Chapter 334: Full-Band Announcement (120k explosion, seeking monthly votes)

The moment darkness fell, everyone seemed to go quiet, along with the movements of their hands and their very breathing.

The entire United Train had extinguished its lights, and the motorcades outside had locked their doors and windows and shut off their engines. The survivors hid in the narrow safe rooms within their steel carriages, listening quietly to the sound of the sandstorm passing by.

Woo-woo~

Woo~

The wind on the Gobi Desert seemed as if it had never ceased. Sand and gravel slapped against the vehicles' armor, making a rustling sound. Various gasoline drums and empty cans were pushed along by the wind, rolling through the streets or the wilderness of Akesai. In the distance, only the silhouettes of rolling hills remained. Although they were in an open area, no one knew what might appear in that wilderness; time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

Chen Sixuan sat down and leaned against Lin Xian, while Lin Xian, while manufacturing a fully automatic bullet press, used his Mechanical Heart to observe the situation outside through the train.

Because the train had been refitted today, the passing of sand ants was not Lin Xian's biggest worry. He was most concerned about the insect leg hanging down from above the sky; the power of fear released from that hellish thing was something even steel armor could hardly withstand.

He did not know what kind of monster that thing was, but its oppressive force was absolutely no less than the S-rank Black Thorn Sea Urchin of Xilan City.

The survivors had long been accustomed to staying quiet after nightfall. This was the most dangerous time of the day. Relatively speaking, if nothing happened in the first half of the night, the probability of something happening in the second half would be much smaller. This was why survivors dared to set off an hour or two before dawn. Firstly, it was to make the most of the limited travel time, and secondly, this time was usually safer; even if problems arose, dawn would soon arrive.

Lin Xian had originally thought tonight would be the same as last night, encountering a sand ant crossing, but after waiting for about twenty or thirty minutes, it remained extremely quiet outside. He and Chen Sixuan looked at each other in the darkness, both feeling somewhat surprised.

"Tonight... seems very quiet."

"Let's wait a bit longer." Lin Xian said in a low voice: "If nothing happens for an hour, it means we should be safe tonight."

The silent effect brought by the identified Dark Mark was huge for the survivors. Since leaving Xilan City, apart from ordinary zombies, their train had not encountered an attack by anomalous bodies. The most dangerous moment was when they almost encountered the Corpse Driver after leaving Yijin City.

"Each motorcade, report your situation."

Lin Xian pressed the United Motorcade channel, inquiring about the other motorcades.

"No abnormalities." Shi Diyuan responded from his side.

"Safe." Qian Dele also responded immediately.

"Nothing happened." Mo Nika's faint voice appeared.

"Team Leader Lin, everything is OK!" At this moment, Hu Lushou's cheap-sounding voice also rang out in the channel, his tone full of a positive attitude.

Soon, all the United Motorcades, including the Dawn outside, the Akesai Brotherhood, and the Windwalker motorcade saved from the hands of Brother J, also sent messages indicating no abnormalities.

At this time, more than an hour had passed since nightfall. Lin Xian listened to the reports from all sides, felt relieved, and immediately announced.

"Turn on the lights!"

Tonight seemed to be another safe night.

*Ceng ceng*, as soon as the words fell, the captains of all motorcades in the United Channel also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately announced that the motorcades should turn on their lights. Soon, hundreds of carriages began to light up one after another. The light fell onto the Gobi Desert outside the tracks through the gaps in the blackout curtains, and the entire United Train seemed to have gained a sense of vitality.

At this time, personnel from each motorcade began to move about. Some started fires to cook, counted supplies, and celebrated the day's harvest, while others took advantage of the night to prepare weapons in the carriages or exchange combat techniques to deal with the unknowns of tomorrow.

The Infinite was even busier. Weapons and ammunition were distributed. Luo Yang and Liang Lei led people to install arc pulse string vibrators and sentry monitoring systems outside the carriages overnight. These were all manufactured by Lin Xian in the afternoon, specifically to cover the entire train.

Shu Qin and Lv Chang exchanged combat techniques and insights on the use of power armor among the gene evolutionaries in each carriage. Now, almost the entire motorcade had tactical-grade power armor. Once deployed, it was a power armor coalition of over a hundred people, with astonishing power. However, many people were using this high-tech equipment for the first time. For this reason, even Shu Qin and Lv Chang had to seek advice from the twins, Amin and Luoluo; after all, the two's use and fluency with power armor were obvious to everyone.

With the help of Liang Lei and Luo Yang, two assistants in mechanics and information, Kiki was much more relaxed. Her main task now was to perform system analysis on Grace. At this time, she also walked into Carriage 13 and saw Lin Xian manufacturing the fully automatic bullet press, so she said: "It feels so good to have enough manpower. Our train is really becoming a fortress."

"It's not that simple." Lin Xian smiled.

