Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train

Beep, beep. Beep, beep.

18:45. Darkness fell.

At Beiwang Station, the Infinite Train stood quietly amidst a dense fog. Onboard, Chen Sixuan paced anxiously. The walkie-talkie in her hand emitted nothing but dead silence, devoid of even the faintest signal, causing her heart to clench in her chest.

She looked nervously out the window. The fog seemed alive, wrapping itself around every inch of space, amplifying the night’s darkness infinitely.

Condensed frost clung to the train window. Deep within the mist, it felt as though some unknown, terrifying entity was lurking. A chill ran down her spine as ominous thoughts filled her mind.

Swoosh.

Chen Sixuan pulled down the blackout curtain. She rummaged through the toolbox in the 3rd carriage and grabbed a trusty crowbar for self-defense. Quietly, she leaned against the sofa, remaining vigilant of her surroundings.

“They’re both ability users. They should be able to handle whatever comes their way,” she muttered to herself.

It wasn’t her first time dealing with Lin Xian not returning on time. The only thing she could do now was hold the fort and avoid drawing the attention of any lurking monsters.

Just then, the deep, rumbling sound of an engine broke through the stillness, cutting through the fog and striking her ears like a hammer. The abrupt noise contrasted sharply with the surrounding silence, immediately putting her on high alert.

She shot up and moved to the driver’s cabin, peering out through the window. To her shock, she spotted the headlights of a locomotive slowly moving along a distant track.

Clang, clang.

Seeing this, Chen Sixuan quickly covered her mouth in disbelief.

Meanwhile, progress on the other side was going smoother than expected. The convoy of dozens of vehicles navigated the main road without much trouble, encountering only a few scattered grotesque zombies along the way. To avoid attracting more monsters, the teams tacitly agreed not to fire any shots.

The convoy soon emerged from a stretch of forest and spotted a sign ahead reading, “Military Restricted Zone: No Entry.” Shortly after, a sizeable military base came into view.

Once a heavily guarded outpost, the military base was now desolate, lying abandoned at the foot of the mountain. Its surroundings exuded a somber stillness.

Inside the tall-walled outpost, a group of survivors who had been hiding there opened the heavy steel gates, moved aside the barriers, and allowed the convoy to drive in one by one.

By now, night had fully descended. The floodlights from countless vehicles illuminated the looted outpost. In the courtyard, a few disassembled jeeps and a TFV600 twin-barrel heavy tank with a broken track and stripped targeting system lay scattered. Most eye-catching, however, was a damaged Iron Guard 3 military assault mech.

“Holy sh*t! Is that for real?!”

A young man wearing glasses, clearly the convoy’s tech expert, jumped out of a Black Jiao Convoy vehicle, his eyes lighting up instantly.

“It’s already broken,” Tang Hai replied as he directed his men to close the gates. Walking over, he added, “The Starfleet evacuated completely before the last polar night. This thing’s just a heap of scrap metal now. We’ve already scavenged it for all the usable parts.”

No one doubted his words. Still, many had never seen such military-grade mechs up close before, and it didn’t take long for a crowd of curious survivors to gather around it.

“Wu Songlin, Eagle, check if there’s anything useful left. Take whatever you can,” Qian Yu instructed his specialized crew, confident in their expertise. Even if it was just some usable armored steel, they had high-speed cutting tools ready to prepare the convoy for repairs.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Qian Yu asked Tang Hai, testing the waters.

“Not at all,” Tang Hai replied with a sheepish smile, acting agreeable.

Tang Hai then turned his gaze to a nearby mountainside. There, a massive structure stood in plain sight—a large air-raid bunker. Its entrance, sealed by thick steel doors, radiated an air of indomitable strength and durability despite years of exposure to the elements.

“We’ve got 46 people. We’ve been holed up in that bunker for nearly three months. Now, there are barely 20 of us left. The walls here are thick, and the doors are sturdy. We can rest up together for the night and head out at first light tomorrow,” Tang Hai said.

“Whoa! Lin Xian, look!”

Kiki had climbed out of the car alongside Lin Xian and was walking toward the crowd.

Her eyes lit up when she spotted the nearly three-meter-tall humanoid war mech. “This is so cool! If only it worked. Although, I still prefer the Sentinel series—they’re less bulky.”

Lin Xian also eyed the towering behemoth, a glimmer of fervor flashing in his gaze. His Mechanical Heart pulsed with desire.

These military-grade machines had always been on his wishlist. However, ever since the apocalypse began, he’d been confined to urban areas and hadn’t had the chance to come across such equipment.

He’d long planned to strengthen himself, not just through improving his abilities but by further developing his Mechanical Heart.

For example—self-armoring!

Combat prosthetics, rapid weapon systems—all of these seemed far more reliable than close-quarters combat with a short blade.

Beyond industrial-grade and military armors, Lin Xian fantasized about incorporating tank cannons, railguns, close-in weapon systems, and various automated weapons into the Infinite Train. If he could devour or scan these blueprints and integrate them into his train, the thought alone was exhilarating.

“By the way, where are your other teammates? Or is it just the two of you?” Qian Yu suddenly asked, glancing at Lin Xian and Kiki.

“There aren’t many of us,” Lin Xian replied casually, clearly uninterested in conversing further. His attention shifted back to the damaged Iron Guard 3 assault mech as he quietly activated his Mechanical Scan system.

Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that many of the mech’s subsystems were missing, and the core drive had long been gutted. It was impossible to scan a complete blueprint.

He sighed inwardly and prepared to give up. Much like Wu Songlin from the Black Jiao Convoy, he had considered dismantling the armor plates, including parts from the TFV600 heavy tank. However, without tools or manpower, he could do nothing but rely on his Devour ability.

“Not many of you?” Qian Yu raised an eyebrow and boldly suggested, “Why not join my convoy? I’ll make sure you’re well-equipped with weapons and food. What do you think?”

His direct offer, though brash, was reasonable given the circumstances.

Even Tang Hai and the other convoy leaders cast mixed looks. Recruiting people so openly in this situation was undeniably aggressive.

But the Black Jiao Convoy’s confidence wasn’t baseless. As a mid-sized armed team, their survival capabilities were strong—evident from their gear. They had armored cars, trucks, tankers, and even dedicated technical personnel. Many smaller teams had already considered joining them for protection.

After all, in the chaos of the apocalypse, who wouldn’t want a strong backer?

To everyone’s surprise, Lin Xian rejected the offer with a faint smile, “No thanks.”

Lin Xian’s refusal made Qian Yu’s expression change instantly, a flicker of anger flashing in his eyes.

“Then what about this lovely lady?” Qian Yu’s gaze suddenly shifted to Kiki, his tone arrogant and dismissive. “Would you consider joining my convoy?”

Kiki glanced at Lin Xian with a strange expression before turning to Qian Yu. “What? Are you talking to me?”

Qian Yu looked between the two of them, a fake smile plastered across his face. “What? Are you two a couple?”

“No,” Lin Xian replied flatly.

“Relatives?”

“Not that either,” Kiki said with a sly smile.

Hearing this, Qian Yu’s expression brightened as he shot Lin Xian a knowing glance before speaking loudly, “Well, if you’re not related, then that’s no problem! My convoy always welcomes talented individuals. If you join, miss, I’ll arrange a private RV just for you, fully stocked with food and supplies. You’ll even have round-the-clock protection.”

As soon as these words left his mouth, a flicker of murderous intent flashed in Lin Xian’s eyes.

Bang!

A fierce gust of wind erupted, followed by a sharp crack. Qian Yu’s sunglasses, which had been hanging on his forehead, suddenly shattered, and the sheer force sent him stumbling backward.

Clack, clack, clack!

In the next moment, the men behind him, including Eagle and several others, raised their guns, the tension escalating as the scent of gunpowder filled the air.

“Are you an idiot? Poaching my people right in front of me—did you think I wouldn’t dare kill you?” Lin Xian’s gaze turned cold, an overwhelming pressure radiating from him. No one even saw how he had attacked!

“You!”

Qian Yu staggered back into his men, a chilling sensation of near-death still lingering on his forehead. Realizing what had happened, he exploded in anger, pulling out his handgun and aiming it at Lin Xian.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Oh? Go ahead, then. Shoot.”

Facing more than a dozen guns, Lin Xian remained unperturbed. His cold eyes bore into Qian Yu.

“Let’s see who dies first—you or me.”

Off to the side, Tang Hai watched with a grim expression, while Feng Yuming, standing behind him, seemed to find the spectacle rather entertaining. He didn’t appear to care that this fragile “temporary alliance” was about to dissolve into infighting.

At that moment, Kiki walked over, casually draping an arm around Lin Xian’s shoulder. Tilting her head, she looked at the line of gun barrels aimed at them and said, “What’s this? Planning to fight? Perfect. I’ve had my eye on all the good stuff in your convoy. Hey, bad guy~” She glanced up at Lin Xian and continued, “Why don’t we just…” She then made a slicing motion across her neck.

The moment she said this, the other convoy teams watching from the sidelines turned pale and instinctively backed away, afraid to get caught up in the conflict.

The terrifying scene of Kiki annihilating an entire vehicle’s worth of enemies was still fresh in their minds. None of them could imagine having any chance of victory against a woman like her.

Hearing her words, the flames of anger in Qian Yu’s eyes suddenly flickered out. He raised a hand, signaling his men to lower their weapons. His expression turned uncertain as he looked at the two of them, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his face.

To be honest, after Lin Xian had refused his offer, Qian Yu had been somewhat humiliated and made the provocative move of targeting Kiki. What he hadn’t anticipated was Lin Xian’s immediate retaliation.

And now, from the way they were speaking, it felt as if the two of them were the ones surrounding his convoy of over a hundred people, not the other way around.

For the first time, Qian Yu felt a chilling sense of danger, though he was now stuck in a precarious position after throwing out those harsh words.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian’s eyes held a flicker of surprise. He glanced at Kiki’s hand resting on his shoulder, a hint of confusion rising in his mind.

He and Kiki hadn’t known each other for long. At best, they were comrades who had weathered a few days of hardships together—not even close friends.

Lin Xian hadn’t done anything to earn her loyalty or convince her to stay. On the contrary, his attitude toward her had been indifferent at best. If she had chosen to leave or join another convoy, Lin Xian wouldn’t have been surprised.

But faced with Qian Yu’s arrogant antics, Lin Xian had no choice but to respond.

What he hadn’t expected was for Kiki to stand so firmly by his side. It seemed that this little woman wasn’t as simple as she looked.