Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 173: Carriage Renovation Completed

The outer armor electric blade device was Lin Xian's own idea. There were no blueprints; he purely relied on the principle of the GK03 electric knife. With the electrical power provided by the nuclear-powered locomotive, he was able to implement this simple high-voltage blade device directly onto the train’s armor.

When he re-equipped the entire train's armor, Lin Xian had already left a metal groove embedded with ceramic between the steel plate’s flaps and side panels. Now, he just needed to insert the body armor blade and connect the discharge modules.

It seemed simple, but Lin Xian thought the effect and power shouldn’t be far off. After all, the electric knife could cut through the defense skin of evolved human eerie entities like Tang Hai. Even if an eerie entity charged at them, it would at least strip off a layer of skin if not kill them outright.

Szzzz!

The silver electric blade, ten centimeters wide and several meters long, was built piece by piece by Lin Xian. After inserting and fixing them with the help of a few assistants, it took more than an hour, leaving Lin Xian sweating profusely.

The automatic door opened, and KIKI excitedly walked out. Seeing Lin Xian still busy, she couldn’t help but say, "Wow, hard at work, big shot."

"I’m the only one resting in the high-altitude corridor. Since you guys haven’t slept, of course, I’m more energetic than you all." Lin Xian finished installing and said to KIKI.

KIKI glanced at the long blade Lin Xian had installed, nodding in delight. "Is this the electric blade you mentioned yesterday? You really did make it."

Lin Xian reminded her, "Just test the retracting and extending, don’t power it on."

"Got it~"

KIKI returned to the 2nd carriage, operating the system. A subtle sound of an electric motor hummed, and a circle of silver blades slowly extended from the side wing of the "Infinite Train," glinting coldly and sending a chill down one’s spine.

Lin Xian watched the result, quite pleased. "Not bad. Although it’s simple, cold weapons might work wonders in the right moment."

【Congratulations! Mechanical Manufacturing has been upgraded to level 3.】

A notification popped up, and Lin Xian sighed in relief. He checked the time, and it was already 4:00 PM. Looking up, he saw that the thirty vehicles of the Fireline Convoy were neatly parked on the side of the road, with all the supplies already cleared out by Shu Qin and her team.

"Let’s deal with these cars first."

If trouble arose after dark, these thirty vehicles would be wasted if they couldn’t be moved. The train lacked the flatbed freight cars it previously had, and bringing these cars along would be pointless. It was better to disassemble them for materials.

Lin Xian took a bottle of water, drank a few mouthfuls, and immediately started devouring the cars.

Except for one heavy truck that was driven off, there was still one left. Lin Xian walked over and began devouring it, starting with the largest heavy truck.

【Devouring Progress: 1%】

The notification appeared, and Lin Xian calculated the time. He estimated that it would take just under 20 minutes to finish devouring this heavy truck. His Mechanical Devouring had reached level 3 back in Yu Chi, and though he only devoured his Huanxing 7F Electric Locomotive along the way from Daluo Mountain’s No. 9 Underground City to Yubei, his devouring level hadn’t made significant progress.

【Devouring Successful. Mechanical Source Points +20, Mechanical Devouring Skill Proficiency +10, Extra Reward: Strength +2】

【Disassembly: Obtained High-Manganese Steel x10, Hot-Rolled Forged Steel x10, Cold-Rolled Dual-Phase Steel Plate x5, Ordinary Carbon Steel x20, Non-Metallic Foam Material, Non-Metallic Composite Materials...】

"Whew~"

"A modified heavy truck only adds 20 Mechanical Source Points. Seems similar to the dump trucks from before. Apart from the engine, there aren't any advanced mechanical structures."

Without hesitation, Lin Xian devoured all the remaining cars except for two well-maintained armored off-road vehicles. Each vehicle took around five minutes, with some taking even less time.

By the time the sun was setting, the thirty vehicles had all been devoured. The highway was now empty, save for the bloodstains and tire tracks.

Lin Xian opened his Mechanical Heart panel.

【Current Mechanical Heart Level: LV.3 (565/5000)】

Strength Level: 3【30%】 (Burst 300 kg)

Speed Level: 2【40%】 (Max 13 m/s)

Defense Level: 2【26%】 (Iron Bones)

【Mechanical Awakening】: Mechanic

【Awakening Skills】: Research Center, Manufacturing Plant

Mechanical Devouring: 3 (466/1000) – Increases devouring efficiency

Mechanical Manufacturing: 3 (10/1000) – Increases construction efficiency

Mechanical Passives: Scan/Repair/Disassemble

【Special Skills】

Wind Cannon (Normal) (Level 3, Max Level)

Ice Shield (Normal) (Level 2, 09%)

Backlash (Rare) (Level 1, 30%)

Power Surge (Rare) (Level 1, 23%)

【Reminder: VoG Grenade Launcher blueprint is being upgraded, ETA 3:15:34】

The devouring of the cars had added 320 Mechanical Source Points. The proficiency of Mechanical Devouring increased by 160, with Strength, Speed, and Defense accumulating 20, 15, and 18 points respectively.

