The "Survival on the Train" game has bugs, it's really laggy!

The sound of the steam whistle came from the top of the track, traveling up the rails and pipe walls, making the whole tunnel hum.

It's not the sharp, piercing sound of a steam whistle, nor is it a simulated electronic voice.

Deep, lingering, pressing down on the chest.

Inside the cockpit of the Devourer, the old terminal screen was still lit.

"Section 3: Live Animal Grouping Area"

The red text didn't fade. Below it were three yellow warning lines, each shorter than the last.

"Abnormal track load."

"Air pollution index exceeds the standard."

"Non-metallic growths exist on the track surface."

Su Yuan sat behind the steering wheel, his hands resting on the leather cover, without moving.

The gear in the mechanical left eye slowly turned a full circle, scanning the old structural diagram on the screen.

Communication 013 rang.

Tang Lan's voice came first.

"It is recommended that we retreat to the escape track for repairs. The train crew is not in good condition to continue."

She speaks slowly, and each word is spoken precisely.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Mingyuan also came in from the control room, the sound of keyboard typing still in the background.

"The towing pin has been dragged for so long, and the front beam is not under the right stress. Now that the car is going downhill, the slope is steep, and those two cuts may crack through."

Wang Hu was squatting in the corner of the driver's cab, wiping the grease off his face with the back of his hand. Hearing this, he looked up at Su Yuan.

Su Yuan did not answer.

His gaze shifted from the screen to the outside of the windshield. At the pit entrance, all the green lights were off. Red lights were lighting up one by one on either side of the track, spaced evenly, arranged in a line heading down the track.

The ground guide lights were also changing color, with a dark red light seeping out from the gaps in the tracks like a thin line.

The carriage was silent for three seconds.

Su Yuancai then spoke.

"Wang Hu".

"exist."

"Go down and check the pins. Check the front beam as well."

Wang Hu picked up a wrench and crawled under the car.

"Small fire."

"Here." Little Fire lay on the control panel, its tail taut.

"Get the old structural drawings for the live train assembly area. The gradient, track gauge, turning radius, and ventilation openings are all accurate."

The little fire claw swiped twice on the panel. The old database began to flip through pages, piecing together the structural diagram fragments one by one onto the screen.

Su Yuan loosened the steering wheel and leaned back in his seat.

The order to charge was not given immediately.

The sound of Wang Hu striking metal came from under the car. Dull, not crisp.

After about half a minute, the sound stopped.

Wang Hu crawled out backwards from under the front beam, his hands covered in black oil and his face looking unwell.

"The outer layer of the pin is peeling off."

He took off his gloves and patted them off.

"It's not cracked, it's softened. The high temperature just now caused the outer metal layer to become brittle. If you drag it hard again, this pin can be cut straight through."

He then pointed to the bottom of the front beam.

"Two new cracks have appeared. One is next to the weld point; it's not long, but it's deep. The other one runs upwards from the root of the side wing. This one is more troublesome because it's located too close to the coupling."

Tang Lan also reported it.

"The tensioner of track No. 013 is severely worn. If it continues to wear like this for a few hundred more meters, the chain will come loose on its own."

The carriage was quiet for a while.

The woman sat in the repair chair, silent. She held the record box on her lap, her fingers still trembling, but her eyes were clear.

Su Yuan glanced at the pile of hunting dog remains at the pit entrance.

"Three minutes."

Wang Hu was stunned for a moment.

"What three minutes?"

"Quick repair." Su Yuan stood up from his seat. "There are still some thick bushings left on the hound wreckage. Take two off and put them over the tow pins. For the cracked front beam, weld a double layer of steel plate onto the outside."

He turned to look at the communication device.

"Tang Lan, keep pushing the No. 013 ammunition box towards the front half of the vehicle. The rear swing is too big, and it will fishtail downhill."

Tang Lan didn't waste any words.

"move."

The sound of things being moved could be heard again from room 013.

Wang Hu carried the welding torch and ran towards the hound's remains. The old mechanic jumped off the vehicle after him, already gripping a crowbar.

