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

The entire car fell silent.

The Devourer was idling at the lowest RPM range, the engine sound muffled under the vehicle, making the dripping water from the water pipes beside the tracks even clearer.

Su Yuan sat in the driver's seat, his right hand on the steering wheel, his eyes not on the road ahead. He was looking at the main screen.

The main screen is divided into four sections. The top left shows the vibration of the inner wall of the right-hand water pipe. The bottom left shows the liquid surface waveform of the four water cups in the third section—one is broken, leaving three. The top right shows the temperature of the external isolation box No. 005. The bottom right shows the residual echo of the simulated brain traction in the direction of the platform.

All four prices are very low.

However, the section of the right-side water pipe will lift up every seven seconds.

Wang Hu squatted outside the side door, holding a chalk dust container in his hand. He didn't look at Su Yuan, but his ears were perked up.

Su Yuan spoke.

"rail seam".

With a flick of his wrist, Wang Hu scattered the powder into the rail gap at the right-hand fork.

The dust settled. It didn't drift away. It wasn't sucked in. It lay quietly in the crack between the rails.

"Vessel root".

Wang Hu took half a step and sprinkled the powdery ash at the base of the water pipe that went into the ground on the right side.

This time is different.

The dust settled on the sludge around the pipe roots, with three or four tiny particles bouncing about. The movement was so small that it was almost invisible to the naked eye. But when low-light shone close to the ground, the shadows of the dust particles bounced on the sleeper surface.

"Spindle".

The last bit of chalk was sprinkled on the switch point rail surface.

The ash particles are stationary.

Wang Hu stared for two seconds.

"The rail surface isn't jumping. The pipe root is jumping."

Su Yuan said, "Vibration won't cause it to deviate from its track. It will deviate from its path."

Xiao Huo is typing on the main screen.

Sound transmission path confirmed: right-side coal water return pipe.

The track surface is unresponsive.

The switch is unresponsive.

The frequency of root micro-vibration is strongly correlated with the three short and two long tapping signals.

Inside carriage 013, Tang Lan watched the transmitted video feed. Her brake lever remained pressed, unmoved.

"Lead vehicle, are you sure you want to take the right lane?"

Su Yuan switched to channel 013.

"confirm."

It paused for half a second.

"No honking. No sudden braking. No prolonged use of lights."

Tang Lan read these three points aloud to everyone in the carriage. Her voice wasn't loud, but she pronounced each word clearly.

"The water bottle, gun handle, magazine, and tools were all wrapped tightly with strips of cloth. There couldn't be even the slightest metallic clang."

The one-armed soldier had already stuffed his water bottle inside his clothes. This time, he even used cloth to hold the zipper shut.

There was a wrench at the feet of a wounded soldier. He reached for it, but a young survivor next to him grabbed it.

"I'll do it."

He bent down, first cupped the wrench in his palm, then slowly lifted it and stuffed it into the cloth pocket under the seat. He didn't make a sound.

In the third carriage, the veteran mechanic rechecked the remaining three water cups.

"The right cup is still sloshing around."

He pressed his thumb against the rim of the cup, feeling the subtle vibrations from the liquid surface.

"Follow the rhythm of the right-hand pipe."

Li Wei tightened all the shoulder straps of the sleeping soldiers by one notch and stuffed the buckles with an old towel. The twelve men lay on the reclining chairs without a single metallic rattling sound.

Shen Yuanzhou sat up half an inch on the stretcher numbered 013, propping himself up on his elbows.

Xu Shen held him down.

"Don't--"

Shen Yuanzhou pushed his hand away, his throat dry and rough.

"The coal sump...there is a no-honking zone nearby."

Su Yuan heard it.

Shen Yuanzhou coughed, but nothing came out.

"Back then, we were afraid of the boiler starting up accidentally when it was cold... There was residual pressure inside the boiler... Any whistle or high-frequency metal impact would trigger the mechanical interlock of the bulkhead."

He paused.

"Once locked, the hatch cannot be opened from the outside."

Xu Shen slowly loosened his grip.

Shen Yuanzhou stared at the faint heat source on the main screen.

"If the people inside are still knocking, it means the interlock hasn't been activated."

"Don't let it start."

Su Yuan lightly pressed the accelerator.

The Devourer sets off.

The speed was 1.5 kilometers per hour. The steering wheel was turned half a turn to the right. The front wheel went over the right-hand rail welding line.

