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

As the Devourer departed from Station 27, the downhill curve had already shifted the train's center of gravity forward by two inches.

The piston rod of the long-stroke shock absorber engaged in the first wave, and the hydraulic oil hissed inside the cylinder. Su Yuan switched his left foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal, not pressing it all the way down, just resting it. The core output of the Zhenshan engine dropped to the lower edge of idle speed.

Ahead. Sparks.

Not just a few scattered sparks—it's a discontinuous orange-red line, tracing a semicircle on an arc track. Each cluster of sparks flashes for half a second before extinguishing, only to be followed by another. The position is shifting. The speed is increasing.

The small torch pushes the radar screen to the main screen.

009.

The chassis is warped. A large section of the right-side shell is missing, exposing internal weld points and broken bracket remnants. The car body, which was relatively intact at Station 20, now looks like it's been chewed by a dog. Three sets of temporarily welded short-axle wheelsets are dragging white smoke across the rails, their rims worn into grooves.

Behind it, three unlit trolleys were lined up in a row, with thick steel plates at the front supporting the rear of 009, and the drive shafts were running at full speed.

That's how 009's braking sparks came about—the wheels locked up, but the combined force of the three trolleys far exceeded the braking limit, and 009 was forcibly pushed forward.

Steel fragments were still flying off the tail.

A piece of steel tumbled out and bounced twice on the rails. The wheels of the cart behind it ran over it, pressing the steel sheet into the rail gap.

Su Yuan did not accelerate.

"012, get out."

The first four of the eight cables were pulled back. The 012 forward ballast pulley was pulled out from the front of the Devourer, and the newly welded ram flashed under the headlights as it slid down the curved surface into the entrance of the No. 28 loop.

The low-profile chassis rolled over the first section of the curve. The vibration from the rail surface was transmitted back to the tension gauge on the eight-cable system. The reading was taken.

"The rail surface is under normal load-bearing capacity. There is no lateral displacement or subsidence."

012 continued gliding forward for another fifteen meters. It reached the fork between the outer and inner lanes.

Outer ring – a giant centrifugal buffer wall. Concrete construction with an old rubber layer on the surface.

The inner ring—a continuous brake belt—has blackened teeth with signs of high-temperature oxidation. Next to the belt is a cooling groove; the liquid in the groove has long since dried, leaving only dark scale.

"This isn't a platform." The small torch displayed the cross-sectional data on the main screen. "It's a high-speed braking test ring. Design purpose—to verify the emergency braking performance of heavy-haul trains. The outer ring buffer wall withstands the centrifugal force ejecting the vehicle, while the inner ring toothed belt provides segmented braking force."

Wang Hu peered at 009 from the outer beam. Sparks were still flashing. 009 was swaying violently, tilting further with each bend. The broken support at the right-side gap was flung outwards by centrifugal force, nearly scraping the buffer wall.

"This little thing has become crippled from delivering messages all the way," Wang Hu cursed.

On channel 013, Tang Lan's brake lever is stuck and not moving. It's half-locked.

005 direction.

"Tail boom 17.1. Cabin temperature normal. Seals untouched." The young survivor's voice was steady, his hand never leaving the outer wall of the cabin.

The loudspeaker came on.

The frequency band of station 28. The sound is different from the previous stations—more urgent, the speech is twice as fast.

"Urgent Report - Supply Cart No. 009 has entered an out-of-control acceleration state due to a trolley malfunction! It is expected to crash into the main gate of the Great Wall's inner gate in 90 seconds!"

It paused for half a second.

"Car No. 001, please immediately cut into the outer ring and pursue the open track at high speed! The system will provide fully automatic braking assistance to ensure a safe stop for car No. 009!"

The outer track lighting strip illuminated. White light shone from both sides of the track surface, and cold mist sprayed from the tooth gaps, forming a thin layer of white on the curved section. A green arrow was projected onto the track surface, pointing in the direction of 009.

"At the same time, the weight of the No. 005 tail anchor car, the mobile refining furnace and the No. 012 trolley was detected to exceed the safety threshold of the high-speed curve - it is recommended to divert to the inner low-speed protection zone."

