Chapter 359: UNITE! (10K BONUS, 2-IN-1, MORE TO COME!)

At 22: 5, as a chilling force surged across the land, the internal tide began; Baicheng boiled as its central mother nest slowly emerged in the night, frantically manufacturing and stitching together, with bizarre entities flooding endlessly into the darkness.

Beneath Baicheng's wastewater treatment plant, in the underground control room, rows of neatly arranged server racks lined the space—this was the terminal core of the Crimson World's research facility beneath Baicheng.

At this moment, the air was utterly silent; everyone, including Qian Xusun, stared at Lin Xian with unusual expressions. The communication channel remained dead quiet—even Wang Yue Zhenji, the Lord of Jingjing City, fell silent for several seconds. In those seconds, his quantum computational palace, with its five-digit volume, had completed millions of calculations, integrating all relevant factors, and reached one conclusion: unless Lin Xian possessed some unknown power factor, there was no better strategy for the current crisis.

Setting Jingjing City, a colossal entity, to charge recklessly through the Star Abyss was far more dangerous than the small-team operations of Qian Xusun and his group; precisely because they had no immediate rear threats, Wang Yue Zhenji dared to make such a bold gamble here.

"Give me the midpoint between Baicheng's orbital station, Xishan Bunker, and Jingjing City."

"Input the train track speed, bunker vehicle speed, Jingjing City's lift-off time…"

At this moment, Lin Xian had Grace project a full-holographic sandbox of Baicheng and its surrounding terrain, scanned and refined, while continuously feeding her new data streams.

【Location: 12 km west of Wangkou, track deviation 12°, speed differential 4 minutes, landing zone diameter approximately 5. km】

Grace generated precise computational results for Lin Xian; beside him, Kiki furrowed her brow, wanting to ask but knowing she must not interrupt—so she stayed silent, instead raising a finger to seal the mouth of Zhou Lei, who was weeping in the corner.

"You're directing your train, bunker vehicle, and Jingjing City to converge in one direction…" Qian Xusun watched the holographic projection before Lin Xian, arms crossed: "You want to merge them together to defend as one?"

"No. The Sacred Revelation's description of the Fish-Tailed Lion statue's properties gave me an insight." Lin Xian did not directly answer Qian Xusun but turned to Ningjing.

"Ning-jie, don't you remember how we triggered the Star Abyss tide—the so-called 'Black Edge' effect—when we observed the Fish-Tailed Lion statue in the Akesai No-Man's Land and got swallowed?"

Ningjing nodded: "Old Shi and I didn't see it head-on, but we did observe it."

"Then we appeared at Buto Lake and encountered the bizarre entity uprising." Lin Xian pointed at the sandbox: "Have you noticed something curious? Our current location is no more than 100 km from Baicheng's Fish-Tailed Lion statue. Even Jingjing City, previously pulled in, was only about 70 km away. Hu Boss and his team appeared directly inside Baicheng."

Hearing this, Chen Sixuan blurted: "You mean that transfer isn't random across the entire No. 5 Star Abyss—it only happens between the three Fish-Tailed Lion statues?!"

"Do you remember when Hu Boss and Old Mo were last pulled in?"

Lin Xian said: "They were originally pulled in with Jingjing City, but their convoy broke off, altering their position. Yet no matter how it changed, they always ended up near a Fish-Tailed Lion statue. So why, when they were pulled in last time, didn't they appear near Baicheng like Jingjing City did—why did they appear in Akesai?"

Kiki suddenly understood, her eyes widening: "Oh…"

"You figured it out!" Lin Xian had no time for riddles: "Exactly. At that time, the Crimson World was transporting the third Fish-Tailed Lion statue to the Bai Lu Tan Star Observation Station. When Hu Boss's convoy broke off from Jingjing City, their transfer vector shifted. Jingjing City appeared near Baicheng's statue; Hu Boss's team appeared near Akesai. That's why they crossed thousands of kilometers overnight—from the Wei River—to emerge in the Western Desert north of the Star Abyss!"

Mo Nika nodded: "Then rumors of forbidden objects in Akesai No-Man's Land surfaced afterward. Looks like… they had real luck."

"So…" Qian Xusun suddenly understood: "You're telling us that if No. 2 City gets pulled into the Star Abyss, it might also appear near Baicheng?"

"Yes."

"Then your plan is for all of us to unite…"

"No."