The car shook slightly. The weld scar was quite thick. When the tire drove over it, the shock absorbers absorbed most of the vibration, and the rest was transmitted from the chassis, turning into a low hum from the seat cushions.

Number 013 followed. Tang Lan lowered the drag level by another half step. The track rotation was extremely slow, biting into the old sleepers, making a creaking sound every time it passed one.

The No. 005 silencer dragged at the back, leaving gray sand marks on the welded rail from the dry sand layer and lead sheet.

A young survivor reported: "Tail boom 25. Tail compression of No. 005 is normal. Isolation box is at low temperature."

The convoy moved into the right lane.

Darkness swallowed the fork in the road.

The right lane is narrower than the main lane, and the overhead water pipe is lower than before. Several times, the roof of car number 013 was just an inch away from hitting the pipe, but Tang Lan always adjusted the brake lever slightly in advance, causing the car to dip down, just missing it.

The condensation beside the track was heavier. The pipe walls were covered with water droplets, some of which gathered into thin streams and flowed down the pipe joints, falling into the greasy mud next to the sleepers.

drop.

stop.

drop.

The right line advanced thirty meters.

A sound suddenly came from inside the wall.

It's not a water pipe. It's an old horn.

There were two crackling sounds, like a coil that had been soaked in water barely making contact. Then a sound came out.

The old voice of Zhenshan.

Deep, slow, with the distinctive metallic echo of boiler steam pipes.

"Life signals in the coal and water compartment are unstable."

It paused for a moment.

"The lead vehicle needs to honk its horn to reassure them. Speed ​​up and approach."

At the same time, the light in front of the right line lit up.

It wasn't just one lamp. It was a row. Old white lamps, embedded above the clamps on either side of the track. The light was dim, a lifeless, dim yellow. But in the pitch-black maintenance tunnel, that little bit of light was so bright it made your eyes sting.

The rails were clearly visible under the light. Clean. No grease. No weld spatter. The sleepers were neatly arranged and evenly spaced.

It's too clean.

In carriage 013, an injured soldier sat up.

"Life sign... Is the person inside dying?"

The other person next to him also looked up.

"Shouldn't we hurry?"

The young survivor glanced at them but didn't reply. His shoulders tightened slightly.

Someone whispered something in the control room channel.

"I'll honk the horn...maybe it'll let the people inside know someone's coming..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Mingyuan turned to look at him.

The man shut up.

Su Yuan did not accelerate. He did not honk his horn.

He said one word.

"pink."

Wang Hu was already hanging outside the side door. He opened the chalk dust container in his hand and sprinkled the chalk dust along the track directly below the white light.

Dust settled on the sleepers.

It wasn't sucked away.

They did not disperse normally.

After the dust particles land, they bounce neatly along the edge of the sleeper.

Just a moment. Stop. Just a moment. Stop.

The frequency wasn't fast, but it was extremely even. It felt like something was pushing up from under the sleepers. One beat after another.

Wang Hu squatted still, shining a low light close to the ground for half a second.

Beneath the white light, in the gaps between the sleepers and the gravel on the track surface, there was a very thin film of oil. The oil film was jumping, and the dust particles jumped along with it.

But the dust particles only bounced around the edges of the sleepers. The dust in the middle of the rail surface remained still.

Wang Hu narrowed his eyes.

There's something down there.

Su Yuan said, "Knock on the crossbeam."

Wang Hu picked up a wrench, its handle wrapped in cloth. He walked to the first crossbeam in front of the white light, squatted down, and gently touched the side of the crossbeam with the cloth-wrapped handle.

when.

The echo was faint. Drill down.

I walked down about half a meter from the joint of the beam, hit something, and bounced back with a short, metallic bounce.

It's not solid. Nor is it hollow. It has a spring mechanism that allows it to spring back.

Wang Hu then tapped the water pipe on the right side.

when.

This echo was completely different. The echo traveled far along the pipe and returned from deep within. It was very clean. There was no springy sound.

The small torch cuts the two sets of echo waveforms together.

Below the crossbeam: The spring mechanism rebounds, approximately 40 centimeters from the rail surface.

Right-side water pipe: No abnormalities were observed. The echo continued for approximately 60 meters ahead, in the same direction as the coal and water tank.

Xiao Huo typing:

There is an elastic mechanism beneath the white light track surface.

Type identification: Voice-activated locking claw.

