The alarm is still going off.
The red light on the machine's surface flashed incessantly, and the fan spun a few times before finally stopping. Karl stared at the dashboard, the rangefinder still in his hand. He clearly remembered the crack from earlier; it was right at the edge of the ceramic ring, as if something had torn it open from the inside.
Chen Hao squatted next to the distribution box, the newly connected voltage regulator module still wired. He looked up at the control panel: "It exploded again?"
“It didn’t explode.” Carl took the prototype off the workbench and placed it on the workbench. “It’s just that the thermal stress was concentrated and the material couldn’t hold up.”
Nana stood in front of the data interface, her arm already inserted into the terminal port. Her eyes scanned the scrolling parameter stream: "Fourth test interrupted, runtime thirteen minutes and eighteen seconds. Abnormal vibration frequency occurred in the last three minutes."
"Almost." Chen Hao got up, dusted off his pants, "I lasted half a minute longer than last time."
“It’s not enough.” Carl opened the tool cabinet and pulled out two thin metal sheets and a section of composite insulation. “We need to change the structure.”
"Are you planning to come again?" Chen Hao leaned against the wall. "This is the fifth time."
“What else?” Carl asked without looking up. “Wait for Susan to come back? If she gets delayed on the way, are we just going to stand by and watch?”
Chen Hao remained silent. He knew Karl was right. Every day the machines stopped, the base reconstruction would be delayed. And they had no time to waste.
Nana pulled out the interface and turned to walk to the projection area. A new heat conduction simulation diagram appeared in the air, its color gradually changing from red to blue. "It is recommended to use a double-layer insulation structure, with an outer metal layer to reflect heat and an inner composite material layer to buffer expansion stress."
“It sounds like a sandwich,” Chen Hao said.
“It’s like a sandwich.” Carl had already started cutting the materials. “One layer to block heat, one layer to withstand pressure, and a gap in the middle to dissipate heat.”
Chen Hao sighed and went over to help secure the bracket. The two of them, one in front and one behind, pressed the new structure into the outer shell. Karl tightened each screw asymmetrically to avoid concentrating the force on any one point. No one spoke throughout the entire process; only the soft clatter of tools colliding filled the air.
After installation, Carl turned on the power.
The screen lit up, the yellow light flashed once, and then turned green.
The fan turned slowly, and the sound was more stable than before.
"It's started." Nana monitored the data. "The initial temperature is normal, and the load curve is stable."
"How long can this last?" Chen Hao stared at the timer.
“I don’t know.” Carl sat in his chair, his fingers resting on the edge of the table. “We’ll see how it behaves.”
Time passed second by second.
Eight minutes.
Five past eleven.
12 minutes and 40 seconds.
Chen Hao suddenly sat up straight: "Listen."
The fan sounded different; it was muffled, as if something was blocking the airflow.
"Is the resonance coming again?" he asked.
Carl immediately checked the base. The vibration frequency had indeed begun to fluctuate, not by much, but it was steadily increasing.
"The shim angle is wrong," he said, reaching out to adjust the damping pad.
Nana simultaneously operated the control panel: "I'll reduce the output power by 10% to relieve the load pressure."
Carl rotated the gasket fifteen degrees and tightened it again.
The buzzing gradually subsided.
The fluctuation curve on the dashboard tends to stabilize.
"It's stable now." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief.
At 14 minutes and 50 seconds, the machine automatically entered the cooling program, the fan gradually slowed down, and finally became quiet. The green light on the screen remained on, and no alarms were triggered.
"Did it work?" Chen Hao asked.
"Barely." Carl checked the seams. "No cracks, no deformation. Although it hasn't been fifteen minutes, it's at least enough for a temporary fix."
"Then it works." Chen Hao grinned. "Your work on this piece of work wasn't in vain."
"Let's put it aside for now." Carl put the prototype back in the box and labeled it. "It'll be a backup in case the original parts break down."
As soon as she finished speaking, Nana's communicator beeped.
“Signal connected,” she said. “Susan’s team has arrived at the base entrance, and their items have been scanned.”
"Is it that transmission component?" Chen Hao stood up.
"Feature matching accuracy is 98%." Nana pulled up the test report. "Electrical performance is normal, and the casing has no structural damage."
"You really found it?" Chen Hao slammed his hand on the table. "I thought it was just another piece of scrap metal."
"It's not scrap metal." A familiar voice came from outside the door.
Susan pushed open the door, carrying a shockproof box. Her face was covered in dust, and her clothes were wrinkled, but her eyes were bright.
“The drive module of hV-9.” She placed the box on the repair table. “Original factory packaging, hasn’t been touched in three years, the oil seal is still there.”
Carl put on gloves and turned on the detector. The screen flickered a few times before finally settling on a green indicator.
“It’s intact,” he said, his voice low.
“I told you it could work.” Susan took off her gloves and grabbed a bottle of water. “I found it in that pile of junk in the East Warehouse. Guess what? There was a logbook under that old piece of equipment that said, ‘Spare parts kept, disassembly strictly prohibited.’”
"Who wrote it?" Chen Hao asked.
“I don’t know.” Susan took a sip of water. “The writing is all smudged. But the product is genuine, and the interface standards match perfectly.”
Carl didn't say anything more and directly opened the main unit's casing. The old parts were stuck tightly together, the interfaces were severely corroded, and the bolts were almost rusted together.
He sprayed on a nano-lubricant, waited five minutes, and then used a pulse wrench to loosen it little by little. He dared not use too much force with each stroke, for fear of tearing the threads.
Twenty minutes later, the damaged part was removed.
The new parts were successfully installed.
Connect the power supply.
The screen lights up, and the self-test program runs automatically.
The progress bar reached its end, and the system emitted a soft sound.
The green light is always on.
"It's running normally," Nana confirmed. "The temperature is stable and the load is within specifications."
"The power system is online." Chen Hao plopped down. "Finally, we don't have to deal with this damn machine anymore."
Carl turned off the test power, put the homemade parts into the storage compartment, and labeled them "Spare".
Susan leaned against the wall to rest and finished her last sip of water.
Nana disconnected, recorded the repair log, and synchronized the device status update.
The repair area quieted down.
The sound of the machine running smoothly filled the space.
Chen Hao stood up and began to gather the scattered tools. He knew what to do next—the reconstruction work would soon be in full swing.
He had just put the wrench into the toolbox when he heard footsteps outside.
The door was pushed open a crack.
A technician poked his head in: "The waterproofing layer in the living area has been reinforced. Once you confirm that the power supply is stable, we can test it."
“Tell them they can come anytime,” Chen Hao said.
The technician nodded and left.
Chen Hao glanced back at the main unit; the green light was still flashing.
He picked up the key card and tossed it in his hand.
Carl is taking stock of the remaining materials.
Susan leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, as if she were about to fall asleep.
Nana stood in front of the control panel and reinserted her arm into the interface.
Chen Hao walked to the door and glanced back.
Everyone remained in their original positions.
The machine is still running.
The lighting is stable.
He was about to step out the door—
Someone outside was calling his name.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com