Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 271: Yes, I did it, kill me?

"Expensive? Do you know the value of a high-power electric locomotive?"

Song Hao didn't know where Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan had suddenly appeared from. Hearing the questioning tone, he immediately opened his mouth to retort.

"I know that." Before Monica could speak, Shi Diyuan directly responded loudly, "In good condition, a 70,000-kilowatt ordinary electric traction locomotive is worth at most 10 Blood Crystals, and that's only if someone even wants it."

"What did you say?!"

"Shut up."

Monica sharply interrupted Song Hao and turned to apologize to the two men.

"Big Brother Shi, Captain Lin, I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away. This is the technician from my train. Let me take you on board and show you around, would you like something to drink?"

"No need, no need~"

Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan were not polite at all, and directly boarded the train. As soon as they stepped in, both of them couldn't help but look around in surprise, taking in the interior.

Song Hao and Zhu Pang exchanged confused looks as they watched the two walk by. "Monica, who are they?"

"Friends, here to help with the repairs."

"Repairs?!" Song Hao's eyes widened immediately. "Just… just the two of them?"

"Monica, didn’t we contact the Jincheng Convoy? They have the best mechanical engineers in the city, why are we looking for other people?"

Monica shot him a cold glance, not bothering to explain. She followed Lin Xian and the others into the carriage.

Song Hao swallowed his words under her gaze and awkwardly lowered his head.

But as Monica passed by, he raised his eyes to look at her retreating figure, his eyes flickering with a trace of coldness.

"Let's see what they’re here for first."

Zhu Pang nudged him with his elbow and gave him a look. Song Hao's gaze shifted, and without a word, he began packing up the maintenance tools.

From the outside, Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan did not look like mechanical engineers or repair technicians at all. If anything, one was wearing a grey bear coat and the other high-tech powered armor, making them look more like high-ranking members of a convoy. Moreover, they didn't bring any tools and came empty-handed, which made Song Hao unable to believe they were here to fix anything.

At that moment, Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan were like curious children, looking around the interior of the "Queen Monica" with focused expressions. Although both were from train convoys and lived on trains, the interior of the "Queen Monica" was completely different from any ordinary train structure. Lin Xian's first impression was that it resembled the interior of a spacecraft!

The integrated functional carriages, with their numerous automated devices, made the space seem not too roomy. Being fully enclosed, there were no windows except for the port and starboard windows of the train, and all external situations were monitored by a 360-degree sentry system throughout the car. Inside, it had an incredibly secure atmosphere. The living area beds were embedded in honeycomb-like compartments, while the control room's circular screen was filled with snowfield terrain maps. The advanced air circulation and heating systems made it feel like stepping into spring as soon as anyone entered.

Shh~

Arriving at the first and largest driving carriage, the door required Monica's iris recognition to open.

This was not only the energy carriage but also Monica's personal living area. This carriage, over 60 meters long, housed the energy, power, and main control systems. It also contained an intelligent AI system that could monitor the entire train’s status, detect malfunctions, and even remotely control it, allowing for automated driving—all under Monica’s command.

"This is my personal private living area;normally, no one is allowed in."

Monica smiled as she led them through, "We only have 26 people on board, and 5 of them are responsible for vehicle control and operation. Although the train is fully automated, someone needs to monitor road conditions 24/7, and the radar is always on."

"Wow, Monica, you sure have a spacious place here."

As soon as they walked in, Shi Diyuan couldn't help but exclaim.

Despite the integration of so many core systems, Monica's living area still felt very spacious and luxurious. The space-age bathroom had a large wave massage bathtub, and in addition to the spacious bedroom, there was even a dedicated walk-in closet, a wine cabinet, and a spa-like space capsule…

It almost felt like a vacation rather than the apocalypse.

"No wonder this is a 2-billion-APocalypse Express." Lin Xian couldn't help but smile. "It may look fancy, but it’s practical as well. The whole train’s defense, survival, and life-sustaining systems are like a fortified armory. I wouldn’t say it’s unrealistic;having a luxury fortress like this in the apocalypse is way better than having to sleep in a stinky backseat or use welded scrap metal as shelter."

"Yeah!" Shi Diyuan added seriously, "If I’d known, I should've brought a few people from the engineering team over. Not to mention anything else, even the air circulation and greywater systems here are something we could learn from. If we put them on Dragon Mountain One, they would definitely solve a big problem."

Shi Diyuan's words weren’t exaggerated. With a train of over a thousand people and an apocalyptic environment, hygiene became a huge issue. If not carefully managed, the train would stink, and keeping the toilets clean would be a nightmare for the car supervisors.

