I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

Late at night, in the single dormitory of the Third Electronics Factory.

Jiang Ming locked the rusty iron bolt from the inside and drew the blue cloth curtains tightly shut.

The lights were off inside; only a pale sliver of moonlight shone through the window.

He didn't even take off his shoes before sitting cross-legged on the hard bed.

After taking a deep breath, his consciousness plummeted violently into the boundless void deep within his mind.

The bronze-colored "Records of Human Connections" unfolded with a bang.

He must use all three of his psychic opportunities today on the last half-order of magnitude of the vacuum level.

The system's lights illuminated.

Jiang Ming skillfully identified that hot-tempered early pioneer of vacuum tube and radar physics.

[System Prompt: Connecting to a late pioneer of early vacuum tube and radar physics. Duration: 15 minutes. Countdown begins.]

"Senior, I've hit a dead end."

Jiang Ming speaks very quickly, without uttering a single unnecessary word.

"The mechanical seal and exhaust valve of the rotary vane pump have been modified to their limits, but the vacuum level is stuck at 10 to the power of -4.5 Pascals. The outgassing rate of the metal inner wall locks in the vacuum level."

A cold snort came from the other side of the void.

"I knew you'd get stuck here."

The pioneer's tone was full of disappointment and frustration.

"The microscopic surface of a metal is not flat at all; it's like a sponge that's soaked up water, full of water molecules and hydrocarbons."

"When the pressure is low, all these dirty things come out."

"How do we force it out completely?"

Jiang Ming pressed for more information.

"Baking to remove gas"

The pioneers gave a very confident answer.

"While creating a vacuum, the entire exterior of the pump chamber is heated."

"The temperature must reach 200 degrees Celsius or higher, and the duration must not be less than four hours."

"Only in this way can we completely squeeze out and remove those gas molecules hidden in the microscopic pores."

Two hundred degrees Celsius, four hours.

Jiang Ming quickly scanned through the factory's equipment in his mind.

You can heat the pump body by placing a few high-powered heating elements around it.

[System notification: The duration of this single psychic session has reached fifteen minutes. The connection has been disconnected.]

Without any hesitation, Jiang Ming immediately initiated the second spiritual communication.

It was still that pioneer.

"Senior, please continue."

Jiang Ming pursued relentlessly.

"I can bake it at 200 degrees Celsius for four hours."

"But are there any fatal risks during the cooling phase after baking?"

The pioneer was silent for two seconds, then his voice became stern.

"You're lucky you thought things through and didn't just go for it by brute force."

"I am a pioneer," the pioneer said coldly.

"Cooling down is the most critical aspect."

"Metal expands at 200 degrees Celsius. If you cool it too quickly, such as removing the heating source and letting it cool naturally, huge thermal stress will be generated inside the metal."

Jiang Ming's heart skipped a beat.

"Does thermal stress cause deformation?"

"nonsense!"

The pioneer cursed mercilessly.

"The 0.1-micron tolerance that your old fitter painstakingly achieved will instantly render those four fluororubber seals unusable if the pump body experiences even the slightest thermal deformation."

"The air leakage will be ten times greater than before you made the changes!"

Jiang Ming broke out in a cold sweat.

Old Sun's right hand, which was almost ruined, absolutely cannot withstand a second micron-level repair.

"The temperature drop must be slow enough; the temperature drop per hour must not exceed twenty degrees."

"This requires you to precisely control the heating power, adjusting it little by little."

The pioneers gave a death order.

[System notification: The duration of this single psychic session has reached fifteen minutes. The connection has been disconnected.]

Jiang Ming opened his eyes, his forehead covered in sweat.

He walked to the desk in the dark and turned on the desk lamp.

He picked up a pen and wrote down the key parameters on a piece of scrap paper: "200 degrees Celsius, four hours, and a temperature drop of less than 20 degrees Celsius per hour."

But the pen in his hand remained suspended in mid-air, not falling for a long time.

The factory doesn't have any industrial ovens that can precisely control the temperature.

It's difficult to control the temperature when using an electric heater to heat the food outside.

If the temperature drop isn't controlled, all of Lao Sun's hard work will be ruined.

That's too risky.

We must add a double layer of protection!

Jiang Ming glanced at the Heavenly Record in his mind; he had one last chance to communicate with the spirits.

Instead of continuing to connect the vacuum tube pioneer, he turned his gaze to the name that was shimmering faintly beside him.

That was the third deceased disciple of von Kármán.

This pioneer's academic field was very niche, but at this critical juncture, it proved fatal.

