Clang, clang.

The iron wheels of the Infinite rolled along the old transport rails of Yongcheng Port, gradually merging onto the main ring star track. The adaptive magnetic levitation system activated, silencing the clatter of wheels on rails as the train quietly began to accelerate.

Lin Xian had already forgotten the last time the sunlight had been this bright. The train passed over a barren plain, its heavy armored body coated with a thin layer of gold. The glass windows reflected the sky, a blue so pure it seemed nearly transparent. Occasionally, cloud shadows swept across like silent ghosts.

Inside the carriage, the broadcast system played melodious music. Dust floated slowly in the beams of light, gently spinning. In carriage number two, Shasha leaned against the window and fell asleep, her eyelashes casting delicate shadows on her cheeks. KIKI, dressed in a fresh pair of shorts and a hoodie, spun several colorful lollipops with telekinesis while leisurely watching a variety show before the Day of Apocalypse, her face bright with a cheerful smile.

The research carriage had completely transformed into a forest of plants, crisp and dark green. Just stepping inside felt cooler and fresher. Miao Lu and Xiao Yuan carefully recorded the growth of various plants under the abundant sunlight under Director Ding’s guidance. Viola had replaced Grace’s role and become the new brain controller of the Infinite.

Except for the power car group, all other carriages had been replaced by Lin Xian with higher-spec automated carriages from the Queen Mo. These combined some of the armaments from Silent City and the Emperor Project. Now, aside from one Eternal-class “Sky Star 5C” nuclear-powered carriage and the Weirong-class traction carriage Lin Xian retained, all other carriages had been reconfigured.

In carriage number five, besides Daluo and Fire Bro, two more people had moved in. One was Fire Bro’s disciple, Mo Xiaotian, son of Sun Yuzhen. The other was Ryunosuke, an inorganic power user from Silent City who had already surpassed the angel level.

This was not arranged by Lin Xian, but a special request from Mochizuki Shinji under the Phoenix Society’s Starfire Plan. Silent City suffered severe damage in the battle of Dawn City. Now that the three major Star Abysses were stable, Mochizuki Shinji combined the Emperor Project and Crimson World’s colonization technology with the dark energy resonance data from Dawn City to start reconstructing Silent City at Yongcheng Port. They also supported the repair project in Dawn City.

When this guy heard that Lin Xian planned to cross the Pacific, pass the Republic Archipelago, and enter Ushuaia in South America, he had arranged for Ryunosuke and Shiori, Silent City’s two most potential power users, to join Lin Xian on this oceanic orbital journey.

The purpose was simple: to participate in protecting Lin Xian. At the same time, Mochizuki Shinji hoped to help these two grow their abilities further, becoming major aids in the future.

Lin Xian understood this guy’s intentions, but his oceanic orbital journey had a personal plan that prevented bringing too many people. For safety reasons, the Infinite Alliance joined the Phoenix Society’s Dawn Center, led by Jian Xuwei, Jiang Yun, and Shi Diyuan, who took the Silver Star train with a united convoy to the Qinggu Strait. Lin Xian, meanwhile, joined Ye Lan’s Starfire Plan!

The Starfire Plan was a proactive defense plan announced by Phoenix Society commander Ye Lan after declaring the beginning of the Weirong era. It responded to the global 13 Star Abysses entering an unknown latent state.

After the defense of Dawn City, the dark crisis underwent a huge shift. Star Abysses 5, 7, and 8, after shrinking to their original sizes, surprisingly entered a slow expansion phase. This was better than the Phoenix Society had originally expected.

Combining reports from Lin Xian, Chu Yan, the Corpse Drivers, and Operation Crescent Moon, Ye Lan believed that humanity, having mastered the resonance conversion of dark energy and reclaimed the space defense platform to counter Star Abyss 5’s Corpse Drivers, had become a presence with both resistance and threat to the dark civilization.

Simply put, humans who could remain silent in the dark while shielding against dark invasions had developed “drug resistance” and became a threat. This gave the originally ant-like humans the possibility to confront or proactively choose survival strategies amid the darkness where civilization information had returned to an opaque state.

