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

There are no lights at the entrance to station number 50.

The track surface was covered in a thick layer of dust. It wasn't just dust that had settled—it was the kind of buildup that occurs when no one has walked on the track for fourteen years. The dust had formed a crust with fine cracks extending along the direction of the sleepers. The air was dry, so the dust only crumbled when stepped on.

Wang Hu stepped down from the edge of the 012 protective shell, his boot sole crushing the first piece of gray shell. The fragments flew up, tumbled a few times in the beam of the red hand lamp, and then fell back down.

On either side of the dark track ahead, eight abandoned locomotives, belonging to the Zhenshan factory, stood in two rows. Rusted boiler shells, broken traction beams, empty driver's seats—each locomotive lay there motionless, like a row of crouching iron beasts. A dark red glow emanated from the boiler observation windows. It wasn't from electric lights, but from the fire in the furnace. The firelight flickered, casting dark red patches of light onto the rusted shells of the opposite locomotives.

All three units have been ignited.

Number one, number three, number six. Sparks are being emitted from the chimneys. The sparks drift along the dark tracks, reach the track surface, encounter the accumulated ash, and are extinguished.

The steel plates on the side walls of carriage 013 were trembling. It wasn't due to uneven rails—even at a speed of 1.5 kilometers per hour, the wheels wouldn't bounce when running over accumulated dust. The trembling was low-frequency. Rust accumulated in the rivet seams along the edges of the steel plates was being shaken off, and fine rust fragments dripped down the welds.

Tang Lan pressed her hand against the side wall. The vibration of the steel plate traveled into her palm. The frequency wasn't fast, but the amplitude was stable, like someone striking a large bell at the end of a track. She turned to look at the casualty ward. A frostbitten patient lay on a stretcher, the bandage on his wrist shifting slightly with the vibration of the steel plate. The patient didn't speak, only staring at the side wall, his lips pressed tightly together.

In the third quarter, the old mechanic squatted in front of four water cups.

Simultaneously, standing waves appeared on the surface of the water in the cups. It wasn't just shaking—it was a ring of concentric ripples rising from the cup's wall, contracting towards the center, and then rebounding. The frequency of these ripples matched the vibrations of the 013 sidewall. The cup with the cracked bottom was leaking faster and had less water, so the standing waves were more pronounced. The veteran mechanic stared at the water's surface, his hand resting on the cup holder.

"Standing waves," he said. "Boiler resonance."

Wang Hu tore open the bag of lime powder.

Dust and ash are thrown onto the rail surface. The white powder lands on the accumulated dust—and is then vibrated into concentric ripples. It's not the wind blowing it; it's the rail surface itself vibrating at a low frequency. The dust and ash are pushed outwards from the point of impact, one circle, then stop, then another circle, then stop. The ripples are evenly spaced, and the interval between each circle coincides with the idle speed rhythm of the Zhenshan core track.

"Four units." The data scanned by the small torch was projected onto the main screen. "The fourth unit's heatsink has started ignition."

The thermal imaging switched over. The outer wall of the boiler at locomotive number five changed from dark to light gray—the glow plug was energized, diesel fuel was atomized, and the ignition coil was storing energy. The glow plug temperature was 140 degrees Celsius and was still rising.

On the right side of the main screen, the parallel stability of the Zhenshan core energy guiding tube is displayed as 73%.

Then jump to 81%.

It has fallen back to 73%.

It jumped to 79%.

Su Yuan sat in the driver's seat, staring at the stability curve. Each jump corresponded to the furnace pressure fluctuation of a boiler in one of the locomotives ahead. When the furnace pressure of locomotive number one was ±0.3 MPa, the stability jumped to 81%; when the pressure dropped back to ±0.2 MPa, the stability dropped accordingly. The boiler pressures of locomotives number three and six were also jumping in sync—the three locomotives were moving in unison, like three fingers pressing on the same artery.

Qin Yan's knocking sound came from carriage 013.

The metal sheet struck the stretcher armrests with a heavy rhythm. A translation popped up in the lower right corner of the main screen: "They are recognizing their master. The old locomotive is mistaking the Zhenshan core for a similar awakening signal."

