The gears of the loom started meshing again, the rhythm much more steady than before. Chen Hao sat at the control panel, still holding the dusty gray short-sleeved shirt in his hand, the crooked threads at the cuffs rubbing against his fingers, a little prickly.
He looked down at it, then looked up at the spinning wheel. The yarn was winding around the bobbin, like some living thing slowly breathing. The gear he had just replaced was turning smoothly, no longer making that teeth-grinding clicking sound.
"This thing survived," he muttered, his voice low, as if speaking to the machine, or perhaps to himself.
Nana's projection floated next to the control screen, the data on the screen still scrolling. "Continuous running time: 14 minutes and 39 seconds. Tension fluctuation stabilized at 4.8%, no risk of cumulative stress."
"Could you please stop just reciting numbers? I was just about to say something."
"You are touching the edge of your clothes, and your breathing rate is decreasing, which fits the definition of a 'relaxed state triggered by a sense of accomplishment.' I am providing the data to confirm that the external performance is synchronized with the internal state."
"I'm not conducting an experiment; I'm making a commemoration."
"Commemoration requires recording. Archived: End of Chapter 299, production loop achieved."
Chen Hao rolled his eyes, folded the clothes, and casually stuffed them into a compartment in the toolbox. "Fine, I'll write it down. Nobody's going to see it anyway."
He stood up and stretched. His knees creaked from squatting for so long. His 800-pound weight on the ground made his feet feel numb. He patted his thigh. "Are we going or not? Staying here like this, I'm practically growing mushrooms."
Where are you going?
“Go out and take a look. I’ve been staring at these broken machines all day, I’ve forgotten there’s a sky outside.”
Nana didn't move, and the projection flickered slightly. "Wind speeds are high in the outer ring area of the base; protective suits are recommended."
"I won't go far, I'll just stand at the door to get some fresh air."
He strode towards the workshop exit, his steps heavy but steady. The moment the door opened, the morning light slanted in, illuminating the metal floor and creating bright spots. He squinted and raised his hand to shield his eyes.
The air outside was cool, carrying a slightly earthy smell. A breeze swept through, swirling up bits of fiber from the ground and carrying them towards the warehouse. In the distance, the windmills were still turning, their blades gliding slowly across the sky, like a herd of oxen reluctant to stop working.
“They’re quite diligent.” Chen Hao looked up for a while. “I remember the first windmill had its blades installed backwards, and it flipped itself over as soon as it was turned on.”
"Chapter 253 records: Due to the failure to calibrate the angle of attack, aerodynamic imbalance occurred, causing the entire aircraft to overturn."
"You still remember?"
"All fault logs are permanently saved."
“I don’t remember much, but I remember you standing there that day and saying, ‘The probability of structural failure is as high as 97%.’ I said, ‘Shut up, it can turn,’ and then I kicked it—and it really did turn, but in the opposite direction.”
"You used a non-standard impact correction method."
"That was inspiration for me."
Nana's projection followed, hovering half a meter behind him. "The current energy system consists of five wind turbines, with a total output power maintained at over 1.8 kilowatts, meeting the operational needs of the basic equipment."
“Everyone talks with numbers these days, it’s so boring.” He walked forward, his footsteps leaving shallow marks on the hardened dirt road. “But… it’s enough.”
The farmland stretched out to the east, plows resting on the ridges, their iron plowshares covered in wet mud. A season's worth of land had just been plowed a few days ago, the furrows and rows neatly arranged, as if someone had measured it with a ruler. The waterwheel by the river was also in motion, its mechanical arm rhythmically rising and falling, pouring water into the irrigation canals. The water flowed down the slope, seeping into the soil.
“Before, we had to carry water in buckets, and it would take half an hour to go back and forth. My back would be broken when I got back.” He stood at the edge of the field, hands on his hips. “Now it’s much better. The water comes to us by itself.”
"With increased automation, human resources have been reduced by 63%."
"Look, you're here again."
"I'm just stating the facts."
"Facts also need to be packaged. For example, if you say, 'We finally don't have to be donkeys anymore,' that's called humanized expression."
“The device does not have an emotional feedback mechanism, but humans do.”
He chuckled and continued walking. He reached the highest rock in the base, stepped on it, and steadied himself. This was the highest point on the entire farm, offering a panoramic view of the boundaries.
The wind picked up, making his work clothes stick to his body. He didn't say anything, just watched.
Windmills, waterwheels, fields, warehouses, workshops... and nearby, the spinning wheel still spinning yarn. Everything was connected, like a net, tightly enclosing him and Nana within it.
