Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 216 Unlimited Potential! [Mechanical Core] (Long chapter added to make up for missed updates, time to settle debts!)

With safe driving as the sole criterion, the Porsche finally arrived at the back gate of Harbin Institute of Technology.

Along the way, whether it was because we were driving slowly or because the equipment was too powerful, three passersby showed interest in getting to know us, and two of them even came up and knocked on the car window.

Another person pretended not to know there were people in the car and applied lipstick while looking out the window.

Zhai Da would tease Wu Yue every time, which made Wu Yue so angry that he almost got off the bus halfway through the journey.

Back at the craft brewery, everyone who was working craned their necks to look around, marveling at how cool the car was. Then they saw their boss and second boss get out of the car.

That makes sense; there's nothing wrong with the boss driving this car.

Wu Yue was still sulking. After getting out of the car, he ignored Zhai Da and went straight to the base. Zhai Da laughed and didn't care. Isn't brotherhood just for messing around with?

He then turned his attention to his own affairs.

Looking around, it was still the small shop on the side of the workshop. All the clutter that had been piled up before had been cleaned up, and Qin Yang seemed to have even helped clean it up. The place was spotless.

There's actually room for one car.

This row of shops was originally full of car washes and auto repair shops, with a small cement ramp in front of almost every shop. Zhai Da simply opened the door and backed the car in.

It's a bit crowded, but it's not a big problem.

After getting out of the car, Zhai Da examined it.

To be honest, I wasn't particularly fond of Porsches in my previous life, probably because I was already thirty when I had the money to buy one, and my taste and aesthetic sense had changed by then.

At least this Porsche Boxster S should be more in line with the aesthetic preferences of those under 30. Well, for women, it might be suitable for all ages.

From a purely material perspective, there's nothing regrettable about combining it into Zhai Da; what makes him hesitant is the old-fashioned bicycle.
Zhai Da stretched out his right hand, hovering about a meter in the air. With a thought, his old black bicycle instantly appeared and landed steadily on the ground.

Before Zhai Da's rebirth, he hadn't paid much attention to this sturdy bicycle. Even after his mother passed away, he rarely went back to Dongyang County, and the old bicycle was no longer on his mind.

It might have been parked in the carport downstairs for years and already been stolen.

My hand ran over the bicycle's crossbar; it was hard and thick, giving me a sense of security, especially after I learned about its effectiveness.

After a long time, Zhai Da finally made a decision.

My grandfather left me with more than just a bicycle; he absorbed much more into his soul.

Zhai Da straightened his back and opened the system's equipment crafting interface.

Drag and drop the two pieces of equipment in.

"Detecting. The crafting path exists: [Nine-Turn Resurrection Car] + [Sturdy Permanent 28-inch Bike]."

"Please place all materials and equipment in a real-world space where there are no observers."

Zhai Da took one last look at the bicycle, a thought flickering in his mind. He then took out his old knock-off phone, which he hadn't had time to replace, and took a picture with the bicycle.

Looking at the poor image quality on the screen, Zhai Da smiled, thinking it would be a good memento.

He then patted the bicycle seat, left the cramped space, and turned to pull up the roller shutter door.

"Environmental conditions detected, synthesis is about to begin. Please do not damage the environment or attempt to observe it without authorization."

"It's shielding off fluctuations, collapsing reality, and cleaning up traces."

This was probably the largest piece of equipment Zhai Da had ever synthesized since he acquired the system, but the system's power was still unpredictable, and the result was obtained in less than a second.

"Synthesis complete."

Zhai Da took a deep breath, and with a whoosh, pulled open the roller shutter door.
The color scheme has changed from red and white to black.

The new equipment still retains the Porsche brand, but it has been replaced with a different model that Zhai Da remembers.

A pure black Panamera, the color of which seems to have been inherited from the old-fashioned bicycle, is known online as the "Black Knight".

Compared to the previous models' purely showy style, this one is more understated.

Hmm, but not much.

A four-seater sedan is more practical than a two-seater sports car; at least in Harbin, a convertible is really a rather stupid design.

