Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 447: Deep Diving Plan

The sea around Haiyan Island was turbulent with ghostly waves, and storms raged fiercely in the sky. At 16:12 in the afternoon, inside the monitoring hall beneath the offshore submarine base, the atmosphere was dead silent and heavy.

Everyone remained silent. The people on the Infinite had quickly calmed down from their initial shock. They had faced many near-death situations before, and Lin Xian's crazy plan was nothing new to them. Moreover, it sounded like the only evacuation plan under the current crisis.

Over at the Falcon Sea Group, several people wore solemn expressions. Geddy broke the silence: “So Captain Lin, your plan is for all of us to board that nuclear submarine and escape through the Silent Abyss Whirlpool?”

Lin Xian responded, “The orbit, the sea surface, and the sky all seem impossible right now. Except for taking refuge on the island, there's no way to escape with so many abnormal entities 'feasting' here. But now, with the volcanic geothermal wells becoming unstable along with Mount Garland, they’ve turned into ticking time bombs. Hiding is no longer the best option. You should all understand this.”

Laine nodded seriously and said, “Did you come up with this plan because the energy discharge outlet on Chatham Island detected the Oceanic Titan? So passing through the Mid-Ocean Ridge Abyss is our chance?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Laine immediately lowered his sunglasses decisively and said, “I agree to this plan.”

“Laine!” Erica quickly interjected, “Even if we abandon the fleet and the Neptune, that submarine can’t carry this many people. Are we going to abandon all our weapons and supplies as well?”

“Exactly.” Vanessa pulled up some data: “I just checked. The Abyss-class Beifeng-09 strategic nuclear submarine below has a maximum capacity of 400 people. We have nearly 500 here, plus heavy power armor. If everyone boards, the load will be significant. Even if we escape successfully, without supplies, how long can so many people survive in the Pacific Ocean?”

“There’s another problem.” Mechanic Azrael also spoke to Laine: “As mentioned earlier, this super whirlpool has a current speed over 40 centimeters per second and a depth exceeding 1000 meters. This is a huge test for submarine structural materials. Although Sanctum’s people have passed this route before, Mount Garland is still erupting continuously. Water temperature and volcanic sand are problems. Under these circumstances, the submarine could be crushed by water pressure or strong vortex currents if it hits a large volcanic rock, not to mention attacks from abnormal entities.”

Hearing everyone’s concerns, Laine raised his hand to signal silence, then shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m fully aware of these situations, but aside from the plan Lin proposed, does anyone have a better idea?” He glanced at the time. “It’s 16:20 now. We’re hiding here without knowing which will come first—the darkness or the volcanic eruption. To survive, we have to take a big gamble, right?”

The core members of the Falcon Sea Group all fell silent. Laine then looked at Lin Xian and said, “Lin, I have the best submarine mechanic team here, very experienced. Maybe the success rate can be improved a bit?”

“That should be possible,” Lin Xian replied.

“Lin Xian.” At this moment, Chen Sixuan spoke up, “If all of us evacuate by submarine, what about the Infinite?”

Lin Xian looked at Chen Sixuan: “I never said all of us would evacuate by submarine…”

“Ah?” Chen Sixuan furrowed her brows, “Then what about us…”

“We’ll take the train into the sea!” Lin Xian said directly.

At this statement, not only did the Falcon Sea Group members react in shock, but the Infinite team also all showed stunned expressions.

“What!? You’re going to drive a train into the deep sea?!” Vanessa’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“That’s basically suicide!” Erica exclaimed in surprise. “One train, how is that even possible…”

Meanwhile, the Infinite team knew the Infinite had undergone deep diving modifications but never expected that for this ultra-deep sea escape, Lin Xian was planning to drive this heavy train straight into the ocean depths.

“You still think he means using the Sky Dome train.” Monica crossed her arms and said, “Not even you get it.”

Geddy shook his head and smiled wryly: “Given the current situation, I think it’s what he’s really going to do.”

“Why?!” Shasha looked surprised, “If you don’t have a small flying ship, can you still use it?”

“Stupid.” KIKI floated over to Geddy and said to Shasha, “He already said ‘small flying ship.’ Guess why it’s usable?”

Shu Qin and others immediately looked up to observe their surroundings. Qian Dele reacted and said with some hesitation:

“The space and water channels in the deepwater port above are too wide. Can the Sky Dome train really pass through?”

