Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train

"Big Luo, has your ability changed at all?"

"Seems like it…" Big Luo scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "I feel like my strength's improved, and my energy levels are higher too."

Lin Xian’s expression turned suspicious.

"When exactly? Was it when you were on the roof of the train?"

"No, it was while I was cutting up that creature’s corpse looking for beads. I felt like I absorbed some nasty, stinking blood mist..."

Lin Xian frowned upon hearing this.

Blood mist?

Both KIKI and Jiang Yun had mentioned before that certain mutant ability users could absorb the flesh and blood of other ability users or eerie entities to grow stronger.

After the white creature and the red bug died, both released that black mist, forming eerie blood crystals. It seemed that both he and Big Luo, as ability users, could absorb this black mist for enhancements.

Lin Xian recalled how the white giant had consumed Tang Hai and then began transforming rapidly.

If his guess was right, Tang Hai had already reached the evolutionary level of an ability user.

"Eerie entities get stronger by consuming humans, and humans can get stronger by consuming eerie entities too," Lin Xian muttered, his eyes alight.

"It sounds pretty messed up, but it also feels... fair."

The most pressing issue still was finding a way to evolve. Tang Hai, a source-level ability user, had shown minimal combat prowess initially. Yet after his evolution, his strength had increased exponentially. However, looking at his half-human, half-ghostly form, Lin Xian couldn’t shake the feeling that this was what KIKI had warned about—a failed evolution.

"Big Luo, was it after the first polar night that you and your sister started fleeing?" Lin Xian, overwhelmed by his thoughts, decided to make small talk instead.

Big Luo shook his head.

"After the polar night arrived, our parents died. We just... ran."

Using a pickup truck as their home, Big Luo, an ability user, and his sister, Shasha, small but mature beyond her years, had worked together seamlessly to escape from several zombie-infested cities.

An hour later, the Infinite Train pulled into Yu Chi Station. It was a small station with only a modest waiting hall. On one of the sidetracks stood a freight train.

Lin Xian surveyed the scene. "Big Luo and I will check things out first. You and Shasha stay on the train."

Lin Xian had already built a Soul Wave Detector based on the blueprint from Jiang Yun’s scans. However, he lacked eerie blood crystals to power it, so they still had to rely on manual searches and radar to assess danger.

The cockpit door opened as Lin Xian and Big Luo disembarked, guns in hand. They flanked the freight train, using flashlights to inspect it. It turned out to be a mining car without a locomotive. The old carriages were empty, offering nothing useful.

"This is perfect," Lin Xian said, eyeing the bulky train. He had been worried about not having enough steel for upgrading the rooftop armor, but here was an ample supply.

"Big Luo," Lin Xian gestured toward a few zombies wandering near the platform, "clear them out."

"Got it."

Big Luo nodded. To avoid unnecessary noise at night, he didn’t use his gun. Instead, he leaped onto the platform wielding his Steel-Slaying Greatsword, cleaning up the zombies within ten minutes.

"The noise is only going to attract more," Lin Xian remarked, climbing onto Car 5. He dragged out a welding machine and crane to begin repairs, then started crafting high-manganese steel plates for the rooftop armor.

Unlike the hardened tungsten-steel grilles used for the sides, Lin Xian intended the roof to be completely sealed except for designated ventilation exhaust points. High-manganese steel offered excellent toughness and shock absorption, ensuring durability even under extreme conditions.

He based the design on the curved armor plates of the TFV600 Heavy Dual-Barrel Tank, which featured double-layered buffering. These plates connected seamlessly with the side grilles, channeling kinetic force down to the train body and into the tracks, preventing dents from creatures like the white giant that could otherwise crush the roof and damage the air-conditioning system.

However, Lin Xian scaled up the design for the Infinite Train, crafting massive 3x6 meter panels weighing over two tons each. Fortunately, he wasn’t using rolled tungsten steel, which would have been even heavier.

With the materials in his disassembly space, covering all seven carriages of the train would be impossible. Each passenger carriage needed four panels, the electric locomotive required ten, and the gas locomotive six—36 panels in total.

Lin Xian’s improved mechanical manufacturing skills allowed him to produce these relatively simple armor plates quickly. However, each panel still took ten minutes and drained his energy significantly. When materials ran out, he had to pause crafting to scavenge steel from the freight train carriages.

Since the panels were so heavy, Lin Xian and Big Luo worked directly on the roof, with Lin Xian crafting the plates and Big Luo welding them into place.

Meanwhile, Chen Sixuan and Shasha used the water tank’s spray system to clean the Infinite Train’s bloodied exterior. After smashing through thousands of zombies, the train was caked in gore. Under the flashlight’s beam, it resembled a scene from hell.

Wearing gas masks, the two women sprayed down the train from opposite sides. The water, sourced from unpurified rain and snow, wasn’t frozen since it was part of the locomotive’s cooling system.

Lin Xian planned to scavenge Yu Chi City for plastics, glass, and fibers to craft a water purifier, as well as household items for Car 5 and Car 2.

"Lin-ge," Shasha called, her voice muffled by the gas mask as she washed the wheels. "There are bones and rocks stuck in the wheels."

"Clear them out for now," Lin Xian replied, sweat dripping from his face as he continued crafting armor plates. "Once we finish the roof, we’ll head to the city at daybreak. After that, I’ll add wheel-wing plates to the sides."

"Lin Xian," Chen Sixuan said from the other side, "if we’re dealing with derailments, we could use Horizon Braking Devices. But if you’re adding wheel-wing plates, leave some ground clearance."

"I know," Lin Xian nodded.

Wheel-wing plates were thinner and primarily served to protect the wheels. The Horizon Braking Devices, on the other hand, adhered to the tracks during high-speed sprints, but only the locomotive had this system. Cars 1-5 were too old and didn’t have it, increasing their risk of derailment.

Derailments, however, were a minor issue. The bigger concern was broken tracks—especially in high-speed situations like the previous night’s all-out sprint.