Chapter 155: Emergency Deployment

The terrifying colossal shadow in the sky was like a mountain. The massive silhouette, revealed in a flash of lightning, instantly brought a suffocating sense of oppression to all the survivors.

“Heavens, what kind of monster is that…”

“So scary!”

“What do we do…”

“Look! The trains are starting to enter the Sky-Lift’s inner harbor!”

The survivors on the plaza went from panic to astonishment after learning of the emergency response team’s plan, and the crowd erupted in a clamor.

Following the complete annihilation of the Federation Investigation Team’s airships, the spaceport’s anti-air defenses re-targeted the Aberration.

Whoosh~

The Iron Guard Brigade’s three remaining Warhawk-class gunships and multiple Lightning-2 aerospace fighters all took to the sky, heading for the behemoth above the clouds.

“Warhawk 02, 03, be advised, do not engage in a dogfight. Draw the target’s attention toward the front of the spaceport.”

“Warhawk 02, roger.”

“Warhawk 03, roger.”

Clank, clank~

The gunships’ missile bays slowly opened, and several large air-to-air missiles shot out. Simultaneously, the airborne I-17 multi-petal plasma cannons at the front of the gunships began to gather electrical light.

Boom! Boom!

Two dazzling plasma beams streaked across the sky and exploded in the clouds. The light illuminated a gigantic, slowly undulating jellyfish-like bell.

Zhang Dingzhong led his troops to Area E in the center of the spaceport. This was the central axis facing Yubei City. The elevated tracks and the wide street below, stretching straight for several kilometers, were now a black mass, completely filled with a tide of corpses. A large number of monstrous insects and human-faced Aberrations swarmed within. Every time the few 1130 close-in weapon systems finished cooling down, they would unleash another devastating storm of metal, annihilating vast numbers of the corrupted creatures!

“Ma Xiaotang, deploy those few Iron Guard 3 and Destroyer mechs to Area A, Area C, and here. Get the ones under repair up and running too. As long as their weapons can still fire, use them as defensive fortifications. You have two hours. You must hold the line, even if it’s down to the last man!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Zhan Wei, what about your guard regiment’s patrol mechs? Bring them all out.”

“Most were destroyed in the last EMP blast. There’s only one left.” Zhan Wei walked forward, holding a machine gun, and let loose a burst of fire, mowing down a wave of zombies climbing up. “Old Chief, let me pilot it.”

A tall, white armed mech was brought over by a transport vehicle. Zhan Wei immediately rushed forward, got into the cockpit, and started the engine at the rear of the mech. Vroom~

The engine roared. Zhan Wei raised the control arms, and the mech’s two massive arms lifted. The left arm was a six-barreled rapid-fire Gatling cannon, and the right was a 60mm heavy grenade launcher. He then jumped off the transport vehicle and charged toward the front line.

The battle continued to escalate!

“Hold the line, brothers!”

“Don’t let these bastards break through!”

“Watch out for the Aberration’s flame jets below!”

Boom! Boom!

“Number 2 autocannon, prepare to reload!”

“We need flamethrowers!”

“…”

Tracer rounds tore through the sky, and the light of explosions illuminated the entire Spaceport One.

…

Meanwhile, in the Sky-Lift’s ascent-track hall, four large, futuristic-looking trains were already positioned side-by-side on the four elevator tracks. Behind them were yellow, conveyor-belt-like traction platforms. Each of these modular platforms was 100 meters long and could secure about 20 vehicles.

In front of the vehicle traction platforms were four large ascent tractors, connecting the platforms to the trains. Once they successfully entered the Sky-Corridor, the vehicle platforms would be electromagnetically accelerated by these devices.

Under the command of the emergency response team and the various convoy leaders, a large number of vehicles were now lining up to enter the preparation hall and drive onto the traction platforms. Thousands of people in the ascent-track hall were busy at work. Some were helping each other, while some young people got out of their cars to assist other convoys, helping the emergency response team secure the vehicles.

Outside, the sounds of battle raged. The electromagnetic railguns above fired continuously. Due to the unstable power supply, the lights in the ascent-track hall would dim from time to time before brightening again.

Faced with the terrifying monster in the sky, some prayed ceaselessly, while others had faces pale with terror. Everyone’s life hung by a thread, yet they could only bury their heads and carry out this almost insane plan.

To rush up to the Sky-Corridor without the aid of the Sky-Lift was undoubtedly a trial filled with thrill and uncertainty.