Triggering conditions: high-frequency metallic impact or whistle sound.

Su Yuan looked at the screen.

"At what vehicle speed does it trigger?"

Xiao Huo then compared the frequency of the powder and ash jumping, the rebound of the crossbeam spring, and the current waveform of the white lamp together.

That took a bit too long. Three seconds.

Trigger condition correction:

Non-speed triggered.

High-frequency acoustic triggering.

Sound the horn – trigger.

Sudden braking and metal-to-metal friction – trigger.

High-frequency vibration of the wheel and rail is triggered when the vehicle speed exceeds 3 kilometers per hour.

Once triggered, the locking pawl pops out from under the sleeper and clamps the front axle.

The fire paused for a moment, then typed another line.

If the front axle is jammed, the rear train will continue to move forward due to inertia.

The third section and number 013 will be pushed down.

The No. 005 tail anchor crashed into the bend.

Probability of group disintegration: Extremely high.

Wang Hu squatted down next to the white light, his expression turning cold.

He turned to look at Su Yuan.

Su Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

On channel 013, Tang Lan was silent for two seconds.

"No Honking Section"

Su Yuan replied with a single word: "Yes."

The control room technician who had just suggested sounding the horn stared at the locking claw model on the screen, his legs went weak for half a second, and he braced his hands on the edge of the table.

The old engineer's voice came through the rear channel.

"No honking zone (white light)! Marked in red! Entire base marked in red!"

The support team began patching sound-absorbing pads along the rear pipe clamps. Rubber pads, dry sandbags, and old lead sheets were passed up in sets.

Su Yuan did not wait for the soundproofing material to be laid out.

"Tang Lan".

"exist."

"The low-resistance drag of No. 013 has dropped another half level."

Tang Lan pushed the brake lever forward a little more.

Car 013 sank, and the track rotation slowed even further. The entire train moved in an extremely slow, crawling motion. When the wheels rolled over the welded rails, the shock absorbers absorbed the vibrations to the lowest frequency. Car 005 dragged at the rear, and the sand layer and rubber pads underneath completely muffled the high-frequency trailing sounds.

Young survivors report.

"Tail boom 24. No. 005 muffler drags on the ground normally. No high-frequency vibration leakage from the tail."

The convoy drove into the white light section.

The white lights were very weak. One by one, they receded from the sides of the car's front. The light shone on the condensation on the pipe walls, turning the water droplets into small, dark yellow dots.

Su Yuan's speed was enough to kill him within a kilometer.

The front wheel ran over the crossbeam below the first white light.

Nothing happened.

The second one.

No.

The third one.

The front of the car had passed one-third of the white light section.

The tapping sound from the direction of the coal and water tank remained very faint. Three short taps followed by two long ones. The rhythm was steady.

Then the tapping became chaotic.

It wasn't three short and two long taps. It was a rapid, continuous series of taps.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding——

It was three times faster. There was no rhythm. No pauses. One after another, without stopping.

In the third carriage, the old mechanic slammed his hand on his water cup.

"The left glass jumped! The right glass jumped too! The middle one almost tipped over!"

In wounded area number 013, an older wounded soldier sat up abruptly.

"The person inside is struggling! They're dying!"

The other wounded soldier also moved.

"Singing—"

Tang Lan quickly covered his mouth.

Tang Lan placed her hand on his mouth, her other hand on the holster. She didn't speak. Her eyes swept around the carriage.

No one moved.

The young survivor stood by the tailgate, his fingers digging into the metal frame. His eyes were fixed on number 005, his lips pressed tightly together. His knuckles were white.

Su Yuan stared at the main screen.

The right-hand channel was filled with a series of frantic banging sounds. Clang, clang, clang, clang. Rapid. Dense. Like someone punching a sheet of metal.

But Xiao Huo was doing something else.

It pinpointed the location of the source of the random knocking sound.

An additional label line appears on the main screen.

Source of the knocking noise: Empty pipe on the left side. Approximately 2.5 meters from the vehicle body.

Location of the heat source for living people in the direction of the coal and water tank: approximately 55 meters to the right front.

The two locations do not overlap.

Xiao Huo typing:

The random knocking was reflected from the inner wall of the old empty pipe on the left.

It is not struck directly by a living person.

The heartbeat frequency of the weak heat source in the direction of the coal and water tank remained unchanged, still in a low-frequency stable state.

