Chapter 207: Entering the Night

Under the gloomy sky, the rain poured down.

The outline of Rain Town merged with the skyline under a blanket of burning black smoke.

On the train, the atmosphere was a mix of tension and excitement.

For everyone, this was the first time since Apocalypse Day that they had actively and directly killed an Aberration. The oppressive feeling of being on the run for months seemed to be released at this moment. The originally gloomy and dull feeling in the carriage had dissipated by more than half.

However, everyone knew that now was not the time to rest. Night was about to fall, and a situation like last night’s siege by Aberrations could happen again. Shu Qin dared not relax for a moment and began to prepare ammunition with a group of people.

The previous battle had used up nearly 80% of the ammunition on the train. The ammunition chain for the 1130 close-in weapon system was also empty. Fortunately, this powerful weapon had shown its might, directly stopping the mimic giant louse on the hillside outside the station.

Lin Xian was also busy. He, along with Da Lou and Shasha, was in car number 5, quickly manufacturing bullets and distributing them to deal with what might happen next.

In car number 2, KIKI was responsible for monitoring the entire train’s situation, while Ding Junyi and Chen Sixuan were also paying attention to the information on the dark radio.

“Zzz…”

“Zzz…”

“Federation… Phoenix Society global announcement. The dark tide boundary of Star Abyss No. 3 will merge with Star Abyss No. 5 in the Quancheng and Tagan Desert areas in 36 days. Survivors moving in the northeast direction are advised to evacuate in time. The Phoenix Society has set up assistance service points in Xilan and Quancheng. The tide boundary of Star Abyss No. 7 will merge with Star Abyss No. 5 in the Weihe, Longjiang, and Jinhai areas in 29 days. Survivors moving east towards Star City, Kangcheng, and Yongcheng Port are advised to evacuate in time. The Phoenix Society has set up assistance service points in Jinhai and Yongcheng Port…”

“Federation radio Yunjiang Plain area announcement. The Nightcrawler reconnaissance team recently discovered traces of an S-class Aberration deep in the Parma grasslands…”

“Zzz… Federation Phoenix Society global announcement. The current location of the Dawn Center is the northern foot of the Yun’an Mountains, coordinates 116.3913447°, 39.9053937°. The Dawn Center will arrive in Tianji in 4 days…”

“Federation Phoenix Society global announcement. According to further investigation by the Nightcrawler organization, long-term exposure to the night may increase the probability of dark infection. It is recommended that adult survivors do not stay in the night for more than 48 consecutive hours. The elderly, the sick, and those with long-term hereditary diseases should not exceed 24 hours.”

“Can’t stay in the night for a long time. It seems the theory of night invasion has been basically confirmed.” Lin Xian walked into car number 2. “Regarding the [Dark Mark], if there is no large-scale appearance of Aberrations after we enter the night later, we can confirm this logic. The next step is to find the people from the Phoenix Society.”

“On the other hand, does this mean that the longer you can stay in the night, the faster your Esper ability will evolve?” KIKI suddenly had a groundbreaking thought.

Ding Junyi directly said upon hearing this, “If you consider the dark invasion as a catalyst for evolutionary power, you can understand it that way.”

“But from a biological logic perspective, there must be some kind of biological limit threshold. For example, plants need to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic matter and store energy through photosynthesis. This doesn’t mean that plants will photosynthesize 24 hours a day without interruption. In fact, plants also have a work and rest schedule. They photosynthesize during the day to produce energy, and respire at night, consuming energy and releasing carbon dioxide. If they are exposed to the sun for 24 hours, it will break their growth pattern and lead to death.”

“What’s more, the energy of this dark invasion is unknown, and its harm to the human body is also unknown. Only Adventist factions like the Holy Revelation would regard the energy of the dark invasion as a treasure for human evolution.”

Lin Xian couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this. “It sounds like Aberrations need the night, and humans need sunlight. And the dark tide is to cover the entire world in polar night. So if we want to be able to defeat these monsters in the night, we may not only have to find answers in the night, but also in the day.”

Lin Xian’s words made Ding Junyi’s face change. She looked at Lin Xian without moving, and for a long time, she seemed to be seriously thinking about this problem. Then she walked away directly to car number 3.

“It seems you’ve reminded her of something,” Chen Sixuan said, looking at Ding Junyi’s reaction.

“If only it were that simple.” Lin Xian shrugged and looked at Chen Sixuan. “Teacher Chen, get ready. We’re about to set off.”

There were still more than ten minutes until dark. Lin Xian didn’t want to wait until after dark when Aberrations appeared to set off slowly. It was best to accelerate in advance. Even if they encountered a situation, they could use the train’s high-speed advantage to break through.

Chen Sixuan nodded, then said with some confusion, “I thought you would test it here first.”

“No need. There are too many corpses here. If we want to make a comparison, it’s better to go to an open place.”

“You do have some experimental spirit,” KIKI glanced at him and said with a smile. “It seems Director Ding has had a great influence on you.”

“One must be rigorous when it’s necessary.”

Lin Xian said helplessly, “It concerns the lives of so many people. If this is confirmed, our risks will be much smaller in the future.”

“The ‘much smaller’ you’re talking about, does it mean not running away when we encounter an Aberration and having to stop and kill it?” KIKI sat cross-legged on the chair, slowly floating up, and looked at Lin Xian with interest. “Have you ever thought that even if other survivors know about the dark mark, do they have the ability to solve it?”

“You’ve misunderstood.”

Lin Xian said with a serious expression, “Running is definitely the first priority when encountering an unbeatable existence. But knowing that night creatures have a marking system gives survivors another choice. If you just run away without doing anything, this marking will be like a chain reaction, pushing the situation to an unbearable point. But if it’s just some C-class Aberrations, more people might choose to fight back. Partial casualties versus total annihilation is a choice. Of course, I don’t think every survivor will encounter an S-class Aberration, but like in Yubei City, when all the marks are concentrated, all kinds of monsters from the sky and the ground will come. That’s the most desperate situation.”

“So the best survival strategy is to kill the first hunter and then re-enter a silent state. This way, we might be much safer in the night.”

KIKI frowned in thought upon hearing this, then nodded with deep meaning. “Insightful~”

Lin Xian said no more, directly started the Infinity, and then walked into the cockpit with Chen Sixuan.

“Are the bullets not enough?”

“Barely enough. The 1130 can’t be used yet.” Lin Xian frowned and urged the train to accelerate. “There’s not much time. We have to take a gamble now.”

Lin Xian’s stamina was also at its limit. The corpse of the great parasite was still burning on the hillside. He didn’t want to stay in this place any longer. He had to leave Rain Town and test whether the [mark] had been cleared.

Whoosh!

The Infinity began to gradually accelerate, driving out of the valley in the heavy rain and heading towards the main ring-star track.

Along the way, Lin Xian saw some severed limbs and pieces of flesh on the tracks, which seemed to be left over from when they rushed out last night.

Beep, beep, beep.

The alarm on his watch went off. Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan’s expressions changed at the same time. The lights of the Infinity turned on. The two of them looked ahead with solemn expressions, their hearts in their throats.

In the carriage, everyone held their breath, waiting for the tide to arrive.

Hum!

Above the sky, a mysterious light flickered.

The sky, which had just been covered with dark clouds and heavy rain, was suddenly covered by a black curtain. The sky instantly darkened, and the mountain forest next to the track became pitch black, with only the outlines of some trees visible.

At this moment, Lin Xian even held his breath for a second.