Armed Train in the Apocalypse

Su Huan’s black pupils had long blurred into an abyss, swallowing all the whites of his eyes, eerie and profound, ”High temperature, acid rain, floods, storms, spores, gravity, plants, rust, snow, Eternal Night, what are the other two?”

The Elder Marshal had been silently observing Su Huan’s demeanor, and calmly replied, ”The eleventh path is us, 12 million Donghuang soldiers.”

”And the twelfth path is that person.”

With a wave of the Elder Marshal’s hand, a black-and-white image suddenly appeared on the dome overhead. Upon closer inspection, one could see dense black-gray lines; it wasn’t a dynamic image but a delicate sketch.

Solitary towering trunks, a sunless sky, a vast emptiness within view—this image clearly depicted a place within the Eternal Night Zone.

In the visual center of the image lay a strange black hole. The originally exquisite realistic drawing style changed here, lines tangled and intertwined, sometimes forming circles and sometimes pulled into thin threads, as if existing within this space yet also independent of it.

Without needing explanation from the two, Su Huan intuitively understood the nature of the black hole.

Similar to the space formed by his inner realm of Wanxiang, existing in four-dimensional or higher-dimensional space.

”Because taking photos there is impossible, this drawing was created.”

The Elder Marshal’s face was expressionless, ”Every year on December 10th, this black hole always opens, spewing forth Evil Anomalies and those cavalry. We term this occurrence the ’year disaster.’”

Su Huan remained unmoved, his gaze withdrew from the image to focus on Number Three, and asked softly, ”Why?”

”What do you mean, why?”

The Elder Marshal was puzzled.

Number Three raised his hand to stop him, stared into Su Huan’s inhuman eyes, and said calmly, ”Do you mean the ordinary people who died because of the twelve defense lines?”

Su Huan dared not answer; he feared that opening his mouth would unleash a storm of emotions that his biological field couldn’t contain, killing the two old men on the spot.

The elder asked in return,

”Do you know the essence of evolution? It’s the energy you refer to as Pan Energy.”

When the elder mentioned this term, all the information regarding Pan Energy was extracted from his mind, associated with the topic, and combined in a thousandth of a second.

Finally, deriving an answer that also left him silent.

”Pan Energy must be filtered through the human body to be absorbed, right?”

Only then could it be explained why the soldiers in the Eternal Night Zone had such low levels of evolution, because they are the first layer of filters, using their bodies to filter the raw Pan Energy. Evolution Beasts and zombies form the second layer of filters, working with the Gatherer’s abilities to transform Pan Energy into more easily absorbed crystals, thus promoting evolution.

So for ordinary people, the optimal choice for evolution is to absorb the crystals extracted from biological bodies, then the Pan Energy in the air, and finally the raw Pan Energy of the Eternal Night Zone.

The elder made an almost imperceptible nod, letting out a faint sigh.

”When the decision was made, I also voted in favor. We knew what this plan entailed and how many would die because of it. In this respect, we are unavoidably responsible. If it’s a matter of blood debt for blood debt, dying ten thousand times wouldn’t suffice to repay even a fraction, but—”

The elder raised his head, his voice was indisputably resolute, ”If given another chance, I would still choose the same!”

”We could only act this way because we had no other choice!”

In fact, before the elder uttered his conclusion, he already knew the answer in his heart, even more perfectly than the elder’s response. His repeatedly evolved mind likened to supercomputers, able to complete all logical gaps.

Why not inform the ordinary people? Because only by the death of most could the remaining be nourished by their corpses.

They couldn’t decide who would live and who would die.

Even drawing lots wouldn’t work.

The number of survivors in Donghuang now is even less than half of what it was before the apocalypse.

Why do powers like Black Kite exist? Just like the elder said, complete non-interference isn’t possible; some seeds must be preserved.

As for who specifically, it’s unimportant. Without Black Kite, other labs or forces would take the stage.

They are also experimenting.

Why was the military withdrawn so thoroughly, leaving no semblance of order?

With Donghuang’s characteristics, even leaving a small regular army would mean the apocalypse came in vain. Its strong, spreading ability would allow it to quickly form a new, unbreakable order, thoroughly snuffing out the faint sparks born amid chaos.

Only in turbulent times can the likes of Su Huan with extreme personal power be born.

Everything had an explanation, but Su Huan alone couldn’t convince himself.

Yet he also couldn’t do anything.

The road of blood and flame weighed upon his heart, brewing into a bloody wine, the very wine now burning that had carried him thus far in search of the mastermind.

But now, the bloody wine refused to pour out, only burned fiercely within his chest, leaving him laughing endlessly.

”Who is that person?”

Su Huan suddenly quieted, his eyes returned to normal, intensely fixed on Number Three.

The elder felt the tingling on his face, spoke lightly, ”He has been waiting inside.”

”Inside?”

The elder pointed to the black hole on the dome, where chaotic lines coalesced into an unfathomable abyss, a glance causing dizziness.

”Originally, I didn’t know who he was waiting for, but ultimately, only you came, so perhaps you are the one he is waiting for.”

Gazing at the sky’s black hole, the conductor’s lips curled madly upward, ”Alright, last question—where is Yang Cunyi?”

...

December 10, 2035.

Eternal Night Zone, United Command Center.

[At the onset of apocalypse]

A middle-aged man bearing the rank of Major General stood at the command platform’s entrance, quietly watching the sun sink below the horizon, the sky transforming from glorious pink to ghostly blue. Perhaps knowing this was the last sunset made the scene extraordinarily captivating.

On the expanse before him, two million warriors scattered across the plain, sitting atop armored vehicles or leaning against helicopters, all jointly appreciated the sunset.

When the last trace of daylight vanished, the forces silently moved out.

The roar of engines faded into the distance, leaving only the empty cold winds to sweep across a vast plain, unable to extinguish the blaze burning in Yang Cunyi’s heart.

Turning his head, the highest powers of Donghuang, Marshals, and Chief Scientists stood behind him.

Everyone present was someone who could decide the nation’s fate, yet upon counting, he, a Major General, was the least remarkable.

Yang Cunyi spoke firmly, ”What needs to be said has been said, instructions have been clearly given, bid farewell no longer, ahead lies our reunion!”

Donghuang’s post-apocalypse leader, Number Two, sighed, ”Actually, I should be the one going this time.”

”I initiated every plan; initially, it ought to have been me!”

General Geng Shuo begrudgingly remarked, ”They let you, young man, take the lead!”

Yang Cunyi laughed at the words, gave a solemn salute, ”This is where it ends; if lightning falls in daylight, and the yin wind roars, it’s me coming back to see you!”

Then without looking back, he boarded the vehicle and headed north.

Two million Donghuang troops, eight hundred thousand Northern Alliance forces, fought for three days, ultimately returning only sixty thousand, all officers of rank and above perished, blood soaked the plain.

Since that day, the plains got colder, yet natural awakening of Evolvers finally appeared within the army.

The battle hadn’t ended; after this fight, small bands of enemies intermittently invaded, becoming endless ”year disasters.”

Until December 10, 2036.

The second year disaster arrived.

Number Two stood at the spot where Yang Cunyi stood last year.

The same two million Donghuang troops, this time a million Northern Alliance; this time, only around four hundred thousand returned.

This battle also caused Number Three to lose his name; Geng Shuo became the new Marshal.

Until Su Huan emerged.

[This Chapter was pondered over for a long, long time, and has filled in most of the holes.]