Chen Sixuan, who was on the side, understood Lin Xian's meaning, so she looked at Kiki helplessly: "Remember when we first left Beiwan Town, we obtained a large batch of supplies from Tang Hai. At that time, there were only three of us, plus the newly joined Dalou and Shasha, making it 5 people. Those supplies were enough for us to eat for more than half a year, and we didn't have to worry about water. Now we have wiped out a sand bandit alliance of a thousand people, but the supplies we obtained are only enough for us to drink water for a day and a half..."

Kiki's smile froze upon hearing this, and her brows couldn't help but furrow. She nodded and said: "If you calculate it like that, the pressure is not small~"

Lin Xian said: "Food is not the most urgent; the main thing is water. Now it's because of the desert drought. If it really reaches a point where even water cannot be drunk, that will be the most troublesome. So we can only hope that the Phoenix Society will quickly research technology that can resist and filter the dark invasion in water, otherwise all of humanity won't even be able to persist through this year."

"Don't worry, there will definitely be a way." Kiki said, directly cheering Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan up: "What's wrong with you two, having no confidence in us? Don't forget, humanity is also evolving. As long as we can adapt to the power of those dark invasions, it will actually accelerate our evolution!"

Lin Xian's tone stalled upon hearing this, and he smiled: "That also makes sense."

"Hee hee~"

At this time, Xiang Ningjing's voice came from the communication band: "Team Leader Lin, those people we saved have all been screened. They are all motorcades that encountered sand bandits in the no-man's-land recently. Basically, they were small-scale motorcades, so they were targeted by sand bandits. The longest one here has been here for 6 days. We guess that those sand bandits should sell their prey collectively about every week, men, women, old, and young alike."

Lin Xian nodded: "These people should all be valued based on the peak data of their Spirit-Oscillation values. They should all be used for human ability research, or is there some other purpose?"

Lin Xian told the various motorcade leaders about Old Mo's situation and his guesses. When they learned that Old Mo and the others had actually rushed into the West Gobi from the Weihe River, everyone was a bit surprised. These motorcade leaders were relatively familiar with road conditions and regional situations, and they all knew that it was impossible to drive such a long distance in one night, let alone in the polar night fog.

"This is too weird. Could it be that they were swept here by some monster in the Star Abyss, or is there some grotesque thing like space-time in the Star Abyss?" Shi Diyuan said, looking puzzled.

"Rushing into the West Gobi in one night, unless their vehicles are equipped with plasma pulse thrusters..." Qian Dele also said faintly.

Mo Nika held a red wine glass, her tone cold: "Since it's not their own problem, then it's something strange in the Star Abyss. Up to now, there are still many strange situations we haven't seen. However, since Old Mo and his party mentioned by Team Leader Lin are alive, they shouldn't have encountered an anomalous body, but something... even more anomalous."

Once these words were spoken, many people agreed. In the Star Abyss, if they had encountered an anomalous body head-on, it would have been impossible for them to survive with the configuration of Old Mo's motorcade. And they not only rushed out of the dark night but also hadn't been marked with a Dark Mark, which was enough to show that the situation they encountered couldn't be explained simply by monsters.

"Old Hu, tell us about your situation." Thinking of this, Lin Xian called Hu Lushou directly.

Hu Lushou was lying on the sofa of his luxury RV, listening to everyone's conversation. Hearing Lin Xian call him, he immediately sat up and said with a solemn expression: "Uh, Team Leader Lin, that Tieli motorcade you mentioned, is it two all-terrain heavy-duty RVs?"

"Yes."

Hu Lushou's gaze condensed: "Then I remember. When it wasn't dark yet, I did see these two vehicles in those motorcades. At that time, I even thought the modification of those two vehicles was very awesome..."

Knowing that Lin Xian valued this matter, Hu Lushou didn't dare to be vague and immediately explained the detailed situation he had encountered before.

"At that time, we rushed from the Weihe River all the way to the route of Silent City. Along the way, dozens or hundreds of motorcades had already gathered. I originally thought that following this big guy, we would definitely have something to rely on along the way."

It wasn't just Hu Lushou who thought so; in fact, all the motorcades at that time had one goal—to follow Silent City to Jinhai!

With such a massive motorcade moving, the safety factor was still somewhat guaranteed, not to mention there was a mobile mechanical city. But as the night fell that evening, all positioning instruments and even compasses lost their function. Coupled with the attacks of a large number of anomalous bodies, numerous motorcades were in a panic, and even the stationary Silent City urgently roared and started moving between the mountains. Thus, all the motorcades were in a panic, using this mobile mechanical city as a coordinate system, and began to flee wildly.

But Silent City's electromagnetic cannons roared all night, and hundreds of motorcades also ran for a whole night. Dawn still hadn't arrived, and those motorcades had already suffered heavy casualties. The dark night was filled with an atmosphere of despair.

