Apocalypse: I Build A Doomsday Train-Chapter 169 - 164: Escape from Jiazhou (Requesting Monthly Pass!)

Chapter 169: Chapter 164: Escape from Jiazhou (Requesting Monthly Pass!)

The sky was filled with Zombie Crows devouring everything. For other convoys, this might have been like a natural disaster, but for Lu Xingchen, who possessed Fire Power, it was entirely within his domain.

The clouds of Zombie Crows in the sky burst into flames, showering the ground with ashes like rain.

Still, the sheer number of Zombie Crows rising from alongside the road continued to crash into Shu Qin’s jeeps and SUVs, splattering blood and flesh everywhere.

Scrape, scrape, scrape!

Witnessing this scene, Lin Xian became frantic and immediately produced metal plates to shield the vehicles.

But there were still some that got through.

Boom, boom!

Lu Xingchen, bare-chested, landed on the roof of the train, hands continuously shooting fire, clearing Zombie Crows for Shu Qin’s convoy.

"Divine Fire Wall!"

Lu Xingchen looked towards the protective walls on both sides of the tracks, spewing out flames that ignited and shielded the sides of the convoy.

Finally, as the train picked up speed, the Zombie Crows began falling behind, and the pressure from the onslaught drastically decreased.

As Infinity left the city’s edge and drove further away from Jiazhou City into the suburbs, the piercing shrieks finally ceased.

By now, Shu Qin’s convoy, dragged out from the flames and flock by Lin Xian using tow chains, was a complete mess — exterior armor and windows smeared with blood and black feathers, and various car parts accumulated thickly like tomato sauce.

The intense stench of blood made it difficult for those in the vehicles to keep their eyes open. If not for the chain pulling from the train, the convoy might have already met with disaster.

Lin Xian’s gaze swept over and noticed that the paint and coating on many cars had been gnawed away, revealing the silver metal beneath, which was alarmingly ominous.

"Such terrifying parasites, to think such things exist in the darkness..."

Thankfully, those Black Insects had been incinerated by the flames. Without this method, even escaping might have meant abandoning the vehicles and running for their lives.

"Shu Qin, how’s the situation?"

Lin Xian picked up the walkie-talkie.

"It’s okay for now." Shu Qin, looking tense while driving, glanced at the rear-view mirror, saw no cars dropping out of the convoy, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xian observed the convoy and sensed something off, immediately undoing all the connecting chains from the cars.

Clang, clang, clang!

At that moment, the last SUV suddenly lost control and crashed into the metal wall beside the track.

An accident happened.

Lin Xian’s expression darkened, and he immediately commanded the train to accelerate, while the people from Shu Qin’s convoy realized the situation and stopped their cars one after the other.

Everyone rushed towards the out-of-control car. Shu Qin opened the door, only to find the inside drenched in blood — the three people who had been in the car were nowhere to be seen.

"Ah!!" Someone cried out, covering their mouth.

"They’ve been eaten by the crows!"

"Dear God!"

Lin Xian came over, and Shu Qin, with widened eyes, turned to him with a heavy voice: "It’s... the Zhong Jiahao family."

"The car is gnawed through; there may still be Black Insects inside," Lin Xian stepped back and said to Lu Xingchen, "Burn it."

Lu Xingchen sighed and raised his hand, a ball of flame shooting out.

Boom~

In an instant, the car went up in a blaze.

The others, witnessing this sight, had looks of sorrow and complexity. Lin Xian saw that many were even numb.

With each encounter of danger, it seemed almost inevitable for the convoy to suffer casualties, and everyone appeared to have grown accustomed to it.

Shu Qin’s eyes flickered with sadness, and she turned to speak, "Let’s get moving, we might not have shaken off those crows yet."

Lin Xian glanced at Shu Qin and, without speaking, restarted the train. Climbing atop the train, he started running towards Infinity. Meanwhile, he pointed to the roof and instructed Lu Xingchen, "Fire God, disinfect the train as well, and be careful about fire prevention."

Disinfection meant having Lu Xingchen clean any remaining black wireworms on the train to prevent potential threats.

"Leave it to me."

Lu Xingchen nodded in response.