From a purely practical standpoint, if a scrapped and modified car worth tens of thousands of yuan were transformed into a brand-new Panamera, Zhai Da would probably only make a net profit of over 100 million yuan. However, just like the [Pure Gold Secret Staff], once an item becomes equipment, it can no longer be measured by worldly value.

This car has a very special name in the system.

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the blue equipment [Mechanical Core]: It has been completely transformed, shedding its impetuousness and becoming pure and clean. Its current appearance is merely an illusion."

Ownership: Owned, activated.

"Equipment Effect 1: This vehicle is like the Ship of Theseus, any real-world modifications can be perfectly integrated into the vehicle's performance."

"Equipment Effect 2: This vehicle has an extremely high threshold for [Equipment Modification]. No [Equipment Modification] will weaken its energy, and it may even be strengthened due to different parts."

"Equipment Effect 3: This vehicle's main structural strength is increased by 30%. The driver will not suffer serious injury or worse in any of the nine traffic accidents. Current remaining chances (9/9)."

"Special Effect → Mechanical Core: Based on 'Compatibility', this vehicle can be fused with other [equipment] through modification. After successful fusion, it will permanently absorb the spirit of other equipment and gain the corresponding effects."

"Unlocking Mission: Accumulate 100km of mileage on the Harbin Institute of Technology campus. Current progress (0/100)."

"Note: The protection of the younger generation has been passed down in another way, as has the pursuit of skills."

Zhai Da carefully examined the system description, and the shock in his mind was far greater than when he saw a Panamera.

It can absorb the "spirit" of other equipment and turn its "effects" for its own use.
What is the concept?
A car that increases the driver's adrenaline?
A car that can increase an actor's immersion by 300% when playing cartoons on a single screen?

A car that will almost certainly cause tetanus if it hits someone?
Furthermore, it can be continuously modified to perfectly fit various conventional parts, and its own "thought" will not be damaged.

Only then did Zhai Da understand the meaning of "appearance is just appearance".

It's a car now! Couldn't it also become a submarine with extraordinary capabilities?

The potential of the [Mechanical Core] depends entirely on how much modification it can be given and how much equipment with suitable 'compatibility' it possesses.

That's a bit too overpowered. And this is only "blue rarity"?
How overpowered is that "purple" version? Is it because the power of the [Mechanical Core] requires time and resources to develop on your own?

Zhai Da stroked the beautifully curved sedan, then opened the car door and, sure enough, saw a brand new car key on the center console.

The system isn't stupid enough to forget this.

The interior is alright, a little worse than my previous Maybach, and the style is more youthful.

Zhai Da was puzzled when he saw the dashboard and the in-car screen.
This size is quite large. After he came back, he also saw luxury cars from 08, mainly several vehicles from the Lu family. However, due to the limitations of the times, the screens generally looked small and outdated.

While this one in front of us is still far inferior to the large-screen TVs produced by domestic new energy sources back then, it still looks quite photogenic.

Zhai Da realized a key point.
I turned on my knock-off phone and used expensive data to search for something.

After a long while, he looked at the screen with a somewhat unreadable expression.
It seems there isn't a Panamera in the world yet. Porsche doesn't have this model.

That's true. The system never seems to have said that what it synthesizes will necessarily conform to the current era and be reasonable both forward and backward.

It's a system, after all, isn't it?
This is a bit troublesome. Although the "appearance" of this car is only a superficial manifestation of the [mechanical core], the car model is still related to many things, such as the vehicle registration certificate.
How could he explain to Wu Yue that the paperwork he had finally managed to complete had to be redone, and that he had even modified the car he had just bought into a model that didn't even exist on the market?
Hmm. Let's lock it up here for a few days first, at least to make the "time" seem more reasonable. Otherwise, modifying a car every half hour is something even a god couldn't explain.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhai Da realized something and sat back down.

I kept looking at the screen. One second, two seconds.
If this car wasn't even a car that should have been available in 08...
So what is this vehicle infotainment system?
What kind of chip is used?
Zhai Da's eyes widened more and more.
Is this even a gas-powered car?!

Zhai Da immediately took out the [Pure Gold Secret Staff] and quickly tapped the ground lightly.

