Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train
Chapter 358: Comprehensive

Dawn City, 5:30 AM

Cold drizzle fell like silver threads, refracting a dreamy halo in the neon-soaked air. The whole city seemed submerged in a digital ocean of indigo and crimson. Below the 100-meter mark, the old district bustled like a hive; above it, the skyscrapers of the inner city loomed like silent giants, gazing down on the steel jungle gnawed by the apocalypse.

Jian Xuwei stood on the balcony of a curved high-rise in the Starport District. The hem of her black trench coat was lifted by the damp, chilly wind from above, revealing a tactical bodysuit lined with dark silver metal fibers.

She stood motionless, her body slightly tensed. The bodysuit traced the alluring curve of her hips. Her long legs stood tall and straight, and her well-rounded chest pushed the neckline wide open—snowy white and strikingly deep.

“Yongcheng Port was attacked by a Crimson Skeletal Horror for the second time today. The energy peak of the entity detected exceeded Destruction-Level.” A deep mechanical buzz sounded behind her. A man in a dark red power armor spoke from behind a mechanical mask. Energy lines pulsed slowly in the seams of his armor. “It took an hour and a half to kill. Then it just dropped dead—ran out of life. We lost four engineers. The Phoenix Society lost over sixty.”

“Was the delivery unit captured?”

“Same as before. Source-less drone.”

“Got it.”

She didn’t turn around—just lightly tapped the balcony railing with her gloved index finger. The sound of metal scraping leather echoed. As if receiving a silent command, the armored man bowed and retreated. The hydraulics in his joints let out a low mechanical whirr.

Jian Xuwei frowned slightly as she looked toward the distant cityscape. Two massive walls stood like cliffs of the world, cutting the inner city, old district, and outer Dawn City off from one another. Densely packed weapon towers and signal lights on the walls blinked like breathing lungs, stretching into the horizon. Wall No. 1 was a true chasm—keeping zombies and ordinary eerie entities out, but also seemingly imprisoning those within the city inside this apocalyptic cage forever.

Suddenly, the neon lights flickered violently.

A shadow dove from the sky, carving an arc through the curtain of rain, and landed steadily on the balcony railing beside Jian Xuwei. The figure stepped into the light—young, but already weathered by countless trials.

Jiang Yun.

“Silent City in Luling Forest went active nine hours ago. Your people in Jinhai should’ve received word by now,” Jiang Yun said as he shook the rain off his windbreaker.

“There’s already radio output from Silent City. The main hub’s linked to the Silent Metropolis. Moonlight Shinji actually managed to pull that city out of the Abyss.”

“He didn’t do it alone.”

Jiang Yun smiled faintly. “There was a super-sized convoy involved. Silent City sheltered them, but didn’t publicize it. Still, word has gotten out inside.”

He glanced at Jian Xuwei. “It’s Dragon Mountain No. 1 and the Infinite Train.”

“Lin Xian and Shi Diyuan?” Jian Xuwei finally turned her head. A massive holographic billboard splashed red light across one side of her face, while the other remained shrouded in shadow.

“Yep.”

Her eyes flickered. “Just got word—Zhou Mingyuan invited me to Silent City tomorrow. Apparently it’s about a large manufacturing deal. The Wen Family’s involved too.”

“Heh.”

Jiang Yun let out a scoff. “The Federation’s really dragging their feet. Looks like it’s not just their Finger Group—the whole Noisy City front is ready to act.”

Jian Xuwei’s gaze darkened slightly. She looked up at the night sky. “Abyss Zone No. 5 is getting closer. The Phoenix Society is gradually pulling out. Sooner or later, the evacuation points at Luling, Baisha, Changuan, Xilin, Jinhe, Kangcheng, and Quancheng will all fall to the Federation. Yongcheng Port too—it’s just a matter of time. But what’s odd is... just before Noisy City emerged, people outside the city... suddenly got real quiet.”

“Really?” Jiang Yun frowned. “You think it’s because of Lin Xian?”

“You think the Crimson World’s already locked onto him?”

“Hundred percent,” Jiang Yun said without hesitation. He cracked his neck and exhaled deeply. “Mechanical abilities... plus his ties to Noisy City. If he hasn’t crossed paths with the Crimson World yet, I’d be shocked.”

