Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 154: Emergency Deployment

The terrifying shadow in the sky loomed like a mountain. The momentary flash of lightning revealed its massive silhouette, sending an overwhelming sense of suffocating pressure through the hearts of all the survivors.

“Oh my god, what is that monster…?”

“This is terrifying!”

“What do we do…?”

“Look! The trains are moving into the climbing elevator’s inner port!!”

The survivors in the plaza, initially panicked, erupted into a frenzy of shocked chatter after learning about the emergency team’s plan.

As the Federation’s investigative airship was completely wiped out, the spaceport’s anti-air defenses re-adjusted their targeting to focus on the eerie entity above.

Boom—

The remaining three Warhawk-class aerial gunships and several Lightning-2 aerospace fighters from the Iron Guard Battalion took off simultaneously, heading toward the massive creature hidden within the clouds.

"Warhawk 0203, take note—do not engage in prolonged combat. Draw the target’s attention toward the front of the spaceport.”

"Warhawk 02, received."

"Warhawk 03, received."

Hiss—

The missile bay doors of the aerial gunships slowly opened, launching several large air-to-air missiles. At the same time, the gunships' front-mounted I-17 Multi-Leaf Plasma Cannons began charging with crackling electric energy.

Boom! Boom!

Two brilliant plasma blasts streaked across the sky, exploding within the clouds. The glow illuminated the outline of a massive jellyfish-like bell that pulsed and slowly undulated.

At the center of the spaceport, in Zone E—where the main axis faced Yubei City—Zhang Dingzhong led his troops into position. Below the elevated railway and along the wide boulevard stretching for miles, an endless tide of zombies swarmed. Among them, grotesque bugs and eerie humanoid creatures skittered through the horde. Every time the 1130 CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) cooled down, it unleashed another devastating metallic storm, obliterating wave after wave of corrupted creatures.

"Ma Xiaotang! Deploy those Iron Guard-3 and Destroyer mechs to Zones A, C, and here! Even if they’re still under maintenance, get them operational! As long as the weapons can still fire, they’ll serve as fortifications! No matter what, hold the line for two hours—even if we die to the last man!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Zhan Wei! Where are your security team’s patrol mechs? Deploy all of them!"

"We lost most of them during the last EMP attack. Only one is left."

Zhan Wei strode forward, machine gun in hand, and unleashed a burst of fire, mowing down a wave of zombies attempting to climb up. “Commander, I’ll pilot it.”

A towering white armored mech was delivered by a transport truck. Without hesitation, Zhan Wei climbed in, entering the cockpit and powering up the rear-mounted engine.

Vroom—

The engine roared to life. Zhan Wei raised the mech’s massive arms—its left equipped with a six-barrel rapid-fire Gatling gun and its right fitted with a 60mm heavy grenade launcher. He immediately jumped down from the transport truck and charged toward the frontlines.

The battle escalated into an all-out inferno!

“Hold the line, brothers!”

“Don’t let these beasts break through!!”

"Watch out for the eerie entity’s flame jets below!!"

Boom! Boom!

“Gun emplacement No. 2, reload!”

“We need flamethrowers!”

—

Tracer rounds streaked across the sky, and the blazing fires lit up Spaceport No. 1.

—

Meanwhile, inside the Climbing Elevator’s ascending track hall, four massive mechanical trains were lined up side by side on four separate elevator rails. Behind them, large yellow traction platforms, resembling conveyor belts, were in place. Each modular traction platform was 100 meters long and could secure around 20 vehicles.

At the front of the platforms, four large climbing traction devices connected the vehicle traction platforms to the trains. Once they successfully reached the high-altitude corridor, the traction platforms would engage electromagnetic acceleration to propel the vehicles forward.

Inside the preparation hall, under the emergency team’s and convoy leaders’ coordination, a long line of vehicles waited to enter the traction system. Thousands of people busied themselves in the hall—some assisting others, young men stepping down from their cars to help different convoys, and volunteers working with the emergency team to secure vehicles.

Outside, explosions raged relentlessly, and the electromagnetic rail cannons fired continuously into the sky. Due to unstable power supply, the lights in the ascending track hall flickered intermittently, dimming before restoring their brightness.

Faced with the monstrous entity looming above, some prayed while others trembled in fear. Everyone’s fate teetered on a knife’s edge, yet they could only push forward with this near-suicidal plan.

Attempting to reach the high-altitude corridor without using the climbing elevator—it was a gamble filled with danger and uncertainty.

If the traction cables snapped…

If the climbing elevator and high-altitude corridor collapsed…

If the zombie horde breached the hall…

No one could predict what they would face in the next second.

For all the survivors here, this was destined to be a long, harrowing night!

—

On the front train tracks, Chen Sixuan held a flashlight as she and Luo Ye inspected the Horizon Clamp System of the Whale 03E Heavy Gas Turbine Locomotive. The train’s onboard systems were running self-diagnostics.

The "Infinite Train" team, aside from Ding Junyi, was gripped with tension.

Compared to the other three massive trains, the "Infinite Train" looked much more… "slender." Though it had a near-intercontinental-class Gemini 11R nuclear electric locomotive, its power and onboard systems were clearly inferior to the others. As a result, it was assigned the fewest traction platforms.

Following Bai Shuang’s emergency team’s allocation, based on each train’s remaining power load:

Convoys led by Shu Qin, Xu Pu, Old Mo, and Jiang Yun were all assigned to the "Infinite Train’s" traction platforms.

According to the plan, once they reached the high-altitude corridor, all four trains would detach from their traction platforms and merge into parallel tracks, allowing the vehicles behind to accelerate first via electromagnetic propulsion. The trains would then separate again and rely on their own engines to speed through the Dazhu Plateau!

Lin Xian, assisted by KIKI and Jiang Yun, was busy assembling and connecting the train’s traction cables.

Wei Kexue deployed a dozen maintenance robots to assist with welding and reinforcements.

"I set up a decoupling mechanism. Once we reach the corridor, we can detach quickly and save time."

Sweat dripped from Lin Xian’s forehead as he frequently checked his watch. “KIKI, we only have one Horizon Clamp System onboard. Unlike the Silver Star, which has eight high-powered drive units. If things get critical, you’ll have to help stabilize the train, or the ascending traction hooks might break.”

“I got it.” KIKI nodded.

“Don’t worry.” Jiang Yun walked over. “You have ability users here to help. If the situation gets out of hand, I’ll step in.”

Wind-based abilities were indeed a great asset in this scenario. Lin Xian nodded. “Much appreciated.”

This plan had been brewing in his mind for a while. When he discussed it with Wei Kexue, he knew it carried enormous risks. If it weren’t for the desperate situation, who would willingly gamble with such a high-stakes move?

Noticing Lin Xian’s tension, KIKI’s eyes flickered. “Lin Xian, I believe in you. This plan will succeed.”

“…Thanks.”

Lin Xian took a deep breath and kept working. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. As Jian Zeyang said, if it were just us making the climb, the chances of success would be high.”

But with thousands of lives at stake, there was no room for hesitation.

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BOOM!

Just then, an even stronger earthquake shook the entire spaceport.