Hu Lushou didn't know which deep mountains and old forests his motorcade had driven into. There were no directions, no road signs, and everyone was shrouded in an increasingly deep fog.

The night poured down like thick asphalt, and the fog seeped out from the cracks in the ground like a living thing. Hu Lushou, who was hiding in the vehicle at the time, had a face ashen with death. He seemed to hear intermittent steam whistles coming from afar, but that was definitely not the whistle of a ship, but more like the groans squeezed out when some gargantuan coelenterate contracted its internal organs in mucus. The moonlight in the sky outside the window had long been distorted into a sickly blue-gray, as if shining through the corpse of a jellyfish that had rotted a hundred million years ago.

Even now, recalling it, Hu Lushou felt a chill. That night, they seemed to have strayed into the depths of the Black Abyss, entering a hellish world. As long as he looked out the car window, his retinas would ache as if burning, as if countless rusty steel needles were piercing into his cerebral cortex along the optic nerve. Huge, mountain-like wriggling black shadows dissolved and reorganized in the fog, occasionally revealing a section of limbs covered with coral-like bone spurs, or half a face pieced together from rotten petals and gears, making it impossible to distinguish reality from delusion.

So Hu Lushou could only frantically urge the motorcade to increase horsepower and drive on. Under such torment and bumping, the Fulu Shou motorcade miraculously rushed out of the fog. When the scorching sun shone down, Hu Lushou realized that he and Sun Chang had appeared in the West Gobi, and his motorcade had already suffered heavy losses.

Fortunately, his motorcade's main supply vehicles and manpower were still enough. However, just when Hu Lushou felt that he could make a comeback, he encountered sand bandits again...

"So many motorcades all lost their way in the polar night, this is too weird..." Qian Dele couldn't help but ask after hearing Hu Lushou's words: "North of Longjiang is the Luling Forest and Haiqu City. Even if you entered that primeval forest, it's impossible to come out and arrive at the West Gobi, right?"

"Yes, to enter the West Gobi, you have to cross hundreds of miles of hills and canyon groups. It's absolutely impossible to drive through blindly." Shi Diyuan said.

"Could it be that you drilled into some space-time wormhole?" Mo Nika teased.

Lin Xian's gaze swept over Chen Sixuan and Kiki on the side. If it were just this guy Hu Lushou, Lin Xian would definitely think he was exaggerating, but the situation described by Old Mo and Sun Yuzhen was similar to Hu Lushou's, and the fact that their motorcade appeared in the West Gobi was enough to confirm that what Hu Lushou said was true. This forced Lin Xian to believe that Hu Lushou and Old Mo's party had encountered some kind of supernatural phenomenon...

"This perhaps gives us a warning." Lin Xian said solemnly: "That is, the No. 5 Star Abyss has become extremely unstable, and the Phoenix Society's Star Abyss monitoring situation may be starting to spiral out of control..."

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the band went quiet.

The Phoenix Society's assessment of one year and 96 days was already a conservative estimate. If it were really as Lin Xian said, then everyone's time might be running out.

Lin Xian thought for a moment, then said: "There's no point in guessing anymore. Everyone, rest and recharge tonight. Let's set off directly two hours before dawn tomorrow!"

"Good!" Everyone agreed with this proposal. Now it was not just a problem of water resources, but the No. 5 Star Abyss behind them had also shown abnormal movements. In this situation, it was best to cross the no-man's-land and enter Quancheng as soon as possible; other worries were meaningless.

After communicating with the various motorcades, Lin Xian used the walkie-talkie to briefly communicate the situation with the core members of the Infinite. At this time, the fully automatic bullet press had also been manufactured by him, and the brand-new industrial machine tool sat in Carriage 13, quite spectacular.

Afterwards, Lin Xian only needed to manufacture a few sets of raw material conveyor belts, use the PX-05 robot for control, and then convert and put in raw materials such as primers, metal plates, bullet cores, and propellants. If the efficiency wasn't enough, he would add two more robots. This way, his bullet manufacturing only needed to preset a specification and quantity requirement for the robots, and it could be manufactured 24 hours a day without stopping. The only constraints were electrical energy and devouring materials.

Electrical energy was not a problem at the moment. As for devouring materials, Lin Xian still had plenty devoured in Yijin City. Those were all prepared for laying tracks, so it was not a problem at the moment either.

After getting it done, Lin Xian stood up and saw this large industrial machine tool, unable to help but sigh in relief.

"Finally finished a big thing, no need to rub ammunition one by one by hand..."

Although rubbing ammunition by hand was a small matter for Lin Xian's energy, it was too time-consuming, and the speed of ammunition consumption was definitely faster than his manufacturing, making him almost like a mechanical matrix.

