Chapter 516 Eye of the Sky

The waves of the Pacific Ocean crash against the abandoned piers of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the rusted steel cables groan in the salty sea breeze. The once bustling coastal section of Highway 101 is now reduced to overturned container trucks half-submerged in the dark green sea.

Zombie skeletons hung from twisted railings, swaying in the wind. Under the crimson sky, suddenly, a suffocating silence descended!

Along the coastline, the tide receded without warning, revealing a seabed littered with corpses. The seawater receded quietly, as if a vent had appeared beneath the ocean.

Dozens of kilometers from the coast, the seawater in the thick fog suddenly collapsed inward, gradually forming a whirlpool abyss with a diameter of several thousand meters. Countless rotting, bizarre corpses floated on the edge of the whirlpool. The dark energy aura on the corpses had long been devoured. The extremely low pressure caused by the hole in the sea caused a huge storm cloud to appear in the sky, with thunder roaring and rolling in it.

"Gurgle—"

A muffled roar, like that of an ancient whale, echoed from the bottom of the abyss, shaking the heavens and the earth. The next moment, the seabed suddenly bulged up, and millions of tons of seawater were thrown thousands of meters into the air! Gray-blue tentacles, thicker than a Ferris wheel, broke through the waves. The surface of the tentacles was covered with huge keratinous scales. Then, a spine resembling an island pierced the surface of the sea and slowly rose from the Pacific Ocean!

Seattle, 5,000 kilometers north of San Francisco, was once a bustling city in North America. Now, it is a desolate ruin amidst crimson ruins. Dense waves of zombies stand like wooden stakes in the ruins of the streets. Because there are no intruders, these bizarre creatures are all still, as if petrified.

Suddenly, a thin cloud of dust rose from the ground, and the broken spire of the Space Needle, hanging three hundred meters above the ground, began to tremble. In an instant, all the zombies in the city began to move around with a crackling sound, howling incessantly, as if from fear or agitation. Even the various large, grotesque creatures hidden deep in the city or underground emerged from the ground, roaring and howling, their strange limbs and tentacles swaying incessantly in the crimson mist!

The zombie horde roamed freely, but they soon discovered that the earthquake did not originate from the ground, but from the sky!

Rumble!

The entire city was shrouded in dark clouds. Building ruins, cars, withered trees, along with howling zombies and all sorts of bizarre creatures, were all as if seized by an invisible giant hand, defying the laws of gravity, and rising against the current towards the scarlet sky! A rotting zombie dog crashed into a gas station sign in mid-air, instantly exploding into a blood mist, but the blood droplets abnormally drifted upwards.

The clouds tore apart, and the abdomen of the gray-black giant corpse occupied the entire sky. The dried skin wrinkled into a thousand-meter-long ravine. Half of an airliner was stuck in one of the wrinkles. When the empty eye sockets turned to the ground, the concrete foundation of three blocks was peeled off and lifted up, revealing the terrified survivors who were barely clinging to life in the subway tunnel. Before their screams could be heard, they were sucked into the sky along with the tunnel fragments.

Bang!

In Kansas, in the central part of North America, a rumbling thunderclap echoed across the land. A deep, bottomless canyon split open in the scorched wheat fields, and vehicles stuck on the road slid into the abyss like toys. Sulfur-smelling hot winds spewed from the cracks, and tens of thousands of flesh-colored tentacles with drill-like mouthparts emerged from the fissures, with rock fragments adhering to their surfaces raining down like a storm.

Beneath the Earth's crust, some enormous creature seems to be swimming, and the underground sedimentary rock slabs are tilted upwards like crisp biscuits, with heat waves shooting into the sky.

Colorado Rift Valley Front, 09:45

Dead silence, a suffocating dead silence.

On the eastern side of Redstone Rift Valley, more than one hundred TFV600 twin-barreled heavy tanks of the 4th Heavy Battalion of the 22nd Iron Guard Brigade lay silently in wait. The infrared radar sighting posts on the turrets, covered with frost, rotated silently, and the cold muzzles were all pointed towards the depths of the Crimson Wasteland. A swarm of drones patrolled in turn, but returned without bringing back any alarms. Warriors in power armor held scanners and repeatedly swept them across the scorched earth. Only the wind swept the ashes past the burnt monster remains.

No abnormal heat sources were detected in the drone swarm.

"Sonar array silent."

"This is weird... Where are those things that usually emerge at the crack of dawn? Why are they silent today?"

The pilots of the Guardian mechs discussed quietly over the communication frequency, their tense tones tinged with doubt.

"It must be because they took down that S-class black disk yesterday and completely solved the big problem?"

"It's possible..."

On a plain about 3 kilometers east of the Silver Star, a huge defensive line was set up by the Iron Guard Brigade and elite teams from various vehicle fleets. A temporary steel plant covering more than 2,000 square meters was built with the help of drones, construction machinery and nearly 30,000 engineers and construction workers. Although it was not yet completed, the internal track base had been manufactured first. Large amounts of metal materials, scrapped cars, tanks and even train carriages were continuously hauled into the plant by the transport team. The sound of metal friction could be heard for several kilometers in the silence.

