Chapter 503 Hunting Threat
The Infinite began to slow down on the track. Lin Xian arrived at carriage number 2 and immediately saw numerous screens performing different decoding operations.
On the screen in the middle, however, a string of binary code remained still.
01110000, 01101111, 01110111, 01100101, 01110010
"What is this?" Lin Xian frowned, his gaze fixed on KIKI.
"After removing repeating cycles, I tried cyclic codes, mapping codes, differential codes, and Morse code, regardless of whether it was 64 or 10, and then..."
With a lollipop in her mouth, KIKI, under Lin Xian's gaze, lightly tapped the keyboard with her finger. The binary code was immediately converted into five ordered English characters. As the characters appeared, Lin Xian's pupils immediately focused on those five characters!
P——O——W——E——R
"Power?"
"This is the only answer we can translate and read; the rest are gibberish." KIKI looked at Lin Xian and said seriously, "Okay, now the question is, what does this mean? Rights? Electricity? Power? Ugh, I hate English..."
Lin Xian's eyes reflected the faint light on the screen as he said in a deep voice, "And we don't even know the context, or who it's being said to, it's like..."
As he spoke, he looked at KIKI, and they both received a tacit answer from each other's eyes.
"Those at Nantianmen, do not resist?"
Lin Xian nodded, puzzled, "The information from Nantianmen is in Chinese characters, but this is in English. Could it be sent by different entities?"
“Not necessarily, it might be related to transmission efficiency.” KIKI smiled slightly and explained to Lin Xian in a serious tone, “Chinese characters are stored in computers using two bytes. Two Chinese characters are converted from hexadecimal to decimal, and then each byte’s decimal value is converted to 8 bits of binary. This involves dividing by 2 and taking the remainder, and then reversing the order. The conversion process is even more complicated. The 64 is already abstract enough, and adding so many more steps would be beyond even the imagination of a genius…”
"Furthermore, the Southern Heavenly Gate is located outside the celestial canopy, and its decoding was performed using the PandaX-4T liquid xenon detector to detect dark matter particle fluctuations, followed by gravitational waves. I suspect there are differences involved, but then again..."
KIKI looked at Lin Xian speechlessly: "Aren't Chinese and English both part of our Blue Star human civilization?"
“That makes sense… So you mean the message isn’t being deliberately mysterious, but rather because it’s too complicated?” Lin Xian said.
KIKI took a breath and looked at the screen, saying, "It's hard to say whether it's just for show, but logically speaking, if two civilizations are far apart and want to transmit information accurately, it's definitely not a simple matter. Don't underestimate these few lines of code; at least with our current technology, the Milky Way is an insurmountable mountain."
Lin Xian's expression was uncertain. On one hand, he felt that the mystery of the metal die was finally about to be solved, but on the other hand, he felt a sense of unknown fear and curiosity, not only about the string of characters in front of him, but also about the civilization that sent the message.
Empty!
A whirlwind sounded outside. Lin Xian opened the power armor's visual interface, and the external view of Infinite 360 in the Sentinel System appeared in his field of vision. At this moment, they seemed to have arrived at the edge of a city. The radar system scanned the outline of a group of ruined buildings.
"This should be Upala, a medium-sized city in Costa Rica."
KIKI opened a holographic map and zoomed in with her finger: "Here! Hmm... it should have been a dead city long ago. The main force of Dawn Center made a brief stop here before, because further ahead is Lake Nicaragua, which we have to cross quickly, because the Pacific Ocean is on the left and the lake is on the right. It looks like a place where big guys might appear."
Lin Xian's expression was grave. He checked the time and said, "It's getting dark. We have to stop. We'll see how things go tonight and head into Mexico tomorrow."
“Okay.” KIKI nodded.
At 18:30, the Mugen came to a slow stop on the outskirts of the city, amidst ruins and rubble. Its iron wheels rolled over concrete fragments and steel remnants on the tracks, slowly coming to a stop amidst the ear-piercing metallic scraping sound. The armed train stood quietly in a thick crimson fog.
Hundreds of defensive drones silently circled the entire train like night owls. The electrostatic field protection network was activated, and the drones deployed infrared alarms to isolate the train, enveloping it in an invisible perimeter. The gates of the rooftop weapon station quietly opened, and the cold barrels of the anti-aircraft turrets, the honeycomb muzzles of the 1130 close-in weapon system, and the slender rails of the G3 electromagnetic railgun rose one after another. The plasma high-temperature beam network flowed along the contours of the train body, leaving molten gold-like streaks of light. Except for the missile launch units, all the heavy defensive weapons entered a state of dead silence and standby.
Inside the carriage, the sunshade steel plates were lowered section by section. Lin Xian and KIKI went their separate ways through the train carriages, inspecting each one from the front and back. The dining car, the living car, the plant car, and the supply car were all inspected. Because there was no Heterogeneous Cube, Lin Xian always felt a lack of security.
As night fell, eerie roars echoed from the thick crimson fog outside the train. The cool lights in carriage number 6 of the Infinite shone with a not-too-blinding glow, and the air was filled with the smell of food.