Inside. A short rail branches off from the side of the toothed belt, with a warm yellow light at its end.

The Bonebreaker Channel.

The messenger's voice came through. Quickly.

"If 009 really breaks through the inner door—the main road behind will be completely exposed—"

Control room of Base 04. The technician substituted the current speed of 009 and the structural strength of the inner door into the formula. The data was displayed on the screen.

"At the current acceleration... 009 will impact the inner door in 73 seconds. The door's maximum withstand capacity is 40 tons per hour, at which point it will deform. The total weight of 009 plus the three trolleys exceeds 50 tons."

The old engineer didn't speak. His fingers remained on the table.

Inside room 013, a wounded soldier lying on a stretcher propped his neck up to look at the screen when the IV tubing next to him wobbled. His hand gripped the edge of the bed, his knuckles taut.

005 direction. The young survivor's lips were taut and white, but his hand was still on the hull. He didn't touch the release cover.

The three carts suddenly increased their speed.

The rotational speed of the drive shaft jumped one notch on the radar screen. The brake sparks at the tail of 009 changed from intermittent to continuous—a red line trailed on the rails, and the wear on the wheel flanges was visibly deepening.

The speed is increasing.

The broadcast will be updated simultaneously.

"009 is 540 meters from the inner gate. Accelerating. If the lead car 001 does not enter the open track, the system will determine that it has abandoned the rescue—001 will bear the consequences itself."

The AM relay channel was silent for three seconds.

Even the veteran engineer remained silent.

Su Yuan didn't look at the overhead light strip.

"Pinkish-gray".

Wang Hu grabbed a bag of lime from the outer beam. He scattered the first handful towards the entrance of the outer track. The white lime powder landed and spread out. It wasn't absorbed. No lime got caught in the side seams. It was exactly as clean as the bags from the 26th and 27th.

The second batch was sprinkled onto the middle section of the track. It remained stationary.

Someone on the Bonebreaker took a breath but didn't speak.

"knock."

The wrench fell.

The first time. A genuine response.

The second time. When. Normal.

The third time—

Click.

Short-lived. Hollow. Decays extremely rapidly.

Wang Hu didn't raise his hand. He moved it three inches to the side and struck again. The same hollow sound.

"It's just a shell again." He put the wrench away.

Su Yuan loosened the 012 eight-cable by half a meter. The 012 forward ballast pulley slid onto the outer ring open rail along the fork. The front wheel of the underframe rolled onto the rail surface in the cold fog zone.

sound.

It wasn't the sound of gears. It wasn't the sound of grippers. It was something faster—the pre-tensioning sound of the catapult rails. It came from below the exposed rails, continuous, and with an increasingly higher frequency.

012 The front wheel just hit the third section of the seam.

Four curved grippers below the rail surface pop out simultaneously. They don't close from the sides—they grip the axle diagonally upwards from below, and then the entire gripper seat slides outwards at an accelerated speed along a curved guide rail.

The moment the front wheel was caught, the entire sled was thrown along an arc toward the outer buffer wall.

Extremely fast.

The eight cables tightened. The reverse-draft winch screamed. 012 slid two meters sideways in the air before being pulled to a stop by the steel cables, dangling back and forth between the exposed rails and the buffer wall.

The gripper mount did not complete its full stroke due to insufficient load and got stuck in the middle of the guide rail. However, the direction of the arc-shaped trajectory was clear—the endpoint was the buffer wall.

"It wasn't braking," Su Yuan said flatly. "It was skidding."

"After the vehicle goes up, the grippers lock the wheel axle and throw the entire vehicle into the buffer wall along the arc guide rail."

The small torch structure simulation was displayed on the main screen.

"After the fully loaded train goes up—the lead train is thrown into the wall, and the following train loses traction and slides into the inner low-speed zone due to inertia. The end of the low-speed zone is the separation and unloading pit."

"Five steps to dismantle the car."

The AM relay channel died for two seconds.

The slaughterhouse fire control officer is marked in red. The open track pursuit line changes from white to dark red. Note: "Dash-out arc - verified."