Thus, the Starfire Plan was born. Its purpose had two parts: first, to use dark energy shielding to reverse humanity’s disadvantage in darkness, conduct a comprehensive investigation of all Star Abysses, and attempt to re-enable humanity’s great weapon: nuclear weapons, seeking to establish military deterrence. Second, to use S-level colonization technology to try a second breakthrough of the Sky Veil Barrier, aiming to open the polar Kunlun core and investigate the possibility of restarting the Moon Ring.

Dawn City’s successful counterattack and the establishment of the Starfire Plan slightly boosted the confidence of the few remaining human survivors worldwide. Most importantly, everyone knew that humans could not survive the white-dark invasion without shielding infection and regaining control of water resources.

In carriage five, Miao Lu was testing a newly made power armor on Xiao Lou. Fire Bro, Ryunosuke, and Chen Sixuan were drinking iced tea nearby, watching with interest the nearly two-meter-tall Xiao Lou in a berserk mech suit.

Beep~

Thanks to mechanical ability control, all mechanical units on Xiao Lou’s body finished automatic bolt locking. Two specially made Qilin mechanical arms, besides combat functions, were equipped with water propulsion and deep-space repulsion thrusters. Without a full life support system, it could not be called a small weapon outright.

“Hmm, it’s perfect.”

Miao Lu looked at her creation with some satisfaction.

“Xiao Lou, give it a try.”

Xiao Lou curiously glanced at the mechanical arms. Something triggered in his heart. The mechanical gates beneath his arms opened, and several large destruction missiles immediately rose and aimed at Fire Bro and others who were drinking tea nearby.

“Hey hey hey... Brother Xiao Lou!”

“Brother Lou, stop that!”

Fire Bro and Cheng Youlong almost choked on their iced tea and quickly took defensive stances.

Xiao Lou instantly calmed down, but as he tried to stop, the repulsion system suddenly activated, and the cooling fins on his legs started up.

“Brother Xian!”

Xiao Lou panicked.

Miao Lu snapped her fingers and immediately shut down the weapon system of Xiao Lou’s armor.

“Brother Xian... you’ve always used power armor. That’s more suitable for you, especially considering your ability…” Xiao Lou said awkwardly.

Unexpectedly, Lin Xian shook his head and said seriously,

“It suits you very well. I’ve wanted to prepare a set for you for a long time. Your ability is blood energy, but you can’t always brawl with the abnormal entities. Once we enter the Pacific, underwater and in the air, mobility will be needed. You can’t swim in the Pacific holding a steel-cutting greatsword.”

“Brother Lin is right,” Lu Xingchen nodded approvingly. “Even I can control fire and fly, I still need power armor to assist me. This Black Dragon power armor was specially customized by Brother Lin for you. I believe you can fully utilize it.”

“Yeah, yeah, it looks so cool!” Mo Xiaotian’s eyes shone brightly.

Lin Xian pointed to Ryunosuke, who silently sipped tea without speaking, smiling, “Look at him. An all-around ability user, also wearing power armor. The enhanced functions improve combat power, mobility, and defense. It’s good to be well prepared.”

“Alright, Brother Xian, I’ll study it.”

Daluo was delighted hearing Lin Xian’s words. He turned, and the Black Dragon armor emitted a series of hydraulic sounds. Though seemingly heavy, it had a powerful energy core to help Daluo generate greater explosive power.

Carriage six now served as storage and dining. It was packed with all kinds of supplies. In the middle was a specially designed sunken corridor sofa that could seat more than twenty people for meals or rest and could also be used for meetings.

At this moment, the dining car was lively. Chen Sixuan, Ning Jing, Shu Qin, and Sun Yuzhen were placing and counting supplies. On the sofa, Qian Dele, Luo Yang, and Lü Chang were playing cards. Not far away sat the silent A Bai and Xiao Qing. Monica held a glass of red wine, legs crossed, sitting at the far end. When Lin Xian entered, she smiled faintly at him, then continued admiring the sunshine outside.

It could be said that the core backbone of the Infinite Alliance was basically all here. Liang Lei and Li Yi, the couple, had to face childbirth, and Old Mo, who was not good at combat, along with many children, followed the Infinite Alliance’s land forces on a safer route.

“Captain Lin.”

Seeing Lin Xian enter, Ning Jing was the first to speak and approached him. “Are we entering the oceanic orbit tomorrow?”

Lin Xian nodded, “The weather is good today. We’ll first rest along the coastline overnight.”

