Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 240: Joint Shelter

“Whew~”

After finishing the last batch of bullets, Lin Xian felt it was about time. He stood up and stretched his muscles a little. This batch of ammunition was at least enough for the 1130 to fire a full cycle, and for the convoy members, their magazines could last about four or five rounds.

“All the ammo consumption falls on me to replenish... My two hands are getting tied up.”

Lin Xian sighed, looking at the massive pile of bullets before him. The materials he had stored in the Disassembly Center had been significantly depleted.

“If only I could build a bullet factory on the train…”

The thought had just surfaced in his mind before he quickly dismissed it.

Bullets might seem simple, but different calibers and manufacturing processes involved intricate production flows. It wasn't something that could be handled with just one or two machines. Multiple production lines would be needed just for making bullets, which wasn’t an ideal development model. It would be better to invest in electromagnetic cannons or energy weapons in the future—those might be more reliable.

Whooo~~

With the entire train fully prepped and the ammunition stocked, Lin Xian walked to the front cockpit and began starting up the train. At the same time, he spoke into the communicator:

“Attention, everyone. This time, we’re dealing with a Level-3 Dark Mark. Once night falls, there’s a high probability we’ll face the same kind of eerie siege we encountered in Jiazhou City and Rain Town. There’s also a chance we’ll run into large-class eerie entities. Be mentally prepared!”

The Infinite Train advanced towards the Northern Route.

After speaking, Lin Xian sat in the driver's seat, picked up the food Chen Sixuan had given him, and started eating. He needed to rest and regain some energy in preparation for what awaited them after nightfall.

As the Infinite Train entered the Northern Track, it accelerated forward. The golden glow of the setting sun bathed the dead, abandoned city in a soft light, casting elongated shadows of buildings that swept continuously across the train cars.

Car No. 2

KIKI was sitting with Shasha, pointing at an image of a mecha’s interior on the computer screen.

“This here is the emergency valve. In critical situations, it can release the upper chamber locks, allowing an escape from the back of the mecha.”

“Don’t use the flamethrower recklessly. Against regular eerie entities, close-range burns won’t do much. If one gets too close, focus on creating distance instead.”

“Got it, KIKI-jie.”

“You got sh*t. Pay attention and remember this properly.”

Car No. 5

Inside Car No. 5, Luo Ye, Shu Qin, and Lü Chang were loading their firearms.

“The machine guns won’t last long. We need to stagger our firepower while reloading to maintain continuous suppression.” Shu Qin tossed a magazine to Lü Chang. “Got it? You don’t have an Ability. If Lin Xian doesn’t give the order, don’t just rush in with a knife. You think you’re like Luo Ge, with an Ability that makes you unkillable?”

Luo Ye cleared his throat while loading his magazine. “I can still die. It just hurts like hell.”

Hoo~ Snore~

On the other side, Lu Xingchen was lying on a recliner, wearing light-blocking goggles, seemingly taking a nap—resting up for the coming battle.

Car No. 3

Ding Junyi had set up multiple sensors and monitoring devices around the Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum and some other plants to track energy fluctuations from the Dark Mark during the night. After finishing, she picked up a small plant cultivation pod and returned to the rest area.

Inside the container was a green vine plant. She placed it on the table and focused her mind, trying to sense the plant’s energy—testing the changes in her Ability.

Living Carriage

In the Living Carriage, teammates held their guns at the ready. Magazines were scattered across the walkways and bunks, and the air was thick with tension.

Cockpit

Chen Sixuan was focused on the road ahead, while Lin Xian sat beside her, resting.

“The temperature is dropping too fast. Good thing we came prepared.”

Chen Sixuan glanced at the temperature gauge—the interior of the train had already dropped to 6~7°C.

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes and murmured, “The Dark Tides are alive… These so-called natural disasters aren’t just natural shifts. Survivors need much more than just sheer willpower to make it.”

“What if the tracks are gone?”

Chen Sixuan suddenly turned to him. “Now that we’re off the Huanxing Main Rail, these branch-line tracks aren’t maintained by the Federation or the Phoenix Society. There’s a high chance the railbeds might be damaged.”

