27: Chapter 27 Platform Two

The dark abyssal tunnel seemed endless.

The Level 1 armored train moved steadily. The wheels rolling over the tracks produced a monotonous, dull roar.

A full two days had passed since they last left the Crimson Platform.

During these two days, the metal door of the Train Master's compartment had become the focal point of all the girls' gazes in the carriage.

The 'Duty Roster' system was being strictly enforced.

Core area members like Xia Wanqiu, Su Ya, and Tong Tong had each taken turns entering that narrow, gloomy room to receive Lin Feng's 'Life Energy Replenishment'.

After ample nourishment, these campus belles who had awakened their Succubus Bloodline had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Their originally pale and weak complexions had become rosy and radiant, their skin glowing with a startling luster under the dim light.

Their abyssal bloodlines were fully activated, and their every movement exuded a sweet fragrance that made one's bones feel weak.

Because Xia Wanqiu's water-creation task was the most demanding, she was the first on the duty roster.

She now showed faint signs of breaking through to the First Order.

That pair of dark red bat-like wings had become more substantial, and her demon tail had thickened by a full circle, able to produce faint whistling sounds when it lashed through the air.

The rudimentary ecological cycle had stabilized.

The mutated potato seedlings catalyzed by Tong Tong had already grown lush branches and leaves. The crude sweet porridge processed by Xiao Ya and Lu Lu barely sustained the core area's basic needs.

However, the crisis was far from over.

*Beep—!*

A piercing red alarm suddenly blared within the armored carriage, shattering the brief tranquility.

[Network-wide Announcement: Train No. 99 is about to arrive at a station.]

[Arriving at Second Platform: Abandoned Botanical Garden.]

[Docking Time: 4 hours.]

[Regional Danger Assessment: High Risk!]

[System Warning: This area is perpetually shrouded in abyssal radiation, and the soil is exceptionally fertile. However, deep within the botanical garden lurks a Second-Order Magic Creature.]

[Data Update: The magical capacity and physical strength of a Second-Order Magic Creature are ten times that of a First-Order Magic Creature. It possesses absolute overwhelming power against players who have not yet reached the First Order. Proceed with caution.]

The moment the mechanical voice finished, the temperature in the carriage seemed to plummet several degrees.

Second-Order Magic Creature.

Ten times the magical capacity of a First-Order.

Instantly, everyone's minds flashed back to the terrifying destructive power of that Blood-Sucking Bat-Humanoid from two days ago.

That was only a First-Order, and it had already left them utterly defenseless. If it were a monster ten times stronger...

That wouldn't be a fight; it would be a one-sided slaughter.

Su Ya sat on a bench, her long, straight legs pressed together uneasily.

She had changed into a black tight-fitting tank top salvaged from old supplies. Though worn, it tightly encased her impressive bust, outlining a breathtakingly deep curve.

'A tenfold difference...' Su Ya adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her ice-blue horns flickering with unease. 'A monster of that level... encountering it means certain death.'

Xia Wanqiu also swallowed nervously, her gaze instinctively drifting toward the direction of the Train Master's compartment.

*Clang.*

The metal door opened.

Lin Feng strode out.

He still wore the same thin jacket, his expression stern, his deep eyes showing not a ripple of emotion.

To him, the system's warning was merely a risk assessment before action, not a reason to retreat.

'The nutrient soil in the cultivation box is running low. The potatoes are entering the tuber-setting stage and require higher-grade fertilizer.'

Lin Feng's gaze swept over everyone.

'The objective for this stop is to search for high-grade humus soil.

Su Ya, Xia Wanqiu, take your weapons and follow me off the train.'

The two named trembled, but neither dared refuse.

After these two days of the 'Duty Roster,' their bodies and minds were thoroughly imprinted with Lin Feng's mark.

Defying Lin Feng frightened them more than facing monsters.

*Rumble—Screech—*

The train let out a long whistle. The heavy armored locomotive crashed through the mist ahead and came to a steady stop on a rusted track.

The blast-proof doors slowly slid open to either side.

Outside, there was no icy wind, no snow.

Instead, there was a thick, suffocatingly humid fog.

Green.

As far as the eye could see, everything was an eerie, fluorescent dark green.