"Efficiency has indeed improved significantly."

Wearing power armor, Jian Xuwei quickly synchronized the data compiled by the engineers in the holographic vision. Chen Sixuan, who was in charge of the Sky Train, received messages from General Li Sheng, commander of the 13th Iron Guard Brigade, and General Zeng Weiguo of the 22nd Iron Guard Brigade, that there were no warnings of enemy engagement on any of the major battle lines.

"The speculation about 'world-class' is currently limited to internal discussion only." General Li Sheng adjusted his glasses. "Judging from the feedback from the various convoys, morale tends to believe that we eliminated the S-class threat."

"This is a good thing."

"This is a good thing." General Luo, the Chief of Staff, said in a steady and powerful voice: "Whether the judgment is accurate or not, a positive attitude is always better than despair. We have already suffered enough losses due to the continuous fierce battles and internal changes."

"Yes, that's good news."

Jiang Yun turned to look at Sean and Marcus on the Utopia beside him: "It seems we made the right bet; the pattern hasn't happened again."

"With resources concentrated on construction and the site expanded, this should be much faster than the previous method of building and demolishing simultaneously."

“This is probably our only option.” Marcus smiled at Jiang Yun. “We never imagined we’d have to lay tracks across an entire state to escape.”

Jiang Yun shrugged: "That's the downside of trains, but the advantage is that they have a large carrying capacity and strong protective capabilities. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to save so many people."

“No matter how large the carrying capacity, there are limits to the orbit.” Sean, the leader of the Utopia, turned around: “The train is not a starship, it can’t fly, and its ultimate destiny is to reach Ushuaia. Unfortunately… we haven’t even left North America.”

Jiang Yun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Speaking of flying... I do know a friend who has always wanted trains to fly, and he actually did it."

"The swordsman you're talking about, isn't he?"

Sean began, “Your resistance in Dawn City shocked the entire European battlefield. Mechs descended from the sky, pierced through the celestial curtain, and opened fire at the Southern Heavenly Gate. It was truly spectacular. You even wiped out the corpse-drivers.”

"yes……"

Jiang Yun looked at the dense cluster of drones and various newly built loading lines inside the factory and murmured, "If that person were here, there would be no need to build this factory at all."

...

The Colorado Canyon area was unusually quiet today. From dawn until afternoon, no crimson zombies or hordes of monsters appeared. Apart from the occasional energy-devouring worm that emerged from the defensive lines, everything was as peaceful as a rest day afternoon before the apocalypse. The only difference was the crimson apocalyptic sky.

During this rare period of rest, the various train convoys worked tirelessly to repair the trains, clean the armor, recast plates, and check various electrical problems. At the same time, weapons and food were being reorganized. The millions of people had previously established wired communication channels between the trains, through which neighboring convoys exchanged supplies. This kept skilled personnel such as doctors, mechanics, and repairmen extremely busy, providing assistance to different convoys, thus forming a temporary post-apocalyptic social system.

However, while there was some exchange, the actual exchange of supplies was limited to nearby convoys. After all, the train line stretched for over a hundred kilometers, with many sections not connected. In addition, there were two to three hundred thousand motor vehicles and the Iron Guard Brigade troops, making the battle line too long. Fortunately, intelligence information could be shared in real time, which allowed the command center, centered around Luo Lao's army and several major convoys, to conduct timely dispatch and command.

On the Sky Train, Chen Sixuan, who had been holding out all day, had Shu Qin and Shi Zhi take over and return to their rooms. Ning Jing, A Bai, and Xiao Qing returned to Longshan No. 1 to assist Shi Diyuan after killing an S-rank. Longshan No. 1 now has a team of nearly 6,000 people and has absorbed a lot of new blood. Qian Dele had Xiao Meng take all the members of the Joker team to the Sky Train, freeing up the original train for other team members in urgent situations.

On the contrary, Monica was quite carefree. Her Queen Monica was converted into the new Infinity, and the crew members also moved into the Sky Train. However, she specially equipped the female special forces team rescued from the Aksai Desert with the best power armor suits and brought them onto the Sky Train. This made Lu Chang unable to help but complain that there were too many women on the Infinity train...

However, Chen Sixuan did not object to Monica and Qian Dele joining the Infinite. In her opinion, these teams had already gone through thick and thin together. Originally, the standard sections of the Sky Dome were intended to carry people. Now, all the children, the elderly and women in the Infinite Alliance team had entered the Sky Dome Train after the air battle. Currently, nearly two thousand people have moved into the living quarters of the Sky Dome Train.

If it weren't for the fact that we couldn't abandon the firepower of the Silver Star and Dragon Mountain No. 1 for the time being, and that we needed the mobility of He Linqiu's car convoy, probably tens of thousands of people from most of the Infinite Alliance would have already boarded the Sky Train. After all, such a large vehicle could take away a lot of people in a critical moment.

