Doomsday: I Build an Infinite Train.

Chapter 358 After the Crisis
The night was as black as ink. In the boundless Luling Forest, a giant mobile mechanical city was parked. This behemoth, forged from steel, was also a floating fortress. On the upper deck, the neon lights of the silent city flowed under the night sky. The city's outline was outlined by colorful holographic projections. Neon advertisements, floating light strips, and data stream screens intertwined to form a dazzling electronic galaxy, which contrasted sharply with the surrounding desolate dark forest. In the forest, crimson eyes occasionally flashed among the twisted shadows of the trees, and low roars were carried by the night wind. The outlines of many zombies wandered among the trees, but were completely isolated by the Silent City's defense system.

On the highly intelligent streets, Chen Sixuan's leather boots clattered on the metal floor as her fingers swiped rapidly across the tactical tablet, checking the supply list. Miao Lu and Shu Qin followed behind, and Sun Yuzhen also joined the supply procurement team. All transactions here could be handled through Silent City's logistics network.

In the Silent City, apart from residents who have joined Silent City and have a fixed identity, almost everyone else is a survivor who has temporarily joined the shelter or wants to join but is still in the probationary period. Silent City has a strict set of standards for recruiting people. Formal residents do not need to pay any fees, but adults need to have the ability to work and their character will be assessed. The purpose is to reduce the city's crime rate. Shinji Mochizuki believes that dangerous living environments will increase the chances of residents changing. Therefore, if someone has a criminal record or bad record, they will not only be expelled, but in serious cases, they may even be inspected and detained by drones.

In addition, other survivors who have not yet become permanent residents either need to pay blood essence supplies every month or work in exchange for the opportunity to live in shelter. This is much more considerate than Dawn City. If Silent City hadn't been constantly on the move, the number of people coming to seek refuge would probably have increased several times over. However, now, in the areas near the main cities, more and more survivors are coming to seek shelter.

The city is divided into several different areas, and each street is patrolled by Silent Inspection drones. After entering Silent City, all blood essence can be deposited there, like a bank, and a highly encrypted storage account will be obtained, which can be unlocked through iris and voiceprint. The purpose of this is to facilitate trade among survivors in the city. A level 1 blood essence is no longer a fixed unit and can be broken down into smaller numbers, which can also reduce the crime rate. At the same time, if blood essence is deposited, there is also 'interest' every day. As a result, Silent City has obtained a large amount of blood essence for research, as well as for large-scale transactions with major organizations such as Dawn City and Phoenix Society. This not only provides corresponding supplies and various raw materials and equipment, but also a lot of extra rewards.

Therefore, this city has become like an independent nation, perfecting its order and rules in the darkness of the apocalypse.

On a high tower on the upper deck, Lu Xingchen, wearing sunglasses, held a cup of hot tea in his hand. Wisps of white steam drifted in the cold air. He squinted, looking down at the steel forest of the entire mechanical city, a faint smile on his lips. His position not only offered a superb view and allowed him to observe the situation on the Infinite at any time, but also gave him a sense of detachment from the top.

On the open ground nearby, 10-year-old Mo Xiaotian was struggling to control the electric light dancing on his fingertips, his face flushed red.

"Concentrate, don't rush to release it." Brother Huo glanced down through the edge of his sunglasses, then said with an air of superiority, "Lightning is the great principle of heaven and earth, containing the power of violent and ferocious forces. Haste will only lead to chaos."

Mo Xiaotian gritted his teeth, and the lightning finally stabilized, forming a thin arc of electricity.

"Not bad," Huo Ge nodded, "Keep practicing."

"Brother Huo, tell me... when will I be as good as you?" Mo Xiaotian asked, panting.

"What did you call me?"

"Uh... okay, Master."

Brother Huo nodded in satisfaction, took a sip of tea, and slowly replied, "Let's master the basics first. Cultivation requires trials of life and death."

Mo Xiaotian pursed his lips and continued practicing.

Outside the Infinity, Old Mo's wrench slammed into the transforming armor plate with a dull thud, while Liang Lei was using a laser cutter to deal with the jammed drive shaft, sparks flying everywhere.

"The circuit system problem is bigger than we thought." Luo Yang pushed the holographic projector closer, holding the testing equipment. The faulty circuitry decomposed into a red spiderweb at his fingertips. "Damn, thank goodness we escaped from the Star Abyss. If we had encountered another monster tide, the weapon bay wouldn't have been able to rise, and more than half of the arc pulse vibrators were destroyed."

“If it breaks, we’ll fix it. Silent City has a complete loading line, with all sorts of maintenance robots and materials.” Old Mo wiped his sweat. “Let’s fix what we can first. Team Leader Lin will definitely negotiate the repairs with Silent City.”

