The lights were still on, and the machines were still running. Chen Hao glanced down at the report in his hand; the edges of the pages were slightly curled, from when he had gripped it so tightly in his excitement.
He posted the report on the whiteboard and tapped it twice with his pen.
"Don't think about naming it yet, we need to make it work."
Susan, leaning against the terminal, chuckled upon hearing this: "You remember saying that 'Little Blue' was responsible for all the overtime work?"
"We were too excited back then," Chen Hao waved his hand. "Now we need to think about serious matters. We have electricity now, so what's next?"
Nana stood beside the control panel, the camera slightly rotating, her voice steady: "I suggest prioritizing the assessment of energy output stability and load matching."
“Speak plainly,” Carl interjected, sitting in the medical chair. “It’s about whether this electricity works, and how to use it.”
“It will work,” Chen Hao nodded, “but it’s not as simple as just stuffing it into a socket. We need to plan it out.”
Susan sat up straighter and brought up the tablet screen: "I've listed a few. First, replace the lighting system in the living area; the old battery packs are almost worn out, and we have to replace them every few days. Second, upgrade the temperature control system; the temperature in the cellar keeps fluctuating, and the vegetables are freezing. Third..."
“Powering the drilling rigs,” Karl chimed in. “Those old rigs in the mine have been stuck for half a year. If we could get them powered on, their efficiency would more than double.”
“You’re thinking ahead,” Susan glanced at him. “But do you know how much power that thing has? Our output isn’t even enough for it to sneeze.”
“There has to be a goal,” Carl shrugged. “Otherwise, what’s the point of studying it? To use it as a nightlight?”
Nana suddenly spoke up: "Reminder: The current energy output waveform is a non-periodic pulse with a peak value of 0.6 millivolts and a maximum duration of 60 seconds, which is incompatible with the base's standard DC power supply protocol."
The laboratory fell silent for a moment.
"What do you mean?" Chen Hao frowned.
“It cannot be directly connected to the power grid,” Nana explained. “If it is forcibly connected in parallel, it may cause circuit oscillation, trigger the protection mechanism, or even burn out the node module.”
“That is—” Susan slowly put down the tablet, “We have electricity, but we can’t send it out?”
“Accurate,” Nana said.
Chen Hao stared at the data charts on the whiteboard, his fingers tapping the pen unconsciously. He had initially thought that turning on the light meant success, but now he realized he had only taken the first step.
“Then let’s change it,” he said. “We won’t follow the standard; let’s redo the adapter.”
“Technically feasible,” Nana responded, “but a dedicated rectifier module needs to be designed, the voltage conversion logic adjusted, and a buffer energy storage unit needs to be established.”
"Buffer?" Susan asked. "You mean, store the electricity first, and then release it slowly?"
“Correct.” Nana pulled up a structural diagram. “The current energy storage tank has a maximum capacity of 50,000 mAh, while ‘Little Blue’ outputs about 300 milliwatt-seconds of energy per cycle. It doesn’t seem like much, but it can fully charge a small emergency power supply after six consecutive activations. The problem is that the current equipment cannot withstand high-frequency charge-discharge cycles and its heat dissipation capacity is insufficient.”
"So, in other words," Carl whispered, "we have nowhere to store electricity?"
“It’s not that there aren’t any,” Nana corrected. “It’s that the storage efficiency is lower than the consumption rate. To support a medium-sized machine to run for ten minutes, at least twenty fully loaded energy storage tanks need to be connected in series, and a set must be replaced every three minutes.”
“Who can stand this pace?” Susan rolled her eyes. “We might as well just use a hand-cranked generator.”
Chen Hao didn't speak, but walked to the main control screen and zoomed in on the 3D model of the energy storage module. The red alarm kept flashing, displaying "Capacity Exceedance Warning".
He reached out and tapped the storage tank icon on the screen: "Can these tanks be expanded?"
“Physical space is limited,” Nana replied. “The existing storage tanks have already filled all the reserved spaces on the B3 underground level. If we want to increase the number, we need to build a new storage area.”
"Build?" Chen Hao turned around. "We don't even have bricks."
“The materials can be disassembled,” Nana said. “The abandoned reactor shell, the old transport compartment frame, and some of the protective wall panels can all be recycled.”
"Sounds like scavenging for trash," Susan muttered.
"We're just scavengers now," Chen Hao grinned. "Otherwise, do you think high technology just fell from the sky?"
Carl coughed twice, then pointed to the corner of the model: "Is the space under that ventilation shaft empty? The previous survey said there was half a floor that was undeveloped?"
“The mezzanine in Zone C,” Nana confirmed. “It’s four meters deep and about 28 square meters in area. It was originally planned to be used as a backup cooling system, but it was left unused after the project was cancelled.”
“That’s enough.” Chen Hao’s eyes lit up. “Let’s convert that place into an energy storage room and run a few independent lines specifically for ‘Little Blue’s’ output.”
