12: Chapter 12 The Screamers and the Mental Shock

The crimson blood moon had risen to the center of the night sky, looking like a malicious eye staring fixedly at this bleeding wasteland.

The battle had lasted for a full two hours.

**[Warning: Swarm drone energy depleted, forcing return to base...]**

**[Warning: Machine gun turret ammunition remaining below 5%.]**

As the system's cold notification sounded, the ten small black aircraft that had been harvesting zombie lives like an inescapable net saw their dazzling red laser beams begin to flicker and fade.

Finally, they had no choice but to fly back to the recovery slots on both sides of the locomotive to recharge, humming like a swarm of exhausted worker bees.

Without the suppression of the laser net, the tide of corpses instantly counterattacked.

"Roar—!!!"

Without the high-tech barrier, those violent zombies, suppressed for so long, surged forward once again like a flood breaking through a dam.

They stepped over the shattered remains of their companions, lunging recklessly toward the Black Iron.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Dense impact sounds echoed from both sides of the train body.

Although the upgraded steel armor was hard enough, the terrifying vibration—as if it might overturn the train—still left every girl in the carriages trembling with fear.

"Zhao Xiaotang! Two leaked through on the left! Hold them back!"

Lin Xiao threw down the machine gun remote, which had run out of bullets, and grabbed the revolver at his side, firing a shot at a zombie trying to crawl through a shattered firing port.

Bang!

The zombie's head blossomed, and it fell backward.

"I know! Don't rush me!"

Zhao Xiaotang's eyes were already bloodshot with killing intent. Her athletic tank top was long since soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her body and outlining her pulse-pounding, hot figure.

The mixture of sweat and black zombie blood on her wheat-colored skin made her look both wild and sexy.

She let out a roar, slamming the tower shield in her hand hard against the face of a zombie that had just climbed onto the window sill, flattening it like a pancake as it fell.

Su Qingqian's situation was slightly better, but not by much.

Although the Tang sword "water cutter" in her hand was still sharp, her wrist had begun to tremble slightly. Every swing to sever a zombie's neck consumed immense physical and mental energy.

"Lin Xiao, there are too many... at this rate, we'll be worn to death!" Su Qingqian shouted, panting as she kicked a zombie away.

Just as the situation became critical.

"Screee—!!!"

An extremely shrill shriek, like the sound of fingernails scratching a blackboard amplified a thousand times, suddenly came from the far rear of the corpse tide.

This sound wasn't like the low growls from the throats of ordinary zombies; it was a high-frequency sound wave that directly penetrated the thick armor and bulletproof glass, and even pierced through human eardrums to stab at the cerebral cortex!

"Ah!!!"

The carriage was instantly filled with a chorus of shrill screams.

Shen Man, who had been bandaging the wounded, suddenly clutched her head and collapsed to the floor.

"It hurts... my head hurts so much... like a drill is boring into it..."

Her intellectual and gentle face was now contorted in agony. Two streaks of bright red nosebleed flowed down from her shapely nostrils, dripping onto the white floor in a shocking display.

The ball of healing light she had just condensed dissipated into dots of white light with a soft pop.

It wasn't just Shen Man.

Luo Yao, who was in charge of intelligence, let out a scream and fell directly from her high stool in the co-pilot's seat, rolling on the floor while clutching her ears. Her lively eyes rolled back, and white foam even leaked from the corners of her mouth.

"Stop screaming... stop screaming... Luo Yao doesn't want to hear it..."

Even Zhao Xiaotang and Su Qingqian, with their powerful physiques, suddenly stalled in their movements.

Zhao Xiaotang felt as if her brain had been struck by a heavy hammer; her vision went dark, and she stumbled.

"Watch out!"

Su Qingqian endured the intense pain, cleaving a zombie that had taken the opportunity to lung at Zhao Xiaotang, but the shock left her own hand numb, and she nearly lost her grip on her sword.

Half of the train's combat power was instantly paralyzed!

Lin Xiao felt a buzzing in his mind, as if a red-hot iron wire had been inserted into his temple.

But he was, after all, the Conductor with an S-rank talent bonus who had taken strengthening potions; his mental attributes far exceeded those of ordinary people. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, the sharp pain instantly clearing his mind.

"Shit! It's a psychic monster!"

A flash of violence crossed Lin Xiao's eyes.