The voice from the Bonebreaker that said we should race against time has disappeared.

The broadcast didn't stop. The speaking speed increased.

"Train 001 illegally damaged rescue equipment at Station 28; Train 009 was 420 meters from the inner gate."

Su Yuan ignored it.

"Inner toothed belt. 012 goes first."

The eight cables were pulled back. 012 was pulled back from the open rail, and the gripper automatically popped open due to insufficient travel. The 012 base frame fell back onto the rail surface, and the impact head scraped off a layer of paint.

The first four cables were re-pulled. The 012 trolley slid forward along the edge of the inner brake belt. The teeth on the belt surface were blackened with a thick oxide layer, but the tooth shape was intact. A regular clicking sound was heard when the bottom of the 012 base frame contacted the belt.

The deceleration effect is obvious—012 is almost dragged down by the toothed belt.

The Devourer followed. The newly fitted wide-rimmed outer ring rolled over the inner ring of the curve, the wheel teeth's anti-slip strips engaging the toothed belt gaps. The long-travel shock absorbers absorbed the body roll caused by centrifugal force. The vehicle remained stable.

Wang Hu unfolded the front road sign retrieval claw.

009 was still running ahead. Sparks kept flying. Scattered on the curves were pieces of steel it had flung out, most of them flattened by the trolley, but the magnetic mesh of the recovery claw was long enough to pick up a whole piece from the side seam of the rail.

Wang Hu flipped it over to look at the back.

The newly engraved characters have sharper strokes and shallower pressure than before—009's engraving mechanism is about to break down.

"Don't chase the car, slam on the brake master cylinder."

Wang Hu held up the steel sheet.

There was a moment of silence on the channel.

The voice of the Bonebreaker's communications officer slowly emerged. It had changed. No longer in a hurry.

"009... is not calling for help."

Control room of Base 04. The technician looked up.

The veteran engineer lifted his fingers from the table. He looked at the tracks of 009 and the Devourer on the main screen—009 was running ahead, the Devourer trailing behind in the inner circle. 009 wasn't approaching the Devourer. It wasn't requesting a rendezvous.

"It's holding the cart back," the old engineer finally spoke. "Giving the lead vehicle some time to move."

The slaughterhouse number and fire control officer's label have been changed.

Status 009 changed from "Out-of-Control Polluting Vehicle" to green. Note: "Road sign vehicle. Deliberate delay. Trustworthy."

Lu Mingyuan stood up. (All channels)

"009 credibility improved - equivalent to actual test of the lead car. The red marking on the track at Station 28 has been removed. All automatic brake prompts have been downgraded."

Su Yuan is already making a move.

"Small fire. Main pump location."

Enlarged cross-sectional view of Station 28. The master pump of the brake test ring is not on the track—it's in the center of the ring. A heavy-duty hydraulic station is partially buried underground. It has three layers of maintenance covers and cooling pipe bundles. Old Blue Star system, mechanical structure.

"120 meters from the current location. Below the ground maintenance access at the third bend on the inner side of the ring road."

"The toothed belt cooling groove is connected to it."

The announcement at station number 28 suddenly changed its content.

"Train 001 detected illegal use of the inner brake belt - belt cooling system shut down - overheat protection activated - "

The color of the inner toothed belt is changing, from dark gray to deep red. Heat is rising from the root of the teeth. White smoke is starting to emerge from the part where the teeth meet the rim.

When the anti-slip block of the front wheel of the Devourer came into contact with the overheated tooth surface, the temperature sensor jumped one notch.

Wang Hu glanced down.

"It wants to burn our wheels to death."

Su Yuan's right hand touched the control valve of the liquid nitrogen storage tank seized at Station 08. A branch line of the cryogenic cooling ring's pipeline splits off from the outside of the core energy-conducting pipe of Zhenshan, ending at the front wheel assembly.

The valve is open.

Liquid nitrogen gushed from the storage tank, and after being depressurized by the cryogenic cooling ring, it became a cold airflow of minus forty degrees Celsius, which was sprayed onto the contact surface of the front wheel rim and the toothed belt. White mist burst out. The overheated tooth surface was forcibly cooled down. A thin layer of frost formed on the surface of the wheel tooth anti-slip block.

