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

"The Eternal City?"

Upon hearing the name, the Money-Keeper Spirit nodded excitedly: "I know, of course I know!"

"My sir, how do you know about that place? Could it be... could it be that your next stop is there?"

"Yes." Su Yuan nodded, making no attempt to hide anything.

"Wow! That's wonderful!" The money-guarding spirit jumped up and down excitedly, its straw-made joints creaking. "My lord, you've come to the right person! If I had to pick the place I know best in this world, it would definitely be the City of Eternity!"

"Oh? You've been there before?" Su Yuan was somewhat surprised.

"I've been there more than!" The miser puffed out his little chest, his face full of pride. "Back in the day, I was a big shot in the City of Eternity!"

Su Yuan didn't have much doubt about where the Money-Keeping Spirit had lived, but he had reservations about the number one figure in Fengsheng Shuiqi that the spirit mentioned.

It cleared its throat, seemingly lost in memories of its glorious past.

"Let me tell you, the Eternal City I stayed in was much larger and more complex than you can imagine. That place was an adventurer's paradise, and also a den of iniquity!"

"But it's a pity," the money-guarding spirit's tone sombered again, a hint of lingering fear on its face, "Later, for some reason, that city offended someone it shouldn't have, and it was destroyed overnight. I was also buried under the rubble in that disaster, until..."

It didn't continue, but Su Yuan had already guessed what would happen next.

Until it was unearthed by some unlucky train conductor, it began its long and turbulent "imprisonment" life in the treasure chest.

"Alright, stop reminiscing about the past." Su Yuan interrupted it. "Tell me, how much do you actually know about that place?"

"Alright!" The money-guarding spirit immediately perked up, knowing that this was its best chance to demonstrate its value to its benefactor.

"My lord, what you are seeing now, this so-called 'train world,' is actually just a small part of this vast world, a rather special 'area,'" the money-guarding spirit revealed a piece of information that surprised Su Yuan.

"This world is unimaginably vast. Besides us 'pioneers' who drive trains and travel along the tracks, there is an even larger group of adventurers."

"They don't have trains; they travel between worlds on foot, going on adventures and fighting."

"On foot?" Su Yuan raised an eyebrow. "How will they travel? How will they store supplies? How will they fight those monsters?"

"Hehe, that hits the nail on the head!" The money-guarding spirit smiled mysteriously. "Although they don't have a train, they are accompanied by something similar to a small fire."

It pointed to the little green boy next to it who was curiously eavesdropping.

"However, they are different from Xiao Huo. I can sense that Xiao Huo's core is very simple, like a blank sheet of paper. But the 'partners' around those people are much more complex, and... much more dangerous."

Shoucailing paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"Their true forms are usually housed in a ring, necklace, or something else. There is a special, mysterious connection between them and their owners that we cannot understand."

"That connection is more like... a contract. A contract at the soul level, one that cannot be broken."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

A ring? A contract?

The money-gatherer added, "By the way, besides adventurers who simply explore on foot, there are also those who are thrown into the misty regions to pioneer, or even venture into the unknown oceans, fishing for resources from all realms on the floating islands, just like me!"

"In short, they also have something like an energy core behind them."

"Little Fire." Su Yuan suddenly turned his head and looked at the bewildered little boy in green.

"Huh? Master, you called me?" Little Fire was startled by Su Yuan's sudden call to name.

"Was there something you were hiding from me before?"

Xiao Huo's body stiffened abruptly, and his big, dark eyes instantly filled with fear and unease.

It instinctively wanted to shake its head, to deny it.

But looking into Su Yuan's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, it knew it couldn't lie.

"Master...please...please don't kill me...I didn't mean to hide it from you...I just...I was afraid that if you found out, you would...you would abandon me..."

Su Yuan was taken aback by its sudden action.

He originally just wanted to bluff and see if he could get some useful information out of him, but he didn't expect this guy's mental defenses to be so weak that he broke through them directly.

