Apocalypse: I Build A Doomsday Train Chapter 4 - 2: Doomsday Helpline

The following day, when the sky finally lightened, the time had already reached 13:00 in the afternoon.

Darkness withdrew without any sunrise sequence; brilliant daylight already angled across the heavens.

Daylight arrived one hour later compared to yesterday. Using Jiang City's regional daylight saving time as reference, with sunset expected around 18:45, dawn would disappear entirely from this place in roughly five days.

Within the apartment, Lin Xian grabbed the Short Knife and stuffed it into his backpack, then leaped from the balcony to the neighboring room; he navigated downward via his predetermined path, accessing a subway tunnel through the apartment's underground civil defense entrance.

This spot marked the maintenance zone of the former University City Station, rendered totally inoperable once the apocalypse struck.

Lin Xian had wiped out every zombie on the platform, converting the area into his dedicated train assembly site.

Lin Xian pressed deeper into the tunnel. A Whale 03E heavy-duty gas turbine locomotive rested on the neglected, stained railway tracks.

This 200-ton steel monster stood as Lin Xian's ultimate hidden asset, crafted to break free from the endless night!

Click~

He flicked on the flashlight, sending a piercing white beam into the shadowy, cavernous tunnel. Lin Xian stared at the enormous engine in front of him, unease swelling within his chest.

This pinnacle of engineering, assembled 30 years prior by Alstom Transportation Co., Ltd. and Dragon Country North Car Group together, utilized the Alstom "Prima" locomotive tech base. It underwent precise development to emerge as the top high-power mainline freight gas turbine locomotive.

Stretching beyond 36 meters in length and 3.2 meters across, this formidable beast harbored tremendous power underneath. Its traction output hit 18,500 horsepower, rivaling the raw force of scores of supercars, capable of hauling tens of thousands of tons in freight!

It matched almost flawlessly with Lin Xian's Mechanical superpower, sparking the inception of his Infinity special train initiative!

"Inspect the drive shaft, brake pads, power turbine..."

Lin Xian's Mechanical Heart offered three core abilities: Mechanical Scan, Mechanical Repair, and Mechanical Operation.

In essence, any machine he contacted, provided he grasped its workings, could be controlled and fixed directly by him; he could even produce a holographic diagram via scanning. These passive abilities stayed non-upgradeable.

The Whale 03E demanded fuel for thrust and electricity for support systems. Fuel ranked as the rarest commodity post-apocalypse, yet Lin Xian's "Mechanical Heart" superpower propelled it solely through his own power, bypassing any fuel needs—a truly overpowered feat.

Still, output remained capped by personal stamina, so Lin Xian's present physique limited travel range somewhat. Yet acting as a living power source, while scavenging machines and resources en route, he could later integrate generators or compact nuclear units, solving energy woes for good.

Besides powering the locomotive, Lin Xian readied three passenger cars as storage and living spaces, all adapted from standard carriages.

Lin Xian approached the final carriage, pressed his palm against the train body, and triggered Mechanical Heart. A custom hydraulic platform descended. Within the fourth car waited a motorcycle, set aside for material runs after halting.

He mounted it, retrieved a welding machine, and beside the tracks piled steel supplies—chiefly rolled steel plates, High Hardening Tungsten Steel, and High Manganese Steel. Sourced from Jiang City's specialty steel plant warehouse for armored vehicles and tanks, these proved perfect for forging his iron stronghold.

Hum~

A holographic display shimmered before Lin Xian, displaying his custom armor designs alongside firearm schematics, such as the Glock 23 0.40in pistol blueprint, obtained from a gang clash and digitized via [Mechanical Scan].

But the issue was

"High alloy chrome molybdenum steel 120 grams, basic steel material 300 grams, plastic 195 grams..."

Lin Xian eyed the list and winced with a throbbing headache.

Against scanned standard gear, Lin Xian's simplest option now involved Mechanical Manufacturing skill paired with on-hand materials for custom builds.

Click~ Click~ Bang~!

A spark of light flickered in Lin Xian's gaze, causing the steel materials in front of him to rise abruptly into the air. Then, crushed by immense pressure, they swiftly twisted and melded as one. In a mere ten minutes, a 1.5*0.9 composite armor plate emerged right before his eyes.

Putting together and constructing demanded total focus, and with no one else around, Lin Xian grabbed every scrap of daylight to outfit the train.

Hours slipped away, until finally several batches of grid-style and dual-layer composite armor panels for the 'windows' stood ready. Lin Xian rolled out a compact mobile crane from the back carriage next, hauling those massive plates to the carriage's brink one by one, before firing up the welder to fix them firmly in position.

The Whale 03E heavy-duty gas turbine locomotive featured a driver's corridor linking straight to every trailing carriage, each one outfitted with sturdy isolation gates.

Lin Xian had christened the full train "Infinity". He'd repurposed the lead carriage as a basic living space crammed with most scavenged materials, while the second carriage lay empty at present. His vision was to fill it with vegetable crops and thriving greenery.