The two men crouched down in front of the hound's twisted chassis and found two axle bushings. The hound's chassis was made of a thicker material than that of ordinary vehicles, and the outer diameter of the axle bushings was just one size larger than the traction pin of the Devourer.

The veteran mechanic used a pry bar to hold the edge of the bushing, and Wang Hu used a wrench to twist and pull, and the first one came off. The second one was stuck even more tightly, so Wang Hu stepped on the overturned track of the hunting dog, exerted force with both hands, and twisted it three times before it came off.

He carried the two bushings back to the bottom of the vehicle, put them on the traction pin, and hammered them in tight.

"It's on. The fit isn't great, but it'll hold up."

The welding torch was lit. A blue-white arc of light flashed a few times under the front beam. The old mechanic handed over two steel plates cut from the Hound armor, and Wang Hu attached them to the outside of the crack, with weld beads falling in strings.

The weld wasn't pretty, but it was dense.

In the base corridor, several survivors peeked out from the casualty pod. They looked at it for a moment, then didn't move.

About a minute later, a middle-aged worker came out, carrying a bundle of old welding rods.

He didn't say anything, placed the welding rod at Wang Hu's feet, and turned back.

A few seconds later, a tall, thin man came out of the water filtration chamber, carrying half a bucket of anti-rust paint.

"To swipe or not?"

Wang Hu looked up and glanced at him.

"Brush. Apply the paint all around the crack."

The tall, thin man squatted down and used a brush to smooth the front beam.

Someone started handing out wrenches. Someone else picked up the scattered nuts and put them under the car.

No one was shouting any slogans, and the movements weren't synchronized, but the rhythm was there.

three minutes.

Wang Hu crawled out from under the car, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and black oil and sweat mixed together.

"Okay. I wouldn't dare say it's comparable to a new one, but it can easily last for several kilometers."

Su Yuan sat back in the driver's seat and placed his hands on the steering wheel.

"Walk."

The Devourer's engine revved up one gear. The locomotive slowly turned toward the downward track.

The steel cable was tightened from behind, and No. 013 followed.

They had only driven twenty meters.

The radio station exploded.

It wasn't the same aged, synthesized voice as before. The voice was rougher, with the rattling of a tripping relay, each word uttered slowly and deliberately.

"The live animal marshalling area is a sealed asset."

"We do not accept temporary lead vehicle dispatches."

As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy hydraulic sound came from thirty meters in front of the down track.

bang.

The first isolation barrier descended from the ceiling, with a thick steel plate blocking half of the track section.

The second one followed immediately.

The third track is the shortest but the widest, lying directly across the rail surface, less than forty centimeters off the ground.

The three gates completely sealed off the entrance to the downrail.

Meanwhile, the sound of metal rubbing could be heard coming from the maintenance slots on both sides of the track.

Six guide claws extend from the groove wall.

It wasn't aimed at the Devourer.

Everyone's after number 013.

Three on the left and three on the right, precisely securing the load-bearing beams on both sides of chassis number 013.

The hydraulic arm tightens.

Vehicle number 013 jerked, its tracks spun twice, and then came to a stop.

Someone in the carriage lost their balance and let out a muffled groan.

Tang Lan's voice came through the communication.

"It's locked."

She spoke very briefly.

"Six claws, three on the left and three on the right. The chassis can't move."

The broadcast continued.

"Silent trailer protocol activated."

"Insufficient structural stability was detected in the wounded personnel's compartment."

"If the temporary lead vehicle forcibly tows it, it will trigger the safety uncoupling mechanism."

"Please have the temporary lead car independently enter the down track."

The carriage was once again filled with that suffocating silence.

Su Yuan stepped on the brakes, and the Devourer came to a stop. The steel cable dangled down, swaying slightly.

The system is forcing him to choose.

If you need the third carriage, then get carriage number 013.

Tang Lan didn't speak in the channel. But all the wounded on board 013 gripped the handrails, some looking out the window at the taillights of the Devourer, their fingers clenched until they turned white.

On the other side of the base corridor, the survivor who had just handed over the tools stood at the door, their voices hushed.

"It's locked."

"Those heavy-duty claws in the mining area can hold a fully loaded train in place."

"The lead vehicle can't be pulled. If you try to pull it hard, you can tear the chassis of vehicle number 013 apart."

