The lights were still on.
Chen Hao stared at the indicator lights on the control panel, the yellowish-white light reflecting on his face. He rubbed his hands together. "Can we really get the generator up and running tonight?"
“Theoretically, it is possible.” Nana stood next to the equipment, her finger sliding across the terminal. “Eighty percent of the energy conduit connection is complete, and the smelting module is preheated.”
“What do you mean by ‘theoretically’?” Carl squatted on the ground, tightening a screw in his hand. “It’s either possible or it’s not.”
"The system is running stably," Nana said. "As long as the core valve group is successfully connected, the local power supply can be extended to the living area."
Susan took a wrench from the tool rack. "Then stop talking and get to the last part."
Carl put on his goggles. "I'll connect the tubing. I'm familiar with this connector."
Chen Hao took two steps back. "If you reverse the wires again, our base will have to rely on whistling to generate electricity."
“Last time it was because the wiring was old,” Karl said without looking up. “It wasn’t my problem.”
“You insisted that you could determine polarity by touch,” Susan shook her head, “and the sparks were like fireworks.”
“This time it’s different.” Karl picked up a metal tube. “This is the last section of the energy conduit. Once it’s connected, we can test it.”
Nana scanned the interface location and said, "It is recommended to use the standard torque, with an error not exceeding 3.5 Nm."
“I know.” Carl wiped his brow. “Don’t stand there reading the data, I’m nervous.”
Nana didn't move, her eyes flickered slightly, and she continued monitoring the parameters.
Carl bit down on the corner of his mask and aimed the tube at the valve. He pushed hard, but it wouldn't go in.
"It's a bit laggy," he said.
“Check the alignment angle,” Nana reminded.
“I know what to do.” Carl frowned. “This interface looks like an xG type, but it’s a bit wider than the usual one.”
“The model number is confirmed as xG-7R,” Nana said. “The match rate is 99.6 percent.”
“That’s about right.” Carl took a deep breath. “I’ll add some pressure.”
"Don't force it in." Nana raised her voice by half an octave. "The structural stress has reached a critical value."
"Just one more time." Carl exerted force with both hands, his knees pressing against the outer casing of the device, and with a "click," the interface finally engaged.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did you connect?" Chen Hao leaned closer.
“It’s connected.” Carl grinned. “See? Feel is the most important thing.”
Nana is still being scanned. "Warning: Abnormal internal resonant frequency, microdeformation in the duct."
“It’s alright.” Karl patted the machine. “It’ll be back to normal after running under pressure for a while.”
Susan walked to the control panel. "Should we start it now?"
"Wait until I get out." Carl crawled back. "Power on in three seconds."
Chen Hao pressed the communication button: "Attention everyone, prepare to test the power supply, countdown three, two, one—"
Susan pressed the start button.
The machine hummed, and the sound of electricity spread along the pipes. The lights in the main hall suddenly turned on for a moment, then several went out, leaving a few flickering.
"Voltage is unstable!" Susan stared at the dashboard.
"Cut off the power!" Nana suddenly shouted.
Chen Hao lunged at the main switch and pulled it down.
The machine stopped.
The repair area quieted down.
Carl got up from the ground. "What happened?"
Nana has already turned on the detector. "The resonance valve is ruptured, and the energy leakage rate exceeds the safety threshold."
"Broken?" Chen Hao's eyes widened. "Where is it broken?"
Nana raised her flashlight and shone it on the connection point. There was a thin crack near the metal joint, and the edges were blackened, as if it had been burned by a high temperature.
“The valve core is damaged,” she said. “It can’t be repaired.”
"Impossible!" Carl rushed over. "I definitely checked it!"
“You used pressure that exceeded the standard.” Nana pulled up the data stream from earlier. “The peak stress on the interface reached more than twice the allowable value.”
“I just gave it a little push…” Carl’s voice trailed off.
"We can't force this." Chen Hao squatted down to examine the crack. "What do we do now?"
“Replace the parts,” Nana said. “We need a resonant valve of the same model.”
"Do you have any in stock?" Susan asked.
Nana walked to the supply cabinet and entered the serial number to search. The screen displayed: **No matching stock, globally unique prototype configuration**.
She turned around. "There are no spare parts."
Susan flipped through the paper list, page by page, and finally closed the notebook. "There really isn't one. This model has been discontinued for a long time. The one we have is an experimental machine left over from the old days."
"So that means..." Chen Hao looked up, "...it can't be fixed?"
“We cannot assemble the core module at this time,” Nana said, “unless we find a replacement part.”
"Where are we going to find one?" Chen Hao stood up. "There's only one on the entire planet. If it's broken, it's broken."
No one spoke.
Carl plopped down on the ground, took off his goggles, and tossed them aside. He scratched his head. "I'm sorry... I didn't know it would turn out like this."
“Saying sorry now is useless.” Chen Hao stared at the crack. “The problem is, what do we do next?”
“We can try disassembling other parts and piecing it together,” Susan said.
“I’ve checked.” Nana shook her head. “None of the available equipment in the base contains that structural component.”
"What about outside?" Chen Hao asked. "Are there any other abandoned sites that might still be there?"
“It’s theoretically possible,” Nana said, “but the search scope is too large, making it extremely inefficient.”