“If you guys want to meet with me, I probably shouldn’t show up under the Federation’s radar,” Jian Xuwei looked at him seriously.

Jiang Yun nodded. “Looks like once we pull out of Jinhai, your first stop has to be that old friend of yours...”

“Jinhai...” Jian Xuwei’s cold, proud brows furrowed slightly. “Phoenix Society’s people should be arriving soon. The abnormal expansion of Abyss Zone No. 5 has affected twelve other zones as well. Do you think Phoenix Society will confront Dawn City head-on?”

Jiang Yun sighed and looked into the distance, replying helplessly, “Who the h*** knows. Natural disasters are already bad enough—now we’ve got human ones too.”

The sky remained shrouded in darkness. Silent City, having just escaped a danger zone, buzzed with activity like a sleepless metropolis.

In the Cloud District, within the tranquil He Feng Pavilion, the rooms now stood empty. The walls had turned into full holographic displays—tens of thousands of surveillance feeds from every part of Silent City converged into countless blue dots. Everything was being processed at high speed by Moonlight Shinji’s quantum core.

Moonlight Shinji stood at the center, silently watching vehicle after vehicle and convoy after convoy enter Silent City’s docking bays and surface shelters, deep in thought.

In the corner, an old man who had been fishing now sat quietly, trimming dead flowers with scissors, the snipping sound crisp and steady.

“You shouldn’t be hesitating,” the old man rasped suddenly.

“I possess an independent personality module. ‘Hesitation’ is merely a term describing computation delay—not an emotion or stance,” Moonlight Shinji replied flatly.

“You got word from Dawn City, didn’t you? What do you make of it?”

“Preliminary calculation: probability of Silent City entering Yongcheng Port successfully—under 8%,” Moonlight Shinji said as he stared at the screen. “That’s without factoring in dark-related interference. The Crimson World’s motive for expanding Zone 5 is another variable. The conservative plan would be to bypass Dawn City and ally with Phoenix Society—but I ran 36 forward simulations. Probability of reaching the polar region is the same as entering Yongcheng.”

“When there are too many unknowns, simulations are meaningless,” the old man muttered while trimming. “Trouble. Real trouble. You might dodge the Dark Mark, but not people. Dawn City won’t give up Yongcheng Port—it’s a production base. Since you revealed plans to enter it, they’ll see it as a negotiation.”

“Trade, resources—it doesn’t matter.” Moonlight Shinji’s tone remained calm. A mechanical pillar slowly rose from the floor, revealing a cryo-pod containing brown-red flesh—Umbra-Cell. He looked at it and spoke softly: “The Crimson World is conducting dangerous research. If they’re working with Dawn City, there must be a factor that outweighs the survival threat from Abyss Zone 5 expansion. That could be the key.”

He turned back, his nano pupils contracting. “Given current parameters, Phoenix Society has withdrawn from the Asia-Pacific. Without a survival threat, they won’t engage Dawn City’s sphere of influence. No other variables—Silent City can’t avoid this storm.”

“Hmph.” The old man grunted, but said nothing more.

“Do you think my analysis is emotional?” Moonlight Shinji asked.

“No. You just added some dramatic flair. Still cold as a rock,” the old man replied.

Moonlight Shinji chuckled and raised a finger. “Let me try rephrasing.”

He put on a more serious tone: “Dawn City left Finger Group in charge of the Sky Dome Project and starship production. The moment we emerged from the Abyss, they reached out. Could it be that we’ve accidentally touched on some key research from Crimson World? Even by pure logic, Silent City is already a major productivity force. Why would Chu Zhaonan let us into Yongcheng so easily? Maybe they’ll offer us a large-scale construction order for starship carriers—one Silent City can’t fulfill fast enough. Or perhaps share their industrial base in Jinhai? Maybe even let us use Yongcheng Port... but require our No. 2 City to first dock at Dawn City. That’s enough of a headache, don’t you think?”

“Doesn’t sound human,” the old man said, still trimming. “You know why?”

Moonlight Shinji crouched in front of him with a smile. “No flaws in the logic?”

“Humans aren’t that thorough. Everyone’s got a bias,” the old man replied.

