White Bizarre Creature

Lin Xian frowned and immediately held his breath.

Creak... creak...

The sound grew closer, muffled and heavy. His heart jolted—this didn't sound like any zombie he knew.

It was more like a wooden cane or staff scraping over gravel.

He slowly opened his eyes, unsure if the gleam in them could be detected. But when he looked around, he saw nothing—only the faint black silhouette of a small truck before him.

He turned around. The Infinite sat silently on the tracks. Even Chen Sixuan inside had gone quiet as night fell, perhaps asleep.

Everything was utterly still!

Lin Xian's heart pounded. He was certain he'd heard something. And his sharp sixth sense told him he was being watched by some presence.

At that thought, his heart leaped into his throat. He frantically urged the Mechanical Devour skill to speed up.

Faster! Just a little faster!

Gone was the relaxed feeling he'd had that afternoon hauling furniture from the store. Remembering last night's 'Old Man Li,' a chill crawled over his whole body. He desperately wanted to get back on the train.

Devouring progress: 98%

Almost! Almost!

Though it had taken nearly an hour and a half, if it succeeded, it would all be worth it.

Devouring successful. Mechanical Origin Points +30. Mechanical Devour skill proficiency +10. Bonus reward: your Strength and Speed increase by 5, Defense increases by 2.

Congratulations, your Speed attribute has been upgraded to LV.1 3/50.

A flash of light before his eyes. Lin Xian looked at the surge of Mechanical Origin Points and finally let out a breath.

As his Speed attribute rose, his vision blurred for a moment, then sharpened.

Gradually, he found his sight growing clearer and brighter.

Whoosh~

As the devouring finished, the entire small truck crumbled to ash. Scattered bits and pieces clattered to the ground, stirring up noise. And then, Lin Xian suddenly heard a low, droning hum from above.

Ong-oom~

The sound was bizarre—like a rusted iron pipe carrying the broken horn of a sinking ship.

Not human. Not quite a machine either.

A chill shot down Lin Xian's spine. He jerked his head up—and saw a sight that nearly made his soul flee.

A pale gray humanoid creature, three meters tall, stood beside him. It had no idea when it had appeared. Its limbs were long and thin, arms hanging nearly to its knees. On its grotesque head gaped a blood-red maw, and two round, crimson eyes stared straight down at Lin Xian.

It had been standing there for who knows how long, only now stirred by the noise of the truck's collapse. Realizing this, Lin Xian's scalp tingled with sheer terror.

Ong-oom~

The hollow, low roar came again. The gray-white monster suddenly raised a long arm, five fingers like steel spears, and lunged viciously at Lin Xian.

Lin Xian's pupils shrank. He sucked in a sharp breath.

If that claw catches me, I'll be skewered like meat on a stick!

Luckily, his Speed attribute had just leveled up. His body's agility now far exceeded his own expectations. Before the white claws could reach him, he reflexively leaped back a step.

Clang!

A harsh metallic screech rang out. The white monster's claws raked across the iron rail, sparks flying in a grating shriek. Lin Xian's heart hammered. He raised a hand and fired a Wind Cannon straight at the creature's head.

Thud!

A dull impact. The monster's lofty head jolted as if struck. Its body swayed, stumbling back a few steps.

Lin Xian was stunned. Its hide was so tough—the Wind Cannon couldn't even pierce it!?

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he didn't hesitate for a second. He sprinted and dove into the Infinite's carriage, simultaneously activating the Mechanical Heart to raise the tailgate and start the train moving.

Lights flicked on. Startled by the commotion, Chen Sixuan called out from Carriage 1.

"Lin Xian, what's wrong!?"

"Quick—go to the cab and watch the tracks for me!"

"Okay!"

Seeing Lin Xian frantically closing the door, Chen Sixuan sensed danger at once. Without a word, she turned and ran into the cab.

Whir~

The hydraulic tailgate slowly rose. For the first time, Lin Xian felt it was moving far too slowly.

Sure enough, halfway up, a gray-white giant hand grabbed the edge of the tailgate. The black nails on its eerie fingers dug into the steel, gouging deep dents.

"So strong!"

Lin Xian's eyes widened. With the carriage lights on, he could finally see the monster clearly.

Its bizarre-shaped head had only two blood-red pits for eyes, like bottomless abysses. Below them, a gaping maw took up half its face, packed with rows of jagged teeth that made his skin crawl.

This was definitely no zombie.

Lin Xian's first reaction was that this thing definitely wasn't some infected corpse mutation—it wasn't even a creature from this world!

"Son of a bitch!"

In desperation, Lin Xian shoved aside his fear, gritted his teeth, and lunged upward, slashing his short blade down at the gray-white giant hand.

Clang!

What met him wasn't the satisfying thud of flesh, but a hardness like steel. His full-force strike numbed his palm.

He sucked in a sharp breath at the notch in his blade.

Damn, that's tough!

Huummm~

The White Giant Monster seemed slow to move. One hand clamped onto the tailgate, dragged by the train's immense force, it crashed down and was pulled along the tracks by the Infinite. Enraged, it raised its other hand and swiped straight at Lin Xian's entire carriage.

Squeal, squeal, squeal!!

Dragged by the massive pull, Carriage 3's wheels and rails showered sparks, screeching harshly.

Lin Xian's heart pounded. This thing was incredibly strong, impervious to blades. If it flipped the carriage off the tracks, he'd be done for today.

He made a snap decision, raised a finger, gathered all his strength, and aimed at one of the giant's bloodshot eyes—a Wind Gun shot out!

Pfft!

This time, with the light, the Wind Gun struck true. Dark red blood burst from the giant's left eye, staining its pale face. The blood trickled slowly into its mouth, and the monster let out a piercing shriek of agony!

"Ah!!!"

The sound was shrill and grating, making every hair on his body stand on end, nearly rupturing his eardrums.

With Lin Xian's attack, the giant's hand slipped off the tailgate. Carriage 3's rear door finally creaked shut, trailing black smoke.

Clang, clang~

The train's speed picked up.

Lin Xian scrambled to look. With no light outside, the White Giant Monster vanished into the darkness in an instant.

Huff~

He finally let out a breath, collapsing to the floor. Staring at the three vicious claw marks on the tailgate, he was dazed and shaken.

This was the first time in months he'd encountered something so terrifying.

"If the Polar Night is full of things like this... damn..."

He muttered, finally grasping the true horror of the dark.

Flee!

He had to escape the Dark Tide of the Star Abyss. Last night's strange bugs controlling corpses, today's White Giant Monster—who knew what other horrors lurked in the blackness? Those survivors trying to endure the dark were delusional.

The only way out for humanity was to flee the tide, flee the Polar Night!