Rainwater streamed down the door frame, and Chen Hao's shoes smacked against the floor. He shook the water droplets off his coat, glanced back at the collapsed rubble wall, and frowned deeply.
“This wall came down at the worst possible time,” Carl said, pulling the door shut behind him. “But it wasn’t entirely useless.”
"You mean the materials can still be salvaged?" Susan shook the rain off her notebook and turned to a blank page.
Nana had returned to the control panel, her tablet lit up. She swiped her finger across the screen, bringing up the design drawings generated the night before. "Hybrid Defense System v1.1 has entered the construction preparation phase; the next step is to calculate material requirements."
"Let's calculate it." Chen Hao walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and said, "Let's write down exactly how much is missing."
Nana nodded and accessed the database. A few seconds later, the projection switched, and a detailed bill of materials appeared on the wall. The title was: **Comparison Table of Building Material Demand and Inventory for Each Section of the Fence**.
“Section A, North Zone core wall,” she began to read. “Steel, standard I-beams, six meters long, twelve in total. Current inventory—three.”
"Nine pieces short," Susan noted.
"Cement, grade 425, requires 0.8 cubic meters per column, totaling 9.6 cubic meters. Current inventory: 0.7 cubic meters."
The room fell silent for a moment.
"So, the cement is only enough to support one pillar?" Karl looked up. "And a short one at that?"
“To be precise,” Nana said, “0.7 cubic meters can complete about 8.7% of the overall pouring task.”
“That’s the same as nothing.” Carl slammed the measuring tape on the table. “We can’t even finish the foundation.”
“Section B, central steel frame infill wall,” Nana continued, “requires twenty sets of lightweight steel frame units and one hundred and forty connectors. We currently have six sets and thirty-eight connectors in stock.”
“Less than a third.” Susan closed her notebook. “That doesn’t even include shipping and assembly losses.”
“Section C, rammed earth wall in the south area.” Nana turned the page. “The total amount of clay needed is 360 kilograms, and the current estimated amount that can be collected is 140 kilograms. Two hundred kilograms of crushed bricks are needed as aggregate, and there are currently 85 kilograms available. The raw material for the waterproof coating is a mixture of beeswax and tung oil, and the current beeswax inventory is zero.”
"You can't even do a coating?" Chen Hao asked.
“We cannot produce it according to the standard ratio,” Nana said. “We are searching for alternatives.”
“Stop investigating.” Carl stood up. “We don’t even have enough soil right now, let alone a coating. This wall can’t be built.”
No one responded.
Chen Hao stared at the whiteboard, at the row of red numbers, all of which were "missing". He suddenly chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Susan asked him.
“I’m thinking, are we taking this too seriously?” Chen Hao scratched his head. “We clearly don’t have the necessary conditions, yet we’ve drawn such detailed diagrams, making it seem like it can actually be built.”
“The design must be precise,” Nana said. “If the error exceeds five percent, the structural safety will be out of control.”
"I'm not saying you miscalculated," Chen Hao waved his hand. "I'm saying...didn't we get it backwards from the start?"
"What do you mean?" Susan asked.
“We drew the diagrams first, then looked for materials,” Chen Hao said, pointing to the whiteboard. “Shouldn’t a normal person first look at what they have on hand before deciding what they can do?”
“But the drawing is already done,” Carl said. “Do you want to tear it up and start over?”
“Don’t tear it.” Chen Hao drew a circle next to the A-section with his pen. “But we need to change our approach. Since there aren’t enough materials outside, let’s see if there’s anything we can dismantle at the base.”
"You mean... recycling?" Susan realized.
“Yes.” Chen Hao walked to the projector and pointed to the east. “The wall of scrap metal that was just knocked down had a lot of old steel bars and sheet metal inside. And the pile of scrapped equipment behind the warehouse, the supports are all made of alloy. The main cabin connecting pipes are also rusted, but they can be replaced and used.”
“Those things are long gone,” Carl said.
“Scrapped doesn’t mean useless,” Chen Hao said. “We’re not building a spaceship, we’re building a wall. As long as it can withstand the wind, it’s fine.”
Nana quickly pulled up the base's structural diagram and marked the dismantled areas. "Preliminary statistics show that there are approximately 4.2 meters of potentially recyclable steel, seven pieces of sheet metal, three of which are more than 70% intact. There are also two locations with old cement blocks, totaling about 1.1 cubic meters, which can be crushed and reused."
“Even all of them combined aren’t enough,” Carl said.
“But more than now,” Chen Hao said. “At least enough to start construction on the foundation in the North District. If that’s not enough, we’ll look for more outside.”
“It’s not that easy to find outside,” Susan said. “The metal buildings within 20 kilometers have already been searched several times over.”
“This time is different,” Chen Hao said. “Before, we were just searching blindly, but now we know what we need. Nana can make a list of targets, and we’ll get straight to the point.”
Nana immediately updated the data, adding a new row below the bill of materials: **Estimated Value of Recyclable Resources**.
She added, "Some non-load-bearing structures can be replaced with alternative materials. For example, the B-section connectors can be replaced with reinforcing rivets or bolt sets if the strength meets the requirements."
"So that means there are some places where you don't necessarily have to use original parts?" Chen Hao asked.
“Yes,” Nana said. “As long as the stress distribution is reasonable, the temporary structure can maintain stability.”
“Then there’s hope.” Chen Hao wrote the title of the new plan on the whiteboard: “Step 1: Demolish the old and build the new.”
