stonecrandall Chapter 102 Automatic Alchemy Furnace
Chapter 102 Automatic Alchemy Furnace
On the other side, at the Seventh Base, in the second-floor laboratory.
With a hissing sound as the airlock depressurized, a blast of cold air, carrying the smells of disinfectant and engine oil, rushed in. The laboratory was lit by those stark white LED lights, illuminating every corner with exquisite detail, making even the dust particles floating in the air clearly visible.
As Li Fulan unbuttoned his collar, he slumped into the ergonomic chair like an old man who had just come out of a sauna, completely lacking any decorum. The chair was a special supply from the base, supposedly designed to perfectly conform to the curves of the human spine, but now, with him slumping like that, it creaked under the weight of the weight.
"This whole ordeal was even more exhausting than arguing with the client."
He grabbed the nutrient solution from the table and gulped it down. The solution was a standard military ration, supposedly containing all the vitamins and minerals the human body needed, but the taste… well, it tasted like expired orange juice diluted with disinfectant, plus a spoonful of rust. Li Fulan frowned as he swallowed it, feeling his taste buds collectively protesting.
He wiped his mouth and looked around.
The laboratory was enormous, roughly the size of two basketball courts, crammed full of all sorts of strange and unusual equipment. In the corner, a massive 3D printer hummed softly, its nozzles spitting out fine metal filaments that layered together to form a precise component. A spherical monitor hanging from the ceiling rotated slowly, emitting a ghostly blue light. A strange smell, a mixture of ozone, welding fumes, and coolant, filled the air.
"Old Gu, how's the progress?"
Li Fulan called out towards the depths of the laboratory, "They're waiting for the rice to be cooked over there."
No one answered.
But a faint metallic scraping sound came from the corner.
Li Fulan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a thin figure sitting at a worktable with his back to him. The person was motionless, like a statue, with only his fingers moving incessantly.
Engineer Gu.
The chief mechanical engineer of the Seventh Base sported a typical "strongman's hairstyle"—a receding hairline, with the bald patch in the middle gleaming under the light. He wore faded old work clothes, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his forearms covered in tiny scars. Some of those scars were burns, others cuts—medals earned from years of working with metal.
He didn't turn around, nor did he show any indication that he had heard Li Fulan speak.
But Li Fulan knew he had heard her. That's just how the old man is; he's a man of few words, unwilling to utter a single unnecessary one. After so many years in the base, Li Fulan could count the number of complete sentences she could get out of him on one hand.
Li Fulan wasn't in a hurry. She got up from her chair and swayed as she walked behind Engineer Gu.
The workbench was cluttered with a jumble of parts and various tools whose names I couldn't recall. In one hand, Engineer Gu was holding a metal sheet about the size of a thumb, while in the other hand he held an extremely fine file, carefully polishing the edges.
His movements were extremely slow, each one precise to the millimeter. The file scraped across the metal surface, making a soft "shh" sound, and metal shavings fell like snowflakes.
Li Fulan leaned closer to examine it and discovered that the metal piece was engraved with dense, fine lines, as thin as hair, yet arranged with extreme regularity. Those lines were almost identical to the patterns on the soul tool fragments he had brought back before.
"You little rascal, you've already figured it out in reverse?"
Engineer Gu didn't speak, but simply tilted his head slightly as a response.
He put down the file, took a metal probe thinner than a hair from the tool rack, held it with tweezers, and carefully inserted it into a groove on the surface of the metal sheet. Then he picked up the multimeter next to him and connected the probe to it.
The numbers on the dial jumped a few times before settling on a single value.
Engineer Gu glanced at it, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He put down the multimeter, picked up the file again, and gently scraped the stripe along the previous line, removing metal shavings finer than dust. Then he measured again.
This time, his brow relaxed.
He didn't say a word throughout the entire process.
Li Fulan watched with great interest. This was Gu Gong's style—no explanations, no nonsense, he let his work speak for itself. The young technicians at the base all called him "the mute master," which, though not a flattering nickname, was indeed fitting.