Tang Lan turned to look at him. Qin Yan lay on the stretcher, blood seeping through the bandages on his chest, his fingers gripping a thin sheet of iron, his knuckles white. His eyes were half-open, his lips moved a few times, and he tapped again: "The boiler control logic of the scrapped locomotive hasn't been modified. They only recognize one beat—the idling frequency of the Zhenshan series. When the parallel stability of the core energy conduction tube jumps into the range of ±0.3, the locomotive determines that a boiler of the same model is running nearby and automatically ignites to prepare for coupling."

Xiao Huo added: "The fourth glow plug temperature is 170 degrees Celsius. The ignition coil has completed energy storage."

The observation window of boiler number five lit up briefly. It wasn't a flame in the furnace—it was the preheating plug igniting, diesel fuel being injected, causing a rapid rise in the furnace wall temperature. The observation window changed from dark to orange-red, then to dark red. The fourth boiler had caught fire.

The loudspeaker came on.

A female voice. The background sounds of a tape being pulled along, the same tape used by stations 48 and 49. "No. 50 Zhenshan Scrap Line - Storage Area. Warning: Dismantling prohibited. Open flames prohibited. Honking prohibited. Train 001, please shut down the Zhenshan core and hand over the coolant sample from the energy conduction tube. Repeat—shut down the Zhenshan core and hand over the coolant sample."

The hydraulic rail clamp arm on the rail side rises.

Four sets. Each set has two pairs of clamps. The first set locks to the front beam of the "Devouring Wilderness" rail, the second set locks to the side beam of the third guide frame, the third set locks to the 013 tail beam, and the fourth set locks to the 005 tail anchor. The base of the rail clamping arm is welded to the sleeper, and the hydraulic pipe is laid along the sleeper seam to the platform control cabinet. The piston rod pushes the clamp to open, and the inner wall of the clamp is embedded with hard alloy teeth.

"If you do not cooperate," the broadcast voice remained unchanged, "the eight scrapped locomotives will be forcibly ignited. The boilers in the formation will resonate, and the energy transfer tubes will be overloaded."

In the control room, Lu Mingyuan stood in front of the main screen. The technician uploaded the protocol data for Station 50—sealing area, prohibition of dismantling, and recycling protocol. The veteran engineer stared at the screen, his hat brim pulled low.

"A sealed area?" he said. "In the documents from fourteen years ago, number 50 was the Zhenshan Cemetery."

Lu Mingyuan remained silent. He retrieved the archived area marker for Station 50 in the system and compared it to the current protocol number. The number was off by one digit—the last digit had changed from "A" to "B". The change had been made two days prior.

"False rules." Lu Mingyuan pressed all channels. "The recycling agreement for Station 50 is not the original factory sealing order. The serial number has been changed."

Qin Yan tapped again. The rhythm was rapid, and the metal piece almost slipped from his hand. "They're recognizing their owner. The old engine is taking the Zhenshan core as a wake-up signal of the same model. Don't shut down the core—shutting it down will turn it into a lost owner, triggering forced recycling."

013 Some of the wounded looked towards the rear. The steel plates on the side walls of the wounded compartment were still trembling, and the bandages under the wristbands of the frostbitten soldiers were loosened by the vibration. A soldier with a missing arm pressed his right hand against the bandage on his left shoulder, his eyes fixed on the rust that had been shaken off from the rivet seams on the side wall.

The old mechanic stood up. The standing waves in all four water glasses jumped to the same frequency. He reached out and pressed down on the glass holder, his palm suppressing the vibration.

"Su Yuan." He pressed the communication button. "This frequency is wrong."

"Something's not right."

"It's not four locomotives stacked together. It's five."

Xiao Huo immediately switched to low-frequency vibration analysis. The track vibration spectrum was displayed on the main screen—four distinct peaks, corresponding to the four ignited locomotives; however, there was also an extremely narrow peak in the gap between the peaks, with a frequency 0.3 Hz higher than the main peak and a weak amplitude.

"The fifth one," Xiao Huo located. "The second locomotive. The boiler isn't lit, but the cooling water pump is running."

The thermal imaging zoomed in on the No. 2 locomotive. The boiler's outer wall was at room temperature, and there was no flame in the furnace—but the cooling water pump motor was overheating, the brushes were sparking, and the pump body was vibrating. The pump was rotating slowly, and each revolution only pumped enough cooling water to travel half a meter in the pipe bank. But the water was flowing. Flowing water causes vibration.

