Bug Corpse

Clang~ Clang!

The carriage fell silent once more.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Xian looked up and saw that the enormous mandible was still embedded in the armored grille. His heart tightened, and he hurriedly turned to look back. The metal coupler, like a thick fishing line, was dragging the giant insect's severed tail along, leaving a horrifying trail across the tracks. The tail had long since been torn to pieces, a mangled mass of flesh and blood.

"Dead?!"

Just then, Kiki finally lowered her hands and abruptly looked up. But she moved too quickly, and the top of her head struck Lin Xian squarely on the chin.

Bang! A crisp collision echoed through the carriage.

"Ow~" Kiki cried out, instinctively clutching her head with both hands.

"Fuck!" Lin Xian was left dizzy from the impact as well. Holding his chin, he grimaced and yelped in pain.

Before either of them could confirm whether the giant insect was truly dead, they were each clutching their injuries and groaning.

"It hurts so much, you bastard!" Kiki glared furiously at him.

"Is your damn head made of iron?!" Lin Xian snapped.

There was no time to bicker with this little girl. Enduring the pain, he got to his feet and looked at the insect corpse outside the carriage, which had gone completely still. The tension in his heart finally eased by half.

To make sure, he began slowing down gradually. With his blade in hand, he cautiously walked to the rear of the carriage and leaned out for a look. The insect's body clinging to the side of the train had been ground to pulp, leaving only a layer of abdominal skin and countless densely packed legs. Half of its corpse had even been torn off and was hooked onto the coupler.

Screech!

At that moment, Lin Xian slowly brought the Infinite to a stop.

"It's really dead!" Seeing Lin Xian stop the train, Kiki rubbed her head and excitedly got to her feet, hurrying over. But the moment she saw the insect remains scattered all over the ground, her face turned green, and she gagged. "What a disgusting big bug!"

Lin Xian turned to look at Kiki, his gaze carrying a trace of wariness.

But then, bright red blood slowly trickled from both of Kiki's nostrils. She paid it no mind. Seeing Lin Xian looking at her, she casually wiped it away, lifted her little face, and looked at him smugly. "So? I told you keeping me around would be useful."

"You know how to use your ability?"

"I think so..."

"When did you learn?"

"I used it just now to save you." Kiki blinked. "See? I told you I'm actually a good person."

As she spoke, a large amount of blood began pouring from her nose again. Her face was an extremely unhealthy shade of white as she looked at Lin Xian. "But it's strange. After using it once, my head really hurts, and I feel so dizzy..."

Looking at her, Lin Xian knew it was because she had overexerted herself. He became serious, glanced at the rear hatch, then found a towel and tossed it to Kiki so she could wipe the blood off her face.

"Is everyone okay?"

After the train stopped, Chen Sixuan came over with a lingering look of fear on her face. When she saw the devastation inside Carriage 3, she immediately gagged as well.

The insect corpse gave off a foul, nauseating stench. No matter how strong one's nerves were, the sight was enough to make anyone frown.

Looking at Chen Sixuan, Lin Xian had to admit that Teacher Chen was far smarter than he had imagined. In such a critical moment, she had actually been the one to come up with a solution.

"This time, it was all thanks to you," Lin Xian said seriously.

Chen Sixuan avoided his gaze and replied somewhat embarrassedly.

"It didn't really have anything to do with me."

Lin Xian said frankly, "How could it not? If it weren't for your idea, I really wouldn't have known how to deal with that monster."

"Hey!" Kiki stood with her hands on her hips, looking deeply dissatisfied. "Why is no one thanking me?"

As she spoke, another stream of blood ran from her nose.

Lin Xian frowned. Seeing that Kiki did not look well, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I..."

Before she could finish, Kiki's eyes narrowed, and her whole body swayed as she fell toward Lin Xian. Her little face pressed against his chest. Before losing consciousness, she suddenly grabbed his arm and said weakly, "Don't... don't throw me off the train..."

Lin Xian's expression shifted slightly at her words. Looking at the already unconscious Kiki, the lingering unease in his heart finally subsided a little.

It seemed this little girl understood her own situation. At the brink of life and death, she could still be of help. With that thought, he lowered his guard against her somewhat.

He raised his eyes and met Chen Sixuan's gaze.

"Watch her for now. I'll go check things out. If there's no immediate danger, we'll wait here until dawn."

