Chapter 42

The live stream link Feng Yan threw into the group chat in the middle of the night had an effect comparable to lighting a firecracker in an ammunition depot.

Wang Hao had barely finished complaining before he sent a voice message directly.

The background noise was the sound of slurping instant noodles: "Damn! Brother Feng! Is this old man's hand a mechanical arm that's gained sentience?"

"He works those parts like he's playing with walnuts! Look at him reaming that inner hole; it's steadier than my dad changing the water for his goldfish!"

Chen Guang, on the other hand, replied instantly with a long essay:

"Observing the force angle of his wrist and the trajectory of the file, there is almost no wasted energy."

"For that final precision reaming process, the linearity of the manual feed is visually superior to 0.002 millimeters."

"This has already transcended the category of 'craftsmanship' and is approaching a certain limit of ergonomic control."

Li Yang's reply still stuck to his power-saving persona, but his words were filled with hunger: "Link saved. Can you contact him?"

Feng Yan looked at his teammates in the group chat, all waiting to be fed, and felt like a lucky rookie who had just picked up a Dragon-Slaying Saber.

He was so excited he spent the rest of the night pondering how to become an apprentice.

The next day, sporting panda eyes, he chugged coffee while utilizing his spiderweb of connections within the system.

He beat around the bush to inquire about this mysterious streamer with the ID "Old File".

The results made him even more excited.

Zhao Fusheng, a retired Level 8 machinist, originally a top dog at a state-owned factory.

He had won so many technical competition championships his hands were soft from it, but later, because the factory culture became "PPT is more important than craftsmanship,"

the old man felt disheartened and retired early to hide away in his hometown.

"Someone who could become a Level 8 machinist in a state-owned factory..." Feng Yan stared at the file, his eyes turning green.

"Isn't this the Dugu Qiubai of the machining world!"

He immediately clicked into the live stream to stake it out.

Today, the old man was machining a micro-coupler with internal spiral grooves.

The comment section still had a few trolls dancing around:

【Making this by hand? What about efficiency? Isn't 3D printing better?】

【Dare to send it out for third-party testing? Who can't brag?】

【Staged! If he were really that good, he would have been rehired by a big factory long ago!】

The old man couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids, fully focused.

That pair of hands, covered in age spots, was as steady as a hydraulic platform, gripping a set of files older than Feng Yan's father.

Pushing and scraping gently on a metal blank the size of a pinky fingernail, the "swish-swish" sound was so rhythmic it made one sleepy.

The way he gauged the force didn't look like he was shaving iron; it looked like he was carving a mosquito's leg.

Feng Yan watched without daring to breathe, his heart frantically typing in the chat:

'This isn't a file, this is an embroidery needle! The old man's hand isn't a human hand; it's a five-axis precision carving machine that's gained sentience!'

He decisively clipped a video of the old man checking with a self-made plug gauge and threw it into the group.

【Feng Yan: (Video) Feel it, this is what absolute confidence—'I say it's micron-level, so it's micron-level'—looks like.】

【Wang Hao:... I kneel. The look in the old man's eyes is as if he's saying 'If the dimensions are wrong, I'll grind these old bones of mine into powder to fill the gaps.'】

【Chen Guang: Self-made gauge with no light gap at the mating surface.

This limit of empirical precision is currently difficult for digital equipment to replicate.

If he were allowed to manually fit and grind the docking interference of Old Li's 'Spider-2' resonant cavity, there's a high probability it could be cured.】

【Li Yang: Hmm. Need to learn his coupler machining technique.】

Li Yang's words almost made Feng Yan shed tears—Old Li and his technical-minded repression.

For him to say "need to learn" directly is on the same magnitude as a normal person shouting "I want to have your babies."

Feng Yan rubbed his hands together, ready to get started.

Shout "Dragon Chant" directly in the live stream?

He wasn't that reckless.

Even if this name could be spoken to outsiders, it couldn't be broadcasted with a megaphone.

He pondered for a moment and switched to a different approach.

He first topped up a little money and sent the cheapest "Like" (it really was a small amount. Doge. jpg).

Then his fingers flew as he began to type:

"【Engineer Little Feng】: Great skill, master! Seeking cooperation! Sent you a private message, please take a look!"

"【Engineer Little Feng】: We have a need for precision machining, price is negotiable!"

"【Engineer Little Feng】: (Fist salute) (Fist salute) Please follow!"