"Not just Wutai Mountain," Su Yuan said, "it's all of them."

He pointed to the ignition sequence diagram of the boilers that had been pushed up with a small flame. The ignition interval of the four ignited locomotives was 4.7 seconds. The ignition interval between No. 1 and No. 3 was 4.7 seconds, the interval between No. 3 and No. 6 was 4.7 seconds, and the interval between No. 6 and No. 5 was also 4.7 seconds.

"Station 48 calibration round frequency." The small torch was thrown up for data comparison. "4.7-second cycle. Consistent with the calibration round's clock."

The fifth locomotive—the second locomotive—had its cooling water pump's vibration rhythm deviated by 4.7 seconds. Not just deviated, but off by half a beat. The pump's vibration cycle was 4.7 seconds, but the phase and ignition timing were off by 0.4 seconds.

"It's waiting for the pulse to align," Su Yuan said. "The boiler controllers of the eight locomotives share a single ignition bus. The ignition pulses are sent in a 4.7-second cycle. The four that have already ignited have locked their phases, while the remaining four are waiting for their turn."

"When it's your turn, light it." Wang Hu stared into the depths of the dark track.

"Light it when it's your turn."

"How do you determine this?"

Su Yuan didn't answer. He stared at the ignition timing diagram on the main screen, the gear in his mechanical left eye turning half a circle. "Low fire. Round number 20 for calibration. Firing frequency at a 4.7-second cycle, phase inversion delay of half a beat."

The small flame stopped at the edge of the control panel. "You need to misalign the ignition pulse."

"Mismatched by half a beat".

The No. 20 ring-shaped calibration round slides into the launch tube from the external magazine. The launch tube is leveled and aimed at the ignition bus receiver in the direction of the control cabinet. The small fire calibration pulse firing timing is set to a 4.7-second cycle, phase inversion, and a half-beat delay.

emission.

The signal pulse for the calibrated round is fed into the ignition bus. The ignition pulse transmitted on the bus is a square wave with a period of 4.7 seconds, and each square wave triggers a glow plug at the front of the vehicle. An inverted pulse is superimposed—the rising edge of the square wave is delayed by half a beat, and the falling edge is advanced by half a beat. The pulse waveform changes from a square wave to a trapezoid, and the effective trigger window is compressed from 0.3 seconds to 0.1 seconds.

The preheating plug on the No. 5 locomotive failed to ignite.

The preheater plug temperature surged from 170 degrees Celsius—but the time window for the ignition coil to release the spark was compressed, and the atomized diesel fuel failed to ignite. The furnace wall temperature plummeted. The observation window turned from dark red to black.

The glow plug at the front of the seventh locomotive started to ignite—but the pulse was compressed, and ignition failed.

The eighth machine didn't get a turn.

"The pulse window is stuck," Xiao Huo confirmed. "The ignition bus is locked in the inverted cycle. New pulses can't get in."

Broadcast audio tone changes. Mechanical warning tone: "Ignition failure. Forced recovery protocol activated. Hydraulic rail clamp locked."

Four sets of hydraulic clamping arms began to apply pressure. The piston rods pushed the clamps to close. The first set of clamps bit into the front beam of the "Devouring Wasteland" vehicle, and the carbide teeth pressed into the front beam shell. The hydraulic pressure of the clamps jumped from 0.2 MPa to 0.4 MPa, then to 0.6 MPa—the steel plate of the front beam shell emitted a metallic squeaking sound.

Tang Lan pressed the communication button. She didn't speak, only pressed the brake lever. 013 Rear axle locked. 005 Sinking of the silencer. The tail beam stress jumped from twenty-four to twenty-seven.

Su Yuan stared at the stability curve of the core energy-conducting tube of Zhenshan.

It jumped from 73% to 81%.

It fell back to 74%.

Jumped to 79%.

It fell back to 73%.

Each fluctuation was synchronized with the furnace pressure fluctuation of the No. 1 boiler. When the pressure of the No. 1 boiler was 0.3 MPa, the stability jumped; when the pressure dropped, the stability dropped accordingly. The No. 3 and No. 6 boilers also jumped synchronously, but the fluctuation of the No. 1 boiler was the largest.

