Doomsday: I Build an Infinite Train.

Chapter 391 Breaking the Curtain (Double Update, 2 words - 7 characters)

Dawn City, Dungeon No. 1, Vanguard Project Launch Hall.

Chu Zhaonan and a group of federal officials watched the screen with solemn expressions as seven starships took off, while the launch hall was bustling with activity.

Not only here, but the entire No. 1 underground city was now deserted. All the staff of the Federation, except for those of the Vanguard Project, had left. The few people still around him were Xu Yan, Luo Ming, and Su Jin, the person in charge of the Vanguard Project.

"Reporting to Chairman Chu, a large number of strange entities have been detected pouring in from the underground network fortifications."

An officer reported at this time: "All entrances and exits to the city have been closed, and they are expected to rush in from below the underground city in 30 minutes."

"I'll take some men to hold them off," Luo Ming said to the officer. "Everyone, guard the launch center."

"Yes!"

Beside the Twin Star Tower, the Zhen Tian Ship had already arrived amidst a barrage of cannon fire. Ye Lan stood on the main bridge at the bow of the ship, calmly watching the seven starships carrying the light of human civilization rise into the darkness.

Meanwhile, in Dawn City, millions of survivors looked up at the sky.

"What's that, a starship?" a child in the crowd asked.

“Yes, it’s a starship, our human starship,” the mother replied.

Where are they going?

"Going to a very far place..."

Will they come back?

The mother's eyes reddened as she stroked her child's hair.

"Will do."

……

[Control Center: This is Dawn. 'Curtainbreaker 1' has completed its launch sequence. It is expected to enter the vanguard sequence in 35 seconds.]

[Relay aircraft deployment complete, telemetry signal normal]

The microwave protection shields of the "Civilization Vanguard", "Natural Selection", "Deep Blue", "Star Shepherd", "Stars", "Ocean", and "Ark" have been successfully activated.

[20 seconds later, all main engines of the fleet ignite. All personnel take their positions and prepare to withstand the lift acceleration.]

[Main engine thrust has reached 75% and continues to rise.]

[All units, please be informed that we will be approaching the height of the Celestial Curtain in 30 seconds. All fleets, maintain your assault formation.]

Rumble!
At an altitude of 7000 meters, the Gray Mist Messenger, with its eight super-heavy plasma thrusters and bursting with intense heat and flames, flew at the forefront of the seven starships, like a blazing angel.

Powerful jet streams parted the clouds, and the vanguard fleet was accelerating.

[Ascended to 8000 meters]

[Ascended to 9000 meters]

The gray fog messenger continued to rise, its violent plasma wake continuing to surge upwards.

In the launch center control room, Chu Zhaonan watched the fleet taking off, his expression remaining calm throughout.

【9500 metres】

[Approaching the height of the Celestial Curtain, notify the entire fleet to prepare for impact.]

Drop drop drop!

At this moment, alarms sounded continuously on the control consoles of various fleets and launch centers.

Su Jin, Xu Yan, and other former federal officials looked extremely solemn, and the air in the launch hall seemed to freeze.

[The barrier device has detected energy fluctuations in the celestial curtain and is preparing to impact it!]

【accelerate!】

drop……

In the next instant, the signals from the first gray fog messengers to the subsequent seven starships all disappeared from the launch center's monitoring screen within a second, as if flashing.

"Report! The relay aircraft has crashed!"

"Report: The sky observation station has detected a large-scale aerial explosion..."

"Search unable to complete, aerial surveillance ship landing!"

At this moment, the launch center hall was completely silent, the air was incredibly heavy, and it seemed as if everyone was holding their breath; even the sound of a pin dropping became extremely sharp.

Everyone knew what was happening, because this wasn't the first time a test to break through the curtain had been conducted.

The staff at the launch center all understood why the relay spacecraft had crashed, but at that moment, no one dared to speak; the air was thick with sorrow and despair.

Some people were pale, some were sobbing softly, Xu Yan's old eyes were slightly unfocused, and his clenched fists slowly loosened. He looked at Chu Zhaonan, who stood there without making a sound.

No one spoke, and time ticked by.

10 minutes have passed

20 minutes have passed

At this moment, from below the underground city, huge explosions and monster roars began to come from the empty underground city courtyard. More and more guards ran out to provide support with guns, but Chu Zhaonan remained unmoved, his eyes fixed on the monitoring screen.

At 10:27, the sky was still dark, and the howling cries of the eerie creatures in the underground city echoed continuously, invading upwards from a thousand meters below.

