[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-apocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train":3,"chapter-apocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train-apocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train-chapter-516":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Apocalypse: I Built an Infinite Train",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2262280,4414,"Chapter 516: Tower Civilization","apocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train-chapter-516",516,"\u003Cp>“Kiki, I found your boarding records on the Chengying ship—what exactly happened during this time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the empty conference hall, Lin Xian asked Kiki the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She doesn’t know much more than you do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lei Meng, a rugged man in his forties with multiple scars across his right cheek like patchwork, held a lit cigar toward Lin Xian: “We pulled her out of a pile of corpses. That battle lasted two days and nights—every grain of sand along Hake Coast was buried under dead bodies. Yet this girl used her mental force to directly withstand the shockwave from the World-Class Disaster ‘Earthquake Catfish,’ and severely wounded an S-Class entity, buying crucial time for Noah’s main evacuation force.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We all thought she was dead. She lay unconscious at Outpost 374 for nearly a month. By my count, she woke up just over ten days before you did,” Shi Weidong said at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ever since she woke up, she’s been with our search team looking for your trail,” Song Wei added from across the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xian frowned at this, turning to Kiki, who sat in a swivel chair with a lollipop in her mouth. She met his gaze with a sly smile and spoke first: “You’re welcome~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You were unconscious for a month—were you badly injured?” Lin Xian asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nah~” Kiki shrugged, looking perfectly energetic: “Just mental exhaustion. I slept a few extra days, that’s all~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That wasn’t just mental exhaustion. When we found you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, cut the chatter,” Kiki slammed her palm on the table, cutting off Shi Weidong: “Back to the point! Old Shi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, where’s Director Ding?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xian remembered this—he’d assumed Ding Junyi might be here, but had seen no sign of her from start to finish, and couldn’t help asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“About a week after I woke up, Director Ding left with Noah’s relocation force for Phoenix City. Since we couldn’t determine why you weren’t waking up, we split into two groups—I stayed here searching for you, while she headed straight for Nightwalker HQ…” Kiki exhaled slowly: “Our plan was, if we found you, we’d send you there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Polar Kunlun City?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the convoy? What about Teacher Chen and the others?” Lin Xian asked quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he spoke, the conference room fell silent. Kiki’s expression darkened; her gaze dropped to the table, and she said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Lin Xian’s heart sank. He spoke sharply:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“None of the orbital train units have been heard from?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Weidong spoke up: “From December 9th until now, not a single train has appeared on the north-south orbital line spanning both continents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about Dawn Center?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Weidong stood beside the holographic sandbox, the tip of his laser pointer resting on the floating projection of North America. The cold light reflected off his deeply lined face. His voice was low, yet metallic and brittle with exhaustion—each word struck like a hammer in the suffocating air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Swordbearer…” he began, eyes fixed on the glaring crimson region covering half the simulated Earth: “Since you entered Deep Sleep, the world has been collapsing faster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“On November 12th, Noah’s offshore monitoring team confirmed—Star Abyss No. 13 erupted simultaneously in the East Pacific and the Black Sea. The scale exceeded every model’s prediction.” The laser pointer jabbed at the Pacific region: “Within twelve hours, the core zones of both oceans vanished—completely devoured by Crimson.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flicked his wrist; the pointer shifted to Alaska: “On November 24th, Dawn Center’s command headquarters met up with the remnants of the North American United Front who had retreated there. The original plan was to cross North and South America in twenty-five days, establish a staging ground at Storm Strait, then pass through it into the Polar Region before the Crimson consumed everything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the holographic projection, a green line slowly solidified, winding south from Alaska, crossing North America, pointing to the southernmost tip of South America.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Weidong’s laser pointer slammed to a stop over the Asia-Pacific region: “On November 25th, without warning, Star Abysses No. 3, 5, 7, and 8 in the Asia-Pacific region began chaotic, uncontrolled expansion! Crimson spread like plague across the map! The Commander immediately ordered: troops stationed at Dawn City and survivors from Silent City evacuate immediately! Dawn Center’s planned twenty-five-day safe march became a death march—day and night, no rest! The goal remained unchanged—Storm Strait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice rose sharply, trembling with barely contained emotion, then fixed on the central North American projection—Colorado Canyon—where the image instantly turned blood-red: “December 9th! Star Abysses No. 12 and No. 9 in North America surged in darkness! Dawn Center’s main force collided head-on with World-Class Disaster No. 05—‘Chaos’!” Shi Weidong’s voice choked; his Adam’s apple moved: “Over a million people… gone. That single night.