“The workload is considerable,” Susan cautioned. “We need to break through the walls, lay anti-magnetic pipes, and install isolation doors. If the vibrations from construction affect the ore samples, all our efforts will be wasted.”
“Then let’s do it in stages,” Chen Hao decided. “First, set up a temporary frame and test-run one energy storage unit to see if we can stabilize the output. If that works, then we can expand.”
Nana began retrieving architectural blueprints; the optical lens flashed rapidly, and the background processing hummed softly.
"I have compiled a list of available materials, which is expected to be able to assemble six high-density energy storage units, theoretically increasing the total capacity to three times the original. However, it should be noted that new energy sources have weak residual magnetic fields, and long-term exposure may affect the lifespan of electronic components."
“Then let’s add a shielding layer,” Chen Hao said. “Anyway, we still have some scrapped radar domes, so let’s tear off a couple of pieces and wrap them up.”
"Are you really going to do it?" Susan looked at him. "And not just talking?"
"Otherwise what?" Chen Hao retorted. "We've finally made something of ourselves, are we just going to let it lie on the lab bench and shine?"
“I’m not against it,” Susan shook her head. “I’m just worried you’re rushing things. You’re trying to lay pipes after only sixty seconds of stability. What if you make a mistake at any step and everything explodes?”
“I know what’s important,” Chen Hao said, his tone softening. “But we can’t just live off these achievements. How long has the base been without power? A year? Two years? Now that we have the opportunity to fix it, we have to get started.”
Carl quietly pushed the packaging samples aside to make room for the blueprints.
"What can I do?" he asked.
“Sit still and don’t move, that’s helping,” Susan said immediately. “You want to swing a hammer?”
“I can supervise the work,” Carl retorted. “You guys do the work, I’ll keep an eye on the data. If there’s a problem, I’ll call a halt immediately.”
“Okay.” Chen Hao nodded. “Then you’ll be in charge of monitoring the energy storage reception curve. Call someone immediately if there are any abnormalities.”
Nana has generated a preliminary construction plan, which is projected and slowly rotating in the air. The six energy storage units are arranged in a ring, with a maintenance passage in the middle and a heat dissipation grille on top.
“I recommend using a double-layered aluminum-magnesium alloy shell filled with ceramic insulation material,” she said. “Our current inventory is enough to make three sets, and the remaining three sets will have to wait for the materials to be recycled.”
"Make three first," Chen Hao said. "That should be enough to test."
Susan opened her notebook, crossed out the three application scenarios she had written down before, and rewrote them:
1. Energy storage room renovation (priority)
2. Rectifier Module Design
3. Power supply compatibility test
She looked up: "Let's divide the tasks. Who will do what?"
"I'm in charge of the structural work," Chen Hao said. "The heavy lifting like dismantling walls and moving metal is my job."
"Are you sure?" Susan looked at him suspiciously. "You took two days off last time you moved reactor parts."
“That time was really tiring.” Chen Hao scratched his head. “This time is different. There’s hope.”
“I handle the circuitry,” Susan said. “I design the rectifier logic and debug the output interface.”
“I can help calculate the optimal charge-discharge ratio,” Nana added, “while monitoring the ore response to avoid over-excitation.”
“Then it’s settled.” Chen Hao picked up a pen and drew a circle on the whiteboard. “I want to see the first energy storage unit light up within three days.”
"The prerequisite is that the materials are available," Susan reminded, "and you have to make sure you don't drill through the load-bearing wall."
"Don't worry," Chen Hao smiled, "I know what I'm doing."
Carl stared at the projected image for a while, then suddenly said, "Shouldn't we... build a new warehouse?"
No one responded.
The air suddenly felt heavy.
They all knew the problem—even if they built the energy storage units, there was nowhere to safely store them. Floor B3 was already full, and the other areas were either occupied by equipment or living quarters, so they couldn't be moved easily.
Chen Hao stared at the red alert on the screen, his finger pausing on the pen.
"Let's find a way to store the electricity first," he said. "We'll deal with the warehouse later."
He turned and walked to the lab bench, picked up the notebook, flipped through it, and then stopped.
"By the way," he turned to Nana and asked, "can we improve the efficiency of processing this ore?"
“We are currently in the optimal response range,” Nana replied. “Further stimulation could lead to irreversible structural damage.”
"Understood." Chen Hao closed his notebook. "Then let's leave it alone for now. Our problem isn't generating electricity, but using it."
He stood back at the main control panel, pen in hand, looking at the schematic diagram of the energy storage module with a slight frown.
Susan looked down at the tablet and found that all her previous ideas were stuck at the same point—they couldn't save the data.
Carl tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his wheelchair as he stared at the interlayered blueprint.
Nana's camera continuously scans the data stream, while the background has already begun searching for historical data on high-density energy storage materials.
Chen Hao picked up his pen and drew a line on the whiteboard.
"We have to get past this hurdle first," he said. "Only if we can store electricity will it really be useful."
He paused, then looked at the three of them.
"Ready to start work."
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