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

Su Yuan stared ahead.

Twelve parallel rails were laid out below the apex of the arc, their surfaces reflecting the cold white markings. The self-propelled artillery vehicles were lined up in two rows, their turrets already rotated.

The first calibration bullet grazed the taillights of the Devourer.

The bullet struck the rear protective wall. The cold white markings exploded, and the edges of the circles glowed with a blue fluorescent light, illuminating more than a dozen layers of old bullet holes on the wall. The old bullet holes were all white circles of the same size, one on top of the other, some of which had burned through the steel plate of the protective wall, exposing the concrete interlayer behind.

"Full formation".

Su Yuan's voice was pressed into the communication channel.

"I won't dodge."

Wang Hu climbed up from the edge of the 012 protective shell. He was still clutching the bag of lime powder in his hand, his knuckles covered in white lime. "Not going to dodge?"

"It's firing at the marked circles." Su Yuan stared at the main screen. The scanning data from Xiao Huo was layered on top of the artillery array structure diagram—the muzzle angle, initial velocity, and spacing of the marked circles for each self-propelled gun were all laid out on the screen. "The first circle is for positioning, the second for correction, and the third for reducing the diameter. Once your movable space is completely enclosed, the fourth shot will be a live round."

The second calibration round was fired.

The trajectory was low. The bullet grazed the top of the 013 carriage and exploded half a meter outside the side wall, creating a second marking. The blue light from the circle's opening shone into the 013 casualty compartment and onto Tang Lan's gun barrel.

Tang Lan didn't move. She pressed the gun against her knee, her other hand on the brake lever. "013, warded. Don't dodge."

The broadcast from station 44 is interrupted.

The voice is from a calibration recording made at the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force firing range, with a slight friction sound of the tape moving in the background.

"Mobile firing range calibration in progress. Please have vehicle 001 pass through the firing windows in the correct formation order. The firing windows have been marked."

Twelve white cursors illuminated below the arc. Each cursor was aligned with a carriage—the first indicated the driver's cab of the Devourer, the second the side door of the 013 casualty compartment, the third the cooling interface of 014, the fourth the anti-push frame of 005, and the fifth the base of the shielding cover of 017. The cursors had finely engraved crosshairs along their edges, casting a crosshair shadow on the rail surface.

"Fire window calibration complete. Lead vehicle, maintain constant speed. Calibration rounds without loading propellant."

The third calibration missile flew in.

The trajectory was too high. The warhead grazed the cryogenic interface of the 014 cooling car and exploded above the side panel, creating a third marking. Blue light reflected on the cooling mist, which was then dispersed and spread along the track surface.

Xiao Huo's analysis switches to the main screen.

"Firepower Window Correspondence: Devourer vs. Cannon Cart No. 1, 013 vs. No. 3, 014 vs. No. 5, 005 vs. No. 7, 017 vs. No. 9. Each firepower window is locked by two self-propelled artillery vehicles in a cross-locking manner. One vehicle marks the firing circle, while the other is on standby with live ammunition."

"Where are the live ammunition?" Wang Hu asked.

「2号、4号、6号、8号、10号炮车。」小火把炮车编组标红，「它们炮口角度不同。不是打标记圈，是直接瞄车厢底盘。」

Wang Hu tore open the bag of lime powder.

The dust was thrown onto the track surface.

Twelve streams of air simultaneously swept in from behind the artillery position. The dust was cut into twelve lines by the airflow, each pointing towards the air intake behind the corresponding firing window.

"The airflow on the track surface is all being drawn towards the rear of the artillery position." Wang Hu stared at the direction of the powder and dust. "It's not firing randomly. The position of the ballistic marking circle is consistent with the direction of the airflow's suction—first, it marks your range of motion, then it uses the airflow to push you towards the center of the marking circle."

The fourth calibration round was fired.

The warhead grazed the outer edge of the 005 anti-bomb frame. The marking circle exploded on the rail surface behind the silencer. The edge of the blue circle was only half a foot away from the edge of the silencer.

The fifth calibration round followed immediately.

The bullet struck the left side of the silencer. The fifth and fourth markings intersected. The track surface in the intersection area was burned with a grid-like scorch mark.

