The wind was still blowing, and the blades spun at a leisurely pace, as if indulging in someone's expectations. The voltmeter pointer remained steadily at 0.23, motionless, as if mocking the earlier enthusiasm for hand-rubbing the bearing.
Chen Hao squatted on the ground, a file in his hand, grinding the edge of the aluminum strip. Metal shavings curled into small spirals and landed on his oil-stained shoes.
"You say the wind is blowing really hard, so why isn't much of it getting into the generator?" he asked without looking up.
Nana stood beside her, her eyes gleaming slightly, as if a data stream was constantly flowing behind her. "There are three loss points in the energy transfer path," she said. "The current priority is to reduce transmission friction, followed by reconstructing the electromagnetic circuit."
"It sounds like I have to take a doctoral dissertation exam before I even finish elementary school." Chen Hao stopped what he was doing and shook his sore wrist. "But we don't have a choice, right? We can't expect it to evolve into a perpetual motion machine on its own."
“Perpetual motion machines violate the law of conservation of energy,” Nana said. “However, we can make existing structures closer to theoretical efficiency.”
"Can't you speak like a normal person?" He rolled his eyes, then lowered his head and continued nagging. "Like, 'Let's figure out the bearings first'?"
"I suggest starting with the bearing's sealing performance and the stability of the lubricating medium." She paused. "The grease you just used does have some drag-reducing effect, but it is prone to oxidation and has a short lifespan, making it unsuitable for long-term operation."
"So we still have to change it?" Chen Hao sighed. "I thought that rubbing your hands together to warm them up was the pinnacle of human wisdom."
“Your body temperature did temporarily reduce the static friction coefficient,” Nana nodded. “But from an engineering perspective, it is still an emergency measure.”
"Alright." He stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "Let's split up. You go figure out how to keep the generator from slacking off, and I'll find a reliable home for this broken shaft."
Nana glanced at him, her pupils contracting slightly, as if she had brought up a new interface. "Accept task assignment, begin optimizing the solution design."
The two entered the tool shed one after the other. The light was an old-fashioned fluorescent tube that flickered a few times before fully illuminating, making the pile of parts on the table look like newly unearthed artifacts.
Chen Hao pulled out a few scrap blueprints and spread them on the table. He then dragged over a modified holographic projector from the corner. It was called a holographic projector, but it was actually just a disassembled and reassembled wrecked navigation device that could barely project a three-dimensional outline.
“I want to make a sealed support,” he muttered as he sketched. “Wrap it in an old rubber ring, stuff some ball bearings inside, and then secure it with recycled steel plates. What do you think?”
Nana glanced at it and immediately shook her head. "The structure is under uneven stress distribution. When the wind speed exceeds level four, the connection points will be subjected to shear stress exceeding the material's yield strength."
"What do you mean?"
"It will break."
"Oh." Chen Hao scratched his head. "Then should I make it thicker?"
“Local thickening cannot solve the stress concentration problem.” She tapped her finger, and the projector hummed, displaying a dynamic model in the air. Red areas flashed continuously, marking the most vulnerable points to fracture.
“Look here, the torque transmission path is asymmetrical, causing the right-side support beam to be overloaded,” she said. “If the current design is maintained, structural failure is expected after twelve hours of operation.”
"Twelve hours? That's still better than my current state where I can't even last three minutes." Chen Hao stared at the model for a long time, then suddenly grinned. "Wait, how about we skip the symmetry? The wind doesn't always come from directly in front anyway."
"Propose an asymmetric reinforcement scheme?" Nana's eyes lit up slightly. "Please explain the specific concept."
“Look,” he said, scribbling on the paper, “I shifted the support point slightly to the windward side and then used a hydraulic rod to fix it at an angle. It looks a bit like a crooked tree. It’s ugly, but it’s very wind-resistant.”
Nana paused for two seconds, then brought up the simulation program. The wind speed was set to level five, with the direction fluctuating randomly. The results showed that the peak stress of the eccentric structure decreased by nearly 40%.
“It’s feasible,” she said. “Using an eccentric reinforcement scheme, combined with diagonal supports, can improve overall durability.”
"I knew my brain wasn't for nothing," Chen Hao said smugly, slapping the table. "Next, it's time to find the materials."
They ransacked the warehouse, sifting through a pile of scrapped machinery and finding a few still-usable hydraulic rods. They also salvaged a crash plate from a broken-down transport truck. Chen Hao nearly tripped over the threshold when he carried the plate back, panting as if he'd run three kilometers.