Those once clean and bright office areas, those expensive residential areas, those schools, hospitals, entertainment districts and streets, were all washed away by the strange entity and turned into ruins.

It felt like only 20 minutes had passed, but also like several hours had gone by.

Just as the atmosphere in the launch hall was becoming terribly gloomy, a shortwave signal transmitted via high-power electromagnetic waves suddenly appeared on the computer in front of a staff member.

The staff member's expression changed, and he wiped his glasses in disbelief. On his computer screen, a string of binary codes transmitted through the time intervals of electromagnetic pulses quickly appeared.

"President!"

The staff member shouted, and everyone was startled by the sound.

At this moment, a large number of staff members gathered around.

"Binary encoding, start the compiler!"

"The translation results are in!"

"Project it on the screen!"

Drop drop drop!

At this moment, Chu Zhaonan, Xu Yan, and the others looked up at the big screen, and familiar characters appeared in their field of vision.

"Dawn, this is Zhang Beihai of the [Natural Selection], using solar amplification to transmit a return message. The curtain-breaking device has successfully opened the celestial curtain, but we have been attacked by an unknown dark energy storm, causing a large number of crew members to undergo mutations. The propulsion system of the [Civilization Vanguard] separation supply ship has pushed us and the [Deep Blue] away from the dark energy storm area. Captain Chu Jing has sacrificed himself. I am now in charge of the Vanguard Project's leader captain and we are sailing out of the solar system as originally planned. Goodbye, Blue Star!"

"Captain Zhang!? We... we succeeded?!" The launch center director burst into tears upon hearing this: "Two stellar-class ships escaped!!!"

For the Vanguard Project, a fleet of seven starships is considered a success if even one of them manages to escape!

Just as he was about to cheer, he noticed the complicated expressions on the faces of the other staff members. Realizing what was happening, he turned around and looked at Chu Zhaonan with some apology.

"Chairman Chu...I..."

Chu Zhaonan had understood everything, and at this moment, he said with relief to all the staff:
"It doesn't matter, it's all the same."

"Our mission is complete. Now, everyone can leave. The Zhentian Ship will guide you to a safe place."

Xu Yan looked over, and in that instant, it seemed as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from Chu Zhaonan's shoulders, and he seemed to have aged considerably in an instant.

The evacuation began, and in the control hall, the last remaining federal staff and armed personnel started leaving the underground city.

"Activate the Eternal Well!"

Chu Zhaonan issued a final command using his fingerprint.

air!
Woo!
At the top of Dungeon No. 1, two huge, heavy steel gates, like heavenly gates, slowly closed.

This was originally a permanent defense built during the construction of Dungeon No. 1 to prevent nuclear-level explosions, but now it is being used to stop the mutations and outbreaks of strange entities within the dungeon.

Luo Ming led the Seraphim team to cover the evacuation of a large number of guards and launch center staff. As Xu Yan was leaving, he saw Chu Zhaonan still standing alone in the launch hall, and he immediately said...

"President……"

"You may leave." Chu Zhaonan, dressed in military uniform, stood quietly in the empty hall and said calmly.

"As the last leader of human civilization, I am responsible for both the task of continuing human civilization and the atonement for the forgotten humanity."

He stood in the center of the launch hall, like a sharp sword, guarding this place that once symbolized the center of civilization and the fortress of survival. A strange tide of beings, like a flood, continued to spread and surge from the underground city, but it seemed that none of it could drown out his words.

Xu Yan's expression froze slightly, a bitter look appearing in his eyes. He then stood still and silently nodded at him. The staff members who had hurriedly left also stopped in twos and threes and looked back at that figure.

As the federal president, he was waiting for everyone to leave.

As a father, he was waiting for a message to come back.

Chu Zhaonan took out a dazzling naval insignia from his pocket, gently stroked it with his fingers, and spoke in a voice only he could hear.

"Well done."

*Thump*, the Eternal Ceiling closes.

All the strange entities attempting to enter the city from the underground fortifications were blocked.

East and south of the city, in the direction where the city walls were about to fall, the 83rd Iron Guard Brigade arrived to provide support and held the last high wall. 10:48 AM.

Its daybreak.

After a night of rain, Dawn City was once again bathed in the light of dawn.

As the darkness receded and sunlight shone upon this magnificent city, the air was filled with rising smoke from battle.

Da da da.

When the last burst of gunfire ceased, the entire city fell silent.