"Turn the fire down." Su Yuan stood up. "Push the output of the Zhenshan core to the idle resonance peak. Don't go full power. Just push it to 0.7 times the natural frequency of the conduction tube."

"Idle resonance peak—" Xiao Huo paused for a moment, "That's a false idle. The conductor temperature will drop to—"

"Downgrade to cold furnace thermal imaging."

The small flame pushed the values ​​up. The core output of the Zhenshan increased by twelve percentage points from idle. The coolant flow rate in the energy transfer tube was initially fast and then slowed down, entering the edge of the resonance peak. The temperature of the energy transfer tube casing began to drop—from the normal operating temperature of 120 degrees Celsius, down to 105, 90, 78, and 65 degrees Celsius. The rate of decrease was three degrees Celsius per second.

"014." Su Yuan pressed the communication button, "Reverse cooling. Spray energy conduction tube casing."

The spray arms of the 014 cooling compartment unfold. Low-temperature coolant is ejected from the nozzles, with a liquid temperature of minus forty degrees Celsius. The coolant is poured onto the outer casing of the energy conduction pipe, causing the casing temperature to drop sharply—from sixty-five degrees to thirty-two degrees, and then to nineteen degrees.

A layer of white frost appeared on the outer shell of the energy conduction tube.

The frost layer was even, covering the entire section of the energy-conducting tube. The tube wall temperature remained at -7 degrees Celsius. In thermal imaging, the energy-conducting tube changed from a high-temperature bright area to a dark cold bar—looking just like the boiler at the front of the locomotive where the energy-conducting tube was broken.

"A fake idling cold boiler." The thermal imaging comparison was projected onto the main screen, "The thermal imaging characteristics of the energy conduction tube are consistent with those of a shut-down boiler."

Dark tracks ahead.

The furnace pressure of the No. 1 locomotive boiler suddenly dropped from 0.3 MPa to 0.1 MPa.

The pressure in the No. 3 locomotive boiler also decreased. The temperature inside the furnace dropped, and the flames changed from dark red to dark. The pressure in the No. 6 locomotive boiler also decreased, and the sparks coming out of the chimney became less frequent. All three ignited locomotives simultaneously reduced their operating frequency.

They accepted it.

The old locomotive boiler control logic mistook the false cold furnace signal from the power supply tube for a shutdown of the same model boiler. The logic states: if the same model shuts down, the boiler itself must also reduce power and go into standby mode. Otherwise, idling would waste diesel fuel. This is the interlock protection mechanism of the old Zhenshan series locomotives.

"Recognizing a false signal," Qin Yan typed out. "The old car front mistook the fake idle speed for a genuine engine shutdown."

Control room of Base 04. Lu Mingyuan saw the thermal imaging of the energy conduction tube jump from high temperature to low temperature, and the pressure of the boiler in the scrapped car head dropped accordingly. He took off his hat and held it in his palm.

"The agreement is fake." He pressed all channels. "The Station 50 recycling agreement is a sham. Rail clamps, hydraulic locking, forced ignition—it's all fake. A genuine storage area won't force recycling."

The technician went out simultaneously. Station 50 was marked with a red box on the screen, with a note next to it: "Rules invalid."

Wang Hu's main oil supply pipe for the rail clamp arm was right next to his feet.

The main oil supply pipe runs from the platform control cabinet, extending along the sleeper seams to the four sets of rail clamping arms. The pipe is three centimeters in diameter, and the walls bear the old-fashioned blue paint of hydraulic markings, the paint now cracked. He crouches down, extends the lifting arm, and replaces the boom end with a hydraulic shear jaw.

The jaws of the clamps gripped the oil supply line.

"Flatten it, or cut it?"

"Flatten it," Su Yuan said. "Don't cut it."

The clamps were pressurized. The oil supply pipe wall was crushed, and the hydraulic oil inside was squeezed from the circular cross-section into a long slit. The hydraulic oil flow rate dropped sharply, and the oil pressure fell from ±0.8 MPa to ±0.1 MPa. All four sets of rail clamping arms simultaneously lost pressure—the clamps loosened, and the carbide teeth slid off the front beam shell of the "Devouring Wasteland" rail clamp. The teeth left indentations on the front beam shell, about three millimeters deep, but not penetrating.

