NOVPUB21:00
In the underground secret rail of Yijin City, the 15-kilometer-long United Train with over 500 carriages sat silently in the darkness, utterly still. All lights were turned off.
More than 4,000 survivors hid inside the doomsday carriages, nervously awaiting any changes outside.
The entire underground tunnel was filled with a damp and stifling atmosphere. From the depths of the darkness came the occasional drip-drip of underground water.
Inside the carriages, survivors crouched in the shadows. Mothers covered their children’s mouths. Men gripped their weapons tightly, on full alert. All communication was conducted through communicators. At this moment, everyone’s hearts seemed to be lodged in their throats.
In Carriage 12 of the Infinite Train, the weapon station held the base mounts for the 1130 CIWS and the YJ-03 Anti-Air Cannon. Lin Xian sat cross-legged on the floor. In the darkness, only the red indicator lights from the weapon systems glowed.
A silver-black ballerina-shaped robot stood quietly several meters away in the shadows. The red lights cast an eerie sheen over her form—a fusion of mechanical elegance and human allure.
Grace, now shut down, stood motionless. Her hyper-realistic and beautiful face exuded an unsettling vibe. Lin Xian stared at the robot while the communicator in his ear blinked constantly. His expression was grim as he listened to updates from outside the carriage.
This feeling—hiding in a deep tunnel—was odd. Against zombies and eerie entities, this environment felt safer than being out in the open. Yet, having experienced many strange attacks, Lin Xian couldn’t help but worry that this setup might hinder a retreat. A conflict churned within him.
But at this point, all he could do was calm down and wait in silence.
On the comms channel were over 20 convoy leaders. Everyone spoke in hushed tones.
Any sounds from above ground barely penetrated the several-thousand-meter depth. Yet the occasional faint tremors made nerves tighten.
That meant something huge was moving up there.
Time ticked on. Lin Xian kept an eye on his watch and the surveillance feed on his portable terminal—footage from the sentry probes and sensors he’d installed outside the bank vault using the special elevator from the Zero Element Center.
Because time had been tight, he’d only managed to set up temporary equipment to monitor the surface.
Vibration graphs slowly moved across the screen.
All three sentry feeds were nearly pitch black—covered in dust and spore fog. If not for the outlines of buildings and debris faintly visible in infrared mode, Lin Xian would’ve thought the equipment had already been devoured by mycelium.
Chrrk... chrrk... chrrk...
A low-frequency sound, like the shuddering of a carapace, echoed through his headset. Lin Xian’s eyes sharpened. On one of the feeds, a darker black shape suddenly loomed—it seemed to be the body of some massive night entity.
He exhaled slightly, removed his headset, and listened carefully for sounds from above the tunnel.
“The intel should be accurate. Quite a few eerie entities have appeared on the surface, unclear what level they are,” Lin Xian whispered into the communicator.
“Captain Lin, my audio traps in the subway tunnels picked up lots of strange frequencies. Likely from the upper metro station. But I’ve already checked—it’s sealed. The tunnel itself should be safe for now,” Luo Yang’s voice came through.
“Then it’s probably real,” Shi Diyuan muttered. “Sounds like a bunch of eerie entities are having a party right above us. Damn, this is a first.”
“Are we really not going to get noticed?”
Monica voiced the concern. “We did make quite a ruckus earlier.”
“The freight entrance has completely collapsed and sealed. I checked—it’s impossible anything followed us in,” Ning Jing responded.
“Monica, Monica... why are you panicking? Didn’t Lin Xian already say we’re not marked anymore? And we’re hiding this deep underground. If they were going to find us, they would’ve done it already, don’t you think?” Qian Dele’s tone was unusually relaxed.
“He’s right. We’re in the Polar Night. The enemy’s in the dark, we’re in the light. If we were targeted, we should’ve been attacked by now,” Luo Yang added.
Lin Xian checked the time and pressed his comm: “Wait another 20 minutes. If nothing happens, we’ll open the Eternal Reserve and begin moving supplies. Pass it on—keep the teams small and quiet. We have 30 hours, no need to rush. Once we’ve emptied this Crimson world’s reserves, we’ll take a proper rest.”
As time passed, Lin Xian’s tensed heart slowly eased. It seemed his choice had been the right one.