Lin Xian’s "Infinite Train" hadn't encountered this issue yet. The men and women in the living carriages were all very conscious of hygiene. With Xiao Yuan and the other logistics staff being diligent, they had taken it upon themselves to handle some of the cleaning duties, keeping the living carriages comfortable, so Lin Xian hadn’t worried about it.

"Sorry to laugh," Monica said with her arms crossed and a tone of faint sorrow. "I'm the only woman on this entire train. Even if one day I'm destined to die in the blackness of some night, I still want to face death in a clean and comfortable environment."

Lin Xian was slightly surprised by her words. The whole train only had one woman, and this woman was also the leader of the convoy. This setup seemed odd. Moreover, from Monica’s attitude toward her subordinates earlier, she didn’t seem like someone with a warm and approachable personality.

Considering all this, Lin Xian guessed that Monica’s ability to control the convoy was likely not just due to her command over the train’s systems but also because her personal strength must not be underestimated.

After all, how could she control a convoy guarded by people in powered armor unless she was formidable herself?

"How about it, Captain Lin?" Monica asked, looking at Lin Xian.

"Give me a moment."

After the tour ended, Lin Xian immediately went to the control station and sat down, placing his hand on the console, starting to activate his Mechanical Heart.

As soon as the field of the Mechanical Heart spread, Lin Xian quickly began a rough evaluation.

"Three hours."

Monica’s eyes lit up. "Three hours… you can fix it in three hours?"

Lin Xian didn’t give a definite answer, only saying, "There’s hope."

The three hours was roughly the time he needed to finish scanning the train. Although the train only had 8 carriages, it had numerous subsystems. Fortunately, he had prior experience with scanning nuclear-powered systems. Apart from that, the most advanced mechanical component on this train was likely the intelligent control AI. The chip manufacturing process took the most time. Although he could bypass these systems, the train was an integrated design, with the main control system connected to all the subsystems. Bypassing them would take even longer.

Upon hearing this, Monica tried to suppress her excitement, her eyes filled with hesitation. She couldn’t help but glance at Lin Xian and then at Shi Diyuan, cautiously asking, "Captain Lin, I feel like I still don’t know your terms?"

"20 Blood Crystals." Without waiting for her response, Lin Xian answered directly.

"Only 20 Blood Crystals!?" Shi Diyuan exclaimed. "They charge 40 for a basic electric locomotive circuit repair. Brother Lin, you’re so generous!"

Lin Xian chuckled at his words. Shi Diyuan wasn't trying to provoke him but was actually criticizing the exorbitant price set by the so-called Jincheng Convoy.

After all, Lin Xian had gotten the Huanxing 7F Electric Locomotive for free because nuclear-powered locomotives themselves were extremely powerful and could drive super-long trains like Dragon Mountain One on their own. Shi Diyuan had a backup plan, but if there were no nuclear-powered locomotives, ordinary electric traction locomotives wouldn’t be useful at all. Not to mention, a damaged freight electric locomotive?

Hearing the 40 Blood Crystal repair price made both Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan realize it was a ridiculously high price, specifically aimed at exploiting Monica’s situation.

"Really, just 20 Blood Crystals?" Monica was almost sure she misheard. If this price could solve the train's current issues, it would be an incredible deal.

Fortunately, Monica knew that Qian Dele was extremely cold-faced and picky. If he had approved of this, there had to be a method behind it.

Thinking this, Monica felt a little relieved.

She said nothing more and headed to the wine cabinet, opening a bottle of her cherished red wine.

Soon, Monica brought wine to both Shi Diyuan and Lin Xian. She watched Lin Xian’s actions closely but didn’t detect any fluctuation in his Soul Wave Value. She then calmly said, "Captain Lin, you’ve really helped me a great deal."

"Just a small matter," Lin Xian replied indifferently.

For Lin Xian, not only would he earn 20 Blood Crystals, but he would also receive the complete blueprint of the entire train, including key structural designs such as the integrated electrical system, automated weapon compartments, bathroom and living quarters designs, lighting, air circulation systems, and water recycling. These were more valuable than Blood Crystals because he couldn't find any design blueprints for them elsewhere. Currently, the Infinite Train used basic designs for things like the automated blast doors, but they weren’t tailored to the train’s specific needs.

Having blueprints designed specifically for the train would allow for much better modifications to the Infinite Train in the future, solving the overall structural issues in one go. This was what interested him most.

Shi Diyuan took a sip of red wine and then said to Monica, "Monica, while Brother Lin is busy, do you mind showing me around the weapons setup? I could use a lesson on firepower layout and stuff."

Dragon Mountain One was also planning to purchase a large number of weapon systems for updates, and after experiencing many dangers, Shi Diyuan understood the importance of tiered firepower layouts and the supply of ammunition in each carriage. Although Monica wasn’t an expert, her train was designed with military cooperation, so there were a lot of things worth learning.

