Doomsday Mechanic: My Train Can Be Modified Infinitely

Morning mist, like a thin veil, clung to the railway tracks. Wang Zhengyang stood before the gate of Warehouse No. 3, the air outside Berlin carrying the crisp crispness unique to post-rain conditions. It was the twelfth day since his rebirth; eighteen days and nights remained before the world collapsed. Time was like sand slipping through one's fingers; the tighter one grasped, the more silently it flowed away.

Deep inside the warehouse, twenty-five STANAG composite armor plates were stacked like a mountain, their gray-green surfaces gleaming with a cold, hard sheen in the morning light. Wang Zhengyang ran his hand along the edge of the plate, the sensations emanating from his fingertips far more complex than those of ordinary people—it wasn't just a simple coolness, but a unique ability to sense the distribution of internal stress, crystal defects, and the subtle patterns left by heat treatment. Over the past twelve days, this growing affinity with the mechanical metal had been quietly developing with each use.

Good morning, Dr. Wang!

A crisp sound broke the silence. Lin Luo'er jogged closer, carrying two thermos cups. The hand-embroidered sunflower on the cuff of her light blue work uniform swayed in the morning light. Her ponytail was tied exceptionally high today, revealing her fair nape—the sunburn from yesterday had faded, leaving only a light pink mark.

"I knew you weren't asleep again." She handed me the cup, her eyes curving into crescents. "It's longan and red date tea, I told you you need to replenish your qi and blood."

The thermos was warm, and a sweet, fragrant steam wafted out when it was opened. Wang Zhengyang took a sip, feeling the continuously growing power within him optimizing his blood circulation, quickly delivering warmth to his extremities. He looked at the faint dark circles under Lin Luo'er's eyes: "You didn't sleep much either."

The renovation work continued at 8 a.m.

Li Ruijun's team has gotten into the swing of things, and their welding speed has noticeably improved. Key reinforcement points on the chassis are being completed one by one, and the welding quality is, in Wang Zhengyang's opinion, excellent. What pleases him even more is that Chen Yishang's team has clearly learned a great deal of techniques from Li Ruijun during the assistance process.

Especially Chen Yishang himself. This veteran mechanic's sensitivity to metals was becoming increasingly acute; sometimes he could even detect abnormalities in the welding points before Wang Zhengyang pointed them out.

"Dr. Wang, this seam..." Chen Yishang pointed to a newly welded reinforcement, "It doesn't feel right. The right side is a bit 'softer' than the left."

Wang Zhengyang reached out and touched it; the mechanical affinity seeped into the metal. Indeed, the material on the right had undergone slight overheating during the welding process, causing some changes in its crystal structure and a decrease in hardness of about three percent. This change was extremely subtle, difficult to detect even with ordinary testing instruments, but Chen Yishang "sense" it.

"You're right," Wang Zhengyang nodded. "The right side needs some additional welding, and the temperature should be kept low. Master Chen, your feel for it is getting more and more accurate."

Chen Yishang smiled sheepishly: "I've learned a lot working under you."

This wasn't just polite talk. Over the past few days, Wang Zhengyang's seemingly "intuitive" judgments had all come true. Chen Yishang was beginning to believe that truly top-tier mechanics possessed a tactile intuition that transcended theory and data. He was also working hard to cultivate this intuition, becoming more focused when touching each piece of metal, trying to "hear" what the material was telling him.

This budding talent gave Wang Zhengyang hope. In his previous life, Chen Yishang awakened his "Iron Hand" ability three months after the apocalypse, during a life-or-death crisis. In this life, if he could be guided and developed in a safe environment, perhaps he could master the ability sooner and become an even more powerful asset on the Dragon Abyss.

"Master Chen," Wang Zhengyang said as Chen Yishang prepared to repair the weld, "Try this—when welding, don't just focus on the arc, try to feel the metal itself. Feel its expansion when heated, its contraction when cooled, feel the temperature differences in different parts."

Chen Yishang paused for a moment, then nodded. He adjusted his breathing and focused intently on re-welding. This time, his movements were noticeably slower, more meticulous, and more…immersive.

Wang Zhengyang observed from the side and could clearly sense the improvement in welding quality. Although it hadn't reached the level of supernatural assistance, it was already far beyond the level of an ordinary mechanic.

Very good. The seeds have begun to sprout.

Meanwhile, Lin Luoer and Li Xiaowei completed the pipe connections for the water purification system and began the first sealing test. The water pump started, water circulated in the pipes, and the pressure gauge needle slowly rose.

"The pressure is normal." Lin Luo'er stared at the gauge. "It remains at three kilograms. Observe for ten minutes."

Li Xiaowei squatted down beside him, her eyes fixed on the pipe connector: "Luo'er, do you think our system can really run on a train for a long time? Vibrations, bumps, temperature changes..."

"We considered all of that during the design phase," Lin Luo'er replied. "The piping uses flexible connections, critical joints are buffered, and the filter tank has shock-absorbing supports. As long as the installation quality is up to standard, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Theoretically..." Li Xiaowei muttered, "but I still feel that growing vegetables and purifying water on a train sounds too much like science fiction."

Lin Luo'er smiled but didn't say anything. Actually, she had the same question, but Dr. Wang's explanation—the National Extreme Environment Testing Project—sounded reasonable, and the design drawings and process standards were indeed impeccably professional.

Ten minutes later, the pressure gauge stabilized, and there was no leakage at any of the interfaces.

"Test passed!" Lin Luo'er breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Great!" Li Xiaowei jumped up. "So, can we start planting vegetables now?"

"It's still early." Lin Luo'er packed up her tools. "The cultivation racks won't be fully installed until tomorrow, the LED lighting system still needs to be tested, and the nutrient solution circulation also needs to be tested. The earliest we can plant the seeds is the day after tomorrow."

"Oh..." Li Xiaowei was a little disappointed, but she quickly cheered up. "Then I'll go help my brother and the others! I grew up in a machine factory, I can definitely help out!"

She skipped and hopped towards the chassis modification area. Lin Luo'er watched her lively figure, shook her head with a smile, and turned back to continue working.

The afternoon sun streamed through the car windows, casting bright dappled patterns on the floor. Lin Luo'er knelt beside the cultivation rack, installing the last set of fixing bolts with practiced and focused movements. Her work clothes sleeves were rolled up to her forearms, revealing her slender but strong wrists, which were stained with a little oil.

When Wang Zhengyang entered the carriage, this was the scene he saw. Lin Luo'er in the sunlight, Lin Luo'er focused on her work, Lin Luo'er with fine beads of sweat on her face but completely unaware of it.

He stood there for a few seconds before walking over: "How's the progress?"

Lin Luo'er looked up and saw Wang Zhengyang. A smile immediately bloomed on her face: "The water purification system test passed! The cultivation racks can all be installed today, and we'll start installing the lighting and circulation system tomorrow!"

"Very good." Wang Zhengyang squatted down to inspect the bolts she had just installed. His mechanical instincts allowed him to instantly judge the installation quality—perfect. The preload of each bolt was just right, ensuring both the fixing strength and preventing excessive stress on the material.

"You did a great job," he said, his voice gentler than usual.

Lin Luo'er blushed slightly: "I did it exactly as you instructed."

"Teaching is one thing, doing is another." Wang Zhengyang stood up and looked at the layout of the entire carriage. "If this system really succeeds, it can support a hundred people. Do you know what that means?"