Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train

"Whoa, you're right!" KIKI finally realized what was wrong, and her expression changed.

"No, something's off! This isn't Clearwater Town!" Lin Xian's gaze sharpened. "Look, where's the crashed transport ship?"

The biggest difference between this place and Clearwater Town was the absence of the massive wrecked transport ship. Aside from that, the streets, buildings, and entire town layout wereexactlythe same.

"What the hell? How can there be two identical towns?" KIKI stared at the scene, completely dumbfounded.

For a moment, Lin Xian thought he might've taken the wrong route. But how could there be another town waiting for them after emerging from the Dark Forest?

Upon closer inspection, he noticed something even stranger.

There wasn't a single zombie in sight. The entireClearwater Townwas shrouded in eerie silence under the night sky.

"The sun's already down… this is weird." Lin Xian checked his watch—it wasn't even 4 PM yet. Why was it already dark?

"I think we just stumbled into somethingreallycreepy." KIKI shuddered involuntarily, her unease growing.

Hearing Lin Xian's question, KIKI quickly snapped out of it and checked her mobile terminal.

"Yes! And it's even closer now." KIKI pointed toward the darkened town ahead. "It should be just up ahead."

Lin Xian stared at the shadowy town, his expression darkening. "Let's turn back."

This situation was completely different from what he had expected. To be cautious, Lin Xian decided to retreat for now. The night had already fallen, and if they accidentally provoked some eerie entity, it would be a massive headache.

"Okay, I'm with you." KIKI had lost all interest in exploring the strange town ahead. At Lin Xian's command, she immediately turned her bike around.

The two of them revved their motorcycles and sped back into the dark forest.

Vrrrmmmm!

The motorcycles roared as they weaved through the rugged forest terrain. But the deeper they went, the worse things became.

Lin Xian soon realized that no matter how far they rode, the forest around them remained pitch black—and was getting even darker.

Then, in the next instant—

The two motorcyclesburstout of the forest…

Only for them to find themselves right back where they had started.

"…What the hell!?" KIKI immediately freaked out. She turned to Lin Xian, her voice rising. "Hey, are we… are wehaunted?!"

Lin Xian's eyes narrowed. He looked back at the shadowy town and muttered, "Looks like we have no choice but to check it out. Theremustbe something different about this place compared to the Clearwater Town we visited earlier."

"Ugh…"

KIKI's face was full of reluctance. But seeing no other way out, she sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'm sticking with you."

Vrrrmmm…

Lin Xian slowly guided his motorcycle toward the town. The surroundings were utterly silent, the engine's hum the only sound cutting through the darkness. Their headlights cast dim, flickering beams ahead, barely piercing the gloom.

The closer they got, the more convinced they became—

This town wasreal.

Everything—everything—was identical to Clearwater Town.

Lin Xian focused on landmarks he had memorized from the real town, comparing each sign, storefront, and street. The resemblance was exact—even down to the positioning of manhole covers.

An inexplicable sense of unease crept over him.

KIKI felt it too. Just a moment ago, they hadleftClearwater Town. Yet here they were, standing in anotherClearwater Town. The very thought was absurd and terrifying.

"How can there be two identical towns?" KIKI's brows furrowed in disbelief.

"It must have been deliberately replicated," Lin Xian muttered, his expression growing graver. "Stay sharp."

KIKI rode behind him, a chilling sensation creeping up her spine. She shivered involuntarily. "This place… it doesn't feel like anyone actuallyliveshere…"

She checked her mobile terminal again. The preset tracking program pulsed even stronger.

"The communicator you planted—it'sdefinitelyhere."

Beep—Humm!Beep—Humm!

Suddenly—

A piercingalarmerupted from deep within the town, shattering the oppressive silence.

Both Lin Xian and KIKI immediately hit the brakes, scanning their surroundings with sharp, alert eyes.

"What the hell?!"

"That's some kind of alarm!" KIKI said, her face tense. "But it soundswrong…"

The sound echoed through the empty streets, bouncing off alleys, storefronts, and shadowy corners.

And then—

A cold, mechanical female voice rang out.

「Experimental Site No. 3 – Clearwater Town. Initiating Biochemical Simulation No. 92.」

Hissssssssss!

As soon as the voice fell, athick fogerupted from countless vents hidden throughout the town.

"Anexperiment site?!" Lin Xian's facedarkened.

KIKI gasped. "Wait—are we alreadyinsidethat research facility?!"

"Thismustbe the Foundation's territory. But if this place is so huge, how the hell did they keep it hidden?"