A fully automatic bullet press took Lin Xian about 4 hours. Now that there were people on night watch in each carriage and weapon station at night, Lin Xian hurriedly ate something and drank some water, then returned to Carriage 1 to prepare to sleep.

The last time he slept was after he was in a coma in Xilan City. Afterwards, in Yijin City, he hadn't even closed his eyes upon entering the West Gobi. Today, he fought a big battle during the day and continued manufacturing until now in the afternoon. He was completely drained of energy, and Lin Xian even felt a bit floaty, so as soon as he lay down, he fell asleep directly.

*Click, click. *

In the darkness, Lin Xian seemed to be able to hear the sound of a watch's second hand, but the problem was, he was wearing an electronic watch, which shouldn't have a sound.

Opening his eyes, the light was blinding. Before him was actually a bright corridor.

The corridor was very clean, seemingly inside some research institute. It was unclear whether it was above ground or underground, but Lin Xian always felt that this corridor had a faint sense of familiarity.

Lin Xian looked at his hands. The sense of reality in the surroundings was very strong, but his subconscious told him that he definitely wasn't really in this place.

The corridor was extremely quiet. Lin Xian looked forward and backward, and there was no one. At this time, he saw a sign in front, which might be able to tell him what place this was.

But just as Lin Xian had walked a few steps forward, he suddenly heard a burst of rapid footsteps coming from the corner ahead. The footsteps came from far to near, and it seemed there was more than one person. He subconsciously felt that he couldn't stand here like a fool, but just as he was about to move, a room door beside him suddenly opened, a hand reached out and pulled him in violently, then closed the door.

Patter, patter.

The next second, a squad appeared from around the corner, then quickly walked past the spot where Lin Xian had just been standing.

Inside the room, the lights were dim; Lin Xian was currently being pressed behind the door with his mouth covered. He swept his gaze over and saw an "old acquaintance" before him.

Chu Yan.

She was dressed as a researcher, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with short, capable hair and bright eyes and white teeth. If not for those eyes full of coldness, Lin Xian would have truly believed she was a researcher.

"Why are you here?"

Lin Xian shrugged: "Every time I open my mouth, it's this question. I'd like to know that myself."

"No, this time is different."

Chu Yan looked at him, scrutinized him with a searching gaze, and then said coldly: "Help me."

"What?"

"Follow me, don't wander off."

After saying this, Chu Yan opened the door and walked quickly toward the outside. Lin Xian frowned and hurriedly followed behind.

Watching Chu Yan walking quickly ahead, doubts arose in Lin Xian's heart. This was the first time he had physical contact with this woman, but it defied logic; logically speaking, he was not appearing here in reality, so it should be impossible to produce this kind of tactile sensation.

But the scene at this moment was so real that it even made Lin Xian subconsciously try to activate his Mechanical Heart.

The activation was successful, but bizarrely, the light screen of the Mechanical Heart did not appear before his eyes.

Strange...

"Where are we going?"

Lin Xian watched as Chu Yan quickly led him toward the end of the corridor, then silently opened the door to an office. The interior was luxuriously furnished, making it look like the office owner's status was not low.

Chu Yan did not speak, but went straight to the office computer and operated it quickly.

"Are you stealing something?"

"Yes," Chu Yan responded directly.

Lin Xian's face showed surprise. What kind of person was this Chu Yan, acting like a secret agent stealing data? He walked over slowly, looked at a nameplate on the desk, and immediately frowned.

"Julius Lite..."

"This name, why does it seem so familiar?"

"I... don't know much. My husband brought me here. This organization is very mysterious. The highest-ranking person I've seen here is a white man named Julius Lite, who looks to be in his 40s. It was he who told us about the characteristics of the mycelium network here and even took us to experience the hallucinogenic spores. As for the rest..."

In an instant, memories came flooding back. He remembered the sign he saw in the corridor when he was just following behind Chu Yan—【5F, Core Test Area】—and his face changed drastically.

Chu Yan, who was busy, looked up at Lin Xian's expression, and the corners of her lips lifted imperceptibly.

"Quite smart."

Lin Xian's face was filled with disbelief: "That's not right. The 5th basement level of this Deep Red Pharmaceutical has long been covered by mycelium. Didn't those people all evacuate?"

Hearing this, Chu Yan's fingers, which were typing on the keyboard, stopped.

"You've been here?"

"You don't know I've been here?" Now it was Lin Xian's turn to be stunned. He immediately said: "Wasn't it you who warned me that the Corpse-Driving Man of Star Abyss No. 5 appeared in this area during the last tidal cycle, and suggested we hibernate underground to rest and leave during the next mycelium active cycle?"

Hearing this, a flash of confusion crossed Chu Yan's face. She looked at Lin Xian: "What are you talking about? Wasn't the last time we met in Yubei City?"

"Wait!"

Lin Xian's heart jolted, and he immediately asked: "How many times have we met?"