KIKI used her telekinetic energy to slowly and repeatedly scan a one-kilometer radius around the train, but so far no unusual creatures were detected approaching.
"Even though there are no markings, being in this damn crimson mess gives me the creeps..."
KIKI leaned back on the sofa and peered out through the gap in the sunshade, but all she could see was a deep, dark crimson, as if they were still trapped thousands of meters deep in the ocean.
Click~
Lin Xian pried open the can of beef and beans. The greasy chunks of meat slid into the heating pot and began to sizzle and boil. He then set up a soup pot and threw in the chopped tomatoes and cabbage leaves. There were enough tomatoes and cabbages for the two of them to enjoy in the green plant-filled car. He made a simple soup, and the bubbling hot soup warmed the lonely atmosphere a little.
KIKI, drawn by the aroma, peeked out from the side and, looking at the tomatoes in the pan, couldn't help but exclaim, "These tomatoes are so good! If only I could fry an egg with them..."
She then looked at Lin Xian and said, "Didn't you always want to build a breeding carriage? Now the only place in the world where the Polar Phoenix Society still has living creatures is the Polar Phoenix Society. Oh, right, Silent City has them too."
Lin Xian watched the soup simmering, not hearing KIKI's words, his thoughts preoccupied with something: "Power... strength, authority, electricity, what exactly does it mean..."
"Power—that sounds like the answer the most."
KIKI used her telekinesis to press the tomato slices into the soup, staining it red like blood. Then she turned around and leaned against the stove: "But this word is too empty... it doesn't mean anything."
The cold light pinned their shadows to the wall of the armored compartment. Lin Xian scooped up a spoonful of meat soup mixed with beans, took a sip, and said, "What about electricity? From my perspective as a mechanical superpower user, I'm more inclined to think in that direction. Electricity, energy... perhaps that represents something..."
After saying that, he looked at KIKI: "Have the numbers changed?"
KIKI shook her head: "This isn't real-time; it's constantly looping, and the information received might differ at different times."
Lin Xian pondered for a moment: "Alright, at least we've found a breakthrough. Perhaps with a little more information we'll be able to figure out what they're trying to say."
"What if it was sent by the Tower People?"
KIKI crossed her arms and said, “I’m thinking that the timing of your mechanical ability appearing on the same day as the Apocalypse is definitely not a coincidence. If there is another civilization besides the Tower People, the Tower People must have realized this as well.”
Lin Xian nodded: "I suspect that after the high-altitude corridor, the Foundation received instructions from the Tower People, which is why Hua Xiaoling found me and realized that I possess a power that is neither human nor related to dark energy mutation. However, Hua Xiaoling's attitude towards me has always been somewhat ambiguous, neither hostile nor friendly..."
“I think…they wouldn’t dare do anything to you.” KIKI glanced at him sideways: “Remember Sea Rock Island? The Ocean God suddenly abandoned its attack on us and was attracted by a silver humanoid creature. I always found it strange and thought it was some other civilization. Now that I think about it, could that thing be the Tower People! The reason they did this is to ensure your safety!”
Lin Xian frowned upon hearing this: "Then why were Chen Yanxiu and Gu Zheng's group ordered to attack our convoy before?"
“I don’t know for sure, but judging from Hua Xiaoling’s attitude these past few times, that seems to be the case. They don’t dare to really kill you.” KIKI frowned slightly. “In fact, the people from the Holy City in Hako have been keeping an eye on that battlefield. Now that I think about it, their goal should be the same as ours: to find you!”
Lin Xian stopped stirring the soup pot and lowered his head in thought: "You mean, the Tower Civilization is wary of the power behind the mechanical abilities I possess?"
“At least they’ll be very cautious. Maybe Hua Xiaoling is testing you,” KIKI said.
Lin Xian nodded and fell silent for a moment.
Afterwards, the two finished their dinner quietly. Lin Xian began to inspect the weapons in the carriages. Currently, the ammunition supply for the weapon station 1130 was automatically supplied by the maintenance robot. The carriages were empty. In order to ensure sufficient firepower, Lin Xian piled 10 basic loads of ammunition manufactured in the Black Star Forge in carriages 7 and 8. After checking the dark energy potential frequency device in detail, he sat alone in the weapon station of carriage 12, lost in thought, looking at the time.
"Crimson covering everything, it's a problem to even get a little bit of material using mechanical devouring." Lin Xian pondered to himself. He had devoured some abandoned debris on the way to the Hako battlefield, but it was better than nothing.
He even considered whether he could obtain some materials from his Black Star celestial body, which was currently capturing and devouring that iron-nickel planet. However, he discovered that the Black Star celestial body's devouring and transformation were completely independent of his Mechanical Heart, including the manufacturing process. Only the planetary mecha blueprints projected by his Black Star Forge were at work.
Lin now wondered if the construction of a strong interaction force confinement field anchored in the orbit of a massive quasar and the building of a Casimir cavity vacuum fluctuation engine would also be like this, without him having to do it himself, but rather being completed by the 'black star celestial body' under his guidance in some way?
