Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 186: Lantern Flower

At 16:20 in the afternoon, Lin Xian sped through the streets of the small town on his motorcycle, racing toward the large chemical plant. Towering distillation towers and numerous silver storage tanks came into view.

His bike rolled over scattered debris as he passed through the collapsed entrance of the chemical plant, entering a wide-open area. Looking around, many parts of the plant were flooded with wastewater, and some areas had strange-colored liquid flowing across the ground. A pungent smell lingered in the air.

At the same time, Shu Qin and Big Luo arrived in a jeep, driving in through another entrance.

"Captain Lin."

Shu Qin pulled out a roughly sketched map and said to Lin Xian, "We checked the areas where those eerie entities retreated last night and then scouted the main roads in and out of this town. We’re fairly certain that a circular zone is covering all of Rain Town. If our calculations are correct, this chemical plant is the center of it."

Lin Xian nodded at her words and turned to look at the massive distillation tower. "Then this must be the place."

—Vmmm—

Not far away, KIKI had already calibrated the drone and sent it soaring into the air, letting it scout the plant from above.

The live feed showed an eerily silent chemical plant. KIKI, staring at the screen, commented, "No signs of people. Looks normal enough."

"Impossible for it to be normal."

Lin Xian raised his hand, conjuring a small telescope from thin air and handing it to Shu Qin. "Shu Qin, find a high vantage point and keep watch."

"Got it."

Shu Qin slung her Remington M96 onto her back and swiftly leaped onto a nearby concrete pillar, using it as a stepping stone to propel herself onto the factory's raw material pipeline. Moving rapidly, she climbed toward a high observation tower.

"Big Luo, watch the entrance and roads."

"On it, Brother Xian." Big Luo grabbed his Gatling gun and headed for the main gate.

With everything in place, Lin Xian pulled out two gas masks, tossing one to KIKI. After putting them on, the two made their way toward the largest chemical workshop.

"Hey, Lin Xian, did you scan that TRP power armor from that guy earlier?"

KIKI kept up with him, effortlessly hovering above the strange liquids on the ground instead of stepping through them.

"I wanted to, but I couldn’t just say, 'Hey, buddy, hold still while I scan your gear,’ could I?"

"Pfft—"

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KIKI burst into laughter. "Hahaha~ You’re such an idiot! Why didn’t you just do it when he wasn’t looking? Or let me knock him out?"

Lin Xian was speechless. Regardless of their suspicions about Ding Qing’s group, those guys had still helped them. Even if they had ulterior motives, it didn’t mean he could just attack them out of nowhere. Besides, the power armor was a highly complex piece of equipment—scanning it wouldn’t be a quick job.

"Stay focused. Don’t get distracted."

Lin Xian didn’t want to waste time on banter. His senses were sharp, carefully surveying their surroundings.

"By the way, why didn’t you bring that fire-loving idiot along?" KIKI asked.

"We’re just here to scout. If anything seems off, we’re pulling out immediately. There’s probably another convoy in town, plus impostors and eerie entities lurking around. Better to leave a reliable ability user behind."

"Really? I thought you were just worried about your dear Teacher Chen~" KIKI teased, grinning.

Lin Xian couldn’t believe this girl still had the mood to joke in such a tense situation. Amused, he smirked. "Oh? Jealous, are you?"

"Tch—jealous my ass."

They wove through a maze of massive pipelines, making turn after turn, until they finally reached the structure beneath the tallest distillation tower.

A massive iron door stood in front of them, bearing the words "Reagent Workshop No. 1."

The door was slightly ajar, and from within, a chilling wind howled, echoing with eerie emptiness.

"Let’s check it out. If anything seems off, we leave immediately."

Lin Xian tensed, gripping his rifle as he conjured a small steel shield, then stepped inside.

—Whoosh—

A gust of freezing air surged past them. The moment they entered, they saw a colossal metal reaction kettle suspended in the air. Above it, a massive yellow-painted overhead crane loomed. Below, the floor sank into a sublevel filled with towering silver storage tanks—many of which had already toppled. A massive volume of colorless liquid had spilled out, submerging nearly a third of the lower level, making it look like a bottomless black swimming pool.

Lin Xian knew better than to assume the liquid was harmless.

Approaching one of the storage tanks, he furrowed his brows. "Damn… 70% tert-butyl hydroperoxide..."

KIKI tilted her head. "You know what that is?"

"High school chemistry." Lin Xian glanced toward the massive reaction kettle overhead, his expression growing serious. "That thing up there should be an alkali preparation tank."

"Meaning… is it dangerous?"

"If this place were flooded with tert-butyl hydroperoxide, the whole factory would’ve exploded already—it's highly flammable and can detonate from friction or vibrations. So, I doubt it leaked. It’s probably just rainwater or something else pooling down there. But… if that alkali tank up top falls and hits the storage tanks, everything within a one-kilometer radius is gone."

—Hiss—

KIKI’s face paled as she nervously eyed the massive metal tank. "Sh*t, that’s terrifying."

Lin Xian was already considering retreating when something caught his eye—a faint orange glow flickering behind the reaction kettle and storage tanks. His expression sharpened as he broke into a sprint along the metal catwalk.

Seeing Lin Xian move, KIKI flew after him.

As they got closer, their expressions grew grim.

What they saw emerging before them was a bizarre, towering plant.

Rising from the chemical pool below, a thick, dark green stem stretched several meters high before bending downward in an arc. At its tip hung an enormous lantern-shaped flower nearly two meters in diameter.

Inside the flower’s bloom, layers of deep red, fleshy filaments pulsed with a dim, eerie glow. Its orange petals, veined with intricate patterns, gave off a strangely hypnotic radiance.

This gigantic plant, growing in a pool of chemical waste amid towering metal tanks, was utterly unnatural.

"Whoa… that's one big-ass flower."

KIKI’s eyes widened in astonishment. "Could this be like our Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum? A Blood Scourge Flora?"

Lin Xian sucked in a breath. "I was thinking the same thing, but..."

He fixated on the flower, unsettled by the unnatural pulsations of its red-orange glow. It gave off an almost sinister presence.

More than that…

It felt alive in a way plants shouldn’t.

"But what?"

"It looks like a plant… but it also doesn’t."

Both of them had the same eerie sensation—that the glow was flickering rhythmically. And the lantern flower itself… was subtly rising and falling, as though it were...

Breathing.

KIKI’s face turned pale as she murmured, "Wait… is this flower...?"

Lin Xian felt his skin crawl. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

At that moment—

A faint clinking sound came from his backpack.

His heart sank as he immediately recognized what it was.

Without hesitation, he unzipped the bag, conjured a metal clamp, and yanked out two glass vials before tossing them onto the ground.

—Clink!—

The vials shattered, and two white parasites tumbled out, lying motionless… seemingly dead.

"What’s wrong?" KIKI asked.

Lin Xian’s expression darkened. "Something’s seriously wrong with this place."

As the red glow from the lantern flower bathed over them, the two white parasites suddenly twitched, extending their hooked claws before violently launching themselves into the chemical pool below.