Lu Mingyuan's voice came from the control room.

"Su Yuan, I've seen the data for the guide rail claw. The hydraulic locking pressure is over 400 MPa. This is a heavy-duty fixing device in the mining area. If you rely on the torque of the locomotive to pull it, chassis number 013 will crack first."

He paused for a moment.

"I do not recommend forcing it."

Tang Lan spoke up at this moment.

"Number 013 stays on the upper level. I'll take some men to guard this place. You go find the third section by bicycle."

Wang Hu jumped up on the spot.

"On what grounds?"

He opened his mouth wide.

"Just now, we were keeping time, going through the dragging and navigating the pit, and number 013 didn't falter for a single step. Now that we're going down, you're just going to abandon it like that?"

Tang Lan didn't argue with him.

"It's not about losing it. It's about not slowing down the lead car."

Wang Hu opened his mouth to curse again, but Su Yuan stopped him with a raised hand.

"Shut up."

Wang Hu gritted his teeth and swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Su Yuan did not reply to Tang Lan's question.

He got up from the driver's seat, walked to the side of the carriage, squatted down on the edge of the tracks, and reached down to touch it.

My fingertip touched the oil stains on the outer shell of the guide rail claw.

Sticky, warm, and with that distinctive sour smell of old hydraulic systems.

He pulled his hand back and wiped it on his trouser leg.

"Small fire."

"exist."

"Was the acoustic signature of the guide rail claw closing recorded?"

Xiao Huo retrieved the data from earlier.

"Recorded. All six claws closed in time, with a difference of less than 0.2 seconds, essentially synchronized."

"Slow down tenfold."

With a swipe of its tiny claw, the voiceprint was stretched tenfold, revealing every waveform detail of each frame.

Su Yuan stared at the screen.

As the sound signature is elongated, the details become very clear—after each guide claw closes and locks, there is a clear return pulse inside the hydraulic arm.

When the oil returns, the arm relaxes very briefly.

Little Fire saw it too.

"Each claw returns to its original position seven seconds after closing. This process lasts approximately 0.4 seconds. During this return to the original position, the locking force decreases."

Su Yuan stood up.

"Tang Lan".

"exist."

"Number 013 will not unhook."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication.

Tang Lan did not ask why.

"How do I enter the password?"

"Listen to the sound of my brakes," Su Yuan said. "The Devourer's front and rear pulses, and you follow with the counter-pulse. Don't make big movements; the tracks should only move half a turn before they lock up."

"frequency?"

"A cycle takes seven seconds."

Tang Lan repeated it over the other end.

"Seven seconds per round, half a lap of reverse push, listen to your brakes."

"right."

Wang Hu walked over to Su Yuan and lowered his voice.

"You want to use its own return oil clearance to remove the lock?"

Su Yuan didn't reply. He sat back in the driver's seat, his right foot resting on the brake pedal.

"Turn the heat down to low, mark the oil return time of the six claws to the second, and report it in real time."

"clear."

The Devourer pulled slightly to idle.

The engine revs didn't spike. The accelerator was pressed down so lightly it was almost imperceptible.

The steel cable is taut.

However, the tension was deliberately kept below the safety threshold—the decoupling warning light on the system panel did not illuminate.

At the other end of number 013, Tang Lan simultaneously released the brakes, and the tracks turned half a circle.

It died again.

The two vehicles produced a very small sawing motion on the track, with a distance of no more than five centimeters between them.

The hydraulic arm of the guide rail claw trembled slightly with this tiny vibration, the amplitude of which was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Xiao Huo reports the number.

"First cycle. No significant change in the locking force of the six claws."

Su Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

He waited seven seconds.

second round.

Accelerator, tap it. Brake, release for half a second, slam on it.

Number 013 followed with a short push for half a lap, then locked up.

The two vehicles were breathing in unison, with no more than five centimeters between them.

Xiao Huo reported again.

"Second cycle. A looseness of 0.03 mm was detected in the oil return clearance of the No. 3 claw. The other five remained unchanged."

0.03 millimeters.

Human fingernails are about 0.5 millimeters thick.

The loosening is so minor as to be negligible.