"Including this time?"

"Yes."

"Four times."

Lin Xian's face was filled with doubt: "Twice at the Jiang City shelter, once in Yubei, and now once. Are you sure we haven't met anywhere else?"

"No," Chu Yan swept a glance at him and said flatly.

"Then what exactly is this place..."

Bang, bang, bang!

Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden burst of gunfire came from the doorway. Chu Yan's finger speed increased, as if she had obtained what she wanted, and she immediately stood up: "Follow me."

Lin Xian looked back and saw that the office door had been riddled with countless bullet holes, and a group of people were preparing to break in.

"Who's inside!"

"Security! Catch them!"

A man was roaring.

At this moment, Chu Yan went to a corner of the office and familiarly moved a mechanism. The bookcase actually opened a secret door, and she walked straight in. Seeing this, Lin Xian immediately followed.

The two of them, one after the other, quickly drilled out of a hidden passage and arrived at a bright, wide corridor. At the end of the corridor was a large elevator.

Lin Xian remembered this corridor. At that time, he had led Kiki and the squad down to this level through this elevator after experiencing the giant mycelium body that caused hallucinations in the Deep Red Pharmaceutical center hall. When the elevator door opened, the entire corridor here had been covered by mycelium vines. They had detoured all the way to the underground platform and only found the Zero Element Center by taking the underground rail train.

At this moment, as Lin Xian followed Chu Yan, his thoughts were changing wildly.

Had he traveled through time and arrived before Yijin was covered by mycelium?

Why did Grace at the Zero Element Center have a holographic face of Chu Yan, and why did she warn him about the Corpse-Driving Man's information?

Why could he touch Chu Yan? Was he not on the Infinite now?

All the questions were like a mass of twisted, turbid asphalt, swirling in Lin Xian's heart.

Bang, bang, bang!

At this moment, a hail of bullets came from behind. Lin Xian subconsciously opened his AT Field Shield toward the rear, but there was nothing there. He could only hunch down to avoid the bullets and accelerate toward the elevator.

Ding!

The elevator opened. Chu Yan and Lin Xian ran in quickly and hid on both sides of the elevator door. In the corridor, a group of armed personnel with guns were firing wildly at the elevator. Behind these people followed a cold-faced, thin, middle-aged white man. If his guess was correct, this person should be Julius Lite, a supervisor at the Zero Element Center.

Whoosh~

At the critical moment, the elevator door finally closed, and the gunfire outside stopped abruptly.

Lin Xian breathed a sigh of relief, but Chu Yan beside him was calm. She quickly took off her research coat and removed her glasses, revealing a black tactical suit underneath. Surprisingly, Chu Yan's arms and legs were actually mechanical prosthetics, and even after she took off the wig on her head, it revealed a long, gray-white ponytail...

In this instant, Lin Xian felt as if Chu Yan had become a different person, with obvious differences from the one he had seen in Jiang City and Yubei City before.

"I already know your identity, Lin Xian, member of the Infinite fleet, cooperative team of the Phoenix Society's Crimson Phoenix Order. Your information briefings are available for the major transfers in Yubei City and Xilan City."

Chu Yan ignored Lin Xian's surprise and confusion at this moment and said: "You don't need to worry. Strictly speaking, I also belong to the Phoenix Society faction."

"Faction? So you are not a member of the Phoenix Society organization?" Lin Xian said immediately.

"You can understand it that way, but the Phoenix Society is not just the single official organization you understand. All Salvationists can be people of the Phoenix Society."

"Can you be more direct? Where exactly are we now? What is your identity? Why do I establish such a connection with you when I'm dreaming?" Lin Xian threw all his questions out at once, but at this moment, his keen sixth sense began to perceive that something was wrong.

Because the elevator had been rising for too long.

The entire Deep Red Pharmaceutical was not a high-rise building, and the basement was only 5 levels deep. How could it have been rising for so long? Lin Xian looked at the elevator and was shocked to find that the elevator was not rising, but descending. At this moment, it had already descended to the 80th basement level and was still descending at a very fast speed.

-85, -86, -87...

"What's going on? We're descending?"

Chu Yan was not in a hurry at this moment, but looked at Lin Xian and questioned: "You said you met me here and even warned you that there were Corpse-Driving Men in this area. Did I personally tell you this information?"

Lin Xian frowned: "Not exactly, but it looked just like you."

"A robot?" Chu Yan asked.

"Yes."

Chu Yan's brows knit together, her expression showing no change. At this moment, she walked forward and pressed a button on the elevator. Finally, the elevator stopped at the -99th level.

Ding~

At this moment, the elevator door slowly opened. Outside, it was bright. Lin Xian blocked the blinding light and discovered, to his surprise, that he and Chu Yan had appeared on the roof of a skyscraper!

