Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 448: Launching into the Water

“Prepare to launch the Infinite!”

At this moment, all members of the Infinite stood on the supply platform at the submarine base, gazing at the fully modified armored train with varying expressions. The train was now covered with a high-energy structural metal pressure-resistant shell, fully armored together, resembling a segmented, slender submarine. On both sides of the windows were specially designed multi-layer composite pressure-resistant star dust crystal glass portholes, capable of withstanding extreme environments of up to 300 atmospheres.

Lin Xian and Mochizuki Shinji designed these portholes not for sightseeing pleasures but truly to cope with deep-sea conditions and facilitate the use of abilities.

Buzzing!

The Falcon Sea Group members who were moving supplies onto the submarine at the deepwater port platform suddenly all stopped their actions. They turned around and looked up in astonishment. A very special giant train was floating in the air, slowly arriving above the deepwater port.

The next moment, with the cooperation of KIKI and Ryunosuke, the Infinite’s headlight searchlight cut through the murky black seawater like a steel beast plunging into the boiling black abyss.

“All set.”

“Lin Xian.” Chen Sixuan stood at the port ready to board, looking at Lin Xian and said, “Once that geothermal well is detonated, the entire island might sink. We must leave a safe distance.”

“I know.” Lin Xian glanced at the time, then scanned everyone. “Everyone board first. I’ll take Viola to make some arrangements. There’s less than an hour before nightfall. We only have one chance.”

“I’ll go with you!” Upon hearing Lin Xian’s words, KIKI immediately flew over. “I can help you save a lot of time.”

“Good.”

“Lin.” At this moment, Laine stood at the entrance of the abyss-class nuclear submarine and shouted to Lin Xian, “I don’t think the preset decoy torpedoes are necessary anymore. My idea is to cancel the path launch and adapt as we go. What do you think?”

“Agreed.” Lin Xian nodded, eyes flickering. “If these things still work, that is.”

Mount Garland’s eruption and the gathering sea monsters meant that the sporadic fire of decoy torpedoes might not lure enemies at all. This was why Lin Xian decided to take a gamble with the geothermal well at the submarine base. However, Laine’s suggestion was reasonable;at least they would have it ready. If they successfully escaped this area, it might come in handy at night.

Afterwards, everyone aboard the Infinite entered deep-diving mode. Each carriage transformed into a deepwater cabin. Internally, there were no major changes;the main differences were the special external pressure-resistant shell, deep diving propulsion devices, and the cabin’s pressure equalization and support modules.

Lin Xian then led Viola and KIKI toward the upper geothermal well.

Rushing water sounds~

Mo Xiaotian stood by the porthole of carriage number five, looking outside through the train’s dual-layer pressure-resistant windows. The carriage was already half submerged in seawater, with crashing waves continuously hitting the window. Looking out at the half water surface and half deepwater view, Mo Xiaotian’s face paled. He turned to Lu Xingchen and asked,

“Master, are we really going underwater?”

“Afraid?” Lu Xingchen sat cross-legged at the tea table, brewing a pot of tea for himself, casually nodding as if waiting calmly. He admonished Mo Xiaotian, “Don’t panic. Whether it’s the boiling abyss or the furnace of heaven and earth, we are tempered by the flames of tribulation.”

A flickering ball of fire danced between them. “Xiaotian, listen carefully: mortal flesh fears drowning, but in your hands is the thunder that tears eternal night!”

Mo Xiaotian watched Fire Bro trembling as he lifted the teacup to his lips with one hand, then took a sip with a nonchalant expression. Afterward, he shakily put down the cup, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Understand?!”

“I get it, I get it.”

Nearby, Xiao Lou was inspecting the changes to the deep-diving modules inside the carriage. Hearing Fire Bro’s words, he pointed to the porthole and said to me, “Fire Bro, look at that seawater—it’s as pitch-white as ink. If there are many waterborne aberrations…”

Upon hearing this, Mo Xiaotian shook his head and waved his hand, “No problem. The water aberrations will deal with themselves. What’s there to fear by looking at it?”

Seeing Mo Xiaotian even dared to look out the window, Xiao Lou chuckled lightly at Chen Sixuan. The previously tense atmosphere was instantly relaxed. In the corner, Ryunosuke crossed his arms silently, looking as if he was holding back something.

Everyone knew Mo Xiaotian was most afraid of enclosed abyss environments. His current panicked appearance likely meant his back wasn’t even wet yet.

In carriage number three, Lu Xingchen, Shu Qin, Lü Chang, Luo Yang, Da Yuan, Qian Dele, Ning Jing, and others gathered. The blood crystals obtained from Laine’s team were concentrated in a container. Ding Junyi stood behind the lab table, her big flower on her head fully bloomed, radiating a surging green light all over her.