The temperature sensor has dropped.

The Devourer didn't slow down. Fifteen, pushing along the inner ring toothed belt towards the main pump. 012 scouting ahead, pulled by eight cables. 013 followed behind, half-locked, with Tang Lan distributing the braking force slightly to the right to counteract centrifugal force on the curve. 005's silencer, in conjunction with the secondary anti-push frame, pressed down on the rear section of the entire column.

The third bend.

An old maintenance cover was visible on the inside of the rail. It was made of iron, and the bolts had rusted into one piece. Faded white lettering was painted on the cover: "Brake Master Cylinder Inspection Port - Authorized Personnel Only".

012 The pulley rolled over the leading edge of the cover plate. It didn't collapse. The load-bearing capacity is sufficient.

Su Yuan stopped the car.

"Lifting boom. Hang the main pump casing."

The refining furnace is heated. Dark gold conduits extend from the side of the furnace. The crane arm is fully extended, and the grab claw reaches from the roof of the vehicle to the ground access panel.

Wang Hu jumped down. He used a wrench to hammer the bolts. The bolts, rusted together, were impossible to loosen, so he used an armor-piercing shell casing as a chisel, hammering it three times until the first nut flew off. The second. The third.

012 The impact head is aligned with the edge of the cover plate.

"top."

The eight-cable tractor moved 012 forward half a meter. The impact head pried into the gap in the cover plate. The weight of the forty-ton pulley lifted the edge of the cover plate by three inches. Wang Hu inserted a wrench into the gap and stepped on it.

The cover pops open.

Below is the main pump housing. It's a heavy-duty hydraulic pump body with a cast iron casing and six cooling pipes connected to the flange. Three pipes lead to the outer ring buffer wall hydraulic system, and three lead to the inner ring toothed belt.

The lifting arm's gripper latches onto the lifting lugs on the top of the casing.

The first dark gold conduit pierced the gap between the protective shield and the pump body. High-temperature cutting. The welds on the protective shield broke one after another.

The second conduit cuts into the outer layer of the cooling tube bundle. The tube bundle spreads out. Six cooling tubes are exposed at the flange connection point.

The bucket section of the refining furnace opens.

The sounds from the three carts suddenly changed.

It's not that it's become lighter—it's that it's become more dispersed. Originally, the three carts were lined up at the rear of 009, all operating at the same frequency. Now, the frequencies have deviated.

Report from Xiaohuo.

"The three carts will disperse. The first cart will continue pushing 009. The second cart will break away from the formation and move towards the inner circle. The third cart—"

It paused for half a second.

"The third unit is turning to the side and rear of the Devourer. Target: the connection point between Units 013 and 005."

It was very fast. After the third cart detached from the rear of 009, it used the downhill curve and its own power to circle around the outer edge and cut into the inner side. The chassis was wide, the wheels were thick, and the thick steel plate at the front was heading towards the right side of 013.

Someone shouted from number 013.

Tang Lan didn't shout. The brake lever deflected two degrees to the right. Vehicle No. 013 shifted slightly to the left, making room for the right side by thirty centimeters.

Not enough. The stroller is moving too fast.

005 direction. The young survivor moved his hand from the emplacement to the secondary thruster release lever. He didn't hesitate.

"sink."

The hydraulic cylinder at the bottom of the U-shaped frame of the secondary anti-push frame was depressurized. The entire frame sank down by five centimeters, pushing out the outermost steel surface of the 005 tail anchor, forming an outward slope.

The thick steel plate of the third cart collided with the 005 secondary anti-push frame.

The sloping surface guided the impact, deflecting it by forty degrees. The front of the cart slid outwards along the slope, grazing the right side of the armor plating on unit 013. Sparks flew out in a string, but it didn't make a direct impact.

Vehicle number 013 swayed slightly. The restraints inside the casualty compartment creaked. Tang Lan's hand remained firmly on the brake lever.

