Whoosh!

The windless zone lasted only a fleeting moment before being swallowed again by a sweeping sandstorm. The speeding United Train roared across the rails. On the rooftop, Fire Bro stood against the howling wind, his eyes locked on a black silhouette drifting in the distance. The entire sky above that region was turning pitch-black—a terrifying celestial omen!

BOOM! BOOM!

Every section of the United Train was under attack to varying degrees. Tremors and inertia from the pulling force rippled through the entire train, causing a low-frequency hum inside each carriage that made it hard for anyone to stay standing.

Lin Xian sensed the monstrous, black energy gathering—its destructive aura unmistakable. He shouted, “Fire Bro! Luo Yang! Take it down with me!”

“On it!” Fire Bro answered.

Wearing the Black Hawk Armor, Lin Xian fought through the sandstorm and climbed to the rooftop. At the same time, two Electromagnetic Railguns fired simultaneously.

BZZZTT!

Superheated kinetic projectiles guided arcs of blue energy straight toward the giant black humanoid figure. They exploded on impact. But in the very next moment, a twisted black beam burst from the clouds of sand—it veered slightly off-course but streaked straight for the roof of Carriage No. 10!

Instantly, Lin Xian and Fire Bro darted toward the central car from opposite directions!

“Flame Fist Sword!” Fire Bro shouted, launching his blazing sword directly at the black beam.

SIZZLE— Lin Xian’s mech suit surged with high-voltage electric pulses. He thrust his palm forward, rapidly expanding an AT Field Shield several meters wide!

POOF!

The black beam was split in half by Lu Xingchen’s flame sword;

the rest splashed against Lin Xian’s shield like smoke, dispersing into the air. Where it touched the eroded rock by the tracks, the surface began to disintegrate into powder. It was truly terrifying.

BOOM! BOOM! Luo Yang’s Pulse Eye locked on and blasted the creature’s head. A blast of black light erupted like a smoke bomb, shattering the sand vortex around it.

Up ahead, a laser beam from Dragon Mountain No. 1 streaked across the sky, darkening the very air.

That was Ning Jing and A Bai's position—they were locked in intense combat!

CLANG!

Suddenly, Dragon Mountain No. 1 tilted sharply, snapping the tow hitch connecting it to the Infinite Train's tail car!

From Monica Queen, the electromagnetic cannons and flamethrowers roared into the sky. Monica’s Sonic Howl Blade cleaved through a whole hillside. Behind them, the Joker Convoy and over a dozen Doomsday Train carriages unleashed a firestorm from head to tail. The entire fleet was a battlefield.

RRAAAHHH!!

After Luo Yang struck its head, the monster let out another shriek laced with Dark Invasion energy. The twin railguns kept pounding into the swirling sand.

At the same time, hundreds of Silver Blades shot into the air from Carriage No. 2. KIKI floated midair, surrounded by two hundred wind-bound blades. “That thing doesn’t bleed—it’s like sand! Blowing up its head won’t kill it!”

Luo Yang’s combat radar slowly pieced together an image of the floating, sandborne humanoid. The damage from their earlier attacks had already begun to regenerate—head and torso fragments reconnecting. The electromagnetic blasts seemingly had no lasting effect.

Seeing this, Luo Yang scrapped his plan to use the Gravity Lens. He immediately reported on comms, “If it has no weak spot, smash it to pieces!”

Even though continuing to fire would burn through ammo, there was no other choice. If that black beam hit another carriage, the outcome would be catastrophic.

“Stay sharp! There’s more coming!” came Shi Diyuan’s voice from Dragon Mountain No. 1.

BOOM!

The Meteor-3 Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle cracked through the air. From the rear rooftop, Lu Xingchen in full White Hawk Armor charged forward. His HUD flickered with alerts. “Luo Yang, Silver Blades! Targets at three o’clock, nine o’clock, and eleven!”

SSSSHHHH— A skittering noise erupted from the sand. Luo Yang spun and fired a pulse blast behind him.

BOOM!

The explosion hit just a few meters away, blasting him into the air. His power suit’s quick-response system kicked in, letting him spin midair and land on the train's armor edge before leaping back up.

The stench hit him next—along with twitching, grotesque limbs. Crawling onto the rooftop was a spider-legged insectoid creature, carrying a sac of eggs on its belly. Its mandibles gleamed. Blasted by the shockwave, it fell into the sand.

More like it burst forth from the desert in all directions, leaping onto the train's sides and roof. They were fast—legs spinning like sawblades. Chen Sixuan shot two out of the air, but their eggs exploded, releasing thumb-sized armored mini-bugs and black fluid. The baby bugs zipped through the air, dive-bombing toward people!

One slammed into Lin Xian’s arm. Instantly, it began digging at the joints of his armor, trying to worm its way into his body!

