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

The blood spot changed color when it reached the thirty-seventh one.

The first thirty-six are dark red, oxidized, with cracked edges. The thirty-seventh is purplish. Fresh. There's also a ring of splattered fine dust.

The small fire's scanning light swept down from the roof of the train, the beam of light pressing against the rail surface.

"Blood oxidation time is decreasing. The most recent one was no more than six minutes."

Wang Hu lay prone on the outer beam, staring at the direction the dark dots stretched forward. Downhill. The curve was gentle, but it lasted a long way. The white marks left by the skids scraping the rails were still there, two wide and two narrow—the temporary welds on 009 were unevenly made.

There is light at the bottom of the slope ahead.

Not a white light, not a green light. Red. Dark red. Furnace light.

The heat refracted through the air from beneath a semi-enclosed steel beam dome, distorting the atmosphere. The outline of the No. 25 rail casting furnace gradually emerged from the darkness—larger than the previous stations, with the highest point of the dome exceeding twenty meters. There was no door at the entrance, only two bent old steel pillars standing on either side, with an iron plaque hanging in the middle.

The headlights of the Devourer shone on it.

"Wearing a worn wheel can be replaced with a new one."

There is a line of small print below the metal plate, indicating it's an old inkjet print, not hand-engraved.

"Dedicated lane for train group 001. Please follow the wheel-changing procedures."

The loudspeaker then came on.

"The wear rate of the front wheels of the No. 001 lead car train was found to be excessive. The No. 25 rail casting furnace has reserved a wheel replacement station for No. 001."

It paused for a second.

"To ensure the safety of the rail casting, please unload the No. 005 tail anchor car and the mobile refining furnace before entering the platform."

Tang Lan's voice was flat on channel 013.

Here we go again.

Wang Hu climbed back from the outer beam and patted the lime bag.

"How many times have you said this line? Can't you change the beginning?"

From direction 005, the young survivor reported: "Tail boom 19.3, normal."

His hand remained on the protective cover. The temperature in the lead-boron reserve compartment was stable. The seal on the second cargo compartment from the right had not been touched.

Su Yuan did not slow down. The Devourer slid into the bottom of the slope at a speed of forty, and applied partial braking. Trains 013 and 005 followed behind, their steel cables trembling slightly, and the train spacing remained stable.

When the train's headlights swept into the dome, one-third of the entire platform was illuminated.

The rail-casting furnace is in the very center. The massive cylinder lies horizontally, its opening facing right, the residual heat still pulsating deep within the furnace chamber. Below the furnace is a turntable—smaller than the one at station 24, but with thicker gears and denser locking pins. The turntable is connected to six short rails, leading to the wheel-changing station, material rack, cooling pool, and three dark, unlit openings.

Then Su Yuan stepped on the brakes.

It wasn't an emergency stop. The segmented braking engaged sequentially from front to back, with each section—the Devourer, the third section, 013, and 005—decelerating one section at a time, until the entire train came to a stop twenty meters before the turntable.

The entrance to the carousel is already occupied.

A dark gray chassis cut across from the left short rail and stopped in the center of the turntable. There was no bodywork. No paint. Only the underframe, drive shaft, and a row of heavy-duty hooks of varying sizes were welded to the beams.

The largest hook—its diameter is twice that of the main hook of the Devouring Wasteland.

Half a thin piece of steel, not properly concealed, was still stuck to the hook tip. The number 009.

011.

It arrived before the Devourer.

Wang Hu moved his hand from the lime bag to the wrench.

The drive shaft of 011 was running at a low speed. It didn't rush over. It just stopped in the middle of the turntable, the giant hook facing the Devourer, the magnetic claw frame unfolding from the side, and the two recovery arms slowly extending.

Its stance is clear—this is its territory.

The broadcast immediately changed.

"After equipment damage was detected at station 24, train 011 was transferred to rail casting furnace 25 for repair. The current turntable station is full. Train 001, please transfer to the temporary storage line to wait."

On the right, a guide wheel on a switch rail with a white light illuminated rises. The direction is downwards.

"The diversion and temporary storage line can ensure the safety of train formation. The waiting time is estimated to be fifteen minutes."