Lin Xian opened his eyes, shook his head slightly, and replied with a deep look in his eyes:

“There’s nothing we can do. Infinite Train’s drive system can only operate on rails. For short distances, we can repair the tracks ourselves, and KIKI can help. But if the damage is too extensive, we’d have to stop and reroute before the Dark Tides arrive.”

Taking a train off the rails was no easy feat. Even with his Mechanical Heart Ability, he couldn’t just modify the train’s drive wheels out of thin air.

Making the train fly was even more absurd. Flight wasn’t just about installing propulsion engines. A train was essentially a moving steel beam, lacking aerodynamic design or flight control systems. Even if they equipped every carriage with flight engines, they wouldn’t have the proper controls to keep it stable. Upgrading the train like that wasn’t feasible.

The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. Lin Xian simply closed his eyes again.

Originally, his Mechanical Heart had just reached Level 4, and the Infinite Train had gained significant upgrades. This should have been a time for rest and preparation—but the Dark Mark looming over them kept everyone on edge.

Seeing his agitation, Chen Sixuan walked over, placed her hands on his head, and gently massaged his temples.

“Enough. Don’t stress yourself out. Think about it this way—before, whenever night fell, we never knew what would happen. The darkness was an endless terror. But now, we can at least predict some of the dangers. If we can deal with them, and with the Soul Wave Detector, we might be able to find safer routes at night. We’ve moved from uncertainty to relative certainty—that’s already a step forward.”

“…Yeah.”

Her words cleared away much of the gloom in Lin Xian’s heart. She was right—before, the night was completely unknown. But now, they could foresee potential dangers.

At least now, they could be on guard and shift from pure defense to partial offense, reducing potential casualties.

Clang, clang~

The train slowly exited the main city, passing by Hengshan Pass’s industrial zone and moving towards the suburbs. The sun sank lower, casting long shadows over the distant mountains and dense broadleaf forests.

As the heavy train rumbled over the tracks, the trembling noise attracted a horde of zombies along the rails. Countless zombies chased after the train, only to be crushed by the Icebreaker Shield and Whale 03E’s iron wheels. The Infinite Train left Hengshan Pass behind.

Just as they reached the outskirts, Chen Sixuan suddenly noticed a large cluster of survivor vehicles—over a hundred—parked in an open clearing ahead.

Among them were large trucks, even modified bus-sized mobile living vehicles. At the forefront, a heavily armored all-terrain polar truck stood out—it seemed to belong to the convoy leader.

“Lin Xian.”

Chen Sixuan gave a heads-up.

Lin Xian had already noticed. Among the crowd, he spotted familiar vehicles and faces—including Liao Ming, who had warned him about Hu Lushou and Clearwater Town’s Dragon-Class Transport Ship.

It seemed… these people had been waiting for him.

Although taking the eastern route is also within the coverage of the Extreme Cold Vortex, there are many survivors traveling in this direction. With several major cities along the way and well-developed transportation routes, the chances of survival are relatively higher.

The more cautious convoys choose to detour around Abyss Zone No. 7 via the southern route. As for the northern route, unless using tracked vehicles or rail-mounted transports, it's rarely taken anymore.

Once past Yuan Pass, the journey gradually enters the Parma Grasslands. The northern railway runs along the Yunjiang Mountains, all the way to Xilan City.

Besides, this insect tide also sounds like a major problem.

“We’re not heading directly into the grasslands.” Liao Ming said. “We’ll detour west of the Yunjiang Mountains, cross the Dazhu Snow Mountains, and exit into Xilin City on the Yunjiang Plains. There, we’ll rendezvous with the Northern Wind Survivor Alliance, and then proceed together to Xilan City.”

At this moment, Lin Xian understood their plan—they were trying to find Phoenix, then join forces to push northward in pursuit of the Dawn Center.

But that wasn’t what surprised him.

“It looks like you were waiting for me. How did you know I’d come this way?”

“Well…” Liao Ming looked a bit embarrassed. “Hu Lushou sold us the information.”