“It’s better than just sitting here.” Chen Hao turned to look at Karl. “Don’t look like you’re going to your execution. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“This isn’t a mistake,” Carl said in a low voice. “It’s destroyed our only hope.”
"The light just came on," Chen Hao pointed to the ceiling. "That means we're only one step away from success. The fact that it's off now doesn't mean it's off forever."
“But once the parts are gone, they’re gone.” Susan leaned against the tool rack. “Without them, the generator is just a pile of iron.”
"Not necessarily." Chen Hao stroked his chin. "Nana, do you have the design drawings for this part in your database?"
“Yes.” Nana nodded. “Complete structural drawings and material proportions have been archived.”
"Can't I make it myself?"
“The manufacturing conditions are insufficient,” Nana said. “We lack high-precision casting equipment and a vacuum welding environment.”
"So it still doesn't work." Chen Hao sighed.
The repair area fell silent.
The emergency lights were still flashing, their light flickering on and off everyone's faces.
Karl kept his head down, his hands tucked into his hair, and his shoulders slightly slumped.
Susan rubbed her temples and slowly slid down to the floor, leaning against the wall.
Nana stood before the broken valve, her eyes flashing, data streaming through her pupils. She repeatedly scanned the same fragment, as if trying to extract new information from the charred metal.
Chen Hao squatted beside the equipment, tapping his fingers on the ground. He looked up at Nana, "Are you still investigating?"
"Alternative search in progress," Nana said. "Match success rate 0%, search failed."
She paused for a second, then repeated: "Part model: xG-7R, matching degree 0%, alternative search in progress... search failed."
The sound was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet.
Chen Hao looked up at the ceiling. The light flickered again, then went out completely. Only the faint light from the terminal screen remained in the entire maintenance area, casting blurry shadows of four people.
“I should have known better than to let you touch this thing,” he said to Karl.
“I told you I didn’t mean to,” Carl said, his voice hoarse.
"I know," Chen Hao waved his hand. "I'm not blaming you."
“But the result is the same.” Susan leaned against the wall. “We’ve wasted a whole day.”
"The ore has been melted, and the walls have been demolished," Chen Hao said with a wry smile. "We're just one step away from completion."
“Sometimes the last step is the hardest.” Nana looked at the terminal. “System message: Core fault not resolved, power restoration progress zero.”
"Let's just go back to zero then." Chen Hao stood up. "Anyway, we can't sleep anyway."
"Do you still want to continue?" Susan looked up.
"What else can we do?" Chen Hao cracked his knuckles. "We can't just wake up tomorrow and say, 'Forget it, let's switch to burning firewood.'"
“But we don’t even have a direction.” Karl looked up. “Where are we going to find the parts? How are we going to find them?”
“There’s always a way.” Chen Hao walked to the terminal. “Nana, pull up all the data for this part, including production records, transportation logs, scrap lists, and everything related to it.”
"It takes time to sort things out," Nana said.
“Then you get started.” Chen Hao looked at the others. “Let’s all keep busy. Susan, double-check the warehouse and see if there are any parts that look similar. Carl, write down all the operating procedures for today. Maybe you can find something that can be salvaged.”
“What’s the point of me writing this now?” Carl asked in a low voice.
“Writing it will be useful.” Chen Hao stared at him. “If you don’t write it, I’ll put it on your bedside table with the title ‘How I Destroyed the Generator’.”
Carl paused for a moment, then his lips twitched. "You're really mean."
"I may be in trouble, but I'm still clear-headed." Chen Hao slammed his hand on the table. "We're trapped now, but we're not dead. As long as we're alive, we have to move."
Nana's terminal emitted a soft beep.
“We found a historical record,” she said. “This model of resonant valve had its routine maintenance done at the C7 service station three years ago.”
"C7 district?" Chen Hao leaned closer. "Where is that?"
“It’s about 47 kilometers from here.” Nana pulled up the map. “The area is currently abandoned and there are no signs of life.”
"It's better to abandon it." Chen Hao's eyes lit up. "No one will steal it."
“The road is difficult to travel.” Susan stared at the map. “There are collapse zones in the middle, and two underground passages.”
"If we can't walk through, we'll dig," Chen Hao said. "We don't have anything else to do anyway."
"Are you serious?" Carl looked up.
"What else?" Chen Hao chuckled. "Just lie there and wait for the parts to grow back on their own?"
“But what if we go and there’s nothing there?” Susan asked.
"If it's not there, it's not there." Chen Hao shrugged. "At worst, I'll just walk a few more steps back."
Nana closed the terminal. "When traveling, you need to prepare protective equipment, energy supplies, and detection tools."
"Then let's get ready." Chen Hao stretched. "I won't be able to sleep tonight, and I have to get up early tomorrow."
He turned and walked towards the door, his footsteps making a dull thud on the concrete floor.
It stopped suddenly.
“Oh, right.” He turned around. “Does anyone remember the spare catheter we used last time? The silver-gray one.”
Susan thought for a moment, "It's on the second shelf of the east-side lockers."
"Give it to me," Chen Hao said. "Maybe we can take it apart and use it as materials."
Susan got up to get it.
Carl sat on the ground without moving.
Chen Hao walked back and squatted down in front of him. "If you keep sitting like this, I'll really make you a negative example."
Carl looked up at him. "Are you trying to force me to talk?"
“I’m not forcing you.” Chen Hao reached out his hand. “But I need you to know that this isn’t over.”
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