On the city wall, the bright light from the sky shone on the faces of countless exhausted and desperate garrison soldiers, and on the faces of the blood-stained survivors. At this moment, everyone knew that they had survived!

A 17-year-old garrison soldier carried his gun to the edge of the city wall. He looked out over the outer city after the brutal battle of the previous night, but what he saw was a hellish scene that made his pupils dilate.

Outside the city walls, the former outer suburbs no longer exist.

The broken high-rise buildings resembled skeletons gnawed by a giant beast, with concrete fragments and steel bars twisted together, and the exposed cross-sections still emitting charred smoke. The streets were unrecognizable, the asphalt roads plowed into scorched earth by artillery fire, and craters one after another filled with dark red blood, like countless open mouths. The remains of traffic lights hung upside down from utility poles, with the limbs of various monsters dangling from them. The shattered glass reflected the rising sun like scattered blood-red diamonds.

Hundreds of thousands, even millions, of zombies and bizarre corpses piled up like mountains—rotten, charred, and mutilated—layer upon layer, filling every street and every ruin. Some were blasted into pieces by heavy artillery, their entrails and severed limbs hanging from steel bars; others were burned to charcoal by flamethrowers. Along the edge of the city walls, large, extraordinary monster heads hung suspended, their bodies blasted off by small nuclear bombs from blocks several kilometers away, creating a large breach in the walls.

The situation inside the city was not much better. High-rise buildings were particularly devastated, with collapses and explosions caused by attacks from various flying monsters. Large areas of the city were littered with the burning and destruction of survivors' vehicles. The streets were littered with the corpses and shell casings of various flying monsters. The barrels of anti-aircraft guns were still slightly hot, and the tail fins of rockets were stuck in the ruins of collapsed buildings, like some kind of eerie tombstone.

In each survivor neighborhood, countless survivors looked bewildered and exhausted, their bodies and vehicles almost entirely covered in smoke and monster blood. Some began to shout in despair.

"It's dawn! It's dawn!!"

"Its daybreak!"

Millions of survivors who had survived a night of nightmares were now filled with joy and the terror of surviving a catastrophe. Organized convoys immediately began rescue and medical work, sorting out assets and taking heads. Many small, shattered convoys and families, like ghosts, sat alone on street corners weeping. Some dug through the rubble to find their loved ones, while others ran around searching for water. The dust and debris from the collapsed buildings had turned almost everyone's hair gray.

"It's dawn! Pack your gear and leave Dawn City!"

"North, north!"

"Go east! Go east!!"

"Make sure you have all the available resources!!"

"The Phoenix Society is here. Let's leave with their forces!"

The streets of various districts were filled with a cacophony of cries, screams, shouts, cheers, and other noises.

Twin Star Tower, Zhen Tian Ship.

Xu Yan and a large number of federal officials were here. Several transport ships flew in, one of which carried Lu Tianye, the garrison commander, and the other two carried Xu Zhenyue of the North American United Front and Huo Jiang, the commander of the 83rd Iron Guard Brigade.

From then on, the Phoenix Society and the people of Dawn City joined forces.

“Project Vanguard has succeeded.” Ye Lan looked at everyone: “This is something we should be thankful for. At least, two seeds of human civilization are heading out of the solar system, which can give us some comfort in our current despair.”

After speaking, she looked around at the scene after the fierce battle throughout the city and sighed.
"Now, the rest of us have to figure out how to get through the next long night."

……

Lin Xian was rescued by the Phoenix Society and taken back to Star City Orbital Station, along with KIKI, Shiori, and the remaining members of Qi Nuo.

On the platform of the rail station, more than 60 body bags lay across the ground. Seeing this, Lin Xian sighed to Qi Nuo, "Operation Crescent Moon has failed. If we want to obtain information about the Darkness, all that's left is for us to kill an S-class ourselves."

Even so, Lin Xian knew that this was almost an impossible task.

The Phoenix Society, having failed to obtain the relevant cells from the Black Thorn in the Clouds, understood that acquiring the so-called 'Action Brain' of S-class was no easy task. Moreover, it would require cultivation in the Star Abyss, similar to the Crimson World, and the sacrifice of hundreds of people to establish mycelial connections. Even if the Phoenix Society could accomplish such a feat, they simply did not have the time to do so now.