“Sold?” Chen Sixuan frowned.

“Yeah, he… charged us one Eerie Blood Crystal for it.”

Lin Xian was speechless. That guy Hu was truly something—actually selling his travel route as intelligence and even charging a Blood Crystal for it?

Damn it. This guy never missed a chance to squeeze profit from others.

“Then why not wait until daylight to leave Yuan Pass?” Lin Xian asked directly.

“Last night, a massive Eerie Entity outbreak hit the city. Several large convoys were completely wiped out. No one dares to stay in Hengshan Pass tonight.” Liao Ming said bluntly, spreading his hands. “Actually, we wanted to leave during the day, but we ran out of ammo while escaping last night. To be safe, we went to Fortune-Longevity Convoy to stock up on supplies. That’s how we found out you were taking the northern route out of the city.”

“After discussing it, we decided to warn you about the danger and also propose joining forces. Even if we can’t break through, we can set up camp together and wait until dawn before moving again.”

Lin Xian scanned the group. He could already tell—the Eagle Convoy had run into no ordinary insect tide. A convoy of over a hundred people had barely escaped after consuming a huge amount of ammunition. They had even suffered casualties.

Now, they were stuck.

The city was overrun with Eerie Entities, nearly wiping out every convoy there. Even Lin Xian and his group had barely escaped. No one dared to bet on whether another outbreak would happen tonight.

These three convoys were caught in a deadlock. Liao Ming and Hu Lushou both knew the firepower of Lin Xian’s Infinite Train, so when they got this intelligence, the three convoys made a collective decision to wait for the Infinite Train to arrive—hoping to travel together.

If escaping wasn’t an option, they could at least camp together for a better chance of survival.

Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan exchanged serious looks.

Checking the time, it was almost 18:00—less than an hour until nightfall.

Lin Xian pressed his earpiece, lowering his voice. “Director Ding, what’s the situation?”

When he got off the train, he had already opened the internal comms channel. Inside Car No. 3, Shu Qin and the others were listening to Wu Zhenhai, Liao Ming, Luo Yang, and Liang Lei report the situation.

Standing inside Car No. 3, Ding Junyi observed the Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum for any abnormal changes. Hearing Lin Xian’s question, she immediately responded.

“The Dark Mark is stable at Level 3. That means one of two things—either these three convoys don’t have a mark, or their marks don’t exceed Level 3, making them equal to ours.”

“I lean toward the second option.” Lin Xian spoke into the earpiece.

These convoys just survived a battle—they were bound to have some level of Dark Mark. There was no way they had none at all.

But since their marks didn’t exceed Level 3, theoretically, they wouldn’t be attracting any greater danger.

“Lin Xian, what do you think?”

Chen Sixuan scanned the group before quietly asking him.

“They’re right to be concerned. We really can’t stay in the city tonight.”

The Mark Bait Level at Hengshan Pass Station definitely exceeded Level 3. The resulting devastation was catastrophic—over ten convoys, including the Night Phantom, were wiped out overnight. Not a single survivor.

If it weren’t for Director Ding and Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum, even the Infinite Train wouldn’t have escaped so easily.

“But the problem is, no matter what happens inside or outside the city, we already have a Level 3 Dark Mark ourselves…” Chen Sixuan muttered.

“Brother,” a deep voice interrupted.

Eagle Convoy’s leader, Wu Zhenhai, stepped forward, speaking candidly. “I know what you’re worried about. You have a large convoy. We may be saying we’re joining forces, but let’s be real—we just want your heavy firepower for protection.”

“I won’t beat around the bush. Your ammo isn’t free. We’re all just trying to survive. If you have any conditions, name them. Think of it as us hiring you to escort us for a while.”

“Exactly!” Liao Ming nodded. “We can provide supplies.”

“Yes, same here.” Luo Yang quickly added.

Liang Lei’s wife, Li Yi, looked at her husband before stepping forward, her expression complex. “Our convoy is short on resources, but we have this.”