"Of course." Monica glanced at Lin Xian and then smiled, leading Shi Diyuan to explore other carriages.

【Scanning progress: 1%】

Meanwhile, Lin Xian’s Mechanical Heart was fully activated, quickly covering every corner of the "Queen Monica" train.

Gradually, a blueprint for a meticulously designed heavy-duty doomsday train began to take shape on the holographic screen in front of Lin Xian. As he observed the incredibly complex structural designs, Lin Xian couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration: "Although it's a gimmick put together by a tech company, designing such a train isn't simple. No wonder it costs 2 billion per unit..."

Lin Xian concluded that the team responsible for designing this doomsday train must be from a top-tier industrial group. They had even incorporated avionics integration systems used in fighter jets, connected numerous sensors to the onboard radar systems, and set up a complete data chain transmission system, all of which were centralized in the main processing server of the first carriage.

From the very beginning of its design, the doomsday train had considered a five-defense level standard for bulletproofing, anti-cold, fire, water resistance, and even radiation protection. It even accounted for short-term water travel, leading to a very complex drive system design.

The ongoing scanning left Lin Xian in awe, but the only problem, as he had anticipated earlier, was that the train had considered so many factors that the maintenance costs were extremely high. Lin Xian speculated that there must be spare parts for many of the fragile components, but even so, after months of battling against various powerful, eerie entities and zombie hordes, the train was bound to have suffered significant wear.

While scanning, Lin Xian kept an eye on the time, calculating that once he solved the current issues, he could also upgrade the equipment inside the Infinite Train. The entire train's armor had been replaced with new composite armor, and since the armor modules were standardized, coupled with the roof armor, the train’s sealing capability had significantly improved, which would address the previous snowmelt infiltration issue.

Next on the list was the sentry system. Now that he had the time, he could borrow from the 'Queen Monica' design to create 360-degree monitoring and integrate it into the information center. He could also install external displays in every carriage, so there would be no need to open windows to see the outside. Moreover, the protective capability would be far superior to that of windows, increasing the safety for all team members.

There was also the Triangle Track strong magnetic all-terrain drive module of Dragon Mountain One waiting for him to scan. The new WeLong electric locomotive hadn't been integrated yet, and there were also weapon systems, the 1130, electromagnetic cannon, powered armor, PX-05 robots, and upgrades for the planting carriages...

Lin Xian was eager to make every second count to fully arm the Infinite Train and create a safer environment before nightfall.

At the same time, he opened his R&D center.

【R&D Center】

【TRP Gen-4 Special Industrial Active Exoskeleton (Blueprint): 1 day 04 hours】

"The new powered armor is almost ready. I wonder how it will turn out."

Additionally, Lin Xian casually opened his Mechanical Heart panel to check his skill proficiency.

【Special Skills】

"Mechanical Amplification can only amplify max-level skills. Flashback and Power Surge haven't come in handy for a long time. Looks like I need to level up my proficiency and reach Level 3 sooner."

After the mechanical amplification, his skills had upgraded to a whole new level. Although Lin Xian had never used the AT Field in combat, he could tell that it was likely much stronger than Ice Wall.

The most crucial thing was that this skill could be extended using Power Surge to increase the defense area. In other words, if necessary, he could even use it to protect the Infinite Train from attacks!

Just as Lin Xian was scanning for a fault in the transmission system, he couldn't help but frown.

"This problem seems more troublesome than I imagined..."

...

"Not bad, not bad. Monica, your train is much more impressive than my Dragon Mountain One. Yours is really professional;unlike us, piecing everything together from scraps."

At that moment, outside the carriage, Shi Diyuan had followed Monica to inspect the entire weapon system of the train. Monica, as straightforward as when drinking, readily showcased all her secret weapons, without the slightest attempt to conceal anything.

"Big Brother Shi, don't tease me. I'm just a woman, how could I have abilities like you and Captain Lin? If it weren't for my good background and this train, with my limited capabilities, I’d have probably been eaten by a zombie or sold to a bandit convoy to be used as a toy by now." Monica's tone carried a touch of self-mocking helplessness, but she still wore a smile.

"Hey! Don’t say that." Shi Diyuan waved his hand and replied directly, "In this world, surviving is a skill."

The two continued talking, and as Shi Diyuan waited for Lin Xian, he also kept an eye on Dragon Mountain One’s ability detection status. Unconsciously, more than two hours passed, and soon, the results of the ability detection from Dragon Mountain One started coming through via the city's relay signal.

This meant the ability detection was nearing its final batch.