Then came the sixth one.

The warhead grazed the top of the 005 hull and exploded behind the silencer, creating the sixth marking ring.

Six marked rings form a contraction ring on the rail surface.

The first ring locks the left side of the front wheel (005). The second ring locks the right side of the front wheel. The third ring locks the left side of the rear wheel. The fourth ring locks the right side of the rear wheel. The fifth ring locks the outer side of the anti-push frame. The sixth ring locks the rail surface behind the muffler.

The edge of the contraction ring compresses the lateral movable space of 005 to half a foot.

The stress in the tail beam of 005 jumped from 21 to 26.

The young survivor crouched beside the anti-push frame. He gripped the wrench for the reinforcing bolts, his knuckles pressing on the bolt heads, but he didn't tighten it. The silencing weight had left a half-foot-long scratch on the rail surface, and a section of the dry sand layer had been burned away by the sixth marking ring.

"It's sealed off." His voice was muffled, "Below that are live ammunition."

The broadcast started again.

"005 The tail anchor compartment has deviated from the fire control window. Please correct. Please maintain a constant speed within the fire control window."

弧顶下方，2号、4号、6号、8号、10号炮车的炮塔同时转炮。

The muzzle is not the aiming circle.

The gun muzzle is aimed at the 005 chassis, the 014 cryogenic interface, the 013 casualty compartment sidewall, and the 017 shielding base.

Live-fire artillery.

Su Yuan's hand rested on the steering wheel cover.

"Synchronous wheel speed camouflage device seized at No. 43. Small fire."

"Disguise ready."

"Send false wheel speed signals to all twelve tracks simultaneously. Each car splits into three phantom images."

The small torch camouflage device's chip was activated. The main control screen of the full-group synchronized wheel speed camouflage device lit up. Inside the recast casing of the old Blue Star speed measuring chip and the remnants of the wind cannon main pipe, the synthesized sound module began to output fake wheel speed pulses.

The pulse travels along the rail surface to the fire control bus of the twelve rails.

On the fire control screen of the self-propelled gun, the radar reflection signal of the Devourer had changed.

The Devourer split into three. The three phantoms moved at different speeds—one fast, one slow, and one sometimes fast and sometimes slow. The radar cross-section of each phantom was the same as that of the real vehicle.

Then it's 013.

013 splits into three. The three phantoms move at different rhythms, crossing the cursor in the fire window.

014 split into three. The three phantoms moved within the cooling mist, and the low temperature of the mist caused the radar reflection signal to exhibit temperature fluctuations.

005 split into three. The three phantom-like silenced plumes left three parallel scratches on the radar.

017 split into three. The heartbeats of the three phantoms were superimposed into the fire control echo by the disguise device, each phantom carrying complete vital signs signals.

The twelve real train carriages were transformed into thirty-six radar targets.

The fire control system of the self-propelled artillery vehicle began to relock.

The turret of gun vehicle number 1 rotates. The muzzle moves from the driver's cab of the Devourer to the first phantom, and then from the first phantom to the second. The locking frame on the fire control screen jumps between the three phantoms. Lock-on—unlocked—locked again—unlocked again.

The gunner's system on vehicle number 2 issued an overload alarm. The fire control chip could not distinguish which of the three phantoms of vehicle 005 was the real carriage. All three phantoms had the metallic reflective features of the anti-pump frame, all dragged track scratches from the silencer, and all moved within the retractable ring of the firing port.

"Thirty-six targets." Wang Hu squatted on the edge of the 012 hull, staring at the fire control screen flashing behind the artillery array. "It can't distinguish them."

"If you can't tell the difference, you'll hit them."

Su Yuan had barely finished speaking.

Cannon No. 3 fires.

It wasn't a calibration round. A live bullet was ejected from the muzzle. The warhead passed through the afterimage of carriage 013—it went right through. The afterimage flashed on the fire control screen, but didn't disappear.

The warhead continued its flight.

The ballistic trajectory penetrated the turret of the No. 5 gun vehicle.