Lin Xian cut him off sharply: "I don't want them to come in—I want us to get out!"

"Xun."

At this moment, Wang Yue Zhenji, inside the bunker's control room, narrowed his eyes at the holographic screen showing the group, his tone layered with meaning: "Lin is calculating how to converge the Combined Train, Xishan Bunker, and Jingjing City at the Wangkou Plains… then use the Fish-Tailed Lion statue's property to…."

"Perform a spatial transfer!"

"What?!" Tianye Lan immediately dropped her hands, stunned.

Hearing this, Qian Dele and Mo Nika leaned forward; even the cold-faced Xiaoqing fixed her gaze on Lin Xian's face, her breath catching.

Kiki's lips parted slightly as she realized, turning to Lin Xian:

"Lin Xian… you don't mean…"

"Yes." Lin Xian's expression was serious as he continued calculating: "I'm going to replicate the spatial transfer phenomenon from Akesai No-Man's Land!"

"Huh?" Chen Sixuan was confused: "You mean use the Fish-Tailed Lion statue above us?"

"Lin, this seems impossible," Qian Xusun frowned: "The problem is…"

"The problem is the Fish-Tailed Lion statue only triggers the 'Black Edge' effect when observed outside the Star Abyss, right?" Lin Xian finished his calculations, exhaled lightly, and looked directly at Qian Xusun and Wang Yue Zhenji:

"Fortunately, I can solve that problem." He turned to Kiki and the others: "Director Ding's report: the Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Errors has sprouted a second inflorescence."

At this moment, Kiki, Chen Sixuan, Mo Nika, Ningjing, Qian Dele, and others all realized.

Ningjing exclaimed: "Lin Dui, you mean…"

"Create a spatial layering?!" Mo Nika said.

"No way…" Qian Dele's eyes darted: "This… is too abstract!!"

To ensure synchronization, Lin Xian quickly explained the spatial layering properties of the Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Errors to Qian Xusun and Wang Yue Zhenji.

Upon hearing this, Qian Xusun's face paled: "So… you plan to gather everyone, use that plague plant to create spatial layering, then observe the forbidden object to trigger the Star Abyss tide—and transfer us all out?"

"No wonder you wanted to concentrate all three forces at the Wangkou Plains—you're worried the rogue entities in Baicheng will generate too many Dark Markers. But… how do you move the Fish-Tailed Lion statue out of the city?"

"He plans to use Ye Yi's method, Xun."

At this moment, Wang Yue Zhenji understood Lin Xian's intent and spoke over the comm.

Qian Xusun froze, his gaze complex as he looked at Lin Xian: "I understand…"

"Indeed… it's an utterly insane plan…"

Lin Xian expanded the holographic sandbox to encompass the entire No. 5 Star Abyss, highlighting Baicheng and Akesai.

"The three Fish-Tailed Lion statues are three anchor points. Beyond the one above this facility, the Crimson World has used the other two to expand outward. Whenever a statue is observed outside the Star Abyss, it triggers this tidal force, causing abnormal expansion of the Star Abyss—like a small droplet being swallowed by a larger one. Theoretically, if we place the Fish-Tailed Lion statue outside the Star Abyss, this plan can succeed."

"Oh~" Kiki exhaled slowly: "So if another transfer happens, we'll either appear in Akesai or the Wei River?"

"The Wei River is impossible." Lin Xian added: "You forgot the second Fish-Tailed Lion statue was already moved by the Crimson World to Luling Forest?"

He narrowed his eyes: "I suspect the transfer is still ongoing. It won't match their rocket recovery speed, but the timing won't be far off."

"But… even if we transfer, won't we still be inside the Star Abyss?" Tianye Lan of Jingjing City, having recovered from her shock, immediately asked.

"That's different," Kiki replied, energized: "Both Akesai and Luling Forest lie at the Star Abyss's edge. Getting out becomes much simpler!"

"But… wouldn't this still leave No. 2 City vulnerable to being pulled in?" Shizhi spoke timidly, voicing a critical question.

Lin Xian smiled gently at Shizhi: "Have you forgotten a key detail?"

"According to the Sacred Revelation's analysis, the 'Black Edge' effect only activates after the Star Abyss stabilizes," Wang Yue Zhenji's voice came over the comm, answering for Lin Xian: "Meaning, if we trigger instability in the Star Abyss before the Crimson World does, the Luling Forest statue won't activate until after stabilization."

