Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 242: The Original World

"KIKI!"

Chen Sixuan called out.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, KIKI slowly rose into the air.

Her usual playful smirk was gone—replaced by an unwavering coldness and razor-sharp focus.

She lifted both hands, her gaze locking onto the dark storm of insect swarms in the sky.

Her eyes burned with killing intent!

“Everyone, take cover!”

Lin Xian’s voice suddenly blared over the communicator.

Hoo—

KIKI let out a slow breath.

Then—her hands clenched into fists in midair!

WHIRRR!

A low hum resonated through the air.

A nearly invisible spherical barrier formed at her chest, rapidly compressing inward.

Then—

BOOM!

A blazing white shockwave exploded outward from her core—radiating in all directions!

A Devastating Impact

An unstoppable force blasted through the battlefield, expanding into a hundreds—no, thousands—of meters-wide radius!

The ground quaked.

The sky churned.

The hurricane-like wave obliterated everything in its path!

On the ground and in the air, the insect swarm was instantly torn apart—shredded and blown away like dust in a storm.

Those standing closest—Luo Ye, Liao Ming, Liang Lei, Lü Chang—nearly got swept away, forced to crouch and cling to the ground!

The high-speed air currents created an almost oxygen-depleted vacuum, leaving everyone gasping for breath!

"HOLY FK! WHAT WAS THAT?!"**

Inside the Eagle Convoy, survivors screamed in shock.

“Did a nuke just go off?!”

“Boss, we’re FRIENDLY! FRIENDLY FIRE!!”

“STOP! STOP!!”

“Did a typhoon just hit us?!”

The shockwave and gale-force winds raged for several seconds.

Even the dense condensation fog in the air was completely dispersed.

For a moment—everyone felt like they were suffocating.

Aftermath

The closest ones—Chen Sixuan and Miao Lu—clung to the gaps in the train’s roof, gripping tightly to avoid being blown away.

As the shockwave subsided, they slowly lifted their heads.

KIKI descended from midair, her glowing eyes dimming as she exhaled a long breath.

She turned to Chen Sixuan and Miao Lu, a smug grin forming.

“Chen-jiejie, how was my new move?”

Chen Sixuan:

She gasped twice, her pale face slowly regaining color.

Miao Lu:

"KIKI… does that attack even differentiate between friend and foe?"

KIKI puffed up her chest, defending herself:

“Of course it does! I controlled it carefully—otherwise, you two would’ve been blown away already!”

Miao Lu’s eyes widened.

She realized… KIKI was right.

They were standing so close—if the blast didn’t differentiate, they wouldn’t be here right now.

Chen Sixuan’s expression darkened slightly.

Lin Xian had told her before—ever since Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum started glowing at night, everyone’s Abilities and Evolutions had begun changing subtly.

Now, seeing KIKI’s overwhelming display of power—it was clear.

She had grown significantly stronger.

"WOW!!"

Inside the Fire God Mecha, Shasha stared at the flashing emergency alerts on her screen.

She couldn't help but speak into the communicator:

“KIKI-jie! At least give me a warning next time—I almost had a heart attack!!”

Shock and Awe

On the Chasing Sun Convoy’s side, every survivor stared at the train—their faces filled with awe and disbelief.

"Holy sh*t…"

"Is this a telekinetic Ability?!"

"Everyone on this train is a fking monster!**"

Lu Xingchen:

He leaped onto the Fire God Mecha, looking at everyone below with a smug grin.

"Looks like I need to develop some bigger attacks too."

Shasha (flatly):

"Yeah, right. You’re fireproof. The rest of us? We ignite instantly. So keep your attacks AWAY from us, thank you very much."

Lu Xingchen:

"…."

"INSANE."

On the Running Far Convoy’s side, Li Yi clutched her pregnant belly, staring at the train in utter disbelief.

She murmured softly, as if comforting her unborn child:

"Don’t be afraid… Mommy’s still alive…"

The Children’s Reactions

Inside the buses, dozens of children—who had been trembling in terror just moments ago—now pressed their faces against the windows, cheering excitedly.

"Wow!! Is that jiejie a goddess?!"

"She blasted all the bugs away!"

"That wind was HUGE!"

"I wanna be like her when I grow up…"

Eagle Convoy’s Reality Check

The Eagle Convoy members were completely dumbfounded.

They had survived last night’s insect horde.

They knew the sheer hopelessness of being swarmed by millions of those monsters.

Seeing that massive wave of insects—everyone had felt despair creeping into their hearts.

But then…

KIKI had just blown them away.

Wu Zhenhai exhaled deeply, shaking his head in amazement.

"Holy hell… No wonder Liao Ming was so insistent on teaming up with this convoy."

He grinned bitterly.