The armor-piercing projectile entered through the side wall of the turret and exited through the rear wall. The ammunition rack inside the turret was hit, and the flash of the secondary explosion shot out from the gap in the turret top cover. The turret swivel broke off, and the gun barrel tilted to one side, smashing into the turret of an adjacent gun vehicle.

The sound of the secondary explosion echoed across the top of the arc.

「前排六辆炮车被后排火力击中。」小火把击中数据投上主屏，「1、3、5、7、9、11号炮车的火控系统全在锁定虚影，炮弹互相穿过邻车炮塔。」

The broadcast at station 44 immediately switched.

"Correct ballistic deviation. Switch to manual calibration. Raise the central fire control tower."

The center of the arc apex cracked.

A fire control tower descended from the superstructure. Encased in the gray blast-resistant armor of the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force, the laser rangefinder atop the tower began to rotate. A red laser beam swept across the twelve tracks, passing through the illusory silhouettes of the Devourer fleet one by one.

When the beam of light passed through the phantom, the phantom flashed briefly on the fire control screen.

As you pass through a real car, the car's metal shell reflects the laser, leaving a complete outline on the fire control screen.

The fire control tower's scanning pace was rapid. The first scan of the Devourer eliminated two of the illusory figures, and the true vehicle's outline began to become clear. The second scan of 013 eliminated two of the three illusory figures. The third scan of 014...

"It uses laser ranging to eliminate ghost images," Xiao Huo's analysis switched to the channel. "After scanning four more wheels, all the real cars will be re-locked."

Wang Hu grabbed the wrench. "Shoot the fire control tower."

"Unbreakable." The armor data of the fire control tower was projected onto the screen: "The outer layer is the standard blast-resistant armor of the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force, 240 millimeters thick. Low-velocity armor-piercing projectiles cannot penetrate it."

Su Yuan stared at the scanning trajectory of the fire control tower.

Each time the laser beam sweeps across the outside of the vehicle, the edge of the beam vibrates slightly. The vibration is not significant, but each time it sweeps across the wind pressure deflector on the outside of the vehicle, the beam deviates half an inch towards the protective wall.

"It's sensitive to airflow," Su Yuan said. "Laser ranging is sensitive to wind pressure. The outer wind pressure deflector is fully open."

013、014、005、017车厢外侧的风压反导流板同时翻转。43号站重铸的反导流板用的是横向风炮组件，板面带着旧风炮炮口的导流槽。导流槽把风炮气流反嚮导出，形成车厢外侧的乱流层。

A red laser beam swept across the outer side of 013.

The beam deviated by half a degree as it passed through the turbulence layer. This half-degree deviation translates into distance error in the fire control tower's rangefinder. The metallic reflection of the real vehicle flickered on the fire control screen, its position shifting half a foot towards the protective wall.

The fire control tower's scanning pace slowed down. The rangefinder began to recalibrate, and the red laser beam scanned back and forth under the arc, each scan deviating by half a degree from the outside of the carriage.

"It's off-target." Wang Hu stared at the fire control screen. "It can't scan accurately."

"Eight cables." Su Yuan pressed the communication button. "Hang the fire control tower base."

Eight steel cables were launched from each mounting point of the Devourer. The edge of the high-speed cornering stabilizer, the outer wall of the anti-centrifugal coupling sleeve, and the side plate of the 020 isolation box shockproof bracket—steel cables were launched from each mounting point.

The steel cable passed through the gaps in the self-propelled gun, through the wreckage of the mortise and turret, and through the still-burning markings on the track.

The cable head is fastened into the pre-embedded lifting lug on the base of the fire control tower.

"receive."

All eight cables tightened simultaneously. A metallic tearing sound came from the connection between the base and the dome of the fire control tower. The bolts of the pre-embedded lifting lugs began to loosen, the oxide layer in the bolt holes cracked, and rust dust sprayed out from the holes.

The fire control tower was dragged off course by half a foot.

The scanning trajectory of the laser rangefinder on the tower went completely awry. The red laser beam no longer swept towards the Devourer formation, but instead towards the self-propelled artillery vehicles on the twelve tracks.

The beam swept across the No. 1 gun vehicle.

The fire control screen displays the recognition results.

"Unregistered target. Number: Artillery Vehicle 01. Judgment: Intruder."