"It's alright," her voice came through the channel. Peace.

The second trolley moved towards the inner circle. Its target wasn't the vehicle—it was the main pump access port. It was going to roll over the area of ​​the main pump that Su Yuan was dismantling.

The eight-cable reverse-draft winch is started. The 012 trolley is pulled up from beside the maintenance hatch and positioned across the path of the second trolley. The impact head faces outwards.

The second cart collided with 012.

Forty tons versus thirty tons. 012 was pushed back half a meter, and all eight cables were taut. The steel wire hissed on the pulleys. But 012 didn't flip—the chassis had a low center of gravity, and the four sets of wheels were stuck in the toothed belt.

Wang Hu had already jumped up from the maintenance access point.

"Shoot its drive shaft."

External magazine. Side loading port open. A low-velocity armor-piercing round slides into the chamber.

Su Yuan pressed a button on the magazine control panel with his right hand.

The breechblock safety is released. The ammunition feeder pushes the ammunition into position.

The sound of the armor-piercing projectile leaving the barrel was not loud—the low-velocity projectile did not produce a supersonic shockwave. But its penetrating power was sufficient. The projectile squeezed out of the short breech of the external magazine at Station 015, traveled a distance of seven meters, and penetrated the drive shaft housing of the third trolley.

The driveshaft broke. Not the whole shaft—the bearing housing shattered, and the shaft, freed from restraint, swung out and rolled around under the cart's chassis. The cart instantly lost power, but the wheelset continued to spin twice due to inertia before stopping.

The crane arm swung over. The grabber secured the front steel plate of the third trolley.

One pull.

The entire trolley was pulled out from between positions 013 and 005 and inserted into the refining furnace bucket area along the receiving slide rail.

The furnace temperature was 950 degrees Celsius. The rough steel plates softened first and then collapsed. Remains of the drive shaft, wheelsets, and base frame crossbeams were gradually swallowed up.

The second trolley was still supporting 012. The first two cables of the eight-cable system switched directions, pulling 012 away from the front of the second trolley. After the second trolley was no longer obstructed, it rushed forward three meters—just above the maintenance opening.

A second dark gold conduit extended from the side of the refining furnace, piercing the bottom of the second trolley.

It wasn't a cut—it was nailed in place. The guide tube pierced through the base frame and embedded itself in the toothed belt gap on the lower rail surface. The second trolley was nailed to the spot. The drive shaft was still turning, but the wheels were slipping and it couldn't move.

Wang Hu jumped onto the roof of the second cart. He used a wrench to smash the bolts on the brake disc housing. Three times. The housing cracked open. The brake disc was exposed.

The crane arm's gripper extends. It clamps. The brake disc is pulled out.

It is fed into the bucket.

After the second cart lost its brake disc, the drive shaft spun freely. There was no resistance, no output. It was ruined.

The first one is still on top of 009.

009's speed stopped increasing—with only the force of a single trolley pushing it, 009's locked wheels finally held up. The sparks diminished. The speed stabilized within a certain range and stopped rising.

Su Yuan did not chase the first one.

"Main pump".

The crane arm returned to above the access panel. The final section of the gold-plated conduit was cut. The protective cover of the main pump casing was removed. The flanges of the six cooling pipes were cut one by one. The hydraulic main pump was lifted out of the ground access pit as a whole.

The bucket area is too full. The side chute opens, and parts are being dispensed synchronously.

The refining furnace swallowed a lot of things this time: the entire third trolley, the brake disc and top pusher plate of the second trolley, the brake master pump housing of station 28, the cooling pipe bundle, eight toothed belt guide wheels, two sets of hydraulic distribution valves, and the remnant of the outer ring arc guide rail.

What came out wasn't a part; it was an assembly.

The first component—the heavy-duty brake pawls for the ring track. Four sets. An alloy reassembly of the hydraulic distribution valve of the master cylinder and the trolley brake disc. The curved pawl surface, with an adaptive angle, can conform to the rail surface of any curvature.