Lin Xian nodded: "Whether it activates or not is debatable—this thing is too bizarre. But our speed is certainly faster than their method of moving people one by one into the outer realm." He paused, his gaze sharpening: "If we transfer to Luling Forest, we might even catch them—see if their bodies are as tough as their methods."

Silence fell over the entire room.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Over the comm, Wang Yue Zhenji's slow, deliberate applause echoed. His tone grew more animated: "You'll use the Flash Bullets to return to the train line, use magnetic levitation to launch the Combined Train over Baicheng, then converge all three forces at the Wangkou Plains center. You'll actively observe the Fish-Tailed Lion statue at the wastewater plant, use Flash Bullets to teleport to the convergence point, deploy the spatial plague plant to create layering, then observe the statue again to trigger the Star Abyss tide—transferring everyone to one of the other two statues' locations… completing a grand escape…"

"Perfect!" Wang Yue Zhenji's voice held a note of awe: "Lin, you're truly extraordinary. I rarely admire anyone—you're one of them."

Qian Xusun and the others listened, staring at Lin Xian in astonishment.

Shocked. Disbelieving. Complex expressions.

Even Xiaoqing and Huo Ge, the quiet ones, stared blankly at him—hard to believe a single person could conceive this. This wasn't just unconventional—it was unnatural.

Lin Xian checked the time: "The tide recedes in ten minutes. Your thoughts on this plan?"

"It's settled," Wang Yue Zhenji's voice cut in before Lin Xian finished—no hesitation, no doubt.

In the control room, Wang Yue Zhenji's nanoscopic pupils contracted slightly, a faint smile touching his lips. He spoke to Qian Xusun: "Xun, our Jingjing City team will conduct the second observation at the plains convergence point. Also, Shizhi will coordinate the observation team. The Blood Orchid plague plant in the bunker will weaken the intrusion force—I'll arrange it."

With Wang Yue Zhenji's words, everyone felt a surge of resolve. Lin Xian's side—Ningjing, Mo Nika, Qian Dele—exchanged glances. This insane plan was intoxicating.

"Lin Xian, are you going back to the train line alone?" Chen Sixuan asked, startled.

"And Grace." He needed Grace to assist with precise magnetic levitation control, so she had to return to the line. He immediately ordered Grace to depart, while he himself would set out after the tide receded—using this time to test the Silver Bullet's properties.

He turned to Chen Sixuan, Kiki, Ningjing, and others: "The train's flight will attract the Dark Forest and Baicheng's rogue entities—Dark Markers are inevitable. I need you to guard the Baicheng Orbital Station and ensure the Combined Train lands smoothly. Kiki, protect the buffer docking system!"

"But observing that terrifying statue is too dangerous! I'm coming with you—if anything happens, I can fly you out!" Kiki pleaded urgently.

Lin Xian shook his head: "Don't worry. Jingjing City's team has already succeeded. The key is not to observe too long—only Flash Bullets work. Others can't help. This thing can't be contained, has no fear threshold—it's not about numbers."

Kiki fell silent, bit her lower lip, leaving faint tooth marks, then nodded: "Fine. I'll meet you at the orbital station…"

Chen Sixuan also looked worried: "Stay safe. We'll wait for you at Wangkou."

"Lin Dui, rest assured—we'll hold the orbital station," Ningjing stepped forward.

Qian Xusun approached, speaking through the hologram: "Lin, remember—this is inside the Star Abyss. Watch for time distortion."

He opened a screen; Wang Yue Zhenji's voice followed:

After the tide ends, Jingjing City will immediately deploy 425 sets of superconducting magnetic anchor arrays along the traction route. Simultaneously, I will ignite all our fusion reactors. System self-check in 20 minutes, liftoff in 30. When we activate, not only will the levitating Combined Train attract monsters from the Dark Forest and Baicheng, but Jingjing City's fusion cores will draw attention from S-class rogue entities—or even the nearby Star Abyss overlord. Once we start, we have only 30 minutes left before the next tide to complete the convergence, statue relocation, spatial leap, and prepare for potential monster surges and other threats after transfer. I've synchronized all critical units. Lin, it's up to you.

"Thank you for the cooperation."

Hearing Wang Yue Zhenji's words, Lin Xian felt overwhelming support. Though he was the linchpin, this plan required multi-party coordination—and once initiated, there was no turning back.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian notified Shi Di's team. The Combined Train position was fully prepared—waiting only for the magnetic anchor array deployment, then his ascent trajectory ignition!