She reached inside her bulletproof vest, pulling out a small, old pouch strapped to her waist. When she opened it, several Eerie Blood Crystals lay inside.

“If you’re worried about the Predator Effect, I can guarantee—aside from last night’s black centipedes, our convoy hasn’t faced any major Eerie Entity attacks the past two nights in Hengshan Pass.” Wu Zhenhai pounded his chest.

Lin Xian scanned their faces, his expression shifting slightly before he spoke.

“To be honest, I appreciate the intelligence about the insect tide, and I don’t mind teaming up to escape.”

“But the problem is—our trouble might be even bigger than yours.”

“Bigger than ours? What do you mean?” Liao Ming was confused.

Lin Xian gestured toward the train. “Once night falls, our convoy will most likely be attacked by a massive wave of Eerie Entities.”

“You all know we were at Hengshan Pass Station last night. We already went through this once. Tonight, we might go through it again.”

“So if we join forces, it might look like mutual benefit, but in reality—we might just bring disaster upon you.”

Hearing Lin Xian’s words, the convoy leaders exchanged grim looks.

Liao Ming’s face paled. “Are you saying… you’re already marked by a ton of Eerie Entities?”

Lin Xian nodded.

Checking his watch, he added: “Night is falling soon. We have to leave the city immediately. If you want to follow us, I won’t stop you—but I need to make the risks clear.”

“In an emergency, I might not be able to help much. We’ll be taking the rail tracks—if things go south, we’ll just accelerate and escape. You won’t be able to keep up.”

“You’ll have to switch to road routes for speed.”

Lin Xian walked over and said, "Have you ever considered the possibility that those monsters lurking in the darkness are already around us?"

"Every time we enter the night, those eerie entities just suddenly appear. Especially that night in Jiazhou City—there’s no way so many monsters could have appeared all at once. It's more likely that they had been following us for a while, gathering together, and only waiting for nightfall to emerge."

Hearing this, KIKI narrowed her eyes and glanced around, then instinctively shrank her neck. "Ugh, that’s disgusting. But why can't we see them during the day?"

Lin Xian was speechless. "Daytime? If we could see them then, we'd already be dead."

"Hehe~ Just messing with you." KIKI leaned back on her lounge chair. "What do you think we need to do to make our abilities stronger? Maybe then we won’t have to fear those monsters anymore."

The lounge chair slowly turned, and KIKI looked at Lin Xian. "I’m not talking about what Sister Ding said—absorbing the power of the night or whatever—I mean something more tangible, something real that can make us stronger."

"Blood Crystals." Lin Xian took one out and handed it to her. "Every organization in the world is studying this stuff. Last time, when you were severely injured, we fed you two of these by accident, and you evolved. But this stuff is definitely toxic. Whether there's a better method… that’s something only Phoenix might know."

"Eh!"

KIKI furrowed her brows, snapped her fingers, and said, "That Foundation… they even use the Dark Mark trait to turn live people into bait. That just proves their research is far beyond Phoenix and Dawn City. Do you think they might have already discovered the secrets of Blood Crystals or abilities?"

"Based on that logic, it's definitely possible."

Lin Xian nodded. "But all of this is just speculation. Right now, we can only hope that guess is wrong. If an organization like that really exists, it would be just as dangerous to humanity as the darkness itself—if not worse."

Beep, beep.

Just as they were talking, Lin Xian's watch started beeping.

Nightfall was coming.

Boom, boom, boom!

Chen Sixuan ran over quickly. "Lin Xian, there's an open plain ahead—wide visibility, just a single patch of forest."

Lin Xian nodded seriously and immediately activated the Mechanical Heart, bringing the train to a halt.

"Nightfall is approaching. Shu Qin, Da Lou." Lin Xian pressed the communicator.

"Captain Lin, we're ready."

Shu Qin stood in the passageway of Carriage No. 8, holding a Remington M96, her eyes sharply scanning the outside.

"All set, Brother Xian."

Da Lou stood in front of the automatic door of Carriage No. 5, holding a Roarer K23 Electric Gatling Gun. He disengaged the safety, ready for action.

