Chapter 158: Rushing to the Clouds

VROOOOM!!!

Inside the ascent-track hall, the engines of the four heavy-duty trains roared to life, slowly pulling all the traction platforms into motion. The survivors in the convoys behind felt a jolt from the tracks beneath them, and then they began to move.

“Why are we leaving? The Iron Guard Brigade hasn’t withdrawn yet!”

“What’s going on? Are we leaving early?”

“It’s moving, it’s moving!”

“Ah, I’m so scared…”

“Don’t be afraid, we’ll definitely make it up!”

“Mommy, what about the soldier uncles?” a little girl who had just been rescued asked her mother on the Iron Guard Brigade’s military train.

“They…” The woman looked at the countless wounded and survivors inside the train, her eyes turning red. “They’ll take other vehicles…”

“Really? Will they come with us too?”

“Yes…”

…

Whoosh!

The immense traction force generated by 620,000 kilowatts of power pulled 2,696 survivor vehicles of various types into a frantic acceleration. They reached a speed of over 200 kilometers per hour in a very short sprint distance. Then, the trains entered the gentle ascent track. The Horizon Braking Systems latched onto the rails, and the engines continued to accelerate.

Everyone on the Infinity, the Silver Star, the Dragon Mountain One, and the Iron Guard train instantly felt the ground tilt. The trains rose at a steep angle, and any unsecured items inside the cars slid toward the back.

A few seconds later, all the trains entered the even steeper ascent passage. The mechanical tractors rose and hooked onto the Horizon Braking Systems located beneath the trains, beginning the second stage of acceleration!

Boom!! Boom!!

The thousands of vehicles behind them instantly felt as if they were being lifted off the ground, rocketing toward the sky at an incredible speed!

“Ah!!!”

In an instant, countless screams echoed throughout the ascent passage.

On the Infinity, everyone gripped the handrails tightly. Chen Sixuan squeezed her eyes shut, her heart pounding wildly as she felt the immense G-force of leaving the ground.

In the cockpit, KIKI and Lin Xian sat in their seats, their expressions intensely focused.

100 meters…

200 meters…

300 meters…

The altitude climbed rapidly. Lin Xian shouted with concentration, “We enter the third acceleration at 2,000 meters. If the Horizon Braking System overloads, you pin the train to the track for me!”

KIKI’s eyes were filled with gravity. Her eyes wide, she kept exclaiming in amazement. Hearing Lin Xian’s words, she immediately replied, “Okay!”

On the Silver Star and the Dragon Mountain One, the scenes were completely different. On the Silver Star, the residents in each car had prepared in advance, fastening their seatbelts in an orderly fashion. On the Dragon Mountain One, however, there were cries and screams, and daily necessities in the cars clattered to the floor.

On the Iron Guard train, Bai Shuang stood in the cockpit, watching the vast passage deepen behind them through the monitor. Her expression was calm, her eyes revealing an unusual determination, as if a silent dirge and a blazing fire flickered in her heart.

Bang, bang, bang! Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Boom!

On the high walls of the spaceport, smoke filled the air. Countless streams of molten metal rained down on the corpse tide below. The 1130 close-in weapon systems and electromagnetic railguns played a mournful dirge of death. In the sky, a dozen equally massive Sky Jellyfish floated beneath the giant Atmospheric Cloud Jellyfish, bringing a suffocating sense of oppression.

Below the spaceport, the overwhelming tide of zombies began to surge forward like a flood. At that moment, a transport vehicle carrying a cylindrical weapon covered by a tarp sped over. Soldiers unveiled it, and the cylindrical weapon slowly lit up and opened. A silver missile several meters tall slowly rose, the yellow nuclear symbol on it giving off a sense of calm and peace.

Zhang Dingzhong walked over, his face full of heroic spirit. “We’ve been fighting and running all this way. I’ve been wanting to use this thing for a long time. It’s a good chance to see what kind of demon that Corpse Driver really is!”

“Heh, giving them a free cremation will definitely be satisfying!” Deputy Commander Ma Xiaotang even cracked a joke.

“Haha! That’s right, we have to at least blow a hole in this fishing net, right, brothers?!”

“Right!”

Clank. A tall patrol mech stopped, and Zhan Wei stepped out. He looked at the small nuclear weapon before him, his face full of surprise. “Whoa, this will definitely pack a punch.”

Zhang Dingzhong looked at him. “Zhan Wei, can your legs still stand firm?”

Zhan Wei smiled with determination and stood at attention. “Reporting to the Old Chief, they can stand firm!”

After speaking, he hesitated for a moment, then looked at Zhang Dingzhong with pride. “Old Chief, being able to fight with you until the very last moment is the greatest honor of my life!”

Zhang Dingzhong paused, then clapped him on the shoulder, his eyes filled with admiration.

“Good lad. You’re worthy of being a soldier I trained.”

Whoosh! Hwa!

A pleasant ringing sound came from behind. Many Iron Guard soldiers turned to see the kilometers-long convoy of traction vehicles beginning to ascend the track. The air vibrated, and the sound was deafening.

“Look! They’re going up!”

Deputy Commander Ma Xiaotang shouted excitedly as he watched the scene.

Countless Iron Guard soldiers looked at the track leading to the clouds, their eyes full of anticipation and fervor. At this moment, the ascending chains of trains were like the precious fruits of their courageous defense.

Just then, a few survivor vehicles suddenly turned on their yellow hazard lights. The lights seemed to create a resonance, and more and more survivor convoys tacitly turned on their hazard lights.

Soon, thousands of vehicles were flashing their yellow lights, like four golden chains of light rushing up the ascent passage into the sky, as if to illuminate the entire night!