Invisible ripples spread out
Only then did he seem to understand why the mysterious and unpredictable "Uncertainty Pocket Watch" initially pointed to the "Nine-Turn Resurrection Chariot".
The changes this equipment brought him were truly beyond imagination!

"Host has completed the unsealing task."

"【Uncertainty Pocket Watch】Special Effect: Lost, now unlocked."

"Special effect 'Lost': Point it at someone and swing it left and right. If the other person's attention is focused on the pocket watch for more than five seconds, they will enter a 'Lost' state for five seconds, their thoughts will be temporarily suspended, and they will recover after five seconds."

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Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in northern Beijing.

Qian Xuesen Engineering Science Experimental Base.

Inside the empty factory, there was only one solitary, enormous object.

The massive pipe, over two hundred meters long and several meters in diameter, seems to be a perfect blend of industry and technology.

Since its launch at the beginning of this year, hundreds of people at the base and many teams across the country have been working hard to improve it little by little. Nearly twelve months have passed, but it is still far from being complete.

After all, this is something that has never been done before in the world, and every step requires exploration.

Fortunately, they are about to have their first test run, and the results of this test will determine the future path of the entire project.

Whether we receive stronger support, with ample funding and manpower, or face further challenges and need to conduct further research for several years, depends on this outcome.

A middle-aged technician is sitting above the pipe, carefully riveting new parts.

This extremely long device will experience explosive airflow at several times the speed of sound, and in some stages, it will also produce hydrogen-oxygen combustion, pressures thousands of times the atmosphere, and temperatures of thousands of degrees. Therefore, its robustness is only the foundation.

Precision is life.

Such a long piece of equipment must have an overall straightness of no more than 0.5 millimeters and a segmental straightness of no more than 0.2 millimeters, and contains countless precision devices.

However, long working hours inevitably lead to fatigue, and his eyes became red and dry with eye discharge. The project team has not yet received support from "heavenly soldiers and generals," and is short-handed, so he is the only one who can do many tasks.

After installing a part, the technician breathed a sigh of relief and was about to turn around to get his tools when he suddenly squinted.

My eyes are crusted with eye boogers.
It was completely subconscious that I started to rub it, and as a result, I closed my eyes and lost my balance, sliding down to the side.

Working on a pipe with a diameter of three meters is already considered working at height. The technician was wearing a safety rope, but due to a clumsy grabbing motion, his right hand was twisted by his own weight.

"oops!!"

His coworkers rushed to his aid, but the technician's hand was trembling with pain; it had dislocated.
Three hours later, the middle-aged technician, who had just returned from the hospital after completing emergency treatment, sat dejectedly in his supervisor's office.

"The doctor said it's not a big problem, and it should be fine after about a month of rest."

The supervisor wiped his face, feeling physically and mentally exhausted, but he couldn't bear to be harsh. The whole team only had this one "master craftsman," and he had indeed made him too tired. It wasn't an operational error on his part; these kinds of things are unpredictable.

Without even asking, the work progress was definitely much worse. The supervisor sighed, "It's okay, just focus on recovering. I'll talk to the higher-ups later and postpone the first test by a month. Also, cancel the invitations for visits."

The technician lamented, "Sigh, even pushing it for a month might not be enough. And then it's right around the Spring Festival, which means another month will be wasted, which is equivalent to two months!"

"Good things come to those who wait. You should take this opportunity to take a vacation."

The mechanic suddenly had an idea and slapped his thigh with his hand!
"I remember now, didn't we outsource the speed reduction blades for our damping section to people from Harbin Institute of Technology? I saw the parts they sent over the last two times, and they're experienced workers with their own projects! Could we hire some outside help?!"

"foreign aid?"

"Yes! Let's invite that experienced craftsman over and work together. He'll do the physical work, and I'll do the talking. At most, a week—no, four days—and we can finish the rest of the work!"

The supervisor thought it was at least worth asking.

Harbin Institute of Technology is, after all, an absolute "insider" within the system, deeply integrated into countless key national projects, so I feel quite reassured.

"I'll make a call then, I wonder if that experienced worker would be willing to come."

　This is the last update I'm making up for.

　　I've finally paid it off. Waaah!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)