Chapter 515 Train Problems
Clang, clang, clang.
North of Leon, the terrain gradually widens, and whether it's an illusion or not, the crimson fog seems to have thinned out a bit, allowing for a clearer view of distant scenery. This undoubtedly increases the safety of the Infinite, which is traveling at high speed.
"The foundation's current target is you."
Inside the Infinite's cockpit, KIKI was in charge of the train's safety, while Lin Xian stood behind her, listening to Chu Yan talk about what happened after she left the Phoenix Society headquarters.
To Lin Xian's surprise, Chu Yan not only admitted to cooperating with Hua Xiaoling, but also told them Hua Xiaoling's and even the foundation's will without any hesitation, rendering Lin Xian's previous guesses meaningless.
"I?"
Lin Xian stared intently, pondering, "Because I am the sword wielder?"
Chu Yan removed her mechanical breathing mask and said bluntly, "The Foundation used the Civilization Preview Sphere to obtain information about you from my consciousness: mechanical awakening, Black Star Forge, Devouring System... Strictly speaking, they now understand your mechanical heart better than the Phoenix Society."
Lin Xian's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he asked, "When?"
"When you were on Sea Rock Island, you were attacked by Oceanus," Chu Yan said. "That was a decision made by the Commander-in-Chief."
"Decision? Decision about what?"
"I'll save your life."
Lin Xian was stunned. He looked at KIKI, and the two of them realized what had happened. On that day, when they were suddenly attacked by the giant ocean god, the ferocious beast suddenly attacked Lin Xian and KIKI Shiori. In just one encounter, the three of them were almost wiped out. However, after they fell into the Pacific Ocean, the evil god suddenly gave up the pursuit and dived back into the deep sea, allowing Lin Xian and the others to escape.
Lin Xian clearly remembered seeing that silver, triangular-headed creature, which had always puzzled him. Hearing Chu Yan's words, he couldn't help but be startled, and his brows immediately furrowed.
"You mean, the Tower people learned the secret of my Mechanical Heart through the Foundation, which is why they gave up on killing me?"
“Yes.” Chu Yan crossed her arms, sighed softly, and looked at Lin Xian in a low voice, “The Dark Forest Law: you are testing them, and the Tower People are testing them too. And all of this stems from the Battle of Dawn City, when we connected with the S-level action brain…”
Upon hearing this, KIKI looked surprised and stared wide-eyed at Lin Xian, exclaiming, "Ah!? So you really guessed right! The Tower People weren't intimidated by the South Heavenly Gate; they also realized that a third civilization exists on Blue Star, which is why they were wary!!"
Chu Yan paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Xian: "Lin Xian, you shouldn't have saved me back then."
"Impossible, there is no other choice." Lin Xian smiled helplessly: "So Professor Ye's decision is to abandon the Deterrence Era and save me?"
“The Tower People lack deep strategic thinking; their wisdom is based on absolute rationalism, like a sophisticated computer that immediately probes when it senses a crisis,” Chu Yan said. “After Dawn City, the Foundation received a message from the Tower People that they would eliminate you at all costs. At the same time, Star Abyss is also targeting you. Aren’t you curious that the first trouble you encountered after setting sail was a world-class disaster?”
"Holy crap..."
Lin Xian rubbed his throbbing temples: "The Ocean God was used to test me?! So, if that so-called Third Civilization hadn't appeared back then, I would already be dead..."
"You might not believe it, but when you were in crisis, it was Hua Xiaoling who delivered the Civilization Preview Sphere to the Zhen Tian Ship's office, which led to this 'deal'," Chu Yan said.
"Then I should thank Hua Xiaoling??" Lin Xian felt his brain was a little slow to process.
"You don't need to thank them. They are just a group of humans who think they are smart. In some ways, they think they are smarter than the Tower People and are their agents on Earth. From a human perspective, they think they have solved a problem for the Tower People. After all, they don't know what kind of hidden dangers that mysterious third civilization has."
Lin Xian suddenly realized and analyzed, "So now that the Tower People know about my Mechanical Heart, they conclude that it poses no threat, and that's why Star Abyss Crimson has begun to expand at an accelerated pace?"
“But…” KIKI looked puzzled upon hearing this: “This doesn’t make sense. Since the Tower People gave up on eliminating him after learning your… that is, Lin Xian’s secret, doesn’t that mean the deterrent is still there? Why let him go on one hand, and then start the Crimson Expansion on the other?”