Inside the carriage, Li Yi was leading her team to tidy up the fallen supply containers. Many items had been scattered during the maglev jump. Carriage number 10 was empty, and all the children had gone to the edge of the deck outside the berth to play freely, marveling at the dazzling mechanical city.

"What a huge spaceship!"

"This city can fly..."

"Look, with so many cannons, we're sure to be fearless when we encounter monsters."

"Are we going to live here from now on?"

"I don't know, but Li Yi's mother said that we'll go wherever Brother Lin goes."

"Brother Lin is so amazing! Isn't he, Dr. Ding?" Among a group of children, Duoduo, who was standing on the side, looked up at Ding Junyi, who was wearing a white coat.

Ding Junyi, unusually, put down what she was doing and stood among a group of children, gazing at the colorful, mechanical city ahead. Her hands were in her pockets, her face calm, and the light trails of drones kept gliding across her glasses.

"Director Ding, it's rare to see you get out of the car to relax."

Chen Sixuan arranged for the building to serve as a temporary guard for the group of children. Sitting on a bench by the deck, she saw Ding Junyi gazing at Silent City in a daze and couldn't help but ask.

Ding Junyi nodded slightly: "Lin Xian told me to rest for a bit..."

After saying that, she looked into the distance and sighed, "Humans... are so small yet so tenacious."

Xiao Yuan in carriage number 4 was wiping up the water spilled in the plant carriage. The young people in the convoy, including Lü Chang, Luo Luo, and Amin, had all gone to the quiet city to do their own thing. She stayed behind because she was with Ding Junyi and was also in charge of logistics. After finishing everything, she glanced at Ding Junyi and the group of children, and a smile appeared on her rosy face.

Xiao Yuan tiptoed, her fingertips gently brushing against the transparent outer wall of the hydroponic container. Inside, lettuce seedlings unfurled their tender green leaves, their roots swaying slightly in the pale blue nutrient solution. She carefully checked every data screen, recording humidity, light, and growth status.

[Lettuce in Zone B-7, day 3 of its growth cycle. Due to instability within the Star Abyss, 22% has withered. It is recommended to harvest and consume it ahead of schedule.] Grace's voice came through, calm as if stating a given fact.

"Okay, I've got it." Xiaoyuan quickly checked the boxes on the tablet, then leaned over to check the tomato seedlings next to her.

[The tomato plants were unaffected, but flowering was delayed by 1.3 days.] Grace continued, "It's speculated that physical damage occurred during the magnetic levitation jump, affecting pollination efficiency."

Xiao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, a smile unconsciously spreading across her face: "Thank goodness, these are all Captain Lin's treasures..."

Grace turned her head and looked at Xiaoyuan, her voice suddenly showing a subtle fluctuation: "Based on your heart rate, pupil changes, and micro-expressions when you mention Lin Xian, there is an 87.6% probability that you have developed feelings of 'liking' for him."

Xiao Yuan's hand trembled, and she almost spilled the nutrient solution.

"This...this is normal, isn't it?" She tried to remain calm, but her ears were turning red. "Humans naturally develop feelings for their companions..."

From a biological perspective, 'liking' is the result of the combined effects of hormones and neurotransmitters. Grace's voice was as calm as if she were dissecting a machine. [Dopamine stimulates pleasure, oxytocin strengthens attachment—essentially, this is a physiological mechanism that organisms have evolved to promote mating and reproduction.]

Xiaoyuan gripped the clipboard tightly, her eyes darting nervously between the front and back carriages. After confirming no one was around, she glared angrily at Grace and said, "It's not that cold, heartless thing!"

[During our conversation, you mentioned Team Leader Lin/Lin Xian's name 37 times, which exceeds the number of times you described yourself in our conversation.] Grace continued: [I can understand this to mean that he occupies more than 50% of your emotional consciousness, even more than yourself.]

"That's because he's Captain Lin, our leader, and he's saved our lives countless times!" Xiao Yuan suddenly turned around, offering a weak and feeble excuse.

[This aligns with the biological instinct to develop attachment to those who provide survival security.] Grace looked at him: [As a survival leader, providing him with emotional value will help increase his attention to you, and also improve your survival rate. So I don't want you to abandon this idea; perhaps you could be more proactive.]

Xiaoyuan took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and said while tidying up the hydroponic plant box, "Grace, you might not understand, but I didn't think that much about it. I'm just happy all day when I hear him say 'The lettuce is fresh today.'" She gently poked the hydroponic pod. "These aren't 'mating needs,' they're 'I want to make him happy,' or 'I can help him, help everyone, and be a part of this collective struggle for survival.' These make me happy."

