Apocalypse: I Build A Doomsday Train-Chapter 41 - 37: Outpost

Drip, drip

18:45, darkness descends.

On the North Bay Platform, the "Infinity" stood quietly in thick fog, and Chen Sixuan onboard was extremely anxious at this moment. The only thing coming from the walkie-talkie was dead silence, without any sign of signal fluctuation, which involuntarily raised her heart to her throat.

She looked out the window uneasily, the dense fog seeming to come alive, wrapping around every bit of space, magnifying the darkness of the night endlessly.

Cold air condensed on the window, and within the depth of the fog seemed to lurk some unknown and terrifying entity, inducing chills and invoking all sorts of ominous premonitions.

Swoosh.

Chen Sixuan pulled down the blackout curtain, found a handy crowbar from the toolbox in carriage 3 to use as a weapon, and sat silently on the couch, always alert to her surroundings.

"They’re both superpower users; they should be able to handle whatever situation arises."

It wasn’t the first time Lin Xian hadn’t returned on time, the only thing she could do now was to guard the train while simultaneously not attracting the attention of any monsters.

Howl—

Just then, a low and powerful roar of an engine suddenly arose in the distance, piercing through the mist barrier and striking Chen Sixuan’s eardrums, an oddly abrupt sound contrasting sharply with the surrounding stillness, instantly heightening her alertness.

She immediately stood up and went to the cockpit, looked out through the window glass, and unexpectedly saw a locomotive with bright shimmering headlights slowly passing on a track at a distance.

Clank, clank.

Seeing this scene, Chen Sixuan immediately covered her mouth.

...

On the other side, things were progressing much smoother than expected. The convoy, consisting of dozens of vehicles, had been driving along the main road without much trouble, aside from a few monster corpses scattered here and there. For safety, it was an unspoken agreement among the teams not to shoot and attract more monsters.

The convoy soon passed through a patch of woods, and a sign reading [Military Restricted Area, No Entry] appeared ahead. Not long after, a sizable military base came into view.

But what used to be a tightly guarded military outpost had now become desolate and despondent, lying isolated at the base of the mountain, surrounded by silence and desolation.

Inside the high walls and watch towers, a group of survivors who had been hiding there opened the steel gate, moved aside the barricade, and let the vehicles enter one by one.

Now the night was pitch-black, countless headlights illuminated the scavenged outpost, in the courtyard laid a few stripped-down Jeep frames, a heavy TFV600 twin-barrel tank with its tracks broken and range finder removed, and most notably, a damaged ’Iron Guard 3’ military strike armor.

"Holy shit, they have this!?"

On the Black Serpent Team, a youth clearly a technician of the team, quickly jumped from the vehicle, his eyes lighting up instantly.

"It’s already broken."

Tang Hai ordered his men to close the outpost’s gate, then came over and said, "The interstellar army had already evacuated before the last polar night, this thing is practically just a hunk of iron now, we have already looked over what could be used."

No one doubted his words, but many who had never seen such military armors up close were quickly drawn to spectate.

"Wu Songlin, Eagle, look around and see what can be put to use, take whatever you can." Qian Yu clearly had more confidence in his skilled men, and immediately arranged for them to search for useful materials again, such as usable armored steel, which they could cut at high speed for the team’s use.

"You guys wouldn’t mind, right?" Qian Yu’s gaze turned towards Tang Hai, speaking in a probing tone.

"We don’t mind," Tang Hai said with an embarrassed smile, appearing easy to talk to.

He turned back to look towards a mountain’s base, not far away, an enormous structure caught his eye—it was a large-scale air raid shelter with its entrance sealed tight by a thick steel door, although weathered by storm and rain, it still exuded an air of indestructible majesty. "We have 46 people, and we stayed in that air raid shelter for nearly three months, and now, only about these last 20 people remain. This place has high walls and thick doors, everyone can rest together tonight, and we’ll set off at first light tomorrow."

"Wow, Lin Xian, look!"

At that moment, KIKI and Lin Xian also got off the vehicle and walked towards the crowd.

The moment she saw the nearly three meters tall humanoid war armor, her eyes shone, "So cool, it would be awesome if it could be operated, but I still prefer the Guardian series, they’re not so cumbersome."

Lin Xian had also noticed the imposing colossus, his eyes flashing with fervor, his Mechanical Heart filled with intense desire.

Such military heavy machineries had always been his goal ever since the apocalypse, but in the city, he never had the chance to come close to these technologies.

He had previously formed a very clear idea—in order to enhance his combat strength, besides attribute enhancement, he could further develop his Mechanical Heart superpower.

For example—self-armor integration!

Combat limbs, rapid weapon systems, etc., were all more reliable than his own short knife combat.

Besides all sorts of industrial and military armors, whether tank cannons, railguns, close-in weapon systems, or various automated weapon systems and intelligent machinery if he could integrate them into his "Infinity" by devouring or scanning a blueprint, the thought itself was exhilarating.

"By the way, where are your other team members, or is it just the two of you?" Qian Yu looked at Lin Xian and KIKI, suddenly asked.