As if to answer his question—

A bolt of lightningsplitthe sky.

CRACK!

Thunder rumbled as dense, black storm clouds churned overhead.

A suffocating sense of impending doom filled the air.

Lin Xian stayed hyper-aware of his surroundings, his senses on high alert.

Suddenly—

He heardsomethingshifting in the darkness ahead.

"…Did you hear that?"

"There's something moving up there." Lin Xian's voice was steady, but his muscles tensed.

KIKI immediately turned her head, her eyes locked on the darkness beyond their headlights.

A shapelurchedforward.

Gah—Aghhh—Krrrkk!

From the blackness, an eerie,wetgurgling sound echoed. Like a rotting vocal cord twisting unnaturally.

"Something's coming."

Lin Xian's fingers instinctively tightened around his rifle.

Then, out of the darkness, afigurestaggered into the edge of their headlights—

And in the next instant, their blood rancold.

It was a grotesque,fusedhumanoid.

Its body was an abomination—limbs twisted and fused in unnatural angles, skin ashen and decayed. Twoheadlessnecks gaped with crimson, hollowed-out voids where its faces should be.

Lin Xian's browsfurrowed deeply. Was this a zombie? AnEerie Entity? Or somethingelse?

"…What thehellis that?" KIKI's voice was filled with pure revulsion. Her entire body tensed.

"Behind you!" Lin Xian suddenly shouted.

KIKI's heartskipped. Shewhippedher head around—

Anotheridenticalabomination wasstumbling toward herfrom the darkness.

These creatures… they looked like two rotting corpsesstitched together—their ribcages split, organs spilling from their grotesquely connected torsos.

"MOVE!"

Vrrrmmm!

Lin Xian slammed the gas, spinning his motorcycle around in place. Hefireda burst of Wind Cannon shots straight at the approaching monster's head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The invisible projectilesrippedinto its flesh—chunks of rotten meat splattered the ground.

But the thing…

Didn't evenslow down.

Instead—

Itshrieked, its twisted limbsspasming wildly, and suddenlychargedat Lin Xian at full speed.

"Unkillable?!"

Lin Xian immediately activated his Black Rifle's Magnetic Acceleration Engine, hurling asupercharged shotstraight at the abomination's head.

BOOM!

One of its skullsexploded—but instead of dropping, the creature barely stumbled before resuming its charge.

And then—

Itsbodybegan toswell.

As if something inside wasabout to burst.

Lin Xian's eyes narrowed.

"…KIKI!"

"On it!"

KIKIthrusther hand out, Psychic Power gripping the abomination in place—

But before she couldcontainit—

BOOM!

The creature's upper bodydetonated, unleashing atorrentof squirming,black beetles—

And then, from every corner of the town—

Thehordebegan toawaken.

The black beetles poured out likeflooding blood, surging toward Lin Xian and KIKI like a living tide.

Their tiny, writhing bodies emitted ahorrifyingskittering noise, making one's scalp tingle.

"What thehellis this experiment?!"

Lin Xian's expression turned grim. He had no idea what kind of research the SIID Foundation was conducting, but these things—these abominations—weren't zombies, nor were they Eerie Entities.What were they?

Vrrrmmm!

Lin Xian twisted the throttle, his motorcycleveering hard right, crushing several beetles under its wheels. Greenish-black fluids splattered, corroding the ground with a sickeninghisssss.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

KIKI fired several Wind Cannons, their invisible force ripping apart the encroaching beetle swarm. But the moment she looked ahead, her face paled.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Doors of the surrounding buildings slammed open in unison.

From inside the darkened shops and houses, twisted humanoid creatures began pouring out onto the streets.

Theentire townwas coming alive.

Vrrrmmmm!

Lin Xian revved his bike, scanning his surroundings.

In the distance, countless fused humanoids shambled onto the roads, their grotesque bodies illuminated by flickering streetlights. They weren't fast, but their numbers were endless—from every alley, every storefront, more emerged.

There were too many.

Lin Xian's eyes flicked around, searching for a way out.

But no matter where he looked, the entire town was becoming overrun.

"Sh*t… There are too many of them!" KIKI's voice was laced with panic. "We can't just rush through—we'll be surrounded!"

"We don't need to fight them all." Lin Xian's voice remained calm. "We just need to find away out."

He quickly adjusted course, steering his bike into a narrow alley. If they couldn't force their way through, they would have to navigate out.

Vrrrmmmm!

