Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 175 The Handsome Guy and the Little Wooden Guy

Zhai Da found a really fun place.

The Industrial Innovation Center is currently idle. Apart from the occasional visit from people in various laboratories on the third floor to use the equipment, he is the only "visitor" on the first and second floors.

That very day, he dragged Wu Qiang along and tried out many things he had never used before. With his basic skills, he could learn them in one go, and he could also learn the ones he had never seen before by watching Wu Qiang operate them. These new devices immediately enriched his own "craft system" and represented infinite possibilities.

Even after Jiang Xiaobai left, he didn't leave. He didn't care about military training or anything like that, and even treated Wu Qiang to a meal that night.

Wu Qiang is his current "liaison" at the Industrial Innovation Center. The extent of his authority depends on how good his relationship with Wu Qiang is.

Wu Qiang has the typical "working class" personality. He has a stable job and prefers to avoid trouble. However, if you get to know him a little better and give him some respect and benefits, it's quite easy for him to pull strings within his power.

Especially since Zhai Da was a student, how could he be expected to ask for cigarettes or alcohol? So a meal brought them much closer together.

"Let me tell you, the equipment on the second floor and above is not cheap, and in principle, freshmen like you are not allowed to operate it."

Zhai Da opened the pack of hard-pack cigarettes, handed one to Wu Qiang, and then pushed the whole pack over without touching it himself.

"Go on, I'm listening."

"Ahem, but the instructions from above didn't go into such detail, did they? I think we should be flexible while adhering to principles."

“You’re right, I think so too. Boss, give me two bottles of ‘The Way of Giving’.”

Wu Qiang quickly pressed down on Zhai Da's hand: "Hey, hey, hey, you can't drink that much! One bottle is enough."

Zhai Da pressed down on Wu Qiang's hand: "I know we can't drink it all. This is takeout. Let's just have some beer today."

An hour later, at the restaurant entrance, Wu Qiang, carrying two packets of strong liquor and two bottles of "Shezhidao" (a type of herbal tea), was filled with emotion.

If this weren't his own top scholar, he would have suspected him of being a spy! His understanding of human relationships was just too perfect!

Patting his chest, he said to Zhai Da, who was old enough to be his son, "Brother, if you need anything, just let me know! Brother Wu will take care of everything for you!"

Zhai Da smiled and waved, glancing at the wine box in the other person's hand, thinking to himself, "This wine has a good name."
The Way of Giving Up. Who researched this thing?

------

Back at the Shenzhou Mansion, Yu Xiaoli and Lu Wei had already eaten, as they had already exchanged greetings.

Lu Wei was writing and drawing at the dining table. The desk she ordered hadn't been finished yet, and she usually stayed here.

Lu Wei has been particularly focused these past few days, sometimes sitting for most of the day.

Yu Xiaoli, on the other hand, continued watching television.

Middle-aged and elderly people don't have many entertainment options, especially in unfamiliar cities, so television became Yu Xiaoli's only hope.

Actually, I've been in Harbin for about ten days now, and I'm getting restless and want to go back, but I haven't found a suitable opportunity to say so.

Every day she was bored and hesitated about whether to leave early. Originally, she planned to stay until Zhai Da finished his military training.

"You're back? What are you carrying?"

Zhai Da placed the bag he was carrying on the shoe cabinet: "I bought some things at the computer mall downstairs."

If things had gone according to plan, Zhai Da would have taken out his "literary girl's pen" and teamed up with Lu Wei to write his own modified version of "The Time-Traveling Cohabitation Manual".

If you change the timeline to 08 and 24 years later, this book becomes quite interesting for its author, Zhai Da.

However, he had just returned from the "Industrial Innovation Center" today and was itching to do something else.

After rummaging through his master bedroom for a while, Zhai Da returned with a few sheets of paper and a pencil, and sat down next to Lu Wei.

Lu Wei, who had been completely absorbed in the moment, turned her head to look at Zhai Da, then moved her stool closer and closer.
To be precise, it was only when her fair knees touched Zhai Da's trouser legs that she stopped.