Wang Hu loosened the clamps from the flattened oil supply pipe. The oil pipe was stuck—the hydraulic oil couldn't flow back, and the clamping arm remained locked in the loosened position.

Su Yuan stood in front of the driver's seat.

"Refining furnace." He pressed the communication button. "Insert the dark gold conduit into the boiler drain pipe of the No. 1 scrapped locomotive. Reverse the flow of waste brine from Station 46."

The dark gold-plated guide pipe of the mobile refining furnace slid out, skimming the dust from the rails. The pipe bypassed the sleepers, the base of the rail clamping arm, and circled to the rear side of the first scrapped car. The pipe opening was aligned with the boiler blowdown pipe inspection port—the blowdown pipe, five centimeters in diameter, extended from the bottom of the furnace and had a flange welded to its opening. The flange bolts were rusted, but the inspection port was not sealed.

Insert the tube opening.

Waste brine is pumped out from the inner wall of the conduit. The waste brine recovered from the quenching pool at Station 46 has a pH of 4.3 and is at room temperature. The waste brine is poured into the drain pipe and flows into the water jacket at the bottom of the furnace. The residual temperature of the inner wall of the water jacket is 310 degrees Celsius. The brine vaporizes upon heating—not slowly, but instantaneously. The steam pressure forces it outward from the water jacket jacket.

The inner wall of the furnace is rapidly cooled.

The boiler pressure surged from 0.1 MPa upwards—but it was steam pressure, not diesel combustion pressure. Steam forced its way into the furnace, into the tube bank, and into the space between the boiler shell and the insulation layer. The furnace temperature plummeted from 310 degrees Celsius to 210 degrees Celsius, then further to 140 degrees Celsius. The excessive temperature difference between the inside and outside caused the cast iron material of the boiler shell to crack.

The crack started at the root of the drain pipe flange and extended along the grain boundaries of the casting. The crack width ranged from 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm. Steam spewed out from the crack, spraying onto the dust on the rail surface, which was then blown up and fell back down.

The boiler pressure dropped from +0.1 MPa to -0.1 MPa. This wasn't due to a leak—it was steam condensation. The temperature inside the furnace dropped below 100 degrees Celsius, causing the steam to condense into water droplets, shrinking in volume and creating negative pressure inside the furnace.

The boiler at the No. 1 locomotive automatically shuts off.

The firelight in the observation window went out. Not slowly, but instantly, completely black. The inner wall of the furnace turned from dark red to iron gray, and water droplets trickled down the pipes, accumulating in a puddle at the bottom of the furnace.

The engine of the first locomotive stalled completely.

"Eight cables." Su Yuan pressed the communication button. "Tug the wreckage of locomotive number one. Tow it."

Eight steel cables were launched from the mounting points of the "Devouring Wasteland" locomotive. The first cable was hooked into the broken traction beam of the No. 1 locomotive, wedged in the seam of the fractured steel plate; the second was hooked into the sewage pipe flange; the third was hooked into the boiler tube maintenance lifting lug. The steel cables were taut. The core output of the Zhenshan engine switched from the resonance peak back to idle speed, and then pushed up to 1100 rpm.

The first locomotive was towed.

The wheels were rusted against the rails, dragging along with a sharp, metallic scraping sound. The rust between the wheel flanges and the rails was crushed, and debris flew out from under the wheels, landing on the accumulated dust. The wreckage of the locomotive was dragged toward the mouth of the refining furnace. The broken edge of the front traction beam scraped against the rails, sparks flying.

The furnace opening was open. The inner walls of the furnace chamber were burned to a dark red color.

The wreckage of the No. 1 locomotive was dragged into the furnace. The boiler tubes went in first—the residual diesel fuel on the inner wall of the tubes ignited by the furnace temperature, emitting a brief plume of black smoke. Then came the broken traction beam, the energy pipe interface, and the rusted outer shell. The entire locomotive sank into the furnace. The dark red molten metal rose, swallowing the wreckage.

The refining furnace has started producing parts.

First item: Mountain-suppressing frequency band spoofer.

