Doomsday: I Build an Infinite Train.

Chapter 365 Ants
The night was as dark as ink. In the suburbs outside Shuguang City, various kinds of barbed wire and chevaux-de-frise were set up everywhere between abandoned streets and buildings, keeping the surging zombie horde at bay. Almost every few hundred meters, there was a defensive watchtower made of reinforced concrete, with armed guards silently watching over the area. The infrared fire control radar of the automated machine guns constantly scanned for any suspicious, eerie entities approaching.

The roars of the zombie horde rose and fell in the distance, like the gnawing teeth of some ancient and hungry beast. At that moment, several modified trucks smashed through the zombie encirclement, black smoke billowing from their hoods, tires crushing rotting limbs, and headlights piercing the darkness as they sped off. In the night, the hundred-meter-high No. 1 city wall of Dawn City in the distance resembled a precipitous cliff stretching from east to west, its signal lights flashing silently in the darkness. In many areas, welding lights flickered, and numerous searchlights swept across the area.

"We're here... We're finally fucking here!" the man in the driver's seat roared hoarsely, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The survivors of the convoy huddled in the carriages, peering through the bulletproof glass at the massive wall. Searchlights from the wall swept across the wilderness, occasionally illuminating the densely packed tents, convoy camps, and campfires at the foot of the wall. These were survivors who couldn't afford the entry fee, huddled together under the wall, spontaneously setting up camps for warmth. As far as the eye could see, the lights of the convoy camp resembled a giant post-apocalyptic night market, stretching as far as the eye could see.

At the city gate, the queue of vehicles stretched for kilometers. Countless drones buzzed and hovered along both sides of the road, spraying disinfectant mist and screening for dark markers. Large armed mechs patrolled back and forth, and the muzzles of rotary machine guns slowly turned to ensure order.

At the city entrance, federal officials in charge of population control work in shifts around the clock to screen people. Everyone entering the city must get off their vehicles, pay an entry fee, and pass through several screening channels before they can obtain a new Dawn City resident number and enter the old city within City Wall 1, where they will be assigned an area and residence.

"Three Blood Essence per person?! Wasn't it announced yesterday that two Level 1 Blood Essence were enough to enter the city?!"

Chaos erupted at the crowded city entrance as a surviving convoy leader shouted angrily at the population control officer, "How come the prices have gone up again after only one day?!"

"Exactly! Three blood essences per person, the monsters have become our prey, haven't they?"

"That's outrageous!"

"that is!!"

……

"What are you yelling about!" The sheriff, clad in power armor and looking indignant, immediately stepped forward: "According to regulations, if the ratio of unauthorized personnel exceeds 1:2, this standard must be applied. Your convoy only has 15 combat personnel, but 34 elderly, weak, sick, and weak. If it weren't for the fact that you have two berserker-level fighters, the excess personnel would have to be charged extra!"

"You!!" The middle-aged captain walked up with a flushed face, but was instantly targeted by the cannons of the heavy mechs on both sides.

"What are you doing? Trying to force your way in?" the sheriff sneered, then said in a stern voice.

"Do you know why the price went up? Because only here in the whole world can you drink water that is 95% purified of darkness, and only here can you withstand an S-class attack!"

As he spoke, he strode up and jumped onto the roof of one of the vehicles in the convoy, shouting loudly towards the winding line behind him.

"This is the hope of all mankind. Everyone must do their utmost to fight the enemy together. Without resources, where will the weapons and ammunition for the city's defense come from? Without resources, how can we build an invincible fleet that can fight back against the darkness? It is precisely because of Vice Chairman Zhou's wise leadership that Dawn City is now the safest place!"

After saying that, he looked at the captain of the caravan and said, "Our Dawn City is very humane. Even in the outer city, as long as your combat power exceeds the Vajra level or you have special skills, you can enter the city to exchange your labor for blood essence. If you can't afford the entrance fee, just stay in the outer city. It's better than being eaten by a monster in the wilderness, right?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the convoy turned off their engines, and the teams behind them began to murmur amongst themselves. Many convoys that didn't have enough blood essence started to discuss and leave the queue.

