Chapter 216

"Sister Fang, the inventory of Warehouse No. 3 is done!" came the voice of a young dispatcher over the walkie-talkie.

"Warehouse No. 4 still has two trucks; they need to be finished by 2 p. m. this afternoon."

"Received." Liu Fang piloted her mech, turning; its eight-meter-tall steel frame moved nimbly through the warehouse aisles.

As a top-three finisher in the competition, her current salary is triple what she earned at the construction site, and she no longer has to endure wind and sun; the warehouses she works in are fully enclosed and temperature-controlled.

The cargo boxes are stacked neatly, like building blocks.

Liu Fang quite likes this job; each cargo box has its place, and each mech has its own route.

She even designed her own warehouse mech path optimization algorithm; after the company adopted it, overall warehouse efficiency increased by 18%.

At noon break, she carried her lunch box to sit before the large screen in the rest area.

The screen was live-streaming the Tiangong Orbital Shipyard; at that moment, the docking of Penglai's three major modules had entered the final preparation stage.

"Hey, do you think this thing will actually be able to fly once it's built?" a young operator beside her asked while shoveling rice.

"Definitely!" said an experienced operator firmly.

"Dragon Chant makes only top-notch products! Look at these mechs we use—could you have imagined them three years ago?"

Liu Fang didn't speak; she just stared at the screen.

She recalled last year's Longteng Cup competition, recalled Feng Yan personally presenting her award, and recalled that custom-made mech.

She ultimately chose a model capable of hauling cement; it's now at her hometown, where her father can drive it to the fields during busy farming season, and it can plow twenty mu in one go.

"Quick, look—it's starting, it's starting!" someone shouted.

On the orbit, the Tiangong Shipyard had already entered the final preparation stage.

After nine days of continuous construction, this place has been completely transformed.

A massive ring structure five hundred meters in diameter floats in space, containing three construction bays; the largest of them is currently berthed with Penglai's three primary modules.

The bow module is 120 meters long, a sharp wedge shape, its surface covered with dark-gray dragon-scale space material.

The hull module is the longest at 180 meters, with retractable variable-wing outlines visible on both sides.

The stern module is ninety meters long; its four main thruster nozzles have been installed, resembling the nostrils of a giant beast.

"Docking precision must be at the millimeter level." Li Yang stared at twelve monitoring screens in the control cabin of the "Dragon Palace" space station.

"Has the final calibration of the Heavenly Clerk robotic arms been completed?"

"Completed." Chen Guang's voice came over the comms.

"The cooperative algorithm for the twelve robotic arms has been optimized to version three, with theoretical error under 0.3 mm."

"The Torch Dragon will also monitor in real time; if deviation exceeds the threshold, it will immediately intervene to correct."

Wang Hao's voice chimed in: "The thruster array on my end has also completed pre‑ignition tests! Seventy-two engines, ready at any moment to provide fine‑adjustment thrust for Penglai!"

"We don't need your thrusters yet," Li Yang said. "Docking still relies on the robotic arms."

"Got it, got it! I'm just giving a heads‑up!"

On the ground, the control center of the Longyin Research Institute.

Feng Yan stood before the main console, surrounded by more than twenty technical stations.

The central large screen displayed a 3D model of Penglai; on either side streamed real‑time data—structural stress, temperature distribution, electromagnetic environment, and so on.

"Is the global live‑feed connected?" he asked.

"Connected!" replied the colleague in charge of publicity.

"Seventeen domestic and overseas platforms are streaming simultaneously, and the current viewership has surpassed five hundred million."

"Then let's begin."

The order was issued.

In space, the twelve Heavenly Clerk robotic arms activated simultaneously.

They extended from various positions on the ring structure, like twelve iron octopus tentacles, slowly reaching toward the three modules.

The first step is docking the hull module with the stern module.

Two robotic arms secured the hull module, while four arms grasped the stern module.

Under the precise calculations of the Torch Dragon, the two modules began to move relative to each other at a speed of centimeters per second.

One hundred meters, fifty meters, ten meters…

"Entering the final approach phase." Chen Guang's voice was calm.

"Speed reduced to one centimeter per second."

On the monitor, the docking faces of the two modules drew ever closer.

Two circular interfaces, each twelve meters in diameter, bore three hundred sixty mechanical latches that all needed to align.

Five centimeters, three centimeters, one centimeter…

"Contact!"

A faint vibration transmitted through the sensors.

The mechanical latches began to rotate and engage automatically.

On the screen, three hundred sixty green light points lit up one by one.

"Latches 1 through 180 are all in place."

"181 to 270… in place."

"271 to 360… in place!"

"Hull‑stern docking complete!" Applause broke out in the control center.

But Li Yang did not relax: "Check the structural stress."

Data refreshed: "All connection points show normal stress, with error within two percent."

"Power lines?"

Connection normal.

Data link?

Delay 0.3 milliseconds, normal.

"Good." Li Yang took a deep breath.

Proceed to the next step: bow docking.

This is a more critical step.

The bow module has more precision equipment: radar arrays, laser defense bases, and bridge observation windows.

Even a tiny deviation during docking could cause equipment damage.

Eight robotic arms moved around the bow module, as if holding a fragile vase.

"Start."

The bow slowly approached the already integrated hull‑stern assembly.

This docking interface is more complex, featuring not only mechanical latches but also hundreds of electrical interfaces, coolant pipes, and data‑transfer fiber optics.

The progress bar on the screen crept forward: 80%, 85%, 90%…

Suddenly, the alarm sounded.

"Number three robotic arm joint temperature abnormal! Rise speed exceeds threshold!"

The monitoring screen showed that at the third joint of the number three robotic arm, the temperature reading spiked from the normal 45 degrees to 72 degrees and continued to rise.

"Possibly due to lubrication failure from continuous operation." Chen Guang quickly analyzed.

"Suggest pausing docking, replacing the backup robotic arm before continuing docking."

"No time left." Li Yang stared at the screen.