The night was silent. The entire Infinite Train had already shut off its lights, though a few people still took turns keeping watch inside the carriages for safety.
Inside Carriage No. 3, Ding Junyi lay on her bed, enjoying the peace and quiet. She had a habit of sleeping without clothes, as it gave her a liberating sense of relaxation.
Outside the resting chamber, the Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum quietly emitted an almost imperceptible ghostly glow from within its sealed cultivation pod. After absorbing the Black Mist from the Large Parasite, a stream of dark smoke began to cycle through its flower core, slowly transforming into a cold, invisible substance that dispersed throughout the carriage.
Like an intangible mist, so of it was unknowingly inhaled by Ding Junyi, while the rest drifted into the surrounding carriages, enveloping KIKI, Shasha, Big Luo, Lu Xingchen, and even those further back—Shu Qin, Lü Chang, Miao Lu, and the other team mbers.
When the ghostly mist attempted to seep beyond the train, the Heteromorphic Cube in Carriage No. 1 pulled it back.
Ding Junyi’s eyes snapped open. She felt an inexplicable sense of comfort coursing through her body. Looking around, she saw nothing unusual. Still, she got up, grabbed her white coat, and carefully opened the door to check her surroundings. Seeing no one, she stepped out.
Underneath the coat, she wore nothing. She had no desire to be seen, but sothing felt… off. When she looked ahead, she imdiately noticed the faint, eerie glow radiating from Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum.
“What’s going on?”
This was the first ti Ding Junyi had encountered such an anomaly.
anwhile, in Carriage No. 1, Lin Xian had just fallen asleep when a chanical notification panel appeared before his eyes.
A status ssage flashed:
[Non-chanical energy has been converted. 1000 chanical Source Points acquired.]
[Network anomaly detected. Refreshing… Please retry.]
Lin Xian bolted upright from his bed.
“What!?”
Thinking he had misread it, he quickly opened his chanical Heart interface—sure enough, his chanical Source Points had increased by 1000!
[Current chanical Heart Level: LV.3 (2720/5000)]
“Holy sh*t!”
His mind raced. His first thought was: Did I just accidentally devour the entire Infinite Train in my sleep?!
But everything was normal. The Infinite Train was intact. His chanical Heart was functioning properly. Even Professor Chen was peacefully asleep beside him.
Sothing wasn’t right.
Lin Xian hurriedly threw on his clothes and checked his Heteromorphic Cube, which was secured in Carriage No. 1. He imdiately activated a chanical scan.
[Beep! Performing reflective scan using non-chanical forces…]
[Scan complete. No fear-based anomalies detected. Dark-side invasion blocked.]
[Converting residual non-chanical energy… 2 chanical Source Points acquired.]
“Wait… this thing is generating chanical Source Points?”
Lin Xian was stunned.
His Heteromorphic Cube had originally been created when his chanical Heart forcibly converted Eerie Radio Waves, but he never expected it could produce chanical Source Points without devouring chanical parts.
But what exactly was this ‘non-chanical energy’?
As he mulled over the question, he suddenly noticed faint streaks of light energy flowing through the train, gradually converging inside the Heteromorphic Cube.
His eyes narrowed.
He began tracking the glowing mist’s source, following it as it drifted toward the rear carriages.
Passing through Carriage No. 2, he noticed KIKI and Shasha still deep in sleep.
Shhht—
Lin Xian carefully opened the gate to Carriage No. 3 and was surprised to find the lights still on.
Inside, Director Ding Junyi was examining sothing with a serious expression.
He glanced around. Under the bright lights, the glowing mist had completely vanished.
“Director Ding? You’re still up?”
Ding Junyi looked up at him. “I just noticed sothing strange about the Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum, so I need to study it.”
“Strange?”
Lin Xian activated his chanical Heart and, with a click, switched off the lights in Carriage No. 3.
Instantly, the ghostly glow reappeared—and was now even brighter.
Lin Xian followed its source—right back to Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum.
Ding Junyi’s eyes flashed. “So, you see it too?”
Lin Xian had been about to ask her the sa thing, but her reaction surprised him. This ant the mist was visible to everyone, not just his chanical Heart’s interface.
“What is this?” Lin Xian frowned. “Could it be so kind of mark?”
Ding Junyi adjusted her glasses. “Unclear. My readings detect a positive surge in Soul Wave Values. Normally, this only occurs in Ability Users. My preliminary hypothesis is that it’s a type of Dark Energy. But I don’t know why it’s dispersing like this.”
Lin Xian’s expression tightened.
Could this be the reason I just gained 1000 chanical Source Points?
But his chanical Heart was supposed to gain energy from devouring machinery—not from Dark Energy.
And yet, Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum had clearly absorbed Eerie Energy from monsters like the Mimic Parasite, then sohow transford it into non-chanical energy… which was now converting into chanical Source Points through the Heteromorphic Cube?
His mind was racing.
Ding Junyi studied his face. “Did you figure sothing out?”
Lin Xian shook his head. “Not sure. If this isn’t so kind of marker, then it might an this thing is actively releasing Dark Energy onto the train. We just don’t know yet if it’s beneficial or dangerous.”
The glowing mist had already spread throughout the train.
Lin Xian wasn’t worried about himself—after all, he had just gained chanical Source Points from it. But he was concerned about its effects on other people.
Too much Dark Energy could lead to Corruption in normal humans. That was a serious issue.
“To figure that out, we’ll need live observation.”
Ding Junyi stood up and looked at Lin Xian. “I’ve been monitoring everyone’s vitals. We should see results in a few days.”
“A few days?” Lin Xian asked.
“Yes.” Ding Junyi nodded. “Unless there’s an imdiate case of rapid Corruption, the effects on the body won’t be noticeable in a short period. A few days is already a fast tifra.”
Lin Xian exhaled and glanced at the Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum, his expression conflicted.
“Let’s hope it’s good news.”
Getting free chanical Source Points was definitely exciting. His first guess was that the flower had absorbed Eerie Energy, then released a transformative mist that boosted his chanical Heart. If that were true, everyone on the train might be benefiting from it.
If so, then Hell’s Black Chrysanthemum was an absolute blessing.
Not only could it serve as an early-warning system for Dark Marks, but it could also absorb Eerie Energy and convert it into chanical Source Points—giving Lin Xian an entirely new upgrade pathway!
A 1000-point gain was equivalent to devouring 4–5 train locomotives. Though it didn’t grant chanical components or experience, it still sped up his chanical Heart’s evolution!
Every ti his chanical Heart leveled up, he gained powerful new skills. Advancing faster was always a good thing!
…Wait.
Lin Xian suddenly realized sothing.
He turned to Ding Junyi, his eyes sharpening.
“Director Ding, are you…?”
Ding Junyi didn’t even look up from her research data.
“Yeah. Not wearing anything.”
She answered matter-of-factly, completely unconcerned about the breeze beneath her lab coat.
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