“It should be impossible now. The gray fog launch breaking through the celestial curtain must have caused changes in the Star Abyss again.” Zino sat in his wheelchair, lit a cigarette, and said with melancholy, “The unmanned observation devices have now detected not just one S-class in Star Abyss 7, but three. Star Abyss 5, 7, and 8 have all detected S-class approaching. And that’s not all. The reconnaissance team also seems to have discovered that the corpse-driving people from Star Abyss 5 are moving in this direction.”

He spat as he spoke and said in a deep voice, "Whether it's connecting to the Star Abyss or breaking through the Heavenly Curtain, we've completely enraged these monsters. So the Phoenix Society's main strategy now is to retreat."

Jiang Yun walked over at this moment: "Many large convoys started to retreat as soon as it got light. The Phoenix Society should also be evacuating its people in a short time."

Lin Xian then looked at him and asked, "Where's Jian Xuwei?"

"She and Jian Zeyang went out of the city to meet the Sky Dome Infinite." Jiang Yun checked the time: "The mobile signal station has received the message and should be entering the city soon."

Lin Xian nodded wearily, watching as the zipper on Chu Yan's body was slowly pulled up, his gaze heavy.

"Why do you want me to not give up on you..."

"Why shouldn't I give up on you..."

Why would I give you up?

Operation Crescent Moon was a plan that Chu Yan had to complete, but at the last moment, when faced with a choice between the present and the future, she resolutely chose the present and, together with Lin Xian, reclaimed the Heart of the Galaxy, saving the entire city from an unwarranted disaster.

Lin Xian never expected that Chu Yan would die like this. In her final moments, Chu Yan told him that Julius would never reveal any information about the darkness. Therefore, she knew that as long as she launched a mental attack on Julius, he would definitely kill the real controller.

This is actually no loss to the Crimson World, because both of them are clones, just puppets used to manage the Mount Colossus launch site, and incidentally they can also kill Chu Yan, who is a great threat to them.

Therefore, Chu Yan had already anticipated that she would die; it was the only option.

Shiori walked over, reached out behind Lin Xian, and quietly released her supernatural power to help Lin Xian recover some of his energy.

Lin Xian felt a warmth, turned to look at Shiori, and forced a smile.

"Shiori, you did a great job."

Shiori's face was still a little dirty, but she said to Lin Xian, "I think we still have hope."

She pointed to the sky and said, "We can fly up there too."

Lin Xian looked up at the sky. He had just learned that the Vanguard Project had successfully saved two starships. He remembered that when he infiltrated the starport, the first ship he saw was the [Natural Selection]. To Lin Xian, this news was both gratifying and bittersweet. From the perspective of the greater good of civilization, human civilization might be able to bloom again in the depths of the distant universe. From his own perspective, the surviving humans on Earth still had several months of journey left.

It's unknown whether humanity has gained a deeper understanding of the Celestial Curtain through these past few months of experience, but the unusual activity in the Star Abyss likely indicates that the Darkness has become aware of what humanity is doing, which could make their survival situation even more difficult.

KIKI, who had been fighting all night, was now asleep. At the Star City Orbital Station, Fire Brother, Monica, Jiang Yun, and others had also fought all night to hold the Silver Star and the members and vehicles of the Infinite Alliance. With a large number of vehicles damaged, the evacuation would definitely become more difficult.

Rumble!
Amidst the desolation and chaos shrouding Dawn City, a deafening roar echoed through the skies. To the north, a colossal floating city blotted out the sun as it approached—Silent City. However, Silent City's second city had already separated.

To the west, a black interstellar mega-train, like a giant starship, sped through the sky. At the same time, on the ring orbit, a 15-kilometer-long United Train roared and sped, fully loaded with supplies, equipment, materials, and all members of the Infinite Alliance transported from Jinhai, rushing into the city.

The Sky Train landed at the Star City Rail Station. Because of the Dawn City Wall, the Sky Train had to fly into the city.

Jian Xuwei, Shi Diyuan, Chen Sixuan, Shu Qin, Da Lou, Sha Sha, Ning Jing, Qian Dele, Ding Junyi and other old friends and key members gathered together at this time.

Chen Sixuan rushed into Lin Xian's arms. The great battle in Dawn City last night had caused great concern among the people on the Infinite. Fortunately, they did not have any dark markers, and the vast and strange entities in the darkness were all surging towards Dawn City, thus sparing them from a major battle.

During this period, the latest standard hull of the Sky Train has been completed. The Sky Train is now over 4 kilometers long, making it an absolute behemoth. With the addition of reconfigured weapons, the Infinite Alliance now has firepower comparable to an army.