“Indeed, the weather is really nice.” Qian Dele leaned back with sunglasses, looking relaxed. “Compared to fighting, traveling by train is much more comfortable.”

“We’re not traveling,” Luo Yang said seriously. “We have to cross the Pacific, meet the sea city Noah, then head to the Republic Archipelago. There might be trouble in the sea.”

“Besides, we must cross Star Abyss 13.” Ning Jing turned to Qian Dele and smiled. “This time, no easy detours.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Qian Dele remained unfazed. “Whether it’s deep-sea monsters or zombie tides, as long as I see it as scenery, it’s a journey.”

“You’re pretty optimistic.” Chen Sixuan smiled. “The oceanic section of the ring star track runs along the ridge. In other words, we’re traveling along the edge of the deepest Pacific trenches. Didn’t you say you have thalassophobia before?”

Qian Dele’s smile abruptly froze. He raised his sunglasses, looked at Chen Sixuan, then at Lin Xian, “Now that you say it, it doesn’t sound so nice.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind now.” Lin Xian approached.

“Forget it.” Qian Dele looked at Lin Xian, put his sunglasses back on, and said leisurely, “I’m sticking with you. Monica was right—following you is always a way out. Even the despair in Dawn City was turned around by your Southern Celestial Gate. I have to contribute to saving the world.”

Lin Xian smiled and immediately gestured toward Monica.

“Thanks for the ride, Queen Mo. This Infinite is at full strength now. Except that it can’t fly, it’s functionally complete.”

Monica smiled slightly and replied gracefully, “You’re welcome. I’m waiting to see you take the Sky Dome Star.”

“Very soon.”

Lin Xian finished speaking and turned toward carriage one. Behind carriage six were the living quarters of these core members. Besides Monica, who still lived alone in the luxurious carriage nine, Qian Dele, Luo Yang, Lü Chang, and A Bai lived in carriage eight. Shu Qin, Xiao Qing, Miao Lu, Ning Jing, and Shiori lived in carriage seven. The last carriage, number ten, was a special power carriage prepared by Lin Xian for emergencies—the Whale-03E Heavy Gas Turbine Locomotive.

This power war god had accompanied Lin Xian all the way. He brought it along, hoping it could play a role in critical moments.

From the rear carriage moving forward, Lin Xian arrived at carriage four. Upon entering, he saw the greenery of the sky piece. Not only were there various green trees, but also various vegetables and fruits. The transparent sunlight canopy on the roof was open, making the whole carriage feel like a forest, refreshing and pleasant.

“Captain Lin!”

Xiao Yuan, who was picking fruits with Miao Lu, quickly stood up upon seeing Lin Xian. She joyfully greeted him.

“Wow, there are tomatoes and cucumbers today.” Lin Xian’s eyes brightened. He couldn’t help but take a cucumber from Xiao Yuan’s basket, rubbed it on his clothes, and bit into it. Instantly, a crisp, sweet juiciness exploded in his mouth.

“The sunlight has been good these past few days, so they grow fast.” Xiao Yuan smiled gently. “I heard that being at sea for a long time requires extra vitamins, so Director Ding planted a lot of fruits and vegetables.”

“Exactly, Director Ding’s ability now accelerates plant growth remarkably.” Miao Lu nodded hurriedly in agreement. “These cucumbers were planted just yesterday and already have fruit today!”

“Increased yield and production, it’s practically a god-tier ability.”

Lin Xian bit off a piece of cucumber, “This ability isn’t even in the official Phoenix Society records yet. The only one is on our carriage.”

“The only mechanical ability is also on our carriage.” Miao Lu said with a bright smile.

Lin Xian smiled and then walked forward.

Xiao Yuan’s eyes followed from behind. Miao Lu teased her, “Stop staring, your eyeballs are almost stuck to it.”

Xiao Yuan blushed and said to Miao Lu, “I’m just really happy Captain Lin actually brought me along on this trip.”

Miao Lu was surprised, “What’s there to be surprised about? If you and Director Ding hadn’t used Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes to save Captain Lin at the critical moment, he’d be dead by now. You’re so powerful, Captain Lin definitely would bring you.”

Xiao Yuan frowned slightly and said calmly, “That was Director Ding’s plan. I was only helping.”