Moonlight Shinji nodded solemnly. He was about to speak but held back, then stood up and turned. “Lin is thorough. A split-second decision, a one-in-a-million plan. Strip away his emotions and... wow, he’s less human than me.”

Snip—

The old man’s scissors cut through a dried branch. He paused, then resumed.

In the train docking zone, over a hundred engineers had already started working on Dragon Mountain No. 1. Senju Shun, the head of technical development in the city, was leading a team of Silent City engineers, along with hundreds of drones and construction vehicles, moving in to begin repairs and upgrades for Shi Diyuan’s group.

With over a thousand lives to support, both Shi Diyuan and Ning Jing were pragmatic. They immediately greenlit the full all-terrain drive upgrade project.

Aside from Dragon Mountain No. 1, several other convoys also signed up for modifications under Silent City’s engineering protocols—naturally, for a fee. Meanwhile, some convoys suffering heavier losses chose not to invest in mobility upgrades, instead putting all their resources into weapons enhancement. After all, once they reached Jinhai, their plan was to head directly north toward Dawn Center, passing through a string of coastal mega-cities. Compared to the edge of the Abyss, that route was relatively less risky.

On the other hand, the Monica Queen train remained noticeably quiet. Its high-tech appearance made it stand out among all the other apocalypse-era trains. Parked silently in a corner, it seemed to isolate itself.

Except for Car No. 1, the rest of the carriages had already powered down for the night. However, within those darkened cars, countless whispered conversations were taking place.

“Can you believe it? We actually made it out of the Abyss alive.”

“What’s so hard to believe? Riding with Queen Monica—we're born lucky…”

“Ugh, it’s just so damn lonely. Seriously, what’s with that woman’s thinking? She brings a dozen gorgeous girls on board and forbids any of us from talking to them?”

“Exactly. Those women were all tossed aside by others. What’s the harm in us getting to... bond as teammates?”

“Didn’t the boss say she’s a clean freak? That she forbids men and women from messing around on her train?”

“Bullsh*t. She’s doing it on purpose. I heard from that kid Ma in the next convoy—apparently, exposure to male yang energy speeds up evolution and powers in men. That’s probably her real reason.”

“Holy sh*t, you’re saying Queen Monica’s doing this for our own good...?”

“Dude, you’re such a simp. Careful or you’ll explode from holding it in.”

“Anyway, I heard the boss said we get some free time tomorrow. I heard Silent City’s got a special Red Light district…”

“Hell yeah. Gotta check that out.”

“Go ahead. As for me—there’s only one perfect woman in my heart: Queen Monica. That body, that a**, that face—f***, dying after one night would be worth it.”

“No doubt. That body’s straight up illegal. Dammit, I can’t take it anymore…” someone rustled around restlessly

Then the simp chimed in again: “What kills me the most is that look in her eyes—like I’m some piece of garbage. It’s just too…”

“You a f***ing masochist?”

Meanwhile, inside Car No. 1, Monica soaked naked in a luxurious bathtub. A glass of red wine sat on the edge. Steam from xenon mist surrounded her. Her eyes were half-closed, utterly unconcerned by the vulgar nonsense echoing elsewhere on the train.

She had activated her soundblade ability not out of anger, but because of a subtle disturbance. One of the carriages held a man even radar couldn’t detect: Zhou Lei.

Monica wasn’t just a woman with a dominant streak—she was also someone who followed a strict code. Since she had taken on responsibility from Lin Xian, she would never allow anything to go wrong and tarnish the name of Queen Monica.

Soft music played in the background as she bathed, letting her thoughts drift to their escape from the Abyss. Despite her calm exterior, she couldn’t help but feel her heart stir slightly.

Lin Xian’s face floated into her mind. She parted her lips and murmured:

“Lin Xian, Lin Xian… Didn’t I say it? I, Monica, have never been wrong about a man. So then… someone like you—how should I go about taming you?”

She picked up the wine glass, but her train of thought was suddenly broken.

Her eyes sharpened in an instant, and like a sleek serpent, she slipped silently from the water.

Her soundblade ability had just picked up the faint presence of a suspicious figure—approaching the outside of the Monica Queen train.