Chapter 31: The First

The great victory in bee repellent plus the barbecue feast at Uncle Zhang's house.

Kept the whole team in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

The charcoal fire crackled, meat skewers sizzled with oil, and iced beer was plentiful.

Even Li Yang, who was usually strict with his facial expressions, had a faint arc at the corners of his mouth.

Wang Hao gnawed on chicken wings, his mouth full of oil.

Still bragging that his "spicy smoke bomb" played a decisive role, only to be ruthlessly slapped in the face by Chen Guang with rigorous data:

"According to records, the swarm activity decreased significantly 17.3 seconds after the low-temperature spray started."

"And your smoke bomb mainly created an opportunity for 'Xiao Bai's' retreat..."

"Guangzi! Don't be so blunt!" Wang Hao wailed, drawing laughter from everyone.

Just then, Li Yang, who hadn't said much.

His gaze fell on the pile of used barbecue skewers on the table.

He picked up a few bamboo skewers of different thicknesses, still charred at the tips.

Gesturing in his hand, his eyes gradually became focused.

The state was exactly the same as when he was debugging the core program of the "Iron Wolf."

"What's wrong, Old Li?" Feng Yan noticed his abnormality.

Handed over a skewer of grilled mushrooms, "Think the skewers aren't clean? I'll get you a new bunch."

Li Yang shook his head, didn't take the mushrooms, but instead from his own tool pouch, which was comparable to a treasure bag.

Pulled out a few micro-motors smaller than a pinky nail, a small roll of enameled wire as thin as hair, and button batteries.

Then, right under everyone's noses, he started fiddling with those oily bamboo skewers.

"Damn! Brother Li, are you going to perform 'Barbecue Skewer Art' on the spot?"

Wang Hao leaned over, eyes wide with curiosity.

Li Yang ignored him, his fingers were incredibly flexible.

He quickly trimmed the bamboo skewers with a small knife, bending out suitable angles.

The micro-motors were skillfully fixed to the joints of the bamboo skewers by him with thin wires, and the circuit connection was fast and accurate.

Feng Yan understood, calling out "Good fellow" internally:

'Is this getting inspiration from bee repellent, and wanting to build the vanguard of the "Insect Legion" on the spot?'

"Old Li, are you... making a mechanical spider?" Feng Yan asked tentatively.

Li Yang said "Hmm," without even raising his head.

His attention was entirely on the eight-legged simple frame that was gradually taking shape in his hands.

Now even Chen Guang was interested, pushing his glasses and leaning in to observe:

"Using the lightness and certain toughness of bamboo skewers as the main structure, micro-motors provide power..."

"A very clever low-cost rapid prototyping idea."

Wang Hao was more direct, throwing away the half-eaten chicken wing in his hand, rubbing his hands excitedly:

"Brother Li! Need any parts? I have even smaller servos there!"

"Guaranteed to make it move even more excitingly!" Saying that, he actually ran back to the warehouse to rummage.

Within a few minutes, an eight-legged mechanical structure that looked extremely crude but exuded a weird sense of delicacy.

Was born in Li Yang's hands.

The main body was a few crossed bamboo skewers, and the eight legs were made of thinner bamboo skewers.

The joints relied on the weak power of the micro-motors and clever physical structures to achieve bending.

Wang Hao actually contributed a few ultra-small servos, giving two of the front legs more complex movement capabilities.

"Still missing a control core..." Li Yang frowned slightly.

"Use mine!" Chen Guang immediately took out a matchbox-sized micro-development board from his laptop bag.

"I can write a simple algorithm for basic movement logic on the spot and import it!"

Thus, the style changed to: next to the barbecue grill, Li Yang was responsible for the final assembly of the mechanical structure.

Chen Guang sat cross-legged on a small stool, with a laptop on his knees, his fingers tapping code rapidly.

Wang Hao was on the side handing tools, pointing fingers at the circuits (mainly causing trouble).

Feng Yan was responsible for coordination (actually just watching the fun and preventing them from touching the barbecue grill).

Uncle Zhang and several neighbors held beer, watching in a daze.

Wang Guoqiang smacked his lips, sighing to Feng Yan:

"Oh my mother, these kids, fiddling with these iron skewers, are even more skillful than the old masters in our factory tying fireworks frames!"

"How did they grow their brains?"

