Chapter 368: The Black Candle Containment

【Manufactured successfully, Mechanical Manufacturing proficiency +20】

Current Mechanical Manufacturing level: lv. (2060/3000)

Scritch-scratch-scratch, alloy components connected, mechanical unit assembled; before Lin Xian, a "Worker Ant-7" construction robot completed its manufacture. As the system activated, the robot's information screen lit up, loading began, then its treads began turning, moving off into the distance and lining up neatly with ten others.

"Manufacture another fifty units—Mechanical Manufacturing should reach level 6."

In Car 13, Lin Xian pushed his manufacturing to maximum capacity. These robots would prove vital later; each additional unit increased his controlled productivity and combat power. With nuclear power and his superstring reaction phase-rings, that combat power was nearly infinite.

Lin Xian lifted his head. Forty Lei Sun 2000 drones now floated in midair, moving in perfect formation under his command. Pulse-ray weapons slowly charged, radiating a powerful aura.

"Combine some special modules like 'Hellfire' and 'Ice Cascade 166'—should make them more flexible. Oh, and 'Iron Rain' and 'Iron Curtain' for physical strikes and defense…"

"As for this 'Destroyer'… never mind."

He glanced at the blueprint library. He wouldn't build this one yet—cost was too high. At this stage, producing more functional drones offered better value than weaponized ones. The more he built, the more he could let Grace manipulate these construction, maintenance, and production robots to directly remodel the interior and exterior of the Infinite, even replacing him in some manufacturing tasks.

To focus on manufacturing, Lin Xian placed the sleeping Kiki aside, letting her lie down. After all, having that little brat clinging to him made his thoughts wander.

This was a prime opportunity to boost manufacturing and level up—this girl kept trying to kiss him, seriously dragging down his efficiency!

"Try manufacturing two different drones simultaneously…"

Lin Xian's enthusiasm surged. He activated manufacturing with both hands, fully immersing himself in the operation of the Mechanical Heart, feeling his soul merge with countless materials, dancing in the air, taking shape according to blueprints—calculation units, integrated circuits, ducted fans, micro-turbojet engines, high-density battery arrays, laser radar…

Countless precision mechanisms and systems filled Lin Xian with awe. In this moment, he recalled the first time he touched Unit-01 in the Trakama Ice Valley, overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring power of human mechanical engineering—a hard-to-describe romance that stirred his soul.

Zzzt.

At that moment, a familiar voice crackled through his communicator.

"Big Boss Lin, Big Boss Lin~"

Every time Hu Lushou called him, Lin Xian thought of old movie pimps smiling slyly from alley corners. He immediately pressed the comm button and replied:

"What is it?"

"I found you something good. Interested?"

"What is it?"

Ding-ding~

A notification window popped up. Lin Xian glanced at the sleeping Kiki, then tapped it open.

Hu Lushou's grinning face, gold teeth gleaming, appeared on a small holographic screen. He rubbed his fingers and pointed behind him.

"See this big guy? Pretty, right?!"

Lin Xian focused his gaze. The camera pulled back, revealing Hu Lushou standing in an aircraft parking zone, behind him a large transport vessel.

Lin Xian recognized it instantly—it was a Dragon-class transport ship he'd seen in Qingshui Town, but this one was intact.

"You got a Federal transport ship?" Lin Xian frowned.

"No!" Hu Lushou replied solemnly. "Federal decommissioned, properly converted from military to civilian—not some black-market junk! The hull frame is all titanium-tungsten alloy, survived a Star Abyss bombardment without breaking apart! Sure, the outer armor has some scratches, but those are minor. It's a genuine Federal-standard 'Dragon' Mk-III heavy transport: eleven thousand tons, no false specs. Cargo hold volume can fit three football fields!"

"Decommissioned? Shuguang City went insane to retire such a heavy transport?" Lin Xian laughed. "Cut the crap. I don't have time for your rambling."

"Wait, wait…" Hu Lushou hurriedly stopped him, leaning close to the hologram with a sly, scheming grin. "Big Boss Lin, wasn't it you who asked me to find mechanical vehicles for salvage? This guy's a real character—he wanted to trade this vessel with the Federation for an underground city slot. Holy shit, I was stunned. I told him, 'Kid, you're insane. You're trying to trade Federation property to the Federation for favors? Do you think you're stupid or do you think the Federation's all idiots?' He didn't answer. I realized his goal was to turn this vessel into blood essence. But who'd dare or afford such a thing now? Only Phoenix Society and a few big factions."