Zhai Da looked through the manuscript paper on the table; it was a "magic prop" he had designed for himself when he was in Dongyang County.

I've been wearing my military training uniform and getting exposed to the sun every day lately, so I haven't been able to do magic tricks in ages.

Although you can hide a lot of things in camouflage clothing, it's uncomfortable and hot.

He envisioned three gadgets: a "poker pistol," a "magic vest," and finally, a "cheating coin."

There wasn't enough time then, so only a few coins were made; the remaining two were still in the design phase.

The "magic vest" is another matter, but the "poker pistol" is clearly beyond the needs of a regular magician, just as his hand-polishing of the S-shaped metal component with a precision of less than three micrometers is not because the metal component is useful.

Playing with a poker pistol is also a form of practice, something you do for fun.

Today he visited many new facilities and some entirely new ideas came to his mind.

"Handgun" and the like are too abstract. If they're not made like toys, they're inconvenient to take out. If they're made too much like toys, it's embarrassing to take them out.

I just happened to see an advertisement in the computer mall downstairs that featured Sony laptops collaborating with their own copyrighted IPs.
Zhai Da began to sketch on the paper, his pencil controlled by his skillful and precise hand, drawing lines one after another.

Similar to Lu Tao's ability to quickly sketch out stadium designs, Zhai Da also has strong drawing skills, but he doesn't rely on talent; he's purely a numerical genius.

However, engineering design drawings are different from architectural design drawings. If they are transformed into large-scale scenes, problems may arise in terms of spatial perspective.

In no time, a conceptual sketch was completed.

Like a larger deck of cards, it is strapped to the wrist, with a rib-like restraint structure on the back. There is a slit at the front of the box for "playing cards", and the sides are gears that transmit power, which is ultimately powered by the "string" at the bottom.

This is a "card dealer" that is strapped to the wrist. The old version of Spider-Man 3, which was released last year, inspired Zhai Da.

Of course, for a magic prop to be "practical," it also needs reasonable details, such as those shown in the other half of the sketch.

The mechanisms and gears are hidden inside the sleeves and can easily get caught in the clothing, so a smooth outer shell is needed to cover them.

Winding the bottom string with both hands is still cumbersome. An extended design could include a leather sleeve that connects to the elbow, allowing for one-handed "winding" using the elbow.

For an even more complex approach, the forearm can be coordinated with the wrist to wind the card with a gentler force, thus pushing it out lightly.

For example, you might raise your hand and a card might fly out from your sleeve and you catch it.

Zhai Da looked at the sketch, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips. "Don't tell me if it's useful or not."

Tell me, aren't you handsome?
Compared to a "poker pistol," the "wrist card dealer" is smaller and more flexible. With the addition of arm control, it can produce more combinations, such as spinning cards, instead of simply firing them like a pistol.

Most importantly, "Mystic Codes" provide a variety of permanent magic-related effects, such as:
Mr. Fantastic (Resident): The magic props you carry will never give you away or fail, making them appear like magic to the untrained eye.

This single feature alone can transform what other magicians consider an overly complex and unstable prop into a magical item that delivers consistent performance.

The Industrial Innovation Center has sufficient equipment support, including cutting-edge metal 3D printing technology from 08. With a few more attempts, it will definitely be able to make it! According to his calculations, under maximum force, coupled with the alloy material of the "Clown Poker" itself, the lethality is hard to say, but the "resistance" is not weak.

Zhai Da nodded in satisfaction and continued drawing, breaking down each part into its own component drawings. This part was not so smooth and required a lot of thought.

Before I knew it, when I looked up again, Yu Xiaoli was no longer in the living room. She must have gotten tired of watching TV and gone back to her room to rest.

Zhai Da and Lu Wei discussed it for a while, then took showers and returned to their own rooms.

The living room became completely dark.

After moving here, their rooms were no longer separated by a wall, but rather faced each other.

Zhai Da is the master bedroom, and Lu Wei is the second bedroom. Zhai Da has a double bed, and Lu Wei has a single bed.

This meant that the two no longer had the opportunity to chat through the wall in the middle of the night, and could no longer use the wall's resonance to play those indistinct music.

