Outside the central park of Yuancheng, countless people were packed tightly, eagerly gazing at the ships zipping through the sky. Yet no matter how many ships there were, their capacity was never enough for everyone. The train would not take all the citizens of Zixing; its total capacity was destined to save only a fraction.
On the periphery, a crowd of students was pushed to the point of pale-faced gasping. "Has anyone seen Damian?" Wilson roared, his shiny bald head standing out in the mob.
Kairo shouted back, "No sign of him! Jasper, ask Lilith!"
Jasper, thin and struggling to breathe, scanned the area and spotted Lilith protecting other girls nearby. "Lilith, did Damian call you before he disappeared? Could he have gone to you?"
Lilith, her lips cracked and face ashen, shook her head. "I was about to ask you—has he not shown up? I'll check the school." Disaster struck too fast; the polytechnic students could only band together to seek ships, with little time to spare for anything else.
"A ship's coming! Stay close, Lilith!" A fiery-red sky blazed as a silver-white ship hurtled toward them. The crowd erupted, charging recklessly toward the park. Occasionally, someone collapsed with a scream, swallowed by chaos. Earthquakes trembled the ground, and collapsing skyscrapers crushed helpless crowds into meat under desperate roars. Doomsday survival was brutal; death lurked in every breath.
"Girls, come forward! We'll push through!" bellowed burly sports students, rallying classmates.
But hope shattered as the ship didn't land. It soared over the park, finally halting outside a supermarket. Its hatch opened, releasing sleek robots to scavenge the ruined store.
In the train's cockpit, Damian monitored a dozen screens—feeds from the robots' eyes.
"Sweep all the rice; who knows if we'll eat rice again?"
"I'm taking chips, spicy sticks—everything! Grab all the beer, even though it's simple to brew. It's a taste of Zixing, and we'll never have it again." Damian hoarded everything: food, supplies, even trivial comforts.
"Next supermarket. Fuyao, find Yuancheng's grain reserves."
Soon, screens displayed depots: rice, wheat, meat.
"Deploy more ships. Take as much as we can." The train held a million souls, but each ship carried ten thousand. A hundred trips would fill it. Damian didn't need more passengers—just food. Food meant security. Full bellies were non-negotiable.
His first ship, the captain's vessel, wasn't packed with cargo but personal items. Satisfied, he piloted it home. His dilapidated neighborhood barely welcomed robots salvaging photos and mementos.
"Take the computer! My 800GB collection can't die here."
By then, Zixing's core simmered at 60°C.
"Let's go. Mission accomplished." Damian hummed, watching the ship ascend. Millions remained stranded, but they were none of his concern. He'd saved a million; theoretically, he could've left all behind.
Hundreds of meters up, Damian spotted familiar faces.
"Fuyao, why aren't Wilson or Lilith on board?"
[Your authority didn't pre-register their data; the ship can't target them.]
"Why didn't you warn me earlier! Return! Get them!"
Below, the heat baked the park like an oven, searing skin.
"Lilith, hang on! Maybe another ship will come." She'd been trampled, half-unconscious.
A student ahead sobbed, "There are no ships left! They're not coming! We're doomed!" The cloud-bound train sealed its doors; no more ships emerged. No seats for them.
The square choked with wails, some slashing throats in madness. Wilson propped up Jasper, dragging him toward shade—better to die than roast.
Then a cry: "A ship! Another ship!" Hope reignited; thousands flailed, begging for rescue.
In the cockpit, Damian asked, "How many seats are left?"
[384 seats remaining.]*
"Can we overload?"
[The train can depart under capacity, but not exceed it. To carry more, upgrade the train.]
"Prioritize Wilson and the others." The ship hovered five meters high, its ramp aiming at students. But the mob crushed them.
"Robots—move in!"
[Enable combat mode?]
Damian hesitated. "Not yet. Fuyao, you said passenger quality determines the train's future. What kind of people do I need?"
[Youth, intelligence, talent—those are priceless.]
"Then saving these students is strategic." Dozens of robots plunged into the crowd, carving a path. "You—board now!"
A hundred students, stunned, clutched each other toward the ramp.
"Lilith, we're saved! Wake up!" She stirred, climbing the ramp. "I wonder if Damian made it..." Her gaze swept the chaos, hoping to find him—and fearing she would.
Behind her, Julian—even in ruin, decked in gold—spat, "That nerd's dead. Always bragging about his smarts." He leered at the starving masses below. "Pissed, aren't you? We're students, elites! You're trash, born to burn."
He climbed higher, then froze as robots seized him.
"Help! They're throwing me!" The mob below caught him, trampling his screams into silence.
In the cockpit, Damian smirked. "Thought I'd forget? I ignored you before, but now? Die." Grudges settled here, not in space.