The second component is the cornering anti-slip stabilizer. The curved steel of the slip-out guide rail is integrated with the crossbeams of the trolley's base frame. Installed on both sides of the trolley's underside, it automatically extends during cornering, pressing down on the rail edge in the direction of centrifugal force.

The third component is the synchronized braking pipe for the entire train. The cooling pipe bundle and the hydraulic distribution valve core are reassembled. A main pipe runs from the lead car to the 005 tail anchor, with branch interfaces at each train node. When the lead car applies the brakes, the entire train brakes synchronously.

The fourth item—the 009 rescue reverse thrust hook. The push plate from the first trolley was still attached to the rear of 009. The refining furnace didn't swallow the first one—but it used the drive shaft material and toothed belt guide wheel bearing from the third trolley to cast a reverse hook. The hook body is curved, with self-locking teeth at the end. Once hooked, it only pulls, not pushes.

Wang Hu received the part. The maintenance team started working simultaneously.

Four sets of brake pawls—two sets for the front wheels and two sets for the rear wheels. The pawls are locked in place. The locking pins are hammered in.

Cornering stabilizers – one on each side of the undercarriage. The pre-installed space is just right. The bolts are tightened securely.

Synchronous brake pipes – running from the front chassis all the way back. Section 3. No. 013. No. 005. Each connection is secured with a flange. Tang Lan connected the last nut to the branch pipe in No. 013.

Wang Hu looked up in the direction of 009.

"Reverse push hook".

The first four cables were all thrown. Not towards 009—but towards the first trolley.

The first hook secures the left side of the cart's base. The second hooks the right side. The third hooks around the roof of the cart. The fourth hooks directly onto the exposed section of its drive shaft.

Reverse-draft winch at full power.

All four cables tightened simultaneously. The first trolley was ripped apart from the rear of 009. A sharp, tearing sound rang out between the jacking steel plate and the rear beam of 009. The trolley moved back one meter. Two meters.

The brake sparks from 009 went out.

Without thrust, the locked wheel dragged on the rails for a few meters before coming to a stop.

Su Yuan pressed the brake pedal with his right foot.

The newly installed heavy-duty brake pawls extend simultaneously from four positions under the vehicle. The curved pawl surfaces adhere to the toothed belt surface.

The hydraulic signal in the synchronized brake line of the train is transmitted from the lead car to the rear. The third branch valve responds. Branch valve 013 responds. Branch valve 005 responds.

All four carriages brake simultaneously.

Smooth deceleration. No nose-diving. No body roll. The long-stroke dampers and cornering stabilizers absorbed all the remaining inertia.

The Devourer stopped in the inner circle of Loop 28.

012 The forward sliding block stopped three meters ahead. 013 Semi-locked and maintained. 005 The tail boom is digitally stable.

Then the reverse hook comes into play.

Wang Hu hooked the hook onto the lifting boom. After the eight-cable system moved the first trolley to the front of the Devourer, it was cut off. The lifting boom extended, and the end of the reverse hook engaged the old attachment point on the rear beam of 009 with its self-locking teeth.

One pull.

009 was pulled back from the path of the crash. The car was tilted, the chassis squeaked, and one of the broken brackets at the right-side gap finally fell off. But the car didn't fall apart.

009 stopped twelve meters ahead of the Devourer. The chassis was still swaying steel plates. It wasn't automatic—the engraving mechanism was jammed, and the springs were shaking out the last few pieces at once.

The broadcast at station number 28 has stopped.

It's completely disconnected. There's not even any background noise.

After the master cylinder was removed, the entire hydraulic system of the ring track lost its power source. The grippers on the outer track swerve became limp. The cooling system of the inner track toothed belt failed. The track lights went out.

AM relay channel.

The Bonebreaker's communications officer's voice was no longer urgent. He was reciting. Reciting slowly.

"Station No. 28 - Standard Gray".

"From the 19th to the 28th, for ten consecutive stations, all system broadcasts are unavailable."

It paused for a moment.

"The following rules are added as the highest-risk false rules: high-speed pursuit on open tracks, automatic brake takeover, emergency avoidance on the outer ring, and diversion to low-speed protection zones. These are not for discussion and will not be enforced."