On the other side, a convoy that had just completed its testing and registration got back into its vehicles and slowly drove in, following the drone responsible for resettling residents. The co-driver of the convoy was a young girl. She opened the window and watched as the convoy passed through numerous checkpoints, and the original stench was replaced by the smell of crowded people.

Old town area.

Crowded, crowded, and packed with people, the original urban buildings in the old city are now not only dilapidated, but have also been transformed into shelters with various apocalyptic modifications. Windows are sealed with steel bars, and countless modified vehicles are parked closely along the roadside. Some communities are even heavily surrounded, and various shopping malls and office buildings have been converted into residential areas. Dawn City does not prohibit weapons, and various long guns and short cannons are set up on the buildings in the streets and alleys.

“D-47…” The convoy leader looked down at the electronic sign and led the group through the noisy streets. Behind each window were three or four households crammed together. On the street, the cries of children, the quarrels of couples, and the groans of patients mingled together, like a symphony of despair.

Dawn City has network communication capabilities, and the old mobile phones and internet can still be used. Various trading and information communities are active with a large number of survivors.

Standing on the rooftop, looking up at the original core urban area of ​​the Twin Star Towers, surrounded by City Wall No. 2, the towering steel jungle rises continuously from low to high. At the very center are the two Twin Star Towers, once a symbol of the stars. This place is not only a landmark building but also a famous space port. In the neon-lit inner city of the cyber city, there are very few airships in the sky anymore, only the Federation garrison and armed warships patrolling back and forth.

Below the starport lies the massive entrance to the Federation's No. 1 Underground City, a colossal underground project extending three hundred levels below the surface. The circular platform spirals downwards like an inverted Tower of Babylon, and the entire underground city resembles an independent underground honeycomb metropolis, spanning tens of kilometers. Each level is interconnected. Unlike No. 9 Underground City, in addition to its enormous scale and population, it boasts an incredibly sophisticated public transportation system. Hundreds of maglev trains shuttle at high speeds, circulating like meteors through this subterranean world that reaches depths of a thousand meters.

Dawn City, Underground City No. 1, Earth Core Administrative Hall.

This doesn't resemble an office, as the interior space is enormous. The sky features a projection of blue clouds, lacquered and carved with intricate cloud patterns. A huge palace lantern hangs in the center, its wick a holographic projection of an "artificial sun," and the light it casts is deliberately adjusted to the warm gold of dusk.

The entire office was transformed into a miniature Jiangnan garden, complete with white jade steps, flowing water, scattered rockeries, vermilion pavilions, and a large clear pond where some freshwater koi that had survived the apocalypse were still swimming happily under the water lilies.

Bang!
A gunshot shattered the silence. Soon after, two armed guards sprayed a disinfectant on Zhou Mingyuan's face, which was lying in a pool of blood. After his face decomposed, they put it in a body bag and dragged it away.

"Didn't I tell you not to bring it back?"

Beside the clear pond, a middle-aged man with a plump figure, dressed in fine clothes, held a dish of fish food in his hand. He lightly pinched a pinch with his fingers and tossed it into the pond, watching the fish thrash about.

The speaker was a woman next to him, with short, neat hair. Wen Hui was 42 years old this year, but looked only in her thirties. Her eyebrows and makeup gave off a cold and aloof feeling that kept people at a distance.

Looking at Zhou Mingyuan's body being dragged away, Wen Dong said to Wen Hui...

"Many people were watching this trip to Silent City, so I didn't dare to handle it outside."

After he finished speaking, he said to the middle-aged man, "Chairman Zhou, Silent City has docked in Ningnan, but Shinji Mochizuki has activated microwave protection, so news from the inner city cannot be transmitted for the time being."