When Wang Hu saw this line of text, the tension on his face eased a little.

Su Yuan spoke up.

Cooling pipes. Thermal breakage of the shaft.

Wang Hu pulled out a section of cooling pipe from the side door. He then took out the broken shaft that had been heated near the exhaust port for a long time from the back; its outer wall was reddish-black, and he held it with pliers.

Su Yuan pointed to the location of the empty tube on the left side marked on the main screen.

"Pipe clamps".

Wang Hu leaned half his body out of the side door, holding a cooling pipe in his left hand and a thermal break shaft between his right.

The low-light scan lasted for half a second.

On the left wall, an old pipe, as thick as an arm, extends from the entrance to the maintenance tunnel. The pipe walls are dry, without any condensation. This is completely different from the wet state of the coal water pipe on the right.

The pipe clamp is located in the middle of the pipe, with rusted iron rings securing the pipe to the wall.

Wang Hu first pressed the cooling pipe opening against the outer wall of the empty pipe.

The pipe is vibrating.

The knocking sound was coming from inside. Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang. The metallic clanging echoed within the pipe walls, amplified by the pipe structure, making it sound closer than the actual sound source.

Wang Hu placed the thermal break shaft on the side seam of the pipe clamp.

His hand was very steady the moment the metal touched the metal. There was no bumping or knocking. He simply pressed it against the metal.

Water from the cooling pipes simultaneously splashes onto the outer surface of the pipe wall.

The temperature difference between the hot and cold sides simultaneously squeezes into the joint of the pipe clamp.

The pipe clamps are old. The iron rings are mostly rusted. When there is a temperature difference, the metal stress is concentrated at the thinnest part of the rust.

Click.

It cracked.

A thin crack appeared on the side of the pipe clamp, running two inches along the rusted lines.

The crack wasn't big. Just about two inches.

Moisture seeped out from the cracks, mixed with old iron filings and a dull, corrosive metallic smell.

Then something rolled out of the crack.

Very small. About the size of half a fingernail. Metal sheet. The surface has hand-engraved marks.

Wang Hu clamped it with pliers.

He took the metal sheet into low light.

The engravings are shallow, but the engraver applied even pressure, and the depth of each stroke is roughly the same.

If you hear random knocking, don't try to stop it; first, plug the left pipe.

Wang Hu stared at those words for two seconds.

He handed the metal sheet to the maintenance worker next to him.

"Take a picture. Send it to the control room."

Then he turned to look at Su Yuan.

Su Yuan didn't look at the metal plate. He was looking at the vibration curve of the empty tube on the left side of the main screen.

"block."

Everyone heard that word.

The veteran engineer was the first to react.

"Rubber pads! Dry sand! Lead sheeting! Left side pipe! Press it down!"

The support team followed about 20 meters behind the convoy, and two maintenance workers ran up carrying supplies.

Wang Hu took the rubber pad, unfolded it, and pressed it against the outside of the crack.

Dry sandbags were slapped onto a rubber mat and wrapped with wire three times.

Finally, the lead sheet is wrapped around the edges and secured with clamps.

The clanging and banging continued. But it had become muffled.

Another layer of rubber pad was applied. A maintenance worker tore an old cotton quilt into strips and stuffed them into the gap between the lead sheet and the pipe wall.

Ding ding—

It's even more boring now.

Wang Hu walked two more steps upstream along the pipe and found the second pipe clamp.

"Jump on this one too."

Su Yuan said, "Let's block the road together."

The maintenance worker followed. Rubber pads, dry sand, lead sheets, clamps. The experienced engineer directed from behind, pointing out whichever pipe was which to plug.

"This one!"

"That connector is beeping too! Plug it in!"

"Don't touch it directly with your hands, wear a cloth strip!"

There are a total of four blockages on the left side of the empty pipe.

When the last clamp was fastened, the banging noise finally disappeared from inside the carriage.

The area deep on the right side fell silent again.

The sound of water dripping from a hose. The engine idling. The rustling sound of the No. 005 muffler dragging on the ground.

Then--

Three short. Two long.

It's very light.

The sound came back from deep within the coal and water pipe on the right. The rhythm was the same as before. Steady. Clear.

Xiao Huo displayed two curves side by side on the main screen.

Left side empty tube: vibration returns to zero.

Right-side coal and water pipes: three short and two long, for stable output.

