Chapter 89: Hot Pot (3rd Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets)

The late-night marauders, coupled with the encounter with the great anomaly, was a perilous experience that left everyone in a cold sweat.

Whirr~

The ramp of Car 5 lowered. Two flashlight beams switched on. Lin Xian and Dalou looked at the scene outside, their faces involuntarily changing.

Aside from “devastating,” Lin Xian couldn’t think of any other word to describe it.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The blizzard raged, pouring into the car. Lin Xian closed the gate connecting Car 5 to Car 4. The light shone through, revealing the two vehicles on the flatbed car behind. Besides the armored car, which was still recognizable, the other off-road vehicle had been reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

The tentacles of that atmospheric jellyfish had swept along the railway tracks, and the large convoy of midnight marauders was now completely wiped out.

Forget people, not even bones could be seen. The sides of the road and the hillsides were splattered with blood and various car fragments. The ground was torn up into one-to-two-meter-deep black trenches, which were quickly covered by a layer of white from the blizzard.

Lin Xian tightened his collar, jumped out of the train, and looked at the train’s exterior armor, his expression grave as he marveled.

“It’s a good thing we reinforced the roof, otherwise we would have been finished this time.”

Most of the train’s armor was now deformed. The sturdy high-manganese steel armor was covered in drag marks, and the sleepers on the track beneath the train were almost all shattered.

Lin Xian was filled with relief. If he hadn’t spent two nights in Yuchi upgrading the entire train’s armor, it was likely no one would have survived tonight.

“Brother Xian, can this be repaired?”

It was the first time Lin Xian had seen an expression called “terror” on this big guy’s face. Indeed, Lin Xian was also shocked.

But strangely, he found that after entering the fear illusion of the 1542 frequency, his threshold for fear seemed to have increased significantly. He wasn’t as scared now.

“It’s not a big problem.” Lin Xian let out a breath, looking at the entire train. “It’ll just take some time. It’s better than losing our lives.”

In the apocalypse, everything was scarce. As long as you didn’t lose your life, nothing was a problem.

“Let’s go, we’ll fix the track first. If we run into any more trouble, we’ll be trapped here.”

At this moment, Kiki walked out of Car 5 and leaped down lightly.

“Lin Xian, I’ll help too.”

Lin Xian looked at her. “Didn’t I tell you to use the drone to scout the surroundings?”

“I’ve looked. Guess what.” Kiki pointed to the dark sky. “After that thing passed, besides us, there’s nothing else moving around here…”

Lin Xian frowned.

“That ruthless?”

Kiki nodded. “This thing is definitely not on the same level as the anomalies we’ve encountered before. Shasha just told me that she saw an Iron Guard Brigade during the day. I estimate they were here to deal with this thing.”

“The military? Then we need to hurry.”

Lin Xian’s expression darkened slightly. “If this thing crosses Great Luo Mountain and enters Yubei City, we might not be able to get on the high-altitude corridor.”

“That’s why I’m here to help.” Kiki put on a thick down jacket that Shasha had found in Yuchi City. The wind and snow howled incessantly, making her small face a little red from the cold.

She walked toward the front of the train. Lin Xian watched her back and suddenly called out to her.

“Zhao Enqi, that’s a nice name.”

“What’s so nice about it? My name is Kiki, you country bumpkin.” Kiki spat at him and walked forward without looking back.

Lin Xian smiled and said no more.

From Kiki’s reaction, she knew what had happened while she was unconscious.

Laying the track was simple in a way, but also troublesome.

Lin Xian had plenty of track steel in his decomposition space. The trouble was that the roadbed of the entire railway section was destroyed, and it needed to be backfilled with subgrade soil and laid with sleepers.

However, Lin Xian chose a simpler method: directly using a steel frame for simple paving. Fortunately, the damaged area was not large, so it wouldn’t be a big problem to barely get the train across.

