Mingzhao walked over, squatted down, and picked up the simple drone.

The fuselage was somewhat deformed from the crash, and the propeller was bent. She checked the core components and the lens, and found that they were not damaged.

It's still a problem of insufficient power. These batteries were already worn out, and she modified them, but the power is still insufficient. Besides the battery level, the motor speed also has a significant impact, causing the drone to be unable to fly very high.

In the Alliance, these miniature reconnaissance devices all use highly efficient light energy or micro-fusion cores, allowing them to operate almost indefinitely.

Light energy...

Mingzhao raised her head and looked up at the sky. The summer night sky was clear, a bright moon hung high, casting its clear light, and countless stars, like tiny diamonds, were inlaid on the dark blue curtain.

Light is the most primordial and abundant source of energy in the universe.

Solar energy is a concept that exists in the world as well. Although it is inefficient and the technology is primitive, the underlying principles are the same.

She could easily use the available materials to create a simple photovoltaic conversion device to provide more continuous power for Owl 0.1.

If solar energy is to be used, then Owl 0.1 can be renamed Owl 1.0.

This idea struck her like a thunderbolt, instantly illuminating Mingzhao's research direction. What power was insufficient? She directly used stellar light energy, which was inexhaustible.

As long as energy storage is adequate, drones can fly high into the sky.

With all of this in place, how far away is her spaceship?

Just wait, she'll return to the Alliance in the spaceship she built herself. Who knows, this experience might even be published then.

Mingzhao's eyes became incredibly intense. She put Night Owl 0.1 aside and began frantically rummaging through the junk pile.

We hope to find materials that can be used for photoelectric conversion.

Her gaze swept over the rusty iron lumps and copper wires, finally settling on a few dark, pitted, plate-like objects—discarded solar heat absorbers salvaged from a recycling center.

The vacuum tubes inside were long ago broken, but the dark coating that was specifically designed to absorb solar radiation was still there!

This is it!

Mingzhao was overjoyed and carefully cleaned out the few broken heat-absorbing plates.

Some of the layers had peeled off, but most of the area was still usable. She found a few relatively intact pieces of broken glass, as well as some copper wire.

Next is the core photoelectric conversion unit.

There were no ready-made silicon wafers here, but she remembered that Li You mentioned in the "Introduction to Materials Science" that Liu Wenjun had given her that certain semiconductor materials, such as selenium and cuprous oxide, would generate a weak current under light. Although the efficiency was not high, the principle was feasible.

She rummaged through the pile of materials and eventually found several discarded old-fashioned photoresistors, which were probably used in cameras or switches at this time. There was also a selenium photocell salvaged from a scrapped dashboard.

Mingzhao immediately threw herself into her work, forgetting the time and her fatigue.

She carefully pieced together several pieces of dark-colored heat-absorbing plate fragments using thin copper wire, fixing them to the bottom of a broken enamel basin she had picked up, as a base and a concave surface for focusing light.

Then, the broken selenium photovoltaic cell and several photoresistors were connected in series and parallel with copper wires and welded into a simple photovoltaic array. It was carefully placed in the focal area of ​​the flat cross-section of the absorber plate.

Finally, using the found shards of glass, they pieced them together one by one, like a jigsaw puzzle.

A prototype solar panel, pieced together from scrap materials, was born in Mingzhao's hands. (This is just a random thought, don't take it too seriously~ As for the materials, the protagonist needs them, those who know, know.)

The sun slowly rose.

Mingzhao carefully moved the solar panel to the spot in the yard where the sun would shine first, and adjusted the angle so that the concave side of the enamel basin was facing the rising sun.

Then, she set the broken Owl 0.1 aside and looked at the photovoltaic device with anticipation.

As dawn broke, the first rays of golden sunlight finally entered the courtyard, landing precisely on the dark heat-absorbing plate at the bottom of the enamel basin.

A miracle happened.

A simple little light bulb connected to the output end of the solar panel flickered a few times after being exposed to sunlight for a few seconds, and then stubbornly continued to light up.

Although the light was faint, like a candle flame in the wind, it was like a spark of hope, dazzling and eye-catching.

It's done!

Light energy is converted into electrical energy. Although the efficiency is pitifully low, and the voltage and current are so weak that they can only light up a small light bulb, the principle has been successfully verified.

Looking at that faint but persistent light, Mingzhao's usually expressionless face finally broke into a smile as radiant as the rising sun.

Without wasting any time, she picked up a pencil and drew a new branch next to the structural diagram in her sketchbook, recording the data from this photovoltaic-to-electricity conversion.

After another all-nighter, Mingzhao went to the kitchen, scooped up a spoonful of cold porridge for herself, and ate it. Then she went back to sleep.

Also today, at the entrance of the residential compound, an old woman, travel-worn and carrying a tattered bundle full of patches, arrived at the compound gate.

Wang Caifeng yelled at the guards at the gate, "I'm looking for Zhao Xiaoxiao. She's my granddaughter. I've come all this way to see her. Tell her to come out and meet me!"

Others around looked over and whispered among themselves when they saw her.

He's probably from some unknown rural area, yet he dares to yell at the guards.

That's incredibly rude.

Wang Caifeng didn't care about any of that; in the countryside, she was used to being looked at like that.

The guard was very polite: "Please wait a moment, I'll have someone contact Comrade Zhao Xiaoxiao."

Wang Caifeng was a little unhappy, but since they had already said they were going to find someone, she couldn't say much.

With a forced smile, she said, "That must have been really tough for you, comrade! I'm practically her grandmother; she even sent me a letter!"

After saying that, he took out the letter and showed it to the guard: "Take a look, oh right, there's also Mingzhao, the wife of Commander Huo, who is also my granddaughter."

The guard took it and saw that it really was!

However, given the rules, he could only wait for Zhao Xiaoxiao to come and pick him up.

Zhao Xiaoxiao was tidying up her house when she suddenly heard the guard say that her grandmother had arrived.

His face lit up with joy; they had finally arrived.

She smiled, just like Wang Caifeng in front of the guards: "I'll go pick her up right now."

What a filial son!

The guard felt a pang of emotion.

At the entrance of the family compound, Wang Caifeng tried several times to talk to someone but to no avail.

His smile faded, and upon finally seeing Zhao Xiaoxiao, his face immediately darkened: "You brat, you finally came to pick me up! Why did it take you so long?!"

He turned around and greeted the guard with a smile, thanking him.

After saying that, he tossed the baggage to Zhao Xiaoxiao, grinning with his big yellow teeth: "Here, take this and hurry up and take me home. I'm exhausted from the journey."