Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 221 Relying on Talent to Overcome Challenges!
Inside the empty factory, Zhai Da stood in front of a huge pipe that was nearly twice his height, looking up.

Humans instinctively feel awe towards “great creations”, and even as a bestselling author, I can only sigh at this moment.

That's fucking awesome!
He had already changed into his work clothes and was wearing a safety helmet; to be honest, it was the first time he had ever dressed like this properly.

He turned to Master Gong Changzhang and asked, "What do we do now?"

Master Gong sized up Zhai Da, who was lithe and didn't look like a worker even in his work clothes.

I thought to myself, "Let's see if you can do it first."

“Generally speaking, project teams need to learn theoretical knowledge first, but your situation is a bit special, so I will just explain it to you verbally so that you can understand the general idea.”

"You say."

Gong Changzhang hesitated for a moment; this wasn't really his forte. After much deliberation, he finally said:
"Have you ever seen an old-fashioned popcorn machine? You know, the kind that's all black on the street, and makes a 'pop' sound! The basic theory is similar to that."

How fast can the wind go?

The fastest wind speed in nature is 408 kilometers per hour, more than double the maximum wind speed defined by humans as level 17.

It can be converted to the speed of sound, but it's only 0.33 times the speed of sound.

So how do we create winds that travel at several times the speed of sound? Humanity's answer is...
I'll blow it up!

The 247-meter-long pipe is divided into four sections.

Those of us who have built wind tunnels and can read textbooks without falling asleep know that the structure is roughly like this:

Excluding the connectors, from left to right are the "damping section", "drive section", "driven section" and "test section".

Damping section: When the drive section is ignited and detonated, it removes the shock wave to the left, reducing the impact on the overall structure.

Drive section: High pressure is injected into the hydrogen-oxygen mixture, which ignites and causes a detonation, rapidly emitting shock waves to both sides. The left side is defused, and the right side is utilized. When the set requirements are met, the "diaphragm" between the drive section and the driven section will be ruptured, thereby replacing the manual valve and achieving a T0 level reaction speed.

Driven section: Since different gases have different physical properties, explosive gases cannot be used directly for testing. Therefore, the driven section contains room temperature gases that mimic the composition of air. These gases are accelerated by the detonation in the driven section and propelled towards the test section.

Test section: The test model is placed inside a large tank, and the tank is evacuated to a vacuum. This way, when the airflow comes in, it is a clean, directional, and stable hypersonic airflow. However, the duration of this airflow is very short, with a maximum of no more than 100 milliseconds.

That is, 0.1 seconds.

The massive equipment, over 200 meters long, is designed to generate hypersonic airflow at a speed of 0.1 seconds, and then uses a large number of precision sensors to analyze the airflow data.

The principle is not difficult; anyone with hands can do it.

This debunks a long-standing myth that the power required for a single startup of a hypersonic wind tunnel would require the power of the Three Gorges Dam.
I'm sorry, but Zhang Yu's imagination is really lacking. The essence of his argument is still to attack the government and exaggerate its impact on people's livelihoods.

This thing does work without electricity, but it really doesn't have much to do with electricity.

Zhai Da was even led into the unclosed pipe.

Even the thinnest detonation drive section is more than two meters in diameter, with an inner diameter of about one and a half meters, so thick that you can walk in while bending over.

The interior is not the smooth metal wall one might imagine, but rather contains many sensors, and there are also interlayered cables inside the metal wall.

Zhai Da suddenly had a brilliant idea: "What if it was activated while someone was inside?"

Gong Changzhang: "To be reduced to ashes, literally. The airflow temperature would reach thousands of degrees Celsius, exceeding five times the speed of sound. It really would turn to ash."

It is arguably the most desperate way to die in the world.
Its large size, short processing time, and extremely high temperature and pressure necessitate that it be both heavy and robust, as well as sensitive and precise.

Therefore, we need people like Zhai Da and Gong Changzhang.

Not every component, structure, or screw has enough space to be fitted with advanced testing instruments. This is why human labor is irreplaceable in high-precision engineering, and Zhai Da's current arrangement is...
Exercise.

After spending an hour explaining things to Zhai Da, Gong Changzhang led him to a separate space, which was divided by yellow lines.

Several tables, various tools, and a large number of models.

Zhai Da needs to familiarize himself with most of the operations here, ensuring he is proficient and meets the requirements, before he can actually operate the equipment. This is not a step that Gong Changzhang added specifically because he looks down on Zhai Da; he himself works in the same way.

"The precision requirements are high, and each process only has one or two adjustment opportunities. If the adjustment is made more than twice, the part is scrapped, even if the difference is not visible to the naked eye."

"That's how I did it too. For each new process, I would practice it hundreds of times on my own to get the feel for it before using the equipment. I would report the timeframe as seven days, but the practice time might be more than half of that, so I would just follow the instructions."

Let's calculate it over two and a half days.

Zhai Da nodded: "I like this number, it's auspicious."

Gong Changzhang glanced at the dirty gloves on the table: "I'll get you a new pair of gloves, just wait a moment."

After getting to know Zhai Da, his impression of him improved. He was no longer the kind of spoiled rich kid or naive person who was difficult to deal with; on the contrary, he was very mature and steady.

As for whether they have real skills, we'll find out soon enough.

After Gong Changzhang left, Zhai Da stood alone in the "practice area," with no one around. He turned to look at the enormous, seemingly endless equipment.

After thinking for a moment, he touched his right hand and the [Pure Gold Secret Staff] appeared in his palm. However, this time Zhai Da did not unfold it. Instead, he kept it in the shape of a prayer wheel and tapped the table lightly from his sleeve.