Inside the station hall, the original leaders and core members of the United Train, along with Jiang Yun, Jian Xuwei, Jian Zeyang, Wang Hongyuan from the Hongyuan Business Alliance of the Windwalker Alliance, Song Feng from the New Era Engineering Team, Liang Hao from the Iron Shield Team, and He Linqiu from the Burning Phoenix Team, formed a large core group. They all discussed the next arrangements with Lin Xian at the head.

"Lin Qingyu of the Dawn Watchers Alliance, Luo Heng of the Wind Whisperers, and Han Tiege of the Full Metal Frenzy have all started to leave. Yu Huai'an, who is stationed at Changuan, is also preparing to lead the Wanderers Alliance to retreat towards Tianji. Now, most of the tens of thousands of large convoys in the city have left. It seems that only Lei Zhen of the Common Alliance is leaving, because so many convoys are asking for help from him. I guess he wants to help take some people with him." Jiang Yun briefly described the situation in the city.

Jian Xuwei said, "If we leave the city now, we might be able to reach Pingcheng before dark and Kangcheng tomorrow."

At this moment, a commotion arose outside the rail station. Upon hearing this, Lin Xian got up and went outside. Pushing open the door, he saw that the square, streets, and corridors outside the rail station were packed with people. At least tens of thousands of people were crowding outside, and a cacophony of pleas for help was being kept out by the Alliance members and the iron fence.

"Captain! Please let us join your convoy!"

"We have supplies, we can go without food, please take us with you..."

"Please... just take my daughter with you! She's only five years old, very sensible, please don't let her die..."

"I have the skills! I used to be a train maintenance engineer!!"

In an instant, wounded men, kneeling mothers pleading, desperate young men, crying children, and small convoys with their families all rushed toward Lin Xian, their cries filled with despair. Lin Xian stood upstairs, looking at the endless crowd below. They stretched out their hands—cracked, bloodstained, dirty, injured, old, and young—like ears of wheat blown down by the wind, all pointing toward the railway station, as if clutching the last straw of hope.

“They must have all seen the Sky-class and the Union Train entering the city, so they wanted to join them and escape Dawn City,” Jiang Yun said, walking over with a complicated expression.

Shi Diyuan stood beside Lin Xian with a frown, looking at the scene with a heavy heart: "Brother Lin, can we bring some men?"

Lin Xian nodded: "If we add up all the passengers on the joint train, we should be able to add several thousand more."

“A few thousand people can’t change anything.” He Linqiu, from the Burning Phoenix team, walked over to Lin Xian and said, “There are at least 30,000 to 50,000 people here alone.”

"How many people are left in the city? A million?" Shi Diyuan asked at this moment.

“At least 300 million!” said Song Feng of the New Era Engineering Team.

"300 million?!" Chen Sixuan exclaimed in surprise, "How could there be so much?"

Lu Xingchen stood aside with a solemn expression, silent and indifferent. As the God of Fire, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness at this moment.

Liang Hao, from the Iron Shield convoy, said in a chilling voice, "Most of them are survivors from the outer city who entered the city yesterday. In addition, at least tens of thousands of vehicles in the city were destroyed last night, so there are at least 300 million people who simply cannot be evacuated quickly."

“Yes,” Wang Hongyuan of the Hongyuan Business Alliance said, “Many survivors have already taken advantage of the early hour to walk out of the city, but at their walking speed, they can’t possibly reach Qingbo before dark.”

“Walking? ...Forget about encountering strange creatures, even encountering zombies would be troublesome!” Shi Diyuan said.

"What are Phoenix Club's plans?" Ning Jing asked at this moment.

Lin Xian sighed: "I received a message from Shinji Mochizuki that Silent City has been split in two and is preparing to cooperate with the Phoenix Society to transport 50 people to the Tsukigawa River."

“50? What will happen to so many people once they reach Jinhe? Will they still have to walk?” Chen Sixuan asked.

Jian Xuwei shook her head: "Many people have no intention of leaving. Without a vehicle, staying in Dawn City might allow them to live a few more days, at least giving them a place to stay."

Lin Xian watched this scene with a heavy heart, gritting his teeth fiercely.
"This is the scene the Crimson World wants to see: the convoy is gone, and the rest can be abandoned..."

At this moment, the Crimson Phoenix Order rang out. Lin Xian answered it, but the voice on the other end was Qi Nuo, who had already returned to the Zhen Tian Ship.

"Team Leader Lin, if it's convenient, we need you to go to the Zhen Tian Ship immediately!"

(End of this chapter)