"You tell me, this isn't building windmills, it's more like we're trying to survive in a garbage dump." He leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
“Resource reuse is a basic survival skill.” Nana took the steel plate and used a laser ruler to measure the cutting line. “Your current physical exertion has exceeded 182 percent of your average daily activity level.”
"Can you calculate a little less?" he slumped into the stool. "So I don't feel like I'm completely useless."
Three hours later, the first version of the bearing bracket was finally completed. The welds were crooked and uneven, like a drunkard's signature, but at least the structure was intact.
"Next, the power generation unit." Chen Hao wiped his sweat. "How's it going on your end?"
Nana was lying on the ground fiddling with a bunch of copper wires. "It has been confirmed that the total length of usable wire is sufficient to wind a double-layered coil," she said. "At the same time, adjusting the angle of the permanent magnet to the optimal magnetic flux density range is expected to improve the electromagnetic conversion efficiency by about 22 percent."
"So, the voltage can rise from 0.23 to... about 0.3?" Chen Hao counted on his fingers. "It still doesn't sound like enough to light the bulb."
"This is a phased improvement," she said. "System optimization needs to be carried out step by step."
"Alright, every little bit helps." He sighed. "Then get to work, I'll install this new bearing."
It was already dark when I returned to the courtyard. The wind was stronger than during the day, causing the leaves to sway gently and make a creaking sound.
They first removed the old bearing, only to find that the mounting holes of the new bracket did not match the original base.
"It's off by two millimeters." Chen Hao measured it again and again with a ruler. "It's just that tiny bit off."
“Manual enlargement is sufficient.” Nana took out a laser positioning pen and marked the new hole position on the steel plate. “The accuracy error should be controlled within 0.1 millimeters.”
“The problem is that our hand drill has too low power.” He tried twice, and the drill bit got stuck as soon as it touched the metal. “If this continues, we won’t finish drilling a hole by dawn.”
“Switch to the impact method.” Nana handed him a punch and a hammer. “Use the positioning marks and hammer the shape gradually.”
Chen Hao rolled up his sleeves and began hammering away. At first, his rhythm was unsteady, and his hands went numb, but he gradually found his footing, and each blow landed precisely on the marked center.
Sweat trickled down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging them so much he kept blinking. He simply pulled down the hem of his t-shirt to wipe his face, revealing his round belly, which glistened oily under the dim light.
"If my old classmates saw me like this, would they even recognize me?" he said, chuckling as he tapped the door. "Back then, I couldn't even cheat on exams, but now I can design my own bearing bracket?"
“Cognitive abilities improve with practical needs,” Nana said. “Your current understanding of spatial structures has reached the basic level required for high school physics competitions.”
"Just say you want to praise me, why do you have to write it like a robot writing a review?"
By the time the last hole was drilled, the east was already beginning to lighten.
They worked together to install the new bracket and then re-secured the spindle. They were extremely careful throughout the process, afraid of causing another mishap if they used too much force.
"Give it a try?" Chen Hao took a few steps back and looked up at the windmill.
A gust of wind swept by, and the leaves began to turn slowly. There was no hesitation or strange noise; they turned much more smoothly than before.
Nana turned on the testing terminal, and the current fluctuation curve on the screen was noticeably more stable.
"The temperature rise of the transmission section has decreased by 37 percent," she said. "The reduced frictional power consumption initially verifies the effectiveness of the structural optimization."
"So, the wind isn't just wasting its energy fighting the machine anymore?" Chen Hao grinned. "Looks like there's still hope for our 'advanced fan'?"
"The first phase objective has been achieved." Nana nodded. "Next step: prepare for the upgrade of the power generation unit."
Chen Hao stretched, his bones cracking. He looked down at his greasy hands, then looked up at the still-turning blades, and suddenly felt that this broken windmill wasn't so hopeless after all.
“Then you should hurry up and fix your generator,” he said. “I’ll go and sort out the remaining copper wire. And while I’m at it… see if there’s anything else in the warehouse that I can take apart.”
Nana turned and walked towards the workbench, her steps still unnaturally steady. Chen Hao followed behind, groaning out of tune.
The sunlight gradually climbed up the courtyard wall, shining on the base of the windmill and revealing a fresh welding mark.
He squatted down, picked up his notebook, and ticked the box next to "bearing modification".
Then turn to the next page and write a line:
**Next step: Make sure the generator stops playing dead.**
He paused for a moment, then added:
"If it dares to go on strike, I'll dismantle it and sell it as scrap metal."
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