He had seen this thing in records from his previous life—**[Screamer (LV.2 Variant)]**.

The monster itself had extremely weak combat power, finding it difficult even to walk. However, it possessed an incredibly disgusting ability: Mental Shockwave.

It could emit high-frequency sound waves that interfered with the human nervous system, causing severe headaches, dizziness, and even cerebral hemorrhaging. For those with psychic-type talents (like Shen Man's healing or Luo Yao's data analysis), the damage was doubled!

If he didn't take it out, the people on this train wouldn't need to be bitten by zombies; they would be vibrated into idiots!

"Luo Yao! Don't play dead! Find its location for me!"

Lin Xiao rushed over, hauled Luo Yao up from the floor, and roared.

Despite her immense agony, Luo Yao forced her eyes open by instinct upon hearing Lin Xiao's command. Green data streams flashed once again in her bloodshot eyes.

"In... in the back... five hundred meters... on top of a giant rock..."

Luo Yao weakly raised her hand, pointing in a general direction, before her eyes rolled back and she fainted completely.

"Five hundred meters."

Lin Xiao placed Luo Yao back on the chair, his gaze scanning that direction like lightning.

In the darkness at the edge of the searchlights, a strange figure was faintly visible.

It crouched on a massive weathered rock. Its head was absurdly large, taking up nearly half its body, while its limbs were withered like dried branches.

It was opening its massive mouth, which seemed to split half its head open, emitting that lethal shriek toward the Black Iron.

"Found you, big-headed ghost."

Without any hesitation, Lin Xiao turned and took a long, cloth-wrapped bundle from the weapon rack behind him.

He pulled the zipper.

A sniper rifle with a slender body and a matte black finish was revealed.

**[Remington M700 Sniper Rifle (Wasteland Mod)]**.

He had traded five boxes of instant noodles to a smuggler for this in the trading area yesterday. Although it was an antique, it had been modified by the system with a high-powered thermal imaging scope and a silencer.

Click-clack!

Lin Xiao skillfully pulled the bolt, chambering a golden 7.62mm sniper round.

He pushed open the emergency escape hatch on the roof of the cockpit and leaned half his body out, braving the gale and the smell of blood outside.

Whoosh—whoosh—

The wind on the wasteland was strong, making Lin Xiao's clothes flap loudly.

The train was still shaking slightly from the impacts of the corpse tide.

In such an environment, trying to snipe a target five hundred meters away was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

But Lin Xiao had no way out.

He took a deep breath, held it, and pressed his cheek tightly against the cold stock of the rifle.

In the thermal scope, that massive orange-red head was clearly visible.

"With a head that big, it's hard to miss."

A cold curve hooked at the corner of Lin Xiao's mouth.

At that moment, the Screamer seemed to sense danger. It stopped shrieking and turned its ugly, oversized head, trying to locate the source of the threat.

That was the moment of pause.

Bang!

A dull but powerful gunshot rang out, inconspicuous amidst the noisy battlefield.

But in the scope, the image was incredibly impactful.

The high-speed spinning bullet tore through five hundred meters of night sky, ignoring wind resistance and the darkness.

With absolute precision, it drilled into the center of the Screamer's forehead.

Splat!

Like a watermelon smashed by a sledgehammer.

That massive head instantly exploded, red and white matter splashing everywhere.

The shrieking came to an abrupt halt.

The agonizing mental pressure vanished instantly.

The entire world seemed to go quiet at that moment.

Phew...

Lin Xiao let out a long breath, retreated back into the train, and closed the hatch.

"Done. Job's finished."

...

The crisis was resolved, but the aftereffects remained.

Shen Man was still kneeling on the floor, clutching her head and groaning softly. Though her nosebleed had stopped, her face was terrifyingly pale.

Lin Xiao tossed the sniper rifle aside, strode to Shen Man's side in a few steps, and helped her up.

"Shen Man? Shen Man, how are you?"

Looking at the woman in his arms, Lin Xiao felt a pang of pain in his heart.

Shen Man was in a very bad state. Her eyes were unfocused, her body was as limp as mud, and she was twitching uncontrollably. These were typical symptoms of mental exhaustion combined with the shock she'd received.

"Lin... Lin Xiao... am I going to die..."

Shen Man weakly opened her eyes. Seeing Lin Xiao's anxious face, she managed to squeeze out a tragic yet beautiful smile. "If I die... can you... can you give me a kiss..."