Just as they were about to board the train to discuss things with Lin Xian, a loud engine roar suddenly rang out from the distance at the platform.

Looking over, they saw a well-modified four-wheeled monster truck barreling toward the platform. The survivors camped on the platform cast disapproving looks at the vehicle, but when they saw the Gatling gun and small arc pulse cannon mounted on it, they all backed off.

The reason was simple: a vehicle’s modification level could reflect the power of the convoy. If a monster truck could be outfitted with a small arc pulse cannon, it meant the convoy was incredibly powerful, not just with impressive firepower but also with significant wealth.

The monster truck was large and almost scraped the edge of the platform as it drove in, then it headed straight toward the "Queen Monica."

Whoosh~

In an instant, the truck stopped right in front of Monica and Shi Diyuan. The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a mohawk and a thick down jacket quickly jumped down, immediately removing his sunglasses to reveal a long, thin face.

At the same time, three others got out of the truck, each holding strange mechanical toolboxes and detectors, following the man.

"Who’s the boss of this train?"

The man with the mohawk scanned Monica and Shi Diyuan with an arrogant air.

Monica sensed the offensive look from him and, with a cold expression, spoke sternly,

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The mohawk man frowned, gave a strange smile, and then ignored them. He grabbed his communicator and shouted, "Hey, hey, Song, we’re here."

Before he could finish, Song Hao hurriedly ran over, panting, and spoke to Monica,

"Monica, Monica, they’re from the Jincheng Convoy. Didn't you ask me to find someone to fix the train? I checked them out, they’re very professional, many convoys in Xilan City have had their vehicles repaired by them."

Then, he quickly introduced the mohawk man,

"Captain He, this is our boss, Monica."

"Oh~ You’re the boss? Hello, hello, nice to meet you," He Kun said, looking at Monica, seeming somewhat disbelieving that the leader of such a powerful doomsday train could be a woman.

Although he greeted her, Monica clearly didn’t want to deal with such an impolite person. She gave him a cold glance and asked Song Hao,

"Did you finalize the price?"

"No..."

"How could that be?" Before Song Hao could respond, He Kun seriously raised his voice,

"Beautiful lady, we are very professional. How can you quote a price without knowing the fault? Isn’t that just trying to rip you off?"

He turned to pat the detection equipment his subordinates carried and smugly said,

"Our Jincheng Convoy specializes in all kinds of repair issues. Our motto is free inspection first, then a reasonable quote. If the client accepts, we proceed with the repairs. We also offer after-sales support. Our convoy has over 20 mechanical engineers, and whether it's software, hardware, or military vehicles, even if it's just a wheel, we can fix it. Absolutely professional!"

Hearing this, Shi Diyuan couldn’t help but laugh, "Haha, you’re really good at blowing your own horn. You can make a whole new vehicle from a wheel?"

"This is just a metaphor," He Kun replied lightly. "Anyway, whatever the issue is, come to us, you can’t go wrong!"

At this point, Song Hao leaned closer to Monica and whispered,

"Monica, I checked, this Jincheng Convoy is really professional. They can fix any vehicle. Since they offer a free inspection, I arranged for them to come over. After they inspect, we can hear their quote and then decide whether to hire them."

Monica snorted,

"40 Blood Crystals just to fix a scrap electric locomotive? Do you really think I’m an idiot and will let them inspect my train?"

Song Hao froze, not knowing what to say.

But He Kun, hearing this, wasn’t angered at all. Instead, he adopted a serious expression and said to Monica,

"Miss, from your words, I can tell you have a deep misunderstanding about us!"

"First of all, that’s not an ordinary electric locomotive, it’s a WeLong-class electric locomotive with 70,000 kilowatts of power. It can pull 50,000 tons of cargo without a problem. Moreover, repairing the electrical system is not a simple task;it requires a major overhaul."

He Kun smiled and looked at Monica, speaking seriously,

"And most importantly, it’s about time. We’re about to evacuate. To get that machine running, we’ll need at least a dozen people working overnight. This is a life-or-death issue. As the leader of your convoy, you must understand the gravity of the situation. It’s not that the scrap electric locomotive is valuable;it’s the result you need, which is worth so much."

"Considering that, 40 Blood Crystals really isn’t expensive at all. We’re just taking your money and doing your job."

"Good one, looks like you’re a pro at being a profiteer," Shi Diyuan chuckled at He Kun’s words, giving him a thumbs-up.

"No need," Monica replied.

He Kun, having delivered a seemingly reasonable speech, was stunned when Monica, without a second thought, immediately rejected him,

"I’ve already entrusted the repairs to someone else. No need for you, thank you. Please leave."

After saying this, Monica directly dismissed them.