[A very interesting expression of emotion] Grace replied, "Can I interpret this as an expression of emotional loyalty?"

Xiao Yuan smiled shyly, said nothing, and continued to record the data with her head down.

At this moment, the car door opened, and Lin Xian and KIKI got on and quickly walked through the car.

"Grace, help me set up the communication network in the Silent City Cloud District to ensure uninterrupted communication for everyone."

Grace understands.

"Lin... Team Leader Lin." Seeing Lin Xian approach, Xiao Yuan said somewhat timidly, "Some plants can only be harvested ahead of schedule. Director Ding said we need a variety of seeds."

"That's perfect, let's make vegetable soup." Lin Xian smiled, took a tomato from the fruit basket in front of Xiao Yuan, wiped it on his clothes, and then took a bite.

It was a little raw, but sweet and sour. Xiao Yuan nodded and smiled, "Okay."

Afterwards, Lin Xian went to carriage number 13 of the military train at the back, preparing to start manufacturing drones. KIKI glanced meaningfully at the carriages in the distance and teased Lin Xian.
"Hey, Xiaoyuan has a crush on you, you're not pretending not to notice, are you?"

Lin Xian said seriously, "It seems you want me to respond."

KIKI rolled her eyes left and right, and said insincerely, "I just think you shouldn't ignore the girl's sincerity. Back in Xilan City, she risked her life to lure that big bug away from you."

The mechanical light in Lin Xian's hand flashed, and countless materials flew out to begin manufacturing robots.

"So what I can do is race against time to improve our strength, build weapons, and reinforce the trains so that everyone can live longer." Lin Xian glanced at KIKI as he spoke, and smiled helplessly, "There's less than a year left until the end of the world. There's no time for empty talk about love. Let's do something practical."

"You smooth talker~" KIKI rolled her eyes at him, watching him start building drones, and said, "Why don't you ask Shinji Mochizuki to send you a batch of drones? Wouldn't it take more time to build them one by one?"

"I will when needed."

Lin Xian couldn't explain to others that all his superpowers involved numerical upgrades. Now that he had obtained these blueprints, he could only improve his proficiency in [Mechanical Manufacturing] by creating them himself. Now that he had temporarily escaped the crisis, it was a good opportunity for him to improve his abilities. The higher his level of Mechanical Manufacturing, the greater the speed, efficiency, and scale of his future manufacturing would be. This was the most important thing.

In addition, he contacted Shinji Mochizuki, hoping to acquire some abandoned vehicles or machines through procurement and recycling, mainly for the purpose of mechanical absorption in order to increase his own Mechanical Heart level.

Shinji Mochizuki showed great interest in this, saying that he would arrange some valuable mechanical equipment for him later.

The matter of devouring machines was kept secret from Lin Xian, so upon his return, Lin Xian immediately prepared to build a few construction and maintenance robots to practice his skills.

Seeing that Lin Xian had started manufacturing, KIKI took out her mobile terminal and connected it to the photonic memory. Instantly, thousands of densely packed blueprint information appeared on the page, leaving her dumbfounded.

"My God, not only weapons and drones, but also all sorts of mechanical components and integrated systems from Silent City!" KIKI looked up at Lin Xian: "Shinji Mochizuki gave you Silent City!"

Lin Xian let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with meaning, and said, "Actually, these things are of little value in the post-apocalyptic world. Only a few large organizations have the capability for industrial manufacturing, and there's no commercial competition between them. These things are only useful to me..."

KIKI nodded, then suddenly smiled: "That makes sense. Even if all sorts of top-secret official weapon blueprints are revealed, who would worry that some survivor convoy or thug member could make an electromagnetic cannon by hand? You're an exception, though."

"So, there's actually no loss for Shinji Mochizuki. He's a smart man."

Although Shinji Mochizuki's good intentions were only visible to Lin Xian, they did solve a problem for him by unlocking the Blueprint Library.

The sheer volume of weapons and design blueprints here is enough for him to build a small starship.

Of course, that's assuming he can actually build it.

Therefore, Lin Xian needs to improve his mechanical manufacturing level as soon as possible. In addition to improving efficiency, he also wants to try through the research and development center whether his mechanical heart can break through the existing human technology and create something new that has never been seen before!

rub rub~
Countless precise materials were rapidly combined, and soon, the framework of a construction robot, Worker Ant-7, capable of 3D metal printing, gradually emerged. With this, metal printing could be directly performed for Lin Xian. At the very least, he wouldn't need to personally handle the outer armor and tracks.

"Girl."

"Ah."