"Alright, alright, stop crying." Su Yuan patted its back helplessly, trying to comfort it. "When did I say I was going to kill you? I was just asking."

"Really...really?" Little Fire raised her tear-streaked green face and asked, sobbing.

"Really." Su Yuan nodded. "Tell me honestly what happened, and I won't be angry."

After receiving Su Yuan's assurance, Xiao Huo stopped crying, but her body was still twitching.

It sniffed and, with a sobbing voice thick with nasal congestion, began to recount the memory that it had buried deep within its core.

"Master... Actually... actually, after I was disconnected from the train world, a new memory appeared in my mind."

"That memory tells me that the significance of our existence as 'core members' is not merely to provide power for the train."

"We...we are bound to the train conductor."

"We can receive all kinds of information feedback from the train conductors at any time, their emotions, their experiences, their growth... These are the 'nourishment' that we truly rely on for survival and growth."

"Upgrading the train or burning those materials can indeed make us stronger, but that kind of strength is more like... an external force, something else entirely. It's completely different from our core growth, which comes from our master."

Xiao Huo lowered his voice again as he finished speaking.

"I...I'm pretty easygoing by nature, I just want to eat something good..."

"I was born earlier than you; you are only the second master I've ever had..."

"But my previous master... he... he was a coward."

"He's a big eater. All he does every day is eat and sleep. He doesn't dare to explore the platform or fight monsters."

"That newbie protection period is different from this one. That time it was a newbie protection period that was counted by the number of days. During the newbie protection period, players would not be attacked by monsters and could explore freely. The platforms were also relatively safe."

"However, after the newbie protection period ended, he encountered a monster attack for the first time. He was injured and hid in a box. After that, I don't know how much time passed. I only know that I was very hungry, and then I met you, Master..."

"However, I swear I never had any intention of harming my master!"

Su Yuan looked at Xiao Huo, who was still sobbing in his arms, and his eyes became incredibly deep.

So, isn't he trying to snatch food from the tiger's mouth in the world of trains?

What if they find out and hold me accountable later?!

It might be okay once or twice, but it will definitely be noticed over time, so we must find a way to cover up our presence!

The reason I haven't been noticed is most likely because I've broken free from the control of the train world and am no longer under its jurisdiction.

Therefore, it was mistaken for a monster and attacked the player. As for the train's energy core, it is definitely subject to loss, but the loss rate is currently within a controllable range, so it naturally does not attract much attention.

"My patron? My patron?"

Therefore, Su Yuan dared not even think about what was hidden behind the train world.

What kind of being could possibly require so much energy?!

"My patron? My patron?"

The voice of the money-guarding spirit pulled Su Yuan back from his reverie.

Looking at Su Yuan's ever-changing expression, it felt a chill run down its spine, wondering what frightening thing this man was plotting this time.

"Oh, it's nothing." Su Yuan came back to his senses, put Xiao Huo down from his arms, and then looked at the money-guarding spirit to continue the previous topic.

"Go on, about the Eternal City."

"Okay...okay." The money-guarding spirit swallowed and continued, "My lord, there's actually one more crucial rule regarding the Eternal City, and that is, the issue of 'identity'."

"identity?"

"Yes!" The money-guarding spirit nodded heavily. "In the Eternal City, as long as you retain the identity of 'Pioneer' or 'Train Conductor,' the city's natives and locals cannot directly attack you."

"They will only try to squeeze money out of you, such as tricking you into making a deal with some fancy things, or binding you to their chariot with some unfair contracts, but they would never dare to, and cannot, take your life directly."

"Because this would violate the most fundamental rules of this world and lead to terrible consequences."

"But once..." the money-guarding spirit's tone became serious, "once you give up your identity as the 'train conductor,' then in the eyes of those natives, you will go from being a 'guest' to an 'ownerless object.'"

"A slave who can be bought, sold, and enslaved at will..."

As Shoucailing spoke, he added in a low voice, "Those people outside are them."

