"Reaching level 7 shouldn't be difficult. I'll soon figure out exactly what these blueprints are...."

Lin Xian took a deep breath. He currently had six construction sequences active, allowing him to simultaneously improve the Celestial Train while devouring and upgrading the Mechanical Heart. During the Dawn City battle, the Infinite had absorbed a lot of dark energy through the Hellish Black Chrysanthemum. If it were a previous monster tide war, Lin Xian would have felt that the mechanical source points converted by the Heterogeneous Cube gave him a greater gain compared to other ability users.

But this time, after lighting up the dark energy Synchro Tower in the city, the dark energy overflow from the S-levels and Corpse Drivers was completely neutralized. The benefit was that such concentrated dark energy was not released to cause more mutations. The downside was that the top-tier ability users did not gain much evolutionary boost.

However, this was unavoidable. Dark energy was fundamentally more harmful than beneficial to humans. Lin Xian's Hellish Black Chrysanthemum and Heterogeneous Cube were already unique artifacts. But after this battle, with help from the Phoenix Society and Silent City, his Blue Library had almost perfected all the extant human technological powers. Now he could fully focus on devouring machinery to enhance the Mechanical Heart, which was a positive development. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt

Looking at the massive construct star floating in the Black Star Forge, Lin Xian sighed slightly. To improve the Mechanical Heart further, he could only devour from starships, ships, and high-powered trains. Fortunately, he had acquired a Dauntless-class in Dawn City. He guessed this could at least provide upper source points, and maybe even grant new skills...

Just as Lin Xian was about to exit the Black Star Forge’s consciousness space, he suddenly sensed an inexplicable chill deep within that construct star. He directly controlled his consciousness to move toward the depths, discovering a pitch-black abyss resembling deep space. The moment he arrived, he felt his hair stand on end.

Because he sensed that he seemed to be watched by something.

"Grace?"

[I am here.]

"Is there any abnormal situation at Southern Celestial Gate?" Lin Xian looked into the dark deep space and immediately realized his consciousness was linked to the Flickering Bullet and Grace. This sensation seemed to come from the deep space near Southern Celestial Gate.

Blue Star, stationary deep space orbit, Southern Celestial Gate.

Main core cabin section, control room.

Dozens of space-suited deep space corrupted corpses floated quietly in the chaotic control room. Grace was repairing sub-system circuits with maintenance tools while responding to Lin Xian.

[There are various unknown magnetic forces and dark matter particle fluctuations here. The PandaX-4T liquid xenon detector detected an extraordinary dark matter signal in an ultra-low recoil energy zone. It was emitted on Apocalypse Day. The previous stationed research team decoded it using gravitational waves and seemed to have derived some important information. I am trying to recover it.]

[Additionally, I have detected a large presence of non-Blue Star microorganisms in the cabin, as well as a certain biological fluctuation with spiritual disturbance value reaction. Currently, it poses no threat to me. Is there any special mission you want to assign?]

Lin Xian had told Grace before that the Phoenix Society and Chu Yan needed to connect with her for defense platform communication attempts, but now his question had another purpose.

Because he felt as if an eye was staring at him through that Flickering Bullet!

"Has the platform detected anything from other deep space directions?"

[I have activated part of the external monitoring system of the defense platform. After the last high-energy density launch, Southern Celestial Gate’s orbit has become extremely unstable. Currently, I can only adjust through the power system. I cannot determine if this is due to changes in Blue Star’s gravitational structure or if Southern Celestial Gate is being pulled by some strong gravitational source.]

Hearing this, Lin Xian frowned. "I think it's probably the latter. Check immediately. Also, shut down the backup nuclear power cabin, deploy solar panels, and move out of the dark energy storm area to standby."

[Chen Sixuan understands.]

Below the deep space orbit, the huge Southern Celestial Gate defense platform unfolded its seven solar energy wing sections. From folded to extended, the wings resembled seven giant shining wings rapidly spreading toward the sun.

In the white-dark deep space direction, a dark surface resembling a special seven-dimensional abyss obscured the starlight, like a giant open mouth of the universe, also quickly opening...

"Blue Star."

At that moment, the carriage door opened. Lin Xian saw Wen standing at the entrance, speaking to Blue Star: "It's getting light inside."

Blue Star opened his eyes and looked out the train window. The entire ring orbit docking port was not yet fully illuminated;

only the sound of ocean waves came from nearby. Within the ruined port, zombie shadows moved, emitting strange howls inside the train.

