Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train

Over the next hour, Ye Lan calmly explained to Lin Xian how the Blue Star Federation collapsed after Doomsday and then reassembled a provisional government. He described how they mobilized the most brilliant minds in human science to counter natural disasters and the darkness—but what they got in return was nothing but endless despair.

"During the first Polar Night, our interstellar fleet attempted to break through the space layer. Every attempt ended in failure."

Ye Lan spoke patiently. By now, Lin Xian finally had a clear picture of the efforts the authorities made after the apocalypse.

Nuclear strikes, starship launches—whatever ordinary people might think of, the Federation had already tried. But all they achieved were tragic outcomes.

Nuclear explosions could be effective for clearing out zombie hordes or waves of bizarre entities. But when it came to threatening the Abyss or creatures above S-rank, they barely made a dent. For one, most S-class entities had defensive energy fields like the one surrounding the Cloudspike. Without cracking that, both kinetic and energy weapons were virtually useless. Worst of all, the nukes only seemed to accelerate the expansion of the Abyss, sending unspeakable creatures into a frenzy of mutation. In the end, they destroyed human cities themselves and created vast zones of nuclear contamination. The radioactive dust swept across the sky, forming a false black night—similar to the strange conditions Lin Xian experienced in the blizzard on the Palma Prairie.

Lin Xian's expression turned grim as he asked in a low voice, "Professor Ye, what exactly is the Sky Veil Barrier?"

"We don't know. Based on current research, it appears to be some medium we can't understand—it's invisible, intangible. It hovers above the Kármán line. If I had to describe it, it's like a giant soap bubble surrounding us."

"Soap bubble?" Lin Xian frowned. The comparison struck him as odd. "And our weapons can't break it?"

"To a human, popping a soap bubble is effortless. But what about a water flea?" Ye Lan looked at him calmly. "To a water flea, that soap bubble is a hopeless barrier, no matter how hard it tries. The Sky Veil is the same to us—like a flea versus a soap bubble."

"It's exactly because of this hopelessness that Dawn City gave up on the original plan to build fifteen underground cities. All resources were concentrated into Dawn City alone. Chu Zhaonan has given up on resistance. He believes that 'humanity is doomed,' and now all his efforts are focused on one goal," Ye Lan continued.

"What goal?"

"To send a 'Farstar'-class starship—equipped with a self-contained ecosystem and interstellar navigation tech—carrying the human embryo vault and a database of civilization, away from Blue Star. Using a zero-mass fusion engine, it would accelerate for three months to reach cruising speed, 15% of the speed of light. Then, with cryosleep technology spanning six generations and 1,200 years, it would travel to Kepler-186f in the Cygnus constellation, 20 light-years from the solar system—a theoretically habitable planet most similar to Blue Star."

Lin Xian was stunned. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. After a long pause, he asked in a deep voice, "So Chu Zhaonan doesn't care who he collaborates with, doesn't care if the Abyss spreads—he'll do whatever it takes to get that ship off the ground?"

"Exactly."

"But…"

A chill ran through him. He paused mid-sentence, then looked at Ye Lan. "So the Phoenix Society coming to Dawn City, and Chu Zhaonan recalling all starships from Jinhai… does that mean Dawn City has found a way to break through the Sky Veil?"

"You've hit the key point."

Ye Lan's tone turned serious. "Actually, this plan was proposed by our research team two months ago. I'm not sure if you've heard of the Qinging Sky City crash?"

Lin Xian nodded. "I know about it."

He'd heard about Sky City from Old Mo when he first withdrew to Yubei City. Later, Wei Kexue had spoken to him at length about the catastrophic event. That crash had left Chu Yan deeply traumatized about the sky.