He Kun’s expression changed, and his smile faded slightly. He immediately turned to Song Hao and whispered,

"What’s going on? Didn’t you tell me the repairs weren’t done yet?"

At this moment, Song Hao was also bewildered, and turned to Monica,

"Monica… who did you entrust the repairs to?"

Monica turned her head and gave Song Hao a stern look, saying, "I've already assigned all the repair work for the train to Team Leader Lin. It should be done soon, so you don't need to look for anyone else to repair the train for now."

Song Hao was greatly taken aback. When Monica mentioned that Lin Xian was here to repair the train earlier, he hadn't paid much attention to it. But now, it seemed like Lin Xian had already started working on it?

What the heck? No tools, and he thinks he can fix this 200-meter-long automated doomsday train all by himself?

"Monica!" Song Hao couldn't sit still now. "Why didn't you discuss this with me first? I'm the one who knows the train's issues the best. How can someone else just come and repair it without me knowing about it?!"

"I just told you," Monica responded coldly.

"No, I didn't think he was actually going to fix the train—alone, with no tools! You didn't even let me help. This is completely ridiculous. How could it be fixed like this?!"

"You don’t need to worry. Team Leader Lin has his ways."

Song Hao was stunned. He knew that Monica was clueless about mechanics, so all train maintenance decisions were supposed to be left to him. But now, Monica had hired some random person to fix it? In his eyes, Monica must have been tricked.

In fact, Monica was well aware of this. Although she had never seen Lin Xian work before, she hadn't planned on explaining his abilities to Song Hao in front of He Kun. Since she had already reached an agreement with Lin Xian, the repair work had been handed over to him.

At this point, if she brought in anyone else to inspect or repair the train, it would be disrespectful to Lin Xian. Monica, being a woman of clarity, understood exactly who Lin Xian was—someone brought back by the Seventh Investigation Team of the Phoenix Guild. She didn’t need to hesitate or explain anything to people like He Kun.

He Kun, seeing Song Hao’s reaction, quickly realized what was happening. A look of amusement crossed his face as he spoke.

"Hey, when did Xilan City get such a genius mechanic? We didn’t know about it. A one-man team fixing your entire train without tools, and according to the lovely lady captain here, he's almost done?!"

He raised his voice with increasing sarcasm, and his three engineers behind him barely managed to stifle their laughter.

Standing aside, Shi Diyuan folded his arms and immediately snapped back.

"What's the problem? My brother Lin has the skills. If you’ve got nothing to do, just go somewhere else. Don't make weird noises around here. Want me to remove your vocal cords?"

Shi Diyuan was direct and blunt. He didn’t beat around the bush. If someone got on his nerves, he would not hold back in greeting them.

When he spoke, the others immediately changed their expressions, and He Kun's face darkened. He could sense an aura that he definitely didn’t want to provoke. Although his Gold City team was a large one, he knew that those who operated nuclear-powered trains were not ordinary characters. Thus, he quickly reined in his earlier arrogance and said seriously.

"Okay, okay, this guy’s got quite a temper. Calm down, calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it. But since we’ve met today, I’d like to meet this master who can fix nuclear-powered trains without tools. Let’s be friends. This won’t be a problem, right?"

Just then, Zhu Pang, one of Monica’s team members, suddenly ran down from the train with an astonished expression.

"Hey, the transmission system fault alert’s gone off!!"

"What?!" Song Hao immediately pulled out his mobile terminal to check the train’s fault data. To his astonishment, not only had the transmission system been cleared, but several other faults, both minor and major, had also been resolved.

"This... this can’t be happening."

Monica saw Song Hao’s shocked expression and couldn’t help but marvel. However, she didn’t show any surprise. She was about to board the train to confirm things with Lin Xian when she noticed that he was already standing at the train door.

"Team Leader Lin?"

"Finished a little faster than expected," Lin Xian said, clapping his hands as he walked down. His hands were spotless, in stark contrast to Song Hao and Zhu Pang, who were covered in grease.

Monica's pupils contracted, and she looked up at Song Hao.

At this moment, Song Hao, still in disbelief, stammered, "Monica, the transmission, electric control, and drive—all the faults are gone! How... how did he do this?"

Hearing Song Hao’s words, Monica felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. Excitedly, she turned to Lin Xian and asked, "Team Leader Lin, you really fixed everything?!"

"Of course! Hahaha!"

Shi Diyuan, quite pleased with himself, walked up and patted Lin Xian on the shoulder. "When it comes to mechanical problems, there’s nothing my brother Lin can’t solve. Monica, you finally found the right guy. 20 Blood Crystals is a great deal, huh?"

20 Blood Crystals?

He Kun’s face darkened as he listened to the conversation. He suddenly felt like he had been played.