"The energy source in that world is soul power." Li Fulan took out the metal fragment that emitted a faint blue light from his pocket and placed it on the workbench. "This is the core of their soul tool, which is equivalent to our battery and circuit board combined. If you can modify our equipment interface to use this kind of soul power circuit, the driving problem will be solved."
Engineer Gu finally raised his head and glanced at the fragment.
He put down his tools, picked up the fragment with tweezers, and examined it closely. His eyes, sharp as the light, were like a sophisticated scanner, scrutinizing every detail.
After a while, he put down the fragments and took a palm-sized blank metal plate from the tool rack.
Then he picked up an extremely fine carving knife and began to carve on the metal plate.
His movements were swift, yet each cut was as steady as a rock. The carving knife sliced across the metal surface with a soft hissing sound, and metal shavings fell in a flurry. The patterns quickly took shape under his hands, gradually evolving from simple straight lines into complex loop patterns.
Watching his movements, Li Fulan suddenly recalled a phrase—"Master Butcher Carving an Ox."
The old man carved for about ten minutes, then put down his carving knife and handed the metal plate to Li Fulan.
Li Fulan took a look and gasped.
A complete energy circuit had been engraved on the metal plate, identical to the structure on the soul tool fragment, but more refined and regular. If the patterns on the soul tool fragment were handwritten cursive script, then the patterns on this metal plate were printed Song typeface—every stroke and every line was precise to the extreme.
"This efficiency..."
Li Fulan was astonished. He had previously thought that reverse engineering would take at least a week, but he didn't expect this old guy to have it done by hand in ten minutes.
Engineer Gu stood up and walked to the holographic projection table in the center of the laboratory. His fingers moved quickly across the control panel, and a complex 3D model slowly appeared on the projection table.
They were two ancient-style bronze furnaces, one large and one small. The larger one was about half a person's height, while the smaller one was only knee-high. The furnaces were carved with intricate patterns, depicting dragons and phoenixes in flight, with swirling clouds and mist, exuding an indescribable ancient charm.
"Forging furnace. Alchemy furnace."
Engineer Gu spoke, his voice hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
He tapped his finger on the projection, and a cross-sectional diagram of the large furnace appeared. The internal structure was extremely complex, with a high-frequency induction heating system, a precise temperature control module, a soul power conversion circuit, and an energy circulation system that he didn't quite understand.
"The outer shell is made of antique bronze alloy. The internal temperature control is based on seventh-generation nanometer technology." Engineer Gu's words seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, as if he were using very few words. "The largest has a maximum temperature of 2,000 degrees Celsius. The smallest has an accuracy of 0.01 degrees Celsius."
He paused, then tapped the projector; a panel with a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) pattern appeared on the top of the small stove.
"Control panel. Rotate to adjust firepower."
Li Fulan looked at the design and nodded in satisfaction. This design would definitely leave those naive Soul Masters completely bewildered.
Engineer Gu made a few more swipes, and a third model appeared on the projector. It was a larger furnace, with a complex set of robotic arms and conveyor belts next to it. Although the overall design still maintained the simple bronze style, upon closer inspection, the joints of the robotic arms concealed sophisticated hydraulic systems.
"Automatic alchemy furnace," Engineer Gu said. "Add materials, select formula, and start with one button."
He paused, then unusually added a few more words: "The yield rate is 99.9%. It can only be used to make low-level pills. There are too many variables for medium and high-level pills, and the algorithm is still running."
Looking at the cyberpunk-style "automatic pill refining machine," Li Fulan envisioned a grand blueprint for mass-producing pills. Although it could only produce low-grade pills, the demand for low-grade pills was the greatest. As long as mass production was possible, he could make a fortune by selling in large quantities.
"Old Gu, you're a genius! If we brought this thing over..."
"I object."
A cold, emotionless female voice suddenly rang out at the laboratory door.