Lin Xian looked at KIKI: "Your superpower should have broken through to the destruction level by now, right?"

KIKI blinked, raised her hand, and a brand-new Spirit Value Peak Detector landed in her hand. She picked it up, her eyes flashing with supernatural light, and a powerful wave flashed. The numbers on the peak detector kept jumping, and finally stopped at a number.

1980!

“If we multiply it by the limit coefficient according to the Phoenix Society’s standard, it should be 3168, reaching the destruction level.” KIKI put down the testing device. Her peak ability level was more than a thousand points higher than when she was tested in Xilan City.

Keep in mind that less than ten days have passed, yet her superpower stats have already skyrocketed, thanks to the rapid growth she gained during the Battle of Xilan, the Polar Night of Yijin City, and the Star Abyss of Baicheng.

Although she had improved considerably, KIKI wasn't excited at all; instead, she sighed.
"Our superpowers keep improving, but the danger we face is only getting greater."

She sat down next to Lin Xian, hugging her knees and looking down, saying, "The monsters we're encountering are getting more and more terrifying. They're not as simple as the red worms, the white giant, and that human skeleton at the beginning. Forget about corpse drivers, abyssal demons, or world-class disasters. Even A-level and S-level monsters feel powerless. And you said before that the monsters are evolving too, sigh..."

Lin Xian noticed that KIKI was unusually downcast and knew that the series of events had made the once fearless and cool girl from the night start to doubt herself. Her superpowers were already quite strong, and she was one of the best in the superpower tests in Xilan City.

However, in Xilan City, Yijin, and even when she entered Xingyuan, she faced beings that she was powerless to resist, which was very discouraging. Therefore, even though her superpowers increased rapidly, KIKI was not as excited as she was when she first gained the ability to fly.

Seeing that KIKI was a little discouraged, Lin Xian's eyes flashed. He clicked his tongue at KIKI, and KIKI heard the sound and raised her head from under her knees to look at Lin Xian.

"what?"

Do you need to charge it?

KIKI glanced at him, her eyes flickering slightly. Seeing that no one was around, she gently flew over and landed in Lin Xian's arms like a koala, hugging him tightly.

KIKI used to like hanging on Lin Xian like this when she was tired, which she called "recharging". Lin Xian never knew what to do with her. But seeing how disappointed she was, he took the initiative to bring it up.

After arriving in Silent City, only Lin Xian got a good night's sleep. KIKI, Chen Sixuan, and the others had persevered until now. After all, they hadn't used flash bullets or observed the Merlion like Lin Xian, so they had more energy left. But after persisting for so long, KIKI was also exhausted, both physically and mentally. This time, she unusually didn't argue with Lin Xian and obediently nestled in his arms.

Lin Xian now clearly understood why Shinji Mochizuki said that whether it was Silent City, Dawn City, or the Phoenix Society, the closer they got to the truth of the Abyss, the clearer it became that humanity's chances of defeating the darkness were slim. However, most of the survivors in the world did not know this, or rather, they still held onto that hope of one year and 96 days.

Although it was a hope born of desperation, at least the Phoenix Society was still guiding that hope, which is why the survivors on the road did not give up.

Smelling the faint scent of fruity hard candy on the girl, Lin Xian said in a low voice.
"Monsters are not evolving as fast as humans. At least those D- and C-level monsters are no longer a threat to us. The problem now is that we do not yet know where the limit of this power is. In addition, the truth of the night is becoming clearer and clearer. On the bright side, even if we cannot break through the giant curtain of the sky, humanity has found a way to purify and isolate the invasion of darkness. When the purification level exceeds 50%, we can survive even in the polar night."

As KIKI listened to Lin Xian's words, she suddenly raised her head and looked him up nose to nose, eye to eye.

"Lin Xian, why do you think Dawn City dares to claim a 95% purification rate?"

"What do you want to say?" Lin Xian could tell from KIKI's tone that she had a new opinion.

"I mean... such an easily exposed lie, surely not all 600 million people in Dawn City would believe it? Besides, information isn't completely blocked inside or outside the city, so those who want to enter the city wouldn't be so easily fooled, would they?"

Lin Xian thought for a moment, remained silent for a while, and then said...
"I actually asked Shinji Mochizuki this question, but he didn't answer me directly. It's dark now, and information isn't being exchanged between the city and the outside world during this time. After dawn, various kinds of information should start to come over soon, and in a few hours we should have the actual situation in Jinhai and Dawn City."

KIKI buried her face in Lin Xian's chest again: "Goodnight."

"Don't drool," Lin Xian reminded him.

"I'll bite you to death!" KIKI bit Lin Xian's neck.

……

　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)