Lin Xian walked out of the elevator and looked outside with a blank gaze. It was actually a vibrant mechanical city. From the twin towers towering into the clouds in the distance and the huge city rainbow ring, it could be seen that this place...

Was Dawn City!

Dawn City at this time had not yet entered the night, but the sky was filled with dark clouds. The huge city cluster below seemed to be operating in a dull and orderly manner, just as it was before the Apocalypse.

Chu Yan walked out, stood on the outer edge of the high-rise, and said to Lin Xian against the cold wind:

"Do you know why I was so curious to see you here just now?"

"I think I've guessed a little bit now," Lin Xian said with a deep breath.

"You guessed it?" Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian with some curiosity: "Let's hear it."

Lin Xian's expression was serious. Looking at Chu Yan, who had a graceful figure with mechanical structures, he said:

"If I'm not mistaken, I should be in the dream of that Julius Lite right now. You came here to obtain some information from his subconscious?"

This was definitely not time travel. According to that series of bizarre terrain changes just now, including the tactile sensation he could produce when touching Chu Yan, Lin Xian felt that Chu Yan must possess some kind of consciousness flow or mental-type ability, but he also didn't know why he would have some kind of consciousness entanglement with her.

Hearing Lin Xian's words, a flash of surprise crossed Chu Yan's cold and beautiful face, and then she looked at Lin Xian with appreciation.

"Not bad, worthy of being someone recognized by the Phoenix Society. However, this is my consciousness world."

"Really?"

Although he guessed right, Lin Xian was still extremely shocked in his heart. Consciousness world, what kind of joke was this...

Rumble, at this moment, the entire Dawn City began to experience a violent earthquake. The twin towers shook constantly, and the high-rise buildings all around began to collapse.

"It seems our conversation this time is going to end again," Lin Xian looked at this scene and said with some unwillingness.

"No."

Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian with a serious expression: "If you don't leave my dream now, you are very likely not to wake up again."

"Are you kidding me!?" Lin Xian said in surprise.

Chu Yan said flatly: "For me, I also have many doubts about your appearance. In the past, it was always me appearing in other people's consciousness, but only you appear in my consciousness. And from the information of the Phoenix Society, you don't seem to possess this kind of ability, so I can only infer from my logic that if your consciousness doesn't jump out of my dream and return to reality now, it might have some adverse effects on you."

"How do I jump out?" At this moment, the power of the earth-shaking tremors was getting stronger and stronger. The entire high-rise was shaking violently, and Lin Xian already felt that he couldn't stand steadily.

Chu Yan stepped on the outer edge of the high-rise and pointed to a puddle of rainwater on the street surface 99 floors below.

"See that puddle of rainwater? Aim for it and jump down."

"Hey, are you bluffing me? I've also seen movies and novels about jumping to wake up from dreams, but I've never heard of having to aim for a puddle of rainwater."

Chu Yan turned back and looked at him flatly: "Did you forget that we are on the -99th floor?"

"So?"

"So we are actually in the reflection of that puddle of rainwater downstairs!"

Chu Yan grabbed Lin Xian's hand and then pushed him off the high-rise.

"Holy crap!"

Down from the reflection?

Flip the world directly?

Whoosh, whoosh!

In an instant, an intense feeling of weightlessness struck. In the No. 1 carriage of the Infinite, Lin Xian's eyeballs kept moving. He saw the rapidly approaching ground, the world around him was collapsing and shattering, and that puddle of black rainwater seemed to be glowing and shining at this moment, as if it were an unknown passage!

Lin Xian gritted his teeth and subconsciously protected his face with his hands. At the moment of landing, he only felt his whole body's nerves tremble, and the scenery around him changed rapidly.

Opening his eyes, Lin Xian realized that he had arrived in a dark room. On the ground lay several corpses of armed personnel wearing power armor. In the room at this moment, there were still six people standing, four men and two women, all of whom looked powerful, wearing full-coverage high-level combat armor, including three Iron Hunter-class and three Ghost Wolf-class. The few people were standing together at this moment, and two people were sitting on the two chairs in the middle.

One was Chu Yan wearing power armor, a bit different from the one with mechanical prosthetics just now, and the other was the middle-aged white man Lin Xian had just seen, Julius Lite.

At this moment, Chu Yan seemed to have woken up. She opened her eyes and slowly stood up from the chair. Seeing her wake up, one of the other six people immediately asked:

"Captain Yan, how is it?"

"It's done," Chu Yan's voice was cold. Then she turned her head and glanced at Lin Xian standing in the corner.

"Take the things and prepare to evacuate."

"Yes!" The six people acted quickly and left the room. At this moment, only Lin Xian and Chu Yan were left in the room.

Lin Xian noticed that except for Chu Yan, no one else could perceive his existence.

