Chapter 391: Mechanical Ruler, Qin Feng (8,000)

Lin Xian and Zhou Jin's special operations team parked far away in a relatively secluded alley, then arrived at a high-rise building to observe. Zhou Jin had arranged for members of the special operations team to disperse to several key surveillance points in the surrounding area to maintain contact. At his side were three team members: a nimble female esper scout named Xiao Yan, a heavy-duty machine gunner named Tong Silei who was covered in weapons and wearing Iron Hunter power armor, and an information expert named Li Su who wore glasses and rarely smiled.

"It really is the Silver Star," Lin Xian said, pulling out his binoculars to look at the silver train head. He couldn't help but remark, "To go through the trouble of using an all-terrain system to bring an Eternal Power Hub locomotive here—they've certainly gone all out with this display."

"A lot of people from large convoys have come, too," Jiang Yun said, his gaze sweeping across the crowded square and the various behemoth doomsday vehicles in the surrounding streets.

"The United Alliance, Iron Bastard, Wind Whisperers, All-Metal Frenzy, Gray Falcon—even the Dawn Watcher Alliance has come."

"You know quite a lot, don't you?" Zhou Jin asked, surprised to see Jiang Yun identify so many convoy members at a glance. "You shouldn't be a newcomer to Dawn City."

"Not exactly. I've been here for a while. They're all familiar faces; I've dealt with them before," Jiang Yun said.

Xiang Ningjing stepped forward, her expression surprised: "Are these convoys here to participate in the recruitment as well?"

Jiang Yun shook his head: "Probably not. These convoys or alliances are all ten-thousand-person units with very robust system configurations. That Dawn Watcher Alliance has 120,000 people. I heard they might merge with Han Qiming's Arctic Wind Alliance in the north. It's a force that even the Phoenix Society and the Federation cannot underestimate."

"As for those other convoys, the smallest has over twenty thousand people. The area we just visited, the Dailiyou Society, is partially under the control of the Gray Falcon convoy."

"Han Qiming?" Lin Xian recalled: "I know this person."

Jiang Yun smiled and said: "There's someone else you definitely know: Shen Yao, of the North Wind Alliance. After the Xilan City incident, he and Han Qiming formed an alliance. With the Arctic Wind Alliance's Second Convoy joining them at Jinhe, their numbers have already exceeded 200,000. They are now one of the major alliances officially supported by the Phoenix Society."

"Wow, you're very well-informed," Kiki said, leaning in.

"Humanity is in crisis, the world is in chaos. The more friends you have, the more information you have, and the more capital you have for survival," Jiang Yun said, looking at Lin Xian as he introduced him.

"The Dawn Watcher Alliance, 120,000 people. The captain shares your surname, Lin Qingyu. He is a formidable figure. He has a core backbone team of over 20 people who are all experts and strategists. The entire alliance is managed with a military structure, and their logistics and resource teams are massive. Their road, rail, and flight fleets, including planting and production convoys, have already formed a partial resource cycle. Of course, the water resource problem remains unsolvable, but they use the esper's Soul-Oscillation coefficient to distribute different grades of infected water, keeping the mutation rate well under control. Many convoys are now using this model; it was originally created by Lin Qingyu. It is said that this person used to be an environmentalist."

Lin Xian's gaze narrowed upon hearing this: "You mean, the powerful espers drink low-purification water, while the weak in the convoy drink high-purification water that has been cycled through the espers?"

"That is the meaning."

"Risk hedging—that's actually quite clever," Mo Nika's eyes lit up, and she crossed her arms. "But this balance will also have huge drawbacks."

"That goes without saying, but it is indeed the best method currently thought of by large-scale organizations," Qian Dele said with some approval.

Jiang Yun continued to point to the south side of the square, where a row of heavy-duty base trucks was parked, and many survivors were currently swarming there in line: "The United Alliance, their numbers are said to be 80,000, but in reality, it's far more. The captain of this alliance, Lei Zhen, was in prison before; he was a truck driver. 40% of this alliance consists of the elderly, children, and women; many are dragging their families along. But despite this, the combat power of this alliance is terrifyingly strong. The experts on the front lines are numerous, and they fight without regard for their lives. Their logistics are also very solid, and internally, they prioritize unity. They have a good reputation among many survivors, but joining them isn't that easy."

