Chapter 41: The

A few days later, several box trucks emblazoned with the words "State Assets"

pulled up steadily to the entrance of the "Haoyu Fireworks Factory."

The spectacle drew the nearby villagers to poke their heads out and peek.

Wang Guoqiang, hands behind his back, paced back and forth at the factory gate.

His face was a mix of pride that "my son has made something of himself" and the reluctance of "is he leaving already?"

"Uncle Wang, don't worry! We're heading to a bigger platform to build even louder 'firecrackers' for you!"

Feng Yan held Wang Guoqiang's hand, his tone sincere. "I really owe you for this past period!"

"Pah, why say such things!" Wang Guoqiang gripped back firmly, his voice as booming as ever.

"Work hard when you get there! If you're missing anything, or if you just want a place to 'smash things up' again, come back!"

"This factory of ours will always have a workshop reserved for you!"

Wang Hao, standing to the side, felt his eyes grow slightly red; for once, he didn't clown around, simply giving his father a tight hug.

After bidding farewell to Wang Hao's home and this "revolutionary base" that had carried the team through its most critical moments,

the convoy drove toward the brand-new R&D center on the outskirts of the city, which bore the sign "Longyin Institute of Prospective Technology."

As the convoy passed through the heavily guarded gates and stopped in front of the massive building with its fluid lines and light-gray high-tech coating,

even the usually composed Li Yang couldn't help but take a slight breath.

"Oh my goodness..." Wang Hao pressed against the car window, his eyes wide as copper bells.

"This building... it—it reflects light! It's even more impressive than the new department store in our town!"

Chen Guang pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold luster of the building, and muttered:

"According to public information, this building uses a constant temperature and humidity dust-free design, redundant backup power supplies, and electromagnetic shielding levels reaching..."

"Alright, Guangzi, stop reading the specs," Feng Yan interrupted with a laugh.

He was the first to jump out of the car, hands on his hips, taking a deep breath...

Mmm, filtered air with a hint of new-material scent.

"Brothers, can you feel the 'National Team' atmosphere hitting us in the face?"

"Our rough-and-tumble voices are finally going to perform at the Vienna Golden Hall!"

However, this "country bumpkin entering the Grand View Garden" excitement

began to evolve into a subtle sense of "maladjustment" the moment they stepped into the main laboratory.

The lab was spacious enough to run horses in, the lighting bright and soft.

The floor was so clean it reflected their silhouettes, and rows of brand-new equipment, gleaming with cold metallic light, were displayed quietly.

The only sound in the air was the low hum of the air conditioning.

"This floor... isn't it a bit too clean?" Wang Hao stomped his feet.

The sound echoed in the empty space. "I don't even dare to drop solder slag on it; it feels like a crime."

Li Yang walked up to a high-end five-axis CNC machine, his fingers hovering over the control panel, hesitating before pressing down.

The screen lit up, and the complex parameter interface made his brow furrow.

He was used to the "feel" of manual handwheels and the subtle vibration feedback when the machine was running.

This absolute silence and digitalization instead gave him a sense of unreal detachment.

Chen Guang stood before his new "optical workbench,"

looking at the display screen for the constant temperature and humidity environment, and moved his neck uncomfortably:

"I just feel... it's missing that... randomness and challenge we had in the warehouse?"

Back in the warehouse, he had to battle with the occasional moth that flew in and the uneven temperatures.

Now, the environment was as perfect as a sterile room, leaving his nerves—always ready to deal with accidents—with nowhere to rest.

Feng Yan watched these guys, who were actually at a loss in a top-tier environment, and complained internally:

'Good grief, it's easy to go from frugal to luxurious, but hard to go from luxurious to frugal. And once you've gone from frugal to luxurious, trying to find that rough edge again is even harder!'

'These brothers really haven't eaten fine grains before!'

The first practical mission arrived quickly.

—To machine a batch of high-precision titanium alloy micro-joints for the upgraded version of "Spider-II."

If this job had been at the fireworks factory, Li Yang would have had to spend several days struggling with his antique manual milling machine and a pile of files.

Now, he stood before this imported high-end five-axis CNC machine.

He pulled up the 3D model, input the parameters, and pressed the start button.

The inside of the machine emitted an extremely steady, low-pitched running sound, and the cutter head began to move along the preset trajectory.

However, when the first part was finished and Li Yang checked it with precision measuring tools,

his brow wrinkled into a "chuan" shape.

"The precision... is wrong." He picked up the part that was gleaming with metallic luster.

He looked again at the prototype he had made by hand using an old-fashioned engraving machine at the fireworks factory.

"The theoretical tolerance should be plus or minus 0.005 millimeters, but the ball socket inside this joint has a deviation of about 0.01 millimeters."

"There's micron-level interference when they fit together, and the rotation isn't smooth."

"What?" Wang Hao leaned over.

He picked up the part and held it to the light. "No way? This big guy can't beat what you rubbed out by hand?"

Chen Guang also came over and scanned it with an electron microscope:

"There is indeed a tiny deviation. It might be that the material cutting parameters and stress release weren't considered enough during programming."

"Or the tool path optimization wasn't enough, leading to microscopic tremors and tool deflection."

Li Yang looked silently at the G-code on the screen.

