The morning breeze blew in from the east, carrying a slightly salty taste.
The workshop lights were still on, and the machines were still humming. Chen Hao stood in front of the control panel, holding a piece of paper in his hand—the shift schedule Nana had printed out last night. He hadn't slept long, but he was in good spirits. The news of the power generation system being modified yesterday was still circulating among the staff; some said the base finally looked like a proper outpost, while others said they could consider getting a cat now.
He ignored the gossip.
At eight o'clock sharp, the workshop door opened, and about a dozen newcomers walked in one after another. Some were wearing old work clothes, while others were wearing temporary protective suits, their eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. Chen Hao slammed the shift schedule on the table and cleared his throat.
"If we could modify the power generation system yesterday, we need to make sure everyone can do it today."
No one applauded, and no one spoke. Everyone waited for the next step.
Susan stood in the corner, holding a testing instrument. She hadn't wanted to stand so close to the front, but Nana had pushed her forward half a step. Carl had already set up his tools in the practical area, muttering as he tightened screws, "Hopefully no one will use the electrolytic cell as a lunchbox."
Nana's projector lit up, and a course schedule popped up on the screen: Lesson 1, Safety Regulations; Lesson 2, Component Identification; Lesson 3, Assembly Process.
“Starting today, we’ll have one session every week,” Chen Hao said. “If you don’t learn it, we’ll keep teaching you.”
The first lesson was taught by Susan.
She nearly tripped over the cables as she stood on the podium. She paused when discussing current intensity, glancing back at Nana. The robot immediately pulled up a simplified diagram, and the light path traced its way through the air.
“Higher voltage isn’t always better,” Susan said again. “If you connect it wrong, the equipment will burn out, and people will get hurt.”
A newcomer raised his hand: "Then how much is considered safe?"
“Read the labels,” she said. “Red means high voltage, yellow means warning, and only green means you can touch it. If you don’t understand, ask. Don’t guess.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a "pop" came from the next group, followed by a puff of white smoke. Everyone turned to look and saw a young man frantically backing away, clutching a loosely connected wire in his hand.
“The connector is reversed.” Carl walked over and turned off the power. “This is the output port; you put it in the input slot.”
The young man's face turned bright red.
“It’s alright.” Carl patted him on the shoulder. “We burned three test machines in the first month. You’ve only made one mistake so far, that’s a big improvement.”
Susan breathed a sigh of relief and continued her story. But when she went to another patrol group, she discovered two people secretly switching the order of parts.
"I said to connect the voltage regulator module first!"
"We want to see if we can skip one step..."
"No." Her voice turned cold. "This isn't like assembling building blocks; missing even one link renders it useless."
After the bell rang, she took off her gloves and sat down on a bench in the corner. Chen Hao walked over with a water cup.
“I was too harsh,” she said.
“They need to hear tough talk.” Chen Hao sat down. “Weren’t you the same way back then? The first time you repaired a water purifier, you had to take it apart three times before you dared to turn it on.”
"But I was forced into it."
“They’re being forced into this situation by the future.” He took a sip of water. “No one is born knowing how to teach, just like no one is born knowing how to survive. If you remember how you got through it, then do it the same way.”
During the lunch break, Nana updated the teaching program. The voice prompts were updated with new content: "Please confirm the interface direction. Incorrect connections may cause short circuits." At the same time, an "error simulation area" was designated in the training area, filled with scrapped units, allowing newcomers to experiment and make mistakes.
The practical exercise began at 2 PM.
Carl led the team in demonstrating the assembly of the electrolytic cell. Each step was shown in slow motion, with instructions given as he went: "Take the main body—yes, that gray box—turn it over, look at the arrow at the bottom, the arrow must be pointing forward to assemble it."
Some people did as instructed, while others remained confused.
Susan discovered the problem lay in different cognitive paces. Some people understood immediately, while others needed to read it three times to grasp it. She decided to add an extra tutoring class that evening in the workshop's side hall.
“I don’t use technical terms,” she said. “I’ll just use the simplest terms. For example, electric current is like water in a pipe; if the pressure is too high, the pipe will burst. If the voltage is too high, the circuit will be the same.”