He circled the waste pile, old equipment area, and damaged compartments on the east side. "Starting tomorrow, clear these three areas first. Dismantle everything that can be dismantled, and sort and stack it. Nana will be in charge of registering and storing it, Susan will record availability, and Carl will bring tools to check the condition of the materials."
"What should I do?" Nana asked.
“You’re the most important,” Chen Hao said. “We’ll be revising the design as we calculate. Every time we find a piece of iron, you adjust the parameters to see how close we are to the target.”
Nana nodded, and the screen began scrolling with new data.
Susan opened her notebook and began drawing a simple map of the base, marking several areas with symbols. "I can go scout it out first and see which materials are the easiest to dismantle."
"Don't go alone," Chen Hao said. "At least go in pairs."
“I’ll go with her,” Carl said, “and see if we have enough tools.”
“Okay.” Chen Hao drew a progress bar on the whiteboard, starting from 0%. “Calculate how much is missing today, and start dismantling tomorrow. We’re not looking for speed, we’re looking for stability.”
Nana suddenly raised her hand, and the projection switched.
The new screen displays a summary of the building material shortage ratio:
- Steel: 78% shortage
- Cement: 92% short
- Clay: 60% missing
- Waterproofing materials: 100% unavailable
The bottom line of small print reads: **Minimum construction start threshold: Foundation work can only begin when all main materials have reached 65% of their required quantity.**
“We’re far behind,” Susan said.
“Then let’s try our best to get closer.” Chen Hao picked up a red pen and drew a line on the threshold line. “Let’s aim for this goal first. Even if we only get one more brick, it’s still progress.”
“The problem is,” Carl looked at the cement column, “that going from 0.7 to 1.0 sounds like a lot more, but it’s still not enough to build a single pillar.”
"But it makes me feel better psychologically," Chen Hao said. "Sometimes, people just need a burst of energy to get things done. If you lose that energy, you can't do anything."
"Are you trying to encourage everyone right now?" Susan chuckled.
"Otherwise what?" Chen Hao shrugged. "I can't do math, I can only talk."
Nana looked at them and suddenly said, "Calculations show that if the A-section is shortened by ten meters, the core area can still cover the main buildings, while the demand for steel will decrease by 23% and cement by 18%."
"You can change it like this?" Susan leaned closer.
“Okay,” Nana said. “Sacrificing some outer protection in exchange for the integrity of the core structure. I suggest prioritizing the command center, energy room, and water storage area.”
"Then the north wall has become shorter?" Carl asked.
“Yes,” Nana said, “but it’s stronger.”
“Better short than nothing,” Chen Hao said immediately. “Revise the drawings and calculate it this way.”
Nana began adjusting the model. A few seconds later, new data popped up:
- Steel demand has fallen to a 61% shortage.
- Cement demand drops to a 78% shortage.
“It’s still not enough,” Carl said.
“But it’s better than before.” Chen Hao pointed to the numbers. “Look, just by shrinking it by ten meters, we’ve moved forward one step. It shows that there are always more solutions than problems.”
"The prerequisite is that someone is willing to make the move," Susan said.
"Then everyone should go to bed early tonight." Chen Hao put the pen back in the pen holder. "We'll start work at six tomorrow. Whoever is late will be responsible for digging the first shovelful."
“You definitely won’t be able to get up,” Carl said.
“I’ll set five alarms,” Chen Hao said. “Even if it’s too loud, I’ll get up.”
Nana continued updating the table, adding a new line of bold text at the bottom:
**Action Plan Confirmed: Internal material recycling will commence tomorrow, with priority given to the waste pile and old equipment area in the East Zone.**
Susan looked down to write down the division of labor, then suddenly looked up: "Wait, what about the clay? Just dismantling the metal lumps won't solve this problem."
“It’s underground,” Nana said. “Soil radar scans 50 meters to the west show a clay layer 80 centimeters underground, with an estimated reserve of 200 kilograms.”
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chen Hao's eyes lit up.
“The excavation is quite difficult,” Nana said. “The surface layer is a mixture of gravel and soil, and we need to remove the 30-centimeter-thick layer of covering first.”
“Then let’s dig,” Chen Hao said. “We’re just killing time anyway.”
Carl stood up and picked up a wrench from the table: "The tools need to be checked. The cutting machine hasn't been repaired since it was last used."
"Go and take inventory," Chen Hao said. "Make a list of what's missing, and we'll see if we can fix it."
“Okay.” Carl walked toward the tool shed. “Hopefully I won’t have to break sheet metal with my bare hands.”
Susan closed her notebook and stood up: "I'll go see if the rain has stopped. If it clears up tonight, we can start work tomorrow morning."
Chen Hao stood in front of the whiteboard, looking at the string of red "missing" entries, then at the newly added action items. He picked up a pen and wrote a line at the bottom:
**Step 1: Demolition and Renovation – Work begins tomorrow**
Outside the window, the rain was still falling.
Nana's screen flickered, and a new notification popped up:
**High ambient humidity is expected to reduce outdoor work efficiency by 40%.**
She didn't say anything, but simply added the message to the notes section.
Chen Hao turned around and grabbed the coat hanging on the back of the chair.
"You all go about your business," he said. "I'm going to find some rain boots, so that everyone doesn't catch a cold as soon as we start work tomorrow."
He opened the door, and a cold wind rushed in, causing the pages on the whiteboard to sway gently.
Raindrops fell on the threshold, splashing up a small patch of water.
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