"We don’t have many people." Lin Xian responded casually, not wanting to engage too much with Qian Yu, his attention was on the damaged ’Iron Guard 3’ military strike armor, and quietly activated the scanning system of the Mechanical Heart. He found that many subsystems of the armor were missing, and the core drive had long been hollowed out, unable to scan a complete blueprint.

He sighed internally, ready to give up, yet he also had the same idea as Qian Yu’s subordinate Wu Songlin, to take away the body panels, including the heavy TFV600 twin-barrel tank’s body.

However, with no tools at hand and only himself and KIKI, aside from devouring, there was nothing else he could do.

"Not many people?" Qian Yu raised an eyebrow, speaking bluntly, "How about you join my vehicle team, whether it’s weapons or food, I’ve got enough to cover everything, what do you say?"

As these words were uttered, including Tang Hai, the expressions of the people from other teams became complicated.

Under such circumstances, to begin poaching directly was quite bold.

However, the boldness of the Black Serpent Team was not without reason; as a medium-sized armed group, their survival capability in the post-apocalyptic world was exceptionally strong, which was evident from the team’s setup.

Not only did they have armored vehicles, trucks, and tankers, but they even had specialized technical staff, and many small teams had thought about joining.

In such a drifting post-apocalyptic world, who wouldn’t want to rely on a big tree?

But as soon as Qian Yu spoke, Lin Xian simply declined with a light smile, "No need, thank you."

Lin Xian’s rejection immediately changed Qian Yu’s expression, a flicker of anger passing through his eyes.

"How about this beauty then?" Qian Yu suddenly shifted his focus to KIKI, speaking dismissively, "Would you consider joining my team?"

Hearing this, KIKI’s expression became odd as she glanced over Lin Xian, then turned to Qian Yu, "What, me?"

Qian Yu glanced at the two, his face bearing a fake smile, "What, are you a couple?"

"Not really."

"Relatives?"

"Not that either," KIKI squinted her eyes and smiled.

Upon hearing this, Qian Yu’s face lit up with joy; he looked at Lin Xian with an inexplicable gaze and loudly said, "Since you are neither relatives nor related, then it doesn’t matter. My team welcomes capable people. If the lady is willing, I can prepare a motorhome for you alone, with all food and supplies covered, and 24-hour protection."

As soon as these words came out, a murderous intent flashed across Lin Xian’s eyes instantly.

Phew!

A fierce gust exploded, and smack! The sunglasses hanging on Qian Yu’s forehead were abruptly shattered, the intense force causing him and his whole body to stagger backward repeatedly.

Click, click, click, click!

The next instant, Eagle and a flock of his men behind him raised their guns, the smell of gunpowder flaring up!

"Are you an idiot, trying to poach my people right in front of me, do you think I’d be embarrassed to kill you?"

Lin Xian’s gaze turned slightly cold, a formidable deterrence emanating from him, with no one seeing how he made his move!

"You!"

Qian Yu stumbled back towards his men, feeling a chilling sense of impending death on his forehead. By the time he reacted, he was immediately infuriated, drew his handgun, and aimed it at Lin Xian.

"I’ll kill you!"

"Really? Then shoot."

Facing over a dozen guns, Lin Xian remained unflustered, his gaze sharp as he watched Qian Yu.

"Let’s see who dies first, you or me?"

Tang Hai who was watching the drama by the side had a somber look, while Feng Yuming behind him watched the scene with great interest, seemingly indifferent to the fragile ’temporary alliance’ that was about to erupt into fire.

At this moment, KIKI walked over and hugged Lin Xian’s shoulder, her small face lifted towards that row of gun muzzles.

"What, you want to fight? Good, I’ve been eyeing your dozen or so vehicles filled with goodies. Hey, bad guys~" she said, looking towards Lin Xian, "Shall we just..." then she made a throat-slashing gesture.

As these words came out, the people from the other vehicles around them suddenly changed their facial expressions, unconsciously stepping back, fearing being implicated.

The image of KIKI single-handedly wiping out a vehicle was still lingering in everyone’s minds, and no one could imagine what chance they would have fighting such a woman.

Hearing this, the rage in Qian Yu’s eyes suddenly froze, he raised his hand to stop his men, his expression shifting unpredictably as he looked at the two, suddenly feeling rather unsettled.

To be honest, after being rejected by Lin Xian, Qian Yu was indeed provoked and so he turned to KIKI, but he didn’t expect Lin Xian to strike at him directly!

And from the tone of his opponent, it seemed like he and KIKI were the ones being surrounded by his hundreds of men?

At this moment, cold sweat poured down Qian Yu’s face, feeling a tremendous threat, but with harsh words already said, he found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

On the other hand, a hint of surprise flashed through Lin Xian’s eyes; he glanced at the small hand wrapped around his shoulder by KIKI, somewhat puzzled.

First of all, he and KIKI weren’t acquainted for long, barely even friends through a few days of shared hardship.

Moreover, Lin Xian hadn’t given KIKI any reason to stay; in fact, his attitude towards her wasn’t even considered cold, so Lin Xian wouldn’t have been surprised if KIKI decided to leave or join some other_TEAM.

However, faced with Qian Yu’s unscrupulous tactics, he had to respond.

Unexpectedly, KIKI firmly stood by his side, which upon reflection, showed she wasn’t foolish.

...