Someone in the AM relay channel gasped.

The Bonebreaker's communications officer spoke softly: "It's a temporary line again."

The fire control officer at the slaughterhouse didn't speak. But he marked the coordinates of the diversion line in red.

Control room of Base 04. The technician pulled up the track surface structure of the diversion temporary storage line. He looked at it for two seconds.

"Hollow. The recycling bin is below."

The veteran engineer tapped the desktop. He didn't say anything.

On channel 013, Tang Lan pressed the brake lever down another half degree.

"The half-hug remains unchanged. No one is allowed to touch the detached hook cover."

Su Yuan shifted his gaze from 011 to the edge of the turntable's track. Then he looked in the direction where 009's bloodstain disappeared—the bloodstain ended five meters in front of the turntable. The last drop landed beside the entrance to the third short track on the left.

"Pinkish-gray".

Wang Hu climbed onto the outer beam. He threw the first handful of powder towards the entrance of the wheel-changing passage.

The white powder fell onto the rail surface, paused for half a second, and then began to slide towards the cracks on both sides. The speed was not fast, but the direction was the same—downward.

The side seam of the rail is being swallowed.

The second batch was thrown towards the diversion and temporary storage line. The powder and ash were immediately drawn in upon landing, twice as fast as in the wheel-changing channel.

"It's all hollow." Wang Hu squatted on the outer beam. "The wheel-changing passage is also full of pits."

The third sprinkle was applied next to the gear ring of the turntable. The powder settled on the metal surface without moving. The turntable itself was clean, just like station number 24.

Little Fire's claws drew two lines on the control panel.

「009最后血点位置与转盘齿圈三号锁销的脱扣窗口重合。」它把24号站的数据叠上来。「25号站转盘与24号站结构同源。009血点间距同样标记了抢轴窗口。」

It paused for a moment.

"009 isn't calling for help. He's marking the time to enter the station."

There was a two-second silence in the driver's cab.

011 seemed to sense that the Devourer hadn't moved. The locking tongue of the giant hook snapped shut, and the magnetic claw extended forward half a meter. The magnetic baffle at the end of the recovery arm aligned itself with the front beam of the Devourer.

It's about to move.

The broadcast pace quickened.

"Train No. 001 refuses to enter the diversion line. This action violates the full-load management regulations of Station No. 25." Car No. 011 will be subject to mandatory clearing.

The drive shaft of 011 suddenly accelerated.

The entire gray-black chassis burst forth from the center of the turntable, its massive hook lunging towards the front beam of the Devourer. The recovery arms extended from both sides, the magnetic claws clamping down on direction 005. The hook tip was less than eight meters from the front beam.

Su Yuan's right hand touched the control panel under the car.

"Anti-drag device".

There was a loud crack from under the car.

The mobile wall-mounted gear rail anti-traction device, removed from station 23, pops out, and the newly installed heavy-duty turntable rail grabber at station 24 engages simultaneously. The three-stage adjustable gear bites into the exposed tooth grooves on the edge of the turntable.

Tooth to tooth. Deadlock.

At the same time, eight cable outlets were released.

The first four cables are: the first one is attached to the base of the No. 3 locking pin of the turntable; the second one is attached to the ground anchor ring that goes around the short rail on the left; the third one is attached to the lifting lug of the bottom support beam of the rail casting furnace; and the fourth one is attached to the load-bearing pin at the base of the dome steel column.

The last four cables: the fifth cable is the 005 silencer anchor, the sixth cable is the 013 tail beam auxiliary lock, the seventh cable is the wall-mounted outer beam hanging point, and the eighth cable is the prefabricated rail section connected to the fully loaded rail passage module.

Eight cables were stretched into a frame.

The Devourer was nailed to the edge of the furnace. 013 was half-dead. 005 dropped three inches.

011's giant hook smashed into the front beam—

A metallic clanging sound erupted.

But the Devourer didn't move.

The eight cables distributed all the impact force to the turntable tooth grooves, the rail casting furnace support beams, the dome steel columns, and the four rear sections of the train. The giant hook of 011 bit into the newly installed giant hook countermeasure coupling on the front beam, and the locking tongue was half open, unable to close.