With all deployments complete, the control room grew tense yet electric. Qian Xusun, clear-headed, accessed the secret lab's main control program, pre-deployed the transport vessel, and extracted every available data file—critical information including the Dark Shi Cells, the Crimson World's research on mycelial networks, flesh implants, and extensive studies on the Star Abyss and Dark Infiltration. With these, Wang Yue Zhenji could rapidly advance material development for blocking Dark Infiltration alongside Lin Xian and the Phoenix Society—potentially shaping humanity's survival.

At this moment, Lin Xian pulled out the metal box containing the Silver Bullets, preparing to contain the forbidden object.

Hum!

The instant he opened the box, all lights in the control room flickered. Metal objects, chairs—hissed slightly, shifting toward the box as if pulled by a powerful magnetic field.

Everyone stared, astonished. Shizhi stepped forward: "Lin, when you touch it, something terrible may happen. I'll help you."

"Did Ye Yi also experience this?" Lin Xian asked.

Hearing Ye Yi's name, Shizhi's gaze dimmed as she nodded.

Lin Xian didn't hesitate. He opened the hand armor of his Black Hawk suit, extended his finger, and slowly touched the silver-black bullet. Chen Sixuan, Kiki, and others watched, tense. Shizhi immediately activated her ability, enveloping Lin Xian in green energy.

Lin Xian's fingertip hovered above the bullet.

It lay quietly in the lead box, its silver-black surface gleaming coldly, like congealed night. Faint dried crimson bloodstains clung to the casing—before becoming forbidden, it had claimed a life.

He took a deep breath—and his finger descended—

The moment he touched it, the world shattered.

Darkness surged like a tide, tearing his vision into countless fragments.

Lin Xian saw a bullet spinning through a skull.

Not as an observer—but as the bullet itself. Metal scraping flesh, crushing bone, brain matter boiling under heat—sensations flooded his nerve endings. In the instant of penetration, he tasted death.

Bang.

The gunshot exploded in the depths of his consciousness, growing louder, echoing endlessly.

Darkness began to collapse; space twisted, folded, and tore like crumpled paper gripped by an invisible hand. Lin Xian felt himself stretched into countless thin threads, every nerve submerged in icy nothingness.

At this moment, Shi Zhi saw only Lin Xian's pupils contract violently, his fingers clenched tightly around the bullet, knuckles whitening with strain. Where skin met metal, a strange bluish-gray hue spread—like something was slowly eroding him.

So she gritted her teeth and intensified her ability.

The illusion continued.

Lin Xian saw countless versions of himself: some with exploded skulls, others with chests pierced through, some entire bodies twisted into spirals of flesh by collapsing space. Each moment of death became a memory fragment, forcibly jammed into his consciousness.

This was not an illusion.

These were lives the bullet had truly claimed.

Cold sweat slid down his temples; his breathing grew labored, as if invisible hands were crushing his lungs—but his fingers still did not loosen!

"Huh~"

The next instant, the horrific visions receded like a retreating tide. Lin Xian staggered back a step, a metallic taste rising in his throat. He looked down at the bullet in his hand—the part touching his skin had turned dead gray. His face darkened; he immediately pulled the electromagnetic cannon from behind him and placed the bullet into its custom magazine.

The coldness on his fingers vanished; the dead gray receded. Yet Lin Xian now clearly felt his third eye constantly targeted by a bullet—slightly swollen, he sensed a spatial connection had formed between himself and this bullet.

"How are you?" Chen Sixuan and Kiki hurried over, concerned.

Lin Xian exhaled slowly and nodded: "Fine."

In a distant corner, Zhou Lei watched this scene, fear flashing in his eyes. He was terrified of forbidden objects now, trembling all over, but his mouth was sealed—he could only whimper helplessly.

Lin Xian signaled Kiki to release him. Once freed, Zhou Lei seized the chance and pleaded in a begging tone:

"Captain Lin, please, take me with you! Even if you lock me up—I know many secrets. If you let me out of this hell, I… I'll do anything you say!"

Lin Xian frowned: "Didn't you just say you wanted to live a few more days here?"