"Hey, Song, didn’t you tell me that the transmission shaft magnetizer was broken, the power turbine had issues, and the electric control and shock absorbers had faults? How come all these problems are fixed in two hours? Are you messing with me?" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"I... I didn’t do anything!" Song Hao was now questioning everything. His face kept changing as he ran a self-check through the train’s system. The engines and turbines hummed, but no issues popped up. He had thought Lin Xian might have just cleared the alert system and made a show of it, but the actual result showed that Lin Xian really had fixed problems that had plagued the train for over a month in just two hours!

"Heh."

Naturally, He Kun didn’t believe this. He had lost patience and glared at Song Hao, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Fine, fine. Since you, the beautiful captain, believe your train is fixed, then I guess we won’t bother you. But just a friendly piece of advice—train failures are a matter of life and death. You’d better have professionals check it over, or you might run into trouble when it’s time to leave the city. And at that point, no one will be able to help you."

"Damn it, you little son of a b****, is your tongue swapped with the hair on your head? Did you think I was saying nonsense?!"

Shi Diyuan immediately lost his temper. He shrugged off his coat and was about to charge forward when Lin Xian stopped him with a hand.

"Don’t bother with him. We have other matters to attend to."

Lin Xian then stepped forward and spoke to Monica. "The advice is reasonable, though. Even if we’ve fixed it, a check would make you feel more at ease."

Monica smiled slightly and said, "Song Hao already ran a system self-check. While I don’t understand mechanics, I can tell if the turbine core sounds right. Team Leader Lin, I’m really grateful."

He Kun shot a glance at Shi Diyuan, visibly intimidated. He quickly gestured for his team to follow him, saying, "We’re leaving."

But just as they were about to walk away, he suddenly stopped and turned back to Song Hao and Monica, saying, "By the way, about that electric locomotive... you don’t need it, right? If you don’t, we’ll just take it with us."

His words were a deliberate probe, trying to see if Monica would get anxious. After all, his information indicated that the 'Monica Queen' train had serious hidden dangers. He had come here thinking it was a big business opportunity, so he was still trying to push for a lower price.

Before Monica and Song Hao could respond, another voice interrupted.

"If you’re talking about the two Weilang-class locomotives at the west side freight station, sorry, I’ve already fixed them and taken them."

"What?!" He Kun stumbled back in shock, looking at Lin Xian with fear in his eyes.

Lin Xian glanced at him. "What’s the problem?"

He Kun’s eyes went wide with anger. "What the hell? That electric locomotive was found by our Gold City team. We were planning to fix it and sell it to a client. Who gave you the right to take it?!"

Lin Xian couldn’t help but laugh, looking coldly at He Kun.

"I took it. So what? You want to steal it back?"

"Ha, a joke! Just because you found it, doesn’t mean it’s yours. Did you piss on it and leave a mark?" Shi Diyuan chimed in, laughing. He Kun had clearly been treating them like fools.

"Are you messing with me?!" He Kun’s face turned dark with anger. He reached behind and pulled out a large gun. "You’re daring to steal from our Gold City team’s business? Brothers, get your weapons!"

Click-click-click!

Before He Kun’s men could even draw their guns, six battle-ready soldiers wearing Lone Wolf A combat exoskeletons quickly surrounded them, guns trained on He Kun’s group.

The sudden, intimidating display made He Kun’s anger die down instantly. He felt a cold chill and hurriedly dropped his gun.

"Wait, wait, it’s a misunderstanding, misunderstanding. Beautiful lady boss, I was just targeting that guy. I didn’t want trouble with you all."

Monica’s nuclear-powered train stood nearby, and He Kun knew this was her territory. His target was Lin Xian, the one who had taken their business. He just wanted to save face;if word spread that a repairman had stolen a business deal from a team of hundreds, they wouldn’t get any future work in Xilan City.

Monica stepped forward with a cold face, the mink fur on her coat fluttering. "These two are my guests. If you want to make trouble on my turf, it seems like your team is ready for a confrontation with us?"

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes suddenly glowed a deep crimson, and a pressure, invisible yet tangible, burst forth, immediately making He Kun’s group feel suffocated.

Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan, who were watching from behind, exchanged glances, both surprised by Monica’s ability to exert such a powerful force.

Song Hao and Zhu Pang, witnessing Monica’s anger, quietly stepped back.

"No, no, no! How could that be?!" He Kun quickly realized the situation was no joke, and his team of repairmen was outmatched. He knew he couldn’t win this one, so he quickly backed down.

"Since your train’s fixed, we won’t bother you. Business is business, we’re all just trying to survive here. Don’t make it worse and attract the Phoenix Guild’s people, right? No need for that, right..."