"Okay." Chen Sixuan looked at the wrecked Carriage 3 and the pitch-black wilderness surrounding them, then nodded uneasily.

Lin Xian took a flashlight from the toolbox inside the carriage and jumped down from the rear hatch. He frowned as he looked at the shattered insect corpse.

He quickly returned to the carriage, pulled out the small crane, and tore the Red Bug's giant mandible from the armored grille. Only then did the remaining insect corpse, consisting of little more than its abdomen, fall from the side of the train to the ground.

Then he went to the rear, detached the coupler from the severed insect tail, and pulled it back onto the train.

"This is going to need repairs."

Lin Xian looked at Carriage 3 after the battle, his expression grim.

"Just like that girl said, this train needs weapons and defensive systems. Being able to run alone is useless."

If Chen Sixuan had not had that flash of inspiration, Lin Xian truly would not have known what to do tonight.

At close range, his Wind Gun could rival the power of firearms, but its strength dropped drastically at a distance. Whether it was the White Giant Monster or the red giant insect from today, both were thick-skinned and tough monsters.

Conventional weapons could barely do anything against them.

Just as Lin Xian finished clearing up the wreckage and prepared to return to the train, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble, as though something were surging underground.

In an instant, a rustling sound reached his ears. He raised his flashlight and shone it over, only to see a torrent of black mist rising from the enormous insect corpse beside the train. Yet instead of drifting into the air, the black mist was being sucked underground by some strange force.

Lin Xian frowned and stepped closer. The rustling abruptly grew louder, as if thousands upon thousands of people were crying, screaming, and howling. It made his scalp tingle!

"What the hell is that?!"

Lin Xian jumped in fright and quickly backed away from the black smoke. Once he moved farther off, the cries and howls turned back into faint rustling.

Within only a few breaths, the black mist vanished, leaving only the insect corpse behind, giving off a foul stench.

"Did I hear that wrong?" Lin Xian looked stunned. When he had approached the black mist just now, he had clearly heard human cries. It was enough to make his heart pound, as though the victims devoured by that giant insect were all howling at once. It was utterly bizarre.

Whooo~

Back on the train, Lin Xian tried to raise the rear ramp.

Although several parts of the vehicle body had been damaged, thankfully the rear ramp's hydraulics were still holding strong. After activating Mechanical Heart to raise the ramp, Lin Xian looked over the mess inside Carriage 3, where quite a few tools had been scattered across the floor.

This included the welding machine, the small crane, and one of his motorcycles.

Those things were all extremely useful. If they were damaged, repairing them would be rather troublesome.

Lin Xian's Mechanical Repair ability and manufacturing ability were interconnected. He needed the corresponding materials, and repairs also took quite a bit of time.

After the fierce battle just now, he was utterly exhausted. Fortunately, this was the middle of nowhere, and the huge commotion had not drawn a massive zombie horde, allowing him to catch his breath for the moment.

He checked the time. It was already 21:15. He had spent more than two hours fighting and fleeing from the giant insect.

"How did it go?"

Seeing Lin Xian close the door and walk over, Chen Sixuan stood up and asked.

"For now, it's safe." Lin Xian took a bottle of water from the storage rack and gulped down a third of it.

His gaze swept over the room, and he saw that the little girl had already been helped onto the sofa by Chen Sixuan and had fallen asleep. It was clear that although the ability she had just awakened was powerful, it also consumed an astonishing amount of energy.

Lin Xian's expression was somewhat complicated. Although he had saved her just now and the two had fought side by side, the girl was far too cunning. Moreover, after she awakened her ability, Lin Xian was not sure he could defeat her anymore. Thinking of that, he began to worry.

"Are you hurt?"

Seeing bloodstains on Lin Xian's hands and face, Chen Sixuan could not help asking.

"Just superficial wounds." Lin Xian sighed and looked at Chen Sixuan. "We covered quite a distance tonight. We'll see how things look tomorrow, but I want to rest up at Beiwan Station."

Chen Sixuan nodded.

"Beiwan Town isn't very big, so the situation there probably won't be too complicated. After Beiwan Station, the next major city is Yubei City. Only from there will we truly enter the Orbital Ring line. The track conditions..."

She had wanted to say that the tracks on the Orbital Ring might be better, but she could not be sure. After all, it had already been lucky that they had not encountered collapsed tracks blocked by rubble along the way. Who knew whether the road ahead would be better or worse?

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