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

The moment ten thousand blood-red headlights lit up simultaneously, all the displays in the driver's cab went black for half a second, followed by a countdown.

Thirty seconds.

"Final purge protocol activated. Illegal virus carrier 001 to be executed with absolute annihilation."

The mechanical female voice was as cold as a blade.

Jiang Yu rushed to the door of cabin 017, and the gauze bandage on his severed arm bled again due to the excessive movement.

"It's an absolutely liquefied, extremely cold explosive! Minus 480 degrees Celsius!"

His voice was filled with despair.

"Back then, 011 was killed by this thing... In just three seconds, the entire train would have been frozen to dust!"

Su Yuan did not turn around.

He held the power push rod in his right hand, picked up the welding torch in his left hand, aimed it at the limit latch on the push rod base, and pulled the trigger directly.

"Sizzle—"

A blue-white electric arc exploded, and molten metal splashed out.

He had welded the push rod base to the maximum power position, and it could no longer be pulled back.

"All units, listen to my command!"

Su Yuan threw the welding torch onto the passenger seat and gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

"The core of the Zhenshan is overloaded by 150, all eight cables are open, the front of the vehicle is aimed at the densest turret array, and it crashes in."

Inside cabin 013, Tang Lan had just secured the last wounded soldier to the stretcher lock when she heard these words, and her hand movements paused for less than a tenth of a second.

Then she turned around, kicked open the hatch, and roared at Wang Hu:

"005, nail him down! Anyone who dares to loosen the connection, I'll kill him first!"

The countdown has reached 23 seconds.

Tens of thousands of gun barrels began to adjust their elevation angles.

They weren't aiming at the vital parts of the train, but rather at a point 300 meters in front of the track, where the area would be completely covered by the extreme cold thunder in 18 seconds, turning it into an absolute dead zone.

The Devourer's top speed is 130 kilometers per hour, and it can only travel 650 meters in 18 seconds, which is far from enough to cover the radius of the bomb.

Logically, the only way to survive is to turn around and run.

But Su Yuan did not reverse.

The Zhenshan Core was pushed to the end of the red zone amidst overload and roar, the vehicle body trembling as if it were about to disintegrate.

The deep-earth heavy-duty rock-breaking shovel at the front of the vehicle turned dark red under the high-frequency vibrations, distorting the air itself.

The 300-ton steel behemoth charged directly into the dense jungle of turrets.

When the countdown reached twelve seconds, all gun barrels had completed charging.

Beneath the polar rock slab, thousands of high-voltage cables, each as thick as an arm, are simultaneously lit, and terrifying currents are converging.

Wang Hu lay on the roof of the train, the searchlight beam sweeping across the tracks.

"Boss! The power grid is underground! A 3.2-second salvo of energy storage, the power lines are all under the polar rock slab!"

"I saw it."

As soon as Su Yuan finished speaking, he jerked both hands on the steering wheel.

The front of the vehicle, a rock-breaking shovel, cut at a 45-degree angle, its blade plunging deep into the polar rock slab at the edge of the track.

"Sizzle—"

Amidst a deafening tearing sound, a gash 0.7 meters deep was ripped open in the entire rock slab.

Without slowing down, the rock-breaking shovel cut a deep trench along the edge of the defense line like a plow.

Countless high-voltage cables were severed at the root, and blue-white electric arcs gushed out from the cuts like a waterfall.

The lights on most of the turret array in the entire No. 3 section of the defense line went out instantly.

The remaining energy storage was interrupted, and the countdown for the salvo was stuck at 0.9 seconds.

"Well done!"

Wang Hu roared from the roof of the car and turned to wave towards the refining furnace.

"Drain! Absorb all this electricity!"

The dark gold conduits of the mobile refining furnace sprang out like venomous snakes, precisely piercing the broken cables that were still wildly spewing electric arcs.

The furnace cavity, heated to 1,500 degrees Celsius, was instantly filled with millions of kilovolts of reverse induction residual energy.

The furnace wall temperature soared to two thousand degrees, and the outer shell glowed red-hot.

But it didn't explode.

The newly installed overpressure fuel circulation pump of the mothership class was spinning wildly, forcibly compressing and converting this violent energy, and then pumping it back into the outer armor of 013 and the third carriage through the newly cast temperature and magnetic storm resistance energy charging shield.

Tang Lan stood inside cabin 013, watching the metal panel above her head glow with a pale blue electromagnetic halo.

The temperature inside the cabin plummeted by thirty degrees, and the life monitors of all the injured simultaneously showed "stable environment".

She didn't say anything, but simply tucked the pistol at her waist even tighter.

The countdown has reached zero.

The extreme cold lightning did not fall.

The turret array of the third section of the defense line was completely paralyzed, with only a few scattered turrets barely surviving on backup batteries.

On the main screen, the large, blood-red text flashed twice, then switched to new content.

"Power charging failed. Activate backup plan: Zero Zone Hunt - Heavy Armored Annihilation."

The ground began to shake.

Around the Devourer, four bottomless elevator shafts suddenly opened up.

