Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 243

The transition from clear blue skies to an oppressive, dust-laden gloom took barely a minute or two.
First came the wind—strong and sharp. Even through the car’s body, they could feel the vibrations of the howling gusts.
When the sky was entirely shrouded in thick, dull clouds, the air outside turned visibly murky. The wind carried massive waves of swirling sand, rolling and tumbling in chaotic patterns.
The ochre-colored dust pounded against the Jeep’s windshield in heavy sheets, sounding like countless tiny stones pelting the glass. The tires no longer rolled smoothly; gravel and sand crunched beneath the wheels, and the entire car trembled as if being shaken by invisible hands.
Visibility dropped rapidly. The desert beyond the window blurred into a vast, swirling void. They quickly agreed to stop and wait until the sandstorm passed.
The Death Sand Desert stretched endlessly in all directions, offering no roads, no landmarks, and certainly no shelter. Only the vast emptiness of rock and sand.
Fortunately, both Lin Wu and Ya Tong had defensive barriers tied to their bound weapons.
The Jeep came to a halt. Lin Wu activated his shield, and a faint, translucent dome expanded around the car. Instantly, the violent rattling of sand diminished to a muted patter. Outside, the storm raged on, but the car became an oasis of calm.
“How’s the energy consumption?” Yu Xi asked, aware that the shield drained energy from the defense card based on the force of external impacts.
Before Lin Wu could respond, Ya Tong spoke.
“A sandstorm of this intensity puts enormous strain on the barrier. I’ve got a similar defense system—let’s take turns. Half an hour each. If one of us drains the card entirely, it might cause problems later.”
Lin Wu gave a brief nod, deferring to her judgment without protest.
The sandstorm roared for hours. Outside, the world vanished into a churning, sepia-colored fog. Inside the car, however, the air was thick with the savory, mouthwatering aroma of hotpot.
Yu Xi had set up a collapsible tray in the backseat and was heating two self-cooking hotpot meals—one spicy, one mild. Lin Wu, not to be outdone, pulled out a box of pan-fried dumplings, a container of soup-filled pork buns, some thinly sliced braised beef, and a mixed cold dish.
Ya Tong glanced into her limited twenty-slot inventory with a sigh. Her military rations and canned meat seemed downright embarrassing compared to this gourmet spread.
When the hotpot was ready, they moved the table to the front, balancing it between the seats. As the spicy broth bubbled and released its fragrant steam, they turned their conversation to more practical matters.
Time was on their side—for now. Reaching the Black Wall with days to spare would give them the chance to explore the other side.
Yu Xi still had two train tickets left. Lin Wu had one. Ya Tong also had two.
That meant Lin Wu needed to prioritize finding a ticket at the next station.
They could technically try their luck during the final hour at the station platform, when many passengers resorted to ambush tactics. After all, Yu Xi’s spare ticket and Lin Wu’s current ticket were both obtained that way—through defensive kills.
But relying on last-minute violence was a gamble, and it wasn’t the kind of travelers they wanted to become.
A better strategy was to continue exploring, activating hidden missions, and earning potential rewards. If one of those rewards happened to be a ticket, so much the better.
As they mapped out their plan, Yu Xi’s expression suddenly shifted. She leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on the windshield.
Ya Tong noticed immediately. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Xi didn’t answer right away. Her brows furrowed as she studied the faint glow of the protective barrier outside.
After a moment, she said, “Besides you two, I’ve never seen any other passenger use a barrier like this. Everyone has different skills, sure, but yours seem… connected. Like they come from the same source. The others don’t.”
Ya Tong straightened in her seat. “You’re saying the other passengers aren’t system tower taskers like us? You think… they’re locals? Part of the Endless Train world itself?”
Yu Xi gave a slow nod. “That’s my guess. Like people in a bottle—oblivious to the fact that their entire existence is being observed from the outside.”
