169: Chapter 169 Preparing Materials, Support Arrives!

Symbiosis?

Lin Xiao, who had originally intended to abandon the Battleship, felt his gaze pause slightly, a hint of shock welling up in his eyes.

Did the train actually have this kind of function?

He forced himself to calm down, staring at the prompt panel, reading the instructions word by word.

【Effect: Special ocean-dwelling dependents can merge with the main body of the train, expanding the train's functional modules. After merging, the Battleship will become a part of the train and can be controlled by the Train Conductor or designated passengers.】

【Required Materials: The Dweller core 10, stardust crystal shards 500, beryllium crystal 300, scrap steel 1800, brass 2000, general plastic 1500, rubber 1000, glass 500】

【Note: The train will be unable to move during the merging process; please ensure the area is secure.】

Lin Xiao scanned the material list twice.

Ten The Dweller cores.

He had just killed the elite monsters of eleven battlecruisers, plus the one from the Invincible, totaling twelve.

The key materials were already sufficient.

As for the rest...

Scrap steel, brass, general plastic, rubber, and glass were hard currency on the train, with huge consumption.

But he had been hoarding these supplies since Harbor Town, and the territory's workshops and networked trading platforms were packed full.

Lin Xiao made a quick estimate and felt confident.

For the insufficient parts, he could just use stardust to buy them.

Although beryllium crystal and stardust crystal shards were rarer, he had accumulated quite a few from previous public events and fishing activities.

If all else failed, he also had plenty of pleasure tokens hoarded.

That's right, even for the materials required for symbiotic fusion, pleasure tokens could be used to offset the cost!

He opened the private message interface and sent messages to Jiang Wanwan and Wen Yiran simultaneously:

"I need a large amount of materials. I have sent the list to you both. Use stardust or our discarded equipment and blueprints to purchase them across the entire train. Be fast."

Jiang Wanwan's reply was as concise as ever: "Received."

Wen Yiran, however, replied with a string of exclamation marks: "Brother Lin, you need so many materials; you aren't thinking of repairing this big ship, are you?"

"Smart, but it's not as simple as just repairing it. Once the materials are collected, you'll understand!" Lin Xiao responded with a smile.

He cut off the private message, leaned back against the flesh wall of the core cabin, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

In his past life in the Mist World, survivors would place artillery in their strongholds to defend against the invasion of Calamity Creaturess.

But those were just crude cannons fixed on ramparts; they were heavy, had limited firing angles, and ammunition supply was still a big problem.

But the situation was different now.

If he could merge an entire Super-Dreadnought class Battleship into the train...

What would that mean?

It would mean the train would transform from a mobile shelter into a mobile war fortress!

Back then, when he encountered that Lord-level Calamity, he couldn't defeat it even with all his might.

But now, possessing 381mm large-caliber naval guns—eight of them, no less.

If he encountered the Frost Vein Ancient Conch carrying an iceberg again, he wouldn't be afraid!

Lin Xiao looked through the split screen at the surging seawater outside.

He felt deeply moved.

No matter how many materials it cost, this deal was absolutely worth it!

At this moment.

In the direction of the outpost.

The seawater surged, and dozens of slender figures emerged from the crevices of the rocks.

They were sentries of the old Mermaid faction, who had rushed over to provide support after hearing the conch sound of Pearl Tear.

Each of them wore form-fitting Bio-Armor and held a double-bladed trident; their movements were swift, and they were constantly vigilant of their surroundings.

But when they saw the scene before them, they froze in place instantly.

A hundred meters away, a massive human Battleship was hovering above a bizarre train.

The exterior of the Battleship was still squirming with grayish-white flesh, and those terrifying gun turrets were slowly moving, seemingly searching for targets.

And inside the train, dense crowds of human passengers were peering out through the windows; some were cheering, some were taking pictures, some were hugging each other...

A Mermaid warrior turned her head in confusion and looked at her companion.

"This... what is going on?"

"It's an enemy attack!"

A female Mermaid with a graceful figure, slender build, and mysterious rune decorations on her neck swam slowly out from the formation.

Unlike the other Mermaids, she had short hair, and the faint scales on her body were a unique pale purple.

"It has been a long time since humans harassed this place, but no matter what faction they come from or what purpose they have, they cannot be trusted and must be expelled!"

As she spoke, she waved her hand sharply, and the sentries behind her immediately spread out into a combat formation.

"The one who used the conch to send the distress signal was Pearl Tear, who went out on a secret mission earlier. She must have encountered a life-threatening danger!"

The Sentry Commander's voice reverberated in the seawater, "Rescue our kin, expel the invaders!"

"Hoo-ha!" The surrounding female Mermaids raised their weapons one after another and charged toward the train.

But they hadn't even swum twenty meters when the giant ship above their heads suddenly moved.

Eight main guns turned simultaneously, their pitch-black muzzles aimed at the direction they were advancing.

The bizarre creatures hugging the gun barrels contracted their bodies slightly, as if charging up power.

The Sentry Commander's pupils shrank, and she abruptly halted her movement.

"Stop!"

Hearing her voice, the sentries behind her stopped one after another, vigilantly looking up at the behemoth.

The naval guns did not fire, but they did not move away either.

They just hung there above their heads.

The Sentry Commander gripped her harpoon tightly, her gaze turning cold.

She knew the power of that thing.

A hundred years ago, it was this kind of giant cannon that had ripped through the Di Peoples Kingdom's most elite defense line on the sea surface.

This thing was terrifying!

...

On the other side.

When the train slowly stopped.

The doors of all the carriages opened automatically.

However, no one dared to rashly drill out through the membrane and leave the carriage.

After all, not everyone was a freak like Lin Xiao.

When everyone was still wearing loose equipment, he had already obtained a Level 4 set; it was truly terrifying.

Since they couldn't go out, the passengers gathered in Carriage 7 began to discuss Lin Xiao driving this warship and the subsequent action plan.

At this moment, someone with sharp eyes discovered that the warship's naval guns had suddenly changed their angle.

Following the direction of the gun barrels, they unexpectedly discovered a group of Mermaids.

As soon as this news came out, everyone crowded to the windows, curiously observing the second batch of unexpected guests.

"The Mermaids' reinforcements have arrived!" Pearl Tear looked at the figures outside, excited.

She turned around, summoned the guards on the train, and then looked at Princess Xiyao: "Your Highness, let's go down and join them!"

But before Princess Xiyao could speak, Jiang Wanwan stood up first.

"No!"

She looked at the group of Mermaids, her tone unyielding.

"Everything must wait until Lin Xiao returns!"

"You!" Chao Yin stepped forward, but after noticing a certain gaze in the crowd, she swallowed what she wanted to say and changed her words: "When will Lin Xiao return?"

Jiang Wanwan did not respond and private-messaged the situation at the scene to Lin Xiao in detail.

Lin Xiao was counting the supplies sent by Wen Yiran.

After receiving the private message, he immediately stopped what he was doing.

Symbiotic fusion was not urgent; the materials had not been fully collected yet.

However, the Mermaid Princess could not afford any mishaps; after all, it concerned an Epic-level public event!

Lin Xiao immediately exited the core, left the core control cabin, and arrived at the Battleship's deck.

He leaped downward, simultaneously using [Death Grip] to quickly return to the train.

At this moment, the Sentry Commander was observing every move of the train and the Battleship.

A faint blue figure suddenly entered her line of sight.

In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into one of the train windows.

That was... a human?

A human who could move freely in the sea?