Chapter 44: The Lou Siblings

"Sister Chen, how did you manage to drive the train over here?"

After getting on board, KIKI asked with a look of utter astonishment, unable to contain her curiosity. Ever since she and Lin Xian had stepped into this fog-shrouded zone, they had discovered that the wireless signals here were seemingly blocked by an invisible, massive hand, completely severing their connection to the outside world—including their contact with Chen Sixuan.

At this moment, Chen Sixuan hurriedly pulled out a medical kit and handed it to Lou Shasha, a hint of urgency in her tone. "Here, let's treat that wound first."

"Thank you, Sister." Lou Shasha glanced at Lin Xian and KIKI, realizing that Chen Sixuan and Lin Xian must be together. She said gratefully, "So it turns out the big train you were driving..."

Chen Sixuan looked at Lin Xian, her expression carrying a trace of apology as she said, "Last night, I noticed this train departing from the No. 3 branch track of North Bay Station, and I felt something was amiss. Since that branch wasn't on any maps or documents, I guessed it must be a special military route, and that the place you were heading was likely there as well. Plus, I couldn't get in touch with you, so..."

Before leaving, Lin Xian had told Chen Sixuan that the electric locomotive had reserve energy available for use. When Chen Sixuan saw that the train in the dense fog was carrying over a dozen gunmen, she had a premonition that Lin Xian might run into trouble. Therefore, she made a resolute decision: she directly operated the Infinity from North Bay Station, following the switch that Tang Hai's train had cleared, and drove right into this military branch line. To her surprise, she ended up blocking Tang Hai's retreat.

Ugh-ah... Ugh-wa!

By now, a small wave of subsequent zombies had appeared within the outpost and the platform, but there were no other disturbances left. With hundreds of innocent survivors already dead, these monsters were simply wandering aimlessly about.

Without the fog spider, the Infinity was temporarily out of major danger. Hearing Chen Sixuan's account, KIKI couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Smart move, Sister Chen! You've really been a tremendous help this time."

Hearing this, Chen Sixuan cast her apricot-shaped eyes toward Lin Xian, only to see him offering a relieved and approving smile. "Indeed, well done!"

Hearing Lin Xian's words, the rock hanging in Chen Sixuan's chest finally plummeted safely into place. She had been worried that Lin Xian might blame her for moving the train on her own, and a small surge of secret delight fluttered in her heart.

"Wow, that guy named Tang Hai is truly vicious! He actually wanted to use all of us survivors as live bait to lure the monsters away in the fog so he could run away by himself!"

KIKI crossed her arms, looking quite indignant. "Fortunately, Miss here is smart and saw right through his plot in one go."

"Was it really you who saw through it?" Lin Xian looked at her speechlessly.

"Fine, fine, fine. You're smart too."

"..."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lin Xian turned his gaze to Lou Ye. Although the latter still looked somewhat weak, his injuries didn't seem to have hit any vital organs. Furthermore, as an awakened Esper, his flesh and blood recovered at a much faster rate than an ordinary person's.

"What are your plans next?"

Lou Ye looked out the window, trying to spot their pickup truck, but not even a ghost of it was in sight.

Using gauze, Shasha carefully bandaged her older brother's shoulder. Hearing this question, she turned her gaze to Lin Xian and asked in a pleading tone, "Brother Lin, could your train give us a ride for a while? Once my brother's injuries heal, we can find another car..."

"I don't think that's necessary." Lin Xian said earnestly, "You two siblings can just board my train. Stay with me from now on, and we can face hardships together. Your chances of survival will be much higher."

Upon hearing this, Lou Shasha's eyes instantly lit up. "Really?!"

"Hey!"

At this moment, KIKI on the side became displeased. She glared angrily at Lin Xian, puffing out her cheeks. "You bad guy! When others want to get on the train, you agree immediately, but you're so fierce to me and even wanted to kick me off. What is the meaning of this?"

Lin Xian let out a snort. "You brought that upon yourself..."