"Sh*t. This is like a bunch of guerrilla fighters running into an elite military unit."

Liao Ming:

He was panting heavily, but his heart was pounding with excitement.

He had zero regrets about spending a Blood Crystal for the information that led him here.

Originally, all three convoys had planned to rush out of the city before dark.

But now?

Waiting for the Infinite Train was the best decision they ever made.

A Temporary Respite

For now, the swarming sounds of the insects had stopped.

Everyone could finally breathe.

But—

BZZZT!!

The Electromagnetic Railgun suddenly hummed with energy.

The blinding blue-white beam fired off, striking a floating black shadow in the distance.

A crimson glow flickered from within the shadow—

Then, vanished.

The Next Wave

Rustle… Rustle… Rustle…

The ground trembled.

The respite lasted only seconds—

The swarming sounds returned, echoing from all directions.

"Reload!"

"Tighten formation!"

"Fall back toward the Infinite Train!"

Lin Xian stood atop the train's engine, his radio buzzing with reports from the other convoys.

Wu Zhenhai:

"Kid, we’ve got enough firepower for two and a half waves. We’ll need a coordinated defense."

Li Yi:

"These bugs just won’t stop. What’s the plan?!"

Luo Yang:

"Lin-ge, I think these bugs are connected to that red-light monster! If we focus our strongest Abilities on it, we might stand a chance!"

Lin Xian’s gaze hardened.

He checked the Railgun's radar—but the red-light monster had disappeared.

Ding Junyi:

"Dark Mark level hasn’t dropped. It’s still covering all of us."

Conclusion?

The monster isn’t dead. It’s still marking us.

And if they entered the Polar Night Snowstorm carrying a Level-3 Dark Mark…

They wouldn’t survive.

Lin Xian’s Orders:

"Target has vanished, but it’s still here. Stay alert."

He turned to KIKI and Lu Xingchen.

"You two. Find that red-light bastard and KILL IT."

FWOOSH!

As the firepower erupted across the battlefield, Lin Xian’s Black Rifle fired the moment the red glow appeared.

CRACK!

The Black Rifle seemed to pierce something, threading through like a needle through fabric. At that instant, a massive fire lance shot up into the sky!

BOOM!

Lu Xingchen spewed forth flames, while KIKI used her psychokinesis to grab the blaze, compressing it into a high-speed rocket.

The moment the Red Lantern-Head Creature emerged from the cloud cover, the fire rocket blasted directly into its hollowed-out skull!

The three of them executed their attack in perfect sync, their movements as fluid as if they'd practiced for years.

BZZT!

The eerie humming that had begun to resonate across the battlefield was suddenly silenced.

Hundreds of people in the convoys, who had been on the brink of losing control, narrowly escaped disaster. Those whose faces had darkened with blackened veins slowly regained their sanity—the inky blackness in their eyes fading away.

"Direct hit!" KIKI shouted.

"Not enough firepower!" Lu Xingchen, filled with battle fervor, intensified the flames.

Under his control, the concentrated fireball swelled, releasing an intense white heat, illuminating the entire camp like a pillar of fire.

BZZZZT!

Suddenly, in the sky above, an entire section of the darkness flickered red.

Moments later, countless black fragments rained down like a storm. When they hit the train roofs and ground, they ignited into thick black smoke!

Lin Xian reached out, attempting to recall his Black Rifle, but it remained motionless.

As the flames subsided, the sky was once again pitch black.

Other than the scattered debris, there was nothing left.

Meanwhile, the Bug Tide remained relentless.

Everyone was still fighting for their lives.

"Where did it go?"

Chen Sixuan raised her sniper rifle, rapidly scanning the night sky.

"I don’t see it. Stay alert, Lin Xian."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Fire God Mech unleashed a hailstorm of electric cannonfire. Shasha, seated inside the cockpit, was pushing the mech’s firepower to its absolute limit, carving an open corridor straight through the Bug Tide.

On the battlefield, Amin and Lolo flashed like silver stars, their lightning-chain swords slicing through the swarm with blinding speed.

"Hah!!"

Li Guangwen threw a devastating punch, creating a fan-shaped shockwave that ripped the ground apart, obliterating dozens of large insects in a single blow.

Positioned at the forefront of the engineering vehicles, he stood as the convoy’s last line of defense.

Meanwhile, the Eagle Convoy was rapidly burning through their ammunition.

Wu Zhenhai emptied another magazine, then ripped the smoking-hot barrel off his rifle, his face grim as he looked at the endless swarm before them.

"Pull back the defensive line—prepare to charge through!"

If the Bug Tide was truly endless, then there was only one option left—they would have to break through and escape.

Their strongest ability users were already running low on energy.