The middle-aged man turned around and looked exactly like Zhou Mingyuan. The difference was that the one who had been dragged away looked more radiant, while this Zhou Mingyuan looked weathered with shallow wrinkles on his face. However, both of them had a pair of smiling eyes and gave off an aura of authority.

"Just get the job done," he said calmly, then glanced indifferently at the dragged-away corpse and said coldly, "He's been in charge for a few days and thinks he's all that. I get annoyed just looking at him."

"Uh, Chairman Zhou, what about Jian Xuwei... what should we do?" Wen Dong asked.

Zhou Mingyuan pinched the fish food between his fingers and said in a deep voice, "The alliance established by the Silver Star now has about 6 people. It is said that many of the core members were recruited from Yubei Airport. They are now a considerable force in Shuguang City, mainly concentrated in the inner city. Some organizations in the old city are also closely related to them. In addition, half of the Jinhai Star Port construction team are engineers and robotics teams from the Finger Group. This Jian Xuwei is not someone to be trifled with. We can't touch her now."

Wen Dong nodded and said with a fawning smile, "Now that we have successfully killed the S-level Gray Mist, and with the issue of purified water, more and more people are entering the city. Many large organizations that were planning to join the Phoenix Society have turned around and joined Dawn City. Among them are many Berserker and Destruction-level combatants, and even a few powerful ability users whose evaluation has reached the Angel level have come. Our Dawn City's momentum is growing stronger and stronger."

Zhou Mingyuan, upon hearing this, maintained a cold and stern demeanor.

"Resources are always limited, which is a more severe test for us. So we can only raise the bar while speeding up construction. There are also big problems with supplies... These are all things we have to worry about."

"Yes, yes." Wen Dong nodded, then said to Zhou Mingyuan.
"Many people on the Dawn City network are now discussing the news that Silent City has defected and merged into Dawn City. This is also a great benefit for us. Everyone says that it is because of your excellent leadership, Vice Chairman Zhou, that people's confidence is growing stronger in the face of darkness."

"Oh~?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingyuan's drooping eyelashes lifted slightly: "Is this already being discussed online?"

This news seemed to please Zhou Mingyuan, but he didn't show it. He waved his hand and said, "Silent City won't cooperate with us so easily, but we've shown our sincerity. The rest is up to them."

Wen Hui and Wen Dong exchanged a glance, and the latter, understanding, said, "I will keep a close eye on their response."

After saying that, Zhou Mingyuan waved his hand, and Wen Dong left the Earth Core Administrative Office.
At this moment, only Wen Hui and Zhou Mingyuan remained in the Earth Core Administration Hall. Wen Hui pressed her earpiece, and then a metal door not far away slid open silently. A cold air carrying a faint smell of disinfectant rushed out, and three special cryogenic chambers were slowly transported out by drones and parked above the clear pool.

Inside these three cryogenic chambers lay the naked bodies of three young men, all in cryogenic dormancy. They not only looked very young, but also had handsome features and physiques.

Wen Hui walked over with short steps: "Chairman Zhou, here are two B-level flight and energy gathering systems, and one A-level resonance system. Their physical potential and intelligence tests are excellent, and they have no diseases or genetic defects."

These three people seem to have been carefully selected, with extremely high requirements for physical fitness, appearance, intelligence, and even their genitals.

Zhou Mingyuan glanced up and silently surveyed the area, but continued feeding the fish as if he hadn't seen anything.

"Where is the Zhen Tian warship?"

Seeing Zhou Mingyuan's reaction, Wen Hui's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible disdain. She then ordered the cryo-chamber to retreat while saying...

"In Qingbo City, the outpost reported that the Phoenix Society encountered an A-level aerial anomaly and engaged in battle. However, their firepower was strong, and they quickly resolved the situation. They are currently stationed outside Qingbo City, possibly waiting for the troops from Yongcheng Port to assemble."

Zhou Mingyuan chuckled in a deep voice: "The 83rd Iron Guard Brigade can't deter Dawn City. Ye Lan must have other purposes besides giving us a warning."