The fire control officer at the slaughterhouse added, "009's credibility is equivalent to the actual test of the first vehicle, 001. It's no less than..."

Base 04 control room.

The veteran engineer stood up. He stared at the main screen. Ten gray squares, numbered 19 to 28, were displayed. Each had a red annotation next to it.

He turned to look at Lu Mingyuan.

Lu Mingyuan opened all channels.

"The braking system at station 28 has been taken over by train 001." The cumulative accuracy rate of the 009 route sign is 100%. Prioritizing core rules and disregarding broadcast procedures is now a new rule for train movement.

No one in the channel objected.

Inside carriage 013, the wounded soldier lying on the stretcher loosened his grip on the edge of the bed. The white marks on his knuckles slowly turned red. The person next to him helped him straighten the IV drip, without saying much.

Tang Lan loosened her hand slightly from the brake lever. The branch connector of the synchronized brake line had just been installed, and the nut on the flange was still hot to the touch. She touched it but didn't pull away.

Direction 005. The young survivor looked at the numbers on the tail section.

"Sixteen point three." 「

He paused for a moment after reciting the number. This was the first time he'd seen a number starting with sixteen since entering the inner ring of the Great Wall.

The secondary shovel chock absorbed the lateral impact in the collision; a white mark appeared on the outer side of the U-shaped frame, but the structure remained undeformed. The sound-absorbing weight remained firmly attached. The seal on the second compartment from the right was untouched.

Wang Hu jumped down from beside the refining furnace, his gloves burning through another layer. He turned the gloves inside out, put them back on, and walked to where 009 was parked.

009 looks even worse than it does on radar.

The entire right side shell is gone, and half of the exposed frame welds are cracked. The three sets of temporary short-axle wheels are severely worn, and the rim of the left front wheel is almost worn flat. The lettering mechanism on the underside of the vehicle is completely unusable; the spring is broken into three pieces, and the lettering needle is crooked to one side.

But the chassis main beam is still there. The couplings are still there. In the steel plate storage tank welded to the frame, the last three steel plates are stuck at the outlet and haven't fallen out.

Wang Hu removed all three pieces.

The first two pieces contain repeated content—"Don't chase the car, slam on the brake master cylinder." It's the same content that's been engraved before.

The third film.

He turned over.

The handwriting is different. It wasn't engraved by a lettering agency—it was hand-drawn. The lines are crooked and weak, with very shallow pressure, and the bottom of the scratches has a metallic curl.

Someone used a hard object to draw lines on the steel sheet, stroke by stroke.

Two lines of text.

"Door number 29 isn't a door, it's a switch."

The second line is lighter.

"If I ram it open, that thing behind it can get into the Great Wall."

Wang Hu stood still, holding the steel sheet.

The channel was quiet.

The small torch-shaped low-light camera was aimed at the steel plate. The image was transmitted to the main screen, screen 013, and the large screen in the control room of base 04.

Everyone saw it.

The communications officer on the Bonebreaker remained silent. The fire control officer on the Slaughterhouse remained silent. The technician at Base 04's hands hovered over the keyboard.

The veteran engineer sat down.

In carriage 013, Tang Lan looked at the two lines of text on the screen and her lips moved slightly.

009 was never on the run. He wasn't out of control. He wasn't calling for help.

As it was being pushed along, it flung steel plates along the way, marking routes, rules, and traps for the Devouring Ships behind it.

Numbers 19 through 28.

Ten stations. Every single one is correct.

Finally, as it was pushed towards the inner door by three carts, its wheels locked onto the rails, dragging sparks. The chassis was almost falling apart. The wheel flanges were almost worn through.

But it used a hard object to scribble two lines of text on the last piece of steel.

It's not "Save me".

Yes, "Don't make me break down that door."

Su Yuan took the steel sheet from Wang Hu. He looked at it for two seconds. Then he inserted it into the front of the storage slot, placing it in front of all the road signs before 009.

"009 is up here."

Wang Hu responded.