Four black, heavily armored vehicles, each fifteen meters tall, slowly rose from the abyss. Their armor was over two meters thick, and their surfaces were covered with menacing strangulation tracks and hydraulic claws.

They have no cockpit and no weapons.

It has only one function: crushing.

Four heavily armed vehicles started up simultaneously, encircling the Devourer from four directions.

Their tracks rolled across the ground, pressing deep dents into the polar rock.

"All trains, brake in sections!"

Su Yuan's voice boomed through the communicator.

Wang Hu immediately threw out forty-eight heavy rail spikes, which shot out and pierced the ground, pinning the entire train to the spot.

Inside cabin 013, Tang Lan pressed all the brake levers.

In the third carriage, the conscious passengers clung tightly to the safety rings.

Inside the 005 emplacement, the young survivor lowered the silencer to its lowest position, and the five-ton counterweight slammed into the ground, leaving the vehicle completely still.

The moment the four heavily armored vehicles crashed into it, the Devourer became a steel nail driven into the ground.

"boom--!"

The terrifying impact came from four directions simultaneously.

The outer armor of the vehicle was squeezed so hard that it made a screeching metallic twisting sound, and sparks flew from several welds.

However, the Pangu Absolute Barrier Armor did not break.

The memory alloy shell, which had been taken from the core of the mother nest, rippled with an eerie dark gold color the moment it was compressed.

High-frequency vibrations were transmitted inside the armor, slicing away at the front armor of the four heavy vehicles.

"Click—"

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

The front claws of all four heavy-duty vehicles shattered simultaneously, and most of the constriction gears on the outer layer of the tracks broke off.

They retreated two meters, and their armored shells fell to the ground like raindrops.

Wang Hu squinted, staring at the four piles of iron filings.

"this one?"

He turned and ran towards the crane arm control panel, grabbing a high-frequency cutting gun along the way.

"Boss, the spindle sleeves on these guys are still in good condition!"

Su Yuan did not answer, but simply pushed the power pusher forward a little.

The roar from the core of the mountain town rose another octave.

Under Wang Hu's operation, the crane arm suddenly extended, the jaws opened, and it precisely clamped the main shaft sleeve of the nearest heavy-duty vehicle wreckage.

"pull!"

With the hydraulic system fully engaged, the jaws, using force exceeding their design load, forcefully pulled the 1.2-meter-diameter alloy spindle out of the vehicle body.

The spindle, along with semi-melted lubricating oil and broken bearing balls, was thrown directly into the mobile refining furnace.

The furnace fire, reaching 1,500 degrees Celsius, instantly engulfed it.

In less than 30 seconds, a five-meter-long, two-meter-wide, and forty-centimeter-thick ice-blue alloy protective plate was ejected from the finished product output port on the side of the furnace.

Steam was still rising from the surface of the protective plate, and a line of words was engraved on the edge: "005 Tail Anchor Emergency Protective Shell".

Wang Hu picked up the skid plate and rushed towards the rear of the car.

Outside the 005 emplacement, the young survivor clung tightly to the outer wall's anchor rings, the tail anchor's stress indicator already soaring to 29.8.

He looked up and saw Wang Hu rushing over carrying the protective plate. He gritted his teeth, let go of one hand, and helped hold the edge of the plate.

"weld!"

Wang Hu grabbed a welding torch and began frantically welding at the joint between the protective plate and the tail anchor.

A blue-white arc of electricity exploded, and molten metal splattered onto the faces of the two men, burning them with blisters.

No one cares.

The protective plate was completely fused with the tail anchor under high temperature welding, and the tail anchor force indicator dropped sharply to 23.2.

The young survivor let go, slid down onto the ground against the guardrail, and gasped for breath.

Without resting, Wang Hu turned around and rushed back to the front of the vehicle, aiming at the remaining three wrecked heavy vehicles.

The lifting arm, refining furnace, and railway cannon—the three-in-one violent dismantling process has been restarted.

The spindle, tracks, jaws, hydraulic system—anything that could still be disassembled was thrown into the furnace.

The refining furnace is like an insatiable monster, accepting all comers.

The outer side of compartment 013 has an additional layer of heavy-duty recoil armor.

The connecting beams of the third carriage were reinforced into a double-layer shear-resistant structure.

The cooling air duct of the 014 cooling vehicle has been expanded three times.

Even the 009 commemorative hanging rack has been covered with a shockproof outer shell.

The entire disassembly process lasted less than ten minutes.

The four Zero Zone Killer heavy armored vehicles that once wiped out the entire 011 crew are now just four piles of steaming scrap metal.

Inside the 017 hibernation pod, Jiang Yu watched everything through the observation window.

His lips trembled, and he couldn't speak.

Fourteen years ago, he watched helplessly as those faceless behemoths tore the 011 train commander to pieces.

For fourteen years, that scene has replayed in my nightmares every night.

Now, those once invincible monsters are being dismantled at will by this train of unknown origin, treated like a junkyard.

"They are dead."

Su Yuan's voice came through the communicator, calm and undisturbed.

"When you die, you should become my heavy armor."

Jiang Yu closed his eyes, and cloudy liquid seeped from the corners of his eyes.