The heartbeat frequency of that faint heat source deep within the right-hand line remained unchanged. Still the same value. Low. But...

There was a deathly silence for a few seconds in carriage 013.

Tang Lan removed her hand from the wounded man's mouth. The wounded man stopped shouting.

He looked at the metal piece on the main screen's feed.

If you hear random knocking, don't try to stop it; first, plug the left pipe.

The other wounded soldier lowered his head.

The young survivor walked to the tailgate, squatted down, and pulled a piece of wire from his tool bag. He threaded the wire through the latch hole of the release cover, wrapped it around twice, and twisted it shut.

Tang Lan saw it.

He didn't say anything.

In the control room, the veteran engineer placed a photo of the metal sheet on the main screen.

"The engraving method of Ji Yun's track class".

He pointed to the words.

"The carving marks are all the same depth, and the starting angle of the knife is slightly to the right. This was carved by a left-handed person using a steel nail. Ji Yun is left-handed."

Lu Mingyuan spoke.

"All route suggestions are based solely on the actual test conducted by the lead vehicle."

"The entire base is marked in red," a technician replied.

"No honking in white light zone. Left-hand pipe is randomly banging false signals. No. 005 tail anchor silencer cannot be removed. Forward all three messages."

The technician's hands were typing on the keyboard.

There were some returns coming from the base channel.

"Received from Dongku. Marked in red."

"Disassembly retrieval received. Marked in red."

"Right-line support team received. All left-side silencers in position."

The convoy continued moving forward.

The white light section is halfway through.

The front wheel of the Devourer ran over the fifth crossbeam. Four beams remained. The speed remained unchanged. One kilometer.

In the third quarter, the old mechanic loosened his water cup.

"All three cups are stable. The right cup follows the water pipe. The left cup has stopped jumping."

The young survivors followed suit.

"Tail beam 24. Right wheel 005 is stable. Muffler dragging on the ground is normal."

Tang Lan made a slight adjustment to the brake lever.

"013 low-resistance drag, normal."

One by one, the white lights receded from both sides of the front of the train towards the rear. With each passing light, Wang Hu sprinkled a handful of powder onto the sleepers.

Pink and gray jump, highlighted in red.

If the powder and gray don't jump, keep going.

As we passed the sixth crossbeam, a very faint metallic snapping sound came from beneath the sleeper.

despair.

Wang Hu tensed up.

Su Yuan's foot remained on the accelerator.

On the small screen, the spring mechanism probe of the locking claw twitched.

After shaking it, it went back.

No trigger.

The vibration from the wheel running over the weld scar was transmitted to the sleeper, absorbed by the spring, and then bounced off.

Wang Hu slowly exhaled that breath.

The last two crossbeams of the white light section.

The ninth one.

The tenth one.

As the rear wheels of the Devourer ran over the last sleeper beneath the white light, Wang Hu scattered the last handful of powder behind him. The powder dust landed. He stopped jumping.

The convoy drove out of the white light section.

The row of white lights behind them was still on. They grew smaller and smaller in the darkness.

Su Yuan did not look back.

The track ahead darkened again. The condensation on the coal water pipe to the right was denser. In some places, a very thin layer of green moss had grown on the pipe wall.

The sound of three short and two long taps continued.

It's getting clearer and clearer.

The small fire indicates the distance: approximately 25 meters ahead of the heat source in the direction of the coal and water tank.

Wang Hu held the chalk dust container, waiting for Su Yuan's instructions.

Su Yuan stared at the heat source on the main screen.

The dot is very small. It only occupies one or two pixels on the scanned image. But it's jumping. Jumping regularly.

heartbeat.

Shen Yuanzhou's voice came from channel 013.

"The coal and water compartment door... is not at the end of the right track."

Su Yuan raised his eyes slightly.

Shen Yuanzhou coughed.

"At the end of the main track is an old-fashioned locomotive turntable. The hatch... should be on the right. Half a meter lower. There's a maintenance switch."

The small flame immediately aimed at the right side for scanning.

Fifteen meters ahead, below the right wall, there is indeed a depression. It is about half a meter lower than the main track surface. The outline is mostly covered by grease and moss, and it is almost invisible without careful observation.

Typing on low heat.

The right-side sinking maintenance branch groove has been confirmed.

It is approximately 1.2 meters wide.

The depth is approximately 0.5 meters.

There is a manual pull ring at the bottom.

Wang Hu poked his head out of the side door and glanced down to the lower right for half a second.