Lin Xian then ran straight back to Infinity’s cockpit, where Chen Sixuan was observing the route. "Lin Xian, there’s a small station about 100 kilometers ahead, called Pukou. It’s a Level 3 station, and mainline trains usually don’t stop there. Should we stop to check the vehicles?"

Chen Sixuan was also worried about the black wireworms, feeling that a thorough inspection was necessary.

"Alright."

Lin Xian approached and said, "If we manage to shake off those crows, we can take advantage of daylight to refurbish the train, allowing Shu Qin and the others to stay on board, which is relatively safer."

Lin Xian felt his mood grow heavy. He grabbed a bottle of water, chugged down most of it, and let out a long sigh.

The team had just expanded when they encountered casualties, which was genuinely difficult to bear.

"Lin Xian."

Chen Sixuan looked at him. "You shouldn’t blame yourself. You’ve done everything you could. I know given time, you would make this vehicle safer and protect more people. They’ve just joined us, and we couldn’t fit their car into the train. Look around Jiazhou City; there’s not a single living creature. We’re lucky to have escaped from those zombie crows."

Lin Xian nodded, "You keep an eye on the road. I’ll go check the back."

Inside Car 1, Lin Xian opened the Research and Development Center and chose to put Sha Sha’s VoG grenade launcher into the upgrade page.

[Please select the weapon’s development direction:]

[Firepower] (13 hours)

[Mobility] (12 hours)

"Firepower, Mobility?" Lin Xian pondered the choices on the screen and decided to enhance firepower first.

[Reminder, VoG grenade launcher blueprint is undergoing upgrade research, 12:59:59]

This duration was acceptable to Lin Xian; in less than a day, he could acquire a powerful weapon blueprint—a worthwhile trade.

The PX-05 Engineering Robot blueprint and G3 Land-based Electromagnetic Railgun blueprint he obtained from the Airport were very advanced, as well as the 1130 blueprint and a set of mechanical arms Shu Qin had gotten from Guo Laoer. He hadn’t built these yet, so there was no rush to upgrade them.

Considering his current low level in Mechanical Manufacturing, blueprint upgrades were a time-wasting effort, as he couldn’t build them even if upgraded. Considering the increasing pressure from the crises they faced, he decided to first upgrade the squad members’ gear to enhance their combat readiness.

"Lin Xian, didn’t you scan the electromagnetic railgun at the Airport? Are you planning to mount one on the train?" KIKI saw Lin Xian sitting in Car 1, looking serious and approached him to ask.

"Yes, but not so soon."

Lin Xian responded upon seeing KIKI come over.

"By the way, what about the robot? If you build one, I can write a program for it, and let the robot help us maintain the train, couldn’t you then relax a bit more?" KIKI floated up to Lin Xian like a little sprite, suggesting mischievously.

"I do have such plans."

Lin Xian nodded, "Now that we have the blueprints, but I haven’t built something this complex before, I’ll try when I have the chance."

"Why don’t you build it now?" KIKI looked at him with her large, expressive eyes.

Lin Xian poked her forehead with his finger, "Build what, don’t you see we’re still on the run? Even if I were to build it, I’d have to secure the new train cars with armor first."

He indeed knew that having a robot could increase efficiency, but he also understood from the blueprints that such a complex machine wasn’t an easy task for his current skill level in Mechanical Manufacturing. Starting from the basic chip control architecture and including the Hall-effect thruster engines, building it would also require material conversion preparation. From a practical standpoint, being in a dangerous environment, his priority had to be securing the train cars first—the intricate gadgets could wait to be slowly constructed later in the safety of the train.

"Fine, I want a proper renovation for my Car 2 as well."

"What renovations do you want?"

"Beds, a bathroom, and moving the nuclear-powered locomotive’s central server over, right? It will definitely need a complete rearrangement."

Lin Xian raised an eyebrow, showing his agreement, "Okay, if we have enough time, I plan to redo the interior too."

KIKI, bursting with joy, "Hee hee, you’re the best."

At that moment, Lu Xingchen walked over with his arms bare,

"Brother Lin, in Car 5, I need a dressing room, a tea brewing machine, and a few well-fitting shirts. I wonder if Brother Lin would be so kind as to assist..."