Chapter 335: Spacetime Gate Stabilizer – The Trial of Joint Activation

Zhao Jianguo sat on the old wooden stool in the tool room, the crumpled admission ticket clutched in his hand. The corner of the paper was torn, as if it had been squeezed too many times. He didn't rush to throw it away; he gently placed it on the far right of the workbench, pressing down a corner of the scattered circuit diagram. The lightbulb overhead flickered; the electric wire was one he had replaced himself the day before, noticeably brighter than before.

"Check-in." he said.

His voice was low, like talking to himself. But as soon as the words fell, a semi-transparent panel floated in the air, the characters clear: 【Today's check-in successful, obtained item—Spacetime Gate Stabilizer (inactive)】.

He stared at those characters for two seconds, eyebrows lifting: "This thing doesn't sound like it's for fixing a radio."

The system gave no reply; the panel refreshed automatically: 【Activation condition: three people operating simultaneously, each meeting the strength, wisdom, and emotion indicators—none can be missing】.

"Still need a team?" Zhao Jianguo curled his lip. "Building a machine and we have to talk team spirit?"

He stood up, brushed off the dust on his pants, and, as an afterthought, took down three hats from the hook—red for Zhao Xing, blue for Zhao Chen, yellow for Zhao Yang. Those were the symbols they'd drawn themselves as kids during experiments, always hanging there; whoever came wore them.

He pushed open the heavy iron door of the tool room; outside the courtyard was quiet. The locust tree's shadow lay slantwise on the ground, the lanterns had long been extinguished, only the burnt‑out candle remnants remained. He walked to the main hall door, knocked three times on the frame, and without waiting for a reply shouted: "Stop pretending to be asleep, gather downstairs, there's work to do."

Inside, movement sprang up at once—footsteps, drawer pulls, and Zhao Xing's old catchphrase: "Dragging people into overtime again at midnight—does that violate labor law?"

They gathered quickly. The triplets were in loungewear, hair a bit messy but eyes bright. Zhao Yang still held half a cookie in his hand; seeing Zhao Jianguo, he tried to hide it behind his back, but Zhao Xing spotted him at once and snatched it away, taking a bite.

"I'm still growing." Zhao Xing said, justified.

"You ate a whole pot of stewed meat yesterday." Zhao Yang glared.

"That's because I expended a lot of energy." Zhao Xing shrugged.

Zhao Jianguo ignored their bickering and led them into the underground tool room. As soon as the door shut, the temperature dropped two degrees; several rows of gauges on the wall flashed green light, and on the central platform sat a new object—a disc‑shaped device with a metal ring around its edge and a crystal‑like piece set in the middle, suffused with a faint blue glow.

"What is this?" Zhao Yang leaned in to look.

"Did your dad make this?" Zhao Xing reached out to touch it.

"Don't touch it!" Zhao Jianguo slapped his hand away. "This is called the Spacetime Gate Stabilizer; it's not activated yet. To start it, the three of you need to go together."

"How do we start it?" Zhao Yang asked.

The system interface popped up, clear and simple: 【Test mode activated, please connect in sequence】.

Zhao Jianguo pointed to the three ring‑shaped interfaces around the platform: "One each, just place your hand on it. Don't be nervous—it's like taking a temperature."

Zhao Xing went first, moving efficiently. "I'll go first, so they don't hold us back." He pressed his hand into the left ring; the metal ring warmed slightly, then a green light lit up.

【Strength value being checked……meets standard.】

【Strength qualified.】

"See?" Zhao Xing withdrew his hand, chin lifted proudly. "Innate divine strength—no explanation needed."

Zhao Chen gave him a sideways glance, walked to the middle interface, and quietly placed his hand in. The screen flickered a few times, then the brain‑wave‑like lines rose steadily.

【Wisdom value being checked……full.】

【Wisdom qualified.】

"Hmm." Zhao Chen nodded, as if merely confirming the answer to a math problem.

It was Zhao Yang's turn. He stood before the right‑hand interface, hesitating a moment.

"What are you dawdling for?" Zhao Xing urged. "Hurry up—I'm waiting to see if your emotions are stable."

Zhao Yang ignored him and placed his hand in.

At first everything was normal. The emotion curve rose gradually, shifting from gray to green. But just as it was about to reach the threshold, the curve jerked, as if struck by something, instantly turning yellow and then spiking red.

