Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 221: Swallowing Missiles

Lin Xian made his way from the upper deck to the Engineering Bay. The hatch was already damaged beyond repair, leaving only a narrow opening barely big enough for a person to squeeze through.

Without hesitation, he walked up, placed his hand on the control panel, and activated Mechanical Heart. A surge of electricity pulsed through the circuits, and the automatic door emitted a strained mechanical whine before forcefully sliding halfway open. Lin Xian quickly slipped inside.

Click—

He adjusted the beam of his flashlight, illuminating the pitch-black engine bay. Right in the center stood a Nuclear-Powered Turbine Processor Chamber. He pulled out his Geiger Counter and checked—fortunately, there were no leaks.

Standing on the upper platform of the engine bay, he looked down at two massive anti-gravity propulsion engines—silent, dormant, like two colossal industrial behemoths.

"No idea if these are still functional…"

Lin Xian’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. Scanning an entire 10,000-ton Dragon-Class Transport Ship was impossible, and the damaged hull meant he couldn’t extract a complete blueprint. But if the propulsion engines were intact, they might still be useful.

Without delay, Lin Xian climbed down using the maintenance ladder. As soon as he touched the surface of the propulsion engine, he activated Mechanical Heart.

Hissss—

In an instant, he felt a massive amount of energy being drained from him. The coverage of Mechanical Heart expanded as he attempted to perceive the full structure of the anti-gravity propulsion system.

But as the scan extended, he quickly realized—he had been far too optimistic.

Countless interconnected subsystems surfaced—so many that it made his scalp tingle. Worse yet, a significant portion was heavily damaged.

【Scanning Progress: 21%】

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Twenty minutes passed, and he hadn’t even scanned half of it. Lin Xian was already drenched in sweat.

“F***.”

With a frustrated sigh, he lifted his hand, abandoning the scan.

"I got greedy. Should’ve known better…"

"Scanning is impossible unless I completely dismantle the engine first, then slowly break it down."

He sighed again.

In theory, he could dismantle the engine—but even in a professional shipyard, it would take an entire team of engineers using specialized equipment days to disassemble a propulsion system of this size. Doing it alone? Completely impossible.

Shaking his head, Lin Xian shifted his focus back to the Nuclear-Powered Turbine Processor Chamber. This type of shipboard reactor wasn’t enormous, but it was still significantly larger than the one used in the Gemini 11R Nuclear Electric Locomotive.

"Forget it, let’s try this one instead."

Just as he was prepared to write off this whole trip as a waste, he climbed up the processor chamber and initiated a scan—only to find that not only was it intact, but it also had no radiation leaks.

Thirty minutes later—

【Successfully scanned: “Nightstar-2” Nuclear Turbine Processor (Blueprint acquired)】

“Phew—”

Seeing the Mechanical Heart interface display his newly acquired blueprint, Lin Xian finally let out a sigh of relief.

"It’s not immediately useful… but at least I got something out of this."

He checked the time—15:16 PM.

There were less than four hours until nightfall. If he devoured the turbine processor, it would take at least 4–6 hours. If successful, he estimated he could gain 500+ Mechanical Source Points and 200+ Devouring Proficiency—which would allow him to upgrade 【Mechanical Devour】 to Level 4.

However, if he did this, it would already be dark by the time he finished—and traveling at night would be too dangerous.

"Let’s check out the weapons system instead."

Lin Xian wasn’t in a rush. Hengshan Pass had plenty of vehicles he could break down for upgrades. As long as he had time, he could afford to move at a slower pace and focus on improving his abilities.

The Dragon-Class Transport Ship was nicknamed the “Airborne Hercules”, known for its massive cargo capacity. Unlike gunships and fighter jets, its defenses weren’t as advanced—but it was still equipped with Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) and short-range anti-air missile defenses.

This was what Lin Xian was most interested in.

As he made his way to the central weapons station, he suddenly spotted a crew roster in the ship’s conference hall.

A familiar name caught his eye.

He stopped, tilted his head, and walked closer to take a better look.

Then he laughed out loud.