The crane boom towed 009 from twelve meters away to the front of the Devourer. The thrust hook was already attached to the rear beam, and an additional eight-cable auxiliary cable was looped around the 009's underframe and hooked onto the rear attachment point of the 012 forward pulley.

012在最前面。009在012后面。噬荒号在009后面。第三节。013号。005号。

Six sections are grouped together.

009 is out of power. The wheelsets can still turn, but the braking system is completely burned out, and the transmission mechanism is non-existent. It is now a passive trailer.

But there was something on its frame.

Wang Hu crawled under the chassis of 009 and looked around. He shone his flashlight around.

"The steel sheet storage tank is empty. The engraving mechanism is broken. But there's an iron box welded to the right side of the frame."

The metal box wasn't big. About the size of a palm. The solder joints were the old-fashioned kind—the same kind of hand soldering marks as all those before 009. The lid wasn't locked; it was held in place by a wire.

"Open," Su Yuan said.

Wang Hu unscrewed the wire. The lid popped open.

It's not made of steel sheets.

It was the spring assembly of an old-fashioned coder. The same model as the old coder I'd previously found near the coal sump. The spring was fully wound, but the output end was blocked by a thin copper sheet. A line of text was engraved on the copper sheet—

"Remove the copper sheeting before reaching the inner door of number 29. Do not remove it beforehand."

Wang Hu handed the tin box over.

Su Yuan took it and placed it in the storage compartment on the left side of the dashboard. He didn't open it.

The Devourer restarted. The core output of the Mountain-Suppressing Engine increased from idle to 30. The newly installed heavy-duty brake pawls on the ring road retracted under the vehicle. The cornering stabilizer folded down. The hydraulic standby pressure of the synchronized brake lines stabilized in the green zone.

The convoy exited the 28th loop.

The downhill curve is ending. The track surface gradually flattens out from its curved shape. The headlights are projecting an increasingly longer distance.

In front.

The inner gate of the Great Wall.

It's not the kind of door you'd imagine.

Two giant steel plates were inserted diagonally into the ground from both sides of the track, forming a V-shaped constriction. The steel plates were unpainted, and the exposed cut surfaces had neat diagonal lines—not decorations, but cutting edges.

The entire "door" is like two interlocking knife gates.

When the train passes, if the triggering conditions are met, the two steel plates will close together.

The small torch scan is projected onto the main screen.

"Inner door No. 29 – a double-closing knife gate. The thickness of the blades on both sides is 90 mm. Closing speed – unknown. Triggering condition – unknown."

"The blades are currently fully open. The spacing is sufficient for the group to pass through."

The broadcast did not go off. There was no broadcast on the 29th.

There are no light strips on either side of the track. There are no guide wheels. There are no branch lines. There are no temporary storage arms.

Quiet.

The only visible brake marks on the track, from where 009 was dragged, extend from the direction of the ring track to twenty meters in front of the brake blades. The deepest marks are located between the two blade plates.

If 009 hadn't been stopped, it would have crashed into the V-shaped constriction at a speed of over 50 kilometers per hour.

The switch won't close—because 009 will break it open first.

Su Yuan looked at the two blades.

Then he took the iron box out of the storage compartment.

Remove the copper sheet.

The spring assembly emitted a very short mechanical chime. Click-click-click—click—click-click.

Xiao Huo Translation.

"Behind the sluice gate isn't the Great Wall. It's the feeding tunnel. The real entrance to the Great Wall is below the ground to the left of the sluice gate. Find the first spike left by 009."

The code reporting has ended. The spring has run out of power.

Wang Hu had already jumped. He swept the ground to the left of the switch blade. He saw the sleeper seams, old bolt holes, and oil stains.

Between the third and fourth sleepers.

A railway spike.

New. An arrow is engraved on the nail head. Pointing downwards.

The lowest level of the channel.

Everyone heard it.

It wasn't a code announcement. It wasn't a broadcast.

It came from the darkness behind the guillotine—a very low metallic clicking sound.

The sound of the coupling closing.

It's not a single carriage.

The second sound followed immediately. The third sound. The fourth sound.

One section after another.

In the darkness behind the throttle, an entire train of unknown carriages was being assembled.