Chapter 150

When Su Jing pushed open the heavy iron door on the first floor of the villa, the metal hinges creaked open with a dull thud.

This door was frozen solid during the extreme cold, and it was just thawed with warm water yesterday. Now, when I touch the doorknob, I can feel a little warmth; it's no longer the biting cold it was before.

Outside the door, robots number 3, 4, and 5 were lined up, their robotic arms holding ice-breaking claws, reinforcement wrenches, and fishing nets respectively. Xiao Jin squatted at Su Jing's feet, its short golden hair ruffled by the wind. A voice in her mind spoke first: "Su Jing, there are a lot of ice shards in the river! I just looked out the window and saw a big piece of ice stuck on the riverbank. Will it break the dam?"

She didn't rush to respond, but first walked to the embankment of the moat—the river was about 5 meters wide, and most of the thick ice that had formed earlier had melted, leaving only a few scattered remnants of ice floating on the surface.

The most dangerous part is on the east side of the dam, where a half-meter-thick piece of ice is stuck between the dam and the water. The ice has cracked and is slowly sliding down as the meltwater hits it. If it falls into the water, it may damage the drainage outlet at the bottom of the dam.

"Number 3, use the ice picks to break that piece of ice first, keep the force at 50N, and don't damage the dam."

Number 4: The robotic arm supports the ice block to prevent ice fragments from falling directly into the drain; Number 5: Prepare the net to scoop up the ice fragments as soon as they break apart and bring them to the shore to prevent blockage.

Su Jing gave the order into the communicator, pointing her finger at the piece of broken ice, her eyes fixed on the cracks in the ice.

Robot No. 3 immediately moved to the edge of the dam. The ice-breaking claw at the front of the robotic arm opened and precisely locked onto the crack in the remaining ice. With a soft "click", the ice-breaking claw exerted force, and the remaining ice instantly cracked into three pieces.

Robot No. 4's robotic arm promptly caught the largest piece and gently placed it on the embankment, while Robot No. 5 pushed a net to scoop up the ice fragments from the water, piling them onto the open ground on the shore.

The melting ice shards could replenish the water in the moat. Su Jing had already calculated this and specifically asked No. 5 to set aside an area to store them to avoid waste.

"Su Jing! There's another piece of ice down there! It's hidden in the water, Number 3 didn't see it earlier!"

Xiao Jin suddenly ran to the edge of the dam, pointing with his little paws at the faint shadows beneath the water's surface, his voice filled with urgency.

Su Jing immediately instructed No. 3 to use scanning light to detect the ice. Sure enough, the screen showed "There is a 0.3m x 0.2m piece of residual ice 1 meter underwater, which is closely attached to the dam body".

"Number 3, change to a net, slowly lower it underwater, and hook up the ice, being careful not to damage the dam's waterproof layer."

She adjusted the commands, and Robot No. 3 switched tools. The net slowly sank into the water, precisely hooking onto the remaining ice and scooping it ashore. Several small, frozen fish were still clinging to the ice. Little Gold curiously touched it with its paw, then immediately withdrew, muttering in its mind, "So cold! Colder than the ice in the space!"

After clearing away the remaining ice, Su Jing turned to the outer metal protective netting—

This 2-meter-high metal mesh surrounds the entire yard of the villa. It became brittle from the extreme cold, and now, as the ice melts and washes away the ice, the mesh in the southeast corner has become somewhat loose, with bits of melted ice still hanging between the mesh.

"No. 4, use a tightening wrench to tighten the loose screws, and adjust the torque of each screw to 30 N·m; No. 3, spray rust remover on the joints of the mesh to prevent rusting and breakage when extremely hot."

Su Jing walked over and shook the loose mesh with her hand. The mesh made a "rustling" sound. She instructed No. 4: "Take it off and realign it first, then tighten the screws. Otherwise, if the mesh is crooked, it won't keep out the animals outside."

Robot No. 4 followed suit, first removing the loose screws, aligning the mesh with the holes on the column, and then tightening them one by one with a wrench. After each screw was tightened, the display screen would pop up a message saying "Torque met".