"Resources, combat power, logistics—you have to satisfy at least one," Lin Xian said.

Jiang Yun nodded noncommittally and continued: "The Wind Whisperer convoy, Captain Luo Heng, is a former scout. Like me, he is a Wind-type esper. I've dealt with him; this person is calm, and his decision-making is precise. The total number of people in the convoy isn't large, only about 9,000, but they are all lightly equipped, basically having no large vehicles. Their mobility and marching speed are very fast, and the espers and individual combat power are very strong. So, although the number of people is small, their survival rate is considered very high among the convoys in Dawn City."

"9,000 people is also called 'not many'?" Lin Xian laughed dryly. His Infinite, after maintenance, had fewer than two hundred people, and even adding the United Train, it didn't exceed 5,000. Of course, if the current Walker Alliance of Jian Xuwei and Jiang Yun were combined, a team of over 60,000 would be considered massive.

"It's different. Once they run here, small convoys quickly merge into large ones. If you want resources, you need Blood Essence; if you want Blood Essence, you have to surround and kill strange entities. Without a massive combat team and firepower, it's impossible. And you have to develop production, planting, and exploration scavenging—these all require people," Jiang Yun said. "So, convoys of a few hundred or a thousand people are considered small here, and most are forced to huddle together for warmth because they can't join those large convoys."

"So, in that case, small convoys are just gathering places for the weak?"

"There's no way around it; reality is cruel. These small convoys can only unite to increase their ability to resist risks. It's basically impossible for these people to leave Dawn City, or rather, they don't dare."

Jiang Yun pointed to a fully armed convoy on the north side of the square, where there were more gun barrels on the roofs of the vehicles than gun muzzles: "All-Metal Frenzy, Captain Han Tiege, former director of the Lancheng Mechanized Arsenal. The convoy has 70,000 people, and many members are a combination of militia from the Southwest region. They possess a large amount of ammunition and energy systems and are trading with Silent City, Dawn City, and the Phoenix Society. They claim to have more guns than people; just the energy weapons like electromagnetic railguns and high-energy pulse cannons exceed 100 units."

"Then there is that convoy called Iron Bastard, Captain Xu Yufei. This person is hard to evaluate. His convoy has many automated devices, robots, and drones. The total number of people is only 12,000, and most of them grew after arriving in Dawn City. It can be considered formidable. I thought this guy should have left the city and run away long ago; I didn't expect him to appear here."

"There are some other small and medium-sized and new-faced convoys that I won't introduce, but it looks like the number of people coming to the scene is even more popular than on the network."

"It should also be influenced by it, wanting to recruit people quickly and run away."

"My people have already checked it once. Not only is there no Night Patrol, but there isn't even anyone from the City Defense Battalion here. However, I did discover that people from the Seraphim unit have appeared on the periphery, all in plain clothes." At this moment, Zhou Jin walked over with a solemn expression: "Such a large gathering, yet the situation is a bit abnormal. It seems we guessed correctly; this Infinite Train Alliance is indeed related to the Federation's top brass."

"Captain Zhou, how do you plan to arrange it?" Lin Xian asked.

"I've arranged for a detachment to keep an eye on the Star City Orbital Station. We'll observe the situation here for now. We have set up surveillance equipment in several directions. If we discover Wen Dong or other Federation people, we will act again."

Lin Xian nodded and looked toward the square, saying:

"Then let's observe first."

The square was surging with people. Looking around, one could see all types of external armor and prosthetics. Even ordinary people in plain clothes were carrying weapons, just like a large war square. But everyone seemed to have become accustomed to such defenses under the doomsday, and everyone's nerves were taut. Many of the survivors in line were even carrying all their belongings on their backs.

For a time, the survivors who came to watch the fun, the major convoys taking the opportunity to recruit, the dense crowds, plus various types of drones and manned aircraft in the sky, formed a scene that looked grand but carried a strong sense of oppression.