"You tell me, do you think these things can also be considered... grown?" he suddenly asked, his voice slightly distorted by the wind.
"Technological products do not possess biological growth characteristics."
"I'm not asking for a scientific definition. I mean—they sprout from nowhere, little by little. Like grass, like sprouts, nobody believed they could survive, but they just stood up."
Nana was silent for a few seconds. Her screen went dark, then lit up again, projecting a dynamic video: the initial construction of the windmill, the improvement of the plow, the linkage of the waterwheel, the construction of the warehouse, the formation of the spinning wheel... The scenes switched rapidly, finally freezing on the frame of the loom slowly pushing the cloth forward.
"Starting from Chapter 251, five major categories of tools have been developed, covering energy, farming, water conservancy, storage, and textiles, forming a preliminary self-sufficiency system. The technology chain coverage rate is 67%."
Chen Hao watched the video without interrupting.
After the video stopped, he said, "67%? What about the remaining 33%?"
"The areas not yet covered include deep food processing, material synthesis, mobile vehicles, environmental control, and telecommunications."
"Sounds like a to-do list."
You can understand it that way.
He grinned and patted the rock next to him. "Then let's keep planting. Next, I want to get a self-propelled hoe."
"The power source matching problem has not yet been solved."
"I know, I know, don't be so pessimistic right away. I can start with a simple one, with wheels, solar power, and obstacle avoidance—you have map data, you can navigate, right?"
“Route planning support can be provided.”
"That's settled then. Let it wander around on its own, digging as it goes, it'll save you a lot of trouble."
"It is recommended to give priority to terrain adaptability and soil resistance models."
"Oh, you actually took it seriously?"
"Your frequency of proposing ideas has increased by 41% compared to the previous period, and the clarity of your goals has significantly improved, which is judged as an activation of effective innovation willingness."
"Are you praising me?"
"It's a conclusion drawn from data analysis."
He smiled and looked up at the sky. The stars had just risen above the mountain ridge, their light not yet dazzling. The clouds were thin, blown by the wind in wispy strands, like unfinished cloth.
"I used to never do my homework and just cheat on exams. Who would have thought that one day I could build a bunch of things from scratch and make them work?"
"Your initial goal was simply to survive."
"Now it's more than that. I want them to be... smarter. Not just move, but also know where to go and what to do."
"Autonomous decision-making systems require the support of higher-order algorithms."
"You have a database, so you can teach me slowly. We're not in a rush anyway."
Time continues to pass.
“But we’re not standing still.” He looked down at his hands, his palms still greasy. “Before, I thought it was good enough to have enough to eat. Now… I want to try to live without looking like a refugee.”
Nana's projection swayed slightly, as if the wind was too strong and interfered with the stability of the projection.
She didn't speak, but the screen automatically brought up a new interface: an incomplete technology tree diagram, with "Basic Energy" at the root, five branches extending from the main trunk, and a blank area at the very top labeled "Unknown Applications".
Chen Hao stared at that blank space for a long time.
"Do you think we might one day develop a flying washing machine?"
"Washing machines do not need a flight function."
"I mean, what if we move someday? We can take it with us, wash it in the air, and then hang it directly in the sun."
"Energy consumption is seriously mismatched with practicality."
"Can't you just pretend you think this is a good idea?"
“I can record this as ‘an unnecessary but imaginative extension proposal’.”
He laughed out loud, becoming slightly breathless. His legs were a little sore from standing for so long, but he didn't sit down.
In the distance, the spinning wheel continued to turn. The loom was also in motion. The solar panels on the warehouse roof shimmered. Windmill blades swept across the sky, round and round.
Looking at all this, he suddenly felt no longer tired.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Where to?
"Back to the workshop. First, draw up the blueprints for that hoe. I'll modify an old conveyor belt for the wheels, and salvage a scrapped fan for the motor... Can you help me calculate if the torque is sufficient?"
"It can simulate load scenarios."
"Then don't just stand there." He turned and jumped off the rock, landing with a jolt. "Next time, don't always start with 'suggestion,' it sounds like a leader is giving a speech."
"clear."
The two walked back, one after the other. Sunlight streamed behind them, casting long shadows.
As Chen Hao approached the workshop entrance, he suddenly stopped.
He glanced back at the high platform, then looked up at the sky.
"Do you think... we've started creating points, too?"
Nana stood half a step behind him, the screen glowing quietly.
A gust of wind blew in from outside, causing the crooked hand-drawn design on the wall to curl up and tremble slightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com