The next moment, invisible ripples spread out and instantly spread throughout the entire space. The range of 500 was enormous, not only completely encompassing the shockwave tunnel, but also covering half of the adjacent factory building.

The detailed white model of the entire shock tunnel appeared in Zhai Da's mind without reservation.

Every sensor, every structure, even every screw.

He can adjust the viewing angle, and as long as the size is still discernible to the naked eye, it will be reflected on the white model.

Three seconds later, the screen disappeared.

Zhai Da tapped the table lightly again.

This piece of equipment, whose origins are related to "tomb raiding," has played an incredibly useful role in the fields of engineering and industry.

In comparison, using it for tomb raiding would be a complete waste. This world-leading semi-finished device contains a vast amount of information, which certainly cannot be fully understood in three seconds, but fortunately, it has many, many three-second intervals.

He suddenly realized that if he had a piece of equipment that could store images and memories in his mind, the combination of the two would be much more convenient.
A few minutes later, Gong Changzhang returned, and Zhai Da put on new gloves and began the first test.

Tighten the screws.
This will be the most demanding and repetitive task in the future.

“We have nine different types of screws in total. Although the tightness can be preset using the number of turns, in actual operation, you still need to judge by feel.”

A row of screw-tightening molds, each model consisting of six in a row, stretches for several meters.
This is the most basic of the basics, and also a small test for Zhai Da.

Gong Changzhang's demonstration was awkward because of his right hand injury, but fortunately it wasn't difficult. After speaking for a long time, he looked at Zhai Da.

Electric or manual?

Zhai Da picked up a wrench and weighed it in his hand: "Let's do it manually first."

Electric motors rely on experience, while manual motors rely on feel. His strength undoubtedly lies in the latter, making him a member of the "Ancient Tomb School" in the current engineering field.

For example, Gong Changzhang himself uses electric motors for most of his vehicles, with a small portion being manual.

Zhai Da didn't waste any words and got straight to work.

The first one. The second one. Finding the feel. The third one. The fourth one. Getting into the swing of things. The fifth one. The sixth one. A perfect replica.

Uninstall it and start over.

He was very fast and his hands were extremely dexterous, as if he hadn't just started working on it for the first time, but rather as ruthless as someone who had been working on a fixed production line for ten years, tightening the same screws.

After all nine screws were tightened, Zhai Da stepped back and gestured for him to proceed.

Gong Changzhang stepped forward and used a torque meter to test it.

Much later.
Pass rate: 100%.

Gong Changzhang scratched his head with his splinted hand: "Have you done this before?"

"Different equipment has different torque requirements, right? What does 'dry' mean?"

This sturdy northern man stared at Zhai Da for a long time.
"Fairy? Monster?"

Zhai Da nodded: "I also like this movie. Shall we move on to the next item?"

------

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Gong Changzhang was smoking a cigarette at the side gate of the base.

In the dead of winter, the man squatted on the ground, his eyes filled with sorrow and a chill.

The iron gate behind them was pushed open, and Supervisor Yue came out: "Old Gong? I know your wife is strict, smoking ten cigarettes a day. You smoked mine, so you'll have to give me one too."

As was his habit, Supervisor Yue tossed out a cigarette, but Gong Changzhang didn't react at all, and the cigarette fell onto the snow.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should you rest for another day?"

Gong Changzhang opened his bitter lips and exhaled a puff of smoke: "Tell me, if there are geniuses in this world, what are we mortals for? To be mere foils?"

Manager Yue was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"I started learning from my master at sixteen, and spent thirty years working, practicing, and figuring things out every day. Today, I feel like I've wasted half my life's efforts."

"Can you understand that feeling? Having something you're so proud of easily surpassed?"

Supervisor Yue roughly guessed that it was because of "Master Zhai".

"Is Master Zhai very skilled?"

"He's incredibly powerful, the key is he's a monster!"

"From the most basic screws to sensor installation and debugging, there were several tools he had never even seen before, but he mastered them all through sheer talent."

Supervisor Yue thought to himself that this was a good thing, as the progress was finally catching up, but he still had to offer some advice, since Gong Changzhang was the one who belonged here, and Zhai Da would eventually have to leave.

“I don’t know the specifics, but there are still many things that Xiao Zhai can’t compare to you.”

Gong Changzhang turned around expectantly: "What?"

Manager Yue laughed, "You have a wife, but he doesn't, right? Hahaha. Young people can't compare to older folks. Life isn't just about work, after all!"

He thought he was incredibly funny.

Gong Changzhang, however, only felt more bitter and took another puff of his cigarette.

My wife is demanding a divorce, and I agreed last night. This dragging on is pointless.

Supervisor Yue:
"Let's not talk about that... I was talking about you... By the way, you have a house in northern Beijing!"

"Half for the wife."

You have a lovely daughter.

"There are two possibilities. I'm waiting for the test results. Maybe you should just shut up. I was just shocked at first, but now I feel like dying."

Supervisor Yue silently patted Gong Changzhang on the shoulder, his thousand words condensed into one sentence:

"I'll have one too."

After thinking about it, I decided not to talk about the "interesting anecdote" I had just heard, even though I was originally planning to.

When we were processing Zhai Da's employee badge, Xiao Wang in the office saw Zhai Da's name and photo and exclaimed with delight that he was a writer.
If Lao Gong knew that the other party's "main job" was as a bestselling author...
Can't you squat and smoke all night?

(End of this chapter)