Source Points +10. Mechanical Consumption skill proficiency +5】

【Consumption successful. Mechanical Source Points +15. Mechanical Consumption skill proficiency +6】

【Consumption successful. Mechanical Source Points +20. Mechanical Consumption skill proficiency +8】

……

Inside the monitoring hall, Lin Xian sifted through everything, taking every usable item he found and turning it all into his materials and mechanical source points.

After finishing the monitoring hall, Lin Xian directly controlled the mechanical arm to transfer the dead cryo-pods over, then consumed them outright through the glass wall.

【Consumption successful, mechanical source points +3, mechanical consumption skill proficiency +1】

After consuming one cryo-pod, it turned into brown ash, and instantly, the person inside along with a few fragmented mycelial threads plummeted straight down to the bottom of the hive's center.

Among them were men and women, nearly all over forty years old, their bodies almost entirely transformed by plant-like mutation—internal organs would suddenly slip out through cracked chests with a thud, yet not a single drop of blood could be seen, making the scene deeply strange.

These cryo-pods yielded few source points each, but their sheer number made up for it; Lin Xian cleared nearly a hundred of them in about six or seven hours, increasing his mechanical source points by nearly 2, 00—truly a massive, satisfying haul!

【Current Mechanical Heart level: LV. (4340/20000)】

Mechanical Consumption: 4 (1760/2000) — Increase consumption efficiency

"Of course—coming to a large base with plenty of time really does speed things up. Consumption is almost at level five; soon, swallowing a regular car should take just a few minutes."

After all that effort, Lin Xian felt thoroughly rewarded—it was the first time he'd ever felt safe underground.

"If only the Dark Invasion and Dark Mark issues weren't so hard to solve, the underground city might actually be a viable option…"

As he thought, Lin Xian clicked his tongue, remembering the unknown subterranean creature in Underground City 9, and quickly shook his head: "Damn, almost forgot about that thing—underground cities are fucking stupid."

At that moment, Kiki's voice suddenly crackled through the communicator.

"Lin Xian, come quick—this woman's awake!"

Hearing this, Lin Xian immediately stopped what he was doing and ran toward the other side of the monitoring hall.

At that moment, Kiki, Luo Yang, Ding Junyi, and others were gathered around the isolation pod Lin Xian had built.

The woman seemed to have regained some awareness; she slowly crawled out of the pod onto the floor, her gaze sweeping repeatedly across Lin Xian and the others, then suddenly filled with terror as she cried out:

"Don't kill me, don't kill me…!!"

As she spoke, her face turned pale, her body trembling in pain, her eyes darting wildly—then, like a madwoman, she suddenly scrambled to her knees, thrusting her backside high into the air toward the group in a grotesque, submissive pose, shouting:

"Don't kill me, come quickly, I'll do anything, I can't take it anymore, hurry, hurry, come on, come on!!"

The woman's sudden bizarre behavior instantly changed the expressions of Lin Xian and the others—her winter sleep suit was nothing more than two thin white cloths front and back, like surgical gowns, offering no coverage at all; beneath it, she was completely naked. Now, with this pose, every private part was fully exposed to everyone—the scene was absurd beyond words!

This left Luo Yang, Luo Luo, Xiao Min, and others staring at each other in silence; Da Lou Shu Qin looked equally uneasy; Kiki frowned and immediately covered Lin Xian's eyes with one hand, while using telekinesis to wrap the woman in her own winter suit and lift her into the air.

"Ahh!!"

The woman, Tang Yun, screamed as she thrashed in midair; Lin Xian noticed her skin was deathly pale, yet her eyes were utterly bloodshot—she looked profoundly ill.

Ding Junyi watched the scene with a calm expression, hands in her pockets: "It's likely a stress response formed from prolonged exposure to mycelial hallucinations—similar to addiction. But we've confirmed: she's still alive, not parasitized by mycelium. She must've used some kind of isolation technology."

"Tang Yun!" Kiki, having restrained her, suddenly spoke. At the sound of her name, the woman trembled slightly; her frantic breathing slowed, and the confusion in her gaze gradually cleared.

She stared at Kiki, her expression shifting from panic to bewilderment, then her pupils contracted sharply in shock.

"Y-you—you… are… are you… W-Wen Qi!?"

Kiki's face remained cold: "It's me. How did you end up here?"

Tang Yun fixed her eyes on Kiki, her expression shifting constantly—as if thinking for a long time, or finally regaining a sliver of reason. She glanced at Lin Xian and the others, then spoke in a tense voice:

"What… what time is it now? Has the world… is it safe?!"

Kiki replied irritably: "You've caught a lucky break—outside, it's polar night, and monsters are throwing a party right above your head."

"What?!" Tang Yun gasped, seemingly unable to believe it. She frantically scanned her surroundings, then stared at the hive's center, murmuring: "No… no… they told us we'd only wake up after everything was over… it would be just a blink… even if we died, we'd die in a beautiful dream… why… why…"

As she spoke, she turned back toward the cryo-pod she'd emerged from, and began struggling wildly: "No, I shouldn't be awake! No!"

Lin Xian and Kiki exchanged a glance; Kiki understood Lin Xian's intent and spoke directly to Tang Yun:

"Hey, answer my question—why are you here?"

Tang Yun snapped back to reality, realizing she was being held aloft by some strange force, and that everyone around her wore armored battle gear, armed and dangerous.

She finally understood, and shouted desperately at Kiki: "Wen Qi, Wen Qi, I'm your aunt! Save me, save me, don't let them kill me!"

Kiki released her; Tang Yun dropped to the ground but couldn't stand, collapsing with a thud onto her buttocks.

"Wen Qi… Wen Qi, please save me, I'm your aunt, don't you remember?!"

Now completely dominated by fear and panic, she paid no attention to her exposed body, crawling desperately toward Kiki.

Hum!

Lin Xian raised his hand; the black rifle flew across the distance into his grip, then he leveled its tip at Tang Yun's face, blocking her advance.

"If I have to ask you a third time, I won't ask at all," Lin Xian said coldly.

(End of Chapter)