Looking at the corpses all over the floor and the white man named Julius Lite, this person was still alive at this moment, but seemed to have fallen into a long coma under some kind of control.

This person was wearing a high-end power armor protective suit, and the power source on his chest was a triangular blue light column. His face looked gentle and elegant. Lin Xian looked around the room. This seemed to be some kind of underground shelter. The holographic screen in the room was still scrolling with the identity information of many survivors, all of which were marked with experimental subject numbers.

"Lin Xian, mechanical ability user, August 11, proposed the 'Traction Plan' to save 30,000 survivors by repairing the Yubei climbing elevator. August 30, participated in the Xilan City Casting Plan, drove special weapons to complete the first human kill of an S-class anomaly 'Black Thorn in the Clouds' since the Apocalypse..."

Chu Yan's combat armor mask opened, and she scrutinized Lin Xian while walking: "You completed a feat in Xilan City, bringing excitement and hope to survivor organizations all over the world. But at the same time, it also triggered signs of unstable expansion of the Star Abyss."

Lin Xian frowned: "Because we killed an S-class?"

Chu Yan tilted her head slightly: "No, the changes in the Star Abyss are still a fog to us, but the first annihilation of an S-class anomaly by humans has made this group of guys who like to hide underground anxious."

"The Advent Sect?" Lin Xian didn't understand: "What are they anxious about?"

"S-class anomalies are currently considered to be existences with civilization influence effects among dark creatures. For these Advent Sect members, they are the gods they pursue for a brand-new life dimension, and the key to opening a new civilization," Chu Yan turned her head and glanced at him: "What do you think they are anxious about?"

After saying this, Chu Yan set off to walk outside, and Lin Xian also got up and followed behind.

"These Advent Sect members are currently a trouble that our Phoenix Society faction has to deal with while responding to world crises. For us humans, it can be said that we are attacked from both sides. And these organizations don't know why, but they have research progress exceeding the world's scientific research level in some extreme dark research fields. You have been to Qingshui Town, this might not be unfamiliar to you, and it has also aroused the vigilance of the Phoenix Society."

Lin Xian followed behind, listening to Chu Yan's words. He discovered that this seemed to be an underground project under some mountain. The corridor was full of traces of fighting, and there were dead bodies everywhere. Lin Xian noticed that these people all had the triangular Deep Red World logo on their chests, and it looked like they were all people from this organization.

"Is there a hypothesis that the end of the world was known before the Apocalypse?"

"Someone has already proposed it, but it cannot be verified. The Phoenix Society is also conducting a full-scale investigation."

Walking all the way to the door of a facility, Chu Yan pushed open the door, and Lin Xian saw that outside was the Gobi Desert under the night. This underground facility was located under some giant rock, and there were many radio telescope reflection antennas standing around, but these facilities were already old and worn out. However, there was a large radar on the top that was newly built, and it also had the Deep Red World logo on it.

"This is... the Bai Lutan Star Observation Station?"

As soon as Lin Xian walked out, he immediately saw several rusted iron signs.

"You know about this place too?" Chu Yan walked to a high place and asked him.

Lin Xian shook his head: "By estimation, my fleet and I should be within a 1000-kilometer range of here now."

Who knew that after hearing this, Chu Yan's expression changed, and she immediately turned back and said: "Akesai?"

Lin Xian did not answer.

Chu Yan looked at his silence, and then took a deep breath.

"The organization I belong to is called the North American United Front (NAUF). You can understand it as a special organization affiliated with the Phoenix Society across Oceania and North America. My information is top secret in the Phoenix Society, so although you are a cooperative team of the Crimson Phoenix Order, my tasks and actions cannot be disclosed to you. I also don't know why I established such a link with you. Now we are going to leave immediately. Out of good-willed advice, I will give you two pieces of information. As for whether you believe it or not, that is your business."

"First, the people of the Deep Red World have already targeted you. This doesn't mean you have a high priority. Now, all powerful and special ability users are on their hunting list, including me. I am not a person of the Deep Red World. As for why they want to use my face as a holographic projection, you might know later..."

"I see," Lin Xian turned back and looked at the corpses of the Deep Red World in the corridor. He originally had the idea of exploring this Bai Lutan Star Observation Station, but now... it seemed there was no need for that.

Chu Yan's expression was cold as she looked at Lin Xian and said: "Second, if you are in Akesai now, I'm afraid you are already too late to evacuate the no-man's land."

Hearing this, the expression on Lin Xian's face paused slightly: "What do you mean?"

At this moment, a holographic interface appeared in front of Chu Yan's power armor mask, on which was a map simulation area of Star Abyss No. 5. He saw that in the southeast direction of Star Abyss No. 5, an irregular expansion area appeared. It was not an overall expansion, but a regional expansion, making the originally circular Star Abyss No. 5 seem to have an extra elliptical polar night area at this moment.