The chat scrolled by fast; his few messages were instantly drowned out by "Streamer is awesome" and "Staged +1".

The old man remained as steady as a fisherman on a pier, not even changing the rhythm of his water drinking.

"Tsk, defense maxed out." Feng Yan scratched his head.

Wang Hao gave a bad idea in the group: "Brother Feng, send a rocket! I heard this thing forces a thank you, it can help you get familiar!"

Chen Guang immediately opposed: "@Wang Hao According to platform user behavior analysis, excessive tipping easily causes target resentment"

"Especially for pragmatic, technical elders like Zhao Gong."

Li Yang silently sent a screenshot, which was a simple force analysis diagram he had just drawn,

marking why the old man's specific filing angle could effectively avoid tool deflection, with the note: "Ask about this."

Feng Yan looked at this bunch of weirdos, one wanting to throw money at the problem, the other wanting to seduce with technology.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Thus, he decided to use both methods.

He stopped spamming aimlessly and began to "feed" the chat with precision.

Specifically choosing the moments when the old man was at a critical step, he asked questions using the most professional terminology possible:

"【Engineer Little Feng】: Master, for the undercut at the start of this spiral groove, wouldn't using your technique better avoid stress concentration?"

"【Engineer Little Feng】: When manually tapping to this depth, how do you control the torque to ensure the tap doesn't deviate?"

These technical-stream comments, mixed in with a pile of "Awesome" and "666",

were like gold grains in sand, finally causing a ripple.

Once, after the old man finished an extremely subtle chamfer.

For the first time ever, those eyes that had been lowered in focus glanced extremely quickly toward the camera.

Although it was only for a fraction of a second, Feng Yan caught it!

"There's a chance!" Feng Yan slapped his thigh in excitement.

He hurriedly combined the old man's just-used operation technique with Li Yang's question and sent another one:

"【Engineer Little Feng】: That wrist-rotated tool retraction the master just used."

"【Engineer Little Feng】: Is it to solve the root residual burr problem that Engineer Li (he casually sold Li Yang out) was worried about?"

This time, although the old man didn't look at the camera again, when performing the next similar operation,

the movement of his hands seemed... to slow down by a tiny bit, showing the details more clearly.

"Damn! The old man is going easy! He saw it!"

Feng Yan roared in his office, feeling like a secret agent who had cracked the enemy's code.

He struck while the iron was hot, no longer limiting himself to the live stream.

Based on the vague address he had found, he combined it with the technical characteristics of the old man he had observed over the past few days.

And the specific difficulties raised by Li Yang and Chen Guang, he buried his head in writing a private message.

This private message didn't wave the banner of "national project," but revolved entirely around technology:

"Hello Master Zhao Fusheng, sorry for the intrusion."

"We are a small team in Yunchuan doing mechanical R&D."

(Attached a few non-confidential partial design drawings of 'Spider-1' and early exoskeleton joints, of course, they were censored)

"We have encountered bottlenecks in precision machining, especially in manual fitting and stress control of micro-shaped parts."

"Watching your live stream has been a huge shock; many of your techniques have opened our minds."

"But it has also generated more questions (listed here were specific issues like the coupler machining Li Yang cared about, and the surface consistency Chen Guang mentioned)."

"I wonder if we might have the honor of visiting to ask for advice in person regarding the experience of 'hand feel' and 'timing'? Looking forward to your reply."

He sent this private message, which was full of sincerity (in his own opinion) and low-key pragmatism,

through the live streaming platform.

Then, it was another long wait.

In the live stream, Zhao Fusheng remained silent as gold, but his machining demonstrations seemed... more comprehensive?

Occasionally, he would even pick up parts he had scrapped.

And say a few simple words like "too much force here," "the angle was off there."

Although he was still sparing with his words, compared to the complete silence before, it was an epic improvement.

Feng Yan squatted in the live stream every day, learning techniques,

while waiting eagerly for the private message icon to light up.

Just when he was about to give up and prepare to truly adopt Wang Hao's ultimate bad idea of "blocking him at his door,"

one afternoon, while he was staring at the computer screen pondering a new technique of the old man's,

the phone on his desk suddenly buzzed.

An unfamiliar local number.

Feng Yan's heart skipped a beat; he had a strong premonition.

He cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound as enthusiastic as possible, and answered the phone:

"Hello, who is this?"