Blue Star glanced around and checked the time: 19:46.

Considering the scale of the 8th Star Abyss, they were quite late. Recent observations by the Phoenix Society indicated the 8th Star Abyss’s expansion was accelerating rapidly. This was bad news for survivors, but the Phoenix Society had not relaxed its vigilance. After all, thirteen Star Abysses still occupied Lin Xian's territory, and human settlements remained desolate wastelands.

Splash.

Seeing several zombies approaching outside, Lin Xian quickly pulled down the blackout panel and asked Chen Sixuan, "Has the Phoenix Society received any information?"

"No," Chen Sixuan looked at Lin Xian and, seeing his uneasy expression, quickly asked, "What’s wrong?"

Lin Xian shook his head. "Nothing."

Chen Sixuan worriedly glanced at Lin Xian’s tired face and said, "If we depart at dawn tomorrow, we can reach Taku Deepwater Floating Port in four hours and Haiyan Island in seven hours. We should arrive before dark."

Hearing this, Lin Xian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you think taking the ocean orbit is a good idea?"

Chen Sixuan heard his question, then walked in, closed the door, and sat on the sofa. "Of course not. Although there’s only one Star Abyss in the ocean, just thinking of the previous atmospheric mica and Sky Touch monsters makes me involuntarily think of the deep sea. Plus, traveling by train in the ocean with strange natural disasters, we have no other choice. The danger is definitely higher than on land. Also, what you saw through the Corpse Drivers proves the ocean and the 13th Star Abyss have unpredictable presences. All of this means this trip is quite risky."

Lin Xian listened to her analysis and frowned. "But?"

"This is the apocalypse." Chen Sixuan’s tone shifted as she smiled slightly at Lin Xian. "We don’t have many choices, do we?"

"Taking land and following Dawn Center would be safer, but the Phoenix Society’s rescue progress would take at least two months. Also, traveling with the convoy leaves little chance to improve your mechanical supernatural power. Even without considering your 'Sword Bearer' identity, whether or not we reach the poles, the ultimate disaster affecting human survival still exists. So what you’re considering now isn’t just survival supplies or train armor, right?"

Hearing this, Lin Xian relaxed and admitted, "I always felt this human versus dark civilization struggle isn’t that simple. It’s not just about military strength or some key information."

"Professor Ye once said, 'The suspicion chain between civilizations cannot be broken.' This is a fundamental axiom of cosmic sociology, like hunters stalking in the dark forest. Every civilization must regard others as threats—because survival is the primary need of civilization. The total amount of matter in the universe remains constant. The difference between advanced and lower civilizations is just the effective range of the hunter’s shotgun. Ants cannot understand why humans destroy anthills, and we cannot understand why dark creatures want to destroy human civilization like this."

"From Apocalypse Day until now, humans have been frantic to survive and fleeing in chaos. Now we feel like we’ve gradually glimpsed the truth and found power to survive in the darkness. But there’s one problem we can’t avoid: why does the dark civilization descend on Blue Star? What is their purpose?"

Chen Sixuan said gravely, "You think this balance won’t last long?"

"Not only do I think so, the Phoenix Society and Professor Ye all know this, which is why there’s the Starfire Plan." Lin Xian shrugged. "I don’t believe a civilization capable of spatial transformation is just a bloodthirsty beast. What we’ve seen and defeated is probably just the tip of the iceberg. We haven’t truly observed this civilization’s existence nor held genuine dialogue."

Lin Xian looked at Chen Sixuan. "If we replace the dark civilization with 'us,' what would our purpose be?"

Chen Sixuan shook her head and said softly, "Humans cannot stand in that perspective. What we can think of are just 'colonization' and 'invasion'—behaviors we already know or have learned. But that doesn’t mean another civilization thinks the same."

"You’re right."

Lin Xian smiled and then looked at the dark coast outside the window. "So in my view, either we find the answer or imitate the Vanguard Initiative and get an S-level colonization suit to escape to outer space. Anyway, we already have the Celestial Train and colonization suit devices...."

Chen Sixuan looked deeply at Lin Xian. Since Lin Xian connected to the Corpse Drivers through spiritual power, despite his young age, he carried a heavier somber aura.

