Chapter 288: Silent Night |
Under the black sky, only a few starlights revealed the faint outlines of the city.
Yubei City, shrouded in darkness and deathly silence, was full of war-torn ruins. The temperature was freezing. There was no blizzard—only the purest form of extreme cold. Even the wind was absent. The entire city felt frozen in time.
At the city center, a massive nuclear crater six kilometers in diameter had formed. A frozen slurry of blood and broken corpses had solidified into ice. Streets in all directions radiated outwards, melted and cracked from the blast.
Only in the distant districts were there still hordes of zombies.
But even those zombies stood eerily still in the dark, as if trapped in a state of suspension. The surroundings were void of sound and life. Though these zombies were technically still “alive,” they had completely lost all instinct to move—lined up like mannequins throughout the streets and alleys.
On top of a still-standing skyscraper, Chu Yan stood silently in her custom full-body mech suit, gazing at the massive nuclear crater in the distance.
Data constantly flashed across her holographic visor.
A mechanical voice spoke:
“According to intelligence analysis, more than two S-Class Eerie Entities may be present in this area—along with a Corpse Shepherd from Abyss Zone No. 3.”
“Corpse Shepherd?” Chu Yan’s eyes narrowed as she looked toward a massive jellyfish tentacle fallen on a distant hill. Then she turned to the towering Climbing Passage reaching into the sky.
Piles of charred corpses were stacked like mountains outside the spaceport. Ash blanketed the ground like dust. The tragedy of the evacuation battle could be seen in just a single glance.
Her gaze sharpened. “Scan for Blood Scourge fluctuations.”
“Scanning in progress. No signs of Blood Scourge growth detected.”
“Must be the radiation…”
“Shall we set the next Polar Night exploration path?”
Chu Yan didn’t respond immediately. She stared in the direction of the nuclear blast center, paused for a second, then raised her hand and pointed.
“Warning. Using the Gravity Lens here could trigger Tidal Resonance. Projected risk index for the path ahead will rise by 13%.”
“That’s fine. Phoenix’s Polar Night Division Two already investigated this place. The Corpse Shepherd is no longer here.”
She was just about to take action when she suddenly sensed something. Whipping around, she was startled to see a young man standing quietly behind her—with no protective gear at all.
Chu Yan’s pupils contracted. “You again?”
Lin Xian stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking weary. He stared at the vaguely familiar skyline, then looked back at Chu Yan.
“Looks like we’re synced in time. So you’re not a hallucination.”
“I’m not. But you are,” Chu Yan replied calmly.
She turned around, facing Lin Xian through her mech’s visor. “My radar didn’t detect you, which means only I can see you. Who the h*ll are you?”
Lin Xian noticed two emblems on Chu Yan’s armor—one was the crimson phoenix of Phoenix, and the one before it was a grey-blue shield—NAUF.
“I’m Lin Xian. Leader of a survivor convoy that works with Phoenix.”
“Lin Xian?” Chu Yan frowned. “You own the shelter in Jiang City?”
“So I should be the one asking—why were you in my house?” Lin Xian shot back.
“That’s classified.”
Chu Yan raised her hand and drew a small flying blade from her mech’s left shoulder, flicking it toward him. It passed straight through Lin Xian’s face.
“There must be some kind of mental-energy connection between us. But I don’t know your background. Since you claim to work with Phoenix, I’ll verify it with them. Next time we meet, maybe we can share more. In the meantime, you’d better keep this whole thing to yourself.”
As she turned to leave, she looked back and asked, “You saw me for longer this time, didn’t you?”
Lin Xian’s gaze focused, but he didn’t answer her question. Instead, he said,
“Wait, let me look around a bit.”
Yubei City under the Polar Night was wrapped in pure desolation and death.
Not a hint of life remained.
At the far edge of the spaceport platform, faint humanoid silhouettes were burned into the defensive walls—like a tragic mural painted with charcoal…
DONG, DONG...
DONG, DONG...
Lin Xian clutched his aching head, struggling to rise. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the bedroom of Carriage No. 1 on the Infinite Train.
The lights were off. All blackout shades were tightly sealed. The carriage was completely dark.
He checked the time on his watch.
16:00
Lin Xian tried lifting one of the nearby shades. Through the custom multilayered bulletproof window he had installed, he looked outside.
Pitch-black. Only the falling snowflakes hinted that it was snowing.
The temperature outside had climbed back to -32°C. The convoy seemed to be moving away from the Extreme Cold Vortex.
“Phew…”
Lin Xian exhaled deeply, trying to suppress the splitting headache.