Clang clang clang~

The steel frame and track steel were quickly formed under Lin Xian’s Mechanical Heart. Beams were erected and pillars were welded. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Kiki watched Lin Xian repair the track and glanced at him.

“How did it feel when the train flew that day?”

“Very exciting.” Lin Xian smiled helplessly. “I didn’t expect us to be so crazy.”

“If we weren’t crazy, we’d be dead!”

Kiki wrinkled her small nose, an expression of asking for credit on her face. “You said you wanted to soar to the sky. See, I helped you achieve the first step.”

“Indeed, you get the top credit.”

“Hehe~”

“But…”

Lin Xian looked at the trenches on the track ahead and sighed. “The night is full of dangers. We’ve already encountered two broken tracks before we even got on the Huanxing track. It looks like we’ll have no shortage of such problems in the future. We must solve this problem first.”

Kiki raised her hand and activated her ability, placing a section of track steel that Lin Xian had forged onto the steel frame. Then she said, “If we follow your plan, the first stage is to get the train to run off the tracks. The most direct method is to turn the drive wheels into tracks. But there are many disadvantages: speed, energy consumption, noise, and failure rate are all problems…”

Lin Xian didn’t refute, but said, “It’s impossible to get fat in one bite. The main line of the Huanxing track should be clear at the moment, otherwise the Federation’s Phoenix wouldn’t be able to mobilize the Interstellar Army’s Iron Guard Brigade in such large numbers. In fact, it’s only been a few months since Apocalypse Day, and both the Federation’s Phoenix and the remaining survivors have already begun to adapt, investigate, and research during their constant escape…”

“Although we’re hiding everywhere now, it’s certain that we’re getting more and more information. The true face of the anomalies will gradually emerge, and the exploration of the metahuman’s Aether value is also constantly growing. It’s just that we don’t have enough power to resist right now, so we have to flee east to gain time for survival, development, and respite. So whether it’s tracks, maglev, or wheels, as long as we can solve the problem of broken tracks in the short term, we’ve achieved our goal…”

“I understand what you mean.” Kiki let out a long breath. “Anyway, having one more option is better than having no options. Living one more day is better than waiting to die on the spot.”

“Right.” Lin Xian nodded. “First, solve the problem of having it or not.”

“So we have to go to Underground City No. 9,” Kiki walked over and patted Lin Xian’s shoulder with a serious expression. “We’re all counting on your mechanical ability, Train Master. Join the glorious mechanical evolution, ha!”

“What, have I been upgraded from a bad guy to the Train Master now?” Lin Xian looked at her with interest.

“That’s right. You have now officially been upgraded to my, Kiki’s, exclusive Train Master.”

Kiki winked at him. “Work hard. This young lady’s life is in your hands.”

Lin Xian: …

Back on the train, the heating inside had already been turned on by Lin Xian in advance, and the car was incredibly warm.

Although a lot of the armor was deformed, the Infinity as a whole was not severely damaged. The interior cars were all intact, and there were no drafts.

Woo woo~

The howling blizzard furiously battered the heavy train parked in the dark night. Through the gaps in the blackout panels, the inside of the train was filled with a warm yellow light, giving a great sense of security.

Chen Sixuan, like a matriarch, had cooked a large pot of “apocalyptic hot pot” with canned beans, canned beef brisket, canned braised pork, canned vegetables, plus bagged bamboo shoots and vermicelli. The aroma of meat filled Car 1, and steam rose from the dining table. Chen Sixuan had also gotten Kiki her favorite canned fruit, as well as the red wine confiscated from Tang Hai.

“To Brother Lin’s safe return and Sister Kiki’s recovery, cheers everyone!”

At the dining table, Shasha was excited, raising her wine glass high.

“To everyone living another day, cheers!” Lin Xian also raised his glass.

“To the evolution of my ability, cheers!” Kiki giggled.

“Huh?” Everyone’s eyes swept over to her.

Kiki clicked her tongue and looked around at the four of them. “What are you all staring at? Cheers first!”

“Cheers!!”