Chapter 9: Nighttime Car Devouring

Os Furniture City was located on Jiang City's outer ring road, an area typically sparsely populated. With no survivors randomly seeking refuge in the furniture mall, Lin Xian had free rein to go about his business without interruption. He checked the time: 4:30 PM. There were still over two hours until sunset. Without hesitation, Lin Xian started his haul by selecting a high-quality, understated sectional leather sofa. He used the forklift to load it onto the flatbed truck, then moved on to grab a foldable steel-framed bed. While the 3rd carriage doors were relatively large, fitting a wooden bed frame inside was clearly impractical, so he decided to weld the steel frame directly into the carriage. With a foldable Simmons mattress and latex topper, it would still be quite comfortable. Of course, he wouldn’t forget pillows and blankets. The more Lin Xian scavenged, the happier he became. Then, he spotted a 60-inch flat-screen TV hanging on the wall of one of the branded stores, and his eyes lit up. "Hmm, an entertainment area could be nice. Playing some games or watching movies during downtime doesn’t sound bad," he muttered to himself. "Take it!" Without a second thought, Lin Xian dismantled the TV and soon had the flatbed truck packed to the brim. If it weren’t for the limited space in the bathroom of the 1st carriage, he might have taken an entire set of toilets and bathtubs from the showroom. Vroom~ The small truck’s engine roared to life as Lin Xian activated his Mechanical Heart, causing his eyes to glow faintly. He drove the truck, now fully loaded with loot, down the mall parking lot’s main road and onto the greenery next to the tracks. With a stomp on the gas pedal, he smashed through the chain-link fence separating the railway and bumped the truck onto the gravel slope beside the tracks. Chen Sixuan had been waiting on the train for over an hour when she suddenly saw Lin Xian driving a truck towards them. Her eyes widened in disbelief. When she noticed the truck was loaded with sofas, mattresses, and even a TV, her shock turned into confusion. Is this even considered “supplies”? In the apocalypse, wasn’t it more critical to look for water, food, or even weapons? She felt a little dazed, but when Lin Xian parked the truck behind the 3rd carriage, she quickly ran over to help. Clang~ Whirr~ The 3rd carriage’s rear liftgate slowly lowered. Lin Xian, carrying his short blade on his back, climbed aboard and moved the motorcycle and crane aside. Together, the two began transferring the sofa, bed frame, mattress, pillows, blankets, rug, and TV into the 1st carriage. By the time everything was finished, the sun had set, leaving the sky awash with the last hues of twilight. Both of them were drenched in sweat. Beep-beep, beep-beep~ The alarm on Lin Xian’s watch went off. His expression turned serious as he said to Chen Sixuan, “Go over there, eat something, and get yourself organized. I need to deal with this truck.” He had a bold idea. Since the truck was already here, why not take the chance to devour it? Even though it was risky—nighttime brought dangers far greater than ordinary zombies—Lin Xian didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity to upgrade himself. He decided to take the gamble. “Oh, okay,” Chen Sixuan replied, obedient as ever. She now seemed like a compliant and supportive partner, immediately following through on Lin Xian’s instructions. Once Chen Sixuan left the 3rd carriage, Lin Xian took out a special tow hook he had crafted and attached it to the train. He looped the metal cable around his waist and, as the last light of day faded, climbed down from the train. Resting a hand on the small truck, he activated Mechanical Devour without hesitation. 【Devour Progress: 1%】 The familiar sensation of devouring a vehicle returned. Lin Xian could feel his energy rapidly draining, while the progress bar for the devouring process moved painfully slowly compared to smaller items like appliances. With one hand pressed firmly on the truck, his other gripped the metal tow hook tightly. He had attached the hook to ensure he could maintain a physical connection to the Infinite Train for emergency control. His ability could only manipulate machines he was in direct contact with, and even a slight distance—like this one, connected by a metal cable—would disable his control. 【Devour Progress: 2%】 【Devour Progress: 3%】 Time ticked by, second by second. The surroundings were eerily silent. With no light sources around, the world grew increasingly dark as the sun fully disappeared below the horizon. Lin Xian’s expression grew tense as the devouring process continued at its sluggish pace. In his dazed state, Lin Xian inexplicably felt as though the earth itself was breathing... Is this the Dark Tides? 6:45 PM The sky suddenly plunged into darkness. It wasn’t a gradual shift—it was as if someone had flipped a switch, leaving an eerie, unnatural blackness. For more than two months now, survivors had grown somewhat accustomed to this abrupt transition. All they could do was pray for the night to pass quickly. Only at dawn would they dare to leave their shelters to scavenge for life-sustaining supplies. But deep down, everyone knew the grim reality: after the polar night, food and water would eventually run out. Would dawn still come then? No one could say for certain. Hiding in a shelter was akin to waiting for a slow death, but migrating or fleeing was a high-stakes gamble. Reinforced concrete and steel doors couldn’t always fend off the horrors lurking in the night. And in the wilderness or inside a car? Survival odds were even slimmer. No choice was truly safe. This was why ability users had become the leaders of survival teams. With powers beyond human capability, they offered a security greater than any steel and cement could provide. Before the network completely collapsed during the polar night, Lin Xian had seen many ability users showing off their strange powers online. They quickly became viral sensations, garnering admiration and envy. People flocked to them, and they soon emerged as apocalyptic leaders. Governments also focused on studying and cooperating with these individuals. When Lin Xian first posted about the Infinite Train Recruitment Project on forums, he had toyed with the idea of revealing his ability. He thought it might attract a wave of followers. But he quickly dismissed the idea. He realized he didn’t have the capacity to manage hundreds, let alone thousands, of survivors in an apocalyptic world. While his ability was remarkable, it wasn’t enough for even consistent self-preservation yet. If he became a leader, his most valuable contribution would likely be driving the train and repairing machinery. But what if, instead of being their leader, he ended up being treated as a "human battery"? That would be a nightmare. In hindsight, his concerns were completely justified. In just two months, stories of atrocities committed over supplies had become all too common—betrayals, murders, and even massacres among survivors. And the powerful ability users? They wielded powers that defied logic and comprehension. Compared to them, Lin Xian’s abilities seemed rather unremarkable in the early stages of the apocalypse. 【Devour Progress: 63%】 An hour into the night, the devouring process had finally passed the halfway mark. Lin Xian maintained absolute focus, keeping his senses sharp as he monitored the pitch-black surroundings. He had turned off all the train’s lights, blending seamlessly into the darkness. Even his breathing was slow and steady. With one hand resting on the small truck, he silently continued the devouring process. To avoid exposing the faint glow in his eyes caused by the Mechanical Heart, Lin Xian even kept his eyes shut, relying entirely on his ears to detect any movement. The chain-link fences along the railway should produce noise if something approached, and if anything moved along the tracks, it ought to make a sound as well. 【Devour Progress: 77%】 Almost there. It’s almost done... Crack. A faint sound of gravel shifting suddenly broke the silence. Lin Xian froze.