Overexerting himself while piloting Unit 01, combined with using the Gravity Lens, had left him feeling like his soul had been ripped apart.
The moment of Chen Wei’s death kept replaying in his mind, causing waves of nausea and suffocation.
He focused on his breathing, sitting in silence for several minutes before he started to feel better.
He recalled the final blast against the massive sea urchin. At that moment, it seemed like the nuclear energy from Unit 01 had fueled a massive AT Field.
But that hadn’t been a conscious action—he had no idea how the Superstring Phase Rainbow Ring had appeared behind him…
Opening the Mechanical Heart panel, Lin Xian’s expression changed as he saw the flood of alerts:
【Non-mechanical energy converted—gained 1000 Mechanical Source Points】
【Non-mechanical energy converted—gained 1000 Mechanical Source Points】
【Congratulations! Mechanical Heart upgraded to LV.5. Remote Control Mode unlocked!】
Remote Control Mode: Allows remote scanning, devouring, manipulation, and manufacturing. Range is affected by 【Mechanical Manufacturing】 level. Current range: 500m.
Mechanical Heart Level: LV.5 (240/20000)
Special Skills:
-
Mecha Energy Cannon【Amplified】
-
AT Field【Amplified】
-
Backlash (Rare, Lv.2 - 50%)
-
Power Surge (Rare, Lv.3 - Maxed)
-
Gravity Lens (Legendary, Lv.1 - 99%)
R& D Center
-
【G3 Electromagnetic Railgun (Blueprint) in Development – 1d 13h 59m】
“So the Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum absorbed that much dark energy? It converted 2000 source points?” Lin Xian was stunned.
Just as he was getting up, another message popped up:
【Non-mechanical energy converted—gained 1000 Mechanical Source Points】
His expression turned serious.
“It’s still converting?!”
In the Xilan City battle… how much black energy did that Blood Scourge absorb?!
【Skill available for Amplification】
-
Power Surge (Rare, Lv.3 - Maxed) → Amplify to:
【Superstring Reactor Phase Rainbow Ring】
Condition: Devour a nuclear power unit with output over 300 MW
Amplification Time: 24 hours
“So it’s real. But why did I activate it before the upgrade…?”
His mind was full of questions. He had already used the skill, yet it hadn’t officially amplified. The requirement—300 MW nuclear device—was absurd. His Gemini 11R Nuclear Electric Locomotive only output 290 MW.
“But at least the Mechanical Heart has finally leveled up.” Lin Xian looked at his hands, then at the small alarm clock on the nearby desk. He grabbed it.
Whoosh—
The alarm clock turned to ash.
【Devour successful—gained 1 Mechanical Source Point】
“Remote devour, scan, and control. That’ll save a lot of trouble.”
Feeling stronger, Lin Xian started to recover from the horrors of the last battle.
He reached for the communicator to contact the others—
—but then he paused.
Something felt… off in the carriage.
The train’s clacking had slowed noticeably. Lin Xian didn’t know how long he’d been asleep, nor where they were.
His first thought:
The train’s moving too slow.
His second:
Something’s weirdly quiet.
He held his breath and stepped into the corridor—completely dark.
Where was everyone?
Just then, someone approached with a dim cold light.
It was Chen Sixuan.
“Shhh!”
Chen Sixuan’s eyes lit up with joy when she saw him, but she quickly gestured for silence.
Then, unable to help herself, she rushed into his arms.
“Thank goodness… you’re finally awake.”
Her voice was barely audible, yet full of joy.
Lin Xian steadied himself, then whispered, “What happened?”
Chen Sixuan pulled him back into the bedroom, closed the door, and said seriously:
“The entire convoy is in silent mode right now.”
“We’ve entered the Polar Night zone of Abyss Zone No. 5. But right when we crossed into the Tidal Zone… weird things started happening.”
“Weird things?”
Chen Sixuan nodded. “Something showed up outside. A convoy train called Flying Fish—one of its carriages was damaged during the last battle. And now there’s a full-carriage infection. Everyone inside is dead. Cause of death unknown.”
“That carriage has been quarantined. We think it might be airborne, so all 22 trains have activated air filtration. Everyone’s working on patching the leaks.”
Lin Xian frowned at her words and immediately activated Mechanical Heart to scan for the Eerie Cube aboard the train—no alerts. He let out a small breath of relief.
“Also, while you were out, we spoke with Brother Shi and a few other convoy leaders,” Chen Sixuan explained. “Even though no one currently has a mark, everyone’s worried about getting marked during the Polar Night. And we know there’s something out there, so for safety, everyone agreed to slow down, turn off the lights, and travel in complete silence.”