If the traction cables snapped, if the Sky-Lift and the Sky-Corridor collapsed, if the corpse tide broke through…

No one could imagine what they would face in the next second.

For all the survivors here, this was destined to be a long and dark night.

On the train tracks ahead, Chen Sixuan was using a flashlight, checking the Horizon Braking System of the Whale 03E heavy-duty gas turbine locomotive with Da Lou. The onboard system was also performing a self-check. The members of Team Infinity, except for Ding Junyi, were all incredibly nervous.

Compared to the other three large trains, the Infinity seemed rather ‘slender’. Although it also had a quasi-intercontinental class Gemini 11R nuclear-powered electric locomotive, it was clearly inferior to the other three in terms of both power and onboard equipment.

Therefore, the Infinity was assigned the fewest traction platforms.

According to the allocation by Bai Shuang’s emergency response team, based on the remaining power and load capacity of the trains, the Silver Star was assigned 1,000 vehicles, with more than 50 traction platforms behind it. The Dragon Mountain One was assigned 700 vehicles, and the Iron Guard Brigade’s intercontinental-class train was assigned 600. Lin Xian’s Infinity was assigned only a little over 400.

The convoys of Shu Qin, Xu Jin, Old Mo, and Jiang Yun were all attached to the traction platforms on the Infinity.

According to the plan, once they successfully entered the Sky-Corridor, all four trains would detach from the traction platforms and be merged onto a single track by the system, allowing the vehicles behind to pass first via electromagnetic acceleration from the platforms. The four trains would then re-diverge onto separate tracks and use their own engines to accelerate through the Great Pillar Plateau.

Lin Xian was currently manufacturing and connecting the train’s traction cables with the help of KIKI and Jiang Yun.

Wei Kexue had brought down the dozen or so maintenance robots to help with supplementary welding.

“I’ve set up a decoupling device. As soon as we’re on the corridor, we can complete the detachment and save some time.”

Lin Xian was sweating profusely, constantly checking the time on his watch. “KIKI, our train only has one Horizon Braking System, unlike the Silver Star, which has a very high overall configuration with eight drive units. So, in a critical situation, you have to help me hold the train steady, otherwise the mechanical traction hooks for the ascent might break.”

“I know,” KIKI nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Jiang Yun walked over and looked at him. “There’s more than one Esper who can help. I’ll step in at the critical moment too.”

A wind-based Esper ability could indeed provide significant assistance at a time like this. Lin Xian nodded. “Thanks.”

This plan had been brewing in Lin Xian’s mind for quite some time tonight. He had been prepared to propose it during his discussion with Wei Kexue. However, the plan was indeed very risky. If the situation hadn’t become so dire, who would be willing to attempt such a high-risk operation?

Seeing the tension in Lin Xian’s expression, KIKI’s eyes flickered. “Lin Xian, I believe in you. I think this plan will definitely succeed.”

“Thanks.”

Lin Xian took a deep breath, his hands moving ceaselessly. “To be honest, I’m not confident either. Just like that Jian Zeyang said, if it were just us rushing up, the chances of success would be much higher.”

From a human perspective, Lin Xian actually shared Jian Zeyang’s thoughts. If the spaceport had opened the other passages without any regard for order, these trains might have already left on their own, without needing to queue for the Sky-Lift.

The risks Wei Kexue had mentioned were actually just potential problems. At worst, they would be criticized for disregarding the safety of the escape route and forcing these risks onto the vehicle convoys behind them.

So, Lin Xian also understood that Bai Shuang had actually considered this, and perhaps even did it intentionally.

The Iron Guard Brigade had already suffered a major setback and was forced to fall back to defend the spaceport. The Silver Star and Dragon Mountain One, on the other hand, not only had powerful firepower but also a large number of people, which could increase their defensive strength at a critical moment.

If he could think of this, then Jian Xuwei, Jian Zeyang, and Shi Diyuan could certainly think of it too. It was just that under these circumstances, if they insisted on acting independently, defying the emergency response team, and rushing off without regard for the spaceport’s management, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the other survivors and even trigger conflict.

Under the premise of being besieged by the corpse tide, everyone chose to fight together. Bai Shuang had already done a good job of controlling the situation. If it weren’t for the sudden earthquake and the trouble caused by the Federation Investigation Team, things might not have deteriorated so quickly.

Lin Xian’s plan was not born from a desire to be a hero or act out of a grand sense of duty, but from the consideration that it was indeed a solution that could both take care of themselves and evacuate everyone more quickly.

BOOM-RUMBLE!

At that moment, an even stronger tremor than before struck again.