"Wow, there are many people recruiting, but this is the first time I've seen someone dare to hold a duel in broad daylight. This Infinite Alliance has quite a lot of energy!" someone discussed.

"I heard they have a strong background, and the Federation's top brass has greeted them. As long as they don't cause disability or death, it's allowed."

"I don't think so. The Federation is currently in a rush, so they probably just don't have time to manage it!"

"Who exactly is this Qin Feng? I haven't heard of him before. Is it really a mechanical esper ability?"

A bearded man said: "Who knows? Our convoy has only heard of Lin Xian of the Infinite convoy. He was able to use a gas turbine train to pull thousands of cars and over thirty thousand people onto the high-altitude corridor. It's incredibly awesome!"

"That's right. Hasn't this Qin Feng heard of the deeds of Captain Lin of the Infinite? He actually took the same convoy name..."

"I saw someone say that this Qin Feng might be Lin Xian's apprentice."

"Fart, can esper abilities be taught? You've read too many novels. But if I had this ability, I would also want to recruit a large convoy. I could arm an army myself!"

"Yes, being able to create electromagnetic cannons, Gatling guns out of thin air, and also being able to build planes, tanks, and power armor—this ability is simply amazing!"

"In terms of potential, it feels stronger than lightning, fire, water, and wind types..."

"So many people want to join. I heard Iron Bastard has already allied with them, which counts as half-joining. Over ten thousand people, tsk tsk..."

On the outskirts of the square, some operational vehicles of large convoys were temporarily gathered together, and some convoy leaders were standing on high-rise buildings like Lin Xian, surrounded by people everywhere.

Inside a temporary camp with a rain shelter, people from a dozen large convoy alliances sat inside, looking at this gathering with solemn expressions. Although they were not very familiar with each other, most had dealt with each other and had some cooperation.

Lin Qingyu, 42 years old, wore a black combat suit and Martin boots. His gentle face wore a pair of sunglasses, and he looked harmless. If he weren't sitting here, many people wouldn't have thought that he was the leader of a large alliance convoy with over 100,000 people.

"Berserker-class detachment leader, Diamond-class unlimited recruitment..., who is this Qin Feng who popped up? Is his resource also infinite?"

The speaker was Han Tiege, the leader of All-Metal Frenzy sitting next to him. He was short and a bit fat, but he had a set of custom-made high-tech power armor and a flight thruster, wrapping him up like a statue. It seemed that out of caution, he was fully armed wherever he went.

"Mechanical esper ability is too heaven-defying. It is productivity itself, and ammunition and weapons are the hard currency now. Thinking about it this way, it's not surprising." Luo Heng, 37, had a sharp gaze as he looked at the Silver Star in the center of the square and said: "Our convoy has some people leaving to sign up. You should have some too."

"If they want to go, let them go. I can't control them." Lei Zhen of the United Alliance had a fiery temper and was a bearded man: "If it weren't for preparing to expand the number of people, I wouldn't bother to join in the fun. What's so great about mechanical esper ability."

"You already have enough people. If you want to expand, open the threshold, and you could break 200,000 today!" Xu Yufei of the Iron Bastard convoy mocked coldly: "Anyway, you want everyone..."

"Fart!"

Lei Zhen cursed directly: "Everyone is a person. As long as my resources and ammunition are enough, I wouldn't mind 1 million people. But you, Xu Yufei, how many times have you seen Qin Feng, and you brought the whole team to defect?"

"I'm investing." Xu Yufei drank coffee leisurely and swept his gaze toward the other convoy leaders: "Didn't you hear Captain Luo? Mechanical esper ability is productivity. In this world, bullets are hard currency. People have their own production lines, and the Phoenix Society and the Federation are fighting to cooperate. Why can't I?"

After these words, the people from the other dozen convoys had different expressions.

Lin Qingyu of the Dawn Watcher Alliance looked at him and said with interest: "Captain Xu, you have seen Qin Feng. What is your impression of this person?"

"Nothing special, but his ability is indeed powerful." Xu Yufei said bluntly: "You all guessed correctly; he is cooperating with the Federation, and it is a very deep cooperation."

"Because of mechanical esper ability."

"Yes."

