I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

Chapter 220 The Roaring G32 Psionic Train

"Ugh—!!!"

Accompanied by a deep roar like that of an ancient behemoth, an extremely dazzling, eerie blue light shone from the depths of the dark underground tunnel.

Old Ding looked up at the steel behemoth that tore through the darkness and charged into the platform with suffocating kinetic energy.

This is the G32 Psionic freight and passenger mixed train.

You can hardly find any trace of the old-fashioned high-speed trains on it. Its front is no longer the rounded, streamlined shape, but has been transformed into an extremely menacing triangular ramming structure. The entire body shell is made of thick, black "black steel," a material originally used to forge low-level flying swords, which is now luxuriously used to cover the entire train, exuding a cold and indestructible metallic luster.

On the dark armor surface, there were densely packed array patterns emitting a ghostly blue light—the [Wind Control Array] was used to reduce air resistance, the [Impregnable Fortress Array] was used to strengthen the vehicle's defense, and the most core [Miniature Spirit Gathering Floating Array].

The train had no traditional wheels; its massive body was suspended in mid-air, about ten centimeters above the specially made track, thanks to the array. Each forward movement was a violent collision between the array's energy and the Earth's magnetic repulsion, generating countless dazzling blue arcs of electricity beneath the train.

This is a masterpiece that is both extremely crude and perfectly integrated with the art of immortal cultivation and array formations.

"laugh--"

With the reverse surge of array energy, the massive train, consisting of thirty carriages, came to a precise stop at the platform, accompanied by a teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound.

The exhaust valve opened, and large plumes of white steam, mixed with the rich residue of spiritual energy and the smell of engine oil, enveloped the entire platform like a cloud.

"Beep! Train G32 has come to a complete stop. This train is traveling from Shanghai Fortress City to Suzhou's Seventh Satellite City, passing through a dangerous wilderness area. All passengers are requested to board within three minutes. Otherwise, the train will be forcibly sealed off by the barrier."

The cold, mechanical synthesized voice echoed over the platform's loudspeakers.

In the post-apocalyptic era, humanity's living space has been drastically compressed. Between cities lie vast, boundless "wildernesses."

Since the Jianmu Divine Tree rose from the ground and drained the deadly void pollution from Earth's atmosphere, the wilderness is no longer filled with "void radiation." In its place is a harsh environment filled with violent and disordered spiritual energy and primordial miasma.

Catalyzed by extremely high concentrations of spiritual energy, Earth's native ecosystem is growing wildly and uncontrollably in an unknown, desolate direction. If an ordinary person dares to walk out of the fortress's defensive light barrier, they will definitely not survive more than half a day before being torn to shreds by the mutated beasts in the wilderness.

The psionic train is the only means of transportation that ordinary mortals can use to cross cities and make long-distance migrations.

However, the resources available for this mode of transportation are extremely limited and clearly stratified by class.

Old Ding was swept along by the surging crowd, struggling to move towards the car door. A strong gangster tried to use his strength to force Old Ding aside.

"Get out of here, you old cripple!" The thug shoved Old Ding hard on the shoulder.

However, Old Ding's body only swayed slightly. His eyes turned cold, and the hydraulic rod in his runic mechanical prosthetic leg emitted a piercing screech, unleashing superhuman strength to withstand the impact. Then, Old Ding used his right elbow, with only three real fingers remaining, to viciously slam into the thug's ribs.

This is a veteran's killing move, forged through countless battles and bloodshed in the initial catastrophe.

"Ugh!" The thug cried out in pain, clutching his ribs and staggering backward. Looking at Old Ding's bloodshot eyes, devoid of any emotion, he felt a sudden sense of fear and slunk away to the other car door.

Old Ding ignored him and, taking advantage of the gap, finally squeezed into carriage number 24.

The conditions inside the carriage were extremely poor.

There were no soft seats like those on old-fashioned high-speed trains. Instead, there were rows of long, narrow, hard stainless steel seats designed to maximize passenger capacity. Even the aisles were packed with people. Only a few dim psionic lights flickered on the ceiling, looking as if they might go out at any moment.

Old Ding found a narrow crevice to stand in next to a ventilation duct in a corner. He placed the bag of Crimson Blood Spirit Rice on his shoulder at his feet, then leaned against the cold steel carriage wall and exhaled a long breath of white air.

The temperature here is extremely low. To conserve spirit stones, the mortal carriages at the rear are not inscribed with a [Constant Temperature Array]. Only when the train is moving and the excess heat generated by the array's operation is conducted through, does the carriage become slightly warmer.

"Clang!"

When the three minutes were up, the doors slammed shut without a second thought. Several ordinary people who hadn't managed to get on the train kept pounding on the doors, but the thick layer of black steel remained unmoved.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely faint, almost invisible pale blue light curtain rose from the train's exterior, enveloping the entire train. This was the train's most basic [windproof barrier], used to resist the extreme weather in the wilderness and the intrusion of small alien beasts.

"Attention passengers, the barrier has been closed. The power reactor is igniting, and the train is about to leave the Shanghai Fortress City light curtain."

The broadcast ended.

At the very front of the carriages, inside the heart of the entire train—the locomotive.

A cultivator from the Alliance, whose cultivation had reached the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage, was sitting cross-legged in the center of a huge bronze array plate. His hands were rapidly forming hand seals, continuously channeling his true energy into the array plate's core.

As his true energy guided the flames, the shattered "low-grade spirit stone residue" beneath the array plate was instantly ignited.

"Buzz—!!!"

An extremely large and violent energy erupted within the power unit. The spiritual energy was transformed into terrifying heat and kinetic energy, flowing through the spiritual energy loops at the bottom of the train car like blood, instantly permeating all thirty-plus carriages.

