Chapter 148: Train Departure

Crack—

Before Zhao Yi could finish speaking, a piece of kelp whipped through the air with a loud crack, knocking the steel pipe from his hand!

Zhao Yi felt a sudden numbness in his hand, and the steel pipe snapped in two, clattering to the ground. Strange, swirling runes covered the broken ends of the pipe, writhing slowly as if alive.

Zhao Yi was stunned. He stood rooted to the spot, sensing the disdain and contempt emanating from the writhing kelp... In the face of these powerful calamities, his courage was nothing but a laughable trifle.

Rage and a profound sense of powerlessness welled up within him, leaving Zhao Yi's eyes bloodshot.

But he was not defeated by this sight. Instead, he snatched a crowbar from the ground and, with a roar, sprinted out of the warehouse, seemingly ready to fight the kelp to the death.

Just as the kelp was about to strike, a deafening gunshot suddenly rang out!

Bang—!!

The power of deconstruction instantly annihilated two pieces of kelp, creating a gap in the encirclement around the warehouse. Chen Ling, cloaked in a blood-red coat, stood at the opening, his smoking gun barrel pointed at the writhing kelp on either side.

“Go,” Chen Ling said calmly.

Seeing this, Zhao Yi immediately turned back into the warehouse, hoisted Ling'er onto his shoulder, and sprinted towards Chen Ling without hesitation.

The other kelp on either side, enraged, lashed wildly at Zhao Yi and Ling'er. But Zhao Yi didn't falter; he grit his teeth, closed his eyes, and charged forward... He had already entrusted his life to Chen Ling.

Bang bang—!

Two more gunshots echoed, and Zhao Yi distinctly felt the whipping wind that had been coiling around him vanish. When he opened his eyes again, he had already broken through the kelp's encirclement and reached Chen Ling's side.

Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Chen Ling's face was a little pale.

“Chen Ling, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Chen Ling glanced at the puddles beneath the kelp and immediately said, “Avoid the water, the ice, or anything reflective... Winter Harbor was likely wiped out by this thing.”

“But... but there’s ice everywhere here!” Zhao Yi said bitterly, looking at the frost-covered ground before them.

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed. With a swift movement, he aimed the gun at his own lung and pulled the trigger!

As the bullet pierced his body, a crimson hue rapidly spread through his eyes. Then, he abruptly lifted his right foot and stomped it heavily onto the ground!

Countless cracks spread across the ice, shattering it. With that single stomp, Chen Ling pulverized the ice and frost within dozens of meters into mere shards.

“Not anymore.”

This sight utterly bewildered Zhao Yi and Ling'er. Zhao Yi stared at the self-inflicted bullet hole on Chen Ling’s body, his mind a blank... It was his first time witnessing Chen Ling’s fighting style firsthand, and he seemed to understand why the people in Frost Street had such a nuanced attitude towards Chen Ling.

Chen Ling glanced behind him; the distant kelp was rapidly closing in. “Follow me.”

Zhao Yi and Ling'er followed Chen Ling, passing through several warehouses and buildings, finally stopping before a cordon. Beyond the cordon stood a tall, spacious large warehouse.

Chen Ling sliced through the cordon with a knife, then placed his blood-stained hands directly onto the heavy steel door. As the veins in his arms bulged, he forcefully pushed open the massive, several-hundred-kilogram door.

A low creaking sound echoed, and dust obscured Zhao Yi's vision. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a towering steel beast quietly resting inside the warehouse.

It was a train, identical to the K18 they had arrived in.

“What...?” Zhao Yi's eyes widened. “Why is there another K18 here?”

“Get in quickly.”

Chen Ling didn't have time to explain. He ushered them directly into the control cabin. This train's control cabin was essentially identical to the previous one, the only difference being that all the levers and other intricate instrument buttons were connected by strange, vein-like tendrils.

These tendrils grew on the surface of various instruments, converging in the center of the dashboard, where a withered hand extended from within, as if loosely gripping something.

Ling'er was startled by the sight, and Zhao Yi beside her exclaimed:

“What the hell is this?”

Chen Ling stood by the front of the train, his brow furrowing unconsciously as he saw the countless pieces of kelp swirling outside... At this rate, even if the train left the warehouse, it would be entangled by these things if it wasn't fast enough. If this train were also destroyed, everything would be over.

“Zhao Yi, you drive.” Chen Ling's gaze swept over their surroundings. He grabbed several barrels of gasoline from inside the warehouse and lightly climbed onto the roof of the train.

“Me? I don't know how to drive this thing!”

“This thing probably has a special way of being driven. Give it a try.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yi's gaze naturally fell upon the withered hand in the center of the dashboard. All the instruments were connected to this hand, making it seem like a central hub, but the more he looked at it, the creepier it became, sending a shiver down even Zhao Yi's spine.

But Zhao Yi was, after all, the fearless Zhao Yi. He gritted his teeth and directly clasped his hand around the withered one.

The moment their hands touched, the withered hand instantly closed, gripping Zhao Yi’s palm tightly. The next moment, a fierce blaze erupted in the boiler, and the hum of steam roared through the warehouse, nearly deafening them.

Steam spewed from the chimney, quickly filling the entire warehouse. As the transmission rod slowly engaged, the mysterious train, which had been dormant in Winter Harbor for a long time, finally started moving again, slowly chugging out of the warehouse.

Seeing this, Chen Ling immediately hurled one of the gasoline barrels he was holding. It arced through the air and landed among the swirling kelp.

Before the kelp could attack the gasoline barrel, Chen Ling raised his gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation!

Bang—!

The gasoline barrel exploded in mid-air, and a raging inferno rained down, covering the ground. The rune-covered kelp writhed and curled within the flames. As the ice and puddles on the ground were evaporated by the fire, the kelp also vanished without a trace.

“Damn it, full speed ahead!” Zhao Yi seemed to have grasped how to drive the train. He pulled the withered hand forward, and the train plunged directly into the flames!

On the front of the train, Chen Ling continuously hurled and ignited gasoline barrels in their direction of travel, laying a track of flames across Winter Harbor’s desolate landscape in the cold wind. Eerie roars echoed from within the sea of fire, as if something was raging furiously.

Flames danced around the steel beast, but had no effect on it. The train burst irresistibly out of the inferno, with strong winds and fire swirling around it, rushing straight away from the coastline.

His blood-red coat billowing, Chen Ling stood on the dark roof of the train. He looked back at the turbulent, frozen sea, his expression grim.

“Faster... something is coming out of the sea.”