The control chip, ignition pulse receiver, and resonant cavity components of the old locomotive boiler were recast. The camouflage device was attached to the inside of the front beam of the Shihuang, and contained a database of the entire Zhenshan series idle frequency bands. After startup, it emitted a controllable frequency band to the outside, simulating four thermal imaging and vibration characteristics of the Zhenshan locomotive boiler: ignition, shutdown, standby, and overload.

The second item: boiler pressure control valve.

The valve body was recast using boiler blowdown pipes, remnants of steam safety valves, and the No. 1 locomotive pressure sensor. It was then connected to the exhaust pipe of the "Devouring Wasteland" locomotive and automatically reversed to release pressure and cut off the resonance chain when an external diesel combustion-like pressure pulse was detected.

The third item: High-temperature resistant energy conduction tube bushing.

The old-style energy conduction pipe interface, boiler tube heat-resistant steel, and furnace insulation layer residue were recast. The bushing was fitted into the outer shell of the core energy conduction pipe of Zhenshan, increasing the temperature resistance limit to 1300 degrees Celsius, and the insulation layer thickness was 6 mm.

Base 04 control room.

Lu Mingyuan pulled his hat back onto his head. He pressed the full channel button, and his voice became steady.

"The rules for Station 50 are no longer valid. The scrap line has been released from storage. All materials from the eight scrapped locomotives are recyclable."

The veteran engineer took the spare parts list from the technician. He stared at the material classification table on the screen and read it aloud: "Heat-resistant steel boiler tubes, alloy forgings for traction beams, copper sleeves for old-style energy conduction pipe interfaces, diesel pre-supply pump assembly, and carbide teeth for rail clamping arms."

"Enough to cast a new traction beam," he said, pausing for a moment, "and also to reinforce the third guide frame section."

Wang Hu crouched down at the base of the No. 1 locomotive wreckage. After the locomotive was towed away, the chassis base was exposed. The base was welded to the sleepers, the steel plates were severely rusted, but a heat-resistant nameplate was embedded in the middle. The nameplate had been baked by the furnace temperature, the surface coating was charred, and only two of the four rivets remained.

He used a pry bar to pry open the rivets. The nameplate fell off, landing on the accumulated dust and kicking up a small cloud of dust.

He picked it up. The red light shone on it.

The front is printed with: "Station No. 51 - Traction Brain Backup Archive".

Turn it over.

There are words engraved on the back, but most of the engravings have become blurred due to the high temperature. However, the last line is still clear.

"The backup brain has been removed and is not in the repository. Do not take the empty shell."

Wang Hu read the words aloud.

A knocking sound came from the direction of the 020 isolation box. It wasn't the rhythm of the 009 steel plate—it was the sound of the lead seal being struck. The metal plate struck slowly, but with a dull force, each beat heavy.

Xiao Huo's translation: "Something inside the empty shell of Station 51 has awakened. It smelled the scent of the core of the town."

The green light on the 020 isolation box blinked.

It wasn't a malfunction—the life monitor inside the hibernation pod actively reported a signal. The signal lasted for 0.4 seconds before being suppressed by the shielding layer inside the pod.

Su Yuan stared at the thermal image on the main screen.

Deep in the dark tracks ahead, the cooling water pump of the fifth un-ignited, scrapped locomotive—Locomotive No. 7—suddenly stopped.

It's not a malfunction.

It stopped automatically. The pump vibration disappeared, but the temperature of the outer wall of the boiler at locomotive number seven began to rise on its own. It wasn't the preheating plug igniting; something was heating the cooling water in the boiler water jacket. The water jacket temperature jumped from room temperature to 42 degrees Celsius, and then to 61 degrees Celsius.

The heating source is inside the water jacket.

The small torch magnifies the thermal image. Inside the water jacket of the No. 7 locomotive boiler, there is a dark red heat source. It is not a flame, but some kind of constant-temperature object. The temperature is constant at 63 degrees Celsius, and its outline is an irregular block shape, attached to the pipe jacket.

"Living tissue-type heat source." Xiao Huo switched channels. "The thermal imaging characteristics are consistent with the living metal at Station 07, but the temperature is forty degrees lower."

Qin Yan tapped out: "What it smelled wasn't the core of the mountain-suppressing essence."

