Chapter 27: The Giant Centipede

Beep, beep.

18:45. The sun had set, and the sky was cloaked in the shadows of night.

The "Infinity" came to a slow halt on a railway bridge spanning a mountain ravine. Since departing from Yushan Station, aside from a brief stop midway, Lin Xian had pushed the train to its limit for nearly two hours. The entire train was radiating waves of heat, but the temperature was quickly brought down by the intensifying wind and snow.

The temperature dropped to minus three degrees Celsius. As the storm descended, fog began to cloud the carriage windows.

Chen Sixuan pulled down all the blackout shutters and locked the cockpit door. Outside the train lay a pitch-black valley; looking out, one could only make out the faint silhouette of a mountain range.

Inside Carriage No. 1, Chen Sixuan watched Kiki, who was bound hand and foot, with a strange expression.

"Has she been faking sleep the whole time?"

"Indeed." Lin Xian glanced at Chen Sixuan. "We were both careless. We let someone watch a live broadcast last night."

"I did not!" Kiki’s face flushed as she retorted. "I—I kept my eyes closed the whole time. I didn't see anything!"

Chen Sixuan’s face turned bright red at the words. If it were just her and Lin Xian, she might have justified it as two people clinging to each other for warmth in the apocalypse. But with a third party present—someone who had actually witnessed it—even with her own moral compass shattered, she felt deeply embarrassed.

Biting her lip, she glared at Kiki with a hint of anger. "Why did you pretend to be asleep? If we hadn't been taking care of you these past two days, you would have been dead long ago."

"I was just..." Kiki cast a suspicious look at Lin Xian. "I just didn't trust this bad guy."

"Is that so?" Lin Xian smiled. "And do you trust me now?"

Kiki’s eyes darted away, and she mumbled, "Didn't I say we called a truce?"

She then looked at Chen Sixuan, using a coaxing, spoiled tone. "Teacher Chen, thank you for looking after me these past two days. Could you untie me? It’s so uncomfortable like this."

"Is it? I couldn't tell." Chen Sixuan snorted. "You seemed to sleep just fine while tied up the last two days."

Though Chen Sixuan had a gentle nature, she wasn't without a temper. Kiki’s actions had startled her, and she was in no mood to be kind.

"I!..." Kiki was at a loss for words. She glared at Lin Xian. "Hey, you aren't really planning to keep me tied up forever, are you? What if we run into monsters?"

Lin Xian’s expression was indifferent. "It doesn't matter. Compared to zombies and monsters, a thief like you poses a greater hidden danger to us."

"I was wrong, okay?" Kiki pleaded. "I believe you have that supernatural ability now, so please, let me go. Besides, look at me—a weak little girl. Where could I possibly go in the middle of the night?"

Lin Xian raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, you have a point. However, given your prior record, I need a period of observation. If you behave well, I will consider only tying you up at night and letting you loose during the day."

Kiki, frustrated, kicked her legs and flopped back onto the sofa, closing her eyes in a pose of total resignation. "Hmph, do whatever you want. Don't think I don't know you’re planning something devious."

At these words, Chen Sixuan’s expression shifted, and Lin Xian was struck by such absurdity that he let out a dry, incredulous laugh.

"I suggest you abandon those thoughts. This is the end of the world; everyone is hanging by a thread. To me, figuring out how to survive is far more valuable than stripping you naked and sleeping with you."

Although he wore a smile, his words were cold and sharp, not sounding like a joke at all.

"Fine, fine, fine~" Kiki pouted. "Then can you set up a mattress in the next carriage? I’ll go sleep there so I don't disturb you two."

As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Xian and Chen Sixuan with a playful glint in her eyes.

"No," Lin Xian said, pointing to the sofa. "You sleep right there."

Chen Sixuan felt her face burn, and she gave Lin Xian a complicated look upon hearing this. In truth, she was somewhat bothered by it, but it was difficult to speak up—doing so in such a desperate environment would make her seem fussy.

"But..."

"Shh!"

Lin Xian’s expression suddenly changed, and he made a gesture for silence.

The two women immediately hushed. Kiki scanned the surroundings. Beneath the floor of the quiet carriage, a subtle, rhythmic vibration began to travel through the rails.