The beam swept across the No. 2 gun vehicle.

"Unregistered target. Number: Artillery Vehicle 02. Judgment: Intruder."

The beam swept over all twelve remaining artillery pieces.

The fire control tower's fire control chip simultaneously outputs twelve decision signals. Each decision signal is followed by the same line of instructions.

"Fire calibration cancelled. Eliminate intruders."

The turrets of twelve self-propelled guns rotated simultaneously.

The cannons were no longer aimed at the Devourer. Instead, they were aimed at each other.

1号炮车对着2号开火。2号对着4号。4号对着6号。6号对着8号。8号对着10号。10号对着12号。12号还击。炮弹穿过邻车炮塔残骸，穿过还在燃烧的殉爆火光，穿过轨面上被标记圈烧出的焦痕。

The muzzle flash changed from white to orange.

The flashes of ammunition explosions spread along the rails in sequence. The ammunition rack of the first gun carriage exploded, sending the turret flying into the air before crashing into the arch, creating a dent. The gun barrel of the second carriage was hit by a neighboring vehicle, tilting to one side, and the shell exploded inside the rifling. The fire control system of the third carriage was still receiving clearance commands from the fire control tower, and the turret rotated, firing at all targets.

"It's marking all its own artillery vehicles as intruders." Wang Hu squatted on the edge of the 012's protective shell. His goggles reflected the flashes of gunfire from the artillery emplacements. "The central fire control tower is now directing its own artillery vehicles to mop up each other."

Lu Mingyuan's voice switched to the channel.

"Manual calibration at Station 44 is invalid. The central fire control tower has deflected. Fire control tower clearance command applies to all artillery vehicles at the station." He paused, then added, "All self-propelled artillery vehicles engage in mutual fire."

In the control room of Base 04, a technician stared at the data stream from the fire control tower on the screen. The data stream scrolled through layers—fire control tower scanning and identification, artillery vehicle number determination, intruder elimination command, and artillery vehicle mutual firing confirmation.

"It doesn't just allow the artillery vehicles to fire at each other." The technician pulled up the fire control tower's decision-making logic, "It also locks the artillery vehicles' friend-or-foe identification. Now every artillery vehicle is displayed as an 'unregistered intruder' on the fire control screens of other artillery vehicles."

The old engineer took off his hat and held it in his hand. "He turned the firing range into a self-destructive field for the artillery."

Dark gold flames spewed from the exhaust pipe of the Devourer.

Flames swept across the rails, past the blue glow of the markings, and over the wreckage of the exploding turret. Wheels slowly rolled over spent cartridge cases. The cases were crushed, their copper casings sparking briefly against the rails.

Su Yuan stepped on the gas.

The core damage dealer of Zhenshan was pushed to 110. The Devourer then moved into the center of the artillery formation.

On the twelve tracks, self-propelled artillery vehicles were still exchanging fire. Shells passed through the front, rear, left, and right of the Devourer. Some shells grazed the wind pressure deflectors on the outside of the carriages and were deflected towards the protective walls by the deflector channels. Some shells passed through the cold mist emitted from the 014 cooling carriage, their trajectories disrupted by the temperature difference, deflecting towards the upper apex.

"Mobile refining furnace. Start the furnace." Su Yuan pressed the communication button.

The furnace opening was open. The inner wall of the furnace chamber was burned to a dark red color, and dark gold conduits popped out from the side of the furnace.

Four conduits bypassed the still-firing artillery vehicle, bypassed the still-exploding wreckage, and bypassed the scorch marks on the arc-shaped dome pierced by the laser beam from the fire control tower.

It only plunged into the ammunition supply platoon of the self-propelled gun.

The conduit punctured the outer layer of the busbar, exposing the copper core.

"swallow."

The refining furnace began to devour.

1号炮车的底盘被导管拖进炉口。炮塔残骸、供弹链、火控晶片、液压转环——全部熔进炉膛。2号炮车的残骸紧跟。然后是3号、4号、5号。殉爆炮塔的碎片、轨面上散落的弹壳、还插在供弹母排上的未发炮弹。

All of them went into the furnace.