"But then I thought—maybe only my Big Boss Lin would dare. So here I am…" He chuckled.

Lin Xian paused. He'd asked Wang Yue Zhenji to help him—had Wang outsourced this to Hu Lushou?

But he immediately understood. Ever since Hu Lushou entered the Silent City, he'd been like a demon on drugs, parading around a pile of junk he'd scavenged from Baicheng, loudly claiming it was treasure from the Star Abyss. Through sheer bluster, he'd even convinced everyone his Gatling gun was a "Star Abyss-enchanted" artifact. He even held auctions at several survivor gatherings in the Silent City, raking in hundreds of blood essence in one night—more than his tolls in Akse.

Then Wang Yue Zhenji informed Lin Xian. In Wang's eyes, Hu Lushou was practically half of his Union Train crew, so he'd announced he'd punish Hu Lushou for speculation and imposed an 80% speculation tax—knocking him back to pre-liberation poverty.

Lin Xian realized Wang Yue Zhenji had assigned the mechanical salvage task to Hu Lushou precisely to avoid publicly linking the Silent City with him. Whether he feared the Silent City being tied to the Infinite—or vice versa—was another matter.

Thinking this, Lin Xian exhaled and spoke directly to Hu Lushou:

"What's the price?"

Hu Lushou solemnly held up one hand.

"Fifty thousand level-one blood essence. No cheating, no haggling. Even on the black market, you couldn't buy it for double. Includes three-year warranty!"

"Goodbye." Lin Xian replied.

"Wait!"

Hu Lushou quickly stopped Lin Xian from ending the holographic call, earnestly saying: "Big Boss Lin, I haven't finished. Fifty thousand level-one blood essence… I paid for it myself!"

"What do you mean?" Lin Xian frowned.

Hu Lushou slapped his chest hard, nearly choking himself, then adopted a righteous expression: "Since childhood, I've known the principle of repaying even a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude. This transport ship is my humble repayment for your life-saving grace—nothing more, nothing less!"

Lin Xian burst out laughing. He instantly understood Hu Lushou's intent.

"Fifty thousand blood essence?"

"Not a single one less."

"Giving it to me for free?"

"Not a single one."

"Thanks." Lin Xian gave a perfunctory thanks, then pretended to hang up.

Hu Lushou's face changed instantly. He hurriedly said: "Hey, hey, hey, Big Boss Lin, do you remember what I used to do?"

"Collected tolls."

"No…" Hu Lushou gestured wildly toward the transport ship. "You forgot—I used to drive that thing. I know it inside out. I know how many toilets and squat pits are on every deck."

Lin Xian's eyes flickered. Hu Lushou clearly assumed Lin Xian was recovering vehicles to expand his team—and had spent all this time setting up this performance just for this.

"Fine. You're in charge of every deck." Lin Xian replied seriously.

Hu Lushou's eyes lit up—but before he could speak, Lin Xian's next words came.

"Deck Manager."

He ended the call.

Hu Lushou stared as the hologram vanished, frozen in place.

Deck Manager?

Why did that title sound both huge and tiny at the same time?

"Deck Manager… what does that mean?" Hu Lushou asked Sun Chang beside him.

Sun Chang, counting blood essence in a large crate, replied flatly: "You said you knew how many toilets and squat pits were on every deck. He's assigning you to clean them."

"What the hell?!?!" Hu Lushou nearly split open.

…

Elsewhere, in Car 13, a cold voice reached Lin Xian's ear:

"This guy's trying to cling to your leg."

He turned. Kiki had woken up. She lay on the floor, propping her head on her hand, gazing at him coolly.

"I know. Fifty thousand blood essence? He's bluffing with zero shame. If he really had that much, the Silent City would make him its mayor."

"Then why take it?"

"Of course I'll take it," Lin Xian smiled. "Free gifts like this don't come often."

A fully intact ten-thousand-ton transport ship—even in the apocalypse, where airspace was more dangerous than the ground—held immense value. With enough luck, it could fly straight to the Dawn Core. Provided he avoided Federation confiscation or shootdowns, and didn't encounter any strange entities or Dark Markings.

"He wants me to owe him a huge favor, so he can ride along."

"He's in the Silent City now, with such a powerful backer. Are you really that sure?" Kiki twirled a strand of her long hair, watching Lin Xian.

Lin Xian shook his head, continuing to manufacture drones.

"This guy isn't stupid. The Silent City's Wang Yue Zhenji dislikes him. He dares not fully bet on Shuguang City. He's just securing a backup plan."