Zhao Bo nodded, looking up: “Yes. Unless it’s inside, but that’s currently impossible.”

The underwater channels of the deepwater port were specially built by the military base for submarines. Giant sky-level crafts like the Sky Dome simply couldn’t get through. Lin Xian even struggled to bring this giant out of the Black Star Forge within the deepwater port, let alone board it. The only possible way was for everyone to first enter the deep water wearing power armor, then when Lin Xian retrieved the Sky Dome train underwater, they could board it. But that plan was too foolish;it was far more straightforward to use the modified Infinite.

Besides, the Sky Dome-class armory ship hadn’t been completed yet. This unfinished starship was far less reliable than the Infinite.

Watching Lin Xian seriously discuss the plan to launch the train into the sea, the Falcon Sea Group members exchanged glances.

“Are you really going to drive the train into the deep ocean?” Laine asked.

“Our train is amazing.” KIKI responded confidently, “Don’t underestimate it. This train can go underwater, fly into the clouds, and handle S-level threats. You have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s right!”

Lu Xingchen stood up with a bold expression: “To escape from desperation, one must have the courage to face death and be reborn. We possess extraordinary powers. What is there to fear, whether in the heavens or the seas?”

Shasha saw this previously bickering guy acting cocky and immediately leaned over to whisper:

“Brother Lin’s plan is for you to sit inside the Infinite and then sink into the thousand-meter deep sea, drilling through the seabed volcano and Oceanic Titan’s territory into the super seabed whirlpool to escape...”

Hearing this, Lu Xingchen’s legs almost gave out, barely managing to stand. Seeing Xiao Qing’s gaze nearby, he quickly steadied himself and loudly said,

“N-No problem. It’s just a mere seabed whirlpool.”

“Fine.” Seeing everyone on Lin Xian’s side looking calm, Laine expressed surprise and asked Lin Xian, “Lin, when do we move?”

“Immediately!” Lin Xian decisively said, “Laine, arrange for people to board the submarine as soon as possible. Bring as many supplies as you can. We’d better leave before dark.”

“Understood.”

Boom!

Before the words finished, a violent earthquake shook again. But this time, it didn’t feel like a volcanic eruption. It felt like some giant beast was stepping on the continental shelf of Haiyan Island, causing intense tremors and roaring sounds!

“That monster has gone out to sea!” Ning Jing’s expression hardened, “We must hurry.”

“Wait, there’s another problem!”

Geddy looked urgently at Lin Xian and Laine: “We have a long distance to dive from here to the super whirlpool. If we get tagged by abnormal entities, it might be hard to escape. Are we just going to blindly run through?”

“You’re right. That’s why I plan to use the Bait Agent.” Lin Xian said immediately.

“Bait Agent?” Geddy questioned, “How can the Bait Agent cover such a vast area?”

“I’m not talking about an ordinary Bait Agent.” Lin Xian’s eyes turned sharp. He tapped on KIKI’s mobile terminal, and the holographic screen shifted to show a giant mechanical device: the 3D schematic of the Deep-3 geothermal nuclear thermal system near the submarine base. He said, “If we’re running, let’s put on a grand fireworks display.”

Afterwards, he said to Viola, “Viola, I want you to actively detonate the Deep-3 nuclear thermal system to trigger a cold nuclear energy eruption from the geothermal well. This should greatly improve our success rate.”

“What?!” Hearing Geddy’s words, everyone was shocked. They were going to actively trigger a volcanic eruption???

[If the plan proceeds without the White Dark mark appearing, the success rate will not reach 23.4%. At the same time, smaller risks include: 1. Attracting fewer abnormal entities but possibly drawing Unika-1 closer to the offshore sea area;2. Triggering a volcanic chain reaction causing the volcano to erupt;3....]

“This is bad.” Geddy interrupted.

Then Lin Xian said to everyone, “23.4%, rounded off is 100%. To survive against all odds, hurry up and act.”

Laine and the others: “....”

Hearing Geddy’s words, everyone in the Falcon Sea Group inexplicably felt their eyelids twitch. That 23% rounding to 100% calculation was simply astonishing.