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath, as if the thick stench of blood still clogged his nostrils: “Then, all 219 train convoys on the eastern Colorado Canyon rail line… went completely dark.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then looked directly at Lin Xian: “Besides the survivor trains, there were the 13th and 22nd Taitiewei Brigades under the Ninth Intercontinental Force, six elite special ops groups from the Second Intercontinental Force, three aerial fleets meant to provide air support—and more… those trains carried nearly all our remaining war supplies and survival resources needed to keep more people alive. All gone!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xian’s brow tightened; out of the corner of his eye, Kiki sat across from him, arms crossed, head bowed in gloom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Noah, the original plan to cross Storm Strait and land in the Polar Region was abandoned due to the 13th Star Abyss's voracious consumption; they were forced to reroute through Panama, make a forced landing at Hake Coast, and conduct a full-scale land transfer. Then the Commander planned to have Noah's main body, in empty-ship form, cross that man-eating Crimson Sea and enter Storm Strait for passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But on December 11th, before Noah’s landing site at Hake Coast was even secured, the World-Class Disaster ‘Earthquake Catfish’ from No. 13 Star Abyss suddenly surfaced from the nearshore waters and stranded Noah on the beach, triggering a Crimson tide. That battle…” Shi Weidong sighed faintly: “‘Mountains of corpses, seas of blood’ doesn’t even begin to describe it. Even the numerous crystalline-evolved psychics from Nightwalker Units 1 and 2 nearly perished. Only when Dawn Center’s main force arrived from the north, joined by reinforcements from Phoenix City and the European Storm Alliance, did they tear open a corridor—allowing the Zhentian ship and most of Noah’s survivors to evacuate. Otherwise, half of human civilization might have been lost right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened his eyes, weary and numb with heavy resignation: “Dawn Center’s main force was already spent after their encounter with ‘Chaos’ in Colorado Canyon. To search and rescue the train convoys, they fought several major battles amid the shattered canyons…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then?” Lin Xian asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Useless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across from him, Lei Meng exhaled a thick plume of smoke and shook his head: “We nearly lost two Taitiewei Brigades. The great bridge over Colorado Canyon didn’t just break—it’s said the entire canyon shattered. The train convoys couldn’t escape. Even those who abandoned their trains or used all-terrain vehicles couldn’t flee through the Crimson. And now, that place is hell—everywhere, monsters. Unless the trains could fly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Lin Xian and Kiki, then swallowed his words. He knew Lin Xian’s convoy was one of those trains, so he didn’t press further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Weidong lifted his head, locking eyes with Lin Xian. His eyes were bloodshot, yet burned with unyielding stubbornness: “Now, the main forces of the Second, Fourth, and Seventh Intercontinental Forces are all stationed near Ushuaia, refusing to cross Storm Strait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?” Lin Xian asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because they won’t give up,” Shi Weidong shrugged, looking at Lin Xian: “Including our Crimson outposts—we’re here to support any surviving train convoys that made it out of the Crimson. That’s our mission: by any means possible, find, support, and bring back the scattered survivors of this catastrophe…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conference room fell silent once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xian’s brow remained tightly furrowed—the crisis was worse than he’d imagined. He broke the silence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to Phoenix Society’s investigation, why did Crimson appear? And why did it erupt so violently all at once?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because of the Descenders.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Lin Xian spoke, a reply came swiftly. He turned to see Song Wei speaking, and asked in confusion: “Because of humans?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can’t you see it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Weidong now looked at Lin Xian: “Since Crimson appeared, the Star Abysses shifted from stable, chaotic expansion to something with clear strategic intent. The eruptions of Pacific No. 13, North American No. 12, and No. 9 all correlate precisely with our major troop movements—timing, location, flawless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And coincidentally, both Noah’s fleet and the orbital trains—our two most vital supply lines—were targeted,” Lei Meng tapped ash from his cigar, bluntly: “This is the Foundation and Shengcheng’s deliberate strategy to dismantle our human alliance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Wei added: “We believe the Foundation has established communication with the Tower Civilization. That’s why Crimson eruptions and World-Class Disasters have become increasingly lethal to us—without supply lines, stripped of habitable land, this will be our annihilation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait…” Lin Xian frowned at her: “Tower Civilization?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone in Phoenix Society cracked the puzzle of that civilization’s game,” Kiki said, eyes glinting as she looked at Lin Xian: “You know her—Chu Yan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct,” Shi Weidong nodded, face grim: “Our enemy is now clear—not just the Tower Civilization, but also these Descenders who know our own civilization better than we do…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xian heard it—the helpless hatred in Shi Weidong’s voice. Only one’s own kind knows exactly how to wound their own.\u003C\u002Fp>",1609,"2026-06-19T18:20:07.351Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c14d74b45448fd487e3580e689532650a465e7d9bc18c36fc73ac8030bc30bf9","apocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train-chapter-517","apocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train-chapter-515",541,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fapocalypse-i-built-an-infinite-train-cover.jpg"]