As he said that, He Kun and his men raised their hands and started backing off toward the Bigfoot convoy.

Monica stared at him without saying a word, making He Kun feel a chill in his heart. He thought to himself that this woman's presence was much more intimidating than it appeared on the surface. He decided not to say anything else, clambering into the vehicle and stepping on the gas to make a hasty retreat.

Seeing several people fleeing, Monica didn't intentionally escalate the situation.

"Brother Shi, Captain Lin, I’m sorry," Monica said apologetically as she walked over. One of her subordinates handed her a box, which she opened to reveal 20 blood crystals inside.

"Captain Lin, if the Golden City convoy causes you any trouble, please contact me. I will take care of it."

Lin Xian reached out to take the box. He was quite satisfied with how Monica handled things and responded, "Alright, if anything happens to your vehicle, you can also contact me."

He looked at Monica, his next words carrying some deeper meaning: "At least for these two days, I'll cover the after-sales service."

"Ha, Sis Mo, honestly, this isn’t even your problem. The Golden City convoy looks like they're just the type that likes to extort. I've run into these kinds of people many times. I wouldn't even bother with them unless they crossed a line," Shi Diyuan waved his hand dismissively, then turned to Lin Xian, "Brother Lin, the ability tests are now at Longshan and the Infinite Train. Let’s stop the small talk and head back."

Lin Xian nodded, the timing was right. The blueprint for the Monica Queen was already scanned, saving them the trouble of waiting in line.

"Alright, I’ll take you over there."

Monica didn’t expect that the mechanical failure issue that could determine the life or death of her convoy would be resolved so easily by Lin Xian. The 20 blood crystals were nothing to her, and she had also made connections with Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan, two powerful convoy leaders. She was in a great mood, smiling as she gave some orders to her subordinates and then drove with Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan toward Michelle Cathedral.

Michelle Cathedral, Ability Testing Square.

The square was now in a frenzy, and more and more survivors gathered from the surrounding streets to watch. News spread like wildfire, and it had been days since the Ability Testing Square in Xilan City had been this lively.

The reason was simple. Within two hours, three people had reached the Frenzied Level!

Two of them were convoy leaders, Zhou Li and Qian Dele, who had been escorted into the city the night before by the 7th Investigation Corps. The other was Long Dahei, the leader of the Black Child Big Convoy, who had just arrived in Xilan City the afternoon before.

Zhou Li, the team leader, had even drunk with Lin Xian yesterday, but to everyone's surprise, he had no ability. Relying solely on his gene evolution, he reached the peak of 700 Soul Wave Value, and with an extreme coefficient of 1.5, his final ability test level reached 1050, qualifying as Frenzied Level (1000)!

Long Dahei, leader of a 800-person convoy, also had an extreme coefficient of 1.5, his ability peak at 800, and his final test level was 1200!

The most surprising was Qian Dele, dressed like a wealthy woman, whose ability reached a terrifying 1080 just for the Soul Wave Value peak! Moreover, his extreme coefficient was the highest in the room at 1.7!

Thus, the leader of the Joker convoy became the hottest topic of discussion, with a test level of 1836, close to 2000, a true monster!

"Wow, that guy just looked like a pretty boy, who would’ve thought his ability level would exceed 1800?"

"Impressive! Without counting the Nightwalkers, he’s probably the third or fourth strongest survivor in Xilan City."

"Yeah, at least in the top five. I remember Qin Xueming from the Cosmic Convoy, whose 1972 should place second. The strongest is Han Jun from the Arctic Wind Alliance, the only one to break 2000. That’s really something."

"But he’s a convoy leader, probably no one can poach him."

"Who knows? What if the Arctic Wind Alliance wants to recruit his entire convoy?"

"An 1836 ability user isn’t someone who can just be picked up easily."

"Maybe. No matter how strong, they’re still fleeing like us in the dark. Smart people know that group survival is safer. If we join the Arctic Wind Alliance, with their setup, we might even be able to handle A-level Eerie Entities!"

The crowd was abuzz with discussions. Even in the midst of an apocalypse, there was no stopping people from gossiping.

On the roof of a high-rise building, the woman with mechanical eyes focused on the tested Qian Dele from the Joker convoy, analyzing him.

"Joker convoy, about 400 members, high-level configuration. This Qian Dele seems to be familiar with Monica from the North City Queen convoy, and he has good relations with the other convoys that arrived last night."

"Green Wind, go talk to him. Offer some reasonable terms. If he’s unwilling, I’ll talk to him personally."

Han Jun, dressed in a trench coat, spoke in a calm voice.

Beside him, a middle-aged man with a face like red gold, Qin Xueming, the leader of the Cosmic Convoy, crossed his arms and spoke solemnly, "Level 1836, a team of 400 people. Your terms aren’t easy to offer."

