Chapter 74: Disturbance (Second Update—Request Monthly Votes)

Yuchicheng platform, the “Infinite” rested silently on the tracks.

Before dawn, a fierce wind began to howl through the night, carrying snow that battered the train’s armored seams with mournful wails.

Inside the carriage, Lou Shasha held her rifle, tense and uneasy, her face frozen red as she periodically scanned the outside.

Zhum~

The lights in all five carriages flickered dimly for an instant, then returned to normal.

Lou Shasha looked up, startled, then turned her head toward the distant carriage.

In the cab, Chen Sixuan stood motionless, as if keeping watch just like her.

To conserve power, the carriage heating system had been shut off; temperatures inside and out had dropped further. Shasha blew warm breath onto her gloved hands and glanced again at the distant carriage.

“Sister Chen, are you cold?”

For some reason, Shasha felt afraid. She picked up the radio and called out to Chen Sixuan.

“Click… A little. What about you?”

Chen Sixuan’s voice came through the radio. She checked the time—dawn was nearly here—and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“My hands are almost frozen,” Shasha said.

“Click… I’ll bring you a pair of gloves. I collected some earlier.”

“Okay.”

Shasha rubbed her hands together—she was freezing.

But when she turned her head, she saw no movement from Chen Sixuan in the distant cab. She remained standing, utterly still.

Shasha’s skin crawled. Gathering courage, she spoke again into the radio.

“Sister Chen, have you come over yet?”

No reply.

She asked again: “Sister Chen, have you come over yet?”

“I’m here already. Aren’t I right behind you?”

The voice was unfamiliar—and not coming from the radio.

It came from behind her…

Shasha’s face turned pale. She spun around, raising her rifle.

But there was nothing behind her.

Inside Carriage 5, cold tools and storage racks filled the space.

“What’s going on?”

Shasha breathed rapidly, as if she could hear her own heartbeat. Her eyes darted across the carriage.

No one.

Only her breathing echoed in the empty space.

Her heartbeat quickened. She turned toward the long carriage corridor—two or three hundred meters between carriages now felt impossibly distant.

At the far end, Chen Sixuan’s silhouette still stood—but now she faced forward, directly toward Shasha.

As if staring at her.

“Sister Chen.”

Shasha shouted with forced courage.

The silhouette did not react.

Then, outside the platform, a flash of light appeared, accompanied by the roar of an off-road vehicle’s engine. Shasha’s heart tightened—she knew Lin Xian had returned—and turned quickly toward the window.

But as she turned, a terrifying ghostly face appeared outside the window!

“Ahh!!”

Shasha screamed, stumbling backward and collapsing to the floor. The next instant, the carriage lights went out.

The entire train plunged into darkness.

Click!

Shasha fumbled for her flashlight, switched it on, and shone it at the window—the ghastly figure was gone. She scanned the surroundings—nothing.

Shaken, she scrambled to her feet.

Then the carriage lights flickered back on. From the far end came Chen Sixuan’s shout.

“Shasha, they’re back! Open the door!”

Still dazed, Lou Shasha stared blankly at the narrow carriage. After a long moment, she nodded, stood up, and pressed the rear panel switch.

Wuu~

The steel rear panel of Carriage 5 slowly lowered.

Outside, Da Lou drove his off-road vehicle straight onto the loading ramp, followed by a tidal wave of zombies. Tada-tada-tada-tada-tada!

Lin Xian, as soon as he stepped out, activated the train’s systems while continuously firing at the zombie horde behind him.

Meanwhile, Chen Sixuan in the front opened the electric locomotive’s throttle lever. The heavy train roared to life.

Lou Shasha rose and joined the fire support—BOOM! A grenade exploded in the zombie horde, flames lighting the sky as the blast wave hurled a dozen zombies into the air.

Da Lou secured his foot chains and fired alongside Lin Xian, retreating into the carriage as they shot.

The rear panel rose. The train accelerated.

“Lin Brother, something’s wrong on the train!”

As soon as they boarded, Shasha, pale with fear, told Lin Xian.

“On the train?”

Lin Xian’s face darkened. He suddenly handed Shasha the metal box: “Quick, check if you can receive official broadcasts from Dalaoshan.”

If they accelerated without adjusting the switch to the southern line, they might not make it in time—he needed to be prepared.

!

“O-okay!” Shasha nodded obediently.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian sprinted toward the front carriage.

“Teacher Chen!”

The darkness of the world thickened, swallowing the night’s visibility.

Lin Xian burst into the cab and found Chen Sixuan, pale-faced, pointing ahead: “Lin Xian, look!”

Ahead on the tracks stood a bizarre figure.

Its limbs were unnaturally long, its body entirely white—resembling the white giant from before.

Seeing the monster, Lin Xian’s heart sank. Strange events had been escalating—clearly, they’d disturbed many hidden entities in the dark.

He suddenly realized: tonight’s hunt had been wildly irrational.

“Ignore it. Charge through!”

With no retreat possible, Lin Xian activated his Mechanical Heart to full power, hoping the upgraded armor could withstand it!

“Lin Xian!”

As the train accelerated toward the monster, Chen Sixuan trembled, crying out in alarm.

“Hold on!”

Lin Xian shoved Chen Sixuan down and lowered his head, letting the train surge forward.

Boom, gurgle~

The “Infinite,” equipped with its ice-breaking shield, slammed into a massive object, producing a rolling sound. Suddenly, all lights on the train flickered violently—as if hit by intense electromagnetic interference.

Zzzzz…

Noticing the armor remained intact, Lin Xian lifted his head—only to find the train’s headlights swallowed by darkness, visibility reduced to less than twenty meters.

The radar display was now filled with static—no terrain could be distinguished.

Beep… beep…

“Lin Xian, we can’t see anything ahead.”

Chen Sixuan stood up, staring at the radar in terror: “Should we stop?”

The broken track incident had cast a shadow over everyone’s mind. Kiki was still critically injured and unconscious; the road ahead was unknown. Lin Xian’s brow furrowed tightly.

“Teacher Chen, how far past Yuchicheng is the next bridge-tunnel?”

Chen Sixuan’s face paled. She snapped:

“About thirteen kilometers ahead, we enter a tunnel.”

“Then we push ten kilometers before stopping!”

He checked the time—if his estimate was right, dawn was still ten minutes away. They had already disturbed something in Yuchicheng and could not remain.

But ahead lay utter darkness. After careful thought, he had no choice but to charge blindly along the tracks. As long as they avoided tunnels or bridges, they’d be fine—even if they derailed, death wasn’t certain!

Shasha staggered down the corridor toward Carriage 2, following Lin Xian’s orders—grabbing the radio while watching over Kiki.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the darkness, scraping and clawing sounds pounded against the outer walls of several carriages—as if unseen creatures were attacking the train from the night.

“Everyone stay alert!”

Lin Xian roared from the carriage’s far end.

A chilling cold began to spread through the carriage.

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(End of chapter)