If they had risked everything to break through earlier, not only would they have failed to escape Yijin City, but someone on the United Train could have been marked. That would’ve lit up this ‘lighthouse’ for all to see, drawing in more and more trouble like a snowball—potentially recreating the eerie siege disaster that occurred in Yubei City.
21:30
After nearly an hour of silent waiting in the dark, the doors of the United Train finally opened.
Vrrrmm
The sudden sound of doors opening was piercing in the silence.
Holding a cold-light night lamp, Lin Xian disembarked with several core convoy members. KIKI followed closely behind, tracking the patrol drone data via her terminal.
The group followed coordinates from Grace’s password device to a hidden encrypted door behind one of the maintenance zones in the secret rail.
After unlocking with the device, a massive blast-resistant automatic door slowly opened. A hissing release of compressed gas filled the air. White mist spilled out—and then, layered lights from backup energy sources lit up the space inside. Everyone’s eyes lit up.
Behind the door was a massive tri-proof warehouse that resembled a wartime supply depot.
The area was vast. As they stepped in, the bright lighting revealed clearly divided zones—rice, flour, oil, sugar, freeze-dried and compressed foods, canned goods, synthetic protein gel—all neatly stacked on prefabricated shelves. There was even a cold storage zone specifically for meats.
The food was categorized meticulously by storage standard: from 1-year supplies to 30-year emergency stocks. Even deeper inside were premium goods like chocolate, red wine, seafood, steak, ham, cheese, and caviar, all preserved in special cold rooms.
Beyond that was a dedicated medical section with various broad-spectrum antivirals/antibiotics, surgical emergency modules, anti-radiation meds...
The specs were astonishing—especially the wine, all rare treasures from around the world. Stuff ordinary folks wouldn’t even dream of seeing.
The dozen-plus people walking through this spotless, gleaming warehouse all had amazed expressions—some surprised, some delighted, some just smiling wryly...
“Romanée-Conti 2025. Nice taste,” Qian Dele said as he walked into the wine section and picked up a bottle sealed in special packaging. He chuckled. “These guys sure know how to enjoy life.”
“Sucking in so many rich members to push these insane plans…” said Shi Diyuan, his arm in a sling, as he stared at the shelves that rivaled a luxury warehouse. “This Crimson World must have some serious backing.”
Monica stepped beside Qian Dele, picking up a bottle of wine. Her fingers brushed over the triangular logo in the corner of the container. She took a deep breath and said, “I think I encountered this Crimson World years ago.”
“Years ago?” Ning Jing asked. “You mean before Apocalypse Day?”
Monica nodded. “All I knew back then was that they claimed to be an organization studying human genetic defects, aiming to push humanity toward perfect evolution. A lot of people in elite circles joined. I looked into them briefly—mostly cosmetic medicine, cancer prevention, offspring gene screening. Nothing unusual. They approached me many times, but I thought they were just another luxury doomsday-fortress scheme for the rich. I wasn’t interested.”
She stared at the wine in her hand, a bit of joy and more than a bit of melancholy in her eyes. “Looking back... maybe they were onto something.”
Lin Xian and KIKI exchanged glances at her words.
“Why does this feel so familiar?” KIKI whispered beside him.
“You thinking about Clearwater Town?” Lin Xian asked.
KIKI nodded.
Lin Xian fell silent. He thought of Underground City No. 9—that was built after Apocalypse Day with trillions of federal funding and the most advanced automation.
There was no way groups like the Foundation or Crimson World could rival the Federal powers back then.
It hadn’t even been 100 days since Apocalypse Day... and yet these two organizations showed extraordinary foresight.
He remembered asking Hua Xiaoling about this once. She said it was based on a previous joint construction project. But this Crimson World’s Eternal Reserve Warehouse?
It looked like it had been built specifically for the end times.
Could that really be a coincidence?
“You think there’s a connection between this Crimson World and the Foundation?” KIKI asked, puzzled.
Lin Xian pondered. “Each of these organizations is more secretive than the last. We’re always a step behind. If we want real answers, we’ll have to get them from Crimson World themselves.”
Monica’s words left the group dazed.
“You mean this organization knew about Apocalypse Day in advance?” Li Yi asked in shock.
“Of course they did. There’s no way they built this warehouse—this underground hive—in just a month or two,” Luo Yang said, frowning.
Monica shrugged, neither confirming nor denying. “I just happened to remember it. Honestly, I don’t fully believe it myself. Construction like this? With enough money, it’s not hard using today’s mechanical production.”