"An unstable energy anchor point has appeared in Star Abyss No. 5. According to our investigation with the Nightwalker Second Division, this is very likely related to a large forbidden object that the Deep Red World recently got out of it. That thing is now somewhere in the no-man's land, so it caused the sudden expansion of Star Abyss No. 5. And this kind of expansion is irregular, non-circular radiation, and extremely bizarre. The last time it appeared was in the Weihe River, and this time, that large forbidden object appeared in the Akesai no-man's land!"

"We speculate that there is no abnormal movement in the Star Abyss today, so it is very likely to be tomorrow. So if you can't run out of the Akesai no-man's land before dark tomorrow, I suggest you run back, or take a detour through the Hailaer Mountains."

Lin Xian's face sank: "Impossible, we are a train group, and there is only this one road to go now."

Running back only means returning to Yijin City and Xilan City, and bypassing Star Abyss No. 5 also means returning to the Hengshan Pass, which is simply impossible.

Hearing this, Chu Yan said calmly: "That is your business, I can't help you. Of course, if you are extremely lucky, you might not run into it. Good luck."

After saying this, Chu Yan prepared to leave, but after taking one step, she stopped again and turned to look at Lin Xian.

"Before you established this kind of consciousness link with me these few times, did the same thing happen?"

Not only was Lin Xian curious, but it was the same for Chu Yan.

Her ability was top secret, and now being spied on by Lin Xian like this was already a crisis situation. Logically speaking, Chu Yan should report this situation upward immediately to ensure that her special mission would not have problems. But she, who was always calm, kept it to herself in this matter, so much so that every time Lin Xian appeared, it would make Chu Yan feel a bizarre sensation that even she felt was unreal.

And from the investigation of Lin Xian's identity background and deeds, Chu Yan also felt relieved, and at the same time, she also developed some curiosity about his mechanical ability.

From a certain perspective, mechanical ability almost possessed all the current scientific and technological power of human civilization, which could no longer be understood simply by "ability."

"The same thing..."

Lin Xian took a deep breath, and he already had a vague answer in his heart.

Beep, beep.

The watch alarm sounded. Lin Xian was startled and hurriedly looked at the time.

5:00 AM. In order to set off two hours early, Lin Xian only allowed himself to sleep for 6 hours.

However, at this moment, he was already extremely anxious. If it were as Chu Yan said, they must rush out of the no-man's land before 18:45 tonight. So if they set off immediately, they still had 13 hours and 45 minutes!

The joint train must maintain a high speed of over 280 kilometers per hour to have a chance to rush out of the no-man's land before dark!

Seeing Lin Xian's expression, Chu Yan had already guessed his intention. Seeing Lin Xian's consciousness forcibly waking up, she said loudly:

"Listen, humans must have a correct understanding of forbidden objects. They are not treasures, they are distortions of power from another world that cannot be understood. The so-called containment is just that we have found a way to contact them. Although some organizations now want to use this power, the dark invasive power of the forbidden object itself cannot be eliminated. This is a double-edged sword. The containment of forbidden objects is difficult to understand from a human perspective. It's like you drawing a line on a piece of white paper with a pen. You won't feel that your pen is magical, but if there is a two-dimensional world on the white paper, then your pen becomes an artifact that divides the world."

On the Infinite, Lin Xian's eyeballs were shaking wildly. He forcibly restrained his consciousness to stay awake, looking at Chu Yan, who was gradually blurring before his eyes, and tried his best to hear every word she said.

"Do not understand forbidden objects from a human perspective. If you see them, then don't look. If you try to understand them, it must be counter-intuitive. Do not describe them, do not describe them!"

"And do not spy on the sky!!"

Hum~

The tail sound of Chu Yan's voice was stretched into a huge bell hum, echoing constantly in the dark space. The sound came from far to near, gradually becoming clear, and turned into the sound of the wind blowing the iron station sign of the Akesai platform.

"Lin Xian!"

The bedroom door opened. Chen Sixuan saw Lin Xian wake up suddenly and immediately said to him: "A sandstorm is coming!"

"Start the train."

"What?"

Lin Xian got up directly at this moment, and for the first time in a long time, he directly used his Mechanical Heart to start the engine of the Giant Whale 03E heavy gas turbine locomotive!

Boom!

The engine of the Giant Whale 03E heavy gas turbine locomotive erupted with a roar like a wild lion. A huge traction torque struck, instantly pushing the Longshan No. 1 carriage in front to vibrate section by section, and at the same time, pulling the train behind to shake violently!

At this 5:00 AM, when most people were sleeping and resting, the entire joint train suddenly rang with the hissing of metal carriages!

Lin Xian ran wildly toward the rear carriage while pressing the communicator and shouting for a full-frequency broadcast:

"Everyone, set off immediately!"

Brothers, please vote for the monthly ticket~

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(End of chapter)