Doomsday: I Build an Infinite Train.

Chapter 367 The Storm Is Coming!

1:45 am
In Dawn City, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Seraphim Minister Luo Ming strode into the Federal President's office, where a small meeting was taking place.

Chu Zhaonan was sitting at the head of the conference table, discussing the progress of the Far Star Project with some senior members of the council. When he saw Luo Ming rushing in, he immediately frowned.

"what happened?"

"Something's happened!" Luo Ming waved his hand, and the content on the combat screen was replaced by a video. The eyes of everyone, including Federation Chairman Chu Zhaonan, Senate President and Underground City Committee Head Xu Yan, and others, all fell on it and found that it was a video of the Silent City receiving Vice Chairman Zhou Mingyuan from the perspective of Silent City.

"Vice Chairman Zhou?" Xu Yan asked in surprise, "Didn't this happen yesterday? Why is there a video now?"

Luo Ming's face darkened, and he said gravely, "The video originated from Silent City and traveled all the way from Jinhai to Dawn City via a high-powered synchronous flight information repeater. It has now been spread among all the survivors!"

"Is there... a problem?" The question was asked by Su Jin, the 42-year-old female executive in charge of the Far Star Project.

"You'll find out after you read it."

Luo Ming directly adjusted the playback schedule and played the subsequent communication scenes between Zhou Mingyuan and Mochizuki Shinji, as well as Wen Dong and Lin Xian.

As the holographic video played, the air in the office grew colder rapidly, and the faces of several senior leaders darkened. Chu Zhaonan, sitting at the head of the table, slowly tightened his grip on the holographic command device, which made a metallic clanging sound.

Seeing Zhou Mingyuan's arrogant laughter inside, Xu Yan waved his hand to stop Luo Ming from playing it. He then turned around with a serious expression and said sternly.
"The video is fake!"

“There are real and fake versions.” Luo Ming immediately said, “The technical department has already decrypted it, and I have arranged for a city-wide network outage to stop the spread.”

"Then hurry up and arrange to spread the debunking and refutation information!" Su Jin looked like something was seriously wrong.

"I sent out the clarification before the network was cut off, but it was too late. The old city area has already started to riot!" Luo Ming said. "Now the population control, city defense, guard, and night patrol departments have all been mobilized, and the situation is getting out of control."

"Where is Vice Chairman Zhou?" Xu Yan asked, looking at Chu Zhaonan. "We must get Zhou Mingyuan out immediately to personally refute the rumors and quell the unrest."

Sitting at the head of the table, Chu Zhaonan's expression was uncertain. He stared at Zhou Mingyuan, who was laughing wildly in the frozen image, and then said in a deep voice...
"Luo Ming, is Zhou Mingyuan planning to take action against Silent City?"

"Yes, they want to use the Crimson World to paralyze Silent City."

"So now Shinji Mochizuki has turned the tables on us?" Chu Zhaonan said.

Xu Yan took a deep breath: "What about Silent City? Have you heard any movement from the outpost?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say."

Luo Ming's expression was solemn as he spoke.
"A relay message came in 5 minutes ago: Silent City has suddenly activated its levitation mode and is now cruising towards Jin Hai at high speed!"

"Jin Hai?!"

"What are they trying to do? A surprise attack on Jinhai?"

"What about Lu Tianye?"

"General Lu's Jinhai Garrison has diverted most of its forces to support the outposts in the Qilian Mountains, where a large convoy has run into trouble."

"Chairman, this is bad!"

The office erupted in chaos. Chu Zhaonan, with his eyes slightly closed, remained calm upon hearing the news. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk. After a long pause, he spoke in a deep voice.
"Su Jin, immediately notify Jin Hai to transfer all completed starships to Dawn City Starport. Luo Ming, you take the Seraphim Division to Jin Hai now. On one hand, contact Lu Tianye to prevent a firefight with Silent City. On the other hand, you personally lead a team to negotiate with Shinji Mochizuki and find out his purpose."

"Yes!" Su Jin and Luo Ming immediately led their men away.

"This kind of riot only needs some clarification and suppression; it won't cause any real trouble. Why make such a big move?" Watching everyone leave, leaving only the two of them in the office, Xu Yan frowned and said...

Chu Zhaonan asked calmly, "Old Xu, why do you think Silent City suddenly accelerated and flew straight to Jinhai at night?"

Xu Yan took a deep breath: "First, they spread rumors that Zhou Mingyuan was colluding with the Crimson World to attack Silent City. Then they flew directly to Jin Hai. Obviously, this was to make us hesitate to act. Under these circumstances, whether it is the Crimson World or our people who take action against them, it directly confirms that our Dawn City is colluding with the Descent Faction to carry out an anti-human conspiracy. The more than 100,000 people in Silent City are more than 100,000 mouths. I'm afraid that even touching them could cause a huge uproar."