But Su Yuan's lips twitched slightly.

Round three.

This time, I pressed the accelerator a little harder than the previous two times.

The rhythm of braking has also changed—instead of pressing down at a constant speed, you press down halfway, pause for a beat, and then press down all the way.

Number 013 followed closely. Tang Lan's counter-push landed precisely on the paused beat.

The pulling force between the two vehicles increased from five centimeters to seven centimeters.

The hydraulic arm of the guide rail claw vibrated this time, more noticeably than the previous two times.

Xiao Huo's voice changed.

"The loosening of the number three jaw has increased to 0.1 millimeters. A new loosening has appeared in the number five jaw, by 0.05 millimeters."

Lu Mingyuan turned the monitoring up to the maximum in the control room.

On the screen, the hydraulic data of the six guide claws jumped one by one.

He watched the trend change, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

The engineer next to him was also watching.

"Is it... causing the hydraulic valve to misinterpret?"

Lu Mingyuan did not reply.

The fourth round.

Su Yuan pressed the accelerator more precisely.

The force of the stomp was exactly three percentage points below the system warning line. The steel cable was stretched to its limit, but the decoupling detection was not triggered.

The half-turn reverse thrust of track No. 013 perfectly caught the 0.4-second window of the oil return.

The old hydraulic system inside the guide rail claw started to malfunction.

Its maintenance procedure assumes that the chassis is undergoing normal micro-vibrations due to thermal expansion and contraction.

The release process has been activated.

Click.

The first guide rail claw loosened a gap about half a finger's width.

Little Fire's eyes lit up.

"The locking force of the number one claw has decreased by 12%!"

Inside unit 013, the veteran mechanic leaned out the window, staring at the chassis.

"One of them loosened."

His voice was strained.

The young survivors gathered around.

"Does it really work?"

The old mechanic ignored him, his eyes fixed on the outside.

Over in the base corridor, the survivors who had just handed over the tools had all crowded behind the observation window. Some were holding onto the window frame, while others were standing on tiptoe to look down.

No one spoke; everyone stared at the two cars swaying slightly, one in front of the other, on the tracks.

The fifth round.

The sixth round.

The seventh round.

The intervals between each round were precise to the second. Su Yuan's braking and accelerator placements became increasingly tricky, and Tang Lan's counter-pushing became increasingly precise.

The two vehicles were engaged in a very small but steady back-and-forth motion on the track.

The steel cable tightened and loosened intermittently. The hydraulic valve of the guide rail claw was repeatedly tricked into entering the maintenance cycle.

The second claw loosened.

The third one.

The fourth one.

Xiao Huo's counting got faster and faster.

"Claw 4 has disengaged. Claw 5's locking force has decreased by 37%. Claw 6's return oil clearance has increased to 0.3 millimeters."

Lu Mingyuan stood up, supporting himself on the control panel, the wound on his chest causing him to wince.

"He wasn't breaking the lock."

Several people nearby turned to look at him.

"He used the old hydraulic system's own maintenance cycle to disengage," Lu Mingyuan said hoarsely. "The system thought chassis 013 was working normally and released the claws on its own."

The engineer's mouth hung open for a long time.

"How...how could he possibly manage a seven-second window and a 0.4-second return stroke?"

No one answered.

The fifth claw has loosened.

Only one is left.

The chassis of number 013 already showed signs of loosening. Tang Lan could hear the metallic creaking sounds coming from the chassis inside the car.

One more is needed.

Just as the switch was about to loosen, a series of piercing electrical noises suddenly burst from the radio.

A loud pressurizing sound came from the hydraulic pipes of the guide rail claw.

It's not a return oil.

It is high-pressure injection.

Su Yuan's mechanical left eye gear rotated half a circle.

Little Fire let out a scream.

"The system forcibly injects high pressure! Claw number six hydraulically ascends—it's going to weld the claw body to chassis number 013!"

A flurry of panic erupted inside room 013. Some grabbed onto the overhead pipes, while others looked in Tang Lan's direction.

Tang Lan gripped the brake lever, her voice low and deep.

"Su Yuan."

Su Yuan is already making a move.

He slammed down the communication button.