“You guys are being too paranoid,” Qian Dele added. “What gives a pharma company more insight than the pre-Apocalypse Federation? Didn’t you see how rushed the Federal underground city plans were?
If humanity could predict disaster in advance, things wouldn’t be like this now.”
"You're right." Shi Diyuan nodded. "This place is obviously newly built. As for the supplies, these follow the standard storage protocol for military and regional urban reserves. Nothing too surprising—just higher-end stuff."
"Guessing back and forth won’t get us anywhere. Since the supplies are delivered to our doorstep, we might as well stock up properly." Lin Xian stepped forward and cut everyone off.
"These supplies are reserved at the scale of thousands. For us, this is a massive gain. Let's divide it up properly here."
"Exactly! So much good stuff—we're rich!" KIKI giggled. "I haven’t had steak or rice in ages. I say we empty this whole place!"
"Haha, well said." Shi Diyuan laughed heartily, then turned to Lin Xian. "Brother Lin, you found this place, and you’re the one leading us. You decide how we divide it."
As soon as he finished, everyone turned their eyes to Lin Xian.
"That’s easy." Lin Xian smiled calmly. "The few of our convoys combined already account for more than half the group. Since we did most of the work, taking 70% shouldn’t be a problem. The remaining 30% can be divided among the rest based on headcount."
"Heh, your Infinite Train has so few people—wouldn’t that leave you at a loss?" Qian Dele looked at Lin Xian, arms crossed. "And you're the one who found these supplies. I don’t like taking advantage of people."
"He's right." Shi Diyuan disagreed with that division. "My Dragon Mountain No. 1 has over a thousand people. Sure, we’d benefit most from this method, but I’m not that shameless. I’d be taking way more than you and your 30-plus people. I can’t accept that."
Ning Jing nodded. "That division really isn’t fair. Infinite Train should get more."
Li Yi also chimed in. "I think we should divide by convoy. Let Captain Lin decide the ratio."
"That works." Luo Yang agreed.
Dividing by convoy was the most favorable for the Infinite Train. Fewer people, more supplies—higher per capita gain.
"Captain Lin, I have a suggestion." Just as everyone was debating, Monica walked over with a bottle of wine in one hand and a box of frozen steak in the other. "There are many types of supplies here, and every convoy has different needs. For example, my convoy doesn't lack supplies. I just want some good wine and steak—the rest we don’t need."
"So I suggest, let your Infinite Train pick what you want first. Then let everyone else take what they need. Isn't there a weapon warehouse too? Perfect. If someone wants medical supplies, take less rice and oil. If they want meat, skip the gear. Problem solved."
Her words made everyone’s eyes light up.
"Yeah, that works!"
"Good point. If Brother Lin picks first, I’ll be at ease. Haha!"
"True. A few convoys are low on medical supplies. Food isn’t the main issue."
"Mm, agreed."
Lin Xian glanced at KIKI, then nodded. "Alright, let’s do it this way. I’ll have Teacher Chen bring people to inventory everything. Then we’ll let each convoy submit requests and adjust things based on need."
Faced with everyone’s suggestion, Lin Xian didn’t object. He wasn’t one to play humble. If these 22 convoys hadn’t survived Xilan City together, he’d only share 10% of the supplies—and only because Infinite Train couldn’t carry any more.
Besides, the Infinite Train was already well-stocked. With the fully equipped medical pod, they didn’t need much in terms of medical supplies—just some surgical modules, stem cell gel, and antibiotics.
So like Monica, Lin Xian was more interested in frozen meats, seafood, and red wine—to boost the crew’s quality of life.
After leaving the Eternal Reserve, the group headed straight for the weapon warehouse. Ning Jing and Li Yi stayed behind to meet up with Chen Sixuan and the Dragon Mountain crew for the inventory and distribution.
Lin Xian was especially curious about the Interstellar Tier-III Combat Kits Grace had mentioned—1,000 sets was no small deal. So he was even more interested in the weapon cache than the food.
They headed into a maintenance tunnel and activated a special switch with the password device. Soon, a hidden wall door began to open slowly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive warehouse lights flared on in rows. The fireproof-coated floor revealed a stunning sight: a row of all-terrain armored vehicles!
Fully outfitted, armored with standard plating—at least ten of them in sight.
And further inside, the group collectively gasped—four Nightstar-3 hypersonic aircrafts were neatly parked in the center of the warehouse!