Number 3 carried the rust remover and sprayed it onto the joints of the mesh panels. The white foam covered the rust and slowly dissolved the oxide layer.

Little Jin squatted down beside her, helping to pick up the small screws that had fallen to the ground. He used his paws to push the screws to Su Jing's feet, and his inner voice boasted, "Su Jing, look! I picked up two screws! I didn't let them fall into the grass!"

More than half an hour had passed since the protective netting was finished. The sun was even stronger than in the morning. Su Jing reached out and touched the wall of the villa, feeling its intense heat.

The temperature has only just started to rise. If it reaches 60°C, the wall temperature could exceed 50°C. We must install sunshades in key areas as soon as possible.

"Number 5, go and bring over the materials for the three sunshade awnings in the garage. First, install the windows on the second floor and the supply shed on the first floor; Numbers 3 and 4, come with me, first set up the support frame on the second floor. The windows face due south and must completely block out the sunlight."

Su Jing turned and walked towards the garage. Xiao Jin trotted after her, muttering, "Should we put it outside the window? Won't it get blown away by the wind?"

"It will be secured with windproof ropes, so don't worry."

Su Jing opened the garage door, inside which were five sets of awning materials neatly stacked. She asked number 5 to bring out three sets first, then picked up the frame parts for one set and walked towards the balcony on the second floor of the villa.

The second floor has three south-facing windows, so the sun shines directly in from morning to afternoon. Once the temperature rises, heat will accumulate indoors, affecting the cooling effect of the operating room.

Robot No. 3 first drilled holes in the walls on both sides of the window and inserted expansion screws. Robot No. 4 then fixed the aluminum alloy bracket to the screws. The robotic arm precisely positioned the bracket to ensure that the angle between the bracket and the wall was 45 degrees, which could completely cover the window.

Su Jing stood on the edge of the balcony and used a level to calibrate the support: "Adjust it by 1 degree. It's a bit crooked now, and the sunlight will come in from the side."

Robot No. 4 fine-tunes its robotic arm, the bubble on the level indicator is centered, and the display screen pops up "Angle meets standard, shading coverage area 100%".

Next, number 5 handed over the sunshade cloth, and numbers 3 and 4 worked together to unfold the cloth and secure it to the bracket with clips.

Once the silver-gray sunshade was unfolded, it acted like a giant shield, instantly blocking the direct sunlight and causing the temperature on the balcony floor to drop noticeably.

"We also need to set up a supply shed on the first floor, which will contain gasoline and spare parts, which are prone to problems under high temperatures."

Su Jing went down to the first floor and pointed to the metal supply shed in the corner of the yard—the shed contained 500-liter gasoline drums and spare parts for robots. The sun was shining directly on the roof of the shed, and the temperature inside had reached 28°C.

Numbers 3 and 4 quickly erected small sunshades on the roof, with shade cloth covering the entire roof and extending 1 meter outwards to prevent sunlight from shining in from the side.

Su Jing went into the shed and used a thermometer to check the temperature. The temperature slowly dropped to 24℃. She nodded in satisfaction: "Check the buckles again to make sure they won't be blown off by the strong wind."

Finally, Su Jing led the robot and Xiao Jin to inspect the entire perimeter: the moat was free of ice and the drainage outlets were unobstructed;

The metal protective netting is secure and not loose; the sunshades for the second-floor windows and the supply shed are properly installed and provide adequate shading.

Even the lintel of the villa's main gate was covered with a small piece of sunshade to prevent the sunlight from shining directly on the doorknob and causing the metal to get hot.

She took out her communicator, opened the external surveillance screen, confirmed that every corner was within the monitoring range, and then glanced at the real-time temperature—the outdoor temperature had reached 22℃, 7℃ higher than yesterday, and the extreme heat was getting closer and closer.

"All the protective measures are in place, now we just have to wait for the extreme heat."

Su Jing breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Jin nuzzled her hand, its voice in her mind filled with reassurance: "Now the spirit herb and the little deer are safe! Even if it's hot outside, our home will be cool!"

Su Jing smiled and nodded, knowing that this was only the first step in dealing with the extreme heat. Next, she would have to keep a close eye on the operation of the cooling equipment to ensure that everything was in perfect working order.