The light shone on the depression. The moss was black. The grime was thick. But beneath the grime, a small section of the iron frame's right angle was visible.

"There's a chance."

Su Yuan slowed the car down a bit more.

The Devourer stopped when it was directly opposite the maintenance branch.

The veteran engineer shouted into the back channel, "Long hook! Does anyone have a long hook?!"

Wang Hu pulled a long hook from the toolbox under the vehicle. The hook tip was facing down, and the shank was wrapped with cloth.

He jumped out of the car.

His feet made a very faint slapping sound as they stepped into the greasy mud. He paused for a second, making sure he hadn't triggered anything, before taking his second step.

Edge of the branch groove.

Wang Hu crouched down, turning on the low light with only a single line. The light shone into the depression.

At the bottom of the branch channel is an iron pull ring. The ring is rusted, but there are artificial scratches next to it. Someone once tried to pull the ring open, scraping off a layer of rust to reveal the grayish-black iron underneath.

The pull ring is connected to an old panel embedded in the wall. The panel has hinges along its edge.

Old gate.

Wang Hu hooked the long hook onto the pull ring.

"Boss."

Su Yuan watched him from the driver's seat.

"Tang Lan, No. 013 is half-locked and dead. No. 005 is the tail."

Tang Lan replied: "Received."

A young survivor reported: "Tail boom 24. No. 005 tail section is normal."

Su Yuan said, "Pull."

Wang Hu braced his feet on the sleepers at the edge of the fork, hooked the pull ring with a long hook, and exerted force from above with his arms.

The pull ring didn't move.

The corrosion is too severe. The hinges are rusted too. The entire panel is stuck to the wall.

Wang Hu gritted his teeth and tugged again.

The baffle wobbled. Less than a centimeter. A dry creak came from the hinge.

"Cold spring water," Su Yuan said.

The repairman handed over a cold water hose. Wang Hu sprayed water onto the hinge. The cold water washed away a layer of rust, exposing the hinge shaft. He then used a heat-broken shaft to prop up the side of the shaft.

Alternating between hot and cold.

The hinge crack widened slightly.

Wang Hu pulled again.

ga-

The barrier was pulled open by two inches.

Darkness appeared behind the fork in the road.

There was a chill in the darkness. Not from an air conditioner. It was the damp chill of water from a cold boiler that had been flowing through old pipes for a long time.

There was also sound.

Three short. Two long.

It's not coming from the water pipes anymore.

It came directly from that two-inch gap.

Very close.

The striking sound carried the crisp echo of sheet metal. Not dull. Not a hammer. Knuckles. Or a fist.

Someone is knocking inside.

Wang Hu loosened the long hook and then applied more force.

Su Yuan lightly pressed the accelerator. The Devourer moved forward half a foot. The remaining length of the winch cable on the front beam of the vehicle was just enough to hook the end of the long hook handle.

"Turn the winch half a turn."

The winch was strained. The steel cable taut. Wang Hu secured the long hook to the sleeper pile at the edge of the branch channel, allowing the force of the winch to be transmitted to the pull ring through the hook tip.

Tang Lan controlled No. 013, half-locking it in place. No. 005, the silenced dropper, steadily pressed down from behind.

The winch turned another half turn.

crunch--

The barrier was pulled open by a foot.

A rush of cold air wafted out, carrying a rusty smell and a very faint coal ash odor.

Behind the barrier was an extremely narrow passage, less than half the width of the Devourer. Inside was an old pier, its surface paved with corrugated steel plates and edged with low railings. The pier was only wide enough for one side of a vehicle to drive over.

The other side is empty.

Sweep across with low light.

To the right of the pier is a sunken coal-water caisson. It's black. You can't see the bottom. Cold air rises from the caisson opening.

Wang Hu lay on the edge of the branch channel and peered inside for three seconds.

"You can walk on the bridge, but only the two wheels on the right side are wide enough."

The veteran mechanic shouted into the third channel, "How do we get up here?"

Su Yuan looked at the scanned image of the pier on the main screen.

"The right front wheel is attached to the bridge surface. The left rear wheel is pressed against the outer edge of the welded rail."

The model was cut out with a small torch. The wheelbase of the Devourer was just right between the width of the trestle and the outer edge of the welded rail. The two right wheels were on the bridge surface, and the two left wheels were on the remaining rail surface of the maintenance track.