Lin Wu’s voice was low. “Maybe that’s why our skills were nerfed when we got here. The system adjusted our abilities to match the locals.”
“Exactly,” Yu Xi said. “But there’s something else that’s been bugging me. Have either of you read infinite survival game novels?”
Lin Wu blinked. “Wait… what?”
Ya Tong: “??”
Yu Xi immediately understood. A military doctor and a career-driven woman—they clearly hadn’t been exposed to the world of infinite survival game novels.
She had a growing suspicion about their situation, but it was difficult to explain on the spot, and she wasn’t certain enough to voice it yet. The truth would likely become clearer after they found more memory fragments.
As they neared the end of their lunch, movement appeared beyond the shimmering protective barrier. A group of seven or eight travelers, wrapped head to toe against the sandstorm, trudged into view.
It didn’t take long for them to notice the glowing shield or the Jeep sitting comfortably inside. Both the barrier and the car were luxuries they desperately needed.
The strangers approached, calling out through the swirling dust. Their voices were muffled by the storm, but their intentions were clear.
One of them claimed they had an injured companion who couldn’t continue. Another said their train departure time was approaching, and if they didn’t get moving soon, they’d never reach the Black Wall. They even proposed forming a temporary alliance, promising to trigger the team’s no-damage perk to ensure mutual safety.
The three inside the Jeep didn’t respond.
Even if they wanted to help, the car couldn’t fit that many passengers. And if they dropped the shield and let them in, who could guarantee the travelers wouldn’t turn hostile the moment they were inside?
Besides, arguing back and forth would only waste time.
Ya Tong glanced ahead. The storm had weakened slightly, allowing a clearer view of the road.
“Let’s move,” she said.
Lin Wu started the engine, and the Jeep rolled forward under the protective barrier.
They made it less than a hundred meters before a loud explosion erupted behind them.
Lin Wu hit the brakes. All three turned toward the sound.
The group of supposedly desperate travelers had shifted tactics. One man now stood confidently with a rocket launcher balanced on his shoulder, smoke trailing from its barrel. The explosion had come from the grenade slamming into the shield’s rear section.
In the world of the Endless Train, a simple truth applied: running away signaled weakness. Those who didn’t fight were often seen as easy prey.
The group clearly saw the Jeep as a fat, helpless target.
Yu Xi’s lips curved into a cold smile.
“All right then,” she said softly. “We were wondering where we’d find more tickets anyway. Seems like they’ve delivered themselves to us.”
“Get ready. Put the car away,” she ordered.
The Jeep vanished in an instant, sucked into her inventory.
Lin Wu’s weapon reactivated its shield, now focused solely around their bodies. Ya Tong handed Yu Xi a Gatling gun and several belts of ammunition.
“Don’t hold back,” she said with a grin.
Ya Tong adjusted her MP5, then looked through the haze at the enemy group with a predatory glint in her eyes.
The travelers on the other side faltered.
Their confident expressions shifted as they took in the sudden transformation of their would-be victims.
“Uh… does anyone else feel like… maybe this was a mistake?” one of them muttered.
**
Half an hour later, the Jeep was back on the road, speeding away from a smoking battlefield.
They’d made quick work of the ambush. Yu Xi and Ya Tong had intentionally left the finishing blows to Lin Wu, ensuring he had the best chance to trigger a drop.
It paid off.
From the final fallen opponent, Lin Wu received a station ticket, expanding his inventory to twelve slots. More importantly, he gained a unique ability: “Replicate.”
The skill came with no time restrictions and no station-based limitations.
However, it could only be used once.
Its function? Replicate any non-living object.
Lin Wu examined the new skill with curiosity. “Could come in handy,” he murmured.
The remaining survivors from the ambush had long since scattered, running as fast as their legs could carry them.
No one sticks around when they realize the supposed “fat sheep” they’ve cornered are actually wolves.
Yu Xi and her companions didn’t bother chasing the fleeing travelers. Instead, they retrieved the Jeep, restarted the protective shield, and headed northward once more.
