Lin Xian frowned and immediately held his breath.
Crack... crack...
The sound drew closer and closer, muffled and heavy. His heart jolted. It did not sound like any kind of zombie.
It sounded more like a crutch or wooden stick poking against gravel.
He slowly opened his eyes, unsure whether the Light Type in them could be detected. But when he looked around, he found nothing. Before him was still only the vague black outline of a small truck.
He turned around. Infinite sat quietly on the tracks. Even Chen Sixuan inside had made no sound since night fell. He did not know whether she had fallen asleep.
Everything was utterly silent!
Lin Xian felt uneasy. He was certain he had heard something, and his sharp sixth sense told him that some presence was watching him.
At that thought, his heart leaped into his throat. He began urgently activating Mechanical Devour.
Faster! Even faster!
Lin Xian no longer had the relaxed mood he had possessed while moving furniture at the furniture store that afternoon. Thinking of Old Man Li from last night, his entire body went cold, and he desperately wanted to get back onto the train.
[Devour progress: 98%]
Almost there! Almost there!
Though it had taken nearly an hour and a half, it would all be worth it as long as he succeeded.
[Devour successful. Mechanical Origin Points +30. Mechanical Devour skill proficiency +10. Additional reward: Strength and Speed +5, Defense +2.] [Congratulations. Your Speed attribute has increased to LV.1 3/50.]
A flash of Light Type passed before his eyes. Seeing his Mechanical Origin Points soar, Lin Xian finally let out a breath of relief.
As his Speed attribute increased, his vision blurred one moment and sharpened the next.
Gradually, he realized that his vision had become clearer and brighter.
Whoosh—
As he completed the devouring process, the entire small truck suddenly turned to ash. Loose items from the vehicle clattered onto the ground, causing quite a commotion. At that moment, Lin Xian suddenly heard a deep humming sound from overhead.
Aang hummm—
The sound was profoundly bizarre, like the broken whistle of a ship echoing through a rusty iron pipe.
It did not sound human, nor did it sound like any machine.
Lin Xian immediately felt a chill run down his back. He abruptly looked up—and saw a terrifying sight that nearly scared the soul out of him.
A grayish-white humanoid creature over three meters tall had appeared beside him at some unknown point. Its body was long and thin, its arms hanging almost below its knees. On its grotesque head was a gaping crimson maw, while its two round eyes were blood-red. It simply lowered its head and stared fixedly at Lin Xian.
This thing had apparently stood beside Lin Xian for quite some time. It was only the commotion caused by the truck vanishing that drew its attention. Realizing that, Lin Xian's scalp went numb with terror.
Aang hummm—
The hollow, low roar sounded again. The gray-white monster suddenly raised its long arm, its five fingers like five steel spears as it viciously clawed at Lin Xian.
Lin Xian's pupils contracted as he sharply inhaled.
If that claw catches me, won't I be skewered like a kebab?
Fortunately, his Speed attribute had just risen by a level. His agility had completely surpassed his own expectations. Before the white claws even reached him, his body reflexively stepped back!
Clang!
A piercing clash of metal rang out. The White Monster's claws struck the rails, sending Fire Type sparks flying and producing a shrill scraping sound. Lin Xian's heart trembled at the noise as he raised his hand and fired a Wind Cannon straight at the monster's head!
Pfft!
With a dull impact, the creature's towering head seemed to have been struck by something. Its body tilted, and it staggered several steps backward.
Lin Xian was shocked. This thing's hide was so tough that the Wind Cannon could not penetrate it at all!?
Realizing the severity of the situation, Lin Xian did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately sprinted into Infinite, activating the Mechanical Heart as he raised the tail lift and started the train moving forward.
The Light Type came on. Startled by the commotion, Chen Sixuan shouted to him from Carriage 1.
"Lin, what happened!?"
"Quick, go to the driver's cab and help me watch the tracks!"
"Okay!"
Watching Lin Xian frantically close the door, Chen Sixuan immediately realized there was danger. Without hesitation, she turned and ran into the driver's cab.
Whooo—
The hydraulic tail lift slowly rose shut. For the first time, Lin Xian felt that the door was closing far too slowly.
Sure enough, when the door was halfway closed, a huge gray-white hand suddenly grabbed the tail lift. The black nails on its ghastly fingers gouged several dents into the steel lift at once!
"What incredible strength!"
Lin Xian's eyes widened. With the Light Type inside the carriage, he could finally see the monster outside clearly.
On that bizarrely shaped head were only two blood-red eyes like bottomless pits, followed by a gaping maw that took up half its face. Its densely packed sharp teeth made one's scalp crawl.
This was definitely not a zombie!
Lin Xian's first thought was that this thing could not possibly be some dead person that had been infected and mutated. It was not a creature of this world at all!
"Fuck your ancestors!"
In his panic, Lin Xian ignored the fear in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he drew his short blade, leaped up, and slashed down at the enormous gray-white hand.
Clang!
What answered him was not the satisfying sensation of cutting flesh, but steel-like hardness. The full-force strike numbed the web of his hand.
Looking at the chip in his short blade, Lin Xian sucked in a cold breath!
Damn it, it's so hard!
Aang hummm—
The White Giant Monster seemed slow-moving. One hand remained gripping the tail lift, and the train's immense force dragged it down with a crash. It was pulled along the tracks by Infinite. It seemed enraged, raising its other hand and grabbing at Lin Xian's entire carriage.
Screech, screech, screech!!
Dragged by the immense force, the wheels of Carriage 3 threw off Fire Type sparks against the rails, producing a shrill screeching sound.
Seeing this thing, Lin Xian's heart pounded wildly. It was immensely strong and impervious to blades and bullets. If it overturned the train and derailed it, he would definitely die here today.
He made his decision at once. Raising a finger and gathering all his strength, he aimed at one of the giant monster's blood-red eyes and fired another Wind Gun!
Pfft!
With the aid of the Light Type, the Wind Gun struck precisely this time. Dark-red blood gushed from the giant monster's left eye, dyeing its deathly pale face red. The blood slowly flowed into its mouth, and the giant monster immediately let out a shrieking cry of pain!
"Aah!!!"
The cry was high-pitched and piercing, making every hair on one's body stand on end. It nearly shattered their eardrums.
With Lin Xian's attack, the giant monster's hand also slipped off the tail lift. At last, the tail lift of Carriage 3 slowly shut, black smoke rising from it.
Clatter, clatter—
The train gradually picked up speed.
Lin Xian immediately got up to look. With no Light Type outside, the White Giant Monster vanished into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
Whew—
Only then did Lin Xian finally relax. He collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly in terror at the three savage claw marks on the tail lift.
This was the first time in months that he had encountered something so terrifying!
"If Polar Night is full of things like this, damn it..."
He muttered to himself. At that moment, he finally understood firsthand just how terrifying the darkness was.
Run!
They had to escape the Dark Tide of the Star Abyss. Last night there had been the Strange Bug controlling human corpses, and today there was the White Giant Monster. No one knew what other monstrous things lurked in the darkness. Those survivors who wanted to survive in the dark were simply delusional.
The only path left for humanity was to flee the tide and escape Polar Night!
Before you continue