"Hey, kid! It's almost dark." He called toward Lu Xingchen, who was still dozing off.

"No worries. I'll step in when needed."

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

Lu Xingchen half-opened one eye, took a quick glance, and then closed it again.

"Everyone." Lin Xian picked up the walkie-talkie, his eyes flickering slightly. "We're stopping here. Each convoy, find the best defensive positions and set up fortifications. Once night falls, we could engage immediately. Be ready."

His voice transmitted through the steel convoy, and Wu Zhenhai, Liao Ming, Luo Yang, Liang Lei, Li Yi, and others all responded with solemn expressions.

"Got it!" Wu Zhenhai shouted.

"Prepare to stop! All vehicles, deploy in defensive formation!"

Clang, clang.

From within the Great Eagle Convoy, a black military truck opened its side hatch. The remaining dozen miniature missiles were loaded into the launch sequence.

At the same time, over twenty elite soldiers, equipped with passive armor suits and high-energy weapons, disembarked from their vehicles. Their presence was sharp and cold as they quickly spread out to key defensive points.

Meanwhile, the Chasing Sun Convoy—a group of young, skilled drivers—quickly found an open area. With seamless coordination, their dozen or so modified vehicles parked in a spiral formation, protecting a supply truck at the center. Moments later, these young fighters emerged from their vehicles, armed with rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, and even drone bombers.

"Xiaobai, deploy the high-voltage ion wall. Amin, Lolo, your power armor only has two hours of battery—don't rush out unless necessary. Focus on defense. Li Guangwen, keep an eye on air threats!"

Vrrr~ Crackle!

Two young women in power armor stepped down from a truck. Their white combat suits, lined with glowing blue energy veins, were high-end military-grade rapid-response exosuits, heavily upgraded and modified, exuding a formidable presence.

"Syncing visual systems."

"Sync complete."

"Chainsaw sword charging!"

Meanwhile, Liang Lei and Li Yi arrived in their heavily modified mining truck, which had been repurposed into a motorhome. Their convoy consisted of two modified buses loaded with people, followed by a few heavy engineering vehicles. These sturdy vehicles parked at the rear of the Infinite Train, forming a final line of defense.

"Wife, just stay in the truck and give commands. Leave the outside to me!"

"Be careful, Lei." Li Yi, gently stroking her pregnant belly, looked at him with concern.

"Don’t worry. No damn bugs are getting through my line."

Liang Lei cracked his neck. His eyes gleamed faintly, and his entire body seemed to bulk up, his skin darkening into a metallic sheen. The hydraulics of the vehicle even sank two centimeters under his weight as he stepped down.

Aboard the Infinite Train

In Carriage No. 2, KIKI watched the convoys setting up and then shot Lin Xian a glance.

"See? Their firepower isn't too bad either."

Lin Xian responded, "Even the Great Eagle Convoy, with all that firepower, got forced back by the insect tide. That just means we have to be even more cautious."

He turned to KIKI. "Shasha is in Carriage No. 11, calibrating the Fire God Mecha. Go help her out—if needed, we can deploy it for fire support."

"Got it~"

KIKI saluted with a playful "YES" gesture before lightly floating off her seat and speeding toward Carriage No. 11.

There, Shasha was getting into the mecha cockpit. Seeing KIKI, she called out, "KIKI! What took you so long? Hurry, hurry!"

"Relax. We might not even need this thing."

KIKI crossed her arms and landed in front of the mecha. "If we get surrounded like last time, this thing won’t be much help."

"Better safe than sorry!"

Shasha, standing on the cockpit hatch, was practically bouncing with excitement. She hopped into the cockpit and patted the controls. "Right, Sally?"

Shasha had always loved tinkering with weapons—despite being a tiny girl, she was obsessed with heavy firepower. Ever since Lin Xian let her pilot the Fire God Mecha, she had been practicing for hours and was getting hooked. The sight of a little girl enamored with a towering war machine was a hilarious mix of angelic innocence and utter destruction.

"I told you to change the name. 'Sally' sounds like a pet chicken."

"Nope! I love Sally!"