Chu Yan took a deep breath: "As I just said, the Tower people don't possess deep strategic thinking. To put it more bluntly, they don't believe in conspiracy theories and don't assess risks through speculation. But the Foundation is different..."
She looked at Lin Xian as she spoke: "After your mechanical heart was upgraded, the leap in technology completely surpassed the current human civilization. They easily realized that if your mechanical heart reached level 9, it might really cause a situation that could change the status quo. So they made this judgment to the Tower People, and you survived. Even after you fell into a coma, they continued to search for your whereabouts."
"These people must have had a tough time..." Lin Xian smiled, then said to Chu Yan, "So you're working for Hua Xiaoling now, trying to capture me alive?"
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward after these words were spoken. KIKI's gaze fell on Chu Yan. Although Chu Yan and Lin Xian had a close relationship and she had just helped him, if Chu Yan really wanted to attack Lin Xian, she would definitely stop her immediately!
Chu Yan's gaze fell on Lin Xian, and after several seconds she turned to look at the scarlet earth outside the window and slowly said, "Losing some emotions has made the world feel much more unfamiliar to me, and it seems that even life has become somewhat indifferent. Looking at the world from this perspective, I have gained some understanding and resonance with Hua Xiaoling, but it has not reached the point of betraying the Phoenix Society, and I have never thought of betraying you."
"Then what is your purpose?" Lin Xian looked at her: "To appear in front of me so coincidentally, you must have found me by luck, right?"
"Yes."
Chu Yan raised her left mechanical prosthetic arm, and the weapon gate at her wrist opened, revealing a silver civilization rehearsal sphere that slowly floated out.
"The Foundation left a lot of things on you for location tracking. After you activated that Civilization Preview Sphere, they immediately learned of your awakening. In addition... there's the forbidden item on you."
"A forbidden item?" Lin Xian frowned.
"Have you forgotten what the Divine Revelation is for?" Chu Yan said, "The Crimson is the fog of war for us, but for the Tower People, it's not only transparent, but all information can be transmitted globally without delay. It's a technological system that we humans cannot understand. And those forbidden objects are the energy singularities of their multidimensional world, including those with superpowers. It's just that one is an object and the other is a living organism. This is why convoys with more superpowers or more forbidden objects often encounter more dangerous attacks. If it's in the polar night or in the Star Abyss, this situation will be even worse."
rub~
Lin Xian raised his hand and took out the black gear, weighing it in his hand: "No wonder Hua Xiaoling was able to find me so easily. It seems that as long as I try to activate and use the forbidden object, they will find a way to find me."
“That’s right. However, during the time you were unconscious, you were unable to use forbidden items or activate the Civilization Language Sphere. Apart from searching the Hako battlefield, the Foundation was unable to pinpoint your location. Meanwhile, the Tower Civilization had already launched a full-scale attack and invaded Blue Star.”
"So my purpose in coming here is to take over from you and rescue the Dawn Center Orbital Force."
"Replace me?"
Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian, a complex expression flashing in her eyes. She flipped the Civilization Preview Ball in her hand, and with a hum, a holographic projection appeared. In the crimson scene, a train stretching endlessly across the vast red earth plains appeared. The scene swept past countless convoys, and the massive contingents were busily constructing something with the assistance of drones. The sky and the earth were filled with the corpses of strange creatures, and the Iron Guard Brigade's troops stretched out in a vast expanse, some of the soldiers' faces clearly visible.
"The Sky Train, the Silver Star, is our Infinite Alliance!!!"
Upon seeing this, KIKI exclaimed in surprise, "They're all still alive!"
Lin Xian's expression changed slightly. His gaze immediately fell on Chu Yan's face. He was overjoyed to see that most of the main force was still alive. But the next moment, he felt a chill in his heart. How could such a scene appear in the Civilization Pre-rehearsal Sphere?
Seemingly having guessed Lin Xian's thoughts, Chu Yan spoke directly.
"No need to guess. It's not surprising that there are Adventists in the human camp. Otherwise, how could so many battlefields have suffered such heavy losses? Such methods are not difficult at all in the Crimson. All our actions are no different from an open secret to the Tower People or the Foundation."
She continued, looking at the holographic screen, "The Orbital Force has now broken away from its original orbital path and is advancing to the Red Rock Rift Valley, about 390 kilometers southeast of the Colorado Canyon, by laying and advancing its way. They have dealt with an S-class Occultist and are currently building an Orbital Steelworks to cast a large number of orbitals to speed up their escape. However, what they don't know is that the Tower Civilization and the Occultist may not know what they are doing, but the Foundation knows perfectly well."