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What surprised Lin Xian was that despite all this devouring, he hadn’t gained a single skill.

"Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever gained any new skills from devouring cars?"

Lin Xian furrowed his brow as he looked at the panel. "The Wind Cannon is already at max level, and my options are growing fewer. Looks like I need to find a way to speed up progress on mechanical combat."

By now, the external assembly work of the train was mostly complete. More people meant faster progress, and his mechanical ability was highly efficient for the modifications.

Currently, the armor plates, sentinel surveillance, and electric blade armor had all been installed. The automatic explosion-proof doors for Carriage No. 11 and Carriage No. 5 were finished, as well as the lift platforms on the roofs of Carriage No. 5 and Carriage No. 2. The water and oxygen circulation pipelines were still being worked on, and many of the convoy members were busy organizing their little homes in the living carriages.

Besides this, the only unfinished tasks were the machine gun towers on the train roof, the 1130 Close-In Weapon System on Carriage No. 12, the PX-05 robots, and the two intercity train heads and material carriages at the back of the Infinite Train.

However, Lin Xian planned to finish these inside the train for safety reasons.

Beep beep, the watch’s alert sounded. Lin Xian took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his face, and immediately called everyone back on board.

The night was coming!

The heavy hatch doors of the cockpit, as well as the automatic explosion-proof doors of Carriages No. 5 and No. 11, slowly closed. The people on board were busy, everyone preparing for the impending darkness.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Inside the cockpit, Chen Sixuan saw Lin Xian walk in and immediately said, "This should be our first night entering the Yunjiang Plains, right?"

Lin Xian nodded as he started the train. "The daylight lasts a bit longer here. I just hope we won’t run into too much trouble tonight."

"Do you plan to reach Hengshan Pass tonight?" she asked.

"Yes. It’s a large transfer station with many branch lines. We don’t need to reroute. If the situation clears up, we can rest there. The weapons station isn’t built yet, and I’m still a bit worried," Lin Xian replied, glancing at Chen Sixuan. "Transfer stations like that should have a lot of trains, supplies, and mechanical resources. Now that we have manpower, we need to gather everything we can. There won’t be much food available in the wild."

Chen Sixuan nodded. As the train began to speed up, she spoke up again. "What do you think about the group hunting effect that Zhou Yixuan mentioned in Bai Tian?"

"There’s a possibility. Actually, I had a similar guess before," Lin Xian sighed and took a seat in the cockpit. He stared ahead, watching the vast sky gradually darken. "Before we entered Daluo Mountain, I didn’t think much of it. I just thought the eerie entities showing up at night was too sudden, as if the night itself was a form of overlapping space. Once night fell, they suddenly appeared. Perhaps they exist in a higher dimension, and during Bai Tian, they could see us, but we couldn’t see them..."

Lin Xian’s thoughts drifted to the time when he unexpectedly encountered the corrupted demon on the 1542 frequency, and that idea hadn’t left him ever since.

These eerie entities didn’t seem like they came from a specific nest. If we were to call it a nest, perhaps the Abyss involved in the Dark Tides is the real nest.

Chen Sixuan, surprised by his thoughts, furrowed her brow. "If that’s true, then it’s terrifying."

"It’s possible that the attacks from the eerie entities were just triggered by the large crowd gathering in Yubei City, or maybe these eerie entities were the hunters chasing after the survivor convoys. But after entering the black night of Yubei City, they all came out," Lin Xian shrugged. "After we entered Yubei Spaceport, I thought I was mistaken. After all, when night fell, so many survivors gathered, but the eerie entities didn’t appear directly at the spaceport. But now, hearing about the group hunting effect, I’m starting to think this could explain things."

"If that’s the case..." Chen Sixuan took a deep breath, her gaze shifting to the time on the train’s screen. It was only a few minutes before the sun would set.

She then glanced toward the long corridor behind them and said, "We’ve expanded our team. That means more danger..."

"And it will soon escalate," Lin Xian replied, his voice low. The train continued to roll forward, the darkening sky casting an ominous glow.