She stretched out one hand, and several dark green vines radiated outward, climbing like living creatures into the container holding the blood crystals. Whether first-level blood crystals, seventh-level, or eighth-seven-level blood crystals, they were all wrapped one by one. The concentrated dark energy within these blood crystals seemed to be drained of power and slowly gathered toward the center along the vines.

At this central position stood a special disaster plant.

Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes!

“This is the first time I’ve seen our science family activate an ability. This power looks really strong.” Qian Dele’s eyes gleamed as he said.

Ning Jing stared solemnly at the Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes. She knew this disaster plant was what allowed them to escape from the Star Abyss on Planet 5 successfully. A plant capable of producing dimensional bubbles—truly miraculous.

Shu Qin glanced at Chen Sixuan and quietly asked, “Can we do anything now?”

Chen Sixuan furrowed her brows and shook her head, “I don’t know. I have no experience with deep diving…”

“None of us do.” Qian Dele gestured at the various operation and maintenance robots working in the air and said helplessly, “We have to rely on these robots and Viola. Once in the sea, no running or flying. Beyond 3,000 meters, even our power armor can’t handle it.”

“KIKI and Ryunosuke’s telekinetic shields should be fine, but honestly, I think the least of our worries is that.” Luo Yang said. “With Brother Lin’s mechanical supernatural power plus Silent City’s technology, I have complete confidence in the Infinite.”

Xiao Yuan also nodded nervously, “Same here.”

“I think we need a backup plan too.” Ning Jing said. “Our train is fine on land, but underwater it’s too long, and the carriages are dispersed.” She looked at Chen Sixuan. “There are still Falcon Sea Group people here. Just in case, we should split into teams prepared to escape underwater or at least have someone to watch over each other.”

“Agreed.” Chen Sixuan said.

At the rear carriages, Shasha confirmed that the Flying Peach was firmly locked onto its bracket, the hydraulic lock clicking with a heavy “clack.”

“All set. Underwater, I can’t use you, but one day I’ll modify you into an interstellar vessel or combine you with Brother Lin’s giant mech. That’ll be way cooler~”

Shasha looked satisfied at her partner and was about to return to the front carriages. Just as her fingertips left the cold metal bracket and she turned around, a faint, disturbing sound penetrated the thick car body and the star dust crystal glass of the porthole, seeping in from the unfathomable darkness below.

“Click click~ click click…”

It wasn’t the splash of seawater against the train body, nor the hum of the propulsion system. It was a scraping sound, as if countless small, hard things were moving along the bottom of the train’s indestructible high-energy structural metal pressure-resistant shell.

The sound was very faint, mingled with the mechanical noise of deep-diving mode and the surging seawater, almost indistinguishable. But Shasha’s nerves immediately tensed, a chill ran up her spine. Instinctively, she bent down, pressing her ear almost against the cold alloy floor. They were underwater now. Everyone knew how unpredictable underwater aberrations could be. Hearing such a sound instantly put her on high alert.

“You heard that too?”

Just as Shasha focused intently, a voice suddenly broke the quiet of the carriage space, startling her. She looked up and saw Monica standing at the cabin door.

She wasn’t wearing heavy power armor, only her undersuit. But Monica’s eyes emitted a faint glow, clearly having activated her sonic ability.

“Right below.”

Monica’s voice was very low, no trace of her usual laziness or teasing. Her gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing the porthole toward the ink-black abyss outside that swallowed everything.

“They probably haven’t noticed us yet. Judging by the scale of the sound, they could swallow our entire train in one gulp.”

“Hiss!”

Hearing Monica’s words, Shasha immediately gasped, a cold shiver rising from her feet.

“Damn, Brother Lin hasn’t returned yet.”

In carriage number eight, Miao Lu and Sun Yuzhen were assisting Falcon Sea Group members with temporary refuge. These people were arranged from carriages eight to nine. Vanessa still looked a little lost on her face;after all, it was her first time standing on a train floating in water. If it weren’t for the miraculous members of the Infinite around her, she might have thought she was dreaming.

Inside the carriage, the crowd surged. Under the warm yellow emergency lights, Shiori was using her abilities to help A Bai calm his nerves. Nearby, Xiao Qing walked over and said to A Bai, “Coward, snap out of it! We all need your sensing abilities in the sea. Don’t let Captain Lin down.”

“Okay… okay.” A Bai nodded sharply. His tone revealed he was still very scared of going underwater, but having experienced many major events with Lin Xian, he wasn’t completely panicked.

“Fear is normal. The more you see, the more you should have respect.” Shiori comforted him. As another person with sensing abilities, she deeply understood A Bai’s reaction.