"No wonder. I heard that Lin Xian of the Infinite convoy is already a partner of the Crimson Phoenix Order. The Federation also wants to grasp this kind of 【Civilization-level】 esper to give such strong support, right?" someone from a convoy said. "And taking a name the same as someone else's, it's really..."

"The deeds of this Lin Xian convoy have spread throughout the city. Now there are many fans of mechanical esper ability and the Infinite who are boycotting the Federation's propaganda of 【First Kill S-level】, causing a lot of negative impact." Luo Heng of the Wind Whisperer convoy said at this time: "I estimate that it might also be related to this."

"First kill S-level, heh." Lin Qingyu smiled disdainfully: "The Arctic Wind Alliance transported over 1,000 tons of corpse tissue of the Cloud Black Thorn from Xilan City for cooperation and research with the Dawn Center. At least 50 laboratories have received experimental specimens. This kind of political propaganda is just to fool those ordinary people."

After speaking, he looked at Xu Yufei and said in a flat voice: "Captain Xu, I advise you to be cautious. The Federation is unreliable. Even if this 'New Infinite convoy' is formed, do you think the Federation will let this force they supported leave Dawn City?"

Xu Yufei's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't care and said: "It doesn't matter. Make friends first, and then see the situation later."

"Tch, fence-sitter." Lei Zhen sneered directly.

Xu Yufei glanced coldly, but didn't speak again.

Luo Heng of the Wind Whisperers glanced at him faintly. From the information he obtained, it was no surprise that Xu Yufei would make such a choice. This guy was originally a doomsday speculator, with a lonely and selfish personality. His convoy pursued all-elite development, and any small profit was bitten very tightly. After entering the city, he was a firm supporter of Dawn City and joined the Federation Survivor Mutual Aid Organization. As a result, when he realized that the situation in Dawn City was critical and the Phoenix Society's Heaven-Suppressing Ship arrived, he immediately turned his head and prepared to find other convoys to unite and defect to the Phoenix Society to leave.

Although survival-oriented, Xu Yufei's style could be understood, but his face really made his relationship with some large convoys not very good, and he looked down on small convoys. He had over 10,000 people and didn't dare to take risks easily, so Lei Zhen of the United Alliance completely sneered at this person.

The recruitment assembly was proceeding in a chaotic yet orderly manner. On the outskirts of the square, this 'Infinite·Silver Star' convoy set up multiple recruitment channels, and dozens of recruiters were busy dealing with the queues. Those who came to participate in the recruitment included individuals and small teams, and the requirements for recruitment were also very simple.

First point, the minimum requirement must be an esper peak value exceeding 500. This is not just a requirement for Diamond-class, because the limit coefficient is not calculated at all, so those who originally thought they were Diamond-class couldn't even pass the automatic detection channel and were driven away by guards. The entrance to the queue was chaotic, and physical conflicts and crying broke out from time to time.

Second point, it is a special esper. If the esper type is special and has strong potential or functionality, then even if the esper index is not reached, they can join. This allows some children who have awakened esper abilities to meet the conditions, but the problem is that the requirements of the 'Infinite·Silver Star' convoy are very harsh. Unless it is Berserker-class, they can bring one 【family member】, and Destroyer-class can bring three.

Family members are not limited to any elderly, weak, sick, or disabled. This sounds extremely cruel, because those who can reach the strength of Berserker-class can form a convoy of over a hundred people themselves, and choosing to join the 'Infinite·Silver Star' convoy can only bring three people.

But even so, there are still a large number of people who are willing to quit their original convoys to join. The most direct reason is that after a long dark doomsday, the train, a vehicle with high safety factor and high living experience, has gradually been highly praised.

Although the conditions for use are harsh, many large convoys have now begun to combine trains + convoys, chasing the dawn along the track lines. Whether it is walking the star-ring orbit or the ordinary trunk line, the efficiency and survival rate are much better than climbing mountains and ridges.

The current Dawn Watcher Alliance and these convoys also have their own train alliances, cooperating with each other and supporting each other.