On the main screen, the notification to clear the protocol refreshed again.

"Backup plan failed. Battle damage exceeded limits. Initiating final recovery procedure."

The ground tremors suddenly stopped.

Then, a deep mechanical roar came from deeper inside.

Inside the 017 hibernation pod, the heart rate monitor of the 011 tank commander suddenly emitted a series of rapid peaks.

His weak voice came through the intercom:

"Su Yuan...this isn't a waste storage area..."

Before he could finish speaking, the heart rate monitor spiked again.

Xiao Huo's electronic voice urgently intervened:

"Alert! Abnormal vital signs inside cabin 017! Nerve signal strength exceeds safety threshold!"

Tang Lan rushed to the door of 017 immediately and saw through the observation window that the commander of 011 was convulsing all over, and his spine, which was parasitized by living metal, was emitting a strange dark silver luster.

"He's forcibly mobilizing residual neural signals!"

Xiao Huo's voice carried a rare hint of tension.

"He wants to transmit his last memory!"

The commander of the 011 tank raised his right hand with difficulty, his fingers tapping on the bulkhead.

Three short and two long, two short and one long, one long and three short...

Standard Morse code.

Xiaohuo Real-Time Translation:

"Behind the position... at the very bottom... is not a waste storage facility... but the Great Wall Energy Hub... the only fully automated refueling and replenishment chain... the sea base..."

The Morse code suddenly stopped.

The commander's arm fell limply to his side, and the heart rate monitor returned to normal, but the waveform was noticeably weaker than before.

He used his last bit of strength to transmit intelligence.

Su Yuan did not hesitate.

"Wang Hu, shovel, lift up the heavy rail layer ahead."

Wang Hu lay on the front of the vehicle, operating the rock-breaking shovel and aiming it at the ground five meters in front of the track.

The shovel blade pierced into the polar rock slab, initiating high-frequency vibrations.

"Sizzle—"

The entire track surface was lifted up, revealing a three-meter-deep pit underneath.

At the bottom of the pit, tens of thousands of brand-new military supplies were piled up densely.

Self-recovering deep-load cooling shaft, level 10 obstacle-breaking black steel lock, heavy-duty universal coupling core, high-purity mountain-stabilizing core backup fuel rods...

Each piece bears the steel stamp of the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force, without a trace of rust, as if it just came off the production line yesterday.

Wang Hu's breath hitched for a second.

"How many of these are there...?"

Before he could finish speaking, a dark green light suddenly appeared at the bottom of the pit.

"Warning! Self-destruct sequence activated!"

Xiao Huo's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Battle damage self-repair failed. Initiating final reverse meltdown procedure! All supplies will fall into the deep trench and incinerate within ninety seconds!"

The entire 2,500-square-meter underground storage area began to tilt.

Countless tons of precious materials cascaded down into the deeper incineration tanks like a waterfall.

Inside cabin 013, Tang Lan tightened the stretcher lock on the last wounded soldier to its maximum position.

"Hold on tight to the safety rings! Anyone who lets go will be the first to be shot!"

No one dared to question it.

All the conscious wounded clung tightly to whatever they could grab onto.

Su Yuan stared at the deep trough that was frantically devouring resources, his eyes as cold as ice.

"All eight cables are deployed simultaneously."

He didn't say which direction to go.

But Wang Hu understood instantly.

Eight dark steel cables shot out from various parts of the vehicle, not towards the direction of escape, but towards the edge of the collapsing trench.

The steel cable precisely gripped the base of three intact 80,000-ton rotary table mother machines that were half-suspended on the edge of the deep trench.

"Lock it up!"

At Su Yuan's command, all eight cables tightened simultaneously.

The three rotary table mother machines were forcibly stopped, and the enormous inertia caused the entire ground to crack like a spider web.

The collapse rate of the deep trench was forcibly suppressed by one-third.

But the supplies are still falling.

"not enough!"

Wang Hu's forehead veins bulged as he frantically waved his hands on the control panel.

"Just a little bit more! Just a little bit more and we'll have pulled it off completely!"

Su Yuan didn't say anything, but simply pushed the power pusher forward a little more.

The core of the mountain, which was already overloaded to 150, was forcibly pushed up to 160.

The engine emitted a wail of exhaustion, and high-temperature steam began to seep from the outer wall of the energy conduction tube.

The eight cables were taut and straight, and the surface fibers began to break.

"Creak—"

The turntable mother machine was dragged away inch by inch from the edge of the deep groove.

The collapse has completely stopped.

At the bottom of the deep trench, the incinerator that devoured supplies went out after spinning twice without a "food" supply.

The entire reservoir area fell into a deathly silence.

Then, the dark green flames reappeared.

This time it wasn't an incinerator, but the walls surrounding the storage area.

"Final self-destruct activation! The God-hunting electromagnetic extermination network descends!"

The alarm sound from the small fire was almost distorted.

Suddenly, the dome of the entire reservoir area cracked open, and a giant electric grid covering a radius of more than one kilometer descended from the sky.

Each wire in the power grid is as thick as an arm, and its surface is crackling with high-voltage electric arcs powerful enough to instantly vaporize steel.

