Previously on Apocalypse: I Build A Doomsday Train...
The crew members settle into their new, private quarters aboard the train. Sha Sha works on components, Da Lou organizes his tools, and Brother Huo sets up a tranquil space. Other crew members, including Shu Qin, Xiao Yuan, Miao Lu, Qian Deli, Lv Chang, and Luo Yang, are shown preparing their rooms or engaging in leisure activities like card games. Meanwhile, Shi Zhi unpacks while Xiao Qing and Ning Jing train intensely in the gym, discussing the benefits of physical exertion for superpower enhancement. Monica finds a moment of peace in her spacious room, enjoying wine and practicing her abilities.
[Devour successful, Mechanical Source Point +1100, Devouring Proficiency +230]
Whoosh!
Beneath the veil of night at Wah Island Airport, a colossal wide-body aircraft disintegrated into embers, its wings broken. All remaining organic remnants, including human carcasses, descended with a rustling sound, stirring nearby zombies. Their rusted joints groaned as they propelled themselves through the darkness. Waves of hoarse roars emanated from them, but upon reaching the source of the commotion, their quarry vanished. Their decaying, emerald eyes scoured the surroundings.
Lin Xian remained poised atop a drone, suspended in the air. The bright display before him sparked a look of excitement in his eyes.
"This marks my first time devouring an airliner. Despite the airframe's damage, the engines and avionics systems are intact, yielding over a thousand Mechanical Source Points..."
[Current Mechanical Heart Level LV.6 (40900/50000)]
[Mechanical Awakening]: Mechanical Lord
Mechanical Devouring: 6 (3130/5000) Improve devouring efficiency
Mechanical Manufacturing: 6 (1560/5000) Improve construction efficiency
Gazing at the Mechanical Heart panel, Lin Xian drew a deep breath. "After tonight's scavenging, it should suffice. At worst, I can rest tomorrow..."
With the immediate threat momentarily absent, Lin Xian was determined to capitalize on this respite. The newly acquired [Energy Transition] from recent enhancements and the legendary [Supercritical Diffraction Sword] skill, obtained from devouring a Dreadnought Level entity, had proven invaluable on Sea Rock Island. As humanity's situation grows increasingly dire, exploring the full potential of his mechanical superpower was undeniably the wisest course of action.
Having solidified his resolve, Lin Xian promptly commenced devouring the other two narrow-body airliners, alongside the transport ship, leaving no crashed flying apparatus untouched.
His objective was twofold: not only to accumulate Mechanical Source Points but also to gather more high-tier materials essential for the construction sequences within the Black Star Forge.
Currently, unless facing a crisis or engagement, Lin Xian consistently operates all six construction sequences. A substantial need for construction projects remains, including more functional drones to assist with building, repair, transport, and maintenance. Furthermore, Lin Xian is actively preparing to assemble a mecha army.
This formidable force would not consist merely of attack-oriented drones for swarm tactics, but rather actual combat mechas akin to Qian Suxun's. Lin Xian had already constructed four 'Steel Bone' series mechas for Luo Yang's experimental trials, yielding remarkably promising results.
The recent, unexpected acquisition of a military train from the Federation Interstellar Army's 974 Defense Group, complete with its mecha combat contingent, sparked a novel concept in Lin Xian's mind.
The core of the former human interstellar army's combat mecha revolved around human operators; exoskeletons and mechas served as mere extensions of their will. Aside from service robots, only drones possessed the capacity for swarm attacks.
However, current human technology faces a critical limitation: even the Thunder Falcon 2000 and all other drones exhibit a certain weakness against large Abnormal Bodies. While swarm technology enhances efficiency, the Abnormal Bodies evolved in the encroaching darkness have developed biological force fields and energy-based attack methods. Compounded by the information suppression capabilities introduced by the darkness invasion, pre-Apocalypse Day attack drones struggle to achieve significant combat effectiveness against such threats.
Presently, half of Lin Xian's drones are of his own manufacture, while the other half were 'requisitioned' from Qin Feng in Dawn City. Despite their considerable utility during their aerial and maritime journeys, none have yet reached Lin Xian's envisioned standard of a vast force capable of directly annihilating Abnormal Bodies.
Consequently, he intends to conceptualize and develop a new type of drone mecha specifically engineered to combat Abnormal Bodies. These units would be autonomous, requiring no human piloting, boasting robust defenses, both soft and hard-hitting offensive capabilities, and incorporating a distributed communication architecture coupled with interference-resistant technology and dark energy phase synchronization. With this framework, Lin Xian aims to achieve mass production, effectively replicating an army and gradually forging a steel legion potent enough to challenge even Special Level or S-Class threats.
Lin Xian's current blueprint repository includes Qian Suxun's 'Steel Bone' and 'ACS' designs, along with the 'Dancer No.1' blueprint from the Deep Red World. Interstellar army models such as the Fire God and Guardian are inherently human-operated. Even equipping them with temporary remote control components would only serve as a stopgap, not a sustainable long-term solution.
Lin Xian conferred with Mochizuki Masashi on this matter, having gained a preliminary understanding of the Emperor Plan from Yu Yuheng earlier. This Emperor Plan actually encompassed two distinct development trajectories: one leading to a colossal human weapon known as Pangu, and the other focusing on the Iron Bee Swarm.
However, Yu Yuheng possessed limited knowledge of the Iron Bee Swarm project, and no actual machinery had materialized from it. Therefore, Lin Xian found himself needing to integrate his own concepts into its creation to bring it to fruition.
[Devour successful, Mechanical Source Point +260, Devouring Proficiency +40]
Lin Xian had just devoured a narrow-body airliner that had been cleaved into two segments. Surveying the aftermath on his screen, he initiated a communication with Viola.
"Viola."
[I am here.]
"If I were to craft a series of flight control systems by merging the Steel Bone with the Iron Hunter Power Armor, and subsequently produce a range of fire control units by combining Dancer No.1 with the Ghost Wolf Power Armor for optimal synergy, would this not essentially create an advanced iteration of the Steel Bone and Reaper?"
At this juncture, Viola projected a holographic interface remotely via Lin Xian’s Power Armor. This display showcased a composite image of the two power armor types alongside the streamlined form of Dancer No.1. Viola then spoke into his ear,
[This proposal, while somewhat rudimentary, carries the potential for significant material waste, estimated between 5.3% and 17% of the designated functional components and manufacturing resources. Furthermore, compatibility issues with the primary framework are foreseeable. In comparison to the 'Steel Bone,' certain defensive capabilities will be diminished. Nevertheless, Dancer No.1's synthetic torso offers a perfect integration point with the power armor's cockpit, effectively functioning as an enhanced reproductive chassis for Dancer No.1. By prioritizing high flexibility and intelligence, this design will inherit the defensive strength, weaponization capabilities, and augmented power systems of the power armor. Consequently, its overall combat effectiveness is projected to surpass both the 'Steel Bone' and the 'ACS'.]
