Chapter 9: Nighttime Devouring of a Truck

Aosh Furniture City is located on the outskirts of Jiang City, usually with few people around, and since no other survivors bothered coming here to hide, Lin Xian had the perfect chance to let loose.

Lin Xian checked the time: 16:30, still over two hours until dark.

Without hesitation, he first picked a costly yet understated sectional leather sofa, loaded it onto the truck with a forklift, then found a foldable steel-framed bed.

Although the door of Car 3 was still fairly large, fitting a wooden king-size bed inside would be impractical, so Lin Xian planned to weld the steel frame directly into the carriage, then lay down a foldable memory foam mattress and latex pad for comfort.

Oh, and pillows and blankets couldn’t be forgotten.

The more he moved, the happier he became, then he spotted a 60-inch light-screen TV hanging on the wall of a branded store, and his eyes lit up.

“Hmm, if we had an entertainment area, it’d be nice to play games or watch movies sometimes.”

“Take it!”

Without another word, Lin Xian tore apart everything he could, soon filling the flatbed truck to the brim.

If the bathroom in Car 1 weren’t so cramped, he’d have taken the entire toilet and bathtub set too.

Vrrrm~

On the small truck, Lin Xian’s eyes glowed faintly as his Mechanical Heart activated, making the engine roar again. He drove his loaded haul around the parking lot road to the greenbelt beside the tracks, then stomped the accelerator and smashed through the barrier fence, the truck lurching onto the gravel slope of the railway.

Chen Sixuan on the train waited over an hour, then watched in shock as Lin Xian drove a truck straight toward them.

Then she saw the sofa, mattresses, even a TV piled on it—and she was utterly baffled.

Is this even supplies?

In the apocalypse, wasn’t finding water or food the priority? Or at least weapons? Chen Sixuan was confused, but as Lin Xian drove the truck behind Car 3, she hurried over to help.

Clank~ Whoo~

The rear lift gate of Car 3 slowly lowered. Lin Xian stepped aboard, short knife on his back, moved the motorcycle and crane out of the way, then together they hauled the sofa, bed frame, mattress, pillows, blankets, rugs, and TV into Car 1.

When all was done, the sun had set.

Both were drenched in sweat.

Beep, beep~

The alarm on his watch rang. Lin Xian’s expression turned serious as he told Chen Sixuan:

“Go over there, eat something and get organized. I need to deal with this truck.”

He had a bold idea: since the truck was right here, why not take the chance to devour it?

Even if danger came, he could instantly raise the protective rear gate of the carriage.

It sounded risky—nighttime dangers weren’t ordinary zombies—but Lin Xian didn’t want to waste this rare upgrade opportunity, so he decided to take the gamble.

“Oh, okay.”

Chen Sixuan now acted like a dutiful, obedient wife—she immediately followed every instruction Lin Xian gave.

After Chen Sixuan left Car 3, Lin Xian unhooked his custom-made towing hook from the truck door, strapped it around his waist, and as night hadn’t fully fallen, he climbed down from the train, placed his hand on the small truck, and activated [Mechanical Devour] without hesitation.

[Devour Progress: 1%]

That familiar sensation from devouring cars returned—Lin Xian felt his energy draining faster, and the progress bar on his vision showed the rate was painfully slow compared to earlier small appliances.

One hand pressed against the truck, the other gripped the metal hook tightly. He’d attached the steel cable hook to ensure he could still control “Infinity” at all times—his ability only worked on machinery he touched directly; any distance via metal wire would break the connection.

[Devour Progress: 2%]

[Devour Progress: 3%]

Seconds ticked by. The surroundings were utterly silent. With no lights, darkness deepened as the sun vanished, and Lin Xian’s expression grew grim.

In a daze, he suddenly felt as if the earth itself was breathing…

Is this the Dark Tide?

18:45

The sky plunged into blackness all at once, without any transition—unnervingly strange.

For over two months, survivors had grown accustomed to this change.

All they could do was pray the night would end quickly; only at dawn did some dare leave their shelters to scavenge for survival supplies.

But everyone knew: after the prolonged night, food and water would eventually run out—and whether dawn would ever return remained unknown.

Hiding in shelters was slow death, but fleeing was an even greater gamble—steel, concrete, and iron gates couldn’t stop the night’s horrors; venturing into the wild, hiding in vehicles—how many chances for survival did that really offer?

No choice offered absolute safety.

!

Thus, psychics became leaders of survivor groups—they possessed abilities beyond ordinary humans, offering a sense of security no concrete wall could match.

Before the internet fully collapsed, Lin Xian had seen many psychics online with bizarre powers. They quickly became internet sensations, sought-after apocalypse leaders, and key targets for official research and collaboration.

When Lin Xian first posted his Infinity Train recruitment plan on forums, he’d considered revealing his ability to attract followers.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

He didn’t believe he had the capacity to manage hundreds or thousands of survivors in the apocalypse. His ability was miraculous, yet even self-preservation was still difficult. If he became a leader, his greatest value would be driving the train and repairing machines—what if he ended up not as a leader, but as a living battery for others? That would be a nightmare…

His fears proved entirely justified: only two months into the apocalypse, atrocities over supplies and violent killings among bandits were already common. The psychics had powers beyond comprehension, while Lin Xian’s ability, in the early days, seemed utterly ordinary.

[Devour Progress: 63%]

After one hour of nightfall, the devouring progress finally passed halfway. Lin Xian remained utterly focused, alert to the pitch-black surroundings.

He turned off all lights on the train, blending into the darkness, slowing his breath, hand still on the truck, silently devouring.

To prevent his faint Xuan Light from revealing him, Lin Xian even closed his eyes, listening intently—steel fences lined both sides of the tracks; any movement nearby should be audible, and anything approaching on the rails should make noise.

[Devour Progress: 77%]

Almost there… almost successful…

Click~

At that moment, a faint crunch of gravel suddenly sounded.

New book, please follow and read!

(End of Chapter)