The driveshaft of 011 roared. The wheel slipped on the turntable gear. Iron powder flew everywhere.

It can't be pulled.

Because it was standing on the turntable. The turntable was anchored to the ground by the Devourer. If 011 wanted to drag the Devourer, it would be equivalent to dragging the weight of the entire turntable plus the base of the rail-casting furnace.

First rebound.

The chassis of 011 bounced back half a meter due to its own traction. The giant hook slipped off the counterweight, its tip scraping a white mark on the new armor surface.

Someone muttered a curse in the Bonebreaker channel.

"It can't be pulled."

011 stopped charging. The drive shaft slowed down. It returned to the center of the turntable, and the magnetic claw holder retracted halfway. The recovery arm was still extended, but its direction changed from the front beam to the side—towards the furnace opening of the rail casting furnace.

Su Yuan saw it.

"Slow fire. Launch the fourth unit."

The door to the unmanned vehicle's recovery pod popped open. The fourth magnetic homing trolley rolled out, its newly fitted anti-capture release case flashing in the furnace light.

The car sped off close to the ground, circled the outer ring of the turntable from the right side of the Devourer, and crawled under the chassis of 011.

The camera is transmitting images back.

011 Bottom.

Three pieces of 009 road sign steel were clamped next to the axle—not handed over to the magnetic claw holder, but stuck in the gap of the drive shaft cover. The fourth car rolled forward half a meter, and the camera was aimed at the rear wheel of 011.

There are skid marks next to the rear wheel.

Not 011's own—it's a narrower drag mark. The width is the same as the scratch on the 009 skid. The drag mark extends from the bottom of 011, leading to a hidden groove beneath the rail casting furnace.

Something in the dark compartment is glowing red.

The small torch zooms in on the scene. At the end of the dark channel, the lower furnace chamber of the rail-casting furnace is open. Next to the opening lie four sections of metal strips—with curved ends and rough welds.

The skid of 009.

It was dragged to the furnace opening.

The scratches on the three sandwiched steel pieces of the small torch and the trailing marks of the 011 bottom groove overlap on the main screen.

"011 is not here to change wheels."

The claw stopped on the console.

"It carried the wheel and axle remnants of 009 and attempted to connect to the wheel recycling chain of the rail casting furnace. It then used the scrap wheel and axle of 009 along with its own structure to forge new wheels."

It brought out the words on the last piece of steel.

"No. 25 rail casting furnace, don't let 011 enter the furnace first. It wants to cast itself into a new wheel."

There was a two-second pause in the chat.

The fire control officer at the slaughterhouse made the first move. He changed the status of station 25 from white to red. Next to it, he added a line: "System wheel change broadcast invalid. 011 attempted to upgrade its main body using the rail casting furnace."

The communications officer for the Bonebreaker whispered, "That's the broadcast from the guy chasing 009 calling for help—"

"It's fake," Tang Lan continued from inside unit 013. The brake lever was pressed firmly. "It's all fake."

Su Yuan didn't watch the channel.

He was looking at the temperature gauge of the mobile refining furnace. Standby temperature: 300 degrees Celsius. Side troughs empty. Bucket area empty.

"Refining furnace. Full power."

The furnace temperature jumped from 300 to 950. Dark gold conduits extended from the side of the furnace, and the furnace fire cast a flickering red glow on the dome's steel beams.

Simultaneously.

"Wall armor spare parts #23. Turntable arc rack, second section. Giant hook detached and broken seat #011."

Wang Hu made a move on the outer beam.

The crane boom is fully extended. The grabber latches onto a spare wall armor piece on the left side of the outer beam—the one that was cast from extra pieces at Station 23, which has been hanging on the bottom floor of the warehouse and has never been used.

The wall armor was grabbed by claws and sent into the refining furnace bucket area.

In the dedicated slot for heavy-duty cargo, the second of the three arc-shaped racks cut from the gear ring at station number 24 was removed. The heavy-duty rack, over a meter long, rolled into the furnace opening along the receiving slide rail.