“Hehe, do you secretly hope Captain Lin actually likes you and that’s why he brought you?” Miao Lu smiled slyly.

“Absolutely not!”

Carriage three.

“Summarizing growth data. I need to build a file to separately verify different vegetables, light, and cold-dark reagent effects on all ability users’ growth curves at specific times...”

[Key factors potentially affecting this include but are not limited to personnel’s own baseline, growth potential, gender, age, personal conversion rate, etc. This may require more than 3,615 comparative experiments to obtain data suitable for conclusive validation.]

“I know. First assess major factors, then filter minor ones, obtain the greatest common divisor as a reference for Lin Xian.”

Lin Xian arrived at carriage three and happened to see Ding Junyi working quietly with Viola on research.

“Lin Xian.” Hearing footsteps, Ding Junyi greeted him without raising her head.

“I heard your ability has grown a lot?” Lin Xian walked over and said.

Ding Junyi lifted her hand. Instantly, under a burst of waves, several pots of green oases on the table began explosive growth, rapidly sprouting branches and leaves like living things. Then they all gathered around Lin Xian, wrapping him in a simple “cage” like tentacles.

Lin Xian looked at the moving plants beside him, surprised. “Why do they look like living creatures?”

“Strictly speaking, plants themselves are living beings.” Ding Junyi finally looked up at Lin Xian. “But I know you don’t like that answer. The actual situation is that I caused the plant growth fibers to proliferate rapidly and split. During this accelerated process, they appear to move. You can see it as me speeding up the growth process, but it only looks like movement.”

Lin Xian nodded, “So it’s one-way? I thought you could control plants like controlling tentacles?”

“That’s not possible. Plant fibers and muscle fibers are essentially different.”

Seeing Ding Junyi so serious, Lin Xian smiled and asked, “I’m curious, how did you think Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes could save me at that moment?”

“I didn’t think that.” Ding Junyi put down her work and looked at Lin Xian calmly. “I didn’t know how long Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes could resist the Corpse Drivers for you—one second or an instant. For me, it was just the only thing I could do for you.”

Lin Xian’s expression became complex. He wanted to say something but was speechless. After a long moment, he only said one sentence:

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

At that time, Lin Xian did not know that when he fired at Southern Celestial Gate, Chen Sixuan had detected his location kilometers away. Ding Junyi and Xiao Yuan had brought Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes to arrive. Qian Dele and KIKI also rapidly rushed over to rescue him. At the critical moment, a dimensional bubble opened, and Qian Dele used his god-speed ability with KIKI to take Lin Xian away, allowing him to barely survive directly facing Southern Celestial Gate’s destructive beam. This was something Lin Xian never expected.

He could only say that his teammates were incredibly capable.

Now Lin Xian entered the new Eternal-class cockpit of the Infinite. Looking at the sunlit field ahead, he took a deep breath and then sat in the driver’s seat. A voice came to his ear.

“Although Star Abyss 13 is the only one in the ocean, it is also the largest. It forms a super-large storm zone exceeding ten thousand kilometers at the junction of the western Pacific and the Black Ocean. Even crossing that area via the ring star track is very dangerous.”

“For both of us, anywhere we go is dangerous.”

Lin Xian looked at Chu Yan. “The Corpse Drivers are spying on both of us mentally, so I told Professor Ye that the darkness might be targeting us.”

“I understand that.” Chu Yan looked at him. “I’m just curious: now that you are the ‘Swordbearer of Southern Celestial Gate,’ how did Professor Ye let you cross the Pacific with an elite squad?”

Lin Xian looked at the semi-transparent consciousness beside Chu Yan and said, “That’s why I told Professor Ye that we must operate separately. You are now heading toward the Dawn Center. The Phoenix Society will guarantee your safety.”

Chu Yan frowned slightly. “I don’t know if I can contact Grace.”

“You’ll know when you wake up.” Lin Xian smiled. “You should have some free time lately. I told Professor Ye that you could assist in establishing a connection with Southern Celestial Gate. But the Sky Veil Barrier’s shield layer probably won’t be resolved soon. For safety, the two ‘Swordbearers’ must be separated. You take the land route for maximum safety, and I take the oceanic orbit to quickly reach the polar Kunlun core. These are two separate arrangements.”

