Chen Hao placed the instant noodle bowl on the counter, the broth sloshing around without spilling. He stared at the status bar on the main control screen; the green progress bar was fully extended, as steady as a block of iron.

“Alright,” he said. “Stop looking at it, it’s not going to suddenly start dancing.”

Susan didn't move, her fingers still hovering above the keyboard. That flash was too faint, like an illusion, but she knew it wasn't. Equipment doesn't have emotions, but people remember pain. The machine, having been shocked once, now knew to give a heads-up.

Nana's voice came from behind the terminal: "The phase calibration of the first batch of ten devices is complete, the parameters have been locked, and the template can be generated."

"Hurry up and get it done." Chen Hao grabbed a pen and crossed out the first row on the list. "The second batch of twenty units, start with the production lines in the production area. Anyway, we're not worried about them tripping now."

Carl stood up, his legs a little stiff, and used the edge of the table for support. He glanced at the readings on the distribution cabinet: "Is the load balanced? Connecting so many at once, aren't you worried about it exploding?"

"It won't explode." Chen Hao grinned. "We're now doing civilized electrification, shaking hands before supplying power, more polite than a blind date."

Susan finally let go and leaned back in her chair: "Let's start them up in batches, according to priority. Oxygen supply, lighting, data nodes, thirty seconds apart for each batch, don't let the power supply run out of steam."

"We'll do it your way." Chen Hao nodded. "You write the procedures, and I'll call the people in."

Nana had already pushed over a set of configuration files. More than a dozen access requests from standby devices popped up on the screen, each green dot lighting up like people queuing to enter a subway station during rush hour.

"Start?" she asked.

"Start." Chen Hao slapped the confirmation button.

When the first oxygen supply module was connected, the voltage curve dipped slightly, but this was immediately compensated for by the energy storage unit. There were no alarms or fluctuations. The second lighting system followed suit, and the current climbed steadily. The third data node successfully synchronized, with latency decreasing by 12%.

Five minutes later, all thirteen devices were running on the new energy source. The energy consumption graph on the main control screen changed color; the red area of ​​the old power grid gradually shrank back, and the blue-green new energy flow covered it.

“It’s decreased by thirty-eight percent,” Susan read out the numbers. “Energy consumption has decreased by thirty-eight percent, and the response time has increased by twelve percent.”

"Isn't this even better than finding money?" Chen Hao laughed. "The electricity saved is enough for us to run two more refrigerators, so we can stock up on spicy snacks from now on."

No one responded, but the corners of their mouths relaxed.

Carl stared at the oscilloscope, and after confirming there were no abnormal peaks, he slowly sat back down in his chair. He opened his notebook and ticked off the "Running Status" column. The movement was slow, but the writing was clear and deliberate.

"What's next?" Susan turned her head.

“Expand the application.” Chen Hao picked up a marker and walked to the whiteboard. “We can’t just stick to these few machines. There are so many pieces of equipment at the base; they all need to be replaced.”

He quickly wrote down several areas: processing area, storage area, ventilation and circulation area, and backup power compartment.

"Complete overhaul?" Karl frowned. "Can the energy storage hold up? With the current number of tanks, we can only store at most twice the required amount."

“I know.” Chen Hao continued writing, “but we have a surplus of 19 units of electricity every day, which is enough to buffer the situation for a while. Let’s make the changes first, and build energy storage facilities as we go.”

He turned to Nana: "Show me the output and consumption simulation chart from the past 72 hours."

The screen changes, and a gently rising curve runs across the screen, with a shadow below indicating "available surplus".

“Look, we’re not dirt poor,” Chen Hao pointed. “We can fight as long as we have surplus grain.”

Susan typed a few lines of commands, generating a progress tracking sheet. "Progress report at the daily morning meeting?" she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Every morning at nine o’clock, we lay out everything: who did what, where the problem is. We don’t play the game of hiding things.”

"What about the construction team?" Carl asked again. "Did they know this wasn't about fixing a malfunction?"

“I’ve already said that,” Chen Hao sat down. “This isn’t a repair, it’s an upgrade. From now on, our electricity here will pair automatically, just like a phone connecting to Wi-Fi, without needing to fight with power strips.”

Susan suddenly looked up: "That backup energy storage tank in Sector C, which was originally connected to a secondary capacitor, should we also add a calibration module to it?"

“Add them,” Chen Hao said decisively. “Every single one of them, including ‘Little Blue,’ is indispensable.”

As soon as the words were spoken, a prompt appeared on the main control screen: Uneven load distribution, it is recommended to adjust the output rhythm.

Several people looked over at the same time.