"Crossing the Abyss, even 2000 isn’t guaranteed to survive." Han Jun's gaze was indifferent as he looked at him, "If you want to survive, we’ll talk."

Below, Qian Dele stood at the edge of the testing area, casually chatting with Ning Jing from Longshan No. 1.

"Has Old Shi and that handsome guy Lin arrived yet?"

"Almost there." Ning Jing looked at the people from Longshan No. 1 also starting to line up, saying, "Someone outside told me they’ve finished their business and should be here in a few minutes."

Qian Dele rubbed his face, visibly impatient. "That machine’s ionizing shock is too strong. If I weren’t curious about their test results, I would’ve left already. Standing here isn’t good for my skin~"

Ning Jing sighed, "But you can’t see anything from outside."

"That’s different." Qian Dele scanned the crowd outside the square. "It’s packed with people, and all the buildings upstairs are full. I can’t be bothered to squeeze with them, I’ll just stay here."

At the Infinite Train side, Ning Jing had informed Chen Sixuan of Lin Xian and the others' imminent return, as there was no signal inside the arena and their communicators couldn’t transmit. Fortunately, Longshan No. 1 had someone stationed outside for communication.

"Lin Xian’s almost back," Chen Sixuan said.

"Should be here any minute!" Miao Lu added, "I’m a bit nervous."

"Me too," Xiao Yuan whispered, knowing her test results wouldn't be great, she still felt a nervous tremor seeing the scene.

"Don’t worry, just take it step by step. The Phoenix Alliance’s research is also progressing bit by bit," Shu Qin reassured them.

"Right, once we test, we’ll know our situation and learn from the experience," Lü Chang said, eager to try.

Daluo nodded and glanced at Lu Xingchen not far away, "Has Fire Bro fallen asleep?"

"This idiot!" Shasha shot an annoyed look, "How can he sleep through this? I’m going to wake him up."

"Don’t bother him," Kiki grabbed Shasha, "This guy loves to show off, he’ll definitely be the last one to go on stage, don’t worry."

At this, Shasha felt it made perfect sense.

"Look, here comes Ning Jing and the others," Chen Sixuan said, and everyone turned their attention to the front.

At this point, most of Longshan No. 1’s members, including Dongzi, Wang Chong, Zhuang Yue, Yu Lianxing, Zhu Anran, and Min Ming, had completed their tests. The third-in-command, Lu Yong, had just stepped onto the Soul Wave Pressure Tester. Under the operator's control, a huge mechanical ring emitted a deep electrical surge, flashing with white light.

Buzz~ Thump!

A chilling ionizing shock flared, and Lu Yong exhaled deeply, then stepped down.

【Test complete, peak data: 650】

"Wow, Captain Lu reached 650, that's already above the Diamond level," the Longshan No. 1 members began discussing.

"Impressive, I wonder if he can reach Frenzied level."

"At 650, if his extreme coefficient reaches 1.6, he should break into Frenzied level."

When the extreme coefficient test ended, Lu Yong’s final evaluation level came out. His extreme coefficient was 1.5, and the evaluation level was 975.

Everyone was disappointed.

"975, damn, so close," they all sighed.

The main disappointment was the Frenzied level reward from the Phoenix Alliance: a supply vehicle, a Cold Dark Reagent, plus a YJ-03 vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft cannon and 200 rounds of ammunition, which was a hefty sum—even for a large-scale convoy like Longshan No. 1.

Next in line, Ning Jing, A’Bai, and Xiao Qing had already completed their tests, and the numbers displayed on the pressure tester left everyone, including the Phoenix Alliance staff, in shock.

Gene Evolver: Xiao Qing, Peak Data: 750. Today’s first Evolver with no abilities to hit this number!

Laser Eyes: A’Bai, Peak Data: 1000!

The data hit everyone like a bombshell!

All eyes turned to the young man in thick sunglasses, nobody expected this seemingly frail-looking guy to have such terrifying Soul Wave Value density!

When Ning Jing stepped down, the numbers on the tester refreshed again.

1080!

The second 1080 today, the same as Qian Dele from the Joker convoy.

Their extreme coefficients weren’t out yet, but just the Soul Wave Value peaks made people on the rooftop, including Han Jun, Green Wind, and Qin Xueming, glance at each other in shock!

"Longshan No. 1, this convoy is really something."

"It’s a rail convoy, with over a thousand members, their firepower should be on par with Qin Xueming’s Cosmic Convoy," Green Wind, who seemed to know everything about Xilan’s survivor convoys, said, "They probably can’t be poached though, since they’re a rail convoy."