Tang Lan turned to look at him.

"It smelled the old Zhenshan alloy from the energy conduction tube liner." Qin Yan's fingers tightened around the iron sheet, his knuckles turning white. "When the waste salt liquid rapidly cooled the boiler, the old alloy dust from the tube bank was sprayed out and stuck to the outer wall of the energy conduction tube liner."

Su Yuan stood up.

"Wang Hu. Use the steam from the waste salt solution in the refining furnace to backflush the water jacket of the No. 7 locomotive boiler."

"Blow it."

The dark gold conduit returned from the wreckage of car number one, sliding along the rail surface to the side and rear of car number seven. The conduit tip pierced the water jacket inspection port. Waste salt vapor was pumped out from the inner wall of the conduit—not liquid, but steam. The steam temperature was 110 degrees Celsius, and the pressure was ±0.2 MPa.

Steam is injected into the water jacket.

The heat source on the inner wall of the water jacket, at 63 degrees Celsius, heated up upon contact with steam—jumping from 63 to 71 degrees Celsius, then to 85 degrees Celsius. It was absorbing heat, not being cooled. Waste salt particles in the steam adhered to the surface of the heat source, crystallizing and reflecting light.

The light source was scanned closer with a small flame. Under the reflected light of the crystals, the outline of the heat source became clear—a palm-sized piece of dark silver living tissue, with torn edges, stuck to the interlayer of the tubular structure. The tissue surface had old wounds, and the scars had been burned by high temperatures and were now carbonized.

"Parasitic fragments," Xiao Huo said. "Fragments of living metal from Station 07. They were kept warm for fourteen years by the residual heat of the boiler in the scrapped locomotive."

Wang Hu stared at the fragment. "Why didn't it spread?"

"The temperature isn't high enough. Sixty-three degrees is its dormancy threshold. It will awaken if it exceeds that, and go into hibernation if it falls below. The residual heat of the scrapped locomotive's boiler is just right at this threshold," Xiao Huo added. "What it smelled just now wasn't the core of the mountain-suppressing core—it was the smell of the living metal matrix swallowed by the No. 07 station's refining furnace. There's still dark silver dust stuck to the seams of the Devourer's external armor plates."

Su Yuan pressed the communication button.

"Refining furnace. Retract the dark gold conduit. Don't touch that fragment."

The catheter was withdrawn.

"Number 52 is not standing in front."

Xiao Huo brought up the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force route map. "Station 52 - Waste Incineration Line. After Station 51."

"First, dismantle number 51 completely."

The Zhenshan frequency band decoy was activated. The signal from the fake cold furnace on the outer shell of the Shihuang's energy tube remained stable. The remaining seven scrapped locomotive boilers were all down-frequencyed to standby mode, and the furnace pressure was maintained at ±0.1 MPa. The ignition lock of all eight locomotives was released.

Wang Hu pulled the entire main oil supply pipe of the rail clamping arm out of the sleeper gap. The hoisting arm dragged up the rail clamping arm hydraulic pump assembly, the railside control cabinet, and the ignition bus receiver. The refining furnace mouth did not shut off, swallowing everything in. Bundles of hard alloy teeth, old-style hydraulic cylinder piston rods, diesel pre-supply pump heat-resistant sealing sleeves, and alloy forgings of scrapped car front traction beams were piled up in the parts discharge area.

In the fourth section, the young survivor inspected the condensation bulkhead on the outside of the 005 compartment. The green light on the 020 isolation box stabilized and stopped flashing. There was no further knocking inside the box.

At the end of the dark track, a cold wind blew from the direction of Station 51. The wind carried the smell of burnt old insulation material. The living fragment inside the boiler water jacket of the No. 7 locomotive shrank back deep into the pipe jacket, disappearing into darkness on the thermal image.

Wang Hu placed the heat-resistant nameplate on the base of the 009 commemorative hanging rack. The two iron plates were side by side—numbers 50 and 51.

Su Yuan sat back in the driver's seat. The gear in the mechanical left eye returned to the idle position.

"Full formation. Press for one and a half kilometers. Move into number 51."

The wheels rolled over the rust and debris remaining on the front of the first vehicle. The accumulated dust was compacted, leaving clear wheel tracks.