“Deputy Captain of the Yunxiang—Hu Lushou.”

“… Holy s**t, so that guy was a pilot? No wonder he got his hands on this transport ship’s supplies. He had front-row access!”

So Liao Ming’s rumor wasn’t baseless after all. Hu Lushou had likely survived the ship’s crash, which explained why he had so many Federation-standard supplies.

Lin Xian wasn’t too concerned. He lingered for a moment, then continued heading toward the weapons station.

—

Dragon-Class Transport Ship – Weapons Station

The hatch leading to the weapons station was badly deformed from the crash. Lin Xian shone his flashlight through the cracks and took a look inside.

Then he sucked in a breath of cold air.

Inside were two missile launchers—and both still had missiles loaded!

“Holy s**t—an Eyestorm F12 Supersonic Air-to-Ship Missile and two Guardian-86 Anti-Air Missiles?!”

As a former military enthusiast, Lin Xian recognized these Federation weapons instantly. He had seen plenty of photos of them before.

But now that he was face-to-face with the real deal, they felt massive.

“Damn, the Eyestorm F12 is 6.86m long, 0.36m in diameter, and weighs 850kg, with a 200kg warhead. The Guardian-86 is 2.5m long, 0.18m in diameter, and weighs 100kg, with a 30kg warhead….”

“Of course, these things aren’t small.”

Lin Xian’s eyes burned with excitement. He activated his communicator and called KIKI.

“Hey, I found some good stuff. The ship’s air-launched missiles are still here. Might take a bit of time.”

KIKI’s voice crackled back, surprised. “Missiles?! The survivors didn’t take them?”

Lin Xian scoffed. “Of course not. These aren’t rocket launchers—you can’t just grab and fire them. Loading missiles requires specialized equipment. Even if they could move them, what would they do? Shoulder-carry them and ram into monsters?”

Missile systems weren’t personal weapons—they needed full support infrastructure: launchers, radars, fire control systems, and regular maintenance.

Lin Xian examined the weapons station, spotting one Guardian-86 missile lying on the ground with its launch rack snapped in half.

"The survivors must’ve freaked the hell out when they saw this. The fact that this station didn’t explode on impact is already a miracle. No way they’d dare touch these things."

Most of the ship’s valuable cargo had already been looted—any handheld weapons, supplies, or tools were long gone. The missile racks, however, had been left intact, making them the perfect prize for Lin Xian’s Mechanical Ability.

—

Scanning the Missiles

Lin Xian carefully fabricated a hydraulic press, slowly forcing open the deformed hatch.

Once inside, he crouched beside the fallen Guardian-86 missile.

"Brother, listen. I’m just touching you—I’m not gonna set you off."

Nervously, he placed his hand on it.

【Scanning in progress… 15%】

【Scanning in progress… 50%】

After twenty minutes, he finally received the notification:

【Scan Complete: Guardian-86 Anti-Air Missile Blueprint Acquired】

Lin Xian exhaled in relief.

Time to scan the big one…

He stepped toward the Eyestorm F12 Supersonic Air-to-Ship Missile.

…

Lin Xian placed his hand on the Eyestorm F12 Supersonic Air-to-Ship Missile and activated Mechanical Heart.

【Scanning in progress… 15%】

【Scanning in progress… 50%】

【Scan complete! Acquired blueprint: Eyestorm F12 Supersonic Air-to-Ship Missile】

Then, he moved to the missile launch system.

【Scan complete! Acquired blueprint: MK-66 Roll-On Cantilever Missile Launcher】

【Scan complete! Acquired blueprint: T1 Fire Control Radar】

【Scan complete! Acquired blueprint: T1-2 Detection and Search Radar】

【Devour successful! +100 Mechanical Source Points, +40 Devouring Proficiency, +5 Speed】

【Devour successful! +120 Mechanical Source Points, +50 Devouring Proficiency, +6 Strength】

“Damn…”

Lin Xian stared at the Mechanical Heart interface, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.

He had spent less than an hour devouring just two missiles, yet he had already gained a total of 220 Mechanical Source Points!