Hiss—

On the open plain, the black heavy train slowly came to a stop. Besides the broadleaf forest, the clear visibility made it an ideal nightfall defense zone.

Over a hundred survivor vehicles encircled the train, forming layers of defenses. The scene was overwhelming—a massive battle seemed inevitable.

Buzz—

On the horizon, a dark glow flickered.

Like a curtain of shadows being pulled across the world, the golden sunset vanished instantly, swallowed by the onrushing night.

For a moment—everyone held their breath.

Lin Xian stood in the cockpit, eyes locked ahead.

All teams were on high alert.

Yet… nothing came.

Only the chirping of insects and rustling wind filled the silence.

Chen Sixuan, gripping her Meteor-3 rifle, whispered, "Is it possible this area has no eerie entities?"

"Could be." Lin Xian scanned their surroundings, his face tense. "But I’m more worried about another possibility…"

He exchanged a look with Chen Sixuan—she immediately understood.

Without hesitation, they both headed for Carriage No. 3.

If they weren’t being swarmed by eerie entities, aside from sheer luck, there was another possibility—this area belonged to a large eerie entity. This was its territory!

The two of them quickly stepped into Car No. 3 and turned their gaze toward Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum.

“Director Ding.”

Ding Junyi stood to the side. “No changes. No overlapping marks.”

Lin Xian frowned. Something abnormal always has a reason. The sudden calmness felt even more unsettling, especially since they were carrying Level-3 Dark Marks. It was too eerie.

Lin Xian picked up the walkie-talkie. “Everyone, anything unusual?”

“No.”

“Haven’t noticed anything yet.”

“Lin, nothing here.”

Each convoy responded.

“Could it be that the dark entities in this area were drawn away by another survivor team? Or maybe they’ve already been wiped out?”

Chen Sixuan’s words gave Lin Xian a new line of thought.

“That’s definitely possible,” Ding Junyi agreed.

Lin Xian walked into Car No. 2, glancing at the external surveillance feed from the Information Center, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, one of the Sentry System’s rooftop surveillance feeds caught his attention.

The infrared night vision display seemed… narrower than before.

“What is it?” Chen Sixuan stood beside him, watching his reaction with confusion.

“What’s this?” Lin Xian pointed at the black border on the side of the screen. Then, he switched to the adjacent feed—and the black border shifted from the left to the right.

Chen Sixuan squinted but saw nothing. “I don’t see anything.”

“There’s something there.”

Lin Xian’s frown deepened, his voice turning serious.

Without hesitation, he flipped open the blackout panel, looking in the direction of the surveillance feed.

That area faced the forest. But at this moment, dark clouds obscured the moon, the sky was devoid of stars, and everything below was pitch-black—so dark that even the forest’s outline was barely discernible.

Chen Sixuan saw Lin Xian’s reaction and immediately stepped forward. “Let me take a look.”

She raised her Meteor-3 Sniper Rifle, activating its smart night vision targeting system. Thanks to her gene-enhanced eyesight, she could see far better in the dark than Lin Xian, and with the scope’s assistance, her vision became even sharper.

“Eleven o’clock direction. That patch of forest. Look carefully,” Lin Xian instructed.

Chen Sixuan focused in, adjusting the magnification—her elegant brows furrowed sharply in an instant.

“What do you see?”

“Lin Xian, there’s a person standing on top of the forest!”

Her voice was ice-cold, carrying an unmistakable trace of fear.

A person… standing on the forest?

The very idea was unnerving. Why would someone be standing atop the trees?

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Eleven o’clock direction. That person is enormous!”

Chen Sixuan’s tone was sharp. In her scope, deep within the broadleaf forest, an inhuman silhouette stood silently.

Towering.

Unmoving.

At a glance, it was at least twenty meters tall.

Its legs stretched straight into the forest, planted firmly among the trees, motionless.

Chen Sixuan slowly raised her rifle, trying to get a clearer look at its face.

But no matter how she adjusted her scope—she couldn’t see it clearly.

One thing, however, was certain—

That thing was an existence of the dark.