CHAPTER 654: CHAPTER 316: NIGHTFALL, WINDOWS SEALED

Wind Erosion Valley, dry riverbed, a 15-kilometer-long heavy rail train quietly parked, with over 500 carriages winding like a dragon, seemingly stretching to the end of the horizon.

18:00

The afterglow of the sunset painted the Gobi Desert with a rusty red, the sand glimmered with fine golden scales in the twilight, but was then lifted into a flowing red tide by the suddenly rising north wind, crashing against half-buried abandoned oil barrels, producing hollow echoes.

On the Joint Train, over four thousand people were busily preparing to face the night.

"It’s said that sand ants aren’t the same as the ants we’re familiar with, but for safety’s sake, inspect all cracks, vents, including bathroom pipes!"

On the Infinity communicator, Chen Sixuan was briskly walking between the carriages, reminding everyone.

Lin Xian was also inspecting each carriage, as meticulously as he had previously handled snow water leaks. However, he knew sand ants were definitely not the same as snow water, these creatures might squeeze into any gap. His biggest worry now was whether these sand ants, like the previous Snow Demons, could mark humans with the Dark Mark.

"Didn’t Hu Lushou say that the convoys he contacted didn’t have the Dark Mark, and they’ve been in Akse for several days, theoretically they shouldn’t have the Dark Mark, right?"

KIKI followed Lin Xian to carriage number 3 and said.

"It’s always better to be cautious," Lin Xian pointed outside the window, "I have reserved a few rotor drones and some pre-set explosives outside, just in case."

"Director Ding." Having said that, Lin Xian spoke to Director Ding, who was conducting experiments on mycelium, "I will temporarily close the air circulation passage of these two Cole experiment carriages. This shouldn’t affect the plants, right?"

Ding Junyi looked up at him, "From a botanical perspective..."

"Director Ding." Lin Xian gave her a meaningful look.

"No, it won’t."

"Good."

Lin Xian nodded with satisfaction, very much liking Director Ding’s succinctness.

Having finished speaking, he pressed the communicator to all the train captains saying

"Reiterate, don’t panic when sand ants pass, nobody is allowed to open fire."

"Understood!"

This time, the Captain of the Ocean was the first to respond.

Though from the time they returned, Lin Xian had shared the information about the night he gathered in Akse with all the convoys, he still felt it necessary to repeat it once more.

Over 4000 people, this is no small number.

Before Apocalypse Day, Lin Xian didn’t even want to be a university dorm leader, who can manage socks and underwear growing mushrooms on the balcony among a group of coarse fellows? Let alone now with the people on the Joint Train being a real mixed bag, although everyone united in facing the same enemy under Lin Xian’s direction due to their situation and alignment, from a management perspective, Lin Xian knew there were still plenty of fools around, so he brought out utmost patience hoping for fewer incidents after nightfall.

"Lin." The voice of Shi Deyuan came through the communicator, "Before you came back, I had someone check the entire train for Dark Marks once more, there’s nothing to worry about with the rest."

"Good."

"Rest assured, Captain Lin, our convoy has zero loopholes." Monica, sitting in carriage number 1 of her Queen Mo, spoke gently.

"We don’t need to worry either," Qian Deli also said.

"Captain Lin, we’re fine here too," the voices of Li Yi and Luo Yang came as well. Li Yi had already arranged the children’s carriage, having encountered such nighttime scenarios many times; monster tides, insect tides, corpse tides, these children have long learned to be quiet and calm, not making a fuss, very well-behaved.

"Captain Lin."

At this time, Shu Qin walked over to Lin Xian and said, "While you were away, the people in the Hell Warriors Team told us quite a bit of information, especially regarding the kidnapping of superpower users. They indeed trade them with some organization, and the trading location is a place called Iron Pot Valley. We’ve checked, there’s no such place on the map."

"Iron Pot Valley? Could it have something to do with the terrain?" Lin Xian immediately thought of this point.

"According to his description, there are many abandoned radio telescope antennas there, so it’s called by that name."

"Radio telescope?" Lin Xian frowned slightly upon hearing this, "That should be a star observation station."

"This is simple." On the side, KIKI immediately took out the mobile terminal, searched and said, "Found it, White Deer Beach Star Observation Station, but it stopped operating in 2056."

"Abandoned for 13 years..."

"According to the map locations, they indeed had this path change before, but the overlap is minimal."

"Because they only go there at fixed times." Lin Xian took it and looked at the location, saying, "After we deal with the sand bandits in Akse, we must go check this place."

Lin Xian had previously overlooked a point; he was always excluding areas with low signal packet overlap in order to find the sand bandits’ lair. But now it appears, the trading site is also worth investigating.

Shu Qin nodded, "Additionally, about their trading prices, as they confess, a Vajra-Level Genetic Evolver can be exchanged for two Level 1 Blood Essences, but if it’s a superpower user, it can be exchanged for five, Frenzy Level is five times that, Destruction Level is twenty times that."

"What?" KIKI pointed at her own nose, "So I am only worth 25 Blood Essences???"

"Not bad, two and a half tubes of Cold Dark Reagent," Lin Xian teased.

"Hmph!" KIKI snorted coldly, "I just fear they won’t live to take it!"

Lin Xian took a deep breath, his gaze sharp as he said, "Robbing a small convoy of twenty or thirty people originally might only yield a little bit of supplies, a few Blood Essences, but with this population trade, those sand bandits can get a dozen or twenty Blood Essences. Although they might not be able to handle those Frenzy Level, Destruction Level figures, there’s a lot of small and medium-sized convoys among those fleeing, which makes them a target, and that’s far more profitable than previous looting."