Finally, there was the massive hook fragment that had collapsed when 011 hit the front beam—a piece of iron, about half the size of a fist, that had knocked off the counterweight mount during the rebound. Wang Hu picked it up from the rail and threw it into the bucket.

Three things are put into the furnace. The refining furnace is running at full power.

Dark golden flames spewed from the furnace mouth, merging with the crimson flames of the rail-casting furnace itself beneath the dome. Metal scraps were swirled up by the airflow, tumbling between the two flames.

The temperature inside the furnace soared.

The side slot begins to eject parts.

Group 1. Wide-rimmed castings.

The high-hardness steel of the wall armor and the wear-resistant layer of the rack were reconstituted in the furnace to cast four wider and thicker outer rings of the wheel rim. The curvature was precisely matched with the existing wheel set of the Devourer, but the width was one-third larger, and the inner side was equipped with rail-biting teeth.

Wang Hu caught the first piece. It was hot to the touch. He stuffed it under the car through his gloves. The pre-drilled groove on the outer side of the wide-gauge obstacle-crossing wheel flange installed at Station 23 fit perfectly.

The second piece. The third piece. The fourth piece. Two members of the maintenance team crawled out from under the car to assist. The four outer rings of the wheel rims were pressed into the outer sides of the four sets of wheelsets.

The second group. Gear tooth anti-slip block.

The material used to make the 011 Giant Hook Breaker is extremely hard—materials used to make giant interlocking hooks can't be bad. This small amount of material was just enough to cast sixteen anti-slip toothed blocks. Each is about the size of a thumbnail and has a groove on the bottom.

Wang Hu pressed the teeth one by one into the grooves on the inside of the wheel rim. Sixteen teeth. Four for each of the four wheels.

Third set. Heat-resistant wheel hub bushings.

The heat-resistant alloy layer in the middle section of the rack is peeled off separately and cast into a thin-walled hollow sleeve, which is then fitted onto the outer side of the hubs of the first two wheelsets. In the high-temperature environment of the rail casting furnace, this sleeve can withstand 800 degrees Celsius without deformation.

All four wheelsets have been upgraded.

But the wheel hasn't hit the ground yet. After the new casting is pressed in, a momentary full-weight compression is needed to make the slot fully engage.

Su Yuan is waiting.

011 is also moving.

It saw the Devourer changing wheels, and the drive shaft accelerated again. This time, it wasn't charging towards the front beam—it was charging towards the rail casting furnace. The interface pin extended from the front end of the recovery arm, aligning with the wheel material recovery port on the side of the rail casting furnace.

It needs to be connected to the rail casting chain.

The broadcast followed suit.

"Request for wheel recycling permission detected for transfer car No. 011. Rail casting furnace No. 25 is responding—"

Su Yuan's right hand left the steering wheel.

"Giant Hook Countermeasure Seat"

On the pre-reserved position of the front beam, the giant hook countermeasure coupling bracket installed at station number 24 pops out. Three-toothed latch.

The crane arm swung over. Not towards the rail casting furnace—it swung towards 011.

The grabbing claws latch onto the main connecting core side beam that is charging towards 011. At the same time, the giant hook counterweight pushes out from the front beam, and the teeth and claws lock onto the inner wall of the locking tongue of the largest giant hook of 011.

Two points locked.

The speed of 011 came to an abrupt halt under the dual clamping of the gripping claw and the counterweight. All the torque of the drive shaft was concentrated on the two contact points, producing a sharp metallic clanging sound.

But it couldn't move.

It was nailed to the edge of the turntable.

The main coupling was caught by the crane boom. The largest hook was jammed by the counterweight. The drive shaft spun freely. The wheels were smoking on the turntable.

The broadcast is stuck.

It's not a content card—it's a processing card. There's only background noise for three consecutive seconds.

When the broadcast resumed, the speaking speed was slower than before.

"Detected - Abnormal movement of transfer car No. 011 - Recalculating -"

Su Yuan ignored it.

"Landing."

Fully release the brakes in stages.

The entire weight of the Devourer was pressed back onto the rails within 0.3 seconds. All four wheelsets, with their newly cast wide rims, anti-slip teeth, and heat-resistant hub sleeves, landed simultaneously.