Giant mutated vines coiled around abandoned steel structures like pythons. Mutated ferns dozens of meters tall blotted out the sky.

Spore dust, visible to the naked eye, floated in the air. Inhaling it brought a pungent mix of decay and cloying sweetness.

This was the Second Platform, the Abandoned Botanical Garden.

'The humidity is intense.'

Lin Feng stepped onto the moss-covered platform, his brow slightly furrowed.

This environment was practically a gas chamber for ordinary people.

But for him, possessing A-Rank Frost Control, the abundant moisture in the air had become an arsenal he could call upon at will.

Like a fish in water.

Lin Feng could even sense that with a single thought, he could instantly condense the moisture within a ten-meter radius into a sky full of ice blades.

He turned his head to look at the two girls following behind him.

Both Xia Wanqiu and Su Ya looked rather pale.

Especially Su Ya.

The moment she stepped out of the train, her brows knitted tightly together.

'Train Master, the environment here...' Su Ya bit her lower lip and extended her right hand.

She attempted to mobilize the B-Rank Flame Talent within her.

However, suppressed by the heavy humidity and mist, the flame that should have been a brilliant orange-red now flickered like a candle in the wind, emitting only weak sparks and a 'hissing' sound, unable to disperse the fog even half a meter around her.

Environmental suppression.

Fire-based abilities were largely crippled here.

A flicker of panic and frustration flashed in Su Ya's eyes. As a proud academic prodigy, she was used to controlling everything. But before the laws of the apocalypse, elemental suppression was utterly unreasonable.

What was worse, to maintain this feeble flame, her internal magic was draining at twice the normal rate.

Sweat instantly soaked through her black tank top.

The thin fabric clung tightly to her skin, outlining her full, rounded curves.

Her breathing grew rapid, her chest heaved violently, and her ice-blue horns grew dull.

'Put out your fire,' Lin Feng shot her a cold glance. 'Do you want to exhaust your magic and wait here to die?'

Su Ya gritted her teeth and withdrew her hand in humiliation. The sparks died out, and the damp, cold mist enveloped her once more.

She could only follow closely behind Lin Feng, feeling like dead weight.

Xia Wanqiu's condition was much better.

Her Frost Control talent wasn't suppressed here; in fact, it received a degree of enhancement.

She held a sharpened steel pipe, vigilantly scanning her surroundings.

The animal hide wrapped around her body felt heavier in the humidity, clinging to her slender waist and pert backside.

That demon tail lashed restlessly through the air.

'Move. Don't disturb anything here.'

Lin Feng took the lead, using the Train Master's perception to avoid areas exuding dangerous auras.

The three of them carefully ventured deeper into the botanical garden.

The soil beneath their feet grew increasingly soft, with layers of rotting leaves piled thickly.

After walking for about ten minutes, Lin Feng stopped.

Ahead, in the ruins of a collapsed glass greenhouse, there was a pile of unusual soil.

This pile of soil was a deep blackish-purple, its surface dotted with faint, starry blue fluorescence.

Even from over ten meters away, one could smell the immense vitality and magical fluctuations contained within.

'Found it,' a gleam flashed in Lin Feng's eyes.

A system panel popped up with a prompt.

[Item Discovered: High-Grade Fluorescent Humus Soil.]

[Description: Top-grade soil that has absorbed abyssal radiation and the essence of mutated plants. Excellent fertilizer for cultivating magical herbs and accelerating crop growth.]

This was precisely what the mutated potatoes needed most right now.

'Wan Qiu, go fill the bags. Be quick.' Lin Feng tossed over two sturdy burlap sacks.

'Okay.'

Xia Wanqiu quickly ran over, crouched at the edge of the ruins, and began scooping up the fluorescent soil with her hands, filling the sacks.

Su Ya stood beside Lin Feng, responsible for vigilance. Though she couldn't use her flames, her Succubus perception remained.

Just as Xia Wanqiu finished filling the first sack and was about to tie it closed...

A sudden change occurred.

*Rustle... rustle...*

A grating, teeth-grinding friction sound came from the dense vegetation all around.

It wasn't the sound of wind through leaves.

It was the sound of something skimming rapidly across the ground.