Feng Yan complained internally: 'Uncle, if you knew they usually fiddle with exoskeletons and lasers, you'd probably be even more surprised.'

Ten minutes later, Chen Guang made an OK gesture:

"Basic triangular gait cycle program loaded. Power connected."

Li Yang connected the last circuit.

Placed the palm-sized "mechanical spider" that exuded the scent of bamboo and barbecue on the flat cement floor.

Everyone held their breath.

Li Yang pressed a simple switch.

"Buzz—" an extremely slight motor sound rang out.

Only to see the eight legs of the "barbecue skewer spider" start to move in a slightly stiff.

But unusually firm rhythm!

"Click... click..."

It really moved!

Although the speed was as slow as an old man walking, and the posture was as clumsy as a child who had just learned to walk.

But it really, step by step, moved toward the front...

Crawled toward the half chicken wing that Wang Hao had dropped on the ground just now!

"Damn! It moved, it moved! It really moved!"

Wang Hao was so excited he almost flipped the table, took out his phone and started snapping wildly.

"Awesome, Brother Li! You even brought barbecue skewers to life!"

Chen Guang pushed his glasses, recording rigorously: "Movement stability needs improvement, but basic displacement function achieved."

"Looks like the friction coefficient of the bamboo skewers and the ground adaptability are good."

Even Li Yang, watching the little thing moving step by step with its own "legs."

Finally had a clear arc at the corners of his tightly pursed mouth, and the unique light of a creator shone in his eyes.

The "spider" crawled tenaciously, and finally, one of its front legs.

(The one with the servo contributed by Wang Hao)

Actually touched the chicken bone and tried to pull it!

"Damn! It even knows how to pull food!" Wang Hao laughed like crazy.

"This thing has become a spirit! Quick! Give it a name! Let's call it... 'Barbecue Hero'?"

Feng Yan looked at this outrageous yet warm scene.

Watching the team members excitedly discussing the little thing created on the spur of the moment, his heart felt warm.

He picked up his beer and took a sip, laughing:

"'Barbecue Hero' is too hasty. I think, since it's the first prototype, let's call it 'Spider One'!"

"Commemorating the historic first step our 'Insect Legion' took at this barbecue stall!"

"'Spider One'! Good name!" Wang Hao immediately echoed, "Sounds like it has the domineering spirit of a vanguard!"

Li Yang nodded gently, indicating approval.

He squatted down, carefully picked up "Spider One," and carefully checked its joints and circuits.

Clearly already thinking about how to improve the second generation.

Chen Guang had already started modeling on the computer:

"Based on this verification, we can design a more reasonable distributed drive structure and a more lightweight body..."

This impromptu creation seemed to have given wings to the team's imagination.

The previous bee-repellent operation was a practical exercise in team collaboration.

And this little "Spider One" in front of them ignited their infinite longing for the future "micro-swarm."

The smoky atmosphere of the barbecue gradually dissipated, but the sparks of innovation burned brighter and brighter in the night.

Feng Yan looked at his partners, knowing that although this path was wild.

It definitely led to an awesome future.

A few days later, the team's work focus returned to the preparation for the national-level report.

But in the gaps of intense debugging, one could always hear similar conversations:

Wang Hao, while upgrading the program for "Xiao Bai," shouted:

"Brother Li, when are we doing 'Spider Two'? I think we can add a camera and let it drill into pipes for reconnaissance!"

Chen Guang, while optimizing laser parameters, would also suddenly blurt out:

"If the load-bearing capacity of 'Spider One' is improved, perhaps it can integrate a micro-spectral analysis module..."

Even Feng Yan, when reporting to Section Chief Wang by phone, couldn't help but mention:

"... Yes, in addition to the main equipment, we are also exploring some cutting-edge, miniaturized, and clustered technical directions as a reserve for future development..."

Making Section Chief Wang marvel repeatedly on the other end of the phone.

Li Yang was even more silent, but in the corner of his workbench.

Quietly, there was an extra stack of white paper filled with sketches of various micro-robot structures.

"Spider One" was carefully kept by him in a transparent box and placed in a conspicuous position.

What was born on that barbecue night was not just a bamboo skewer spider that could walk.

But a seed about the "Insect Legion."

It had already taken root in the hearts of these young people. ===== CHAPTER 32 =====