Little Wood couldn't express what Lu Wei was thinking, but Zhai Da felt that he had lost a lot of fun.

So he took the bag out of the shoe cabinet and fiddled with it on the bedside table for a while.

At midnight, Zhai Da sent Lu Wei a text message: "Asleep?"

Lu Wei replied quickly: "Not yet. Can't sleep."

"Then open the door."

Zhai Da got up, barefoot, and gently opened the door. Just across the hallway, Lu Wei's room, a meter away, was also open.

Lu Wei was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, her fair and slender legs were faintly visible through the crack in the door, and she was barefoot.

Perhaps because the ground was cold, her silkworm-like toes unconsciously clenched, which was quite adorable.

Zhai Da chuckled, handed Lu Wei something, and whispered, "It's all set up. Just press the red button."

Lu Wei took it and hesitated for a moment, then a hint of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Zhai Da returned to bed, lay sprawled out, picked up his own, and pressed the red button:
"Please respond if you hear me. Over."

A moment later, Lu Wei's hesitant voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"I heard that. Over?"

In the master bedroom, illuminated only by a single table lamp, Zhai Da chuckled: "Like it? Over."

In the dark bedroom, where only the messy night outside the window was visible, Lu Wei sat on the edge of the bed with her legs bent, holding a walkie-talkie that was a bit too big for her, and whispered, "I like it! Over!"

Surprisingly, Zhai Da could actually hear the joy and happiness in Lu Wei's voice.

So he couldn't help but smile.

"Don't you think it's a bit silly to say 'over'? Over."

"Feeling okay, that's all."

"Let's change it. From now on, you can end with 'Handsome Guy,' and I'll end with 'Little Wooden Head,' Little Wooden Head!"

Zhai Dashuai is the contact name of Zhai Da in Lu Wei's phone (Zhai Da saved it himself on the night he gave her the phone).

In Zhai Da's phone, Lu Wei was initially called "malnourished," but as her health improved and her chubby little body grew in the right places, she became "little wooden block."

"Okay, handsome."

"With this, we can chat at night like before. I always felt like something was missing after we moved here, Little Wood."

"Will it wake up Teacher Yu, handsome guy?"

"Keep your voice down, Mom is on your side, but the middle is a solid wall. Little wood."

Zhai Da shifted to a more comfortable position, stretched, and chased away the fatigue from military training: "Don't you get bored staying at home every day, you little blockhead?"

"It's alright with Teacher Yu, but Teacher Yu seems a bit boring, handsome guy."

"Mom is getting restless. I doubt she can stay until my military training is over. I'll find some time to discuss it with her. There are still people in Jinan waiting for her to climb Mount Tai."

Lu Wei immediately reminded him, "Where's Little Wood?"

Zhai Da added, "Uh, little blockhead."

In the second bedroom, Lu Wei's eyes flickered; she wanted to hear those three words.

Since meeting Zhai Da, Lu Wei has gradually become more vibrant and healthy, like a sapling that was about to wither away, and has grown new branches.

She didn't just draw energy from Zhai Da; rather, she felt his vitality and warmth, which inspired her own energy.

It turns out that light can indeed pass through the cracks in the ice.

Although this energy is not yet powerful enough to be properly expressed, it is already indispensable.

Through the walkie-talkie in his arms, Zhai Da's voice was slightly distorted, but that made it all the more magnetic and warm: "See that gray button on the side, little wooden guy?"

"I see him, handsome guy."

"That's 'always on,' so we can play music like before. The music library will still be the ones you're familiar with. What do you want to hear, Little Wooden Head?"

The walkie-talkie was silent for a moment.

Lu Wei's cautious whisper came through.

"Our Song - Handsome Guy"

A moment later, music even more distorted than the walls began to play.

Lu Wei placed the bulky walkie-talkie next to her pillow, in the same direction that "Mr. Wall" used to be.

I've listened to it a hundred times already.

"I never get tired of listening to it."

"You've been by my side from day to night~"

"Take me into your dreams~"

　Updates are gradually returning to normal, probably the day after tomorrow.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)