It intends to flatten the Devourer and the entire reservoir area together.

"Reverse!"

Su Yuan jerked the steering wheel, switching the Zhenshan core to reverse output.

The Devourer began to retreat.

But the power grid drops even faster.

Five seconds later, the edge of the electric grid was less than 20 meters away from the roof of the car.

Wang Hu looked up at the web of death, his face showing no fear, only resentment.

"Boss, it's too late."

Su Yuan did not answer.

He stared at the wreckage of the four heavy-duty vehicles that had just been dismantled, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Who says it's too late?"

He slammed on the gas, and instead of moving backward, the car moved forward, crashing directly into the nearest wreckage.

"boom--!"

The wreckage was sent flying, tumbling through the air before crashing into the other three units.

The four wreckage units piled up under the immense impact, forming a small mountain of scrap metal that was exactly fifteen meters high.

"013 locked up! 005 ran over! The whole car is upside down!"

After shouting this, Su Yuan gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands and steered the car toward the pile of scrap iron.

The Devourer rushed to the foot of the Scrap Iron Mountain at top speed and braked suddenly.

The vehicle body tilted forward due to inertia, and the rear of the vehicle rose high.

Just as the electric grid was about to touch the roof of the vehicle, the mountain of scrap metal collapsed with a roar.

Countless tons of armor fragments, main shaft debris, and track scraps crashed down like a waterfall, burying the entire Devourer beneath them.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

As the power grid descended and made contact with the pile of scrap metal, a terrifying current surged through the metal fragments.

Blue-white arcs of electricity darted across the surface of the scrap metal pile like lightning snakes.

But the current did not reach the Devourer.

That pile of scrap iron became the best insulation layer.

Thirty seconds later, the power grid's energy storage was exhausted, and it slowly rose.

A crack appeared in the pile of scrap metal.

The rock-breaking shovel at the front of the vehicle pushed out from the gap, removing the waste material pressing on top.

The Devourer was completely unharmed.

On the main screen, the notification to clear the protocol has completely disappeared.

Instead, a line of small gray text appeared:

"Battle Damage Assessment: Line 3 completely destroyed. Zero Zone Hunting Squad completely destroyed. Ultimate Electric Grid disabled. Threat level reassessed. Execution order cancelled."

The reservoir area has returned to quiet.

Only the deep rumble of the core of the mountain-suppressing town and the occasional sound of scrap metal fragments hitting the ground remained.

Wang Hu climbed up from the roof of the car, covered in dust.

He shook his head, brushing the metal shavings off his helmet, and turned to look at the reservoir area held up by eight cables.

"Boss, what do we do now?"

Su Yuan loosened the steering wheel and stretched his stiff fingers.

"What else can we do? Take advantage of them and leave them alone."

For the next two hours, the Devourer transformed into the most ravenous predator.

The mobile refining furnace was running at full power, and the dark gold conduits stretched into every corner of the warehouse like octopus tentacles.

Self-recovering deep-load cooling shaft, level 10 obstacle-breaking black steel lock, heavy-duty universal coupling core, high-purity fuel rods, military-grade armor plates, high-frequency oscillation generator...

Everything that could still be held was dragged into the furnace.

The refining furnace was operating under overload conditions, with the furnace wall temperature soaring to 2,300 degrees Celsius, and the outer shell burning red-hot.

But it didn't stop.

The overpressure fuel circulation pump of the Mother Nest class spun wildly, recasting these top-tier materials into the equipment most needed by the Devourer.

Eight-wheel main bearing torque converter expansion plate pole seat, self-healing deep bottom anti-centrifugal pressure sinking pole bottom cross brace sleeve, full-group synchronous braking and pressurization module, third-generation energy conduction tube cooling jacket of Zhenshan core, impact-resistant and shock-absorbing bed frame of 013 casualty compartment, multi-layer composite protective plate of 005 tail anchor anti-tear cracking...

Each piece was installed directly on-site.

Wang Hu led the maintenance team, braving the terrifying high temperatures emanating from the refining furnace, and worked frantically on various parts of the vehicle.

The blue light from the welding torch flashed intermittently, and molten metal splashed everywhere.

No one complained of being tired, and no one asked for a rest.

They knew that the more of these items they carried, the greater their chances of survival.

Tang Lan stood at the door of cabin 013, watching the busy figures outside, then turned to the cabin and said:

"Listen up, everyone. This equipment was earned with our lives. Anyone who wastes it by doing something reckless will be the first one I kill."

The cabin was quiet.

All the wounded understood that they were not sitting in ordinary medical vehicles.

It was a war machine that had fought its way out of hell.

Two hours later, the reservoir area was completely emptied.

They even removed the fixing bolts on the wall.

The appearance of the Devourer is completely different from what it was two hours ago.

The vehicle's armor thickness was doubled, the wheel set was replaced with an eight-wheel torque converter structure that can withstand extreme loads, and the rock-breaking shovel at the front of the vehicle was upgraded to a heavy-duty drill bit that can penetrate ten meters of concrete.

The most eye-catching feature is the newly installed train cannon on the roof.