ZZZZTTT!

The Black Hawk Armor released a surge of Arc Pulse Resonance, frying the bugs to ash.

Seeing this, Lin Xian shouted:

“Anyone without a power suit, stay inside! Seal the windows—watch those bugs!”

“Their egg fluid is highly corrosive!” Shu Qin yelled as she shot down another bug. Where the egg juice hit the armor, smoke started rising—it was eating through the metal!

BEEP-BEEP!

Two 1130 CIWS turrets and automatic Gatling guns opened fire on both sides of the train.

“Fire Fist!”

Fire Bro unleashed a wall of flame, shielding Carriage No. 10 front and back.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

At the front of the Infinite Train, KIKI spun her 200 blades into a vortex—a bladed storm that shredded the incoming insects.

“Teams, spread out and defend the carriages!” Lin Xian ordered.

Shu Qin, Lü Chang, Miao Lu, Li Guangwen, A Min, Lolo, and others in power armor climbed to the rooftops. Liang Lei and Daluo, both Ability Users, opened the automatic blast doors. Everyone coordinated to protect the full length of the train.

WOOOO!

Twenty Thunder Falcon Drones hovered behind Lin Xian, auto-targeting and firing Arc Pulse Rays in all directions. Lin Xian hurled his Black Rifle toward the humanoid, using the embedded sensor array to scan for an energy source.

The rifle pierced the creature’s body almost effortlessly—like it was made of dust.

THUD-THUD-THUD.

The humanoid’s exploded head regenerated again, and it resumed its massive stride toward the Infinite Train.

A wave of pressurized air surged from the sandstorm, slamming into everyone.

“Careful!”

Retrieving his rifle, Lin Xian felt baffled. The monster didn’t seem made of flesh, yet it could fly, run—it defied logic.

“Blast it apart!”

KIKI and Fire Bro soared into the air, attacking together. The 1130s were reloaded and rotated their barrels toward the sandstorm’s core.

“Divine: Flame Emperor!”

Lu Xingchen’s Infinite Loop spun in his hand. A blue flame burst forth and formed a massive fireball that scorched the sky, slamming into the black shadow.

KABOOM!

The inferno scattered the sandstorm and scorched the ground. In the flash, everyone saw the monsters—bugs erupting from the ground, and the black humanoid charging again.

“Heh!”

KIKI, wrapped in a psychic shield, her violet hair fluttering, eyes glowing, flung her arms forward. Two hundred Silver Blades shot like bullets, cutting through sand and fire, turning red-hot from the friction.

SKREEEEE—

A horrifying screech of metal slicing echoed as the bladed torrent ripped the creature apart. The railguns and 1130s added their own metal storm, reducing it to chunks.

BOOM!

Flames surged outward, triggered by the Eerie Entity’s energy signature. Everyone shielded with power suits. From the blaze, the radar picked up black flesh chunks burning and dispersing—like the thing had been made of dark organic bricks.

Holding her Meteor-3, Chen Sixuan kept firing, blasting apart the bigger chunks.

But with her enhanced vision, she noticed something—those pieces were gathering again, as if pulled by telekinetic force similar to KIKI’s.

She frowned and quickly fired three more shots toward the mass. The bullets ripped through air and sand, clearing a path—revealing a ball of eyeballs—each one spinning, drawing in the black fragments like a gravitational core.

In mere seconds, the monster reassembled most of its torso—chest, spine, and flesh quickly took form, mimicking human proportions but grotesque and horrifying.

Seeing this, Chen Sixuan’s tone sharpened.

“The real body is inside the chest! It’s a sphere about a meter wide! The humanoid form is just armor!”

She didn’t know why that analogy came to mind, but it was spot-on.

“What?!”

“Fk!”

“What the hl is that thing?”

“We need to break the armor and hit the core!”

“All units, open fire!”

Across the comms, all convoy leaders responded in full force.

Lin Xian understood too. The monster’s claws were too powerful for a sandy construct—something had to be reinforcing its body. The way it only floated when regenerating but ran when fully formed? That hinted at massive energy cost for each transformation.

“Break its flesh first!”

BANG-BANG!

Gunfire roared from the Infinite Train, suppressing the wave of bugs.

“KIKI! Luo Yang! Keep it pinned—wait for my third wave!”

Mechanical Heart processing, Lin Xian prepped for the third round of 1130 ammunition. Meanwhile, his drones hunted bugs, and his Kinetic Cannon laid down cover fire for Monica’s Convoy and the Joker Convoy.

WHIRRR—

An icy shock rippled through the air. As Lin Xian prepared to strike again, he noticed—the giant figure wasn’t charging this time. Black mist spread through the sand.

The Eerie Entity was preparing its beam again.

“F**k this—blast its damn head!” he shouted.