"The fall of Sky City was a huge loss for the Phoenix Society. That battle was the bloodiest among the rescue missions they undertook before Doomsday. Over 420,000 people were killed or went missing. The city had fallen into an airspace inhabited by a small number of gaseous creatures—at most two S-class entities and a few A-class mutants. Despite tens of thousands resisting with everything they had, the disaster couldn't be stopped. Later, your teams from Dawn Center and Phoenix City were sent to investigate. Based on the data stored in wreckage recovered from the deep sea, you discovered that before Sky City crashed into the Pacific, Commander Xu Linchuan had issued a command to dive at an unconventional angle toward the lower atmosphere."

Chu Yan frowned. "To escape?"

Ye Lan shook his head passionately. "Exactly the opposite. He didn't do it to survive. You later found traces of damaged tissue from an S-class entity on the rear deck of Sky City."

Chu Yan's expression shifted. "You're saying Sky City rammed an S-class into the Veil?"

"Yes."

"And then?"

"You initially believed that this was humanity's first time successfully killing an S-class. But the problem is, data retrieved from the sensors showed that right before Sky City collided with the Veil, that S-class creature mysteriously vanished."

"Vanished?" Lin Xian's mind exploded. He shot to his feet.

"You're saying S-class entities can pass through the Sky Veil?!"

Chu Yan glanced up at him, her eyes practically saying, No need to get worked up—Professor Ye can't see you standing up anyway.

Noticing her look, Lin Xian sat back down and asked, "Or are all the S-class creatures coming in from outside the Veil?"

This wasn't a baseless guess. The sky was dangerous because the clouds hid great horrors. Based on what Ye Lan had just explained, the possibility seemed very real.

Hearing Chu Yan relay his words, Ye Lan responded patiently.

"After the Qinging Sky City incident, we theorized that if S-class entities could pass through the Sky Veil, then the barrier above the Kármán line might be some kind of hyperspace tech or a biological force field."

"I get it now." Lin Xian's eyes lit up. "You recently killed an S-class creature in Dawn City, so you think they plan to use its remains to breach the Veil?"

Ye Lan shook his head. "The Phoenix Society has tried this before. We conducted many experiments using S-class remains to deploy space probes, but none succeeded—including the remains of the Cloudspike you destroyed in Xilan City."

"Then why?" Lin Xian was getting confused.

Thump—

At that moment, Chu Yan pressed a switch. A small cylindrical cryo-chamber slowly rose from the center of the conference table. Inside a transparent dish was a piece of tissue. Lin Xian's eyes widened—it was a Corrosion Cell!

"The Crimson World's movements are under our watch," Chu Yan said to Lin Xian. "When it comes to the Abyss and the Crimson World, the Phoenix Society knows more than you do. Remember the gray-mist entity you saw with me? This cell was extracted from its 'action brain' region. It was immediately sent to Lab No. 5 in Xinglan White City for hetero-reproduction. We suspect Dawn City plans to use this tissue to pass through the Veil."

Lin Xian couldn't help asking, "Just a tiny piece like that—how's it supposed to help an interstellar fleet escape?"

"That's what we don't know. The Crimson World got this first. They used horrific experiments to extract the active tissue—just getting this far is already a huge leap. It's very likely they've already mastered the tech," Chu Yan replied.

"I don't get it… If humanity really has such a method—isn't that a good thing?" Lin Xian looked conflicted. "I mean, even if it was developed by the Crimson World, if it can solve the human crisis, shouldn't we use it? Or… do you just want me to help steal the tech from them?"

"No."

Ye Lan's face turned solemn. "That's not what we're worried about. Since obtaining the Corrosion Cell, the Phoenix Society has made many discoveries. The real concern is—if the Crimson World or Dawn City tries to connect this cell via mycelium networks, it could be like opening Pandora's box. That might trigger a catastrophe big enough to destroy all of humanity!"

Lin Xian froze, a mental thunderclap ringing in his head. He suddenly recalled the outbreak at the Myco-Tower when Tang Yun returned to the mycelium pod in Yijin City. At the same time, he remembered what Ding Junyi told him just a few hours ago:

"That's exactly what I've been wondering. In my research, I discovered this cell has a completely different structure from Blue Star organisms. Most importantly, it can absorb dark intrusion without being affected. The only catch is—the Crimson World has to attach it to living human tissue to keep it active. Without that, they couldn't carry it out of the Abyss. So I think this thing might actually be…"

The real dark lifeform!"