Zhou Lei's gaze darted away: "The Crimson World won't let me go. Dying anywhere is dying. Maybe if I run outside…"

He wasn't stupid. If the black candle went out, he'd die—he couldn't escape. Waiting underground for someone to kill him was worse than taking a gamble. He saw that Lin Xian and the Silent City crew were powerful. So he decided to beg—after all, he'd been in the Crimson World a long time, even joined Holy Revelation. Though a pawn, Zhou Lei was cunning and sharp, and had gathered some useful intel. Maybe he could trade it for his life.

One path led to certain death. The other—perhaps he still had value. Zhou Lei understood this clearly.

Lin Xian had never intended to kill him outright. He did think keeping him alive might prove useful. But he was still weighing how best to handle him—this man was slippery. Even Lei Da couldn't track him. It was deeply strange.

At that moment, Mo Nika stepped forward and gave Lin Xian a glance.

Lin Xian heard Mo Nika's private channel whisper in his ear: "Even if he hides, I can hear his heartbeat."

Lin Xian's eyes sharpened. He immediately nodded, raised his hand, and conjured a set of manacles to lock Zhou Lei in place. Then he said to Mo Nika: "Alright, he's yours."

"Ah! Thank you, Captain Lin, for sparing my life!!" Seeing himself cuffed, Zhou Lei realized he'd temporarily escaped death. He fell to his knees, face flushed with relief.

Lin Xian glanced at him, saying nothing more.

The group returned to the underground hangar beneath the mysterious research institute. Due to the fish-lion statue, Qian Suxun piloted the transport ship to lead everyone away. The United Train Exploration Team would split at Baicheng Rail Station, after which Qian Suxun would directly pilot the transport ship back to Xishan Fortress to coordinate with personnel from the underground nuclear base for the next phase.

Minutes later, the tide receded. The ground above the hangar opened. The transport ship, humming lowly, flew out of the wastewater treatment plant, skimming rapidly just above the hidden streets of Baicheng, beyond the rotating radius of the giant statue.

22: 5.

Lin Xian kept his eyes on the clock. Less than a minute later, the transport ship arrived at Baicheng Rail Station. Lin Xian and his team began splitting up.

"Lin, good luck."

Before leaving, Qian Suxun, Tianye Lan, Long Zhijie, and Shi Zhi bowed to him.

"Stay in contact," Lin Xian nodded.

The cargo bay door opened. A sudden thunderclap erupted—its lightning was dark red. The air reeked of decay. Baicheng, once silent in the Star Abyss, now howled with gales. Whistling winds swept through the dead city's alleys, lifting dust and ash, swirling among rotting buildings and tunnels—like the wails of countless soulless dead.

On the exterior wall of the rail station plaza building, faded billboards still clung stubbornly—now only jagged patches of gray-black. The blurred smile of a model had become hollow eye sockets, staring blankly down at the lifeless plaza.

Strange whispers rose from all sides of the surrounding streets. Countless monsters stirred.

The storm was coming.

Lin Xian's expression hardened. He led the group leaping straight down from the air. As they neared the clock tower's roof, the Black Eagle power armor's thrusters ignited, enabling a smooth landing.

"Twenty minutes. Hold the rail station!"

"Leave it to us!" Xiang Ningjing spoke first.

"Be careful, okay~"

Kiki glanced at him, then flew up with Firebro to the roof of the passenger station. Chen Sixuan and Bai guarded the clock tower. Ningjing, Xiaoqing, Qian Dele, Mo Nika, and Dancer-1 guarded the rail station and plaza.

He then pulled out the electromagnetic cannon, aiming toward the Buto Lake to the west. The weapon's smart ballistic system linked to his armor. After calibrating trajectory and direction, he took a deep breath and fired.

Ziiii!

A row of azure arcs flared along the electromagnetic pulse gun. A high-energy sonic boom erupted. The silver bullet shot into the dark sky, wrapped in immense kinetic force.

Instantly, Lin Xian felt a surge of high-energy acceleration at his third eye. He nearly lost balance from the weightlessness. He steadied his mind, then focused on the armor's ballistic timer.

The distance to the train position was roughly 86 km. Calculated speed meant the bullet would take 95 seconds to fly. He had to watch the time precisely. One misstep, and he might fall into the Dark Forest—or worse, plunge into the bottomless lake. Triggering a Dark Mark would drastically increase the team's transfer risk.

91, 92, 93…

On the holographic screen, time raced by. At the 95-second mark, Lin Xian activated the consciousness link with the silver bullet.

Zing!

In an instant, Lin Xian vanished from the clock tower roof. Dust erupted around him.

