Chapter 268: Youth Brigade Deployment – Community Tech Incident

The morning breeze still carried a chill; Zhao Xing walked at the front, clutching in his hand the little thing he had coughed out of his mouth. He didn't look again, and shoved it straight into the backpack compartment. Zhao Yang carried a Tablet, Zhao Chen pushed a wheelchair, and the three walked along the Alley toward the old city district.

The road was silent, but the atmosphere had changed. Yesterday they left hesitantly; today they rushed forward.

As soon as they turned into the Hutongkou, someone shouted, "What's up with the electricity! This morning the water wouldn't heat, at night the lights were dark, an elderly person fell—who's responsible?"

Another voice added, "I heard the street office sent people to check, but it didn't help; the wires are all rotten to mush."

Zhao Chen looked up at the streetlight pole, then opened the Terminal interface on the wheelchair. Several red markers popped up on the Screen. "The main cable well has three abnormal nodes, voltage fluctuates heavily; it's probably an aged short circuit," he said.

Zhao Yang tapped the Tablet and pulled up the community electric grid model. "The five households where we previously installed smart lights are all within the affected area; they need priority restoration."

Zhao Xing slipped his hand into his Coat pocket and felt the calming candy. He took it out, put it in his mouth, and the sweetness spread slowly. Then he stepped forward and said to the crowd gathered at the intersection, "We're here; we'll start repairs right now."

The crowd fell silent for a moment. An older woman recognized them, "Aren't those the three Zhao Family kids? What can you fix?"

"They know this," a nearby old man waved his hand, "Two days ago my house's light was out, and they fixed it. The little girl in the wheelchair is sharp."

Zhao Chen didn't look up, only said, "Hand me the tool kit."

Zhao Yang passed the bag over, and casually turned on the emotional resonator. The device emitted a faint blue light, like a thin mist spreading through the alley. Several people who had been shouting to complain suddenly fell silent, their breathing slowed.

"This light… feels oddly comfortable," the older woman who had been shouting muttered, leaning against the wall.

Zhao Xing was already squatting by the cable well, lifting the cover. A whiff of burnt odor drifted out. He frowned, took out a portable 3D printer, and connected it to the data port Zhao Chen had given him. "We're missing two insulated connectors and a voltage‑regulation module; I'll fabricate them on site."

"Do we have enough material?" Zhao Yang asked.

"Enough. There's still one‑third resin left."

He pressed the start button, and the machine buzzed. In under ten minutes the parts were formed. Zhao Chen scanned them with the Terminal, confirmed the parameters met standards, and nodded.

"Install them."

The two worked skillfully, swapping old for new with smooth motions. Zhao Yang kept an eye on the load data while softly reminding, "The current on East side line three is rising; don't overload."

"Got it." Zhao Xing tightened the last screw, gave a quick clap, "Power it up and test."

Zhao Chen pressed the wrist‑band switch. A distant streetlamp flickered and lit up, then the second, the third… the whole alley seemed to be illuminated in a segment.

"Power restored!" someone shouted.

Windows on the upper floors opened one after another, heads poking out. "Really working?" "Ah, now we can cook!"

Zhao Yang put away the emotional resonator and smiled. Zhao Xing stood up, stretched lazily, and was about to speak when his peripheral vision caught a figure darting from a corner, clutching a metal lump, sneaking toward the back of the freshly repaired Electric Box.

The person wore old work clothes, and the face was very familiar.

"Xu Da Mao?" Zhao Xing squinted.

Xu Da Mao froze, his hand hanging mid‑air. "Ah, you guys, I was just passing by, thought I might lend a hand."

"That thing in your hand is smoking," Zhao Chen said, pointing.

The crowd followed his finger, seeing the robot arm in Xu Da Mao's embrace twitch twice, a wisp of black smoke issuing from a joint, and his mouth muttering intermittently, "Signal… strong…"

"You're testing with that broken machine again?" Zhao Xing walked over, "It's not a floor‑sweeping tool."

"Just trying it out," Xu Da Mao chuckled, stepping back, "You see, I welded the casing myself, the circuitry was modified according to the diagram you gave last time; I wanted to see if it could auto‑detect fault points."

"You connected it to our power line?" Zhao Yang pulled up the surveillance playback, and the footage instantly showed: just a minute earlier, Xu Da Mao was inserting a wire into the newly installed interface.

"Just a quick connection, to test feedback."

