novelsite Chapter 44 Mechanical Devouring
Chapter 44 Mechanical Devouring
He retreated five meters away, preparing to test the remote thermal effect damage, locking onto the 5mm thick Q235 steel plate. Establishing a remote field coupling through intention is somewhat like extending invisible tentacles in the void—the farther the distance, the weaker the coupling strength, the lower the control precision, and the greater the energy consumption.
The goal this time was not stress-induced failure, but rather thermal effects. Wang Zhengyang guided the intensification of lattice vibrations within the metal of the central region of the steel plate, increasing molecular kinetic energy. At the microscopic level, he increased the vibration amplitude of iron atoms from 0.1 nanometers to 0.3 nanometers—equivalent to raising the local temperature to 600 degrees Celsius.
One minute later, the center of the steel plate began to glow slightly red. Thirty seconds later, that spot softened, dented, and eventually melted into a small hole with a diameter of 5 millimeters, with traces of solidified liquid metal at the edges.
Wang Zhengyang wiped the sweat from his forehead. This test was extremely taxing, requiring about three times the mental energy of direct contact control, but its strategic value was immeasurable.
"Remote, non-contact, precision-targeted destruction," he wrote in his notes. "Applicable scenarios: destroying enemy firearm firing pins, vehicle brake lines, and explosive fuses. The key is to choose 'thermal-sensitive points'—those components that will rapidly fail when the temperature rises."
Wang Zhengyang picked up a high-carbon steel spring sample, fixed it on the test bench, and connected it to a reciprocating motion device. Instead of directly damaging the spring, he used mechanical affinity to "scan" the microscopic defects on the spring's surface—those tiny scratches and dents formed during the manufacturing process.
After locating seven initial defect points, he activated the reciprocating mechanism, causing the spring to compress and release at a frequency of 10 Hz. At the same time, he focused his consciousness on the area around the defect points, applying a tiny additional stress to the defect points at the moment of each spring compression—only 5% of the material's yield strength, but right within the fatigue-sensitive range.
Under normal conditions, this spring can withstand over 100 million cycles. However, under Wang Zhengyang's "fatigue acceleration" intervention, it only lasted 3000 cycles—
"Boom!"
The spring broke at the third defect point, and the fracture surface exhibited typical fatigue failure characteristics: a smooth crack propagation zone and a rough instantaneous fracture zone.
"Extremely low consumption and extremely high concealment," Wang Zhengyang assessed. "It can cause specific components to 'reach the end of their lifespan prematurely' during normal equipment use. Combined with precise timing control, it can create a perfect 'unexpected failure'."
Wang Zhengyang took out three items at the same time: a hydraulic pliers, an electric drill, and a pneumatic wrench.
He retreated five meters away, his consciousness splitting into three streams, simultaneously establishing field couplings with the three tools. The feeling was strange, as if his brain had split into three independent processing threads—the multi-core parallel computing capabilities of the Caldova engine were beginning to manifest.
For hydraulic clamps: A tiny air bubble with a diameter of 0.2 mm is created on the main piston seal, causing leakage under high pressure.
For electric drills: This increases the contact resistance between the carbon brushes and the commutator by 50%, leading to decreased motor efficiency and increased heat generation.
For pneumatic wrenches: Induce microcracks on one of the drive teeth of the impact mechanism, causing it to break when subjected to peak torque.
Five seconds later, the three interferences were completed simultaneously. When testing the three tools again—
The hydraulic clamp pressure does not reach the rated value, and oil leaks out.
The drill speed dropped by 30%, and the casing quickly became hot.
The pneumatic wrench made a cracking sound inside during the third impact and then jammed.
"Multi-target simultaneous interference capability confirmed," Wang Zhengyang noted. "Current limit: 3 independent targets. Accuracy decreases with the number of targets, while energy consumption increases exponentially. But... this is just the beginning."
He looked at his hands and could see an invisible quantum coupling field swirling around his fingertips.
"If I reach 1% and complete the first stage of awakening, how many targets can these hands interfere with at the same time? Ten? A hundred? At that time, I will be an invisible sabotage team all by myself."
He paused for a moment, then added to his notes: "This is only 0.53% activation. If it reaches 1%, it will complete the first stage of awakening."
When the activation level of all gene engine awakeners reaches 1%, they will undergo a "cognitive reconstruction," known as "first-order awakening." This is not a simple accumulation of quantitative changes, but the first essential leap in life form.
Upon awakening, you will gain a new core ability: Mechanical Devouring.
Upon first-stage awakening, the Caldova Engine will unlock the "Matter-Information Conversion Protocol." Simply put, it can "devour" mechanical devices, extract the "information essence" from their material structure, and convert it into "data nutrients" for its own genetic engine.
Each time the engine consumes a mechanical device, it breaks it down into two main parts:
First-level information extraction: Structural blueprint:
Three-dimensional structural drawings (atomic-level precision) and specific material composition ratios (elemental proportions, crystal structure).
Second-layer material extraction: Mechanical nanotechnology – the source of all machines
This is the most disruptive part of mechanical devouring.
The material of the swallowed mechanical device does not disappear, but is decomposed and recombined by the engine through high-dimensional technology into a basic building block—mechanical nanomaterials.
Mechanical nanotechnology creates a silvery, liquid metallic state with autonomous fluidity and the ability to mimic the properties of metals, alloys, and composite materials.
"It's not just simple metal particles," Wang Zhengyang explained, understanding the concept transmitted from the engine, "but rather a building block encoded with a 'matter recombination protocol.' Like the DNA of life, mechanical nanomaterials contain the potential to reconstruct almost any mechanical device."
Simultaneously activated with the mechanical absorption was the subspace storage dimension built into the Kaldova engine. This subspace also serves as a storage pool for mechanical nanoparticles, storing all mechanical nanoparticles acquired through absorption. It can also store completed mechanical devices.
The subspace exists solely within Wang Zhengyang's consciousness, requiring no physical coordinates. Upon first breakthrough, it initially comprised approximately 10 cubic meters, expanding exponentially with increasing activation level.
Time flows relatively still in the subspace, and stored items are locked. The subspace is manipulated by consciousness and can be accessed within the line of sight or through direct contact.
"This means," Wang Zhengyang's eyes gleamed, "that once I've absorbed enough raw materials and equipment, I can build a complete 'virtual factory' in the subspace. Whatever I need, I can directly utilize mechanical nanotechnology for manufacturing."
Only a Tier 1 Mechanic is qualified to survive in the apocalypse.
Wang Zhengyang vaguely sensed that:
The ultimate goal of mechanical devouring is not to make individuals stronger, but to "quantum archive" the entire old world's mechanical civilization.
Every piece of equipment that was consumed had its complete information preserved in the engine. Even if all factories in reality were destroyed and all blueprints were burned, as long as Wang Zhengyang was alive, and as long as there was still mechanical nanotechnology in his subspace—
The flame of human mechanical civilization will never be extinguished.
He can start from scratch, reprint the lathe, use the lathe to manufacture more complex equipment, use this equipment to build factories, and use the factories to rebuild the industrial system...
"I am the last backup of civilization." Wang Zhengyang understood this weight. "The more I devour, the more complete the backup becomes. One day, my subspace will store the knowledge and material foundation of the entire human industrial civilization."
On that day, he will truly be able to establish a "technological oasis" in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, free from psionic interference—a prototype of a mechanical kingdom that can directly manufacture everything needed using mechanical nanotechnology, possessing a complete industrial chain, and continuously producing weapons, vehicles, equipment, and tools.