Chapter 95: Help Request (9th Update—Request Monthly Votes!!)

Chen Sixuan gasped and covered her mouth. “So there are people down there.”

“Listen first,” Lin Xian signaled with a hand, then pressed the answering machine again. “We can hear you.”

“I’m Ding Junyi, Deputy Director of the Biological Research Division, Underground City Nine. A massive outbreak of zombies and nightwalkers has occurred within the city. I and several other colleagues are currently trapped on Level B-52 of the research level. Can you provide us with assistance? If you’re willing to help, we can offer exchange conditions.”

The voice from the answering machine sounded urgent, but the faces of the people on the “Infinity” train darkened slightly.

“You’re saying this entire underground city has only a few of you left?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Xian’s first reaction was skepticism—he’d been fooled by baiting tactics too many times before, and he didn’t believe this easily.

“The survival status of other zones remains uncertain. Two weeks ago, excavation work hit an unknown subterranean organism, halting construction. Core One melted down, triggering mutations and infections among personnel. At least 376,000 citizens died—over 95% of the total population. The Underground City Federation was forced to initiate an evacuation plan, deploying eight intercontinental-class and three eternal-class trains, plus numerous airships, helicopters, and flight devices to evacuate core citizens. But nearly all aerial transport lost contact after entering the Dalaoshan Range. Preliminary suspicion points to large airborne nightwalkers.”

“The mutations triggered massive chaos within the city. The main structure was damaged, zombies erupted, and countless nightwalkers appeared. My three colleagues and I couldn’t escape in time and took refuge in a biological lab. There are likely few survivors left in Underground City Nine. Our lab holds high-level system access rights. We observed your arrival via surveillance at GF2 station platform and are now reaching out for help.”

Though it sounded like a plea for rescue, the woman’s voice and tone remained eerily calm.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Kiki immediately glanced out the window—sure enough, several cameras were pointed directly at their cockpit.

“Huh, so there are people down here—and there’s still electricity...”

Lin Xian nodded, scanning the faces of the others. He realized the nightwalkers the woman mentioned were likely the same as the strange entities they’d encountered. He then spoke into the answering machine.

“How do you suggest we rescue you?”

They had no idea what conditions were like inside the underground city. From the information just relayed, unknown creatures lurked below, zombies and nightwalkers had overrun the entire city, and the woman was trapped on Level B-52. Even if Lin Xian wanted to help, he had no clear way forward. So he didn’t rush to decide—he let her propose a plan first, to judge its truth and assess the risk.

Upon hearing Lin Xian’s question, the woman responded immediately.

“Elevators 1, 2, and 5 are all destroyed. Elevators 7 and 8 only reach below Level 80; the rest are either in collapsed floors or freight zones. Only Elevator 3 is operational—and closest to us. But Elevator 3 is a freight elevator, designed to transport equipment directly to Level 95’s underground Level-5 freight terminal. Due to structural damage, it currently only reaches Level 89. I can open the protective gate to the GF2 underground rail line. But we only have one backup power source left, insufficient to power train Shengjiang elevators. So your train can proceed directly through the tunnel to Level 65’s underground Level-4 freight terminal, then use Elevator 3 to ascend to Level 52. Though there are many zombies outside, your weaponry is strong, and you have a telekinetic. The threat to you should be minimal.”

Lin Xian frowned slightly. From her description, Ding Junyi’s identity as Deputy Director of Biological Research was likely genuine. Ordinary citizens—even high-ranking ones—wouldn’t know the underground city’s systems so precisely. Her logic was clear, her plan well-structured—she spoke like a true researcher.

“You make it sound simple. Why didn’t you ask the Federation government for help?”

Kiki leaned in, cutting straight to the point. At her question, another, younger female voice urgently replied over the answering machine: “Satellite communications were evacuated. Conventional devices can’t transmit due to night magnetic waves—you should know this. So the only system access we still control are partial sub-systems. We’re using the station answering system to reach out to you.”

Lin Xian’s brow furrowed. “Didn’t anyone come to rescue you during the evacuation?”

The answering machine fell silent for a moment. Then Ding, the director, resumed speaking.

“When the upper levels evacuated, they received our distress signal. But under the circumstances... we were likely written off as abandoned assets.”

In a research zone of Underground City Nine, isolation doors were locked. The corridor outside was swallowed by darkness, teeming with wandering zombies. Inside the room, four men and women in lab coats looked desperate. They’d been trapped here for over a week. Though the research zone had high-level protection and life-support systems, food and supplies were scarce. If they didn’t get out soon, they’d starve to death.

Leading them was Ding Junyi, around thirty, wearing glasses with a cold, clear gaze. The others trapped with her were former colleagues Zhao Yan, Xu Wen, and microbiology expert Han Qiming.

Zhao Yan, the oldest among them, looked the weakest. They’d already begun consuming experimental plant specimens as food to sustain themselves. Fortunately, lighting and air circulation remained functional in the lab—so they wouldn’t suffocate.

Since the great evacuation, the entire underground city had become a hellish wasteland. With roads blocked and eternal night descending, their hope of rescue had faded to near nothing.

Almost all usable supplies had been taken. This unfinished, less-than-one-fifth-completed apocalyptic project had become a ruin of despair.

“Director Ding, they don’t seem to believe us...”

Xu Wen, the most timid, had been the first to speak. Seeing no reply from the answering machine, she panicked. “What do we do?”

“Don’t rush,” said Han Qiming, his hair a messy nest. Already thin, the past two weeks had left him gaunt. “They’re coming by train—they must have a purpose. And they can open protective gates and possess advanced psychic abilities. I think they might want to enter the underground city. If so, maybe we can find a point of mutual interest.”

!

“Yes,” said Zhao Yan, the eldest. She looked at Ding Junyi. “Director Ding, why not just ask them directly?”

But Ding Junyi was calmly replaying surveillance footage. Among the four, she was the calmest. While everyone else anxiously waited for a reply, she watched the video of Lin Xian and the others entering the external station platform, making notes on a portable screen.

“There are five people visible in the footage. We can’t yet confirm if others are on the train. The leader is clearly the male who spoke to us—age 25 to 30, clear communication intent, strong logic, highly educated. He was the one who opened the GF2 station gate. I checked the system logs—he had no authorization. So he must possess some psychic talent and forced entry.”

New book launched—begging for monthly votes! Infinite Train, Soaring to the Skies!

Deeply grateful!

(End of Chapter)