It's very narrow.

But it's possible.

Su Yuan turned the steering wheel slightly to the right.

The front wheel of the Devourer ran over the edge of the pier.

The corrugated steel plates on the bridge deck emitted a low hum. Not loud, but exceptionally clear in the completely silent maintenance walkway.

Su Yuan immediately loosened the oil.

The buzzing stopped.

Wang Hu looked back.

"The steel plate will resonate."

Su Yuan said, "A silencer."

The young survivors realized what was happening.

"Did the No. 005 silencing bobber sink to the point of contact with the bridge surface?"

Su Yuan didn't answer him. He stared at the location of the silencer pendant, number 005, on the main screen.

"When crossing the bridge, the No. 005 silencing weight was moved from the welding rail to the bridge deck and dragged. The sand layer pressed down on the steel plate, causing resonance."

The veteran engineer overheard this from the rear.

"Support team! Add two bags of dry sand to the bottom of No. 005! Make sure the silencing bobber is pulled steadily across the bridge!"

Two maintenance workers ran towards the rear.

The young survivor had already removed the dry sandbags from the side wall. He handed out the tailgate, which the maintenance worker took and secured to the outside of the muffler.

There were two more layers of sand. The sound-absorbing pendant was heavier.

Okay. The heavier the better.

The Devourer has started afresh.

The right front wheel hit the pier. The corrugated steel plate made a humming sound, but the silencing weight followed closely behind. The sand layer pressed down on the steel plate, turning the humming sound into a muffled thud, which was then absorbed by the rubber pads.

Number 013 followed onto the bridge. The track width occupied most of the bridge surface. Tang Lan lowered the drag to the lowest level, allowing the tracks to grip the corrugated plates and move slowly without slipping.

Number 005 was the last to cross the bridge. The young survivor stared at the screen, reporting the time second by second.

"Right wheel onto the bridge. Isolation box crosses the bridge edge. Silencer touches the bridge surface. Tail beam 25."

The entire convoy was placed on the pier.

Below the pier is a coal-fired well. A black abyss. Cold air rises from the wellhead.

The knocking sound grew closer.

Three short. Two long.

It's less than ten meters ahead.

Wang Hu pressed himself against the side door and scanned it for half a second with a low-light beam.

At the end of the pier, there is an old iron gate. There is a handwritten number on the gate, and most of the paint has been peeled off, leaving only the words "coal water-".

Rusty water was seeping out from the cracks in the door.

The knocking came from behind the door.

Su Yuan reduced the vehicle's speed to a minimum. When the front wheels of the Devourer were five meters from the door, he eased off the accelerator.

The car came to a stop. The muffler left its last trail of sand on the bridge surface.

Wang Hu was about to jump down.

Something floated up from the well.

The younger survivors saw it first.

His low beam swept across the right side of No. 005, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught something moving at the edge of the wellhead.

He moved the light down a little.

A glove floats on the surface of the black well water.

Old Blue Star protective gloves. Rubber material. Dark gray. The fingers are swollen from being soaked in water, and the knuckles are bulging.

Nobody is wearing it.

The glove floated on the water and slowly turned half a circle.

Then one of its knuckles touched the metal plate at the bottom of the pier.

when.

Just a gentle touch.

stop.

Another one.

when.

It's not three short and two long.

The rhythm is completely different.

The small torch captured the sound.

Stop. Clang. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Clang. Stop. Stop. Clang. Stop.

Wang Hu squatted in front of the door, turning his head to stare at the well.

"New code".

Translation by Xiao Huo will take time.

Not much. Two seconds.

Three lines of text pop up on the main screen.

Do not open the main door of the coal and water tank.

The person is not behind the door.

The person is below the boiler.

Wang Hu loosened his grip on the iron gate's handle.

He looked down at the glove at the wellhead.

The third knuckle of the glove touched the iron plate under the bridge again.

when.

Then it slowly sank. Ripples spread outwards on the water's surface, bouncing back against the well wall.

The water surface returned to normal.

The knocking behind the iron door of the coal and water tank continued.

Three short. Two long.

But Su Yuan no longer looked at that door.

His mechanical left eye turned towards the area below the trestle bridge. In the darkness above the wellhead, the location of the faint heat source on the scan map had been updated.

Not behind the door.

Directly below the door.

At the bottom of the pier.

Somewhere deep within the coal-water caisson.

Below the boiler.