An alarm sounded—short and sharp, a single blast that stopped immediately.

【Warning: emotion value fluctuating violently.】

【Risk level: high.】

【Tip: unstable emotions will cause spacetime collapse.】

The light flickered once.

Zhao Jianguo stepped forward at once and slammed the emergency stop button. The blue light went out, the disc ceased turning, the whole room fell silent except for the wind blowing from the vent.

"What's going on?" Zhao Xing turned to look at Zhao Yang. "Did you hide a traitor in your heart?"

Zhao Yang said nothing, his hand still resting on the interface, fingertips trembling slightly. He lowered his gaze to the floor, lips pressed into a thin line.

"What are you afraid of?" Zhao Jianguo asked, his voice low.

Zhao Yang shook his head.

"Speak." Zhao Jianguo asked again.

"I'm afraid…" Zhao Yang finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "We can't hold up."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Xing frowned.

"It's not that I don't trust you." Zhao Yang lifted his head, eyes a little red. "I'm afraid… that if we really have to rely on the three of us to shoulder things, if I slip up again, or if someone suddenly can't continue, or… or if one day we're no longer together, what then happens to this thing? Will it explode? Will it take our home with it?"

He said it all in one breath, took a breath, then lowered his head again.

No one spoke.

Zhao Xing opened his mouth but said nothing. Zhao Chen's fingers twitched, as if wanting to adjust data, but there was no keyboard here. Zhao Jianguo watched him, then slowly squatted down to be eye‑level with the three of them.

"Listen," he said, "this isn't a test where passing earns a certificate. It's not a competition that forces the strongest to step up. You three—none of you can be missing. If we don't activate it today, no one will blame you. This has to be something you willingly choose."

He paused, then pointed at the machine: "It doesn't read scores; it reads your combined spirit. If anyone forces themselves, it'll only cause trouble."

Zhao Xing snorted. "So by your logic, we might as well wait for a day when we're all in high spirits to try again."

"You can think that way." Zhao Jianguo stood, walked to the safe, entered the password, and with a click opened it. "But for now, it needs to rest."

He took out the disc, placed it inside the safe, closed the lid, and locked it. His movements were steady, without hurry.

Zhao Chen stood before the record screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, wanting to check something, then stopped. He knew there was no way to find the cause now; the system gave no data output.

Zhao Xing still stood beside the test platform, one hand resting on the control lever, not letting go. He stared at the darkened disc, brows furrowed, as if competing with it.

Zhao Yang leaned against the wall, the tips of his shoes scraping the tile seams over and over, without lifting his head.

Zhao Jianguo clapped his hands, as if to shake off the heaviness just felt. "All right, let's head up. Tomorrow the power bureau people will come to lay the dedicated line—who wants to supervise the work?"

"I'll go." Zhao Xing said immediately. "Perfect chance to see if they dare cut corners."

"I'll check the wiring diagram." Zhao Chen said.

"I brought a box Meal Ticket." Zhao Yang whispered in reply.

Zhao Jianguo chuckled, turned around and went to shut the main switch. The lights went out one by one, leaving only the indicator light on the safe, a faint red dot blinking on and off, like breathing.

He glanced at that Iron Gate, not locked tight, leaving a gap—this was habit, as the kids liked to kick the door when coming and going, and if it got stuck it would be inconvenient.

The four of them walked up the stairs, Footsteps overlapped, thudding. Upon reaching the courtyard, a night breeze blew, and everyone became a bit more awake.

"Dad." Zhao Yang suddenly called out.

"Huh?"

"I'm not doubting our family."

"I know." Zhao Jianguo said, "Go back to sleep."

The Triplets walked toward the side rooms, their silhouettes gradually separating, then slowly drawing together again. Zhao Xing walked in front, turned his head and shouted something, Zhao Yang laughed and gave him a push, Zhao Chen lagged half a step, hands in his pockets, looked up at the stars.

Zhao Jianguo stood in the middle of the courtyard, motionless.

He patted his pocket; the torn admission ticket was still there. He didn't take it out, just let it stay.

The moon overhead was bright enough to see the cracks in the bricks. The locust tree leaves rustled, as if someone were flipping through an old book.

He turned back to the tool shed, and the last light went out.