Upon hearing this, KIKI clenched her fists and said coldly, "You mean they can launch an attack on the train regiment at any time and destroy their plans?!"
"Not bad." Chu Yan's expression was calm, as if she didn't have much emotion.
Lin Xian looked at Chu Yan, seemingly guessing something: "The Foundation wants to use this to blackmail me, to make me surrender, and then they can 'mercifully' let the train troops go and give them a chance to escape?"
"The dark civilization cares nothing for the lives and deaths of humankind."
Chu Yan raised the Civilization Rehearsal Ball in her hand: "And the condition proposed by the Foundation is that you enter the Civilization Rehearsal Game again."
"Impossible!" KIKI immediately flew over and stood in front of Lin Xian: "You want Lin Xian's consciousness to be devoured by the [Angel] and then turn him into a walking corpse?!"
"Becoming a walking corpse is impossible..."
Lin Xian put his hand on KIKI's shoulder, signaling her not to get agitated, and then looked at Chu Yan and continued, "The Foundation is really quite clever. They think my mechanical heart is a threat, but if they erase my rebellious spirit, it is essentially less risky than killing me directly. After reshaping my consciousness and worldview, it is very possible for me to join the Foundation. After all, so many scientists and team leaders have done this, precisely extracting hope and rebellious spirit, and then re-examining the development of the Tower Civilization and the fate of humanity with 'absolute rationality'. In this case, 'defection' becomes a matter of course."
Chu Yan remained silent.
"If I don't do this, won't North America be attacked immediately?" Lin Xian asked.
"yes."
Lin Xian looked at her: "So what's your opinion?"
The air quieted down, and only the rumbling of the iron wheels remained in the carriage. Lin Xian and Chu Yan stood facing each other. He looked at his former comrade-in-arms, who was once on the same page. Although he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was in turmoil, and he even felt a chill and weakness all over his body.
He only glanced at the scene and roughly guessed the train convoy's strategy. They were recuperating and preparing track materials, ready to go. If the Foundation were to trigger the Crimson Tide again like it did a few months ago, it would undoubtedly cause the train convoy to face annihilation. Lin Xian was both angry and somewhat powerless at this moment, even more so than when he faced the Oceanus.
Humans always seem to have a knack for finding the weaknesses of their own kind. Lin Xian, who was taking philosophy as an elective in college, probably never imagined that one day he would actually face the 'train problem', and on a train no less, facing the survival of other trains. It sounds rather ironic and bizarre.
KIKI was pale and completely flustered. Just hearing Chu Yan's question made her head feel like it was going to explode. She looked nervously at Lin Xian, who was in agony, and tried to say something but the words stuck in her throat.
To everyone's surprise, Chu Yan looked at Lin Xian with an extremely calm expression and suddenly said, "Lin Xian, in my memory, you shouldn't be this stupid."
Lin Xian frowned: "What are you trying to say?"
Chu Yan took a deep breath, her expression solemn: "Have you forgotten what I just told you? This is the commander-in-chief's decision."
"Professor Ye...?"
"Do you think that in order to save your life, we only lost the secret about the Swordholder's Mechanical Heart?" Chu Yan looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze: "Or do you think that Commander Ye did not consider how many people around the world would die as a result after the Deterrence Era was broken?"
"After you fell into a coma, the number of people who died in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Republic Islands, North America, and South America due to the Crimson Descent far exceeded three million. The quiet of Star Abyss a month after the Battle of Dawn City was merely the calm before the storm. All of this is just a storm stirred up again by the butterfly effect. Phoenix made this decision because it realized that the key from the Third Civilization within you might be the salvation of human civilization. And now you want to ask me what my opinion is? When did you become so selfless, or do you think you are the savior and are now being swayed by the will of the Foundation?!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xian felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his heart. He instantly realized that this high-stakes gamble had already been decided in Dawn City, and there was no need for any hesitation.
He smiled inexplicably, a resolute glint in his eyes, and looked at Chu Yan.
"You should have said so earlier. We're on the same side. The problem now is..."
Chu Yan's eyes sharpened, and she turned to look at the front of the train.
"We have 11 hours left, your train has to take off!"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and Lin Xian and KIKI's eyes met.
"Do you understand?"
KIKI smiled slightly:
"Understood."
(End of this chapter)
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