Chen Hao squatted beside the fermentation vat, pressing his ear against the side of the vat to listen for any sounds. A slight gurgling sound came from inside.

“There’s potential.” He grinned. “This thing is really generating gas.”

Nana stood in front of the control panel, scanning the data stream with an optical lens. "Methane concentration meets the standard; ignition test can proceed."

"Wait a minute." Chen Hao waved his hand. "Let me check the connecting pipe first. Last time it leaked air, it almost cooked me into a kebab."

He reached out and tightened the connector screws, then rubbed the sealant with his finger. The resin was completely dry, but the edges were a little brittle. He stared at it for two seconds, then slammed his hand on the control panel: "We can't just consider it a success if we only cook rice; we need to get this thing working throughout the entire base."

Nana looked up: "What do you mean?"

“Connect to the grid!” Chen Hao stood up, patted his pants, and said, “Solar energy, batteries, biogas—all three together. Whoever has electricity can work, and those without can rest. That way, even if the sun hides behind the clouds one day, we won’t be in complete darkness.”

“It’s technically feasible,” she said, “but we need to synchronize the frequencies to avoid load conflicts.”

“Let’s give it a try.” He grinned. “The worst that can happen is another power outage. I can just eat instant noodles in the dark.”

Nana brought up the system interface and began configuring the power supply protocol. Three signal lines lit up on the main control panel: one from the solar panel on the roof, one connected to the battery pack in the corner, and the last leading to the small generator next to the fermentation tank. The three lines intersected on the screen, forming a triangle.

“Ready to connect,” she said.

“Come on.” Chen Hao took a half step back, clutching the emergency switch in his hand. “If I call a halt, you immediately cut off the biogas output.”

Upon receiving the instruction, all three power sources were simultaneously connected to the power grid.

The light flickered.

Then, the irrigation pump made a muffled sound and stopped. The lighting module flickered a few times and then went out completely. The temperature-controlled fan in the corner also stopped abruptly.

"It's broken?" Chen Hao's eyes widened.

“Load protection has been triggered.” Nana checked the logs. “Frequency deviation 12%, system automatically cuts off output.”

"It sounds like two people are fighting." Chen Hao walked to the distribution box and placed his hand on it. The box vibrated slightly, as if something inside was banging against each other. "One is fast and the other is slow; they can't coordinate their movements."

“Harmonic resonance,” she said. “The mismatch between the output cycles of the solar inverter and the biogas generator causes voltage oscillations.”

"Then let's add a mat," he said. "You need a sole when you're running, and if these two power outlets are right next to each other, won't it be slippery?"

Nana paused for two seconds, then nodded after searching the database: "We can install shock-absorbing bases at the connection nodes to buffer frequency fluctuations."

She removed a discarded silicone pad, cut it into a circle, and sandwiched it between the metal brackets to secure it under the generator set. Chen Hao squatted beside her, handing her tools, muttering, "Don't you think our base is becoming more and more like a jigsaw puzzle? We just stick something on wherever it doesn't fit."

"Functionality comes first," she said. "Aesthetics are not part of the design."

The renovation is complete, and the second grid connection has been initiated.

The lights came on, and the water pump started running again. The monitoring showed that the frequency deviation had decreased from 12% to 5%.

“It’s improved.” Chen Hao patted the distribution box, “but it’s still shaking.”

“Further optimization is needed.” Nana pulled up the waveform diagram, rewrote the control logic, staggered the peak outputs of the two power supplies by fifteen minutes, and added a dynamic compensation algorithm.

The third test.

The deviation has been reduced to 1.3%. The equipment is operating stably.

"It's done?" Chen Hao stared at the flames on the stove. The blue flames burned quietly, without flickering.

"The situation is initially stable," she said, "but risks remain overnight."

Sure enough, the alarm went off at 3 a.m. the next day.

Chen Hao was woken up and ran over in his slippers. The stove fire was weak, and the light was flickering. The battery was issuing a low battery warning.

"Why are you here again?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“The biogas pressure has dropped.” Nana read the sensor data. “The temperature drops at night, the fermentation rate slows down, and the power generation is insufficient. The system has switched to battery power to supplement the power, which is close to the safety threshold.”

"So you can't save enough during the day, and you can't make enough at night?" He scratched his head. "I was saving money for the New Year, but the money ran out before the New Year even arrived."

“A priority scheduling system needs to be established,” she said. “Recommendation: During the day, prioritize the use of solar power, and charge the batteries with any excess electricity; at night, prioritize the use of biogas power generation, with the batteries as a backup.”

"Okay," Chen Hao nodded. "But what if there isn't enough biogas?"

“Add a linkage mechanism.” She continued programming, “When the pressure is lower than the set value, automatically shut down unnecessary equipment, such as decorative lights and air circulators.”

The new protocol was uploaded, and the system entered a 48-hour continuous test.

During this period, despite changes in sunlight and fluctuations in the fermentation cycle, the entire station's equipment remained powered without interruption. The control panel ultimately displayed: "Energy supply continuity: 99.8%".

"Wow." Chen Hao looked at the data. "Now we're really not afraid of the dark anymore."

Nana was preparing to file the records when suddenly, she heard a strange noise above her head.

Chen Hao looked up and saw the suspended flowerpot suddenly shake, the anti-gravity device restarting, and the flowerpot falling half a meter before stabilizing. Several newly transplanted vegetable seedlings below were tossed about by the airflow.

"That almost killed my future food supply!" He jumped back. "Another power outage?"

"Instantaneous voltage drop of 0.6 seconds." Nana checked the logs. "This is normal redundancy switching."

“Normal my foot.” He pointed at the flowerpot. “If it had been half a second slower to recover, my row of lettuce would have turned to mush.”

“We have installed voltage regulator modules on each terminal,” she said, “and set highly sensitive devices to slow start mode.”

"Okay." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's have fewer of these 'normal' occurrences in the future."

As evening fell, the setting sun cast a soft golden glow on the solar panels on the roof. The biogas stove burned with a blue flame, cooking a pot of leftover rice. The battery indicator light remained a steady green.

Chen Hao stood in front of the control panel and stretched. The burns on his right arm had scabbed over, and he could move it freely.

"How long can these three systems last?" he asked.

“At the current consumption level, it can operate sustainably for 89 days,” she said. “If external workloads increase, the support capacity is expected to drop to 63 days.”

“That’s enough,” he said. “Tomorrow I can try going a little further.”

He turned and walked briskly towards the residential area. He still held a portable energy meter in his hand, the pointer ticking steadily.

Nana remained in place, continuously monitoring the data stream. The optical mirror flickered, recording: "Triple Energy Synergy Protocol V1.0 deployed successfully."

The control room quieted down, with only the faint hum of the equipment running.

Chen Hao stopped at the door and looked back at the main control panel.

The three signal lines are stably connected, and the green light remains constantly on.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

"Hey," he suddenly said.

Nana turned to him.

"You said..." he paused, "If I forget to charge my phone one day, would you secretly plug it in?"

Nana said, "You never return the detector on time."