“Little Fish, it's up to you!”

Lan Xiaoyu nodded in silence, then stepped toward the garbage mountain.

Though she was a girl, she didn't flinch at the filth; instead, she felt a long-lost familiarity.

Some devices were so badly wrecked you couldn't tell what they'd once been.

But at least you could still tell they'd been machines—such finds were rare in the trash heap.

Far more common were scattered parts of every size, warped, rusted, long past use.

Even Lan Xiaoyu couldn't name every piece, yet she was a pro—complexity and grade she could judge at a glance.

“Think there's anything under the ground?” Yu Nian asked curiously.

Lan Xiaoyu shook her head. “This place looks like a half-finished shift from a humanoid culture to a machine one; everything's been mechanized, steel-plated. The ground should just be normal ground.”

“Then can you tell what turned it into this?” Yu Nian pressed.

While picking out several parts, Lan Xiaoyu shook her head again.

“Judging by the corrosion, it's been dead for a century; any clues would've weathered away long ago.”

As soon as she chose the first piece, Yu Nian finished restoring it.

This time it wasn't another piece of furniture, but a machine none of them had ever seen.

Half a person tall, it had a square inlet on top and was packed with wires and gears—clearly electric.

Beyond that, the three could glean nothing useful.

“Little Fish, what is it?”

After a quick inspection she said, “Looks like a parts-cleaning unit.”

Bai Cheng blinked. “You mean they used this to process machine parts?”

Corroded parts caked in rust and oil were beyond any smelter; a washer like this was perfect.

It ran on electricity, but they could tie it into the train's grid.

After all, their steam locomotive could generate power.

“Who'd have thought Little Fish would score us a key device right away!” Bai Cheng exclaimed.

Yu Nian bobbed her head. “Yeah—look at the junk I kept restoring before!”

“Still, once it's restored we shouldn't waste it.” Bai Cheng turned to Qingniao. “Take all that furniture to Liu San.”

Their own train's tech was backward; some household goods were valuable.

“Oh, and bring the parachute up so they can come down and scavenge machine parts too.”

“Yes, miss.”

Qingniao became the lone bridge between sky and ground, shuttling back and forth.

Bai Cheng had only wanted Liu San's crew to pick trash for themselves, yet they insisted on helping her gather machine parts—working like mad.

More hands made the gathering faster.

But five hundred parts were needed for the upgrade; manual collection wouldn't be quick.

While they scavenged, Yu Nian kept restoring gear on the ground.

With Lan Xiaoyu's screening, every restoration produced something new and unfamiliar.

Without data readouts she could only guess at some, though she nailed others.

The batch looked like a generator, a probable radar, some kind of drive, and a train add-on.

Staring at the odd devices, Bai Cheng sensed their train was about to enter an age of electricity and machinery.

Only one crucial thing was still missing: an internal-combustion engine.

Find that, and the Cloud Heaven Sea team could consider themselves graduated.

Evening came fast; since stepping onto the ground at dawn they hadn't eaten, only scavenged and collected parts.

Trash lay everywhere, yet Lan Xiaoyu's picks were few and far between.

“Damn it—don't tell me it's all junk!”

Bai Cheng glanced skyward: the light was dimming, mist thickening, though not yet dense enough to blot out the sky.

But with Silent Night approaching the clouds darkened, and the distant train overhead began to fade in and out of view.

Qingniao and Purple Iris sensed it at the same time.

“Miss, once the mist reforms the zone may split in two; Purple Iris already smells something off.”

Qingniao added, “When I cut a path last night I tried to pierce the black cloud; the debuff was so strong even a king-tier would risk serious loss. Silent Night seems to hit the ground even harder.”

Bai Cheng didn't doubt the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» two king-tiers' senses.

Their words made her frown.

They were sure the sea of clouds existed to separate sky from ground.

At Silent Night the dense black cloud was nearly impassable even for Qingniao, and the surface might spawn new dangers.

“Then this sudden parting of the mist...”

Bai Cheng thought back: on their first day in Cloud Heaven Sea the mist hadn't dispersed.

Liu San, when asked, had never seen it happen either.

Which pointed to one cause: the Survivors from the special channel.

“Could killing them have made the mist vanish?”

No change had followed the kill; only after the train had travelled on did the sea of clouds begin to thin.

“Still, that's the only explanation that fits.”

Dusk was here; Silent Night would fall any moment.

To avoid trouble the smart move was to return to the train first.

With so many people on the ground plus Yu Nian's restored gear, Qingniao would need trip after trip.

When they could next reach the surface would depend on their luck in drawing more special channel assassins.

“All right, let's head back to the train for now.”

Bai Cheng gave the order and signalled Qingniao to ferry everyone up.

“We've already gained plenty.”

The shuttle was soon done; Bai Cheng and Yu Nian, the last to leave, were about to go.

Just then Lan Xiaoyu spotted something nearby and called out, “Miss—an internal-combustion engine!”