Outpost

Beep, beep.

18:45, darkness fell.

At Beiwan Station, the Infinite stood quietly amid a thick fog. On board, Chen Sixuan was frantic. The intercom carried nothing but deathly silence, without the slightest signal fluctuation, and her heart rose involuntarily to her throat.

She looked uneasily out the window. The dense fog seemed alive, winding around every inch of space and infinitely magnifying the darkness of the night.

Frost condensed on the windows, while deep within the fog, something unknown and terrifying seemed to be lurking, sending a chill through her and making her think of all kinds of ominous possibilities.

Swish.

Chen Sixuan pulled down the blackout curtain. She found a handy crowbar in the toolbox in Carriage 3 to use for self-defense, then silently leaned against the sofa alone, keeping watch on her surroundings at all times.

"They're both Espers. They should be able to handle whatever comes up."

This was not the first time Lin Xian had failed to return promptly. The only thing she could do now was guard the train and, at the same time, avoid drawing the attention of any monsters.

Whooo~

Just then, a deep, powerful engine roar suddenly sounded in the distance. It pierced through the veil of fog and struck Chen Sixuan's eardrums. The sound was jarringly abrupt against the surrounding silence, instantly putting her on high alert.

She immediately got up and went to the cockpit, peering outside through the window. To her surprise, she saw a locomotive with brilliantly bright headlights slowly passing along a track in the distance.

Clank, clank.

At the sight, Chen Sixuan immediately covered her mouth.

On the other side, things went far more smoothly than expected. The convoy of dozens of vehicles left the main road and kept moving. Aside from a few scattered corpse monsters along the way, the convoy encountered no trouble. For safety's sake, every convoy tacitly refrained from firing and alerting more monsters.

Soon, the convoy passed through a stretch of forest. Ahead stood a sign reading, Military Forbidden Zone, Entry Strictly Prohibited. Not long afterward, a sizable military base came into view.

Yet the once heavily guarded military outpost had now become desolate and bleak, lying alone at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by silence and barrenness.

Inside the high-walled sentry fort, a group of survivors who had already been hiding there opened the steel gates and moved aside the barricades, allowing the vehicles to enter the outpost one by one.

By then, the night was pitch-black. Countless headlights illuminated the thoroughly looted outpost. In the yard sat several jeeps stripped down to their frames, a Heavy TFV600 twin-barreled tank with broken tracks and even its sighting device removed, and, most eye-catching of all, a damaged Iron Guard 3 military assault armor.

"Holy shit, they even have one of these!?"

A bespectacled young man from the Black Flood Dragon convoy, clearly one of the team's technicians, quickly jumped out of the vehicle, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"It's already broken."

Tang Hai directed his men to close the outpost gates, then came over and said, "The Star Army withdrew before the last polar night. This thing's basically just a lump of metal now. We've already searched through everything that could be used."

No one doubted him. Still, many people were seeing military armor like this for the first time, and it quickly drew a crowd of survivors.

"Wu Songlin, Old Eagle, look around for anything useful. Take whatever you can carry," Qian Yu said. He clearly had more confidence in his professional subordinates and immediately sent them to search for usable materials again. Even useful armor plating could be put to use, since they had high-speed cutters for refitting the convoy.

"You don't mind, do you?" Qian Yu asked Tang Hai in a probing tone.

"We don't mind." Tang Hai gave an awkward smile, appearing easygoing.

He turned to look toward the foot of the mountain. Not far away, a massive structure came into view—a large air-raid shelter, its entrance tightly sealed by heavy steel doors. Though weathered by wind and rain, it still exuded an imposing solidity that could not be underestimated. "There were forty-six of us. We stayed in that shelter together for nearly three months, and now only twenty-odd of us are left. The walls here are high and the gates are sturdy. Everyone can rest here for the night. Once it's light tomorrow, we'll set off."

"Wow, Lin Xian, look!"

At that moment, Kiki and Lin Xian also got out of the vehicle and walked toward the gathered crowd.

The moment she saw the nearly three-meter-tall humanoid war armor, her eyes lit up. "So cool! It'd be great if it could be driven. But I still prefer the Guardian series. They're not as clunky."

Lin Xian naturally saw the gigantic machine as well. A hint of burning desire flashed in his eyes as the Mechanical Heart pulsed with intense longing.

These military behemoths had always been targets he wanted. But since the apocalypse began, he had been stuck in the city and had never had the chance to get his hands on anything like them.

He had already formed a fairly clear plan before this. To strengthen his combat power, aside from improving his attributes, he could further develop his Mechanical Heart ability.

For example—self-armoring!

Combat prosthetics, rapid weapon systems, and the like were all far more reliable than fighting with a short blade.

Besides industrial and military-grade armor, there were tank cannons, railguns, close-in weapon systems, all kinds of automated weapon systems, and intelligent mechanical bodies. If he could devour them, or scan a blueprint and apply it to his Infinite, just thinking about it was thrilling.

"By the way, where are the rest of your teammates? Or is it just the two of you?" Qian Yu suddenly asked as he looked at Lin Xian and Kiki.

"We don't have many people," Lin Xian replied casually. He did not want to talk too much with Qian Yu. His attention shifted to the damaged Iron Guard 3 military assault armor. He walked over and silently activated the Mechanical Heart's scanning system, only to discover that many of the armor's subsystems were missing, while its core drive had long been hollowed out. There was no way to scan a complete blueprint.