The cannon barrel is twelve meters long and has a caliber of four hundred millimeters. A line of text is engraved on the barrel:

"The Nest Killer".

The system completed its final self-check, and the data was displayed on the main screen.

Overall stability of the formation: 123%.

"Zhenshan core parallel efficiency: 111 percent".

Overload limit: 180 in the red zone.

"Assessment conclusion: The current combat capability of the formation exceeds the peak performance of any heavy-armored train in the Old Blue Star Expeditionary Force."

Wang Hu sat down against the car wall, panting heavily.

He looked up at the ceiling and suddenly laughed.

"Boss, have we... completely emptied out the Great Wall defenses?"

Su Yuan didn't say anything, but started the engine and prepared to leave the ruins.

Just then, a line of text suddenly popped up on the main screen.

It wasn't a system prompt, but handwritten text.

The handwriting was crooked and messy, as if it had been scratched out with fingers on a dusty screen.

"The City of Death ahead has no ground! It's all floating in the sky!"

The signature is a series of numbers: 011-NV-07.

Jiang Yu's body stiffened abruptly when he saw the serial number.

"This is... our vehicle's navigator... he was responsible for scouting the route before the battle..."

His voice choked with emotion.

"He has been dead for fourteen years..."

The text on the main screen slowly disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

The Devourer slowly drove out of the ruins of the reservoir area.

Ahead lay a wasteland covered in thick smoke and scrap metal.

The ground was littered with the wreckage of abandoned trains, some still smoking, others rusted into piles of scrap metal.

But none of them were intact.

The convoy drove through this steel graveyard for about fifteen minutes.

The ground in front of them suddenly disappeared.

It's not a collapse, it's not a deep pit.

Instead, the entire horizon is abruptly cut off into a straight edge.

It felt as if someone had used a knife to slice the whole world in half from here.

Su Yuan stepped on the brakes.

The Devourer stopped 30 meters from the edge of the cliff.

Wang Hu climbed from the roof of the car to the front and peered down.

abyss.

An abyss from which there is no bottom.

He grabbed a fist-sized piece of iron and threw it down.

Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds...

There was no response.

"Small fire, scan."

Su Yuan's voice was calm.

On the main screen, the radar scan results gradually took shape.

Cliff depth: 13,700 meters.

Width: Unmeasurable, beyond the effective range of radar.

Cliff material: high-density carbide alloy, with a thickness of over 500 meters.

This is not a naturally formed terrain.

This is a man-made super abyss.

"Sweep upwards."

Su Yuan looked up and gazed at the sky through the windshield.

Switching to the main screen.

The radar beam stretched upwards, piercing through thick smoke and clouds.

Then, everyone saw it.

A city.

A city suspended in the sky.

To be precise, it is a giant steel complex consisting of countless tracks, platforms, trains, and towers, suspended above the abyss by tens of thousands of thick steel cables.

The lowest level is 3,000 meters above the ground, while the highest level pierces the clouds, exceeding 20,000 meters in height.

The entire structure resembles an inverted giant metal tree, with a black main track tower with a diameter of over 500 meters as its trunk and densely packed suspended tracks as its branches.

Countless trains shuttle between the tracks, like blood flowing in blood vessels.

Wang Hu tilted his head back, his mouth agape wide enough to fit a fist.

"This...this is fucking..."

He couldn't speak a complete sentence.

Inside cabin 013, Tang Lan looked out the window at the scene outside, and almost dropped the gun in her hand.

Even in the previously silent 017 compartment, the weak voice of the 011 tank commander could be heard:

"Sky Orbit... the final form of the Pangu Project... I thought it was just a legend..."

Xiao Huo's scan data kept updating.

"An extremely high-density mass cluster has been detected, exceeding the radar's maximum capacity."

"An extremely strong magnetic field was detected, originating at the top of the main rail tower."

"Detected..."

The sound of the small fire suddenly stopped.

"Life signal detected. Human life signal. Quantity... 73,652."

The driver's cab was deathly silent.

Jiang Yu's voice came from cabin 017, filled with disbelief:

"You mean... there are over 70,000 living people up there?"

"confirm."

Xiao Huo's electronic voice hesitated somewhat, which was unusual.

"The signal source is located between the third and twelfth layers of the sky track. Vital signs are stable."

Su Yuan stared at the floating city on the main screen, his eyes as cold as ice.

"They lived up there for fourteen years?"

No one answered.

Because the answer is obvious.

People on the ground fought to the death in the darkness for fourteen years, while people in the sky lived in a safe zone for fourteen years.

Just then, a huge elevator platform suddenly rose from the edge of the cliff.

A humanoid mech, about four meters tall, stood on the platform. It was entirely silver-white and unarmed.

A projection screen lit up on the mecha's chest.

On the screen, a middle-aged man wearing a researcher's white coat appeared.

He had a thin face, wore glasses, and had a string of complicated identity badges hanging on his chest.

The top piece is engraved with "Pangu Project - Core Research Team - Chief Engineer".

The man looked at the Devourer and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Group 001, welcome to the core area of ​​the Great Wall Inner Ring Road."