“That’s right. Zhou Mingyuan’s plan was to get the Crimson World to take action, but they turned the tables on him with a little trick. At this point, if Silent City really encounters trouble from the Crimson World, no amount of denial will help,” Chu Zhaonan said.

"Zhou Mingyuan wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work, and now he's covered in blood and blood."

“Then there’s no need for us to give up Jinhai, is there?” Xu Yan said. “Wouldn’t this relocation just show that we’re throwing our own boat into disarray?”

"I have not given up on Jinhai."

Chu Zhaonan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, gestured with his eyes to the time displayed on the holographic screen, and said in a low voice, "Isn't it too much of a coincidence that Ye Lan's Zhen Tian ship will enter Shuguang City in an hour?"

"Do you believe that Silent City and the Phoenix Society are colluding to instigate trouble?" Xu Yan asked.

“Whether it is or not, the key to the Crimson World has come to an end.” Chu Zhaonan slowly stood up and said, “When I chose to cooperate with Linglong Group, I knew this day would come.”

He took two steps forward and gave a low command.

"Please invite Wen Hui over here."

"Yes." A guard, hidden in the shadows, quietly stepped out and quickly left the office.

He seemed to have been standing there for a long time, but no one noticed his presence.

Chu Zhaonan looked out the window. In the deep well of the huge underground city, a rail hoisting device was lifting large equipment, covering the lights of the city.

pat, pat.

Soon, Wen Hui appeared at the door: "Chairman Chu, you wanted to see me?"

"Wen Hui".

Chu Zhaonan turned around and said, "Tell Julius that I'm ready to launch the Vanguard Project immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Hui's pupils dilated, and her face paled for a moment. After a two-second pause, she finally spoke.

"Okay, we fully support that."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Xu Yan watched Wen Hui's departing figure and said with a solemn expression.

"Has it already come to this? It's happening much faster than we expected."

"Time has never been on our side!" Chu Zhaonan said sternly, "A year, a month, a week..."

Chu Zhaonan's somber face was reflected in the office's floor-to-ceiling windows: "Old Xu, do you remember when I was elected as the Federal Chairman?"

Xu Yan remained silent for a moment.

"643 days. I should be the ruler who has suffered the most losses in human history. 116 billion people died, 85% of the main cities were lost. Now, in my eyes, there is no concept of population, no concept of resources, no concept of right and wrong, justice and morality. I don't care about other people's opinions of me, whether it's infamy or contempt. This spark..."

Chu Zhaonan's eyes narrowed slightly: "It must not be extinguished in my hands!"

……

Dawn Underground City, Earth Core Administrative Hall.

Snapped!
The exquisite ceramic teacup shattered into dust on the ground, and the Dawn City executives, led by Zhou Mingyuan, were in an uproar as they watched Zhou Mingyuan lose his temper.

"How could such a low-level rumor be allowed to spread into the main city's network?!"

Zhou Mingyuan had never been so angry before. His face turned red, he was breathing heavily, and even his eyebrows stood up.

"Don't we have censorship? What have you all been doing?!"

"The other party transmitted the information through a high-powered, same-frequency flight information repeater. All residents can directly receive it. Our internal network did not react at all. The investigation revealed that the internal network system was hacked. It should be the work of an inside agent in Silent City." An official reported, his face covered in cold sweat.

"Find out this right now!"

Zhou Mingyuan shouted sternly. At the same time, two secretaries were quickly tidying up his formal attire. He had arranged for a citywide curfew and was preparing to hold a press conference to clarify the situation.

"The evidence and speech for refuting the rumors are ready. Chairman Zhou, should we release the content first to let it circulate before holding the meeting?" a female official said.

Zhou Mingyuan waved his hand and called out to the crowd, "Wen Dong."

Wen Dong stepped out from the crowd, his face showing a complex expression: "Chairman Zhou."

"You...you must immediately pass on the word." He pointed, "Jinhai must ensure the safety of Silent City, bring the support team there, and this should also be publicized to the outside world!"

Wen Dong's eyes flickered, understanding his meaning, and he nodded, saying, "I understand."

After saying that, he turned and left.

After settling Wen Dong in, Zhou Mingyuan prepared to head to the press conference. At that moment, one of his subordinates leaned in and whispered something in his ear, causing him to suddenly stop halfway there.

"What's wrong, Chairman Zhou?"