Precision Instruments and Vacuum Systems Engineering.

Jiang Ming gritted his teeth.

Fight!

[System prompt: Connecting to a deceased pioneer in precision instrument and vacuum systems engineering. Duration: 15 minutes. Countdown begins.]

"Junior Jiang Ming has encountered a bottleneck in high vacuum systems and requests guidance from seniors."

Jiang Ming spoke very respectfully, quickly explaining the current status of the rotary vane pump and the risks of baking and degassing.

A cold, aloof voice came from the other end, tinged with a strong academic arrogance.

"madness."

Jiang Ming was stunned.

"Why are you staring so intently at that piece of junk?"

The third fellow disciple's voice was filled with obvious disdain.

"Baking can indeed solve the problem of gas escaping from the inner wall of the metal, but the risk is very high."

"Since you know the main source of gas is water molecules, why not eliminate them before they enter the pump chamber?"

Jiang Ming's brain was working frantically.

"Dry it up before it enters the pump chamber? How?"

"Add a cold trap."

As soon as those three words were uttered, it felt as if a blinding bolt of lightning struck Jiang Ming's mind.

Cold trap!

He had seen this thing in a laboratory in his later life, but in this dilapidated workshop in 1955, he never thought of it in that way!

"Install a U-shaped glass tube or a double-layered metal can in the middle of the connecting pipe between the vacuum chamber and the rotary vane pump."

They then explained it professionally to their fellow students.

"It's filled with liquid nitrogen, at a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius."

"When a vacuum is drawn, the free water molecules and condensable gases passing through the cold trap will be instantly frozen to the tube wall by the low temperature, turning into solid ice."

"They simply can't get into the rotary vane pump!"

"By simply adding a cold trap, your vacuum level can jump by half an order of magnitude."

"Ten to the power of negative five Pascals, easy."

Dimensional reduction attack!

This is absolutely a revolutionary, dimensional-lowering attack!

Jiang Ming was so excited that he trembled all over.

Although liquid nitrogen is precious, it can definitely be obtained from large oxygen production plants in Beijing.

Once you get your hands on liquid nitrogen, just find a glassmaker to blow a U-shaped tube, and you're all set!

"Thank you so much, senior!"

[System notification: You have exhausted your three summoning attempts for today.]

Consciousness instantly returned to reality.

Jiang Ming grabbed a pen and began sketching the structure of the cold trap on scrap paper with almost frenzied enthusiasm.

Glass interlayer, air inlet, air outlet, liquid nitrogen filling port.

Every detail took shape quickly under his pen.

With the cold trap as a physical aid, plus proper baking and degassing, that old Soviet rotary vane pump could definitely be forced to produce a military-grade ultimate vacuum!

at the same time.

The Third Electronics Factory, third floor of the administration building.

The main lights in the factory manager's office were off; only the dim green desk lamp on the desk was lit.

The ashtray was already overflowing with cigarette butts.

Factory Director Zhang, dressed in an old military uniform, paced restlessly around the room.

Suddenly, an unsigned kraft paper envelope was slipped under the door.

Factory Director Zhang suddenly stopped and quickly walked over to pick up the envelope.

The envelope was very ordinary, without even a stamp, clearly delivered by a special person through an internal confidential channel.

He walked to the lamp and carefully tore open the seal.

There was only a thin sheet of paper inside.

It was a reply from that old comrade-in-arms from the security system.

Factory Director Zhang put on his reading glasses and scanned the words on the letter with sharp eyes.

The handwriting was very messy, clearly written in a hurry by an old comrade-in-arms.

"Old Zhang, the old Lei you asked me to investigate is in big trouble."

"His file was indeed sealed at the highest level. I used special connections to barely get a glimpse of a peripheral fragment."

"A sensitive record has been preliminarily found."

"The last underground radio call sign that Lao Lei used before he sacrificed his life in Shanghai was Lightning No. 7."

"The transmission frequency band is concentrated in a certain range of shortwave."

"This matter is too complicated; I'll investigate further to find out the details."

"That young man over there who looks like Lao Lei absolutely cannot make any mistakes."

Factory Director Zhang's breathing instantly became heavy.

He stared intently at the four words "Lightning Seven" on the letter.

The next second, he suddenly pulled open the drawer, rummaged through the confidential file folder, and carefully pulled out the yellowed brown paper strip from the inner compartment.

The note read, "Protect this only child."

At the end of the signature, there is a bright red five-pointed star with a lightning bolt symbol.

Factory Director Zhang placed the letter and the note side by side under the lamp.

Lightning Seven.

Lightning Red Star.