"I, I, I..." The incident of her sneaking food inside the train was destined to haunt her forever in front of Lin Xian. KIKI grew deeply exasperated, only to hear Lin Xian say, "Shasha and the others saved us. I'm letting them board. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course I don't." KIKI rolled her eyes at him, sitting on the sofa with her slender legs crossed and her arms folded. "But you're the boss, so I naturally have to listen to you, right?"

Standing nearby and hearing that two more people were joining the train, Chen Sixuan felt a wave of pleasant surprise wash over her. After all, there is strength in numbers. Previously, with only Lin Xian going out to scavenge for supplies while she guarded the train alone, it truly hadn't been safe enough.

"Thank you."

At this moment, Lou Ye, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke up. He looked at Lin Xian, his eyes filled with deep gratitude.

Lin Xian nodded. In truth, he also wanted to recruit some teammates. The Lou siblings were good people who had saved the lives of both him and KIKI, and Lou Ye was even an Esper with formidable physical strength. Letting him board the train gave Lin Xian a genuine sense of reassurance.

Chen Sixuan asked, "So what do we do now?"

Lin Xian looked out the window and let out a long breath. "All the supplies Tang Hai plundered are on that train, which means we get to pick them up ready-made. We'll hitch it and tow it back directly in a moment."

"That's right!"

KIKI reacted at this, clapping her hands together. "Then we're going to make a fortune! And what's more, there are all the things left behind by the other motorcades down there—oh right, and the information equipment in the command room, and oh right, right, that close-in weapon system..."

Lin Xian was utterly mortified.

"You're overthinking it. The feeding and power systems connected beneath that close-in weapon system weigh tens of tons altogether. Do you have a crane just lying around that you think you can move it? Besides, a single magazine of ammunition chains fires thousands of rounds in just over ten seconds. With neither bullets nor resupply, are you expecting to scavenge 30-millimeter tungsten-core armor-piercing shells on the road?"

To be honest, when he first started, Lin Xian had also wanted to devour that close-in weapon system. But right now, he truly didn't have an ounce of energy left to spare. Once he recovered, it might even take him longer than the generator set did.

Fortunately, when he dismantled the generator set and the close-in weapon sub-system, he had already obtained a complete 1130 holographic blueprint through scanning!

With this item, as long as he had the materials in the future, he could hand-craft one right on the train.

"Uh... I suppose that's true..." KIKI smacked her lips. "Still, the opto-electronic sighting and phased-array radar on top can be dismantled. Combined with the driving radar on the front of the train, building a small radar sighting system should at least be doable, right?"

Lin Xian furrowed his brows and looked at her strangely, thinking to himself that this was actually quite feasible...

"Good idea!" he agreed.

"I'll help too." Hearing that they were about to clear the battlefield, Lou Ye ignored his injuries and stood up, taking the lead.

"Me too." Shasha patted the dust off her face, putting on the air of a little adult. "Oh, and my brother and I still need to go look for our truck. There's quite a lot of stuff on it."

"Alright, everyone be careful." Lin Xian nodded. He looked outside and then said to Chen Sixuan, "Teacher Chen, come with me to couple the carriages. Once we back up to North Bay Station later, we'll readjust the carriages."

At the same time, he picked up a few guns confiscated from Tang Hai's subordinates and handed them to Lou Ye and Shasha. "We aren't in a rush to leave tonight. Let's gather a bit more; we don't have to wait until dawn to set off."

It wasn't that Lin Xian was being greedy. To devour the large generator set while simultaneously connecting and repairing the close-in weapon system, Lin Xian had nearly exhausted all his physical stamina. Earlier, when fighting Feng Yuming, he couldn't even conjure an ice shield. If he wasn't allowed to rest, he probably wouldn't even have had the strength to stand up.

Moreover, this place had already been cleared out once; there shouldn't be any major monsters emerging again. He might as well thoroughly scavenge this military base.

What surprised Lin Xian the most was that Tang Hai had brought several flatbed trailers loaded with the scavenged jeeps, off-road vehicles, and Qian Yu's armored vehicle. He estimated there were at least dozens of firearms of all sizes, instantly providing them with a massive boost in firepower.