Luo Yang and KIKI unleashed firepower. Twin railguns targeted the swirling storm—blue bolts screaming into the dark.

“Captain Lin, it’s dodging!” Luo Yang said anxiously, his Pulse Blasts missing each time.

KIKI’s Silver Blades spun violently through the sandstorm, but they couldn’t pin down the creature’s location. The sky itself seemed to darken as the thing retreated.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. Their power suits showed the target drifting farther away, charging its attack.

“We can’t lock on. It’s falling back and building energy again,” Chen Sixuan said grimly.

Her sniper rounds and railgun bursts, even when they hit, couldn’t stop the buildup. The Eerie Entity had learned from last time. It now concealed itself in the storm!

“Smart b*stard!”

“Brother Lin!” Fire Bro ran up. “I’ll tear open the sand screen—then you strike!”

“Do it!” Lin Xian replied without hesitation. That thing hiding in the storm was too dangerous. If it unleashed another beam, the train might not survive it.

“Once you clear it—I’ll grab it. You guys hit the chest core!” KIKI snarled. She pulled back all her blades, floated into the air, ready to dive into battle.

----------------------------------------

Boom!

A deep, muffled blast echoed out. This time, the black beam carried a far more intense, oppressive dark energy than before—so heavy it sent chills down everyone's spine.

But just then, everyone suddenly noticed large amounts of black mist leaking outward from the sandstorm. At the same time, a shrill screech erupted—deafening and piercing!

Black tides surged as the sandstorm turned pitch-black, even blotting out the light. Lin Xian’s expression darkened. He shouted immediately:

“Attack!”

“Divine: Skyfire Descent!”

Lu Xingchen rocketed into the sky like a fireball, spinning rapidly midair. He unleashed a rotor blaze that burst into a flaming vortex, exploding overhead. Torrents of crimson flames came crashing down like celestial fire, instantly carving a hollow vortex into the sandstorm. Layer upon layer of sand was sucked up into the sky by the intense heat currents!

At that moment, the massive form—gathering black light in midair—finally emerged once more from the swirling sand. Seizing the opportunity, KIKI unleashed the full torrent of her Silver Blades, charging straight at it. Her left hand used psychic force to suppress the creature’s movement while her right manipulated a storm of blades to shred its limbs and head layer by layer. Despite the creature’s overwhelming mass and pressure, which shattered and dispersed many of the blades, sparks flew as metal clashed against flesh.

Meanwhile, Luo Yang and two 1130 CIWS units unleashed a torrent of firepower, blowing the creature’s chest wide open. Inside, the eyeball core tried to flee, pulling the shattered flesh back together using some eerie force in a desperate attempt to regenerate.

Ping!

Lin Xian’s Black Rifle, equipped with a Magnetic Propulsion Engine, accelerated with pinpoint precision—like a needle threading through a sandstorm. In seconds, it locked onto the eyeball core hundreds of meters away, darting through the air toward it. Just as it was about to pierce through, numerous chunks of black flesh surged in to form a hardened chest plate.

The creature hardened its body where it anticipated the kinetic impact, but the Black Rifle was too fast—it blasted straight through, sending shards of black tissue flying before burrowing right into the eyeball.

A burst of black blood exploded outward. The eyeball cluster tried to flee again, but Lin Xian remotely activated the dual barbs on the Black Rifle—a mod he'd added after the Red Lantern-Head incident, specifically for reeling enemies in like a fishhook.

The dense mass of eyeballs now spun violently, black blood gushing down in streams.

“Lin Xian! Don’t let it escape!”

KIKI roared, furiously tearing through the flying chunks of regenerating flesh. At the same time, Fire Bro joined in, covering KIKI from the swarming monster bugs.

Seeing this, Lin Xian activated his Mechanical Heart, and in response, two G3 Electromagnetic Railguns rotated their turrets and locked onto the sphere. Their ring arrays began to light up in sequence.

Zzzzt!

Two beams of azure energy exploded out. The eyeball cluster sensed the threat—every eye turned toward the oncoming railgun fire.

SCREEEEEE!!

Black meat chunks frantically swarmed together in an attempt to shield the core, but the sheer speed of the railgun blasts formed energy tunnels that disintegrated the eyeballs on impact. Black blood erupted, chunks splattered into the air, and the autonomous tissue lost control—falling like meteorites back to the Gobi Desert below.

BOOMMMM—

A huge mass of black flesh slammed into the sand, kicking up clouds of dust. Some tissue continued to roll before disintegrating. Underneath the black layer, various muscular textures were exposed—like some grotesque concrete molded from the bodies of thousands of human corpses. The air reeked of thick, metallic blood.

“It's down!!!”

KIKI yelled.