Zhou Mingyuan's eyes flickered as he pondered something, then he waved his hand and said, "Cancel the press conference, just record a video and release it."

Then, with the help of his assistant, he pretended to record a solemn statement video with strong wording. After the video ended, Zhou Mingyuan sent everyone away, leaving himself alone to stroll by the pool.

"Shinji Mochizuki...why did he suddenly make that move?"

Zhou Mingyuan's eyes were filled with anger. He hadn't expected that a small floating city like Silent City would launch an attack in such a despicable way, catching him off guard.

Now, in this apocalyptic world, Dawn City is overcrowded and filled with complaints. Millions of people are simply trying to survive. Even if their work intensity and taxes are constantly increased, as long as their lives are not in danger, the situation will not be affected.

The problem is that the large number of kidnapped people has made all the survivors deeply resent the Crimson World. If it is then revealed that Dawn City and the Crimson World have a conflict of interest, it would be like a nuclear bomb exploding in the city. Zhou Mingyuan had a thousand ways to do things, but he never expected that the other party would reveal their true intentions directly, and even more so, a fake one, which directly exposed the truth!
"It seems it really is related to the Phoenix Society."

Zhou Mingyuan also thought of this, his expression shifting between light and dark. His subordinate had just told him about Chu Zhaonan's actions, and he immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Chu Zhaonan must know something and is going to take drastic measures ahead of time."

After speaking, Zhou Mingyuan's eyes sharpened, and he strode towards the distant wall. He placed his hand on a hidden spot, and after a special palm print mechanism scanned it, a metal door slowly opened, and white cold mist poured out from within.

He went inside and found more than a dozen cryogenic chambers on display, all of which were spares that he had carefully selected.

"What's the use of all this? If we can't escape, we'll still die in the end..."

……

Jin Hai
This city was once one of the busiest hubs in the orbit around the star and an important industrial cluster in the Dragon Kingdom. However, after the Apocalypse, several important cities surrounding Dawn City, including Jinhai, Qingbo, Changuan, and Tianwei, suffered heavy damage during the first polar night. The once prosperous place now resembles a ripped-out mechanical behemoth, lying across the land.

Most of the city was burned and devastated. Giant explosion craters, collapsed high-rises, and uprooted ground formed the main scene of the city. However, large areas of artificial light could be faintly seen in the night sky coming from the city center, the former industrial core. The towering starship port tower leaned and pierced the night sky. The Dawn City garrison and survivors had cordoned off this large area as a semi-temporary 'safe zone'. At the street intersections leading to the safe zone, there were either composite armored walls made of reinforced concrete and steel plates, or "isolation walls" welded together by survivor convoys using abandoned vehicles and various steel frames.

Because Dawn City heavily guarded the industrial production lines here, many survivors who were unable to enter Dawn City or who fled from other places chose this place as a temporary habitat. These people were mostly scattered on the outskirts of this area, because inside were several important factories protected by high netting and iron walls of the garrison, including a Jin Hai Starship manufacturing port and a large military machinery factory.

At Jinhai Starship Port, a 300,000-ton Stellar-class starship is under construction. On other construction berths, various Dragon-type and Ray-type transport ships, Dreadnought-class aerospace warships, and various airships are operating on automated production lines.

Meanwhile, on the production lines of the military machinery factory, war weapons such as the 'Iron Guard 3' military assault vehicle, the T8-Z Vulcan military assault vehicle, and the Arcturus heavy integrated armor are operating 24 hours a day, providing firepower supplements to the city defense system of Dawn City.

After the apocalypse, almost all of humanity's industries were shattered by the end of the world. The financial, cultural, and entertainment industries, which once symbolized prosperity, were all sent to the graveyard by the darkness. Only the foundries in the factories continued to roar. Every opening and closing of the foundries was a counterattack by civilization, and every drop of molten steel was a declaration of war written by humanity to the end of the world.

Woo~woo~
Suddenly, a sharp alarm sounded in the once quiet industrial area, and countless engineers and security personnel sprang into action.

"Berths 3, 4, and 6 are to be deactivated and ready to land on the bridge."

"All personnel proceed to boarding pad D-12 and prepare to board the transport ship!"

"Load all batches of mechs into the cargo train's storage containers, quick, quick, quick!"

"Weapons transfer!"

The Star Harbor berth area and freight rail station suddenly became busy under the cover of darkness.

West of Jinhai.

A colossal object, accompanied by a violent gale, roared through the air, even dispersing the clouds and mist. The massive Silent City, with overwhelming force, rapidly approached the direction of Jinhai.

After traveling at high speed for over 400 kilometers, we now only have ten or twenty minutes left to reach Jinhai.