Swish~ Crunch.

In the bathroom, Chen Sixuan, who hadn't slept for several days and nights, took a hot shower. The steamy mirror reflected her smooth body and back, as well as several hideous scars on them.

From the Pacific Ocean to Colorado, her power armor shattered multiple times. The intense dark energy corrosion made it difficult for the wounds to heal quickly, and was accompanied by excruciating pain and mental trauma.

After taking a shower, Chen Sixuan injected herself with a cold dark reagent. As a surge of pure dark energy flowed into her body, her originally tired face regained some of its radiance.

In the safe beside her lay a Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Treasures budding. Chen Sixuan rose and put her undershirt back on. Her nano armor quickly covered her entire body from her feet up. She lifted the meteorite sniper rifle, which was taller than her, with one hand. At this moment, she looked at the flower buds in the container, her gaze shifting slightly, and murmured...

"At least, that means you're probably still alive, right..."

After saying that, she turned around, preparing to return to the main bridge, when a tearing pain suddenly exploded in her mind!

Chen Sixuan's legs buckled and she collapsed to her knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

She reached up and wiped her mouth and nose, feeling a boiling buzz in her head and ears, her pupils trembling, and she gasped for breath.

An ominous premonition washed over her like ice water! Suddenly, she realized something and immediately grabbed her gun and ran outside.

"Shiori!"

Sizzle!

The main bridge door opened automatically, and internal alarms flashed. Sasha, Shuqin, Lü Chang, Luo Yang, and the others were in a state of chaos, while Shiori, like Chen Sixuan, lay on the ground, spitting blood and curled up in pain.

When Sasha saw Chen Sixuan enter, she quickly stood up from next to Shiori: "Sister Chen, she...she suddenly vomited blood, ah...Sister Chen, you?!"

At this moment, Sasha noticed Chen Sixuan, whose face was also covered in blood, and immediately widened her eyes: "What happened?"

"Alert everyone to be on alert!!"

"What happened?!" Shuqin also sensed something was wrong.

Chen Sixuan's face was covered in blood, but her eyes were as cold and sharp as ice blades. She staggered to the control panel and slammed her palm hard on the highest-level emergency communication button!

Beep beep beep!

At that moment, explosions rang out in the command centers of all major war zones and convoys. Chen Sixuan raised her communicator: "All unit radar systems, observation and targeting systems, drones, reconnaissance in the sky! Everyone be careful, that monster has appeared again!!!"

Shiori, who was on the ground, struggled to her feet and said breathlessly, "Yes... I sensed it too."

Upon hearing this, everyone on the main bridge and even within the communication band gasped in shock.

Sasha and the others quickly returned to their positions and took control of the radar system.

Ugh!

As night fell on the train line, a deafening alarm blared from the positions and carriages, instantly raising the hearts of millions.

In an instant, the radar systems of the Sky Train, the Iron Guard Brigade's air fleet, and all the troops and trains turned their bases toward the sky, and countless people picked up their long guns and binoculars to look up at the sky.

"What's wrong?!"

"The air raid warning has sounded!!"

"What's coming from the sky?!"

"Quickly, quickly, prepare for battle."

"It's getting dark soon?"

"Watch out, watch out!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Rumble.

Jian Xuwei, Jiang Yun, Sean, and others also ran out of the steel mill. As soon as they came out, they saw hundreds of plasma pulse arrays and anode anti-aircraft guns on the outer defensive positions turning in a certain direction.

Inside the Second Intercontinental Force's command center, General Luo stood in the center of the busy command hall, where he and the commanders of several other theater commands, as well as the captains of various motorcades, were all looking at the same screen—an image transmitted back from the high-altitude observation and aiming system.

In the sky, crimson clouds swirled amidst the towering hurricane. Gradually, the previously dense fog began to clear, and at that moment, everyone saw a point of light, resembling the moon, growing larger and larger within the crimson sky.

Gradually, some textures began to appear on it. At first, they were thought to be mountains and ravines, but later they seemed to be blood vessels and meridians. At the very center of the moon, a scarlet pupil, as deep as an abyss, rapidly enlarged. It was a bright yellow, like a yellow light in the universe suspended in the air. It was an eye, a giant eye suspended in the air, like a star, gradually falling down, creating an illusion that it was not the eye falling, but the people on the ground falling in the opposite direction of the eye!

Until that eye blotted out the sky, covering nearly a fifth of the heavens and casting a yellow glow over the entire Colorado landscape, the world seemed to turn into the colors of a silent film. At that moment, the breaths of millions of people caught in their throats. Everyone here felt a deep familiarity with this scene; it was a fear etched into the very depths of their hearts.

Because the giant eye in the sky that looks like a planet is the dark evil god that changed the entire landscape of the Colorado Canyon two months ago!

chaos!

(End of this chapter)