There was no doubt the S-Class was a true White-Dark creature. Through the mycelial connection, it had completely opened a passageway between humanity and the White-Dark. Just imagining what could happen made Chu Yan feel a chill—she didn't even dare to picture the horrors it might unleash.

Ye Lan's expression turned solemn as she said,

"The Phoenix Society came here for two reasons. First, to eliminate the Crimson World Arrivalist faction led by Julius Litt and Zhou Mingyuan. Second, to take over Dawn City and determine whether Lin Xian's Vanguard Initiative was a success. You're responsible for leading those millions through the final stage of evacuation. That's why we need his mechanical abilities to coordinate with the White Night Front Team of Blue Planet. Once total chaos breaks out, we'll need to seize control of Dawn City's neural net and automated defense systems—otherwise, someone might hijack them to hold survivors hostage or launch an assault on humanity. We have to contain the disaster and threat as much as possible."

"Wait... Are you saying you can't stop this from happening?" Chu Yan's voice had a hint of lightness. "So what you're implying is... the Vanguard Initiative might not be directly related to Corrosion Cell technology, but the mycelial interface... maybe…"

She tried to sort through the threads, but the more she thought about it, the more grim her smile became. The less she had interacted with the Crimson World, the more she understood: the kind of act that could wipe out humanity meant absolutely nothing to these lunatics. Add to that the fact that Corrosion Cells were originally discovered by the Crimson World—and that the use of mycelium was now their main research focus—she had no idea how to stop these deranged Arrivalists from opening Pandora's box.

"I know that sounds pretty hopeless," Ye Lan's tone grew intense. "But when we intercepted the Corrosion Cells, we'd already prepared for the worst."

"Prepared for what?" Tang Da asked.

"For the end."

"This might be the final chapter for human civilization. But as long as someone's still alive, the Phoenix Society must rise to the challenge. You know our mission." Ye Lan spoke into the air, though it felt like she was speaking directly to Chu Yan's fear. Her voice was calm and pessimistic, yet it carried a determined strength.

"To rise to the challenge... Do we still have a chance?" Lin Xian sighed quietly.

"Captain Lin, the world can't possibly get any worse than this," Ye Lan said. "Ever since Doomsday began, time has only gotten shorter, but our progress has never stopped—whether it's in survivor retention rates or our ability to respond. We may not see the light yet, but as long as we believe, dawn will come, and the fire of human resistance won't die out."

"Even if the whole world only has nine months left? Or are we just waiting for that d*mn Crimson World to offer up our brains to the White-Dark creatures? And then we'll all gather in the polar zone and wait to be hunted?!"

Whether out of rage or helplessness, Lin Xian completely lost control. He shouted, forgetting that only Chu Yan could hear him.

Chu Yan quietly looked at Lin Xian, then turned back to Ye Lan, eyes conflicted, and relayed his words.

"That means we have nine months to build the starships. Nine months to break through the Sky Veil Barrier. Nine months to help more people survive." Ye Lan's voice was almost like she was telling a story. "It's not over yet. Right?"

Lin Xian's face darkened. Deep down, he had guessed Phoenix Society's intentions from the beginning, but he hadn't imagined it would come with such a bleak and helpless trajectory.

After a long silence, he sighed heavily and said,

"I'm in. I'll begin the operation immediately."

"Thank you."

Perhaps it was due to mental fatigue, but even after speaking with Ye Lan, the connection between Lin Xian and Chu Yan remained. After getting his permission, Chu Yan brought him to the high tower on the Skybreaker Ship's deck.

The sun was about to set. From Qingbo City, you could see the misty silhouettes of Dawn City's Twin Star Towers and its towering black walls.