As soon as the words finished, the robot convulsed, emitting a high‑pitched screech, then a "bang" as a spark erupted. Xu Da Mao let out an "ah", leapt backward, his hand slipping, and the robot fell to the ground, still smoking.

"Did it electrocute you?" Zhao Chen asked.

"No… just a little tingling," Xu Da Mao waved his hand, his face paling a bit, "Why is the voltage so high?"

"Because we're using a smart regulation system, not your old wiring," Zhao Xing bent down, picked up the robot's wreckage, opened the back cover for a glance, "Your circuit board doesn't even have voltage regulation; it burns as soon as you connect it."

"I was just trying to save some material."

"If you want to learn, just say so," Zhao Yang said, looking at him, "We can teach you the basic principles, but you can't tap into the lines illegally. What if it sparks?"

Xu Da Mao lowered his head, rubbing his hands, remaining silent.

Zhao Chen pulled up the system log, confirmed there was no data‑leak risk, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "This time it didn't cause secondary faults; lucky."

"Don't do that next time," Zhao Xing handed the robot back, "If you're truly interested, we'll give you a beginner's lesson when we have time."

Xu Da Mao took the pile of scrap metal, froze for a moment. "You… aren't scolding me?"

"Why would we scold you?" Zhao Xing shrugged, "You didn't hurt anyone; it's just the method that's wrong."

"Just don't tamper with live equipment next time," Zhao Yang added.

Someone in the crowd laughed out loud, "This is the first time Xu Da Mao has been taught a lesson in his life, and it's by kids."

Xu Da Mao blushed, cradling the robot, turned and left, then looked back and said, "Then… I'll attend a lecture another day."

The crowd burst into laughter.

The raindrops began to fall, the first splash hitting the wheelchair's armrest. Zhao Yang looked up at the sky, "The forecast says heavy rain within half an hour."

"Two more households still lack power," Zhao Chen quickly checked the Terminal, "The branch line of the building on the west side hasn't been restored."

"I'm going." Zhao Xing grabbed the tool kit, "Take the spare module; we'll finish in ten minutes."

"I'm coming with you," Zhao Yang kept up.

Zhao Chen stayed put to monitor the whole situation. He connected the municipal power backend through the wheelchair Terminal, watching load changes in real time. Rainwater ran down his umbrella's edge, striking the ground and forming small pits.

Zhao Xing and Zhao Yang ran into the western alley, found the last fault point. The electric wire had been gnawed by a mouse, exposed. Zhao Xing quickly cleared the interface, installed a newly made insulated head, and secured the bracket.

"All set," he patted the Electric Box, "Power it."

When the lights came on, an elderly woman upstairs pushed open the window and waved down, "Power's back! Thank you!"

Zhao Yang raised his hand in reply, "Nainai, remember to close the window; it's going to rain!"

The two ran back. The rain intensified, pattering loudly in the alley. Residents hurried to collect clothes and shut doors, while some stood under the eaves clapping.

"Future Youth Brigade!" a little boy perched on the second‑floor railing shouted, "You're awesome!"

"Who came up with that name?" Zhao Xing wiped rain off his face and grinned.

"Me!" the boy puffed his chest, "You fix electricity, soothe people, and even craft parts—not like ordinary kids!"

As soon as that was said, the people around all nodded along.

They really are a youth group.

From now on, if there's any trouble in our area, we'll just look for them.

Those three from the Zhao Family are something else.

Zhao Chen sat in his wheelchair, listening to these words without speaking, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Just then, a clear voice sounded by the ear:

"Resolve the community crisis, reward【Community Influence Points】."

She raised her head to look at the sky. The rain was still falling, but a crack split the cloud layer, and sunlight shone through, falling on the wet blue‑stone road.

Zhao Yang opened the tablet, seeing that the points had been credited. She tapped the screen, and a progress bar popped up: 【Community Influence Points 5%】.

"This is just the beginning." she said.

Zhao Xing flexed his wrist, suddenly feeling that the candy in his mouth hadn't fully dissolved. He chewed twice, and the sweetness returned.

"I'm hungry." he said, "Can we eat noodles Go Home?"

"Wait for the rain to ease first." Zhao Yang pointed at the eaves above.

Zhao Chen looked toward the alley entrance. Over there, a door swayed slightly, as if not closed tightly. She glanced at it twice more, but said nothing.

Zhao Xing followed her gaze and also saw that door.

He was about to speak when suddenly he heard a "ka" sound.

The door opened a crack.