*Click-clack, click-clack.*
*Click-clack.*
*Click-clack, click-clack.*

It sounded like countless iron chains sliding across the tracks—continuous, heavy, and powerful!

"Something is approaching," Lin Xian whispered, signaling them to stay still.

He immediately cut the power to the carriage lights, plunging everyone into darkness. He knelt, pressing his palms against the train floor, channeling his "Mechanical Heart." He merged with the train, sensing the situation outside.

Chen Sixuan frowned. She turned to the window, lifted a tiny sliver of the blackout shutter with her finger, and her pupils constricted. She quickly covered her mouth in shock!

Kiki, watching Chen Sixuan’s expression from the opposite sofa, felt her own face grow solemn.

"Lin Xian." In the dark, Chen Sixuan tapped his shoulder gently.

Lin Xian stood up and went to the window, peering through the gap. What he saw made his heart sink.

In the faint light of the night, he saw a massive, dark shadow slowly climbing onto the tracks from the bridge pillar of the rear carriage. Dense clusters of claws tapped against the pillars and rails, creating a delicate clinking sound. He could even see two extremely long antennae swaying incessantly.

*That giant insect?!*

Lin Xian was shocked. How was this thing still stalking them? They had traveled at least a hundred or two hundred kilometers from the Jiang City Freight Center to Yushan Station during the day—how was it still following them?

Was it targeting him?

Watching the giant silhouette in the darkness move slowly toward the end of Carriage No. 3, Lin Xian’s gaze hardened. He made a split-second decision, firing up his Mechanical Heart to full power, causing the Giant Whale 03E and Ring Star 7F locomotives to roar simultaneously.

*Run!*

He had only one thought: like the white giant monster from that night, this thing could likely tear through ordinary armor. Although the "Infinity" was plated with the same rolled steel and high-hardness tungsten steel used on tanks—far stronger than the warehouse doors—he dared not gamble. Furthermore, when facing a monster like this, rather than sitting still waiting to be "opened like a can," it was better to keep the train moving. The kinetic energy generated by tens of thousands of horsepower combined with a multi-hundred-ton beast was not to be underestimated.

*Vroom!*

The massive traction caused Chen Sixuan and Kiki to stumble. The lights in the carriage flickered on, and the engine roared with manic intensity.

"Teacher Chen, to the cockpit!" Lin Xian shouted, drawing his short blade.

Chen Sixuan’s heart raced. Regaining her balance, she resolutely turned and stumbled toward the cockpit.

*SCREEEEEECH—!!!!*

The sudden acceleration of the "Infinity" enraged the massive red centipede. A piercing, shrill cry echoed through the ravine, followed by a violent impact against the carriage!

*BANG!*

The immense force tilted Carriage No. 3 by several degrees. The entire train shuddered, sparks flying from the iron wheels as they shrieked against the tracks.

"Damn it!" Lin Xian growled, charging toward Carriage No. 3 with his blade in hand.

Seeing the two of them leave, Kiki—still bound—shouted, "Hey! You bad guy, untie me!"

*Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.*

Under Lin Xian’s control, the blackout shutters on all carriages rose simultaneously. Lin Xian arrived just in time to see a massive red shadow crawling along the side of Carriage No. 3.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

The giant insect was incredibly fast; its legs, acting like mechanical hooks, climbed the carriage with ease. Its massive weight made the roof of Carriage No. 3 groan under the pressure.

Lin Xian’s heart pounded. The creature was faster than he had imagined; there was no shaking it off.

Afraid the thing would climb to the front and flip the train, he decisively lowered the rear hydraulic ramp. Looking at the dense mass of insect legs outside, he felt his scalp tingle.

However, the ramp jammed after lowering only a third of the way. He looked down and saw that a portion of the red insect’s body was caught right in the gap!

"Damn you!"

Lin Xian didn't hesitate. Aiming at the insect's abdomen, he fired a blast from his wind-gun!

*Pfft!*

The full-force strike hit home, echoing with a metallic ring against the hard shell. It succeeded only in severing one of the hundreds of legs, which flew off into the night; it caused no significant damage.

Instead, the attack drew the giant creature's full attention. It scrambled onto the roof. Because the hydraulic ramp was jammed, the creature arched its tail, revealing several stingers over a meter long. It bunched them together and drove them with savage force into the steel ramp!