These were highly mobile, advanced aircrafts capable of seating 2–3 people. They used Hall-effect thrusters for vertical lift and plasma pulse engines for main propulsion. Cruising speed? Mach 5.
They were powered by plutonium-238 isotope batteries, with foldable wings. Apart from lacking weapons, every other aspect was cutting-edge!
“D*mn, trucks and planes? Crimson World sure knows how to equip its members!” Shi Diyuan stared in disbelief.
"Must’ve been meant for the Zero Element Center—so the people in those survival pods could escape," Qian Dele speculated.
Lin Xian was surprised—Grace never mentioned either of these vehicle types during their negotiations.
"This AI butler really knows how to keep secrets," KIKI muttered, sharing the same realization as Lin Xian.
Lin Xian swept his gaze over the hangar. “Maybe she thought this stuff was useless for a train convoy like us, so she didn’t mention it.”
Or maybe this was reserved for those seeking immortality—off-limits for trade.
“Could be.” Lin Xian and the others quickly headed deeper into the warehouse. “Those trucks are good, but even with a vertical elevator, we can’t drive them out of here.”
“What about the aircraft?” KIKI asked. “Looking at its folded size… if we modify a carriage…”
Lin Xian furrowed his brow, thinking. “Carriage 11 has a mecha bay. We could use the 6-axis robotic arm to load one in.”
KIKI nodded. “Mm-hmm, that’d make movement way easier for us.”
Deeper in, they passed the aircraft and arrived at rows of black tactical display cabinets. The lights came on, revealing rows of black exoskeletal power armors—each set paired with a silver arc pulse gun as the main weapon, two sidearms, a power pack, holographic night vision goggles, mini medkits, and a variety of tactical gear.
These Interstellar Tier-III Combat Kits stretched out beyond sight—domino-like in their perfection.
“Holy sh*t! So many power suits!!” KIKI’s eyes went wide. “This Crimson World must be loaded!”
The others were equally stunned. Luo Yang walked up, pressed a switch, and one cabinet opened automatically. He checked the specs and couldn’t help but speak:
"This... this is the Lone Wolf S Military Rapid-Response Power Armor. It's probably the newest tactical-grade model. Even most frontline Starfleet units don’t have this yet!"
Monica crossed her arms and sighed. “My team only has the Lone Wolf A series. Didn’t expect them to already roll out the S series.”
“Heh, don’t be so modest,” Qian Dele said with interest. “They're all tactical-grade. New or old, not a huge difference. But with this many sets, we could turn a thousand regular folks into Titan-level fighters.”
“Haha, we’ve really hit the jackpot this time!” Shi Diyuan tore off the sling from his shoulder, flexing his arm as he grinned. “With this, our convoy’s power just got a huge boost!”
Lin Xian stared in awe at the rows of tactical cabinets arranged like dominoes and couldn’t help but laugh.
He had originally planned to equip the Infinite Train crew with TRP suits—but now, it was like finding a pillow when you’re tired. A full thousand sets of top-tier tactical exo-suits, just sitting there.
Power armors were classified by the former Federation into three tiers based on combat purpose, feature coverage, output, AI integration, and power level: Tactical, Iron Hunter / Ghost Wolf, and Interstellar.
Technically, there was one tier below tactical—Industrial.
As the name implied, Industrial suits were for civil and industrial use, with no combat function. The TRP suit Lin Xian got from Ding Qing was a Special Industrial Type. But because Ding Qing had it illegally upgraded—with smart battle AI, radar, situational awareness, and unlocked all power limiters—it was basically a semi-military tactical suit.
Monica’s team’s Lone Wolf A was legit military tactical gear, a step above, with more complete features.
And the Lone Wolf S in front of them was its upgraded version—with better specs across the board.
But as Qian Dele said—even an upgrade, it was still within the tactical-grade category.
The Iron Hunter / Ghost Wolf level wasn’t considered armor—it was battle gear. Full-body suits akin to Iron Man tech.
Their base standard included tri-environment capability—land, low-altitude, and underwater. They were essentially small humanoid mechs—extremely agile and ideal for special ops.
Within that, Iron Hunter was more about heavy armor and assault firepower;Ghost Wolf focused on high mobility.
Based on that scale, Teacher Chen’s current Black Hawk Armor and Monica’s red soft suit both qualified as Ghost Wolf-class.