The miniature spirit-gathering levitation array under the train was operating at full power, lifting the train, which weighed several thousand tons, by more than ten centimeters.

Then, the [Thrust Array] located at the rear and on both sides of the vehicle suddenly lit up with a blinding light.

boom!!!

Without any buffer, the G32 psionic train suddenly accelerated to an incredible speed. All the mortals in the carriages were involuntarily thrown backward, letting out gasps and curses.

Old Ding gripped the steel pipe behind him tightly, feeling the vibrations from the mechanical prosthetic leg.

He turned his head and looked at the narrow, thick, explosion-proof glass window of the carriage.

Outside the window, the dilapidated and crowded buildings of the lower district of Shanghai Fortress City were rushing past, turning into blurry streaks of light and shadow. Then, the train crashed into the massive defensive light barrier surrounding the outermost layer of the fortress city.

"Pop—"

As if passing through a film of water, the train burst out of the city's shelter and officially entered the "wilderness" shrouded in endless darkness and deathly silence.

After leaving the city, the train's speed continued to soar. Two hundred kilometers, four hundred kilometers, until it broke the terrifying limit of six hundred kilometers per hour. With the blessing of the [Wind Control Formation], the gale not only did not become a hindrance, but instead turned into a booster.

In the dark wilderness, this steel behemoth, its body shimmering with blue array light, resembled a luminous dragon traversing the netherworld, solitary yet resolute.

The noise inside the carriage was astonishing. The roar of the array in operation, the tearing sound of steel bodies rubbing against the airflow, and the shouts and curses arising from the overcrowding intertwined to create a symphony of despair belonging to the lower class.

Old Ding closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

In his hand, he clutched an old photograph soaked with sweat. The photograph showed a woman with a gentle face, but now she was emaciated.

That was his wife.

Three years ago, during the initial catastrophe, the "Yin Domain of the Third Hospital of Jiangnan City" erupted. His wife, in trying to pull him out from under the rubble, inadvertently inhaled an extremely yin energy. For the past three years, that bone-chilling, yin-cold toxin had lurked in her lungs, and in the last two weeks, the poison has fully manifested.

Ordinary medical methods were completely ineffective; they could only watch helplessly as her lungs and heart were gradually frozen and necrotic by the extreme yin energy.

There is only one way to survive—pure yang elixirs from the cultivation world, or spiritual herbs containing intense yang energy.

However, authentic elixirs, like the tycoon Martin that Old Ding saw in the square, are luxuries that require squandering billions of dollars and kneeling on the ground like a dog to beg for even a single defective pill. Even if Old Ding sold his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, he still couldn't afford even a scrap of the powder.

His only hope was to go to the "black market" in the satellite city of Suzhou, a place where all sorts of people gathered.

I've heard that some daring low-level cultivators there secretly take out the "waste liquid" from failed alchemy or the discarded "scraps of spiritual herbs" and sell them to mortals at high prices. Although the medicinal properties are extremely potent and toxic, and a slight mistake could kill someone, this is the last straw that Old Ding can grasp.

"No matter the cost... I must bring the medicine back," Old Ding silently told himself.

Just as Lao Ding was deep in thought.

"Bang!"

A muffled, loud bang suddenly came from the explosion-proof glass window on the right side of the train!

The entire carriage number 24 shook violently, and several ordinary people who had not been able to hold on to the handrails fell to the ground, letting out painful cries.

"What's going on?!"

"Has it gone off track?!"

Panic instantly gripped the carriage, and ordinary people looked out the windows in terror.

Old Ding suddenly opened his eyes and pressed his face close to the cold glass.

On the light blue windproof barrier surrounding the train, a pool of nauseating dark red blood had been spilled! And within that blood, a few broken, thick, steel-like black feathers could be vaguely seen.

"It's a 'mutated blood crow'."

Old Ding's pupils contracted slightly. Relying on his experience as a veteran, he recognized the monster's features at a glance.

The initial radiation from the cataclysm caused many wild animals in the wilderness to become frenzied and grow to enormous sizes. Over the past three years, the Earth's native food chain has become increasingly bizarre. These beasts seem to be undergoing some kind of evolution, even instinctively attacking creations imbued with spiritual energy.

However, with the kinetic energy of 600 kilometers per hour and the hard barrier outside the train, the mutated blood crow that attempted to attack the train was clearly courting death and was directly smashed into a pile of minced meat.

"Beep—Unidentified biological impact detected. Barrier energy loss 0.01%, no structural damage caused. Train continues. Passengers please remain quiet."

A cold announcement came over the train's public address system.

The panicked crowd quieted down slightly, but the oppressive atmosphere in the air grew even heavier. This seemingly insignificant collision served as a resounding slap in the face, a stark reminder to everyone in the carriage:

Humans are not the only masters of this planet. Once they leave the cage protected by the array, these mortals without spiritual roots don't even have the right to be ants, and could become prey under the law of the wilderness at any time.

Old Ding turned his head, his gaze passing through the crowded aisle of the carriage, and looked towards the very front of the train.

Between carriages 6 and 7, there is an extremely heavy alloy partition door engraved with mysterious golden runes.

That door was locked tight.

On this side of the door were twenty ordinary carriages, crowded like livestock pens, cold, and filled with the stench of sweat and despair.

On the other side of the door are the first five privilege carriages, which are only accessible to cultivators, high-ranking officials of the alliance, and top researchers with special contributions.

Although they were separated by only one door, Lao Ding knew that they were two completely different worlds.

In this era of cultivation industry, it's not just cities that have been folded up.

Even this train, roaring across the wasteland, was mercilessly cleaved into the human world and paradise by that cold, class-based chasm.