“Chairman Zhou, our engineering team is still in Jinhai, as well as Lu Tianye’s garrison regiment…” Wen Hui looked at Zhou Mingyuan and said with a certain deeper meaning in her words.

"I've already arranged it."

With his back to Wen Hui and his gaze fixed on the fish in the clear pond, Zhou Mingyuan said, "A strange tide has appeared in the Qilian Mountains, and a convoy of over a thousand people has been trapped. I had Lu Tianye mobilize troops to rescue them. He's a very proactive person."

After saying that, seemingly losing interest in feeding the fish, he walked to a luxurious sofa not far away and sat down, saying sternly, "It doesn't matter if some bottles and jars are broken, but we can't let them damage our Jin Hai industrial zone. Dawn City still needs those equipment to give the residents confidence." "In addition, Silent City has over 100,000 people and is well-informed. At this critical juncture, cooperation is more important than confrontation. Human factions cannot attack each other. Do you understand what I mean?" Zhou Mingyuan looked at Wen Hui, his words carrying a hint of reminder.

"You can rest assured about that," Wen Hui said calmly. "Our expected outcome is still that Silent City will be hit by a terrifying monster tide in the dead of night, and Chairman Zhou, you will personally lead the fleet to provide full support, rescue a large number of survivors, and help take over Silent City for repairs..."

Zhou Mingyuan nodded, then gave Wen Hui a meaningful look.

"The situation in the Crimson World has already caused quite a stir in the city. Now that the Phoenix Society has arrived, at this time, no matter what the outcome, the label of 'anti-humanity' cannot be pinned on Dawn City."

Wen Hui understood, bowed slightly, and then turned and left.

Wearing high heels, Wen Hui walked through the dark corridor and returned to her personal office. At this moment, she activated a hidden holographic communicator, and a white man with a cold and aloof face wearing sunglasses appeared on the screen.

Julius Litt!

“Zhou Mingyuan has already transferred the city defenses of Jinhai away, so no one will be going to support Silent City in that area,” Wen Hui reported respectfully to Julius.

“Well done. This might just make up for our recent lack of test subjects.”

Are there many unavailable test subjects right now?

“The Star Abyss is expanding, and the number of survivors is dwindling.” Julius said calmly and coldly, “That mechanical ability user named Lin Xian wiped out the sand bandits in the Aksai direction. Although Zhou Mingyuan opened a passage for us in Dawn City, the survivors spontaneously organized a defense. In addition, Lu Tianye from the garrison has been sending people to keep an eye on our several hidden points, which has resulted in us capturing 70% fewer experimental subjects recently, and the quality of those subjects is not high. With the current invading power of the Star Abyss, even evolved-level subjects cannot survive for more than three days, so they are practically useless.”

“But the armed forces of Silent City are very strong. We are worried that such a large-scale conflict might cause trouble for Dawn City,” Wen Hui said.

"We will not confront Silent City directly; we are only here to retrieve Crimson III and, incidentally, conduct a necessary experiment."

"Experiment? What kind of experiment?" Wen Hui asked.

"you do not need to know."

Julius didn't answer, but looked at Wen Hui and changed his tone: "Has Zhou Mingyuan made up his mind yet?"

"No."

Wen Hui quickly adjusted her mood and said, "Vice Chairman Zhou hopes that the safety performance of mycelial consciousness transfer technology can reach a higher level, and for this reason, he said he can be more patient."

“What a cautious fellow,” Julius said indifferently. “Tell Zhou Mingyuan that Chu Zhaonan and the Phoenix Society seem to be running out of patience and won’t have much time left for him.”

"Are you worried that Phoenix will bring down Dawn City?"

Julius remained noncommittal: "I just need you to remind him how much of his value as vice president is left in cooperating with us. Also, you need to tell him that the Crimson World's research into mycelial technology is to escape the inferior and fragile life form of humans and reach a higher-dimensional life form. Immortality is not a necessary condition. He wants to transfer his consciousness to young humans to achieve cyclical immortality. When darkness comes, it will be meaningless."