"Oh, so why did you put me down?"

"Hu Lushou…" Lin Xian paused mid-sentence, realizing Kiki had shifted topics. He turned to find her sitting up, arms crossed, glaring at him: "Am I bothering you?"

"…."

Lin Xian inwardly cursed. "I saw you were asleep. Didn't want to disturb you."

"Pfft~" Kiki scoffed. "Liar."

She rose on her own, muttering: "I didn't even want to cling to you anyway—too bony."

Lin Xian looked down. "Impossible. I didn't react this time."

He immediately realized how that sounded—like slapping himself.

Kiki's teeth clenched. She glared at him. "What did you say?!"

Lin Xian felt his trigeminal nerve throb. He opened his mouth to explain—

Then his communicator blared an urgent voice:

"Lin Xian, Zhou Lei is in trouble!"

The voice was Mo Nika's. Lin Xian and Kiki instantly grew serious. Minutes later, they arrived at the Mo Queen's docking area.

The Mo Queen's crew stood fully armed on both sides of the train. Outside Car 1, several team members in powered armor held a man down with shock prods. Mo Nika stood nearby, idly playing with a strange device.

Seeing Lin Xian approach, Mo Nika stepped forward and tossed the device to him.

Lin Xian reached out to take it, his gaze sweeping over the man on the ground—a gaunt, pale-faced man who looked to be in his thirties, radiating the gloom of someone who had long dwelled in dark corners. Hearing footsteps, he seemed to try lifting his head, but was instantly pinned to the ground by the guard wielding an electric spear behind him; the high-voltage arc of the spear made the man jerk violently, then pass out immediately.

Lin Xian caught it, scanning the man on the ground. He was a thin, pale man in his thirties, radiating the gloom of someone who'd lived too long in darkness. He tried to lift his head at the footsteps, but the Mo Queen's guards pinned him down with their shock prods. High-voltage arcs jolted his body violently—he passed out.

"You think he's from Holy Revelation?" Kiki crossed her arms, puzzled. "How did the Silent City miss him?"

"Because this guy's like Zhou Lei…"

Lin Xian scanned the device, frowning. "The radar imaging can't detect him."

As he spoke, he directed the Mo Queen's spotlight away from the man. Beneath the shadows of the guards, his form flickered faintly—half-vanished.

"Correct. But he's a novice. His heartbeat was racing when he got close," Mo Nika said calmly.

Lin Xian finished scanning. The device resembled a Soul-Resonance Detector. Disassembling it, he found a blood essence as a Dark-sensing source, plus a tiny vacuum diode filled with a black liquid that radiated an ominous aura.

"Could it be that black candle can track Zhou Lei's location?" Kiki ventured boldly.

"Possible."

Lin Xian stared at the unconscious man: "Then the question is—this man is like Zhou Lei. Are there multiple black candles, or can one affect multiple people?"

"Just ask him."

Monica now turned toward the train and said, "That guy sensed something—he's tense now."

She led Lin Xian and Kiki onto the Queen Monica, where Zhou Lei was locked in a transparent isolation chamber. The room was small, containing only a floating single bed and a basic toilet, under 24-hour surveillance. Before this incident, Zhou Lei had remained calm—he'd been watched for years and was used to it. But after the Queen Monica's entire crew captured the intruder, his anxiety surged; he paced back and forth inside the room.

Seeing Lin Xian and the others enter, he rushed forward urgently: "Lin… Lin Captain—did they find us?!"

"Do you recognize this?" Lin Xian held up the device. Zhou Lei's face paled instantly; he staggered back two steps, terrified: "It's them… the Holy Revelation. This thing detects forbidden objects!!"

"So my guess was right." Lin Xian handed the device to Kiki. "So you brought trouble to us and Silent City?"

"No…"

Zhou Lei stammered: "I didn't do anything! I swear on my life, Lin Captain—I'm watched 360 degrees even when I shit. How could I bring you trouble?"

"Then do you know why they're looking for you?"

Lin Xian leaned back, his expression icy: "Don't tell me the Holy Revelation or the Crimson World sent someone to infiltrate Silent City just to rescue a useless, betrayed pawn like you?"

Lin Xian wasn't surprised that agents of the Holy Revelation or the Crimson World had infiltrated Silent City—but that they'd targeted Zhou Lei first made him suspect Zhou Lei hid other secrets.

Hearing Lin Xian's words, Zhou Lei immediately waved his hands.

"Impossible. They… they wouldn't come to save me."