**If they couldn’t eliminate that Red Lantern-Head Creature, then the only chance of survival was to floor the gas pedal and flee.

TATATATATA!!

Li Yi’s hands were now completely blackened from the heat of the vehicle-mounted machine gun. Her lips were pale, but she kept firing, desperately holding back the swarming insects so her husband, Liang Lei, could fight up front.

The pile of insect corpses was growing into a mountain, and blackened insect limbs and blood splattered across every vehicle.

The stench of death was suffocating.

"AHHH!!"

Liang Lei crushed a black-armored beetle’s head with a single punch, but before he could react, several other creatures pounced on him, dragging him to the ground, their razor-sharp mandibles tearing into his armor.

WHOOOOO!!!

The 1130 CIWS and the Railgun Turret continued to rotate at high speed, their radar systems operating at full capacity.

Standing atop the Infinite Train, Lin Xian, KIKI, and Lu Xingchen fought off the insect swarm while searching for the black silhouette in the sky.

"Where the hell did that thing go?!"

KIKI's voice was filled with frustration.

Suddenly—

A massive tidal wave of insects erupted upward in front of the Eagle Convoy, rising like a towering tsunami.

"WHAT IS THAT!?"

"JUST SHOOT IT!"

"HOW ARE THERE SO MANY?!"

Everyone who saw the colossal surge of monsters was stunned in horror.

Then—

As the insect tsunami cascaded downward, a towering humanoid silhouette was revealed through the gunfire.

"It’s that MONSTER!"

BRRRRRRMMMM!!!!

A deep, droning hum filled the air.

At the same moment, the Bug Tide became even more aggressive, their movements frenzied and chaotic.

A group of retreating soldiers was instantly overwhelmed, their agonized screams lost in the roar of gunfire.

WHIRR!

KIKI soared into the sky, attempting to restrain the giant creature with psychokinesis.

Lu Xingchen launched himself into the air, unleashing a wave of fire!

"I FOUND IT!!"

As the Red Lantern-Head Creature advanced, swarms of insects fell from its body.

It morphed into a living wave of insects, crawling toward the convoys.

Then, suddenly, it lowered its head, its hollow, glowing red skull focusing on the Eagle Convoy.

In an instant, a massive crimson light engulfed everyone.

Looking up, they saw a circular abyss, as deep and vast as the void itself.

The red glow carried a corrupting force—within seconds, the vision of everyone trapped inside it turned to black and white.

BEEEEEEP!!

BZZZT!!

The 1130 CIWS and Railgun instantly fired upon the monster—

But—

The black insects piled up like sandbags, forming two thick barriers, absorbing the firepower meant for the Red Lantern-Head Creature.

"DAMN IT!"

On the ground, Da Lou and Shu Qin watched in horror as the Eagle Convoy soldiers froze in place, their firing rate dropping sharply.

Their bodies stiffened.

They were succumbing to the Corruption.

The Infinite Train's crew jumped in to assist, but every bullet that hit the insect barrier was absorbed.

"Divine: Scorching Heavens!"

Lu Xingchen, furious, raised both arms, summoning an inferno that engulfed the battlefield, attempting to burn away the insect towers.

At that moment—

Lin Xian's voice rang through the comms.

"KIKI, grab Fire Brother—RETREAT!"

Lin Xian had just received a signal from his Black Rifle.

His mind raced, and in an instant, he made a bold decision.

"If it’s light… then it can be BENT."

"Gravitational Lens!"

A silent hum rippled through the battlefield.

Everything froze for an instant.

Then—

The red light warped.

And reality itself began to twist.

The Fall of the Red Lantern Head

BANG! WHOOSH! CLANG!

The massive Red Lantern Head, its skull and most of its body severed by the vortex, crashed to the ground with a deafening impact. The remaining half of its head, its red glow flickering like a short-circuiting lightbulb, twitched violently.

The surrounding insect horde—which had previously been charging with relentless aggression—suddenly became chaotic. No longer moving in unison, they scattered like roaches in disarray, their coordination shattered.

The convoy firepower immediately pushed back the front lines, driving the swarm back into the dark abyss beyond their lights' reach.

Meanwhile, despite the Red Lantern Head's horrific wounds, it was still struggling to rise.

Without hesitation—

KIKI and Lu Xingchen rushed forward.

"Kick it while it’s down!"

Seeing the colossus in its weakened state, every convoy's top fighters instinctively charged in unison.

"Kill it!!"

"Amin, Lolo—go!"

"On it!"

Two silver-white silhouettes flashed through the battlefield like phantoms.

"Li Guangwen!"

Luo Yang leaped off the Infinite Train’s rooftop, covering his eyes—a beam of scorching white light blazed across the field!

"Lei!"

Li Yi swung her mounted gun turret, locking on.