His voice came through an external speaker, carrying an unsettling ease.

"I am Lu Ye, the chief person in charge of the Pangu Project's Sky Orbit System. I am pleased to see that there are still survivors who have managed to break through the underground defenses."

He paused, then his smile became even gentler.

"However, the skyrail system has strict capacity limits. According to regulations, only the 001 lead car can ascend via the lifting platform. The other cars..."

He spread his hands regretfully.

"I'm afraid we'll have to stay on the ground."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hu jumped off the front of the vehicle and grabbed the high-frequency cutting gun hanging from his waist.

"Bullshit!"

He raised his hand to fire.

Su Yuan's voice came through the communicator:

"Don't move."

Wang Hu gritted his teeth, slowly lowering the muzzle of his gun, but his eyes remained fixed on the mecha.

Lu Ye seemed oblivious to this little incident and continued:

"Of course, if the 001 formation is willing to cooperate, we can arrange for a medical team to come down and transfer the wounded and important supplies up. As for those... the extra carriages, they can be temporarily parked in the ground maintenance area."

He adjusted his glasses.

"After all, the operation of the sky track requires precise calculations. Even an extra gram of weight could affect the overall balance."

On the main screen, Xiao Huo displays the load data of the lifting platform.

Maximum load capacity: 80 tons.

"Current weight of lead car 001: 123 tons".

Total weight of the entire train: 470 tons.

Lu Ye's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes.

"Therefore, please make a choice, Commander 001. Will you come up yourself, or...?"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because Su Yuan made a move.

It's not about getting off the bus, it's not an answer.

Instead, the power push lever was pushed directly to the red zone at 180.

The core of the mountain town let out a deafening roar.

The wheels of the Devourer spun wildly in place, leaving two deep scorch marks on the rails.

Lu Ye's smile froze.

"What...what are you going to do?"

Su Yuan ignored him.

He stared at the structural scan of the elevator platform on the main screen and said coldly:

"Turn the fire low and mark the weak point of the load-bearing column."

"Marked".

On the main screen, the six load-bearing columns at the bottom of the lifting platform are marked with red dots.

"Wang Hu".

"arrive!"

"Fire. Six armor-piercing shells, marking the point."

Wang Hu was stunned for less than a fraction of a second, then burst into wild laughter.

"Alright!"

The Butcher Train Cannon on the roof slowly adjusted its angle, aiming the muzzle at the lifting platform.

Lu Ye's expression finally changed.

"Wait! Are you crazy? Do you know what crime it is to damage a skyrail?"

Su Yuan looked up and, through the windshield, met Lu Ye's gaze across the screen, several hundred meters away.

"All I know is..."

His voice was as cold as a knife.

"Not a single section of my car will remain."

"Fire."

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six armor-piercing rounds were fired at almost the same time.

The warhead, carrying intense heat, sliced ​​through the air and precisely struck the weakest point of the six supporting columns.

"Click—"

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

The lifting platform shook violently, and its edges began to crack.

The mech standing on it lost its balance, staggered a few steps, and then plunged into the abyss.

Before Lu Ye's projection disappeared, his face was filled with shock and anger.

"You...you're declaring war!"

Su Yuan did not answer.

He simply turned the steering wheel all the way, aiming the front of the car at the edge of the cliff.

"All units, listen to my command!"

His voice was transmitted through the communicator to every carriage.

"Eight cables ready, lifting arm ready, 005 press down the counterweight, 013 and the third section tighten the fixing ring."

Tang Lan immediately pressed all the brake levers and roared into the cabin:

"Hold on tight! Anyone who lets go, I'll shoot them!"

Inside the 005 emplacement, the young survivor lowered the silencer to its lowest position, and the five-ton counterweight pressed firmly to the ground.

Wang Hu rushed to the roof of the car and secured himself to the guardrail with a safety rope.

"Boss! We need to..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because the Devourer has moved.

The wheels spun wildly on the rails, and the car hurtled toward the edge of the cliff with astonishing acceleration.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters.

ten meters.

Just as the front of the car was about to plunge off the cliff edge, Su Yuan jerked the steering wheel.

The train body drifted sideways, the left wheel set lifted off the ground, and the entire train was suspended at an extreme angle on the edge of the cliff.

At the same time, eight dark steel cables shot out from various parts of the train body, precisely biting into the main beams of the abandoned train wreckage on the cliff face.

"Lock it up!"

The eight cables taut instantly.

The Devourer hovered at the edge of the cliff, its body tilted at a 45-degree angle, with its right wheels firmly stuck to the rocks on the cliff edge.

From the depths of the abyss came the sound of howling wind.

Wang Hu lay on the roof of the car and looked down, his scalp tingling with fear.

Below lay unfathomable darkness, with occasional tattered steel cables swaying in the wind.

"Boss...and then?"

Su Yuan did not answer.

He stared at the structural scan of the orbital track on the main screen, his gaze falling on the bottom of the main track tower.

There, a thick suspension cable connects the first level of the skyrail to the ground anchor at the bottom of the abyss.

"Small fire, calculate the trajectory. Target: the seventh suspension cable at the bottom of the main rail tower."

