Apocalypse: I Built the Infinite Train-Chapter 13: Ambush Encounter

Because the train was still moving within the city limits, Lin Xian deliberately slowed its speed. The city was in chaos, and he wanted to avoid blocked tracks and reduce noise that might attract unnecessary trouble.

Merging from the light rail line onto the Jiangyu main line, the surroundings began to open up. Occasionally, stray zombies or animals wandering the tracks were simply crushed under the train’s wheels.

Soon, the number of track switches increased, leading to a wide-open area filled with various freight trains parked on the branch lines.

There were several container trains among them, but without exception, all the cargo doors were wide open. The supplies inside had long been looted by survivors, leaving behind only empty cardboard boxes and plastic bags scattered across the ground.

What remained were mixed freight trains with different carriages, including boxcars, flatbeds, and tankers, but even those hadn’t been spared. Some carriages had even toppled over onto the tracks.

The branch line connected to a distant loading platform and hoisting workshop—clearly, this was Jiang City’s rail freight loading center. These facilities were typically located just before passenger stations within a city.

Lin Xian stopped the Infinite Train at the entrance to the double-track railway leading into the freight station. He studied the layout, then opened the train door and stepped out toward the track switch next to the branch line. Placing his hand on it, he activated the motor.

Screech!

The track switch shifted. Lin Xian returned to the train and drove it onto the branch line, stopping at a platform marked "Loading Platform No. 4."

“Take this walkie-talkie. Even if it’s me, don’t open the door. I’ll open it myself when I get back,” Lin Xian instructed Chen Sixuan as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his short blade. “As long as you don’t open the door, no one can touch you.”

Chen Sixuan nodded, understanding that Lin Xian’s ability to control the train meant he could handle things on his own. She obediently committed his instructions to memory.

“Be careful out there,” she responded with genuine concern.

The airlock door of the control cabin hissed open. Apart from the control cabin door and the hydraulic liftgate in the third carriage, all other doors on the Infinite Train’s living carriages had been welded shut and reinforced with steel plates. As long as they didn’t encounter a strange creature like last night’s white giant, neither ordinary people nor zombies posed any real threat to their safety inside.

Stepping out of the train, Lin Xian closed the door behind him. A bone-chilling wind greeted him immediately, cutting through his clothes and stinging his face.

He glanced at the blazing sun overhead and cursed the bizarre weather.

With his upgraded speed attribute, Lin Xian’s movements were much more agile. Blade in hand, he crossed several tracks, glancing toward the front and rear of each train he passed, searching for a suitable locomotive.

His plan was to use the daylight to secure an electric locomotive. If he couldn’t find one here, he’d look for supplies instead and then continue to Jiang City Station a few kilometers ahead.

One by one, Lin Xian scanned the trains until he reached the front of a container train. There, he spotted a silver Huanxing 7F Electric Locomotive. His eyes lit up.

The Huanxing 7F Electric Locomotive stretched 60 meters long, with a sleek silver body accented by blue stripes. Its aerodynamic design gave it a futuristic appearance, earning it the nickname “Huanxing Hercules.” With a power output of 58,800 kilowatts, it was the standard freight locomotive for Huanxing Railways.

This behemoth required connection to the railway power grid to operate. In the post-apocalypse, it had become a useless hulk, sitting idle on the tracks collecting dust. Without fuel or water, and with its interior cramped and impractical, no one had bothered trying to make use of it.

The Huanxing 7F was twice as long as the Whale 03E Heavy Gas Turbine Locomotive and was a true electric monster. Its precision engineering included not only traction motors but also advanced kinetic energy recovery and storage systems, making it the perfect temporary battery for the Infinite Train.

“You’re the one,” Lin Xian muttered, placing his hand on the locomotive. His Mechanical Heart began scanning the machine, revealing that it was in excellent condition, practically brand new.

This was a jackpot.

Thanks to his unique ability, what other survivors saw as useless junk was a priceless treasure to him.

Just as Lin Xian prepared to activate the locomotive and disconnect it from its carriages, a faint, intermittent sound came from behind him.

He immediately turned cautiously toward the source. The sound came from one of the warehouses on the platform.

Crouching low, Lin Xian slipped through the gap between two freight cars, following the noise. It led him to a warehouse marked with the number 14.

Thud thud thud~ Thud thud thud~

A series of rhythmic knocks echoed out. It was consistent, unlike the mindless noises made by zombies.

Climbing onto the platform, Lin Xian approached the warehouse cautiously, the sound growing louder with each step. He could faintly hear someone shouting.

“Help! Is anyone there?!”

The voice was muffled, as if blocked by some soundproofing material.

Lin Xian arrived at the door of Warehouse 14 and peered inside through the partially ajar entrance. He discovered that it was a cold storage facility, with two large white freezers inside. However, due to Jiang City’s power outage, the interior reeked of an indescribable stench of decay.

The smell hit Lin Xian like a punch, and he almost threw up the canned meat he’d eaten earlier.

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As Lin Xian ventured further into the warehouse, he finally spotted the source of the noise. Behind the isolation window of a large freezer marked "1," two women were visible. One, seemingly in her thirties, was frantically pounding on the door, her face flushed red with desperation. The other, an older woman in her fifties or sixties, was slumped on the ground, barely breathing.

The moment Lin Xian stepped inside, the younger woman noticed him and immediately cried out, “Please, help me open the door! My mom is dying!”

But as soon as Lin Xian heard those words, his eyes narrowed sharply. Something felt off. Without hesitation, he leapt forward in a single swift motion.

In the very next instant, the sharp crack of a gunshot rang out behind him.

Bang!

An ambush!

Lin Xian instantly saw through their ploy. A woman locked in a freezer crying out for help? It was too strange, too coincidental. Her shouting would have drawn zombies, not saviors. It was obvious that her cries were meant to bait him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The first shot missed, and a volley of bullets followed.

Lin Xian didn’t stop moving for a second. His reflexes were lightning-fast as he darted into the doorway of another freezer, slamming the heavy door shut behind him.

Clang! Clang!

Bullets hit the freezer door, sending sparks flying.

“Damn, this guy’s fast!”

“Don’t let him get away!”

“Hah, what an idiot! He’s holed himself up in a freezer now!”

Two men quickly rushed after him, both armed—one with a long gun and the other with a shorter weapon.

The leader, a man in his forties with a sinister expression and a large tattoo snaking up his neck, kicked the freezer door hard but found it locked tight.

“D*mn, that’s strange!”

The skinnier man, standing nearby, peeked through the small observation window at Lin Xian, who was inside the freezer, his posture guarded and vigilant. The skinny man tugged on the door handle, but it didn’t budge.

“Why won’t this damn door open?”

Large industrial freezer doors were specially designed to prevent the handle from freezing up due to condensation forming and icing over. As a safety feature, the doors could only be opened from the outside, while the inside had an emergency alarm button.

But something unusual had happened—the door wouldn’t open from the outside at all after Lin Xian entered.

“F***!” the tattooed man cursed.

He raised his gun and fired two rounds at the freezer's observation window. The shots echoed loudly in the warehouse, but the bullets only left faint marks on the thick glass. The observation window was 200 millimeters thick, and the freezer itself was built like a fortress to ensure optimal insulation.

“Mom!” the tattooed man suddenly called out.

At his shout, the freezer door marked "1" creaked open. The younger woman who had been feigning distress earlier stepped out, followed closely by the older woman who had seemed on the verge of death just moments ago.

The group of people began to encircle Lin Xian’s position, their faces unfriendly and hostile.

“This kid’s got sharp instincts…” one of them muttered darkly.