Insect Corpse

Clang~ Clang!

The carriage fell silent once more.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Xian looked up and saw the huge pincer still embedded in the armored grille. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned around. The metal coupler was like a thick fishing line, dragging half of the Giant Insect's tail along the tracks and leaving behind a horrifying trail. The tail had long since been torn to pieces, a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

"Dead?!"

At that moment, Kiki finally lowered her hands. She abruptly lifted her head, but moved too quickly and slammed her forehead squarely into Lin Xian's chin.

Bang! A crisp collision echoed through the carriage.

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

"Fuck!" Lin Xian was dizzy from the impact as well. He held his chin and grimaced in pain.

Before either of them could confirm whether the Giant Insect was truly dead, they were both clutching their injured spots and groaning.

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

"Is your head made of iron?!" Lin Xian shouted angrily.

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 still at last. The tension in his chest finally eased by half.

To make sure, he began slowing down gradually. Holding his blade, he carefully walked to the rear of the carriage and peeked out. The insect body clinging to one side of the train had been ground apart until only a layer of belly skin and countless densely packed claws remained. Half of the 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 really is dead!" Seeing Lin Xian stop the train, Kiki rubbed her head and excitedly got up. She hurried over, but the moment she saw the insect corpse fragments scattered across the ground, her face turned green and she started retching. "What a disgusting Big Bug!"

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

But then, bright red blood slowly trickled from Kiki's nostrils. She did not seem to care at all. When she saw Lin Xian looking at her, she casually wiped away the blood, 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 now?"

"I think so..."

"When did that happen?"

"Just now, when I was trying to save you." Kiki blinked. "See? I told you I was actually a good person."

As she spoke, a large amount of nosebleed flowed out again. Her face was an alarmingly unhealthy shade of white as she looked at Lin Xian. "But it's strange. I only used it once, but my head hurts so much, and I'm so dizzy..."

Looking at her, Lin Xian knew it was because she had exhausted too much energy. He grew serious, glanced at the rear ramp, then found a towel and tossed it to Kiki, telling her to wipe the blood off her face.

"Is everyone all right?"

After the train stopped, Chen Sixuan ran over with lingering fear on her face. When she saw the miserable state of Carriage 3, she immediately began retching as well.

The insect corpse gave off a foul, nauseating stench. Even someone with a strong stomach could not help frowning at the sight.

Looking at Chen Sixuan, Lin Xian had to admit that Teacher Chen was far smarter than he had imagined. At such a critical moment, she had actually come up with a way to deal with it.

"We have you to thank for this," Lin Xian said seriously.

Chen Sixuan avoided his gaze and said somewhat awkwardly,

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

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

"Hey!" Kiki put her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly indignant. "Why is no one thanking me?"

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

Lin Xian frowned. Seeing that something was wrong with Kiki's complexion, he asked, "How do you feel?"

"I..."

Before she could finish, Kiki narrowed her eyes and 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. Looking at the unconscious Kiki, the worry that had been hanging over him finally settled a little.

It seemed this little girl understood her situation too. At the brink of life and death, she could still be useful. Thinking of that, he lowered his guard around her somewhat.

He looked up and met Chen Sixuan's eyes.

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

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

Lin Xian took a flashlight from the toolbox in the carriage and jumped down from the rear ramp. He frowned at the shattered insect corpse, his brows tightly drawn.

He quickly returned to the carriage, dragged out the small crane, and pulled the Red Bug's huge pincer free from the armored grille. Only then did the insect corpse, with nothing but its abdomen left, fall from the side of the train to the ground.

Then he went to the back, unhooked the coupler from the half of the insect tail, and pulled it back onto the train.

"This is going to need repairs."

Lin Xian's expression was grave as he looked at Carriage 3 after the battle.

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

If Chen Sixuan had not suddenly had that idea, Lin Xian really would not have known what to do tonight.

At close range, his Wind Gun could rival the power of a firearm, but its power dropped sharply at a distance. Whether it was the White Giant Monster or today's red Big Bug, both were thick-skinned 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 was surging underground.

In an instant, he heard a rustling sound beside his ears. He shone his flashlight over and saw a torrent of black mist rising from the huge insect corpse beside the train. Yet instead of drifting into the air, the mist was being drawn underground by some strange force.

Lin Xian frowned and stepped closer. The rustling in his ears suddenly grew louder, as though hundreds or 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. As he moved farther from it, the cries and howls became a faint rustling once again.

Within only a few breaths, the black mist vanished completely, leaving only the insect corpse behind, giving off its fishy 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 had been chilling, as if the victims swallowed by the Big Bug were wailing together. It was incredibly eerie.

Whooo~

Back on the train, Lin Xian tried raising the rear ramp.

Although several parts of the train body had been damaged, thankfully the ramp's hydraulic system was still holding up. After using Mechanical Heart to raise the ramp, Lin Xian looked over the mess in Carriage 3. Many tools had been scattered across the floor.

That included the welder, the small crane, and one of his motorcycles.

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

Lin Xian's Mechanical Repair ability was linked to his crafting ability. He needed the appropriate materials, and repairs also took a considerable amount of time.

After the fierce battle, he was utterly exhausted. Fortunately, this was the middle of nowhere. The huge commotion had not drawn a large Corpse Tide, allowing him to catch his breath for a moment.

He checked the time. It was already 21:15 at night. 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 got up and asked.

"Safe for now." Lin Xian took a bottle of water from the storage rack and gulped down a third of it.

His gaze swept over the carriage. Chen Sixuan had helped the little girl onto the sofa, where she was already asleep. It was clear that although the ability Kiki had just awakened was powerful, it consumed an astonishing amount of energy.

Lin Xian's expression was somewhat complicated. Although he had saved her just now and they had fought side by side, this girl was truly crafty. Now that she had awakened an ability, Lin Xian was not even sure he could defeat her. The thought gave him a headache.

"Are you hurt?"

Seeing blood 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 traveled pretty far tonight. Depending on the situation tomorrow, I want to rest up at Beiwan Station."

Chen Sixuan nodded.

"North Bay Town isn't very big, so the situation shouldn't be too complicated. After Beiwan Station, the next major city is Yubei City. That's where we truly enter the Orbital Ring line. The track conditions..."

She had wanted to say that the Orbital Ring's track conditions might be better, but she was no longer certain. They had been lucky enough not to encounter collapsed tracks or broken rails along the way. Who knew whether the road ahead would be better or worse?