The dark red light emanating from the furnace mouth illuminated the entire firing range.

Wang Hu led the repair team to climb onto the chassis of the surviving artillery vehicle. He found intact armor-piercing rounds on the ammunition feed chain of the No. 6 artillery vehicle—the projectiles were painted with the old Blue Star standard green markings, and the bottom edge of the shell casings was stamped with the Expeditionary Force's inspection seal. He pulled off the entire ammunition feed chain and threw it into the external bucket of the refining furnace.

The hydraulic swivel ring of the No. 7 artillery vehicle was completely removed. The swivel ring bearing was still rotating, and hydraulic oil was dripping from the broken end onto the rail surface. The maintenance team used a crane arm to lift the swivel ring into the bucket.

The fire control chip of the No. 8 gun was removed by Xiao Huo. The chip casing was still warm, and the pins were still connected to the broken ammunition feed cable.

The refining furnace has started producing parts.

First item: External strike module for self-propelled artillery vehicles.

The chassis beams, hydraulic swivel rings, and fire control chips were recast. The module is embedded in the external mounting points of the side beams of the "Devouring Wasteland" and can fire low-velocity armor-piercing rounds, high-explosive rounds, and calibration marking rounds. The ammunition feed port is connected to the external ammunition magazine of the refining furnace.

The second item: Fire control tower to counter radar.

The radar was recast using the remaining antenna from the central fire control tower, the laser rangefinder core, and the tower's blast-resistant armor. The radar, mounted on the roof of the Devourer vehicle, can scan the fire control signals of the forward platform, perform phase-reversal jamming, or directly inject false targets.

The third item: Automatic ammunition chain replenishment track.

It is recast using fragments of the ammunition feed chute, the ammunition feed chain, and the steel rails of the artillery vehicle's ammunition rack. It is installed between the refining furnace and the external strike module, and the ammunition produced by the refining furnace is automatically fed into the ammunition feed port.

The fourth item: calibration chip for the calibration bullet.

The remaining fuse from the marked circle, the crosshair in the fire window, and the fire control tower's decision logic are recast. The chip is connected to the small fire control main unit and can send false calibration signals to the enemy's fire control system, guiding enemy artillery fire to deviate.

Fifth item: Artillery array recovery alloy plate.

The plates were cast using pre-embedded bolts from all remaining turret armor, ammunition feed chute bases, and fire control tower bases. They were then embedded into the outer sides of the 013, 014, 005, and 017 carriages, enhancing their armor-piercing resistance.

The dark red color inside the refining furnace has faded.

The furnace opening is closed.

Below the arch, only the dark gold headlights of the Devourer and the occasional dark gold flames spewing from its exhaust pipes remain.

All twelve tracks are empty.

The wreckage of the self-propelled gun was completely wiped out. Only scorch marks from the markings, craters from the secondary explosion, and depressions from the turret remained on the rails. Twelve air intakes at the bottom of the rails were still operating, sucking in empty air devoid of ammunition.

Su Yuan stood up from the driver's seat. He walked to the side door, his red flashlight sweeping across the ruins of the shooting range.

The fire control tower's remains lay askew beneath the arched roof. Most of the tower's blast-resistant armor had been removed by the refining furnace, and the exposed internal structure was still smoking. The laser rangefinder's core had been removed, leaving only an empty shell hanging from the top of the tower.

The end of the firing range.

At the junction of the arch and the protective wall, an iron plaque emerged from the dust kicked up by the shelling. The plaque was embedded in the wall's lining, its edges curled up by the secondary explosion, and its surface scratched deeply by shrapnel.

Wang Hu jumped off the Devouring Wasteland.

He stepped over the spent cartridge fragments on the tracks, his boots crushing several still-warm links of the ammunition belt. Reaching the protective wall, he used a wrench to knock away the scorch marks from the edge of the metal plaque.

The front of the iron plaque bears the standard inscription of the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force.

"Station No. 45. Vehicle-mounted ordnance depot. Can be assembled with railway guns."

Wang Hu pried the iron plate out of the wall's inner layer.

The cards are turned over.

There are also fine characters pressed on the back.