Lin Xian felt countless streams of light flash past. The next moment, violent wind roared against his armor. His vision showed the Dark Forest retreating rapidly. Then he spotted ahead—a massive circular train position glowing with cabin lights in the night.

Hssss!

The armor's entire thruster system ignited, halting inertia midair, then descending toward the center of the train position.

On the United Train position, the guards saw only a figure in armor streak across the sky and land abruptly in their camp.

"It's Captain Lin!"

"Captain Lin's back!"

"Prepare as planned—we're moving out!"

Zzzz—no sooner had Lin Xian landed than all lost signals on his armor's screen rapidly restored. He immediately sent a message to Wang Yue Zhenji.

"I'm here. Ready to fire."

After a thirty-second delay, Wang Yue Zhenji's voice came through: "Received. Prepare for leap."

On the hills east of Baicheng, at Wangshan Kou, beneath the bow of a kilometers-long artificial mechanical city, a crimson warning band flared to life—like a sleeping titan opening bloodshot eyelids. Dozens of honeycomb launch pods hissed open hydraulically, revealing neatly aligned "Thor's Nail" superconducting magnetic anchor arrays. Rows of emergency levitation magnetic anchors, previously dormant, rose into position.

Then, all units aimed west. In an instant, 425 magnetic anchor arrays ignited simultaneously. A series of supersonic booms erupted as 425 rocket-like superconducting magnetic anchor arrays shot skyward, carving hundreds of molten-gold trails through the air—like ten thousand ceremonial cannons firing at once, earth-shattering!

In Baicheng, Chen Sixuan and the others looked up. Hundreds of fire meteors streaked across the sky, forming a straight line toward Buto Lake in the distance.

Boom!

The nearest meteor slammed into the rail station plaza. Its vector nozzles erupted with six streams of brilliant blue plasma, halting its descent instantly. Upon impact, high-frequency hydraulic hisses rang out as four bio-mechanical legs unfolded from the anchor's base, driving deep into concrete. Above, antenna-like superlevitation coils slowly rose. The superconducting rings at the top began rotating, emitting intense magnetic fields that ionized the air into eerie violet halos, reaching skyward.

Boom boom boom boom!!

The impact of each superconducting magnetic anchor rang like thunder along Baicheng's streets, every 400 meters. As more anchors landed, the entire city trembled. A high-frequency electromagnetic hum rose, lifting dust and ash from ground and alleyways. Between adjacent anchor arrays, a blue-purple invisible magnetic levitation track began forming.

The massive disturbance instantly awakened the dead city. Screams and chaos erupted from countless streets. Chen Sixuan, holding Meteor-3, stood atop the highest point. As strange creature disturbances grew louder around her, her finger rested on the trigger, her expression growing grim.

"Twenty minutes. No matter what, we hold," Chen Sixuan said over comms, drawing a defensive radius on the holographic tactical map.

"Piece of cake!" Lu Xingchen stood atop a high-rise, dual-wielding fire, eyes blazing with battle-lust. He relished these desperate, do-or-die moments.

On the other side, Xiaoqing gripped her gun-blade. Her fierce aura made the blade vibrate like an electric knife. Beside her, Ningjing clenched her fist: "Xiaoqing, I'll cover left, you take right."

Behind the rail station, Mo Nika and Qian Dele held position. Qian Dele guarded the docking apparatus on the tracks; Mo Nika provided long-range sniping.

"Hey, twenty minutes—you still got legs?" Mo Nika, clad in rose-colored power armor, spoke calmly.

Qian Dele smiled: "Without that iron suit, I'm lighter."

Ughhh!!

The moment he spoke, Qian Dele's smile vanished. In the darkness ahead, countless massive shapes were rapidly approaching!

On the other side, Lin Xian landed and immediately moved to the front of Wuxianhao. He needed to first lay a 500-meter straight ground track before building the ascending track. At this moment, Shi Diyuan, along with Longshan-1 and elite teams from all convoys, poured out to guard Lin Xian. On Wuxianhao's side, Shu Qin, Daliang, Luo Yang, Liang Lei led two assault squads, the mobile unit, joined by Li Guangwen, Sun Yuzhen, Lao Mo, Lu Chang, Miao Lu, and Xiao Yuan—all deployed.

Grace, the first to return, assisted Lin Xian in calibrating the track.

"Don't fire until monsters approach!" Shi Diyuan shouted over comms.