Lin Xian nodded. He understood instantly. After the brutal battle at Xilan City, though the survivors had cleansed their marks, they all knew—deep in the Polar Night, no one dared to let their guard down.
Chen Sixuan added that due to routing constraints, the 22-car Doomsday Train formation had no choice but to traverse the outer perimeter of Abyss Zone No. 5 via the northern route en route to Quancheng. This meant they had to pass directly through the Polar Night area, so caution was paramount.
“Thankfully, the snow isn’t as deep as it was back on the Parma Grasslands, so we don’t need to push the speed.”
Thunk!
Lin Xian used his Mechanical Heart to open the blackout shade. His expression tightened as he looked out over the pitch-black snowy plains.
“So all 20-something trains are moving together?”
“Yeah. Dragon Mountain No. 1 is leading the way. Right behind us is Monica Queen’s train.”
“She’s got full all-terrain drive. Why isn’t she with the main Phoenix convoy?” Lin Xian asked, puzzled.
“No idea,” Chen Sixuan whispered. “Not just her—Qian Dele too.”
“Qian Dele?” Lin Xian raised a brow. “That guy runs a major convoy. And he’s got nuclear-powered polar vehicles. Why would he switch to a train?”
“He swapped his nuclear vehicle for a train from another convoy. Said he prefers space and cleanliness. If he’s gonna die, he wants to die comfortably.”
Lin Xian chuckled helplessly. That did sound like Qian Dele. After this mass migration, many convoys probably hoped to hitch a ride with Phoenix and were eager to switch vehicles anyway.
“Luo Yang and the others are the same. After Xilan, everyone’s wrecked. Wu Shu and Liao Ming from the Big Eagle Convoy are dead. Liang Lei, Amin, Lolo, and Li Guangwen were badly injured—barely saved thanks to our medical pod. Liang Lei still hasn’t woken up. Luo Yang and Li Yi traded their vehicles too. They combined and renamed their team the Sun Convoy, now over 100 people, following right behind us. Some of their crew and remaining Big Eagle members also went with Shen Yao of the North Wind Alliance.”
The battle at Xilan had devastated nearly all convoys. Under these conditions, survivors grouping together was natural. Hearing of Wu Shu and Liao Ming’s fate, Lin Xian couldn’t help but sigh.
He remembered the Blood Scourge Flora Wu Shu gave him. After what happened in Xilan, the importance of Blood Scourge Flora had skyrocketed in his mind. He had hoped that if they survived, they could ally with Wu Shu’s group and provide them with Power Armor and weapons. But now, the Big Eagle Convoy was no more.
“Oh, right. Shen Yao from North Wind asked me to pass on a message—someone’s looking for us.”
“Who?”
Chen Sixuan hesitated for a second. “Silver Star. Jian Xuwei.”
Lin Xian’s pupils shrank. He remembered the sharp and decisive leader of Fenger Group at the spaceport. That Eternal-Class Doomsday Train with over a hundred carriages was the most firepower-packed beast Lin Xian had ever seen. Just the electromagnetic railguns numbered over four…
“Pff—hello? Brother Shi?” Lin Xian pressed his communicator, attempting to contact Dragon Mountain No. 1 up ahead.
Soon, Shi Diyuan’s surprised voice crackled through:
“Brother Lin! You’re awake!!”
“Shh! Keep it down—” Ning Jing’s voice cut in.
“Oh, right! My bad!” Shi Diyuan quickly lowered his voice. “Brother Lin, man, I was worried sick. How are you feeling? Any busted parts?”
Lin Xian felt a warmness inside. “I’m good, Brother Shi. What’s our status?”
“I’ll explain.”
The channel shifted to Ning Jing’s voice.
“Captain Lin, Brother Shi’s injured pretty bad, so I’m handling things for now. We’re almost at Yijin, no monsters in sight yet. But you need to watch your air circulation system. We suspect there’s something toxic in the snowstorm—maybe something like Dark Invasion. Be extremely careful.”
“Got it. Stay in touch.”
“Will do.”
Lin Xian switched to another frequency and connected with Luo Yang’s group. The moment his voice came through, the young team members exploded with excitement.
“Captain Lin! We’ve started modifying our train just like yours! We’re with you all the way!” Luo Yang said.
Lin Xian smiled. “Take care of yourselves first. Finish the modifications when it’s safe. We’re in Polar Night now—be cautious. Let me know immediately if anything happens.”
“Got it! Thanks, Brother Lin.”
“Hey, Li Yi—how’s Liang Lei doing?”