Lin Xian and Shinji Mochizuki had arrived in the main bridge hall, where dozens of core members of the Union Train and Silent City had gathered.

The current actions have also been communicated to everyone.

At this moment, everyone realized that in just one day, Silent City and Dawn City had already clashed head-on, and a major battle was about to break out!
"Holy crap, I was wondering why we suddenly took off at night. I thought we'd encountered some kind of monster!" Shi Diyuan said incredulously. "So, does that mean we'll be fighting the Dawn City garrison when we get to Jinhai?"

“It’s possible, but very unlikely.” Lin Xian nodded. “Fighting with us won’t do them any good; it will only exacerbate the internal strife. So the closer I get to the city and Jinhai, the safer I will be.”

“However, the Crimson World is a variable; they’re not the kind of people who will listen to reason,” KIKI said at this moment.

“That’s precisely why we came to Jinhai.” Lin Xian looked at KIKI: “You forgot what Zhou Lei said, Jinhai is very likely the lair of the Crimson World.”

“If a conflict is going to occur, we’ll have more initiative if we fight it out on their territory.” Qian Suxun nodded and agreed, “That makes sense. The Crimson World is also made up of people. We’re not afraid of people, but we are afraid that they will create a bunch of weird creatures or something.”

"If we attract a large number of dark creatures in Jinhai, we won't be able to escape, and neither will the Crimson World's lair!" Qian Dele said excitedly, "Good heavens, a suicidal move!"

"This is indeed a good strategy."

Monica looked at Lin Xian with great interest: "It can make Dawn City hesitate to act, and it can also restrain the Crimson World from going to war with us. If we really fight a war with the Crimson World in a city as big as Jinhai, Dawn City would be considered anti-human if it didn't help. Now that the Phoenix Society has also arrived, the pressure from both sides is on them. Let's see how they play their cards."

Shinji Mochizuki, with his sleeves tucked in, stood at the back of the crowd and said leisurely.

"We'll reach Jin Hai in 10 minutes. No matter how I calculate it, there's a high probability of a battle. So I've already opened all communication bands in Silent City. All residents and survivors in the city can only leave after we dock at Jin Hai. However, they probably won't leave at that time. So, Dawn City will know everything that happens to us in Jin Hai. There might be some delay, but it's insignificant..."

Wow, it's in full-mic mode?

"interesting."

"Then be prepared, there might be a tough battle tonight!"

"How long do you think this will take?" Stiefon asked Shinji Mochizuki.

"If we can hold out until dawn, that will be a victory." Shinji Mochizuki said calmly, "The Zhen Tian Ship has entered Dawn City, and the 83rd Iron Guard Brigade of Yongcheng Port has also been mobilized. The storm surrounding the entire Dawn City has gathered. After dawn, it will no longer be our home ground."

"Not always."

Lin Xian spoke at this moment, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Have you forgotten how abundant Jin Hai's martial virtue is?"

……

Meanwhile, in a research institute deep underground, Julius Litt, a blond man, sat in an office chair, gently stirring his coffee with a spoon. On the holographic screen were the silhouettes of four figures, their voices specially processed.

“It seems that Chu Zhaonan is preparing to launch the Vanguard Project ahead of schedule because of the Phoenix Society. This is good news for us.” Julius swirled his spoon around the rim of his coffee cup, then picked it up and took a sip.

Number One: "As far as I know, Ye Lan shouldn't have met Chu Zhaonan yet, is that the reason?"

Number Two: "It doesn't matter what the reason is, it won't affect our experimental progress."

Number Three: "We need to quickly draft a plan to take over Dawn City. Julius, as the person in charge of the Asia-Pacific region, you will be in charge of Dawn City until the New World arrives."

Number Four: "We must conduct a reliability test on the experimental subject No. 03 before we can use the Dark Erosion Cells."

"The board can rest assured. Chu Zhaonan has already had Wen Hui contact me personally. The Phoenix Society can no longer stop it. Everything will proceed according to our plan." Julius paused, "Of course, the sudden attack by Silent City tonight was somewhat unexpected. It must have been Ye Lan's arrangement, but they are just minor players and cannot change anything."

"If the celestial curtain breaks, a world-class disaster may be triggered, and the evolution of the Crimson Regions will have to be accelerated!"

"Everything will unfold according to the Lord's will; there will be no surprises." Julius smiled. "The Phoenix Society's actions stemmed from information obtained from me by an action group within the North American United Front. However, their efforts will ultimately be in vain. No one can stop the evolutionary destiny of humanity; it's merely a matter of days versus weeks. The New Era..."

"It will come eventually!"

(End of this chapter)