Therefore, Qin Feng, who possesses the powerful Eternal-class train 【Silver Star】, caused a sensation as soon as the recruitment plan was issued, because this train is too high-end, with automated weapon equipment, ultra-high defensive armor, and all-terrain drive.

Another very important point is Qin Feng's mechanical esper ability!

This ability, which many people didn't understand or even disdained at first, has gradually been touted as a 【Civilization Creation】-level ability in both the folk and official systems after the spread of the deeds of Lin Xian's Infinite along the way. It is even said that Lin Xian can already hand-craft starships and aircraft carriers, roam the world, and the battle of Xilan City relied on infinite bullets to exhaust an S-level to death...

At this time, the square suddenly broke out in a commotion, and the eyes of tens of thousands of people changed. The originally noisy scene quieted down a lot.

"Is it starting?"

"Qin Feng is coming out!"

Hum.

I saw that the originally withered grass park square was vibrating violently, the earth began to crack, and a huge circular gate slowly opened. No one expected that there would be a huge underground mechanical structure under this Gallagher.

In the shocked eyes of countless people, a brand-new mechanical platform slowly rose, and hundreds of armed personnel wearing Wolf Youlang and Iron Hunter power armor stood neatly in several rows, separated by front and back, slowly rising from below the horizon.

These people stood in neat queues with standard formations. The two phalanxes in front were men who looked like Iron Man and were full of combat power, while the other side was women with concave and convex bodies in power armor, with blue energy lines slowly flowing on their bodies. The style was completely consistent and looked very sci-fi. The rear was two rows of heavy armed personnel wearing Iron Hunter armor, each like a giant bear, revealing violent mechanical power.

At this time, hundreds of drones flew up from the ground, forming a huge spiral in the sky. At this time, a figure wearing red nano-starry sky power armor slowly floated up from the center of the phalanx. He didn't use thrusters, nor did he use wind-type esper abilities or wings, just floating like a god, which was extremely shocking!

At the same time, those armed personnel wearing power armor seemed to have rehearsed in advance, all opening their thruster devices at the same time, roaring into the sky, and the Mach ring broke through the sky, bringing a burst of sonic booms.

Wow!

For a time, the square of tens of thousands of people vibrated violently. This flamboyant appearance directly ignited the whole scene, and even the leaders of the large convoys under the rain shelter canopy had different expressions and were speechless.

"Is this guy performing a press conference? This is too flamboyant!" Fatty Han Tiege couldn't help but open his power armor mask and looked at this scene in a daze.

"It looks like an appearance, but it's actually a display of arms." Luo Heng quickly recorded with instruments. As a scout, he was particularly sensitive to equipment. He said while recording: "100 sets of Wolf Youlang/Iron Hunter power armor, this is enough to arm a mecha regiment. And this underground device, I don't know if it's a military facility of the Federation or something this guy made..."

"It's really awesome to make such a big display." Lei Zhen cursed and looked at Qin Feng in the air: "How did this fly up? The detector didn't detect the thruster device running. Can mechanical esper ability float against gravity?"

Lin Qingyu narrowed his eyes slightly: "I don't know about this. Let's see what medicine is in this gourd. If the price is right, maybe I want to buy a few sets of such equipment from him for my team to use."

The gorgeous appearance caused a huge sensation. Qin Feng, who was floating in the sky, waved his hand gently, and all the power armor guards landed. Then those drones arranged themselves into a phalanx in the air and began to project a huge holographic projection, and the content was the scene in the center of the square.

At this time, Qin Feng slowly descended to a lower altitude area, but didn't land. The nano power armor on his body quickly unraveled, and a handsome young man who looked about 27 or 28 years old appeared in everyone's sight.

He was tall, with eyes like shuttles. There were traces of mechanical modification on his handsome face and neck, which made his eyes come with a small holographic light screen, like a monocle, which looked very sci-fi.

On a high-rise building not far away, Lin Xian, Kiki, Mo Nika, and Jiang Yun's group were also shocked by this exaggerated appearance.

But what surprised Lin Xian was not the power armor and drones, but the huge mechanical structure under the square.

"That looks like some kind of military launch channel, classified level." Zhou Jin of the Iron Guard Brigade said at this time: "Using this kind of place to make a gimmick, the Federation has really spent a lot of money."