"Bombardment unit—seven-shot barrage! FIRE!"

Wu Zhenhai’s voice thundered through the comms.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Above them—

"Divine: Cluster Detonation!"

Fire God soared into the sky, his body engulfed in blinding flames.

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KIKI’s eyes burned with energy, both hands grasping an inferno of pure destruction.

The Red Lantern Head tried to retreat, sinking into the swarm like a creature burrowing into quicksand—

But it was too late.

It only had one remaining arm, making its movements sluggish and uncoordinated.

And before it could escape—

A storm of annihilation fell upon it.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Artillery, gunfire, energy beams, explosions, flames, slashes—

All at once.

The entire battlefield was swallowed by devastation.

The colossus was bombarded from all directions, its blackened flesh and carapace shredding apart, fragments scattering like burning meteors across the battlefield.

Every insect within range was obliterated, their carapaces reduced to dust, their wings incinerated in the raging inferno.

Thick clouds of smoke billowed skyward, turning the battlefield into an ashen wasteland.

The Red Lantern Head, its mangled corpse still twitching, had been torn apart piece by piece. Its remaining arm, still groping blindly for survival, was sliced clean off by the 1130 CIWS' hypervelocity metal stream, leaving behind only a shower of shrapnel.

For a full minute, the bombardment continued relentlessly—

By the time it ended, the ground itself had been scorched several inches deep, leaving nothing but a smoldering crater.

BOOM. BOOM.

The final gunshots rang out—

Then—

Silence.

The insect horde was gone.

The final fleeing beetle was shot out of the sky by a vehicle-mounted turret.

And at last—

The only sounds left were the crackling of flames and the lingering smoke drifting into the night.

The Aftermath

Huff… huff… huff…

The battle was over.

Every survivor’s heartbeat pounded in their ears, their chests heaving from exhaustion.

The air reeked of gunpowder, the heat from their weapon barrels making them glow red-hot.

For a moment—

No one spoke.

Then—

KIKI, hovering at the frontline, floated toward the impact zone.

She raised a hand.

WHOOOSH!

An invisible force swept outward, instantly blowing away the lingering smoke.

Dozens of searchlights from the convoy vehicles immediately focused on the blackened crater.

And there—

Everyone saw it.

The corpse of the Red Lantern Head.

Or rather—

What little remained of it.

Its once-massive body was now reduced to hardened black fragments, its spine still barely recognizable among the wreckage.

And its glowing red head—

Gone.

"Is it… dead?"

A shocked voice rose from the survivors.

For a moment—

No one dared to believe it.

Then—

"HOLY F*!!!**"

The camp erupted.

"We won?!"

"The swarm’s GONE!!"

"Did we really just kill something that huge?!"

"Was that a B-rank Eerie Entity? A-rank?! Whatever the hell it was, it had to be strong as hell!"

"Damn, Infinite Convoy is INSANE!!"

"YEAH!!!"

A wave of cheers exploded through the survivor camps. The sound of victory cries, laughter, and disbelief filled the air, shaking with relief and triumph.

KIKI finally let out a deep breath, then turned her gaze toward a certain figure.

Everyone followed her gaze.

And there—

Standing atop the Infinite Train—

A lone figure raised his hand, calling back a black gun glowing with blue light from the air.

"It's Captain Lin!!"

"Holy sh*t, what the hell was that?! A black hole?!"

"What kind of ability was that?!"

"I thought fire-type and telekinetic abilities were already OP—but this?!"

"Come on, he’s the convoy leader. Of course he’s a monster."

"Damn… if it weren’t for Lin Xian and the Infinite Convoy, we’d be dead."

"All four of our convoys fought like hell, but damn, that was next-level."

KIKI, her eyes gleaming with curiosity, shot toward Lin Xian.

Lin Xian, seeing the crisis had finally passed, let out a quiet breath.

But his face…

Was more serious than ever.

"Hey! Lin Xian! Since when did you have a move like THAT?!"

KIKI landed next to him, grinning. "Damn, you totally hid that from me—"

But Lin Xian wasn't listening.

Instead, he looked down at his watch—

Then, without saying a word, he built something using Mechanical Manufacturing.

A sundial.

And a lightbulb.

He crouched down, placed the sundial on the ground, and lit the bulb, casting its shadow over the device.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Sixuan, arriving, also noticed his odd behavior.

Lin Xian's brow furrowed as he muttered calculations under his breath, shifting the light and measuring the shadow’s angle.

Then—

He froze.

A moment later—

His expression relaxed.

"As I thought."

At first—

He had assumed he was seeing a different time dimension.

That the "daylight" he glimpsed was an echo of the past.

But now—

With precise calculations—

He knew the truth.

What he had seen was not a different time.

It was the real world.