"The efficiency of devouring missiles is ridiculously high—way better than dismantling train locomotives!"

Lin Xian smirked.

"This trip was worth it. Too bad there aren't more missiles…"

He turned his gaze to the slightly damaged Guardian-86 missile still lying on the ground.

"Might as well take this one too."

He reached out to continue devouring—

BEEP!

His communicator suddenly activated—KIKI’s voice came through, her tone urgent.

“Lin Xian, get out here! Now!”

Lin Xian’s expression changed instantly.

Without hesitation, he stopped devouring, turned, and sprinted out of the weapons station.

—

Rushing across the upper deck, Lin Xian vaulted over a broken railing and leapt from the fractured hull—landing on the ship’s top surface.

“What happened?”

He quickly scanned the area.

KIKI was flying toward him from the distance, clutching a mobile terminal in her hands. She landed on the deck, eyes wide with urgency.

“Look at this!” she exclaimed, holding up the device screen.

Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at it.

It displayed a blinking signal—coming from the tracking device he had secretly planted on that armored vehicle earlier.

“The transmitter is active! It’s northeast of us!”

Lin Xian’s gaze snapped toward the horizon, beyond the wreckage of the transport ship.

All he could see was a dense forest near the lake’s edge.

“Strange… Even with Dark Tides interfering, radio signals usually don’t reach more than five or six kilometers… But that direction looks empty.”

KIKI suddenly gasped.

“Wait—could it be under the lake?!”

Lin Xian frowned and examined the coordinates displayed on KIKI’s screen.

After a moment, he made his decision.

“Let’s go. Time to find out what this ‘Foundation’ really is.”

KIKI hesitated, glancing back at the transport ship wreckage.

“You done here?”

“More or less.” Lin Xian dusted off his hands. “I got all the good stuff.”

KIKI beamed.

“Damn, you actually managed to take the missiles? That’s awesome!”

She grinned mischievously.

“C’mon, make one now! I wanna test it out~”

Lin Xian rolled his eyes.

“You want to ‘test’ a missile? What’s wrong with you?”

KIKI pouted. “Tsk, so boring.”

Then she perked up again. “Alright, let’s go! Maybe the research lab has some fun stuff too.”

Lin Xian glanced at his watch, then nodded.

—

Engines roared to life.

Lin Xian and KIKI mounted their motorcycles and tore through the streets, weaving past the scattered zombie hordes.

The tracking signal from the armored vehicle remained stable, confirming they were heading in the right direction.

—

Northeast of Qingshui Town

The further they traveled, the stronger the signal became.

KIKI frowned as she studied the surroundings.

“Strange… There’s nothing here but a forest.”

Lin Xian slowed down.

“Stay alert.”

Something felt off.

His first instinct was that someone might have discovered the tracker and tossed it away.

But if the research facility was really hidden here…

Then this place was far more secretive than expected.

The two eased off the throttle, entering the dense woodland.

—

Within the Forest

Towering trees blocked out the sunlight, casting long shadows.

The branches constantly scraped against their bikes, creating an eerie clatter.

Lin Xian fabricated a protective steel frame on his bike to deflect the branches, while KIKI simply flew above them using her Ability.

Gradually, the terrain leveled out.

Screech—

Lin Xian’s motorcycle skidded to a halt.

Something wasn’t right.

As soon as he looked up, his pupils shrank.

The sky—

had turned completely dark.

—

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KIKI’s bike followed close behind, but as she emerged from the woods, she let out a startled gasp.

“Whoa—wait… Why is it nighttime?”

Lin Xian didn’t answer.

He turned around and looked back at the forest they had just exited.

It was also pitch black inside.

The darkness wasn’t natural.

Something was very wrong here.

“Lin Xian, look!”

KIKI pointed ahead, her voice filled with shock.

Lin Xian followed her gaze—

And his heart dropped.

Under the shroud of unnatural night, a town’s silhouette emerged in the distance.

A town that looked strangely familiar.

“This… This is…”

Lin Xian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Qingshui Town?!”