“He… he’s still alive,” Li Yi said quietly. Clearly, Liang Lei’s condition was worse than expected.
“Take care of him.” Lin Xian sighed.
He checked in briefly with Qian Dele and Monica, then finally exhaled long and deep.
At this moment, 22 Doomsday Trains were linked front to back, forming a steel dragon nearly 15 kilometers long, slowly advancing through the snowy Polar Night. Over 400 survivors were on board, some of whom had transferred in from vehicle convoys after Xilan. Without them, the numbers would be even higher.
“How’s everyone else doing?” Lin Xian asked as he walked toward the rear carriages with Chen Sixuan.
She leaned in to whisper, “KIKI is still asleep. Fire Bro, Big Luo, and the other ability users are all wiped out. We Evolvers fared a bit better.”
Lin Xian’s expression darkened. “So… regular people are adapting better than ability users?”
“Maybe they’re just more exhausted. Plus… we used two Cold Dark Reagents.” Chen Sixuan looked genuinely worried.
Lin Xian stopped in his tracks. He stared at the faint glowing energy flowing through the carriage and thought: Could it be because they’re closest to S-Class, and absorbed more Dark Energy—along with what Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum converted? That might explain the intense burden on their bodies.
The logic made sense. Setting aside the two Cold Dark Reagents, these stronger fighters had slain more monster tides. That S-Class Sea Urchin and Abyss Worm must’ve released a huge amount of energy.
Yes, it helped with abilities and evolution. But the downside?
They probably wouldn’t see the sun for a long time.
With that thought, Lin Xian headed for Carriage No. 3.
As he passed Carriage No. 2, he noticed KIKI still sound asleep. Her complexion looked much better. That gave him some relief.
The battle at Xilan had pushed KIKI into the worst possible situation. Her ability scan had reached over 2000 on the evaluation scale—Rampage Level.
But at heart, she was just a girl who had only awakened her ability a month ago.
She had barely any energy left when facing the giant sea urchin. She needed proper rest.
As for himself, Lin Xian figured his faster recovery probably came from the Eerie Cube converting energy into his body.
Lin Xian didn’t find Ding Junyi in Car 3. Instead, she was in Carriage No. 4, busy harvesting vegetables with a few young team members.
“Cut the carrot tops with 3 cm of root, root-side up in the petri dish. They’ll sprout in 2–3 days. Then transfer to the hydroponic tank,” Ding Junyi instructed.
“For lettuce, place the roots in water—but not deeper than 2 cm. Also, watch the temperature in Car 4. Lettuce is sensitive. Overheating causes mutation. Ideal range is 15°C to 25°C. Perfect for places without direct sunlight.”
She spoke in her usual patient tone, even while harvesting.
Noticing Lin Xian, she stood up right away.
“Lin Xian—you’re awake?”
“Captain Lin!!”
The others shouted, then quickly realized they were too loud and clamped their hands over their mouths.
Lin Xian motioned for silence. The group nodded.
“Director Ding, we’ll take these to blend into veggie juice.”
“Go ahead,” Ding Junyi replied. Once they left, she turned to Lin Xian:
“It’s been night constantly, and after being exposed to the monster tide in Xilan for so long, we’re expecting severe Dark Invasion. So I prepped extra vegetable juice.”
Lin Xian opened his mouth—he had come for that very reason.
But she was already on it.
Seeing this, Lin Xian stepped forward and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you, Director Ding. Thank you for your research. Thank you for the Dark Mark.”
After they crossed Dazhu Plateau, it was Ding Junyi, Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum from Underground City No. 9, and the efforts of the entire Infinite Train that got them this far.
It was also because of Wei Kexue, Guo Er, and countless researchers who validated the Dark Mark Theory, that Xilan’s survivors were still alive today.
Now that they were back aboard the Infinite Train, Lin Xian just needed to hug her.
Ding Junyi was caught off guard. Her composed face flickered with a trace of surprise.
“This… it’s nothing.”
Lin Xian let go, placing both hands on her shoulders.
“How can it be nothing? You, Wei Kexue, Guo Sicheng, Captain Yu, Professor Zhang—all of you. Do you realize how many lives the Dark Mark Theory has saved? You all deserve the highest honors in science.”
Ding Junyi adjusted her glasses, her voice calm.
“To a scientist, the far side of truth isn’t a crown of honor—it’s a wellspring of redemption carved out by intellect in desolation. As a human being, I’m honored just to have contributed.”
“…But,” she added, locking eyes with him, “Your recognition—it feels f***ing great.”
Comments 2