The conveyor hall stretched farther than the crusaders had expected.
Rubber belts carried rock between steel drums. Guards covered the rollers. Red stop cords ran beside the public walkway.
Guang Ming saw a test of faith. “The Current of Samsara,” he whispered.
Ling Yue read the sign. “It says moving machinery.”
Wu Nian gathered the younger disciples near him. “Whatever it is, stay behind the rail.”
A boulder jammed the central chute. Guang Ming pointed at it. “There. The formation has revealed its curse-node. Break it, and the path will open.”
Before Wu Nian could object, several paladins jumped the rail. They landed on a belt moving at walking speed. Their feet went forward and their bodies went back. Armor clattered across rubber.
Ling Yue did not join them. She studied the diverter and noticed that each fallen fighter was caught by a padded arm and lifted into a bin of pine chips.
“This place was built to survive foolish visitors,” she said.
Wu Nian snorted. “Then its maker knows disciples.”
The fighters on the belts discovered that striking the jammed rocks cleared the chute. Soon hundreds were breaking ore, scraping mud, and cheering each clean line. Guang Ming praised their holy service. Ling Yue kept her own disciples on the walkway and asked how the screens separated different sizes.
Wu Nian allowed his monks to help only after checking the stop cords and catch bins. “Work in pairs. No one enters alone.”
Twenty minutes later, the backlog was gone. The crusaders emerged dusty and proud.
Guang Ming raised his sword. “The First Circle is cleansed!”
Ling Yue watched clean gravel pour into a cart. “Your holy war just improved their ore supply.”
“Even a demon’s tools may serve heaven.”
On the inspection catwalk, Austin wrote the throughput in his maintenance log.
Tie Kuang stared at the spotless machinery. “They cleared six months of backlog. Throughput is 98.4 percent on all twelve lines.”
“And nobody lost a finger. Their footwork is terrible. They have no respect for friction. That matters more.” Austin released the emergency-stop button. “Tell Floor Two to keep the press light curtain active. Guang Ming will call the slag channels a holy trial.”
“And Ling Yue?”
“Give her the public equipment brochure. She will ask for it.”