KIKI followed closely behind, twisting through the maze-like town streets.

Finally, they emerged onto a wider avenue.

Across from them, a large department store stood tall, its faded sign barely visible.

To the right, a school loomed in the foggy darkness.

KIKI glanced around, eyes filled with unease. "…I don't recognize this place."

Lin Xian's expression darkened. Hedidrecognize it.

"This…" He exhaled. "This is where the transport ship crashed in therealClearwater Town."

Back in the real world, this entire area was nothing but wreckage and ruins. But here—here, everything still stood, untouched.

"…What the hell is this place?"

Just then—

KIKI pointed toward the school.

"Lin Xian! Look—the lights! The school's lights are still on!"

Lin Xian's gaze snapped toward the building.

Through the mist-covered windows, dim, yellowish lights flickered from inside the classrooms.

In a town that wassupposedto be abandoned…

The school wasstill powered.

"…Could there be people inside?"

Lin Xian's eyes narrowed.

He made a decision.

"Let's check it out."

With a quick flick of the handlebars, Lin Xian sped toward the school gates.

The moment their bikes crossed into the schoolyard, KIKI suddenly gasped.

"The monsters—"

She turned back, eyes wide.

The fused humanoids had completelystopped.

Not a single one crossed onto the school grounds.

Instead, they gathered in droves,pressingagainst the school fence like a grotesque, silent mob.

"…What the hell?" KIKI whispered, gripping her handlebars tightly. "Why aren't they coming in?"

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes.

There was somethingdifferentabout this school.

"…Then we might've just found the right place."

Vrrrrrmm—

Lin Xian brought his bike to a stop near the entrance of the main academic building. The place was in a state of decay—books and papers were scattered across the courtyard, their pages fluttering in the night breeze.

He turned off the engine, grabbing his Black Rifle and Electric Blade before dismounting.

If this really was a test site, then there had to be an exit—or better yet, a control system.

KIKI followed suit, stepping onto the cracked pavement.

Without hesitation, the two of them rushed toward the school building's entrance.

Meanwhile—

Inside a well-lit observation room, several researchers sat monitoring the screens.

One of them—a woman in a white lab coat—suddenly noticed something unusual.

Her expression changed.

"…Report! Unknown intruders detected in Zone F!"

A security officer frowned. "Initiate biometric scans."

"…Confirmed. Two unregistered individuals. Uploading monitoring data now."

The woman turned toward a higher-ranking officer—Security Chief Feng Chun.

"Chief Feng, we have two unknowns inside the test site. Should we halt the experiment?"

Feng Chun furrowed his brows and lifted his mobile terminal, scanning the extracted images of the intruders.

A cold sneer tugged at his lips.

"…Just a couple of unlucky rats." He waved his hand dismissively. "Let them die. If they somehow survive, send them to Facility No. 2."

"Understood."

Beep!

Just as the security officer was about to execute the order—

BEEP—BEEP—BEEP!

The mobile terminal flashed red with a Level-One Alert.

Feng Chun's facetwisted in shock.

"…What?!"

The screen displayed one of the intruders' profiles—

A young man, currently leading the charge into the school.

【Subject Identified: Lin Xian】

【Foundation High-Priority Observation Target】

【Clearance Level: One】

"…ALevel-Onetarget?!"

His expressioncompletely changed.

"Stop the test—NOW!" He barked out the order. "Send word to Miss Hua immediately!"

At the same time—

In a dimly lit hallway, a group of scientists and security personnel rushed toward a secure facility.

Leading them was Hua Xiaoling.

She walked with urgency, her expression unreadable.

"Miss Hua," an assistant reported, "Confirmed. Lin Xian has entered Clearwater Test Site—along with one companion."

"…Where did they enter from?" Hua Xiaoling's voice was calm but sharp.

"Facility No. 2's Experimental Forest."

Hua Xiaoling abruptlystopped in her tracks.

"…How?" Her brows furrowed. "How the hell did they enterfrom there?"

Her assistant shook his head, equally puzzled.

A contemplative look crossed Hua Xiaoling's face.

"Fine," she finally said.

"Should we bring them in?" the assistant asked cautiously.

A pause.

Then, Hua Xiaoling spoke decisively.

"Initiate sector isolation. Try to separate Lin Xian from his companion."

She glanced toward the monitoring screens.

"This is a rare chance. We might as well test his Mechanical Ability firsthand."

The assistant hesitated. "And what about the other one…?"

Hua Xiaoling resumed walking.

"…Leave them be."

"Understood."