"Wang Hu".

"Dry!"

"The cold spring water pipe is removed from the boiler cooling pipe and connected to the sewage outlet by the rail."

Wang Hu understood after a fraction of a second of hesitation.

He pulled the cooling pipe used for boiler cooling from the side cabinet, unscrewed the connector, and ran out of the car.

The sewage outlet is on the right side of the track, less than two meters away from the No. 6 guide rail claw.

Wang Hu knelt on one knee beside the track, aligning the pipe opening with the outer shell of the guide rail claw.

"Wait for my command," Su Yuan's voice came through the communicator.

High-pressure oil is being poured into the boom through the hydraulic lines of the No. 6 gripper. The temperature is soaring. The welding process requires both high temperature and high pressure to reach their thresholds to complete.

Su Yuan's fingers rested on the steering wheel.

The gears in the mechanical left eye meshed.

"Now."

Wang Hu turned on the valve.

Cold spring water poured over the outer shell of the guide rail claw.

The steam exploded.

The scalding hot hydraulic oil chamber was rapidly cooled by cold water, causing the outer metal casing to contract violently. The internal welding process was not yet complete, and high-pressure oil was still being poured in, but the outer casing had already shrunk.

The metal contracted and squeezed out a slit.

The welding was not completed.

Oil sprayed out from the cracks, splashing all over Wang Hu.

Su Yuan stepped on the accelerator with his right foot.

It's not about dragging it forcefully.

He gave only a very short pulse—a half-meter stroke, lasting less than a second.

The steel cable suddenly tightened and then snapped back.

Number 013 was ejected the moment the guide rail claw loosened.

The number six claw failed to close, and its jaws crushed the sleeper beneath it. The sound of shattering carried far along the tracks.

The chassis of No. 013 is intact.

There were no new deformations.

The carriage was silent for a full second.

Lu Mingyuan leaned on the control panel, his hands trembling.

"He used the fixing device as a spring."

He spoke softly, but everyone in the control room heard him.

The engineer leaned against the wall, his legs giving way.

In communication number 013, Tang Lan let out a long breath.

Her voice returned to its usual cold and hard tone, but it contained two more words than usual.

"No. 013 followed the lead car onto the down track."

She paused for a moment.

"Everyone must obey Su Yuan's braking rhythm."

This is the first time Tang Lan has publicly handed over scheduling authority to someone else across the entire channel.

In the base corridor, the sounds were fragmented at first. Someone gasped, someone else's knee slammed against the wall.

Then they started to move.

Someone ran to turn on the backup fan. The hum of the fan starting up echoed in the corridor.

Someone carried the last half-bucket of anti-corrosion oil from the storage room and delivered it to the trackside.

Someone climbed onto the maintenance scaffold. It was the oldest worker. He held an old wrench and laboriously reached for the manual release mechanism on the side of the downgate.

The wrench went in and I turned it.

Click.

The latch of the first isolation gate popped open.

The steel plate shrank upwards by half a foot due to its own weight.

The old worker changed the angle and started tightening the second screw.

The third, shortest section was lifted by another worker. The two of them worked together to lift the gate into place.

The entrance to the downlink rail has been revealed.

The red light shines upwards from deep within the tracks.

The broadcast was still repeating "temporary lead vehicle dispatch is not accepted," but the volume was getting lower and lower, and the noise of the relay tripping was getting louder and louder, like an old machine that was losing power.

Su Yuan aligned the wheel with the center line of the track.

"Walk."

The Devourer's engine slowed down and steadily entered the downward orbit.

Number 013 followed behind, with the steel cable hanging in an arc, maintaining a spacing of seven meters.

The slope was initially gentle, about five degrees. The sides of the track were still normal steel structures, and the lights were industrial red.

After walking down about 300 meters, the air changed.

It was wet and fishy.

It doesn't smell like rust or machine oil. It's the smell of organic matter fermenting in a sealed environment for a long time, sticking to the nasal cavity and not dissipating.

Wang Hu wrinkled his nose.

"What does it taste like?"

No one answered.

The little fire's tail tightened on the control panel.

The track continues to descend. The gradient gradually increases to eight degrees, then ten degrees.

