67: Micrometer-level surgery

"Reactor core temperature 650 degrees, radiation levels at critical point.

You only have one chance. Failure means a core meltdown, and we won't even have time to write our wills."

Old Chen's voice over the communication channel was as taut as a fully drawn bowstring, completely devoid of his usual banter.

Inside the reactor chamber, the high temperature distorted the air, and the red glow of the alarm lights painted the scene like a purgatory.

Jiang Ran was clad in heavy exoskeleton armor.

Thick liquid-cooling circulation pipes were connected to his back, making him look like a steel titan standing beside the trembling furnace.

Before him, the black reactor shell was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

Eerie blue cherenkov radiation was hissing out of the cracks, as if from a heart about to shatter.

"Understood."

He responded in a low voice, his eyes scanning the parameters on his helmet display before he operated the heavy hydraulic Mechanical Arm, slowly moving it toward the work point.

He was the "nerve".

In this precision surgery, he was responsible for controlling tons of mechanical equipment, maintaining absolute micron-level stability amidst the violent flow of energy.

Providing a platform for the true lead surgeon.

Beside him, Su Qingyu wore only a lightweight high-lead protective suit.

She didn't wear a bulky exoskeleton because she needed an exquisite sense of touch.

In her hand, she held the specialized microfluidic injection needle connected to the Bio-active Steel container.

The device was as precise as a work of art.

In this high-temperature environment capable of roasting an ordinary person.

Her breathing was surprisingly steady, and her usually cold eyes were now terrifyingly focused.

She was the "hands".

"Position confirmed."

Su Qingyu's voice was cold and clear, coming through the mask with a reassuring calmness:

"Crack depth 2.4 centimeters, pulsating."

"Prepare for guidance."

"I'll handle the brain calculations and flow rate control."

In the main control room on the upper level, Old Chen sat before six monitors with rapidly scrolling data, his hands moving so fast across the keyboard they left afterimages:

"Kid, lock down the Mechanical Arm. Don't you dare shake.

Girl Su, make sure your aim is true before you insert the needle."

"Let's begin."

Jiang Ran took a deep breath, and the exoskeleton's servo motors emitted a low locking sound.

Huge alloy steel claws gripped the anchor points on the reactor's outer wall tightly, turning him into an immovable sculpture.

The operating table was in place.

"Release the flow!"

Old Chen's roar exploded over the channel.

As the magnetic valve opened, the Bio-active Steel imprisoned in the container finally found an outlet.

It like an infuriated silver python, it roared into the delivery pipe.

"Thump!!"

A dull, heavy thud.

Even through the thick exoskeleton armor, Jiang Ran could clearly feel a terrifying kinetic energy slamming into the tip of the Mechanical Arm.

It wasn't the sound of liquid flowing at all, but the roar of countless steel balls frantically crashing against the pipe walls.

The Mechanical Arm vibrated violently.

The hydraulic transmission rods screeched with metal-on-metal friction, and the red alarm lights at the joints flashed frantically.

This damn liquid had a temper.

It was trying to break free from the magnetic restraint, the massive reactionary force acting like a wild bull, trying to push the injection port right off the crack it had just aligned with.

Once the injection port came loose, the high-energy fluid would spray out, incinerating both of them in an instant.

"Hold... steady!"

Jiang Ran grit his teeth, the veins at his temples throbbing as every muscle inside the armor tensed to the limit.

The nerve connection device amplified his senses; right now, he felt as if his own arm was bearing the weight of a thousand tons.

He couldn't retreat, not even by a single millimeter.

The exoskeleton's auxiliary power was at full capacity, its servo motors emitting a scorched smell from the overload.

He was wrestling with this puddle of lifeless metal.

At this moment, Jiang Ran was the central nerve of this machine; he had to use a will of steel to pin this violent force down onto the "operating table."

"Kaka—Boom..."

With his low growl, the Mechanical Arm let out a roar that pushed its limits, forcibly suppressing the force that was trying to rear its head.

The amplitude of the vibration was forced down from visible shaking to a near-static state.

"Interface... locked."

Jiang Ran squeezed the words through his teeth, sweat instantly blurring his vision, but he didn't dare to blink.

The crude physical suppression was only to gain a momentary window; the real challenge was just beginning.

"Fluid turbulence at 78%!

We can't rely on the program for automatic injection; it's resisting entering the crack!"

Old Chen's anxious roar came through: "It must be guided manually! Quick!"

This active metal was like a living parasite.

They didn't want to fill the dead cracks; they only wanted to devour the more active energy sources around them.

Relying on the Mechanical Arm's servo programs was impossible against such chaotic variables; the only way was to rely on human intuition.

Su Qingyu moved.

Amidst the suffocating heat wave, she took a step forward, nearly pressing herself against the reactor's outer wall, where radiation levels were off the charts.

She didn't look at the flickering data screen beside her.

Instead, she closed her eyes and removed the thick heat-resistant gloves that hindered her sense of touch, revealing a pair of slender yet calloused hands.

The moment those hands touched the microfluidic valve, she seemed to go still.

"Buzz..."

Every vibration of the silver fluid hitting the pipe walls was transmitted through the metal valve directly to her fingertips.