"The more they value it, the more it shows that the purpose of this matter or this person is definitely not simple." Kiki crossed her arms and said plainly: "I think he held this recruitment assembly, besides basic team members, mainly for experts above Destroyer-class. He wants to attract popularity through duels and quickly build his own backbone team by the way. The idea is perfect."

Lin Xian nodded: "Yes, if you want to recruit people, just give them treatment. Duels and the like are really unnecessary. It's nothing more than a gimmick to stuff powerful people into the team as much as possible. But if you only give treatment, those Destroyer-class experts all have teams, and they will test his ability as a captain instead."

"So he did this, actually because he didn't want to do it himself?" Xiang Ningjing couldn't help frowning when she heard Lin Xian's words.

"Not bad." Mo Nika said leisurely: "But people who can reach the Destroyer-class are not fools. If this Qin Feng doesn't come up with some arguments, this 'Infinite·Silver Star' convoy will definitely not be formed."

"That's true. Let's see how much this mechanical ruler weighs." Jiang Yun said.

Lin Xian glanced at Lu Xingchen and Shizhi on the side. Both of them were watching the square intently. One had a sharp gaze and an expression of being quite unconvinced, looking very interested in the esper duel. The other was a person who had never watched the fun for ten thousand years, standing behind Kiki, stretching her neck and staring at that side, like a simple social-phobic silly girl.

At this time, in the center of the square, Qin Feng, who caused a violent reaction, had a calm expression, as if he didn't feel any surprise at such a scene and reaction. Listening to the discussions one after another, he was silent for a few minutes before finally speaking.

"Everyone, under the doomsday where the stars fall and civilization collapses, we humans crawl on the scorched earth like ants, struggling in the wasteland like mayflies. The world is collapsing, the order is destroyed, morality is lost, and order is gray."

"We were once high towers, now we have become broken walls; we were once torches, now only embers remain."

"But—"

"As long as there is still a breath, we must not abandon ourselves to the abyss; as long as we can still see the micro-light, we must not kneel to the long night."

"Based on the responsibility of survival and the ambition of passing on the torch, I, Qin Feng, the mechanical ruler, announce to thousands of heroes in this Dawn City to form a doomsday alliance with me to save the country and survive. It is not just for survival, but to accumulate the strongest power of humanity. At this desperate time, human relations are miserable, flesh and blood are separated, faith is extinguished, and hope is extinguished."

"But as long as there is faith, even if we are now enduring humiliation and fleeing for survival, one day, we will take the lead in counterattacking with the momentum of a prairie fire!"

No one expected that this guy would be so impassioned as soon as he opened his mouth. For a time, tens of thousands of people in the square were stunned, and even many people were excited and eager. The originally suppressed emotions were mobilized.

"So, I want to form a train alliance, use my mechanical esper ability to build nuclear power reactor carriages, water cycle purification carriages, vertical farm carriages, green plant cultivation carriages, arms manufacturing, medical cabins, esper training, and a large number of comfortable living carriages, including train schools, fertility conservation, entertainment systems, civilization storage, and a series of functional carriages, constantly building modules, developing and perfecting, defending against endless corpse tides with steel armor, and rushing all the way along the 320,000-kilometer star-ring orbit!"

"I believe that with the growth of our esper abilities and the progress of science and technology, one day, we will be able to rush into the clouds, rush out of the dawn, and embark on a distant star journey!"

Boom!

As soon as this word came out, the whole scene seemed to be ignited. Not only the scene, but also the Dawn City intranet at this time, countless live broadcast screens were all exploding. This guy's speech seemed to carry a monstrous magic, making people excited.

And on Lin Xian's side, listening to Qin Feng's impassioned words just now, everyone's eyes looked at Lin Xian in unison, with some deep meaning in their expressions.

Kiki looked at Lin Xian in disbelief, her small face flushed, with an expression of wanting to laugh but holding back.

And Lin Xian opened his mouth slightly at this time, and silently popped a sentence with his mouth shape:

Wcnmd...

What this guy said, it seems they are all my words...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 392 =====