The weight of the entire vehicle instantly compresses all the card slots.

The sound of the wheels hitting the tracks was different now.

It wasn't the crisp, steel-on-steel sound of before. It was a deeper, more muffled sound. The wheel teeth bit into the tiny grooves of the rail surface, and the anti-slip block left fine tooth marks on the rail surface.

The Devourer moved forward half a meter.

I didn't press the accelerator. It was just the inertia after releasing the brake.

But that half-meter acceleration was much faster than before.

Wang Hu squatted on the outer beam. He felt the change beneath his feet. The vibration frequency of the car body was lower, but each vibration was more solid.

"It's got it."

The small torch displayed the grip data on the main screen. The number jumped. It doubled.

Base 04 control room.

The technician stared at the grip curve. His lips moved slightly, but he didn't utter a sound.

The veteran engineer looked at the numbers twice. Then he clicked on the desktop.

"Test conducted at station number 25. Wheel replacement complete."

Lu Mingyuan opened all channels.

"No. 25 rail casting furnace - tested and usable on the lead car. The wheel changing path is determined automatically by the lead car. The system wheel changing procedure has been downgraded."

The AM relay channel was silent for two seconds.

The communications officer for the Bonebreaker spoke. His voice was more steady than before.

"Number 25 - Confirmed. Lead vehicle wheel change complete."

The fire control officer at the slaughterhouse followed.

"Platform wheel change announcements, diversion temporary storage lines, and forced unloading prompts are all uniformly labeled as system pseudo-rules."

011 is still pinned down. The drive shaft has been reduced to idle speed. Its wheels are no longer slipping and it is stationary, with the magnetic claw partially retracted. The recovery arm is drooping down, and the interface pin is not extended.

It's quiet now.

It's like admitting it.

Su Yuan did not loosen the crane arm.

"The refining furnace keeps running."

The dark gold guide tube extends again from the side of the furnace body. The first one cuts into the fixed base of the 011 magnetic claw holder. Rotate. Pull. The entire row of magnetic claws detaches from the 011 vehicle body and rolls into the bucket area along the receiving slide rail.

The second guide pipe cut into the base of the remaining three medium-sized hooks in 011. One by one, they were cut. The weld glowed red, and the hooks detached one by one.

The third conduit extends towards the driveshaft cover of the 011 chassis. The cover bolts were loosened by the high temperature, and the cover flipped down, exposing the driveshaft body and differential.

The differential housing was completely removed.

The 011's driveshaft stopped. Completely stopped. Without a differential, the wheelset lost power distribution, and the bike became scrap metal.

The refining furnace swallowed up the magnetic claw holder, three connecting hooks, differential housing, and protective cover of 011.

Side-groove ejector.

The magnetic claw material was recast into rim side impact guards—attached to the outside of the four wheelsets to protect the newly installed wide rims from damage by side impacts.

The coupling material is cast into heavy-duty rail spikes—forty-eight in total. They are shorter and stiffer than the quick-set rail pins at Station 24, and are specifically designed to temporarily fix the wheel track on soft or damaged rail surfaces.

The differential housing did not melt. The refining furnace sorted it out, preserving it intact. It was then placed in the precision parts slot of the heavy-duty cargo hold. For future use.

011 was left with only the underframe and four bare wheelsets. When the crane arm released it, the entire vehicle slowly slid down the turntable. It had no power, only gravity.

It slid down into the dark groove below the rail casting furnace.

The skid from 009 was still lying next to the culvert. The wreckage from 011 slid past the skid and crashed into the scrap baffle at the end of the culvert.

Stopped.

The announcement at station number 25 was broadcast for the last time.

"No. 25 rail casting furnace - core equipment - abnormal -"

And then it was over. Even the background noise disappeared. Only the low-frequency hum of the refining furnace and the crackling of the residual heat from the rail-casting furnace remained in the dome.

The system has lost its sound.

The small torch changed the label for station number 25 to gray. On the main screen, there are seven consecutive gray numbers, from number 19 to 25.

AM relay channel.