“So you disbanded your entire Infinite Alliance, took a group of elites on the oceanic orbit, just to reach the poles faster?” Chu Yan asked.

“Isn’t that reason enough?” Lin Xian smiled and asked back. “The faster I reach the poles, the more comfortably I can enjoy Phoenix Society’s resources to improve my ability. Besides, I’m tired. Not worrying about the survival of tens of thousands is a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Lin Xian.”

Chu Yan smiled at him. “Don’t you forget I’ve seen all your thoughts. Your mechanical ability is completely different from all other ability users. Although you like to say you’re a selfishist on the surface, in reality, you’re bound by responsibility. So do you really think I believe you only have this one purpose?”

Lin Xian was momentarily stunned, then smiled helplessly.

“Alright, I really have no secrets in front of you.”

“Do you remember what we saw from the Corpse Drivers?” Lin Xian said calmly. “Under Star Abyss 13, there are humans.”

Chu Yan nodded. “Yes, that’s beyond reason. Deep in the ocean, beneath the Star Abyss, there are humans...”

“Do you remember after invading Julius’s consciousness, you got a lot of information related to the SIID Foundation?”

“I remember.”

Lin Xian looked toward the approaching coastline and said, “We used to think the SIID Foundation was just the financial backer or organizer behind Crimson World. But now, after re-examining that information, many of my previous guesses have been confirmed.”

“You mean the SIID Foundation might have ‘Apocalypse Day Prophets’ or ‘human power beyond current civilization’?”

“Yes.”

“Does Professor Ye think so too?”

Lin Xian said, “She’s curious. I’ve synchronized some of this intelligence. When you wake up, it should be more complete. You can help the Phoenix Society conduct a comprehensive sweep of Crimson World. As for the humans under Star Abyss 13, Professor Ye and I both think this may be unusual. After all, this information came from the Corpse Drivers’ perspective. The Phoenix Society’s Noye and Phoenix City have already dispatched people to investigate. Maybe there will be results soon.”

“Are you bringing an elite squad to investigate this?” Chu Yan asked.

Lin Xian shook his head. “Not entirely. I have my own purpose, which I haven’t told Professor Ye.”

“What purpose?”

“Mechanical ability.” Lin Xian said, looking at Chu Yan. “You entered my consciousness, so you know how my mechanical ability improves and expands, including my Black Star Forge. I’m now putting the entire Sky Dome train inside it for weaponized modification. Also, I’m cooperating with Mochizuki Shinji, combining the Emperor Project and colonization tech to build new suppression systems and colonization weapons, including my robot convoy...”

“I know...” Chu Yan smiled, “Your secrets are quite a lot, even more than Julius.”

Lin Xian calmly said, “Yes, Hellish Black Chrysanthemum, Heterogeneous Cube, Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes, Blood Vine. But there is one problem, which Mochizuki Shinji also reminded me of.”

Chu Yan turned her head. “You think your mechanical ability is some kind of high-dimensional civilization technology combined with current human industrial civilization. Even if it’s not, with your current ability, even if you had all the blueprints and materials, at best...”

“At best, it’s just a production line slightly smaller than Silent City’s scale.” Lin Xian said directly. “In the battle of Dawn City, Crimson World’s flesh colonization, Phoenix Society’s Emperor Project top mechs, and even Southern Celestial Gate—relying on these, we repelled the dark’s probes. In Professor Ye’s words, this might just be a temporary balance in the fog. The dark counterattack will definitely come again.”

Chu Yan fell silent slightly.

“I’ve been thinking about how mechanical ability can break the stalemate. If I can only produce equipment or weapons that Phoenix Society, Emperor Project, and Xinghua Heavy Industry can make or already exist, then essentially, my mechanical ability changes nothing. When the dark counterattacks, I might be powerless.”

Lin Xian stared ahead. “So I’m thinking, what would happen if my mechanical ability reached level 7, 8, or even 9 for final awakening? If the SIID Foundation really has ‘human power beyond current civilization,’ if my mechanical ability really comes from high-dimensional civilization, or if my research center’s blueprints can be upgraded beyond current civilization limits...”

He slowly looked at Chu Yan, speaking calmly but with some hope, “Only then might I really have the power to fight the dark, truly establish civilization deterrence, and really become...”

“The Swordbearer!”