“He is very aware of this,” Wen Hui said solemnly. “However, he cannot stop his primal desire to give up human immortality and to hold great power. Moreover, out of caution, he has left himself many ways out. He should not easily transfer his consciousness before his true death.”

Julius smiled and looked at Wen Hui: "Power is a desire, and so is the fear of death. That's why Zhou Mingyuan is cooperating with us, including you, isn't it, Miss Wen?"

Wen Hui's eyes flickered nervously, and her knuckles clenched unnaturally until they turned white, trying to hide her panic.

“Do your job well, Miss Wen,” Julius said calmly, looking at her. “Your loyalty to the organization will bring you and your family the rewards you deserve.”

"my pleasure."

After Julius shut down the holographic communication, Wen Hui looked at the empty office space and took a deep breath, slowly calming down from the suffocation and unease she had just felt.

The only sounds in the entire office seemed to be her breathing and heartbeat. She went to the window and looked silently at the huge No. 1 underground city. Her eyes flickered as she gazed at the massive and oppressive underground metropolis, lost in thought.

Click! At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and she whirled around, shouting sharply.

"who!?"

Behind the door, a proud-looking young man in power armor peeked out. Upon seeing the newcomer, Wen Hui breathed a sigh of relief.

"I've already told you not to come to my office unless it's absolutely necessary."

The young man, unconcerned, barged in uninvited and casually picked up an ornament from the desk, playing with it as he spoke: "I just ran into my second uncle. He said he saw that Wen Qi in Silent City. My cousin is really lucky. She survived encountering a corpse driver in Yijin City, and she even escaped from Star Abyss No. 5. Amazing! Why don't I have such a powerful ability as telekinesis?"

As he spoke, he gestured with his chin toward Wen Hui: "Mom, does the Crimson World have any research on the technology of transferring or stealing superpowers? I also want to have the ability to fly, or something like fire, electricity, or natural powers, how awesome are those?" Li Jian clenched his fist, and for a moment a strange scale flashed across his skin, saying, "My C-level superpower is really a bit weak."

“Yes.” Wen Hui glared at him resentfully: “Digital life form, mycelial consciousness, clone, choose one.”

"I bother!"

Li Jian immediately spat out in disdain: "Digital life clones are all other people, what do they have to do with me? Only mycelial consciousness is somewhat worthwhile, and even if I succeed, I don't want to switch to someone else's body, let alone a woman."

"That's why I told you not to think about these things." Wen Hui looked at him seriously: "What superpowers, what evolution, none of it matters. How long can this world exist? Survival is the only thing that matters. Don't be fooled by how much Zhou Mingyuan's group values ​​the Crimson World. I don't care at all. Digital life, mycelial consciousness immortality, human evolution, all of these are just fantasies. Breaking through the celestial curtain and escaping Earth is much more practical."

"Then why are you working for the Crimson World? According to you, you're more optimistic about Chu Zhaonan's Farstar Project, right?" Li Jian plopped down on Wen Hui's desk, holding the ornament in his hand and said with a smile.

"Do I even have a choice?!"

Wen Hui crossed her arms, turned to look at the underground city outside the window, and whispered, "If I hadn't used the Wen family's resources to join the Crimson World, the Wen family would have been completely divided up long ago. The reason we have this status in Dawn City now is because of this identity, isn't it?"

She continued, "The two factions in the Federation, the one surnamed Chu wants to save human civilization and fly out of Earth, while the one surnamed Zhou is obsessed with immortality and holding power. Neither of them cares about the lives of these millions of people. The underground city? They spent so much money to build a tomb a thousand meters deep. It can't solve the problem of the darkness invasion. It's just a futile wait for death."

Upon hearing this, Li Jian looked incredulous: "We can't possibly follow the Crimson World and get some kind of consciousness rebirth, can we? I don't want to become a monster!"