But Lin Xian hadn’t even caught his breath when a black beam exploded in the distance, behind the train. Suddenly, a panicked voice crackled through the comms from a convoy leader:

“One of our carriages just got hit—major casualties! The train’s about to detach!”

The mood plummeted instantly. At this speed, if a carriage derailed, it could cause the whole train to flip over.

“Take that thing out fast. Use multi-layered fire suppression. There’s an eyeball inside—hit the right moment and it’s done!”

After taking out the first massive entity, Lin Xian quickly updated the entire team. Meanwhile, aboard the Infinite Train, the two railguns reoriented—one aiming at Dragon Mountain No. 1, the other at the rear convoy for covering fire.

As expected, once the creature’s weak point was exposed, Dragon Mountain No. 1 adjusted its firing frequency and let loose in unison. A Bai’s laser beam streaked across the sky!

“Dmn it, slippery bstard!”

Shi Diyuan cursed after they scored a kill. “These monster bugs are multiplying—we gotta pick up the pace!”

“Everyone, heads up! Sand ants incoming!”

From the Fu Lu Shou Convoy, Sun Chang shouted into her comms after blasting a spider-limbed bug with her Pulse Cannon.

Disaster piled upon disaster. The roaring sound of sand ants swelled closer from the depths of the No-Man’s Zone, like a storm descending.

Lin Xian and all convoy leaders felt a collective shiver. At a time like this, the appearance of sand ants meant one thing: everyone had to retreat into the vehicles.

“We’ve lost multiple vehicles—massive casualties!”

“Sand ants! Step on it!”

“They’re tearing through our cars! They’ve crawled inside—there’s a bug in my arm! Aaahhh!!”

Total chaos erupted over the channel. In less than twenty minutes, the entire Joint Convoy had fallen into a full-scale crisis.

“Lin Xian, look!”

Chen Sixuan ran up to him on the Infinite Train, pointing toward the Gobi beyond the track. The sand there was moving like a fluid, surging rapidly toward the rails.

“We can’t stay outside—we’ve gotta hide in the cars!” Lin Xian ordered.

And not just that—all train-mounted weapons had to be sealed. If left open, the sand ants would crawl right in—and then it’d be over.

“Everyone, back inside the military cars!”

Lin Xian led the Infinite Train team back onboard. The railguns, 1130 systems, anti-air cannons, and automated Gatling guns were all retracted. Weapon hatches on the roof closed one by one.

As everyone hunkered down, the spider-limbed bugs swarmed over the roofs, gnawing and clawing at the armor plating, the screech of teeth on metal sending chills down everyone's spine. Meanwhile, dark brown beetles covered the windows and hulls, frantically searching for cracks to crawl inside.

ZAP!

The entire vehicle's Arc Pulse Resonators activated, all firing in sync. The monster bugs outside were instantly reduced to ash—long legs and shells sizzled and fell as charred fragments.

THUD THUD THUD!

And just then, a new black humanoid entity loomed in the sandstorm—it was even larger and more grotesque than before.

“Again?!” KIKI cried out.

“This is endless! What level of Eerie Entity is this? Don’t they have territory boundaries?” Shu Qin growled.

Lu Xingchen’s Infinity Ring on his wrist spun rapidly. He said grimly, “Brother Lin, looks like we’ve got one more to kill.”

Boom!

Behind Lin Xian, twenty Lei-class drones powered up. He gave a grave nod. This time, only those with abilities and Power Armor could go out there.

Just as Lin Xian was about to call KIKI and Luo Yang into action, Ning Jing’s voice suddenly came through the comms:

“We’ve broken through the sandstorm—everyone, accelerate!”

The Infinite Train crew lit up instantly.

“We’re out of the storm!”

“Thank f***ing God!”

Everyone in the trailing convoys clung to this hope like a lifeline.

“Pull back your firepower! Stay inside! Don’t let the ants in—we’re almost clear!”

“Seal the doors! Shut the windows!”

Back at the Fu Lu Shou Convoy, a pale-faced Hu Lushou shouted:

“Go, go, go! Hold on!!”

Both Lu Zhao and Xie Guan’s convoys had taken heavy losses, but upon hearing the news, their entire teams rallied. All vehicles maxed out their speed, smashing through the bugs ahead and charging forward through the sand ants!

And sure enough, before long, the yellow sand winds began to die down. Visibility rapidly improved. Led by Dragon Mountain No. 1, the Joint Train finally burst out of the choking dust storm. As they did, the roof-mounted bugs tumbled off one by one. The sand ants disappeared into the haze behind them. Only shattered monster limbs and remains clung to the trains as the last remnants of battle.

From a bird’s-eye view, the black-scaled behemoth of a convoy charged out of the hellish sandstorm like a dragon escaping a tar pit—trailing roaring winds as it thundered into the sunlit Gobi Wasteland beyond!