A massive group surrounded the forward position. From the moment Lin Xian's track landed beyond the guarded line of the heteromorphic cube, every person's tension reached its peak.

"When the anchor arrays arrive, they'll trigger creature outbreaks. Protect the track!" Lin Xian shouted.

"Director Ding!"

"I'm good. Waiting for your signal." In Wuxianhao Car 3, Ding Jun's eyes glowed faintly green. The tiny flower on her head trembled constantly. Before her, the Silver Dragon Ten-Thousand Twist absorbed vast amounts of black mist. Meanwhile, a new, tiny inflorescence above it slowly lifted…

"Here they come!" Luo Yang shouted. Everyone looked up. Hundreds of massive missiles streaked across the eastern sky, carving molten-gold trails as they roared down from the distant Dark Forest—like a tidal wave crashing, as if trying to uproot the entire forest!

Boom!

As the final superconducting magnetic anchor landed at its preset point far beyond the line, a continuous 86-kilometer aerial magnetic levitation track now stretched between Baicheng Rail Station and the Dark Forest train position—a straight, luminous arc against the night sky, magnificent beyond words.

Meanwhile, the Dark Forest shuddered, groaning with strange cries.

The thunderous noise sent the forest into frenzy. Valley screams echoed endlessly. Within less than a minute, countless strange creatures burst from the pitch-black, twisted mists, attacking the outbound train team—deformed beasts tore from the rotting soil.

Bang bang bang! Taptaptap!

War erupted instantly. But they could only rely on team resistance—all vehicle weapons remained offline due to temporary distributed coil installations.

"Give 'em hell!" Shi Diyuan roared, transforming into a tiger-like form and charging forward, blasting a fast-moving white humanoid creature into the air.

Daliang and Liang Lei led a hundred-man assault squad. Dozens of Gatling Vulcan cannons spun to life, their barrels spewing blinding blue flames as torrents of metal rained down.

"Li Guangwen, with me—take out the sky!" Luo Yang slashed a giant bat-like creature from the air and shouted to Li Guangwen.

Shu Qin, with Lu Chang, Miao Lu, and a dozen armored mobile unit members—including Amin Luoluo—charged into the monster horde, cutting through them.

"Grace."

【I'm here】

"Kill them."

【Grace understands】

Just moments ago gracefully walking, Grace exploded forward like a shadow at Lin Xian's command, smashing a spider-climbing Ghosthead with a single punch, then arched backward as twin red pulse-cutting beams spun through the air, cleanly slicing through a cluster of bizarre bodies, all while controlling twenty-five Lei Sun drones to strike with pinpoint accuracy—her combat system improved with every engagement, her quantum brain capturing attacks from every direction and delivering perfect countermeasures in a single second.

Unless facing a specialized psychic or someone like Lin Xian, a mechanical antithesis, Grace was absolutely a killing machine against small bizarre bodies!

At the same time, the dark marks on everyone's bodies flared continuously, and the train line fell silent no more—as waves of monsters surged from all sides.

Full-scale battle erupted!

Explosions and clamors of combat rose and fell around him, but Lin Xian focused solely on laying tracks, watching as the first superconducting magnetic anchor array tower rose ahead—his expression icy as countless materials erupted from his decomposition space, forged into rigid rail segments and layered metal flooring.

This temporary track didn't require pile driving, but to account for settlement and stability, a solid, broad metal floor had to be laid down.

Just as Lin Xian finished laying the ground track and prepared to install the ascending supports for the incline, a violent earthquake shook the dark forest.

"It's that Ghost Serpent!!!"

"Stop it!"

Lin Xian's heart sank—his worst fear had come true. All heavy weapons and the strongest psychics on the train were absent; they had no good way to confront the Ghost Serpent. He immediately called out to Mo Nika: "Mo Nika, help me build a bridge!"

"On it!" Mo Nika shouted back.

Mo Nika, who had been leading an engineering team behind them securing the track, now sprinted forward with over a hundred men. Lin Xian continued fabricating rails and steel frames while leaping onto a tall dead tree, his powered armor's radar constantly detecting large biological signatures.

【Target detected, 21. degrees west of north.】

Without hesitation, Lin Xian raised his hand to activate the gravitational lens!

The powered armor's systems blared an alarm—he spun around instantly and saw, through the black mist, a colossal serpentine silhouette surging toward him like a tidal wave!

(End of Chapter)