She roughly guessed the reason: maybe the 'Sword Bearer' identity no longer allowed Lin Xian to stay detached, or perhaps after the Dawn City defense battle, he knew his ring orbit plan must have an unavoidable endpoint—not the poles. The dark survival crisis pushed him either to ignore the Phoenix Society and choose escape or to unite with humanity to solve the greatest crisis.

This time, controlling a planetary defense weapon like Southern Celestial Gate, Lin Xian wasn’t so happy—perhaps because of this.

The docking port was as dark as ink. The Sky Veil Barrier covering Blue Star did not block the starry sky;

thousands of stars were still visible.

Lin Xian sat alone atop a port crane. Below, containers and tightly packed cars in the parking lot continuously disappeared one by one, turning into Black Star Forge materials. The noisy debris on the ground attracted many zombies, but they found no prey.

Each container’s contents varied: rotting food, plastic crafts, digital products, waste items, various industrial materials, and decayed grains and beans.

In the sky, countless drones searched for useful items under Viola’s control. Lin Xian now owned nearly 5,000 drones, swarming everywhere like a giant hive.

[The following devices with 'high mechanization levels' have been located and can be managed.]

"Good."

Lin Xian saw the message from Viola and began remote devouring to increase his mechanical source points.

His current mechanical devouring level reached 6. Devouring an ordinary car took only one minute. Given a whole night, he could clear out the entire parking lot.

At the port, several abandoned unmanned cargo ships lay dormant. Along the distant shore, many half-sunken stranded ships, some with built shelters, were now completely silent.

"If I were the ruler of the dark civilization, the first thing I’d do now is assassinate you."

While Lin Xian quietly devoured equipment, a calm voice came from behind.

Turning around, Lin Xian found Monica elegantly dressed in a cheongsam with a coat draped over her shoulders, standing on the crane behind him, gazing at the night view.

"Why? Do you think Southern Celestial Gate really has the power to eliminate the dark civilization?" Lin Xian replied calmly.

"No."

Monica took a few steps over and looked at Lin Xian. "Military weapons have the greatest power before they actually fire. Have you heard? An unfired nuclear bomb is still a nuclear bomb. Once launched, it becomes the limit of destructive yield and human survival capacity."

Lin Xian shrugged. "That makes sense."

"Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. You and Ye Lan each have your own intentions, but since I’m on your train, I naturally know what you’re betting on."

Monica said meaningfully, "You and Chu Yan are both being watched by darkness. So if you were really targeted for extermination, that would mean Southern Celestial Gate truly threatens the dark civilization. If both of you are untouched, that’s the real problem—because this sword might be useless, right?"

Lin Xian frowned, paused, then smiled helplessly. "Then why are you still watching me?"

Monica smiled brightly. "Because I want to."

Lin Xian:

"Don’t think I’m so noble. I just have no choice." Lin Xian sighed. "I hope Southern Celestial Gate really has power. That would make things a lot simpler. At least we have some initiative for now and have bought some time, right?"

Monica nodded. "And if all goes well, you can reach the poles quickly. Ye Lan promised to gather Xinghua Heavy Industries’ power to help you rapidly improve your mechanical supernatural ability, right?"

Lin Xian glanced back at her. "Wow, that’s impressive. Did you eavesdrop on our conversation?"

"Hmph."

Monica crossed her arms, eyes fixed on him. "Do you think I need to?"

Lin Xian smirked, turned back to the dark night. "Honestly, having come this far, what other options do I have? So I might as well treat this as a deal with the Phoenix Society—make a killing, gather Phoenix Society and the interstellar military’s power to enhance my abilities, and build an emperor mech squad. That at least makes me feel better."

Clack, clack.

Lin Xian didn’t hear a response from Monica but heard her step closer. Turning around, he found the queen of Mo standing beside him, arms calmly crossed, looking down at him from above.

"You’re under a lot of pressure?"

"I didn’t say that." Lin Xian smiled faintly, scooted over to make room for Monica, then continued devouring the cars in the parking lot below.

Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted over. Lin Xian was stunned to feel a silk stocking foot hook his chin.

His eyes flashed as he turned his head following the pull of the silk stocking.

"Ten, huh?"

Monica had removed her low-heeled shoes and hooked one leg around Blue Star. Her gaze was leisurely and profound as she studied me, then spoke in a tone as if to a subordinate.

"Do you know, sailors release some pressure after going to sea? It’s the life beneath the waves..."

"But it’s very hard."