He touched the cold, precise machine again, his tone carrying a bit of helplessness:

"It's too 'obedient,' strictly following instructions, but it doesn't understand the 'temper' of the material itself or the subtle changes during the machining process."

It's like asking a robot that only knows how to strictly execute orders to copy wild cursive calligraphy.

The strokes are all correct, but the spirit is completely missing.

Feng Yan looked at the "unqualified" high-tech part on the table.

Then he looked at Li Yang's slightly rough but perfectly fitting manual prototype next to it, feeling a pain in his gut.

He patted Li Yang on the shoulder: "It's okay, Old Li, it's a break-in period, that's normal! What does this mean?"

"It means that even the top-tier equipment needs a top-tier soul to master it!"

"These hands of yours are one of the souls of our team!"

He turned his head to look at the expensive five-axis machine, his internal monologue:

'Brother, your status has gone up, but if you want to completely replace Master Li's priceless hands, you still need to practice!'

Wang Hao, touching his chin on the side, had a sudden inspiration:

"Brother Feng, do you think we should apply to move that workbench from the warehouse, the one covered in solder and instant noodle oil, over here?"

"I feel like it has Brother Li's 'craftsman spirit' enchantment on it!"

Chen Guang seriously considered this proposal:

"From the perspective of environmental psychology, familiar tools and environments can indeed effectively improve focus and operational stability..."

Li Yang didn't speak, but a flicker of emotion clearly flashed in his eyes.

Feng Yan covered his forehead: "... Stop! Hurry up and get familiar with the new equipment!"

"Don't always think about moving that 'poverty-stricken' backbone into the imperial palace!"

"We are a regular army now, we have to learn to use standard equipment to pull off even flashier operations!"

Even so, the first time using high-end equipment resulted in an unfavorable start.

It still cast a faint shadow over the newly arrived team.

The sweetness was truly sweet; these conditions were something they wouldn't have dared to imagine before;

the trouble was also truly troublesome, as if their entire set of "folk" martial arts had been suddenly crippled.

They had to start cultivating the internal mental cultivation methods of the "orthodox schools" from scratch.

At night, lying in the brand-new, clean, but somehow lacking "human touch" dormitory,

Feng Yan scrolled through his phone, habitually opening the short video platform.

The algorithm still accurately pushed various hardcore DIY and tech videos to him.

Suddenly, an extremely special livestream room caught his attention.

The title of the livestream was simple: "Old Craft, Micron-Level."

The streamer didn't show their face; the screen only showed a pair of hands covered in calluses, with thick knuckles, yet exceptionally steady.

They were dancing between a vise, files, and a hand drill that looked like they had seen better years.

The background was the dark green oil-painted wall common in old-fashioned factory workshops, mottled with the passage of time.

The streamer was reticent, barely interacting with the audience.

They were just focused on machining a metal part.

Feng Yan watched for a few minutes, his pupils shrinking sharply.

The complexity of the part's structure and the high precision required far exceeded any handmade product he had seen before.

What shocked him even more was that while the tools the old man used seemed backward, those hands were as steady as a robotic arm.

Every push of the file, every hole drilled, carried a precision and rhythm that was almost artistic.

Someone in the comment section questioned:

【Bragging, right? Handmade micron-level? Why don't you put it on a three-coordinate measuring instrument and see?】

【Are there still level-eight bench workers in this day and age? Haven't they all retired?】

The old man still didn't defend himself, simply picking up a gauge he had machined himself from the side.

He demonstrated the fit to the camera, perfectly seamless, not even a sliver of light could pass through.

Feng Yan's heart rate accelerated as he watched.

Especially when the old man began to machine a micro-component with a structure similar to the "Spider-I" joint, but several times more complex and precise.

He sat up abruptly from the bed!

"Holy crap!" he couldn't help but shout out loud. "This old gentleman... he's a god!"

In his mind, he instantly flashed back to Li Yang frowning at the five-axis machine during the day.

He flashed back to that part whose precision was actually worse than the handmade one.

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning:

"Our team has the hardware, the software is awesome, and the energy is solved."

"We're just missing a... 'national treasure-level craftsman' who can perfectly 'invite' all these genius designs from the blueprints into reality!"

He felt his blood heating up, his fingers trembling as he clicked "Follow." He then took a screenshot and sent it to the 【Longyin Core Group (formerly Iron Wolf Workshop)】 WeChat group.

【Feng Yan: (Shares livestream link) Brothers! Watch this quickly! I feel like the last piece of our team's puzzle... might have appeared!】

【Wang Hao:??? This old gentleman's hands are steadier than my dad setting up a fireworks rack! Is this part rubbed out by human hands?】

【Chen Guang: Judging from the machining technique and the performance of the finished product, his precision control ability has indeed reached an extremely high level.】

【It might even exceed the performance of conventional machine tools under specific conditions.】

【Li Yang:... Followed. We need him.】

【Feng Yan: @Li Yang You understand me! Starting tomorrow, we poach him!】

【Even if we have to visit his thatched cottage three times, we must invite this 'great god' out of the mountains! This 'Longyin' of ours.】

【Having fangs isn't enough; we also need an 'old craftsman' who can sharpen our claws!】

A new storm seemed to be quietly brewing, always in an unexpected way, at an unexpected time.