Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 277: Above the Sky

August 30th, Apocalypse Day D93 — 1 day until the Great Evacuation of Xilan City.

The city howled beneath a raging blizzard. Temperatures had plummeted to minus 60 degrees. Everything was a sheet of white—icicles hung like spears from the buildings, snow flew in swirling gusts across the streets.

Wooo~!

Wooo~!

City East, Investigation Corps HQ.

The red alert sirens blared. Military units, ammo trucks, and mech battalions surged into action. Zhao Yu, He Zhen, Wenzhuo, and others moved briskly through the base camp, faces grim with resolve.

“Notify the entire city—prepare for full-scale engagement.”

“Get the aerospace squadrons airborne before nightfall—have them hold position above Xilan City!”

“He Zhen, the heaviest pressure will be in the north and east sectors. You and I will each hold one.”

“Got it,” He Zhen nodded. “I’ll take the north. The aerial patrol squad all have marks on them. Wu Chen’s team volunteered to land near Sishui Slope in the north—that’s the best position for fire support.”

Zhao Yu frowned. He knew that was practically a suicide mission.

“Send two additional missile response teams to the north. Tell the artillery battalion not to hold back—do everything we can to keep Wu Chen’s team alive.”

“I understand,” He Zhen said, his voice cold and firm.

“Wenzhuo, have the entire Nightwalkers Organization and the Courier Unit stand by at all city support points. If internal disasters break out after nightfall, eliminate them first.”

“Coordinate with the Phoenix Convoy. Have them handle area cleansing. We must prevent widespread panic from triggering internal mutations.”

As they walked, Zhao Yu addressed Wenzhuo seriously.

“There’s a high density of Ability Users and Evolvers in the city. If an internal outbreak happens, the damage will be catastrophic. You and the convoy reps are in charge of joint defense.”

“Understood.” With that, Wenzhuo turned and flew off into the air.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu and He Zhen boarded two small patrol aircraft and took off toward the Anti-Eerie Frontline.

High atop the steel city walls, rows of Great Wall-50 railgun turrets stood ready. The integrated Iron Curtain Defense System—anti-air missiles, electromagnetic cannons, and CIWS turrets—had all powered up. The radar tower halfway up Phoenix Ridge was now at full combat readiness.

Vmmmm~

At the northern airport, the field blazed with signal lights. A Dreadnought-Class Aerospace Carrier, weighing tens of thousands of tons, shattered the snowfall as it lifted off with a deafening roar. Warhawk-Class Gunships, Lightning-2 Fighters, and H50 Bombers were all scrambling into formation.

Clang clang clang—

Military mechs of all models—Iron Guard-3 Assault Units, Defender-2s, Defender-3 Light Assaults, T8-Z Vulcans, and even Destroyer-Class Heavy Siege Walkers—were being transported to frontline positions. Over 12,000 soldiers from the 7th Investigation Corps were now fully deployed.

Inside the city, over a thousand convoys were already at full readiness under Phoenix’s red alert. Even the Monica Queen, previously stationed underground, had moved to the open freight tracks, all weapon systems powered up. Monica sat grim-faced in Carriage No. 1, staring at the radar display, coordinating with Qian Dele via comms.

At the North Passenger Platform, dozens of trains had already formed a defensive perimeter on the tracks. The rooftops were lined with a dense array of machine guns, AA turrets, and heavy gun towers, all locked and loaded.

Once the news of the Level-5 Mark spread, the entire teams of the Infinite Train and Dragon Mountain No. 1 tensed up.

“Twenty minutes left.”

At the freight terminal, Lin Xian disassembled and absorbed the entire maintenance bay, then opened a comms channel to the vehicles of the Big Eagle Convoy, parked between the Dragon Mountain No. 1 and the Infinite Train.

“We can’t move inside the city. We hold position. Our priority is the western sector and Phoenix Ridge. High probability of aerial monsters—focus on anti-air defenses.”

“Got it, Captain Lin!!”

The Big Eagle, Chasing Sun, Running Far, and North Wind Alliance convoys—over 150 vehicles total, most of them heavy—had formed into a rectangular train-like defense formation. The heavy vehicles were positioned around the perimeter to shield the smaller ones. With Lin Xian’s Mechanical Ability, all anti-air systems were installed and calibrated in record time.

What they didn’t expect… was that the newly-acquired weapons and ammo would see action in under an hour.

“Brother Lin… is a Level-5 Mark really that dangerous?”

Shi Diyuan’s voice came through the comms. The entire Dragon Mountain No. 1 was battle-ready.

“Probably stronger than what we faced before we entered the city,” Lin Xian replied without hesitation. “You guys came from the spaceport—you must’ve seen it.”

Shi Diyuan’s face turned dark.

“F*** me… we barely got two days of rest.”

Realizing how serious the situation was, he started cursing while ordering Ning Jing and Lu Yong to distribute food. With this black night expected to last nearly 19 hours, and with so many people on board, they had to ration supplies in advance to avoid collapsing mid-battle.

“Dongzi, Wang Zhong, Zhuang Yue—you guys guard the heating systems like your lives depend on it! If those go out, we’re all dead!”

“Yu Lianxing, Zhu Anran, Min Ming—you and Xiao Qing clear any threats on the rooftop turrets. A’Bai, you stay on the big toys. Got it?!”

Over at the allied convoys, the Chasing Sun’s high-voltage ion wall had already been activated. The Amin &Lolo Gemini Mechs were standing by. Every convoy was on full alert.

After taking down the maintenance bay, Lin Xian remained in constant communication via his Crimson Phoenix Token, linking with the major convoy leaders and receiving intel from He Zhen and Zhao Yu.

He also passed on all Level-5 Mark info to Phoenix for synchronization.

At the same time, he kept trying to reach Ding Junyi. But with the city’s various frontlines jamming the frequencies, it took a while before her voice finally came through.

“Lin Xian.”

“If there’s an attack, it won’t just target marked individuals—your labs could be hit too.” Lin Xian warned her the moment the connection stabilized.

“I know. The Investigation Corps is already helping us relocate. All labs are now inside mobile carriages.”

“Good.”

“Lin Xian, when you evacuated the Trakamar Ice Canyon, did you ever come into contact with the corpse of that black worm?”

“No, I didn’t. But KIKI did. Why?”

“Then the Dark Mark didn’t originate from the worm’s remains. Thirty minutes ago, the ground recovery team returned. We tested it with Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum—no mark detected.”

“…What do you mean?”

Ding Junyi’s voice was so calm, it was unsettling:

“I believe the Level-5 Mark likely came from…”

“The sky above.”