286: Chapter 286 Adding Automatic Devices

The last rays of the setting sun were still caught on the edge of the workshop's high window, as if snagged by something, stubbornly refusing to fade away.

The metal pipelines glowed with a warm light, and the air was filled with the metallic tang of fresh welding and a lingering scent of something burnt.

Chen Qiaoshou crouched before the main console, his fingers hovering above an embedded panel, not daring to press down.

"The interface is clear," he said in a low voice. "The oxidation layer has been polished off, and the coupling signal is aligned."

Chen Wuwang stood half a step behind him, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye glowing slightly, with a layer of pale blue data streams sliding across the surface of his pupil.

He didn't speak, merely staring at the energy simulation projected in the air—two parallel wave lines, one steady, the other trembling slightly, lagging just a fraction behind.

"Left rail pressure is climbing," he suddenly spoke, his voice kept very low. "Stop before the threshold."

Chen Qiaoshou immediately withdrew his hand and cut off the preheating power supply. The rune light on the energy-conducting rail dimmed for a moment, then slowly stabilized again.

"A 0.3-second delay," he gritted his teeth. "The spiritual energy transmission rate of the old rail can't keep up with the new central hub; a forced connection will cause it to tear."

Chen Tiezhu sat on a small stool in the corner, clutching the bottle that had contained Red Scale Oil, its mouth facing downward; the oil had long since dripped dry.

He wasn't looking this way, but his ears were perked, and he had even quieted his breathing.

"The last short circuit was because of chip oxidation." Chen Qiaoshou pulled a nano-calibration needle from his tool kit, narrowed his eyes, and made minute adjustments to the interface gap. "This time it's not human error; it's a hardware mismatch."

His wrist was extremely steady; with a gentle flick of the needle tip, the interface angle shifted by 0.1 degrees.

"Did it work?" Chen Tiezhu suddenly spoke up, still in that abrupt tone of his.

"Not yet." Chen Qiaoshou wiped the sweat from his forehead, his fingers hovering over the start button again. "It's only 'awake' now; whether it can 'walk' depends on this next moment."

Chen Wuwang didn't speak, simply resting his hand on his shoulder and nodding slightly.

Chen Qiaoshou took a breath and pressed the button.

"Hum—"

A slight vibration, as if coming from deep underground.

The indicator lights on the main console turned from red to yellow, then slowly climbed toward green.

A faint glow rippled across the casing of the automatic control hub, and the internal gear sets began to rotate on their own, emitting a very faint "click, click" sound.

"It's reacting!" a clansman nearby couldn't help but whisper.

The data terminal flashed a line of text: [ System Powered | Standby Mode Activated ]

Chen Qiaoshou didn't smile; instead, he stared at the screen even more intently.

He knew that being powered on didn't mean it could move, and being able to move didn't mean it could withstand the load.

"Self-test program loading." He stared at the progress bar. "Full cycle triggers in three minutes."

Chen Wuwang stepped back half a step, leaning against a support beam, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye continuously scanning.

The energy flow diagram stabilized somewhat, but there was still a slight fluctuation in the right arm transmission area.

"There's an issue with the transmission arm node," he said. "The third axis torque is abnormal."

Just as he finished speaking, the transmission arm indeed jammed.

"Gaa—screech—"

A harsh grinding sound pierced the silence of the workshop.

The transmission arm lifted halfway before getting firmly stuck outside the docking slot, the rune circuits flickering on and off.

The alarm light didn't turn on; the System hadn't recognized this as a malfunction at all.

"Stupid." Chen Tiezhu suddenly stood up, strode over, crouched down, and rubbed the transmission shaft with his finger. "Are you using gel for lubrication?"

"Nano-gel." Chen Qiaoshou turned back.

"It precipitates Impurities under high heat; you call this automation, but it's actually planting your own landmines." Chen Tiezhu pulled the bottle of Red Scale Oil from his robes and unscrewed the cap. "Add two drops, no more."

Chen Qiaoshou was stunned, but he took the bottle and quickly injected two drops of the dark red oil into the gap in the transmission shaft.

The oil seeped in instantly, and the rune light brightened for a moment.

"Restart the self-test." Chen Tiezhu stood up, stepped back two paces, and crossed his arms.

Chen Qiaoshou took a deep breath and pressed restart.

This time, the transmission arm lifted slowly, the gears meshed, and the docking slot closed precisely.

The energy diversion array flashed blue in synchronization, the rune circuits on the energy-conducting rail lit up one by one, and the entire assembly line emitted a low, steady hum.

"It's moving…" someone murmured.

The data terminal flashed a green indicator: [ System Self-Test Complete | Automatic Mode Ready ]

Chen Qiaoshou gasped, as if trying to force all the air into his lungs. He looked down at his hands; they were still shaking.

Chen Wuwang grinned, his eyes stinging a little.

He didn't speak, simply raising his hand to pat Chen Qiaoshou's shoulder, the force nearly knocking him over.

Chen Tiezhu didn't move, staring at the slowly operating rail for a full ten seconds.

Then, the corners of his mouth tugged upward—very briefly, very stiffly, like a rusted gear finally loosening a tooth.

The workshop was silent for a few seconds, with only the hum of the machine echoing.

"External vibration detected." The main console suddenly popped up a warning: [ Blasting Operations Initiated in Mine Vein Area | Suspension of Operation Recommended ]

A muffled sound came from the distance, and the ground shook slightly. The rune light on the energy-conducting rail wavered.

Chen Qiaoshou instinctively wanted to reach out and cut the power, but Chen Wuwang grabbed his wrist.

"Don't cut it." He stared at the waveform in his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye. "Let it take it."

"But what if…"

"Fault tolerance is the prerequisite for progress." Chen Wuwang interrupted him, his voice not loud, but driving into the air like a nail. "A furnace that has exploded seven times can still become a 'Tiezhu Furnace'."

Chen Qiaoshou paused.

Chen Tiezhu stood three steps away, neither speaking nor moving. He watched the transmission arm, seeing it sway slightly in the tremors, the rune light flickering, but never cutting out.

The automatic System initiated its buffer protocol on its own, switching the energy-conducting rail to a flexible oscillation mode to absorb the shock waves. The thirty-second countdown ended, and the green light remained steady.

"Hahahaha!" Chen Wuwang threw his head back and laughed, not too loudly, but enough to shake dust down from overhead.

Chen Qiaoshou sat down on the floor with a thud, leaning against the support beam, his shoulders shaking with laughter, his hand still pressed on the terminal, his fingertips soaked in sweat.

Chen Tiezhu took off his goggles, wiped them, and put them back on. When he looked up again, there was a smile on his face—stiff, but real.

In the workshop, the machine hummed like breathing, the lights were steady, and the pipelines flowed with pale blue light.

The three of them gathered before the main console, none of them moving.

The victory hadn't arrived with a bang, but rather like a breath held for too long, finally being slowly exhaled.

Chen Wuwang looked down at the terminal, the light from his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye reflecting on his face.

Chen Tiezhu stood where he was, still clutching the empty oil bottle.

Chen Qiaoshou leaned against the support beam, panting, his eyes fixed on that slowly operating rail, as if afraid it would stop the next second.

Outside, the blasting sounds of the mine vein continued.

Inside the workshop, the automated device was running steadily.

Thirty seconds had passed, and the green light had not gone out.