However, there was no time to focus on such details. Under Laine’s arrangements, the Falcon Sea Group immediately began boarding the submarine and moving supplies. Due to space limitations, Cai En consulted Lin Xian, who had Vanessa lead dozens of people to prepare to board Lin Xian’s train ready to launch.

Meanwhile, Lin Xian began two preparations: one was readying the detonation of the Deep-3 nuclear thermal system, and the other was activating the Infinite’s deep diving system. Then KIKI and Takahashi Ryunosuke would transport the train from the platform to the deepwater port.

16:35

Haiyan Island trembled violently under continuous earthquakes. The lighting in the monitoring hall flickered intermittently.

In the sea area southeast of Chatham Island, thick smoke spewed from the Mount Garland volcanic crater, coloring the sky iron gray. In the distance, enormous black shadows writhed beneath the sea surface, with unnatural ghostly glows flashing intermittently between the waves.

At the deepwater port, Laine shouted orders at the top of his lungs. Falcon Sea Group members hurriedly began boarding the submarine. Many were entering such vessels for the first time, and the tense atmosphere grew thick.

“Mechanical team, check the pressure valves! Power group, start the engine within three minutes!” Mechanic Azrael’s roar echoed through the steel corridor. At the submarine hatch, Erica and Geddy guided ordinary survivors of the Falcon Sea Group into the living compartments.

As the continuous earthquakes shook the surface, boiling bubbles began to churn on the water, with the sharp scent of sulfur mixed with sea brine hitting everyone’s noses.

Seeing this, Cai En furrowed his brows, checked the time, and quickly said into the communicator:

“The eruption has been ongoing. We don’t know when the major explosion will come. When it does, hundreds of miles of sea will become hell.”

“This world was already hell.”

At the upper supply platform, Lin Xian watched as Viola directed construction and maintenance robots to install the deep diving module previously built by Silent City for the Infinite.

“The fluid balance module under the train needs to be rechecked,” Luo Yang nervously said, holding a mobile terminal as he approached. “We fought several battles in Haiyan City. We have to consider potential damage.”

“Good thinking,” Lin Xian nodded and told Viola to synchronize the checks.

Amid the mechanical arm noises, the train’s chassis deployed three layers of fish fin-shaped guide plates. Luo Yang’s drone projection flickered as it jumped over the rails: “Pressure hull charging 87%... 92%...”

On the train, when Chen Sixuan pressed the button to lower the pressure window, another tremor shook the platform. Concrete fell from above, cracking crisply on the train roof.

“Train deep diving airtight test completed!”

“Train watertight compartment pressurization test!”

Lin Xian then entered the Infinite’s cockpit. The Mechanical Heart quickly ran diagnostics on all carriage units.

He noticed fine sweat on Chen Sixuan’s forehead and softly asked, “Nervous?”

“Impossible not to be.” Chen Sixuan took a deep breath and looked ahead. “Although I trust you and the technology from Silent City, still…”

“But you find it unbelievable to let this train go underwater?” Lin Xian asked.

Chen Sixuan nodded. “Going underwater from the sky is really not easy.” She turned to look at Lin Xian, her expression nervous. “I don’t think I told you—I have deep-sea phobia.”

Lin Xian was slightly surprised. “You didn’t say that.”

Chen Sixuan showed her palm to Lin Xian and exhaled deeply. “Thousands of meters underwater, no sunlight, unknown sea monsters, seabed volcanoes, super whirlpools... just hearing about it makes my palms sweat. Okay... don’t laugh at me.”

“How could I laugh at you?” Geddy smiled and said frankly, “Teacher Chen, actually… you’re scared too.”

Compared to going underwater, Geddy was even more afraid of the sea for the same reason as Chen Sixuan—the unknown in the deep sea, the suffocating feeling of sinking. Whether to say it was easy or not, it was unlikely. Although he anxiously discussed the plan’s success rate with Viola, he felt a deep-seated fear of the deep sea akin to drifting into the infinite void of space.

But Geddy had no other choice. If there was a chance to leap over the sea area, he would definitely choose that risk. Combining Gu Zheng’s consciousness data, Geddy knew that path was feasible, but it would take exceptional luck and the train had to withstand the deep sea’s low-pressure currents.

[The propulsion system has not been fully deployed;water entry testing cannot proceed.]

At this moment, Viola’s voice came through.

Lin Xian immediately turned and said sternly, “KIKI, prepare to launch the Infinite!”