She really felt like she wasn't going to make it this time; that feeling of her brain being torn apart was too terrifying.

"Don't talk nonsense! You're the healer, you won't die that easily!"

Lin Xiao cursed under his breath, and with a flick of his wrist, a pale blue potion appeared in his hand.

**[Advanced Mental Sedative]**.

This was a rare item from the first-aid kit he'd received from a check-in. It was said that one injection could turn a manic patient into a little lamb and repair damaged nerves.

"Open your mouth." Lin Xiao brought the mouth of the potion bottle to her lips.

Shen Man obediently opened her mouth.

The cool liquid flowed down her throat, bringing a minty freshness that quickly spread to her cerebral cortex.

The tearing pain began to slowly recede, replaced by a deep sense of drowsiness and peace.

"Feel better?" Lin Xiao asked softly, reaching out to wipe the blood from her face with his sleeve.

Shen Man nodded, feeling as if she had come back to life.

She looked at the man in front of her.

When that intense pain had struck, she really thought she was finished. But in her moment of deepest despair, his shot had ended the agony.

And now, he was gently taking care of her.

An uncontrollable emotion broke through the dam of her reason.

Shen Man suddenly reached out and hugged Lin Xiao's waist tightly, burying her face against his firm abdominal muscles as tears flowed uncontrollably.

"Uwahhh... Lin Xiao... I was so scared... I was really so scared just now..."

She was no longer the intellectual and calm class representative, nor the gentle older sister. At this moment, she was just a small woman in desperate need of security.

Lin Xiao sighed, gently stroking her chestnut-colored, wavy hair.

"It's okay now, I've already headshotted that ghost thing."

"As long as I'm here, even the King of Hell won't take you away."

Shen Man hugged him even tighter, wishing she could merge herself into his body.

She could feel the strong masculine scent on Lin Xiao, along with the faint smell of gunpowder from the battle. To her, this was the best scent in the world, the most powerful sedative.

"Lin Xiao... don't go... just let me hold you for a while... just a little while..."

Shen Man's voice carried a sob, yet it also held a stubbornness that suggested she wouldn't let go even if she died.

Inside the cockpit, other noises seemed to fade away.

Luo Yao was still whimpering in her unconscious state, but she had also stabilized.

Outside the window, the zombies were still impacting, but in this tiny world, only two people were held in a tight embrace.

Lin Xiao didn't push her away.

He knew that although the battle was still ongoing, the most dangerous mental attack had been neutralized. As for the remaining physical attacks, the hard train body and Su Qingqian's group could hold them off for a while longer.

He also needed this moment of tenderness to calm his nerves, which had been taut during the sniping.

The death of the Screamer caused the mental pressure inside the carriage to vanish abruptly, but the impact sounds outside did not cease because of it.

On the contrary, having lost their leader's direction, those violent zombies became even more disorganized and frenzied, attacking entirely based on bloodthirsty instinct.

**[Warning: Rear carriage area 04 is under continuous heavy impact, bulletproof glass durability has dropped to 30%!]**

**[Warning: High-agility biological reaction detected, has breached the defensive perimeter!]**

In the cockpit, Lin Xiao, who had just finished comforting Shen Man, hadn't even had time to catch his breath before he was startled into jumping up by this series of urgent red alarms.

He glanced at the monitor screen, and his face instantly turned ashen.

On the surveillance screen, a slender monster with limbs twisted like those of an insect was clinging like a gecko to the outer wall of the train's rear.

Its skin was an eerie, ghastly white. It had no eyes, only a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth. Its long claws, sharp as knives, were frantically scratching at a window pane that was already covered in cracks.

**[Monster Name: Hunter (LV.2 Agility-type Variant)]**

**[Characteristics: Extreme speed, sharp claws, expert at ambushes.]**

And inside that window was the "punishment carriage" Lin Xiao had specifically arranged for Zhao Ji—near the boiler room, the noisiest and hottest place, and also the furthest from the escape route.

"Damn it! That place is a blind spot, the mechanical arm can't reach it!"

Lin Xiao cursed under his breath and snatched a fire axe from the wall (a check-in reward, made of refined steel, armor penetration +10).

"Shen Man, stay here and watch Luo Yao. Lock the door! Don't open it for anyone!"

Without waiting for Shen Man's reply, he charged out of the cockpit like an enraged lion.

...