She was listening, using her sense of touch to listen to the breathing rhythm of this "beast."

In that moment, the world seemed to slow down in her eyes.

During a tiny lull in the fluid's surge, Su Qingyu's fingers moved.

It wasn't a large turn of a knob, but like playing the most delicate instrument, her fingertips quivered extremely fast over the control valve.

Rotate left 0.3 mm, retract, rotate right 0.5 mm, advance.

Her movements were so fast they were mere afterimages, yet they were terrifyingly steady.

Sweat rolled down her pale cheeks, evaporating into a wisp of white smoke before even hitting the floor, but her hands didn't tremble once.

This was a dance on the edge of a blade.

She was anticipating every surge of the fluid, using uniquely human non-linear intuition to forcibly carve a path of order through this chaotic system.

The silver fluid that had been violently slamming against the valve.

Under her micro-manipulation, it was actually soothed, beginning to docilely peek out along the path of the guide needle.

The scene was eerily beautiful and bone-chilling.

On Old Chen's main control screen, the crimson areas representing fatal damage were now being rapidly eroded and covered by countless silver points of light. This wasn't a stiff repair like filling a crack with cement.

Once the Bio-active Steel guided in by Su Qingyu came into contact with the high temperatures of the reactor's inner wall.

It instantly transformed into countless ultra-fine silver mycelia.

They greedily grasped the metal on both sides of the crack.

Like living sutures, they sought out the fracture points in the metal lattice on their own, then bit down and tightened.

The cracks that were still hissing out radioactive gas "healed" at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Just like that... perfect, it's practically a miracle..." Old Chen stared at the screen, his voice trembling, almost forgetting to breathe.

"Beep—!!"

A piercing alarm blared without warning, shattering the brief moment of success.

"Damn it! This thing is too active! It's devouring temperature probe number three!"

Old Chen's roar even drowned out the alarm: "It's treating the probe as an energy source! Cut it off, quick!

Otherwise, a short circuit in the probe will trigger a core backflow!"

In that instant, there was no time to think; it was pure instinct. "zero, suppress the vibration!"

Su Qingyu barked.

Jiang Ran slammed the exoskeleton's hydraulic output to the max, pinning the delivery pipe—which was struggling violently due to the sudden shift in fluid direction—firmly in place.

Simultaneously, Su Qingyu's fingers flicked the microfluidic valve in reverse with lightning speed.

It was an extremely counter-intuitive maneuver—suddenly pulling back at the critical moment of injection.

The wisp of silver fluid trying to envelop the probe was instantly cut off from any further pressure.

Within a hair's breadth of touching the probe's electrode.

It was forced to retract due to the loss of kinetic energy, only to be immediately driven back onto the correct crack trajectory by Su Qingyu's next precise "push."

"Gurgle..."

A sound like some giant beast swallowing echoed from deep within the reactor.

The silver light surged suddenly, then quickly dimmed, completely merging with the black reactor shell.

The last trace of the crack vanished, replaced by a naturally formed-looking scar that shimmered with a faint silver glow.

"Disengage."

Following Su Qingyu's weak but firm command.

Jiang Ran operated the Mechanical Arm to slowly release the injection port, which had already been welded solid onto the reactor.

As the hydraulic clamps retracted, the final connection was severed.

Inside the reactor chamber, the maddening hissing of the leak vanished completely.

What followed was a low, heavy, and highly penetrating hum.

"Hum—Hum—Hum—"

Like a strong heart beating powerfully within a chest, even the deck beneath their feet vibrated slightly with the rhythm.

The manic feeling of an impending explosion was gone; now, the reactor felt only profoundly steady.

"Resetting control rods... cooling circuit pressure normal... core ignition!"

In the upper main control room, Old Chen slammed his finger onto the Enter key.

Three pairs of eyes stared intently at the energy output bar on the central screen. That progress bar, which had been hovering near the red line and could have dropped to zero at any moment.

Now, like an infuriated flood dragon, it surged upward without hindrance. 50%... 80%... 100%!

It didn't stop!

The green mark representing full load was instantly surpassed, the value soaring all the way until it steadied at an incredible number—115%.

"Not only is it fixed..."

Old Chen slumped into his chair, his grease-stained face flushed red from excessive excitement, his voice as raspy as sandpaper:

"Output power increased by 15%... this isn't just a repair, it's an evolution.

This ship... is alive."

Inside the reactor chamber, Su Qingyu's tense body finally relaxed.

That moment of relaxation seemed to drain all her strength; her body swayed, and she began to fall backward.

A large hand covered in exoskeleton armor steadily supported her back.

Jiang Ran removed his heavy helmet, revealing a sweat-drenched face, and looked down at the equally sweaty and pale Su Qingyu.

For once, she didn't avoid his gaze; though exhausted, her eyes sparkled with an unprecedented light.

Through the thick blast-proof glass, the three of them looked at the rejuvenated reactor.

The silver scar winding across the black shell.

Now, it pulsed with the core's energy, emitting a faint, breathing light, like a newborn medal for this warship.

In a world full of ruins and death, the heart of the black iron began to beat once more.