He sighed inwardly and could only prepare to give up. In fact, like Wu Songlin under Qian Yu's command, he had been thinking of removing the armor plates. He even wanted to dismantle the hull of that Heavy TFV600 twin-barreled tank.

But he had no tools at hand, and there were only Kiki and himself. Other than devouring them, there was nothing else he could do.

"Not many people?" Qian Yu raised his brows and bluntly said, "Then why not join my convoy? Weapons, food—I can provide as much as you need. What do you say?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the other convoys, including Tang Hai's, turned complicated.

Recruiting people so openly in a situation like this was truly rather domineering.

But the Black Flood Dragon convoy had good reason to be domineering. A medium-sized armed group had a very strong chance of surviving in the apocalypse. That much was obvious from the team's equipment.

They had not only armored vehicles, trucks, and fuel tankers, but even specialized technicians. Quite a few smaller convoys had considered joining them.

Adrift in the apocalypse, who wouldn't want a powerful backer to rely on?

Yet the moment Qian Yu spoke, Lin Xian simply smiled faintly and refused. "No need. Thank you."

Lin Xian's rejection immediately changed Qian Yu's expression, and a trace of anger flashed in his eyes.

"What about this beautiful lady?" Qian Yu suddenly turned his gaze to Kiki, saying arrogantly, "Would you consider joining my team?"

Hearing this, Kiki shot Lin Xian a strange look before turning to Qian Yu. "What? Are you talking about me?"

Qian Yu looked between the two of them, a fake smile on his face. "What, are you a couple?"

"No."

"Relatives?"

"Not that either." Kiki narrowed her eyes and smiled.

At that, delight flashed across Qian Yu's face. He gave Lin Xian a meaningful look and said loudly, "Since you're neither related nor acquainted, then there's no problem. My convoy welcomes capable people. If this beautiful lady is willing, I can prepare an RV just for you. Food, drinks, and supplies will all be provided, and someone will protect you around the clock."

As soon as these words were spoken, a flicker of killing intent flashed through Lin Xian's eyes.

Whoosh!

A fierce gust exploded through the air. Smack! The sunglasses hanging from Qian Yu's forehead were suddenly blasted to pieces, and the tremendous force sent him stumbling backward.

Click, click, click, click!

The next instant, Old Eagle and the group of men behind him all raised their guns, and the smell of gunpowder abruptly filled the air!

"Are you fucking stupid? Poaching my people right in front of me—do you think I'd feel bad about killing you?"

Lin Xian's gaze turned icy as an overwhelming pressure radiated from him. No one had seen how he attacked!

"You!"

Qian Yu staggered backward into his subordinates. Just then, a bone-chilling sense of imminent death had seemed to ring through his skull. Once he came back to himself, rage immediately exploded within him, and he drew his pistol and aimed it at Lin Xian.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

"Is that so? Then go ahead and shoot."

Facing more than a dozen guns, Lin Xian's expression did not change. He stared coldly at Qian Yu.

"Let's see whether you die first, or I do."

Tang Hai, watching from the side, wore a grim expression, while Feng Yuming behind him watched the scene with great interest, seeming not to mind in the slightest if this fragile "temporary alliance" immediately began fighting among itself!

At that moment, Kiki walked over and wrapped an arm around Lin Xian's shoulders. Lifting her little face, she looked at the rows of gun barrels.

"What, you want to fight? Perfect—I've had my eye on the good stuff in your dozen or so vehicles too. Hey, bad guy~" She looked at Lin Xian. "Why don't we just..." Then she made a throat-slitting gesture.

As soon as these words were spoken, the people from the other convoys nearby paled dramatically and unconsciously backed away, afraid of getting dragged into it.

The terrifying sight of Kiki wiping out an entire vehicle was still fresh in everyone's minds. At this moment, no one could imagine how much chance they would have against a woman like her.

Hearing this, the fury in Qian Yu's eyes suddenly stalled. He raised a hand to stop the people behind him and looked uncertainly at the two of them. His heart immediately grew unsettled.

To be honest, after Lin Xian rejected him earlier, he had been somewhat humiliated and angered, which was why he had deliberately provoked him by turning to Kiki instead. But he had never expected Lin Xian to attack him outright!

And judging by their tone, how had his group of over a hundred people somehow ended up looking like they were the ones being surrounded by just those two?

At that moment, cold sweat poured down Qian Yu's back as he felt an enormous sense of threat. But he had already said the harsh words, leaving him stuck between advancing and retreating.

Lin Xian, on the other hand, had a trace of surprise flash through his eyes. He looked at the little hand Kiki had draped over his shoulder and muttered to himself inwardly.

First of all, he and Kiki had not known each other for long. At present, they could barely be considered comrades who had shared hardship for a few days—not even friends.

Moreover, Lin Xian had not given Kiki any benefits to persuade her to stay. On the contrary, his attitude toward her could not even be called indifferent. So if Kiki wanted to leave or join another convoy, Lin Xian would not have found it surprising in the slightest.

But in the face of Qian Yu's arrogant stunt, he had to respond.

He had not expected Kiki to stand so firmly by his side. Looking at it this way, this little girl really was not stupid.

New author here—please keep reading and recommend!