An hour later, the sandstorm finally subsided. The sky above the Death Sand Desert returned to its usual, crystal-clear blue.
The group took turns driving, pushing through the night without pause after surviving a surprise attack by mutated desert creatures. Exhaustion weighed on them, but they pushed on. By the following day, they finally arrived at the base of the towering black wall.
Up close, the wall resembled a colossal, mountain-like barrier, stretching hundreds of kilometers in both eastern and western directions. Its surface soared into the clouds, an imposing structure designed to separate the wastelands from whatever lay beyond. It also served as a crucial defense, keeping the monstrous sandworms and other mutated predators of the Death Sand Desert at bay.
The wall’s construction was clearly more advanced than the current technological level of this world. Massive, outdated weapon installations dotted the top of the structure, though most seemed non-functional, likely due to ammunition shortages or power failures. Still, the wall itself remained a formidable defense, and since it was also the hidden train station, no traveler dared to damage it.
Yu Xi pulled out her phone to verify the station’s location. The device pinged with confirmation, and moments later, all three of their phones received the same notification:
Station Confirmed.
They still had ten days left, so the group decided to venture inside the wall and explore.
Getting in wasn’t particularly difficult. Along the central section of the wall, a few narrow passageways led to the other side. These passages were accessible via steep staircases—about four or five stories high—and each passage was just wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. Guard posts lined the narrow corridors, with sentries stationed at regular intervals. Entry required approval from these gatekeepers.
Few people from inside the wall ventured out, except for traders with connections or survivalists who braved the wasteland to barter for resources.
The trade itself was grim. Anything and everything was up for exchange: fuel, food, venom extracted from desert scorpions and pit vipers, and even young women from the exile camps beyond the wall. The residents inside the wall determined the market rates. With no functioning surveillance systems or advanced technology to track transactions, anyone with the right skills could sneak in if they dared.
Yu Xi’s group identified a man returning from a supply run. A brief, terrifying interrogation later—punctuated with some well-placed threats—they followed him into the city. In exchange for their silence, they left him with a few packets of instant noodles and disappeared into the shadows.
Inside the wall, the landscape remained bleak. Ruined buildings lined the streets, their facades scarred by time and war. Sand covered everything—ground, walls, rooftops—a dull, dusty yellow blanketing the city.
It reminded Yu Xi of the war-torn third-world countries from her original world.
Here, people eked out an existence on the broken streets, setting up makeshift stalls or living in half-collapsed buildings. Clean water and green plants were nowhere to be seen.
Rumor had it that a select few—those with power and influence—lived in the northernmost district, in a place known as the Green Eden. That oasis was said to have fresh water, wild game, and orchards teeming with fruit.
But entry was restricted to the elite. Ordinary citizens had no chance of ever laying eyes on it.
Standing atop a crumbling high-rise, Yu Xi and the others used their binoculars to scan the distant horizon. Sure enough, a faint patch of green peeked through the hazy air far to the north—a stark contrast to the arid wasteland surrounding it.
They speculated that if they ventured toward that oasis, they might trigger another hidden quest. The possibility of additional rewards was tempting.
However, most travelers lacked the time or resources to make the journey.
Since the group already had enough tickets for two more stops and their supplies were well-stocked, they decided against the detour.
Instead, they adopted a low profile, finding shelter in a half-collapsed building near the outskirts of the city. The days passed quietly, undisturbed by the chaos beyond their walls.
When the timer on their phones finally reached its final hour, they descended to the base of the black wall, waiting near what appeared to be an abandoned storage room.
Time Remaining: 1 hour 0 minutes 0 seconds.
All three phones vibrated simultaneously.
Following the on-screen arrows, they stepped through the rusted doorway of the storage room.
The dim, dusty surroundings flickered and warped. The cramped walls melted away, replaced by the familiar, sterile brightness of the station’s departure hall.