"There must be a reason," Lin Xian glanced at his watch. "We've captured that guy. One of you just needs to talk, right?"

Zhou Lei turned pale: "Lin Captain, I really don't know! Since the Holy Revelation took me, I've barely seen a handful of them. I only know the keeper of the black candle is called Old Ghost—a bastard who loves hiding in shadows spying on women. Beyond that, all I know is what I heard while monitoring the mentally fractured clones at the White City Research Institute…"

"So you deduced the Crimson World and Dawn City's high-ups were colluding… from a bunch of insane clones?" Kiki frowned. "What's the basis for that…?"

"No!"

Zhou Lei waved his hands frantically: "I saw it with my own eyes—that night I was sent to Star Abyss! In Jinhai!!"

Zhou Lei spilled everything: "I was locked in an iron cage. Before boarding the transport ship, I saw another transport ship land. One man stepped off—it was Wen Dong, former CEO of Jinhai City Investment. I'd recognize his ashes. Wen Dong was from the Wen family, second-in-command of Linglong Group. Everyone knows Linglong Group now serves Dawn City—Wen Hui even became a new federal councilor. If Wen Dong appeared in Crimson World territory, it proves collusion!"

"Wen Dong… that name sounds familiar." Lin Xian frowned.

Kiki leaned close to Lin Xian's ear: "Tang Yun's husband. My… second uncle."

"Your family's full of loyalists," Lin Xian said solemnly.

"I don't recognize them," Kiki scoffed.

"So you're saying the Crimson World has influence in Jinhai?" Monica caught another key point.

Zhou Lei's eyes widened.

"It's not just influence—I think the Crimson World is in Jinhai!"

"Why?" Lin Xian asked, frowning.

"Lin Captain, think: I was taken from Jinhai to Star Abyss. That place is a military base. Those clones were shipped in batches there too. Jinhai sits right before Dawn City—it's the frontline fortress facing Star Abyss No. 5 and now the Federation's main production hub. If the Crimson World operates under Dawn City's nose, it proves past collusion… and that their base is probably right under their noses!" Zhou Lei stated his conclusion.

"That sounds plausible," Kiki nodded.

"Military airfield…" Monica tapped her wrist terminal; a holographic map appeared, showing over a dozen glowing dots. "There are many military airfields around Jinhai. Which one exactly?"

"I… I don't know," Zhou Lei shook his head.

"Then how do you know it was a military airfield in Jinhai?" Lin Xian demanded sharply.

"Because after takeoff, I saw Jinhai's Wangxing Tower from the air!" Zhou Lei's eyes blazed with certainty. "The airfield is no more than ten minutes' flight from Jinhai's main city—I swear it!"

"Huh. You're cautious, aren't you? Even knowing you couldn't escape Star Abyss, you still paid attention to details." Lin Xian studied the fat man curiously.

Zhou Lei looked at him with weary resignation, half-amused: "In this world, someone like me—no resources, no abilities—has to be sneaky just to survive…"

Lin Xian ignored him and turned to whisper with Kiki and Monica.

"What do you think?"

"Does he know too much?" Kiki doubted.

"Perhaps the Crimson World also sees him as a disposable pawn who could never escape Star Abyss. And since entering Star Abyss requires full consciousness, that explains how he observed anything at all."

Lin Xian shook his head: "I'm not thinking about that. Whether he's lying or telling the truth, it doesn't concern us much—except the possibility the Crimson World is in Jinhai. Whether Dawn City colluded with them? Irrelevant. I only care why the Holy Revelation is targeting him."

"Simple," Monica said calmly. "Let the man outside explain himself."

"By the way, Lin Xian," Kiki said, holding up the forbidden object detector.

"This device works like the Soul-Drain value. Have you noticed? Based on this blood essence's energy scale, its detection radius can't exceed three kilometers."

Lin Xian's expression changed—he hadn't noticed this before.

Monica crossed her arms, staring at Lin Xian.

"Three kilometers. At this docking distance, that's inside Silent City. So when the Second City returned, Zhou Lei was spotted immediately. That means…"

"He's been inside Silent City all along!"

Behind them, Zhou Lei, ignored by the three, grew anxious and called out:

"Lin Captain, can you tell me who you caught? Did he… say anything?"

"Oh, almost forgot." Lin Xian glanced at Monica.

Monica nodded, ordering her men to bring the man in.

Hss.

The door opened. When Zhou Lei saw the gaunt man being carried in, his pupils shrank sharply—he pointed, mouth agape:

"He… he's Old Ghost!"

(End of Chapter)