"Didn't we agree on standardized parameters?" Karl frowned.

“The parameters are fine.” Nana quickly pulled up the logs. “It’s a problem with the startup timings overlapping. Three devices requested access at the same millisecond, causing a brief congestion in the scheduling system.”

"Oh," Chen Hao realized, "They're hogging the internet speed."

"It can be understood as a competition for resources," Nana added.

“Then let’s change the process.” Susan immediately got to work. “Add a random delay so they can go online at different times and avoid being overwhelmed.”

"Smart." Chen Hao watched her operate the machine. "If all human workers were this self-disciplined, that would be great."

A few minutes later, the problem was solved. The green line filled the screen again.

Chen Hao stood up, walked around to the other side of the main control panel, and opened the master equipment list. Of the forty-seven devices, thirteen were already in stable green status, twenty were marked "awaiting modification," and the remaining twelve were temporarily frozen.

"Let's move on these twenty first," he said. "Prioritize them according to their impact. Anyone have any objections?"

No one spoke.

"Then it's settled." He picked up the walkie-talkie. "Construction team, prepare to move in. This time, we won't demolish the walls, just run the wiring. The new drawings will be sent to you soon."

He put down the walkie-talkie and turned to Nana: "Has the batch configuration file been pushed out?"

“It’s done,” she said. “All the equipment to be modified has received the standard template.”

"Okay." Chen Hao rubbed his face. "Next, we just need to keep a close eye on the process of each platform going online. Don't let any guy sneak in any quirks."

Susan began compiling data reports for tomorrow's morning meeting. She created charts based on the efficiency improvement data, titled "First Phase Results Verification."

Carl then pulled out a sketchbook and began drawing the new energy tank structure on it. He drew slowly, pausing every now and then to rub his legs.

"Take a break," Chen Hao glanced at him. "Don't weld yourself to your chair."

“It’s nothing.” Karl didn’t even look up. “I’m thinking about how to expand energy storage. If we can stack three layers of capacitor banks, the capacity will at least double.”

"You want to build a nuclear power plant?" Chen Hao laughed.

“I want to sleep,” Carl said, looking up. “But I don’t want to be woken up by the alarm in the middle of the night.”

Just then, the main control screen flashed.

The status bars of all running devices were refreshed simultaneously.

The green light is still on.

But this time, the update time was accurate to the millisecond level, and the order was clear—like some kind of tacit agreement.

"Are they... in sync?" Susan said softly.

“It’s not synchronization,” Nana said. “It’s confirming each other’s presence. After each capacitor switch, the connected device broadcasts a heartbeat signal to the network.”

"So now... they can greet each other?" Chen Hao raised an eyebrow.

"That's one way to understand it."

"Oh my!" Chen Hao laughed. "My appliances have come to life."

“That’s a good thing,” Susan said, looking at the screen. “It means the system has started self-maintenance.”

"As long as they don't go on strike one day and demand social insurance and housing fund benefits, it's fine," Chen Hao muttered.

He stood up, walked to the main control panel, and checked the status of one of the lighting units.

"Just do your job honestly and don't overthink it."

The screen is not responding.

But he always felt that the light might blink the next second.

"Has the second batch of names been finalized?" Susan asked.

"It's confirmed." Chen Hao opened the file. "Three production lines in the processing area, plus the main ventilation control and two backup nodes. We'll start work first thing tomorrow morning."

"Are there enough materials?"

“That’s enough,” he said. “If that’s not enough, we’ll tear down the old ones. Anyway, we know how to treat ‘electroconvulsions’ now.”

Karl looked up: "Once this batch of modifications is finished, can we consider expanding energy storage?"

"Absolutely." Chen Hao nodded. "The drawings you make might actually come to fruition."

“Then I’ll draw a few more tonight,” Carl said, then lowered his head again.

Susan closed her laptop and stretched. She glanced at the time; it was almost one in the morning.

"I'll go get a glass of hot water," she said.

"Don't burn yourself," Chen Hao casually replied. "We've finally achieved some success, we can't let a sip of hot water make us look stupid."

She snorted and walked out.

Nana is still monitoring the overall situation, her optical lens flickering faintly, while the load prediction model continues to run in the background.

Chen Hao sat at the control panel, flipping through the list of the second batch of equipment. His eyes were a little sore, but his mind was still clear.

On the screen, thirteen green lights were quietly lit.

Like a city that has just been lit up.

“From now on, this thing,” he said in a low voice, “will be called the main power source.”

He reached out and tapped the icon at the top of the screen.

The label that originally read "Test Power Supply" has been manually changed to "Official Operation" by him.

As my fingertip left, the words flickered slightly.