Wen Hui glanced at him and said, "I asked you to join the Breaking Curtain Project, but instead, you spend all your time training your superpowers and engaging in underground combat. This is the end of the world. Even if your pathetic superpowers are upgraded, you'll still be crushed by an S-rank!?"

"Damn it, over a dozen of those test ships have already crashed. Am I still your favorite son? You want me to go and die?" Li Jian swallowed hard and blurted out, "Besides, even if we wait until we successfully break through the barrier, it wouldn't be too late to leave on the main fleet of starships. And don't we still have the 'Sky Dome' class? Why do we have to take the Vanguard? That's a suicide squad!"

Wen Hui glared at him with a disdainful look: "It's not that simple. Chu Zhaonan put his son in charge of the plan to break the curtain. Do you think he's stupid?"

"Chu Jing is in charge, but he didn't say he had to be on the Vanguard." Li Jian sneered, "It's just a show. Oh, Chu Zhaonan is making his son the vanguard for the sake of human civilization. Bah, hypocritical. You believe me, if Chu Jing really dares to be on the Vanguard, I'll change my name!"

Wen Hui glanced at him irritably, shook her head and said in a deep voice, "No, I don't think so. I have a feeling that all the plans may not be what we think they are, and may not be subject to our will."

Li Jian frowned: "You mean, the Crimson World doesn't trust you and is hiding something from you?"

Wen Hui sneered and stepped forward, saying, "To the Crimson World, we are all just pawns they use. They don't care about Chu Zhaonan's Far Star Project or Zhou Mingyuan's need for immortality. Their cooperation with Dawn City is all for resource acquisition and to achieve their goals. Dawn City is just a breeding ground for them to realize a new human civilization. Don't even mention Dawn City, even if everyone else in the world died, they wouldn't care!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jian remained tight-lipped and asked somewhat nervously.
"Mom, does that mean we're going to have a war?"

"Where did you hear that from?" Wen Hui asked.

Li Jian shrugged: "It's all over the city that people are saying that the Global Star Abyss is expanding rapidly and that the Phoenix Society is coming to rescue the refugees of Dawn City. Those who haven't entered the underground city either have to run away or wait to die."

A complex look flashed across Wen Hui's eyes. She seemed about to say something but then stopped herself and said in a low voice, "There shouldn't be a fight for the time being, at least... not with humans."

After saying that, she glanced at Li Jian: "The main structural sections of that 'Sky Dome' class have been built, and the hull has been outfitted. The most important things left are the weapon system and the star gravity ring. As for the other transport carriages, they don't matter at all. Tell your second uncle and the others that even if the starport is destroyed, they must save this train. With this, even if the Far Star Project fails, we can still cross the Pacific Ocean via a circumpolar orbit. If the Celestial Curtain opens, we can also take off and escape, seeking a chance to survive. This is our backup plan, understand?"

“I understand. It’s always good to be prepared for both possibilities. Zhou Mingyuan is unreliable, and Crimson World is even less so.” Li Jian nodded seriously, then frowned and said, “But aren’t we overthinking things? Even if Phoenix Gang personally takes action, they might not be able to take down Jinhai in a short time. A mere Silent City plus a bunch of train-driving shrimp soldiers are questionable whether they can even survive tonight. Why are we worried about Jinhai?”

Humph.

Wen Hui sneered, "The world is just a giant makeshift operation. Don't think too highly of the Crimson World; they're nothing more than a bunch of psychopathic fanatics. The Ejin Zero Element Center and the White City Research Institute were easily taken over by that Lin Xian. Even Crimson No. 3, Dark Corrosion Cells, and all sorts of research data were snatched away. Although I admit that the Crimson World does have an advantage over other organizations in the research of dark creatures, in the end, they're just a bunch of pathetic worms who think they can put on a veneer of the supernatural and worship dark creatures as gods. So what I'm worried about isn't Silent City or the Crimson World, but rather the other unavoidable risks that this conflict will bring to Jin Hai and Dawn City. Faced with the true terror of the Dark World, we are ants..."

"They are too!"

(End of this chapter)