novelsite Chapter 36 Suspicion Arises
Chapter 36 Suspicion Arises
Li Ruijun's team's work efficiency is indeed astonishing. At this pace, completing the main reinforcement within twenty days should not be a problem.
Wang Zhengyang stood beside the Longyuan, watching the sky gradually darken, calculating the time in his mind. Today is the eighth day, the chassis modification will take seventeen days, the vegetable planting platform will take eight days, and the armor installation will take another sixteen days... The time is just right, but it's very tight.
Furthermore, unforeseen circumstances must be considered. For example, Zhang Yiqiang's investigation, or other possible interference.
He closed his eyes, and his mechanical affinity activated once more, allowing him to perceive the environment within a five-meter radius. This time, he was more focused and more deeply engaged. His consciousness seeped into every piece of metal like a gentle stream, reading their condition and diagnosing their health.
Suddenly, a subtle feeling came over me.
It wasn't danger, it wasn't an anomaly, but rather a kind of... resonance. The core of his power vibrated slightly within his body, as if responding to some kind of call. Wang Zhengyang opened his eyes and looked at his palm—beneath his skin, a faint blue halo seemed to flow, fleeting in an instant.
This is... a sign of close to 0.49%.
The growth of superpowers is not linear. Before reaching certain key milestones, there will be obvious signs and a period of accumulation. From 0.48% to 0.49%, although the difference is only 0.01%, it is an important transitional stage. Once the breakthrough is achieved, mechanical affinity will be further enhanced, the perception of metal will become more refined, and it may even unlock some new applications.
Wang Zhengyang took a deep breath and focused his consciousness on the core of his superpower. He could "see"—not with his eyes, but with his senses—that the special energy circulation system within his body was operating smoothly. Each cycle strengthened his body and enhanced his resonance with the machinery.
That's not enough. We need more experience, more...use.
He walked toward a critical node that Li Ruijun's team was welding. This was a key load-bearing point connecting the chassis and the track system, and the welding quality requirements were extremely high.
"I'll handle this step," Wang Zhengyang said, taking the welding torch.
Old Zhao paused for a moment, then looked at Li Ruijun. Li Ruijun nodded: "I'll listen to Engineer Wang."
Wang Zhengyang put on his welding mask and adjusted the current parameters. But he did more than that—his mechanical affinity ability was fully activated, and his consciousness permeated the metal parts to be welded. He could clearly perceive the microstructure of the two parts, "see" every unevenness on their contact surface, and predict the heat conduction path during welding.
The welding torch is lit, and the electric arc illuminates.
But this time, the welding process was completely different. Wang Zhengyang's movements looked no different from those of an ordinary welder, but in his supernatural perception, every detail was under precise control: the heat input was evenly distributed, the depth of the molten pool was just right, and the cooling rate was controlled within the optimal range.
More importantly, during the welding process, he guides the metal to fuse more naturally and perfectly in its molten state. This is not about changing the material structure—that ability can only be unlocked at the stage of mechanical control—but about optimizing the welding process to achieve the best possible combination of the two components under the existing conditions.
Three minutes later, the welding was completed.
Wang Zhengyang removed his welder's mask and looked at the completed weld. To the naked eye, it was a high-quality weld—smooth, even, and without defects.
However, according to my supernatural perception, the strength of this weld reached 95% of the theoretical limit. The two components achieved almost the optimal bonding state under the existing process conditions, with perfectly uniform stress distribution.
"This..." Old Zhao leaned closer to examine it, his eyes widening. "Engineer Wang, your craftsmanship... is amazing! I've been welding for fifteen years, and I've never seen such beautiful work!"
Li Ruijun also came over to inspect, his expression serious: "Engineer Wang, with your skill level, you're qualified to do aerospace welding."
Wang Zhengyang put down the welding torch and felt the changes within his body. That recent deep use of his supernatural ability had significantly accelerated his energy circulation. The feeling of approaching 0.49% was now much clearer.
"Practice makes perfect," he still used this explanation. "Let's get back to work. It's getting dark. Get the lights ready. We'll work overtime tonight."
"No problem!" Li Ruijun's team was in high spirits. Seeing such a high level of technology, these mechanics were inspired.
As night falls, the marshalling yard lights up with engineering lights. The renovation work continues, and the welding arcs flicker in the night like stars falling to earth.
Wang Zhengyang did not rest and continued to participate in the welding of key nodes. Each time he used his supernatural ability more deeply, the energy cycle accelerated, and the premonition of a breakthrough became even stronger.
At 9 p.m., when he finished welding the fifth key node, the changes in his body finally reached a critical point.
His superpower core vibrated violently, and energy surged through his body like a tidal wave. His affinity with mechanical metal suddenly increased to a new level—his perception range expanded from five meters to six meters, and the precision of his perception increased by about fifteen percent. Most notably, he could now perceive the "fatigue state" and "health level" of metal more clearly.
0.49%.
A steady breakthrough.
Wang Zhengyang closed his eyes, sensing the new level of his abilities. Now, he could judge the condition of metal parts in a shorter time; he could perceive every minute deviation in heat distribution during the welding process; and he could find the potentially defective part among a pile of components much faster.
This ability is invaluable in machining and maintenance.
He opened his eyes and looked at the Dragon Abyss in the night. The train was growing stronger little by little, and so was he. When the Dragon Abyss set sail, when the apocalypse came, they would be ready.
Most definitely.
At the same time, in an unassuming three-story building in the southeastern industrial district of Berlin.
Photos of the warehouse fire and an investigation report were spread out in front of Zhang Yiqiang. The room was filled with smoke, and the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts.
"The shell casings found at the scene are indeed the type commonly used by the Iron Hand," a subordinate in a black suit reported from the side. "The fire was caused by a fuel leak and a short circuit, but there shouldn't be any electrical circuits passing through the fuel storage area. Moreover, the surveillance cameras all malfunctioned twelve seconds before the fire started, which is clearly sabotage."
Zhang Yiqiang remained silent, taking a deep drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaling. His warehouse had been burned down, and goods worth hundreds of thousands of euros had been stolen—he couldn't swallow this insult. But what alarmed him even more was what use the Iron Hand Gang would have for the stolen heavy armor plates and special materials.
Wolfe, that guy, does street business, selling light equipment like pistols, daggers, and body armor. Armor plates? Military-grade adhesives? The Iron Hand has neither the use of those things nor the means to sell them.
"Is it possible..." the subordinate said cautiously, "...that it's a third party?"
Zhang Yiqiang raised his eyelids, his eyes turning cold: "Investigate. Investigate all vehicles that entered and exited the industrial zone before and after the fire, investigate who has been inquiring about heavy materials recently, and investigate who in Berlin can take over that shipment. The key is... those who are interested in military modification materials."
"We're already investigating." The subordinate nodded. "But boss, something's strange."
"explain."
"On the afternoon of the fire, a medium-sized truck was parked near the warehouse for a long time." The subordinate handed over a blurry photo, taken from a surveillance camera at a distant intersection. "The license plate is fake, but the vehicle type and modification features are very similar to... one of the Iron Hand gang's newest vehicles."