"Sell them as slaves?" Su Yuan smiled slightly upon hearing this.

That's a good way to handle it.

No wonder the rules of the train world warn them not to easily give up their identity as train conductors.

It turns out that once you give up and enter the Eternal City, you're just a lamb to the slaughter.

"I understand."

Su Yuan stood up, and at that moment, all the clues were completely connected.

Train World, Eternal City, Evil God, Righteous God...

To put it bluntly, it's all about "raising a treacherous insect."

They are all using their own methods to select, cultivate, and then harvest "transmigrators" like him, extracting all sorts of "energy" from them.

The so-called "identity" is just a protective layer.

A protective layer to prevent these "Gu worms" from being prematurely killed by other "Gu farmers" before they have grown fat.

Once you lose this protective layer, you go from being a "player" to an "NPC" who can be slaughtered at will.

"Interesting." Su Yuan stroked his chin, already having a plan in mind.

He now has a complete understanding of the rules of this world.

They also found the "playstyle" that best suits them.

"Oh, right." Su Yuan suddenly remembered something. He looked at the money-guarding spirit, "You just said that the Eternal City you used to live in was destroyed?"

"Yes," the money-grubber nodded, still shaken. "The scene was terrifying. Overnight, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked; the entire city was gone."

"Then do you know who did it?" Su Yuan pressed.

"Well... I don't know." The money-guarding spirit shook its head. "I was buried underground at the time and don't know anything. However, I did vaguely hear some rumors."

"What rumor?"

"I heard that the city's chief god offended a passing, even more powerful god. And then, that god just wiped out the city."

"..." Su Yuan fell silent after hearing this.

Just like the last Haidu Station.

Wasn't the sea god in the story killed by the eyeball god?

This world is more dangerous than he imagined.

Even gods are not invincible.

A more powerful god can easily wipe out a lesser god, along with His city-state and believers.

With my current strength, I'm probably not even an ant in front of beings of this level.

"It seems I still need to keep a low profile and quietly make a fortune," Su Yuan told himself.

However, the thought of his almost limitless "evolution" talent rekindled his confidence.

Just because we can't beat them now doesn't mean we can't beat them in the future.

Given enough time and sufficient "nourishment," he believed that one day he too could stand at the top of the pyramid in this world and challenge those so-called "gods."

Even...to replace it!

At the same time, after absorbing the energy of several energy cores, Su Yuan felt some other changes happening in his body.

The 50 points of physique awarded by the initial "Ultimate Ascension" are not the main point at all.

That transformation truly endowed him with almost limitless growth potential!

He discovered that as long as his physique and perception continued to improve, and as long as he continued to fight, adapt, and evolve, he didn't need to stitch together those messy, useless talents at all!

He could completely rely on himself to "evolve" those abilities!

The scarcest resource is actually the energy of the rule system. One's own physical body is the biggest bug, but it is just like a container and cannot evolve these rule-based talents on its own. It can only have physical talents and infinitely growing perception and physique.

For those special talents that are unrelated to the physical body and involve the underlying rules of the world, such as "space," "time," and "fate," Su Yuan cannot evolve them on his own.

The truly unique and rare "rule-based" talents, which may only appear once in thousands of players, are where the "Perfect Stitching" talent truly shines!

"So that's how it is..." Su Yuan looked at his hands, which were now full of strength, and suddenly understood.

His path became crystal clear at that moment.

Harvest the core, enhance the foundation.

The rules of stitching make us invincible!

Clearly, rule-based talents are extremely rare in this world. Su Yuan's three initial advancements are unique, meaning he is the only one who possesses them.

This means that very few people possess rule-based talents.

The player talents on the corpses I collected were all enhancements to the physical body in various aspects.

There's no point in stitching it up anymore, because as my physique improves, these talents have naturally evolved.

These are products of high physical fitness, except that they don't have high physical fitness, but rather their bodies have been enhanced in some way, giving them this ability.

The primary purpose of these corpses now is to feed them to trains as meat.