The engravings and the 009 steel sheet share the same origin. The force applied is consistent, the spacing is consistent, and the pauses at the ends of the strokes are consistent.

"The train gun carriage is missing a tooth. Don't take the complete gun. Take the broken tooth."

Wang Hu held the iron plaque above his head. The light from the red lantern shone on the fine characters.

Xiao Huo switched to the channel. "Road sign 009 confirmed. Handwriting matches. The system at Station 45 is giving the wrong parts. There are fake teeth inside the complete gun carriage. The real teeth are hidden in the pile of scrap teeth."

Su Yuan remained silent. He stared at the dark track ahead.

The sound of an old-fashioned crane hoisting a heavy load came from the direction of Station 45. The steel cable tightened, the pulley system turned, and the hook rose—the metallic scraping sound echoed twice deep in the dark tracks, then stopped.

"It's hoisting the gun mount." Wang Hu stuffed the iron plate into his side pocket. "Station No. 45 is already assembling railway guns."

Tang Lan leaned half her body out from the side door of carriage 013. She was still clutching her gun, the barrel still warm.

"To go in or not?"

Su Yuan sat back in the driver's seat. The gear in the mechanical left eye turned once.

"Enter."

The wheels of the Devourer rolled over the empty twelve rails. Dark gold flames flickered across the scorch marks on the rail surface. The 012 forward-propelled hull scraped against the rust on the rails as it moved forward. The steel marker plate on the 009 commemorative rack vibrated slightly as it traveled at low speed.

The cryogenic interface and cooling bus of the 014 cooling compartment are connected together. After the 005 compression, the silencer is dragged over the ruins of the artillery position. The green light on the 020 isolator is constantly lit.

The convoy entered the dark track.

The dome of the firing range behind began to collapse. The scorch marks cut by the laser beams of the fire control tower widened into cracks, and pieces of the steel plate on the dome fell off. They crashed onto the air track, into the craters created by the secondary explosions, and onto the blue fluorescent glow emanating from the burning marking circles.

The fireflies slowly died down.

Wang Hu stood on the edge of the 012 protective case. He wiped away the scorch marks on the edge of the iron plate, turned the plate over, and looked at the fine characters on the back again.

"Useless tooth." He inserted the metal plate into the storage slot next to the 009 rack. "Station 45 is no longer hiding. It tells you directly that there will be fake parts."

Xiao Huo retrieved the old files from Station 45. The files were stamped with the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force's red seal, with complete signatures and clear process numbers.

"Vehicle-mounted ordnance depot. Authorization: Capable of assembling railway gun carriages and associated ammunition. Inventory list—8 main carriage beams, 16 carriage rack rails, 12 sets of shell fuse assemblies, 4 sets of carriage coupling cores." Xiao Huo paused for a moment. "The remarks column of the list is entirely printed with 'Inventory complete.'"

"Complete is fake," Wang Hu said. "009 said the real teeth are in the pile of discarded teeth."

Su Yuan's hand rested on the steering wheel cover.

"Station 45 will install the prosthetic teeth into the complete gun carriage. The discarded teeth are piled up deep in the platform." He stared at the main screen. "First, remove the prosthetics. Then collect the discarded ones."

Ahead of the dark track.

The entrance lights for station 45 are on.

It's not white light.

It was the dim yellow assembly light of the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force armory. The light shone on the assembly platform, on the main beams of the two rows of vehicle-mounted gun carriages, and on the neatly arranged gun carriage racks.

An old-fashioned gantry crane is sliding over from the side of the assembly platform. A complete set of rack rails is hanging on the hook.

The toothed rail is coated with anti-rust oil, the tooth shape is complete, and the meshing surface is polished to a shine.

The crane places the rack into the assembly slot on the assembly table.

The loudspeaker came on.

"Vehicle-mounted ordnance assembly depot No. 45. Please connect car 001 to the assembly platform. All materials for the railway gun carriage are complete. Inventory is in good condition. Assembly time: nine minutes."

All the assembly slots on the side of the assembly table are lit up with green lights.

Sixteen sets of toothed rails are embedded in the slots.

Each set is complete.

Wang Hu stared at the assembly table.

Which set is fake?