"Calculation complete. Hit probability: 63%"

That's enough.

Su Yuan turned to look at the roof of the car.

"Wang Hu, load the high-explosive shell. Fire cable number seven."

Wang Hu was stunned for half a second before he realized what was happening.

He laughed wildly as he climbed over to the train gun and began stuffing ammunition into the barrel with both hands and feet.

"Boss, you're fucking insane!"

The shells have been loaded.

The cannon muzzle slowly rose, aiming at the thin, almost invisible steel cable in the sky.

"Calibration complete."

Xiao Huo's electronic voice sounded unusually tense.

"Warning: If the target is hit, the first level of the skyrail will lose 8% of its load-bearing support. The chain reaction may cause the entire area to tilt."

"I know."

Su Yuan placed his hand on the launch button.

That's why we have to fight.

"Fire."

boom--!

The cannons spewed out blinding flashes of light.

The high-explosive shell shot into the sky with a piercing whistle, leaving a straight trajectory in the thick smoke and dust.

Three seconds later.

boom!

A huge fireball exploded in the sky.

The seventh suspension cable snapped immediately, and a large amount of hydraulic oil and coolant gushed out from the broken end of the cable.

The entire first layer of the celestial track suddenly tilted two degrees to the right.

Countless alarms blared from above, and the piercing sound of mechanical friction echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

The emergency braking system was activated, and more than a dozen spare steel cables were launched from the main rail tower in an attempt to stabilize the structure.

But it was too late.

The tilting of the first level of the skyrail triggered a chain reaction, causing the second and third levels to sway as well.

Trains on countless suspended tracks braked suddenly, their wheels rubbing against the rails and creating sparks.

Lu Ye's projection reappeared, this time not on the mecha, but directly in the sky, as huge as a mountain.

His face was contorted beyond recognition.

"You're insane! Do you know what you've done? You've murdered 70,000 people!"

Su Yuan looked up at the enormous face, his voice calm.

"I was just knocking on the door."

He paused.

"If you don't open the door, I'll smash it down."

Lu Ye's face twitched a few times, then he took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.

"Okay. Very good."

His voice was as cold as ice.

"Since you've chosen violence, then let's follow the rules of violence."

On the first level of the skyrail, countless cannon muzzles protrude from the edge of the platform.

But it's not aimed at the Devouring Wasteland.

Instead, it was aimed at the bottom of the abyss.

"Initiate the ground anchor fuse procedure."

Lu Ye said coldly.

"Burn all the anchors at the bottom. Let this area, along with your beat-up car, sink."

At the bottom of the abyss, countless high-temperature furnaces were activated simultaneously.

The thick steel cables connecting the skyrail to the ground began to burn through one by one.

The eight cables that the Devourer relied on for anchoring, and the main beams of the wreckage it was gripping, were also beginning to soften under the radiation of the furnace's high temperature.

"Warning! The load-bearing capacity of the anchor point has decreased!"

The fire was making a rapid, urgent sound.

"It is estimated that all eight cables will detach in thirty seconds!"

Wang Hu gripped the railing, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Boss!"

Su Yuan remained silent.

He stared at the ground anchors on the main screen that were being burned, his eyes chillingly cold.

"Small fire."

"exist."

"Scan the bottom of the abyss to find all the anchor points."

"Marked. A total of 372."

"very good."

Su Yuan pulled the power lever back to the normal range, and then gave an instruction that left everyone speechless.

"Mobile Refining Furnace, all Dark Gold Conduits activated. Objective: All anchor connection points at the bottom of the Abyss."

"Remove their fixing bolts."

The door of the mobile refining furnace suddenly swung open.

Thirty-six dark gold conduits shot out of the furnace like mad snakes, each precisely piercing the anchor connection points at the bottom of the abyss, which were being scorched by the high temperature.

The high temperature and negative pressure of 1,500 degrees Celsius were activated instantly.

The bolts, flanges, and reinforcing beams, which had been partially softened by the heat, were pulled away from the main body and drawn into the furnace cavity by the terrifying suction.

"Buzz—"

A deep tremor emanated from the bottom of the abyss.

One-third of the 372 ground anchor connection points were removed in just 15 seconds.

The tilt angle of the first level of the sky track increased from two degrees to five degrees.

The backup steel cables couldn't hold up and broke one after another.

Lu Ye's projection flickered violently, his voice filled with terror.

"Stop! Stop immediately! You are destroying the very foundation of the entire celestial orbit!"

Su Yuan ignored him.

"continue."

The dark gold conduit devoured everything in a frenzy.

Half of the ground anchor connection point was removed.

The skyrail is tilted at an angle of eight degrees.

The train on the entire first-level platform began to slide out of control, and countless containers fell from the edge of the tracks and disappeared into the abyss.

The platforms on the second and third floors also began to shake.

Countless alarms blared in unison.

Lu Ye's projection suddenly disappeared.

Instead, a cold, mechanical female voice replaced it.

"Emergency protocols activated. Malicious acts of sabotage detected. Forced containment to proceed."

A huge opening suddenly appeared at the bottom of the main rail tower of the Skyrail.