Beneath the black star, planetary material was being rapidly extracted, and massive amounts of metallic elements were being frantically smelted in the furnace inside the celestial body, creating an incredibly powerful spectacle. Lin Xian could only watch all of this from the sidelines, which even gave him a sense of unfamiliarity, as if he couldn't control his mechanical heart.
“I have already resonated with this dark star. After spending so much time, I should be able to access its power.”
Thinking of this, Lin Xian frowned slightly. He raised his finger and secretly activated the skill. However, in just a moment, nine superstring reactor phase rainbow rings burst out behind him. The huge energy fluctuations rippled out and directly caused the spirit value detector of Lin Xian's power armor to emit a sharp alarm!
"Holy crap!"
Lin Xian immediately withdrew his power. He originally wanted to try activating the mechanical energy cannon, but the power that had just burst from his fingertips made him sense a power no less than that of the orbital shockwave cannon. Not only that, the surging electrical energy also made his heart rate spike, and the bursting energy could even tear apart the train's armor!
Hehehe!
The instant Lin Xian suppressed his power, a series of sounds suddenly rose and fell from the crimson ruins outside, like bones interlocking or the earth undulating, as if disturbing a strange entity in the shadows. The once quiet world suddenly became restless.
What just happened?
KIKI's voice also came from the communicator at the same time. Lin Xian immediately stood up, his entire body covered in nano-powered armor. In the system window, infrared sentinels and radars scanned rapidly, and dark energy fluctuations appeared continuously in the indicators, but no living beings were detected.
"There's been a minor issue..."
Lin Xian's expression was solemn. He hadn't expected that his attempt to resonate would cause such a commotion. He couldn't help but feel annoyed. At the same time, he was also very surprised by the terrifying war power of the black star celestial body. Moreover, it seemed that this skill was limited by the level of his mechanical heart. You should know that when he was in the consciousness space, he directly activated the twelve superstring reactor phase rings, but at that time, he was in a conscious state and could not feel the increase in power at all.
On KIKI's side, the monitoring system was already in a critical state, and the various spirit-dispelling values detected in the information center were rising strangely. Seeing this, she immediately activated her superpower, her whole body floating, her eyes flashing with purple and red lightning. She immediately used her psychic power to create ripples that vibrated outwards. This was an action she took to sense the predator as soon as possible. KIKI knew that if she was targeted by the predator, even if the train's protection system responded, the Infinite would definitely suffer a heavy blow first!
"Lin Xian, the most likely creatures to appear among the crimson after dark are the predatory ones. They locate themselves by sniffing out fear. However, our vehicle is protected by the crimson weapons, so they can't teleport in. Therefore, you'd better stay in the area with the strongest armor!"
"Um."
Lin Xian turned off the cold light and responded to KIKI in the darkness. The most terrifying thing about this kind of predator is its elusive nature. Being able to flash behind someone is even more terrifying than its energy leap.
Outside the carriage, the grinding of teeth ceased, and the surroundings became completely quiet, with only a faint night wind whistling softly against the train's armor. Lin Xian and KIKI, one in carriage 12 and the other in carriage 2, were both on high alert. The Infinite, with its lights off, resembled an isolated island in a crimson ocean, awaiting the arrival of terror.
null!
Suddenly, a metallic crack came from the roof of carriage number 12 where Lin Xian was located. A large section of the top armor of the super-strong carbon composite armor was strangely dented. At the same time, the electrostatic field and the plasma high-temperature wire array emitted a piercing sound and sparks flew everywhere.
Lin Xian's power armor alarm went off. He turned around abruptly and couldn't help but gasp. All the drones and radar systems were unresponsive, causing all the defensive weapons to remain silent. After that loud bang, the sound disappeared again.
"Lin Xian?!"
Shh, be careful.
Lin Xian lowered his voice, secretly thinking, "Something's not right..."
He felt as if he were being watched, an incredibly cold sensation coming from the soles of his feet. The gaze seemed to ignore the existence of all physical armor, staring at him through the armor of the Infinity.
He slowly turned around, and with a thought, the sunshade of the nearest porthole quickly opened, revealing a thick crimson fog rolling outside like waves of blood.
The next second, his pupils jerked violently. A chilling scene froze Lin Xian's blood. A deathly pale face was pressed against the glass, pupils trembling with extreme terror. Dark red blood gushed from the lacerated wound on her neck, and half of her spine hung nakedly outside the severed body. She slammed her blood-soaked hand against the armored glass with a "thud," blood slowly trickling down. Chen Sixuan squeezed out a hollow, mournful cry: "Help..."
She tried to say something but it was too late. In the next instant, the terrifying tentacles that tore her body apart wrapped around her bare lumbar spine and pulled her back violently. The cracking sound of bones breaking pierced through the carriage, and she was dragged into the fog, leaving only a shrill scream.
"ah!!!"
Lin Xian's mind jolted, his eyes widened in shock, and he instinctively raised his hand to activate the Mechanical Heart, open the hatch, and rush out to rescue her. In that instant, a surging wave of psychic energy, like a tidal wave, slammed him to the floor. Amidst the shock and disorientation and the ringing in his ears, he heard KIKI's loud shout:
"The predatory gaze is a trap; don't let the crimson infiltrate!"
(End of this chapter)
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