"White Night Front? What kind of group is that?" Lin Xian asked.

"It's a small, secret unit co-founded by the Phoenix Society and the North American United Front. I'm currently the only known psychic-type ability user, so we mostly handle intelligence gathering and exploring the Star Abyss," Chu Yan replied calmly.

"With the Dark Incursion levels so high in the Star Abyss, you can handle that?"

"I'm immune to the Dark Incursion. Not completely, but my resistance is higher than anyone else's. That's because the incursion mainly targets mental and spiritual senses—and my ability is exactly in that field. That's why the Crimson World keeps experimenting on my clones."

Lin Xian looked at her in shock. "No wonder they use your likeness. You're their prized treasure!"

It finally clicked for him—Chu Yan's ability was practically god-tier. No wonder the Crimson World saw her as a critical target. For those freaks trying to deify themselves, Chu Yan was definitely a major asset.

"Too bad the clones don't have powers. But they haven't stopped trying."

"Why?"

"No idea." Chu Yan looked at him. "Can I ask you something? What do you think about Chu Zhaonan's Vanguard Initiative?"

Lin Xian was surprised by the question. He gave a helpless laugh. "What do I think? He's noble, sure. He's the ultimate embodiment of logic over humanity. Sacrificing the rest of the population to preserve the seeds of civilization. But me? I'm just a worker ant. Standing in Chu Zhaonan's shoes? Sorry, I've never been a Federal Chairman, never lived what he lived. So no, I can't relate. I can't be that cold or ruthless."

He looked up at the sky with a bitter smile. "I really hope you know what's going on. That way, even if you die in despair after the apocalypse, you'd still have the will to make one last stand."

"Professor Ye knows this would hit him hard. Yubei, Xilan… he's been fighting with burning determination to get this far. But we still need his mechanical powers. We have to tell him the truth," Lanxing said softly.

"I understand." Chu Yan nodded.

"But Professor Ye isn't wrong either. We haven't even reached the real beginning yet. If Lin Xian succeeds, we'll at least have a shot at breaking through the Sky Veil. That's something, right?"

Lanxing's tone sharpened. "Assuming the mycelium really is connected to the S-Class…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You just want me to fake optimism. What, you think I want him to give up hope?" Tang Da chuckled, then fell silent.

Lin Xian's head was spinning. Night was falling fast. He knew he was about to wake up, but since he had agreed to the Phoenix Society's plan, he had no time to waste. That meant heading to Dawn City tonight.

"Mind if I ask something?"

"Go ahead."

"You're only relying on me?" Lin Xian smirked. "Dawn City has millions of people, and you're telling me the Phoenix Society and the North American United Front are putting everything on me?"

"You really think you're the savior, huh?"

Chu Yan looked at him, her tone flat. "A portion of the Crimson World forces retreated to Zhanguan from Jinhai. We suspect some are hiding in Dawn City. Cleaning them out will take swift, brutal action. And taking over Dawn City? Even without Chu Zhaonan, there's still Zhou Mingyuan's regime, Lu Tianye's garrison, plus all the factions, caravans, alliances, black markets, and millions of civilians. What you've seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg."

Lin Xian raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? So your North American United Front is here too? Where are they?"

Chu Yan gave him a sly glance, then turned away.

"Once you get into Dawn City, go to the Daili Club. My people will contact you there. Oh, and… keep your identity hidden."

Jinhai, Orbital Train Factory, Car No. 1 of the Infinity.

It was already 19:00. The skies above Jinhai were completely consumed by the darkness of the Star Abyss. Strange sounds echoed through the city streets. Lin Xian sat on the bed, staring blankly at his hands.

"We're already in this together, what's the harm in telling me more… this woman."

"Whatever, whatever. Since I'm with the Phoenix Society now, I guess it's time to put my mechanical powers to good use. Professor Ye—no, Commander Ye." Lin Xian stood up and stretched. "You want me to take over the brain and automated defense system of Dawn City."

"But you never said I had to return them after…"