The lighting was changing. The industrial red gradually dimmed, replaced by a deeper, viscous, low-frequency flicker. It wasn't stable illumination, but intermittent pulses, flashing on and off with an uneven rhythm.

The railway sleepers are starting to change.

It started at the joints. Where there should have been the interface between the rails and the concrete sleepers, there was now a layer of dark red covering. It was a thin layer, clinging to the surface of the sleepers.

When the front wheels of the Devourer rolled over the covering, it made a muffled thud.

It wasn't the sound of metal clashing.

It's the sound of something semi-solid being flattened.

Wang Hu gripped the windshield and looked down.

Something has grown on the track surface.

The small flame was used to display the footage from the camera under the car.

The dark red covering was thickening. The further you went into the tracks, the denser the covering became. At about 500 meters, the sleepers were no longer visible in their original color.

The entire track surface was covered by dark red fascia.

With each roll of the wheel, a muffled thud could be heard from beneath. It wasn't just a simple physical impact sound. The acoustic waveform showed low-frequency oscillations—one after another, like something pulsating underground.

Inside cell 013, a young survivor peered out the window, his face pale.

"Is this track alive?"

The old mechanic patted him on the back of the head.

"Don't talk nonsense."

But even the veteran mechanic's hands weren't steady.

The Devourer continued its descent. Su Yuan kept its speed very low, less than ten kilometers per hour. Steady, slow, every inch was under control.

The distance reading on the old terminal is jumping.

1200 meters.

1,100 meters.

One kilometer.

The small torch has completed most of the old structural diagram of the live train assembly area. The space below is much larger than the upper level, and the track forks at a point 700 meters.

"Forking," Little Fire said.

Two lines appeared on the screen.

The label on the left reads: "Signal for the third carriage."

The label on the right reads: "Living organ powered heart".

Su Yuan's gaze lingered on those two lines of text for two seconds.

He did not choose.

Because there are still 800 meters to go at the fork in the road.

The train continued its descent.

Six hundred meters.

500 meters.

The fishy smell in the air was stronger. Occasionally, a puff of hot air would escape from the ventilation duct, carrying the warmth that had accumulated in the old pipes.

The walls on both sides of the track also looked strange. The metal covers of the maintenance bays were covered with dark red fibrous tissue, just like the sleepers, and in some places there were bulges, with liquid faintly visible flowing inside.

The lights became pure pulsed flashes. The intervals between each flash became increasingly close to a certain rhythm.

One time. One time. And another time.

Wang Hu gripped the car door frame, his facial muscles tense.

"This frequency..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But everyone in the carriage could hear it.

That rhythm is a heartbeat.

Four hundred meters.

Three hundred meters.

Deep within the tracks, the train whistle sounded again.

Closer than last time.

Before the last notes of the whistle had faded, another sound followed.

Knock. Knock knock. Knock.

Knock knock knock. Knock.

knocking.

The manual tapping on the metal panel is irregular in interval but rhythmic.

Little Fire's ears perked up.

"This is……"

Its claws moved rapidly across the control panel, bringing up the translation module.

Knock. Knock knock. Knock.

Knock knock knock. Knock.

The small torch's voiceprint was compared with the old standard Morse code.

One word at a time popped up.

A line of old Chinese characters appeared on the screen.

"Don't continue with the third quarter, the people inside are still awake."

Everyone in the carriage simultaneously focused their attention on that line of text.

Wang Hu's lips moved slightly, but he didn't make a sound.

Little Fire's tail drooped down.

The woman stood up from the repair chair and stared intently at the screen.

Su Yuan's hands were still on the steering wheel, not letting go.

At the same second.

A second message pops up at the bottom of the old terminal.

The sources are different. This is a mandatory notification pushed by the Great Wall Defense Line authentication channel, with a glaringly red background.

"The original group is missing and cannot enter the outer ring."

"Please immediately engage the third section of the temporary lead car."

Two messages were displayed on the screen at the same time.

One message said not to answer.

One of them said we had to accept it.

Su Yuan's mechanical left eye gear slowly turned a full circle and locked onto that line of Morse translation.

"The person inside is still awake."

Deep within the tracks, the knocking continued.