A giant mechanical tongue, fifty meters wide and covered with barbs, emerged from the opening and stretched straight toward the Devourer.

"That is..."

Wang Hu's eyes widened.

"Capture the pod!"

Xiao Huo's voice urgently interrupted.

"Warning! That's the forced recovery device for the Skyrail system! Once captured, it will be dragged directly into the dismantling workshop inside the main rail tower!"

The mechanical tongue moves at an extremely high speed, and the barbs on its surface reflect a cold, metallic luster.

It intends to uproot the Devourer.

Su Yuan stared at the approaching mechanical tongue and suddenly released the steering wheel.

"All eight cables have been detached."

Wang Hu thought he had misheard.

"What?!"

"Break away".

Su Yuan's voice was without the slightest hesitation.

"Now."

The eight steel cables came loose instantly.

Having lost all anchor points, the Devourer began its descent into the abyss.

Just then, Su Yuan slammed on the gas pedal.

The core of the mountain-suppressing device is operating at full power, causing the wheels to spin wildly in the void.

The heavy drill bit at the front of the vehicle spun at high speed and plunged into the cliff face.

"Sizzle—"

The drill bit cut into the rock face, and the vehicle hovered on the cliff.

Then, eight steel cables shot out again, this time not upwards, but downwards, biting into the deeper rock wall protrusions.

The Devourer, like a giant spider, began to climb down the cliff face.

It's not about running away.

It is an active descent.

The mechanical tongue missed its target, paused briefly in mid-air, and then frantically chased downwards.

However, its length is limited.

After extending for three kilometers, the mechanical tongue stopped its pursuit and slowly retracted back to the main rail tower.

Lu Ye's projection reappeared, and this time his expression changed completely.

"You...you're going to the bottom?"

His voice was full of disbelief.

"There's nothing down there! Just a sea of ​​waste and a radiation zone! You're committing suicide!"

Su Yuan did not answer.

He just kept going down.

The drill bit cut into the rock wall, eight cables were used to secure it, and the entire train descended at maximum speed.

Five thousand meters.

7,000 meters.

10,000 meters.

The air is getting thinner and thinner, and the temperature is getting lower and lower.

Frost began to form on the outside of the vehicle.

13,000 meters.

The Devourer finally reached the bottom of the abyss.

There is no light, no sound here.

There was only endless darkness and metal scraps everywhere.

Start the backup lighting system with a small flame.

The bright lights illuminated the surroundings, allowing everyone to see the scene at the bottom.

This is a vast ocean of metal.

Countless scrapped trains, broken platforms, and twisted steel beams piled up into mountains, stretching in all directions with no end in sight.

The strangest thing is that these waste materials all maintain an eerie sense of order.

It seems to have been deliberately placed here.

Wang Hu held up a searchlight and shone it on the nearest pile of waste.

As the light swept across, he saw the side wall of a carriage.

A line of words was written in blood above:

"Don't believe the people in heaven. They've thrown us down here."

The signature was a series of numbers, consistent with the format of the old Blue Star Expeditionary Force.

Time: Thirteen years ago.

Jiang Yu saw these words through the observation window of cabin 017 and began to tremble.

"Impossible...impossible..."

More waste was illuminated.

Similar messages were written on each of the train carriages.

"We're still alive, but they say we've exceeded our carrying capacity."

"The child is only three years old, and they say children are not eligible to move up."

"I took out all my supplies, but they still pushed me off."

Countless desperate cries were etched onto the cold metal.

This is not a waste dumping area.

This is a cemetery.

The graveyard of 70,000 survivors on the Skyrail.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from deep within the waste pile.

Xiao Huo's radar immediately locked onto the source of the sound.

"Warning! Large moving object detected! Mass exceeds 500 tons!"

A powerful spotlight was shone in the direction from which the sound came.

A giant humanoid mech emerged from behind the mountain of scrap.

No, that's not a mecha.

It was a mobile fortress.

Standing over thirty meters tall, it is entirely constructed from scrap materials, yet every weld is frighteningly precise.

The left arm is a main gun salvaged from a heavy train, and the right arm is a huge engineering clamp.

A transparent life support capsule was embedded in his chest.

Inside the cabin, there was a person sitting.

A powerful spotlight shone on the life support pod, illuminating the person's face.

It was a young face, looking no more than thirty.

His skin was pale, but his eyes were bright.

He was wearing the research uniform of the Old Blue Star Expeditionary Force, with an identification badge hanging on his chest.

The nameplate was engraved with a string of names that Su Yuan knew all too well.

"Lu Ye, Pangu Project, Core Research Team, Deputy Chief Engineer".

It's not Lu Ye mentioned above.

It's another Lu Ye.

Sound came from the speakers in the life support pod.

The voice was calm, carrying a sense of serenity born of experience.

"You've finally arrived."

He looked at the Devourer and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"Team Leader of Lu Ye's Third Squad..."

He paused, then his voice suddenly became serious.

"No, I should call you by your real name."

"Su Yuan, ID JY-003, third in line to inherit the core authority of the Pangu Project - Great Wall".

Welcome home.