Unexpectedly, just as she raised a glass of water, her actions suddenly froze, her brows furrowed deeply. A Bai almost simultaneously looked up. Their eyes met.

“Something’s wrong!”

A Bai’s pupils contracted slightly. His fingers gripping the cup turned white from force.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Qing immediately sensed danger from their expressions. Her body tensed, and her ability fluctuations surged.

“There’s something…”

“Under the carriage!”

A Bai and Shiori spoke simultaneously. Their gaze seemed to penetrate the carriage walls, directly targeting the deep seawater.

“It’s huge, passing through the submarine passage underwater!” Shiori’s face visibly tensed.

Xiao Qing’s eyes sharpened, about to speak.

“Everyone—!”

Monica’s voice suddenly came through the communicator: “Everyone be careful. An unidentified creature has been detected underwater. Those monsters might have already infiltrated the submarine port.”

Carriage number three instantly fell into deadly silence. Even Ding Junyi’s action of drawing out the dark energy from the blood crystals through the vines paused. She looked around, then at the Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes before her, pondering whether her actions had attracted the threat.

Qian Dele, Luo Yang, Ning Jing, Chen Sixuan… all their eyes met in an instant. Chen Sixuan immediately nodded at a few people, and they quickly dispersed to prepare defenses in each carriage.

Chen Sixuan instructed Xiao Yuan and Luo Yang to stay in carriage three to assist, while she headed toward the cockpit and immediately contacted Lin Xian.

Haiyan Island · Geothermal Nuclear Facility Hot Well (Core Channel)

Lin Xian, accompanied by a drone swarm composed of KIKI and Viola, struggled through the huge steel corridor leading to the geothermal well core. The air was filled with the pungent stench of sulfur and ozone. The temperature was suffocatingly high. The air warped and refracted under extreme heat, making vision blurry.

Beneath their feet, the entire island groaned painfully under continuous violent earthquakes. Each tremor was accompanied by teeth-grinding sounds of metal twisting and the roaring of rocks fracturing. Dust and small debris fell from the reinforced support structure above, striking Lin Xian’s power armor helmet with a rapid “pop” sound.

Ahead, the massive geothermal well’s reaction chamber looked like the entrance to hell. Dark red magma slithered like a living giant python, crazily climbing and spreading along the fractured well walls. It greedily devoured every metal structure it touched. A thick cooling pipe softened, twisted, and broke under the high heat, spewing scorching steam. The huge turbine unit wailed under the strain, some blades rapidly softening and deforming in the red-hot magma, melting into glowing golden metal liquid that flowed into the magma torrent.

The complex control console was submerged by magma, sparking bright electric arcs before disappearing under the churning dark red viscous fluid. Above the wall, the huge ancient pressure-resistant dome was scorched like molten wax, dripping molten metal “raindrops” into the churning “fire lake” below, causing massive explosive splashes.

Seeing the scene, Lin Xian frowned. This triggering device was already half consumed. The reactor had long stopped operating, and all discharge outlets naturally ceased releasing energy. He could already imagine the aberrations in those areas starting to riot chaotically.

“Viola! Drone swarm, maximum power heat dissipation! Prioritize protecting the main pipeline bridge at 12 o’clock! KIKI, telekinetic field coverage for the installation area. This thing can’t be detonated by bombs. Since it’s a triggering device, might as well overload the reactor and use the geothermal energy to trigger a chain reaction.”

“Ah?” KIKI was surprised. “You want to make a hydrogen bomb?”

“Isn’t that what this device does?” Lin Xian’s voice was stern. “The power won’t be that big, but if we blow up the entire geothermal well, who knows?”

[Overloading the triggering reactor will cause massive instability. Under such conditions, program control is impossible.] Viola reminded Lin Xian.

“So we can’t precisely control the countdown.”

“That’s why we have to be fast.” Lin Xian’s tone was cold as he stared at the boiling lava. “Dive into the super vortex as quickly as possible!”

However, just then, the dark mark devices on Lin Xian and KIKI suddenly flickered and alarmed. Lin Xian’s expression changed. He immediately said, “Level 4 mark? An opponent with a different level?!”

“Where?” KIKI immediately sensed danger. But looking around, the entire geothermal well was filled with glowing red magma.

Lin Xian activated his power armor and carefully searched, but even with Viola connected, no biological signals were detected.

Boom!

The whole island suddenly experienced a violent earthquake, as if mountains and seas were roaring and rushing toward this direction.

Mark target.

Lin Xian realized trouble was coming. His heart jumped. Suddenly, he shouted to KIKI,

“KIKI, use shockwaves to scan! There’s an aberration beside us!”

“It’s invisible!”