The person who modified the map on the Bonebreaker didn't wait for anyone to speak. They immediately marked it gray. Note: "Rail casting furnace No. 25, system wheel replacement procedure invalid. Route marker 009 confirmed as station-grabbing window information. Threat to the 011 heavy hook sweeper has been neutralized."

The slaughterhouse fire control officer followed. It was longer than before.

"From the 19th to the 25th, the broadcasts of all station systems did not match the actual functions. The accuracy rate of the 009 road sign information is 100%. It is recommended that all subsequent station information be based solely on the actual tests conducted by the Devourer and the 009 road sign."

Base 04 control room.

Lu Mingyuan remained silent. However, he changed 009's credibility rating from "preferred reference" to the highest level—"equivalent to the lead vehicle's actual test."

The veteran engineer stared at the seven gray sites on the main screen for five seconds. He tapped his finger lightly on the table.

"Seven stations. All demolished."

The technician didn't respond. He was looking at another set of data—the current material reserves and modification list of the Devourer. Since Station 19, the vehicle's condition had completely changed compared to when it first entered the Great Wall Inner Ring Road.

The Devourer was making its final preparations at the station.

Wang Hu pried off three heat-resistant lining bricks from the edge of the rail-casting furnace—the furnace chamber was no longer needed, but the heat resistance of the lining bricks was higher than any of the insulation materials currently available on the Devourer. The three lining bricks were stuffed into the outer insulation seam of the Zhenshan core energy conduction pipe.

Six sets of locking pins on the turntable were removed. Not all of them—only the easy-to-remove ones were removed, and the rest were left as anchor points. These six sets of locking pins are made of a different material than the twelve sets at station number 24, making them more suitable for use as wheel hub liner pins. They were directly retracted into the precision parts slots.

The cooling pipes on the side of the rail casting furnace were cut in two. The wall thickness was just right to be used as the inner lining for the deformed frame on the outside of No. 013. Tang Lan's people took it and welded it in place on the spot. The deformed area of ​​No. 013 was completely sandwiched between two layers—an outer wall armor and an inner lining.

005 direction. The young survivor confirmed the tail boom is at 18.1. The cabin temperature is normal. The seal on the second cargo compartment on the right has not been touched.

At last.

When Wang Hu was cleaning the residual ash in the bucket area of ​​the refining furnace, his shovel hit something.

Thin. Metallic. Adhering to the bottom of the bucket, almost completely covered by residual ash.

He picked it up with his fingers.

The steel sheet for the 009 road sign.

I don't know when it got in. It probably fell from the 011 magnetic claw holder and got stuck in the gap of the receiving slide rail, and was baked by the furnace temperature.

The inscription on the front was blurred by the high temperature. But the back—

The back isn't engraved; it's an indentation.

A line of marks left by the textured surface of the refining furnace bucket under high temperatures. It's not a random pattern; it's text.

Place the thin steel sheet under the scanning lamp. Set the resolution to the highest level.

A single line of text.

"Don't take the visible tracks at station number 26, go to the hidden side."

Wang Hu handed the steel sheet to Su Yuan. Su Yuan glanced at it, said nothing, and inserted the steel sheet into the front position of the storage slot.

The Devourer's engines revved up again. The newly installed anti-slip strips on the gear teeth made a fine, meshing sound on the rails. The entire train set began to move forward.

The moment the headlights left the dome of the rail casting furnace.

Su Yuan pressed the clutch with his left foot.

The car speed was reduced to ten.

Because of the vibration coming from the soles of my feet.

It wasn't from the Devourer itself—it came from below. From beneath Station 25. From the depths of that dark trough beneath the rail-casting furnace.

The wheels clattered.

Slow. Heavy. The sound of metal rolling over old rails. Evenly spaced.

Something was under the hidden channel, moving backwards along the hidden track at the bottom of the furnace.

Bottom right corner of the main screen.

The small torch was used to extract the vibration spectrum from the sensors under the vehicle.

"Lower level of Station 25. Unknown vehicle. Moving in reverse. Extremely low speed. Expected to arrive at the tunnel exit in three minutes."

At the same second.

Wang Hu glanced back from the outer beam.