Watching this scene, Zhang Dingzhong smiled faintly.

“They’re cheering us on, brothers. Don’t show any fear!”

“Yes, sir!” The defensive line formed by the Iron Guard Brigade and the guard regiment roared in unison, shaking the heavens!

…

Whoosh!

At this moment, on the ascent passage, the four trains were approaching 2,000 meters, about to enter the third acceleration.

The four kilometers-long chains of vehicles continued to climb, the passage rumbling.

“Prepare to enter third acceleration!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Soon, the four trains engaged the high-speed traction devices almost simultaneously. The engines roared, beginning the third acceleration!

Vrooom~!!

“The speed is picking up!” Lin Xian watched the status indicator of the Horizon Braking System and began to push the power of the Gemini 11R nuclear-powered electric locomotive to its maximum!

Just then, the core of the Atmospheric Cloud Jellyfish in the sky above the port suddenly flashed with a dazzling blue light. Then, with a tremendous jolt, an invisible electromagnetic pulse radiated outwards in a shockwave!

Voom!

In an instant, all the lights in the passage exploded in a flash of sparks. The electromagnetic railguns on the spaceport all went dead. The lights inside the four trains also went out in an instant, and the systems shut down!

The people inside the trains felt a sudden darkness, and the drive motors let out a whimpering groan before slowly stopping.

“Damn it, an EMP! The engines have shut down!”

In the cockpit of the rapidly ascending Dragon Mountain One, Shi Diyuan’s eyes were wide with terror, and he shot up from his seat.

“Restart the system immediately! We can’t lose our initial velocity!”

Inside the Silver Star, Jian Zeyang’s face was deathly pale as he roared at the train’s engineer.

“How long will it take?!” Jian Xuwei’s sharp voice came through.

“Ten seconds!” the engineer shouted in a panic.

“Not enough time! If we lose this much initial velocity, the Horizon Braking System won’t be able to hold on!” Jian Zeyang shouted frantically at Jian Xuwei. “Sister, we have to decouple! Otherwise, everyone will fall!”

Vrooo…

The four trains, which had been ascending powerfully, suddenly began to decelerate. On the Iron Guard transport train, Bai Shuang’s face paled. “How could this happen!?”

“It must be that Atmospheric Cloud Jellyfish!” Wei Kexue’s face was white as a sheet. He watched the rapidly decreasing speed and exclaimed, “It’s over, we’re going to fall.”

The worst-case scenario had happened!

In that instant, a chill ran down the spines of the tens of thousands of survivors on the ascent.

“Oh no, why did it stop…”

“Are we going to fall?!”

“Heavens…”

“It’s over, it’s over.”

On the Silver Star, Jian Xuwei watched the system restart countdown, her face grim. Just as she was about to pick up the communicator to order the train to decouple, the communicator rang first.

“All trains, do not decouple!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Lin Xian’s voice came through the communicator. In the next instant, three crisp metallic sounds rang out. Several traction cables suddenly connected to the mechanical traction devices of the other three trains. Then, under the astonished gazes of Jian Xuwei, Jian Zeyang, Shi Diyuan, Bai Shuang, and Wei Kexue, a black heavy-duty train erupted with the powerful roar of an internal combustion engine, forcibly halting the deceleration of the other three trains and surging past them!

“Go for it!”

On the Infinity, Lin Xian’s eyes were bloodshot, his Mechanical Heart spinning wildly. The ten-cylinder gas turbine engine of the Whale 03E roared, the power turbine spinning furiously, burning with the final glory of the internal combustion engine, pulling three trains and 2,696 vehicles up the ascent track, against the odds!

On the other side, KIKI’s hair flew as she gritted her teeth, using her psionic power to press the entire train firmly onto the track while also giving it an upward boost.

Whoosh!

In the high-altitude ascent passage, an upward draft of air also surged!

Jiang Yun, sitting in his off-road vehicle at the back, used every ounce of his strength with his wind Esper ability.

Screech! Screech! Screech!!

The power turbine of the Whale 03E let out a surging roar, and the cars of the Infinity trembled with the sound of tearing steel!

“Hold on!”

Lin Xian felt a rush of blood to his head. He knew that the Infinity alone couldn’t possibly pull these three trains. All he could do was buy the other trains a moment of breathing room to restart their engines!

Screech!!

Under the explosive power output of the Infinity, the rapidly decreasing initial velocity was miraculously halted for a short time!

Jian Xuwei’s chest heaved. She watched as the high-pressure threshold of the Horizon Braking System on the display shot up to 28%. The ten seconds felt like several hours. In a heart-pounding instant, the train finally completed its engine restart!

VROOOOM!!!!

The Eternal-class train, the Silver Star, began to output ferocious power, accelerating once again. The Iron Guard train and the Dragon Mountain One also powered up simultaneously.

The speed picked up again!

“It stabilized?!” Bai Shuang and Wei Kexue were dumbfounded.

“Unbelievable!” Shi Diyuan was covered in cold sweat.

“Full speed ahead!” Jian Xuwei commanded sharply!

3,000 meters!

4,000 meters!

The increasing air pressure made everyone’s eardrums ache. In the roaring passage, they felt the world spin. Under the immense pulling force, the four trains finally rushed onto the Sky-Corridor.

As the terrain suddenly leveled out, a huge aerial tunnel appeared in their line of sight, stretching straight ahead, with no end in sight.

“We did it! We’re up here!!!”

As all the traction platforms behind them entered the Sky-Corridor, countless people began to cheer.

“Heavens, we’re in the Sky-Corridor!”

“We made it, we made it!”

“We survived…”