Several trainees nodded.
"What about the resistor?" someone asked.
"It's like you put a rock in the middle of the water pipe," she said. "The water flow is slower, but it won't explode."
At 9 p.m. that evening, the last group completed the simulated assembly. The indicator light came on, showing a stable green color.
Applause erupted.
Chen Hao ticked a box in his notebook. The first training session progressed faster than expected. Originally planned for three days, it was compressed to two, and everyone passed.
The assessment officially began the next morning.
The task is for two people to work together to assemble a miniature energy storage unit within a 20-minute time limit. Each failure will deduct five minutes, and serious mistakes will result in immediate elimination.
The first group encountered a problem right from the start. One person was assembling the main unit, while the other was rushing to connect the wires, resulting in them bumping into each other and bending the connector. The alarm sounded for two seconds before Nana remotely cut off the power.
"Let's start over," Chen Hao said.
The second group was much more stable. The girls were responsible for checking the parts, while the boys assembled them, working together seamlessly. When they finally turned on the lights, there were still four minutes left.
The third group went even further. They found that standard cabling was too wasteful of materials, so they simply changed the route, using half a meter less wire. The test ran normally.
"You've altered the structure?" Karl leaned closer to take a look.
"It's just a roundabout way," the boy smiled. "Anyway, it still works."
Chen Hao stared at the data for a while, then looked up and announced, "From today onwards, you are all formal technicians."
The applause was even louder than last night.
Some people wiped away sweat, some laughed out loud, and others clung to their tools, reluctant to put them down. The light shone on their faces, revealing a layer of oil, but no one seemed tired.
Susan stood by the workbench, watching a group of new employees pack up. She took off her gloves and gently placed them on the work surface. She had seen this gesture countless times before, and always felt it represented a sense of distance. Now that it was her turn to do it, she realized it signified the end of one task and the beginning of another.
Carl took two new mechanics to inspect the standby units. On the way, he pointed to the signs on the wall and said, "Red is a restricted area, yellow requires reporting, and green is always available. Got it?"
"I've got it."
"I'll show you the distribution box tomorrow."
Nana entered data at the terminal. Today's teaching log was automatically generated, error cases were categorized and archived, and a new warning was added: "Reverse access to the main control module is prohibited." She then added the newly optimized cabling scheme to the standard process library, writing "From student G3 group" in the remarks column.
Chen Hao opened the new work schedule.
The second round of applications has been submitted, and the number of applicants has doubled. He crossed out a few names and added two substitutes. He looked up at the workshop; the lights were still on, the machines were running smoothly, and there was a faint smell of heated metal in the air.
"I'll teach welding next week," he told Nana.
“We need to prepare protective face shields,” she said. “We have seven left in stock.”
"If it's not enough, make more."
“Old helmets can be modified.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “Letting newcomers participate in the production is also a form of practice.”
Susan walked over, holding a report in her hand.
"The tutoring session last night went well," she said. "Those who were slow to understand all passed the test today."
"You should talk more in the future."
"I'm not the kind of person who encourages others."
"You are now."
She didn't argue further and turned to walk towards the tool rack. As she passed a group of new employees, she overheard them discussing their night shift arrangements.
"I have no problem working the night shift, but I'm afraid of getting sleepy."
"Just bring a bottle of energy drink."
"Does the base have it?"
"If you don't have it, make it yourself."
Chen Hao listened, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
He walked to the wall, picked up a marker, and wrote on the whiteboard: **Second Training Session Theme—Energy Management and Emergency Response**.
The following three items are listed:
1. Nighttime Power Supply Switching Procedure
2. Safe upper limit for electrolyte ratio
3. Fault alarm classification and handling
After I finished writing, I took a step back and looked at it.
At this moment, a newcomer ran over, holding a newly assembled energy storage module in his hands.
"Brother Chen! We tried it out, and after changing the wiring, the power consumption dropped by five percent!"
Chen Hao took the module and felt the temperature of its outer casing.
"No fever."
"Yes! And it's even more stable."
He handed the module back.
"Please explain how you made the changes at tomorrow's meeting."
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