31: Chapter 31 Can thought control the direction and intensity of system amplification?

Fifty perfect parts were successfully delivered and passed the stringent pre-installation inspection.

Engineer Yang only replied with a brief “Received, awaiting test,” but Old Master Qin privately told Chen Fan that the core team highly praised the processing quality and data consistency of this batch of parts. This earned Panshi Foundation valuable trust points.

The heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart for half a month temporarily lifted, but Chen Fan did not feel relaxed. On the contrary, a greater pressure assailed him. The success of this mission certainly relied on the extraordinary foundation of Panshi Alloy, the ultimate craftsmanship of Bee King, and Xiao Zhi’s comprehensive planning, but in the core Amplification stage, he was still a passive recipient.

Although the random multiples and directions given by the system had not caused him trouble so far, this uncontrollability was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

"Xiao Zhi, based on potential future equipment needs and our workshop's maximum theoretical production limit with existing equipment, prepare a preliminary capacity assessment report." Chen Fan's voice was calm, yet it carried a sense of tension.

Soon, the data projection unfolded before Chen Fan.

"Using the complexity and precision requirements of drone bushings as a standard model, our existing core production line, under Bee King's full-efficiency optimized scheduling, full-load operation, and without considering equipment failure and material supply delays in an ideal state, has a maximum stable monthly output of approximately 200 units, with a peak sprint capacity approaching 2500 units. This can only meet small-batch demands. If we want to undertake subsequent official supply quotas, based on the usual annual basic demand for such equipment, our production gap is at least 10,000 units per month."

Expansion is imperative. But how easy is expansion?

Money, on the contrary, was secondary. With the initial establishment of Panshi Alloy's reputation in the high-end civilian market, and other opportunities Old Master Qin might connect, the financial pressure had greatly eased.

The real bottleneck lies in the Myriad Things Amplification System's ability to bestow performance and speed upon items.

Does every batch of Panshi Alloy require him to personally touch it and wait for the 'blessing' of random multiples and directions? Not to mention whether his personal time and energy would allow it, the most crucial point is—how to ensure the absolute consistency of material properties in each batch?

As the fields he contacted became increasingly high-precision and specialized, and the demands for material properties became more unique, this completely random 'lottery' was rapidly escalating in risk.

If the number of machines were increased, all machines would need to have consistent production calibers. Then, the Amplification multiple and function for each Amplification would need to remain consistent to amplify consistent machines.

In the military industry, especially for aerospace-grade components, the demand for material batch stability is extremely stringent. Situations like "this time, good luck amplified it 100 times, making it exceptionally powerful, but next time it only amplified 100 times, barely meeting standards" must never happen. Randomness is currently the biggest enemy.

And what Chen Fan relied on before was precisely the greatest randomness.

"I must control it..." Chen Fan murmured to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. "At least be able to guide it, to some extent control the direction and intensity of the Amplification, even if not 100% precise, the fluctuation range must be narrowed to an acceptable, predictable interval."

He entered the laboratory again. This time, his goal was clear—to study the 'laws' of the system itself, or more precisely, to study the 'interface' in his interaction with the system that seemed to be influenced by will.

Ever since Wang Defu's black jade bone-mending ointment was amplified according to his intent last time, Chen Fan had become more proficient in using the system. Subsequently, he would make Amplification requests to the system through intent, and they all achieved the desired effect. He thus learned that there must be clear demand content before Amplification, otherwise the system's Amplification would be highly random, like opening a blind box.

Based on the summarized experience, Chen Fan began to test his ideas, asking Xiao Zhi to record at his side.

The experiment started with the simplest repetition. He prepared dozens of small blocks of ordinary industrial pure iron, identical in composition, size, shape, and surface condition. Dispelling all distracting thoughts, thinking of nothing, he simply touched them, recording the Amplification multiple and result each time.

The data showed: completely random. Value Amplification, property changes, form alterations... there was no pattern whatsoever. Multiples jumped from 1x to 10,000x, and the results ranged from turning into gold to becoming a harder lump of iron, diverse and varied.

First system attempt. Randomness still dominated.

Chen Fan did not get discouraged. He started the next set, his mind highly concentrated, all his intent anchored on "strengthening that specific microscopic defect point," a level of focus that almost reached self-forgetfulness.

He picked up a new iron block, not thinking about what he wanted it to become, but closing his eyes, doing his utmost to clear all other thoughts from his mind, amplifying this iron block's strength by 10 times, toughness by 100 times, and corrosion resistance by 100 times.

[Detecting host's strong intent... Amplification effective! Basic material 'iron' receives a comprehensive basic attribute boost! Strength increased by 10 times, toughness increased by 100 times, corrosion resistance increased by 100 times!]

A piece of "super-performance pure iron," shimmering with a dull luster, heavy in hand, and of extraordinary texture, appeared in his grasp. Although the multiples were not sky-high, the crucial point was the result: it was still iron! It had just become "super iron" with all its attributes drastically improved!

Chen Fan's eyes suddenly lit up. It worked! Although it only suppressed the randomness of "turning into something else" and skewed towards "strengthening its own basic attributes," this was undoubtedly the first step towards control! This proved that pure and strong intent could indeed interfere with the system's "random algorithm"!

For the next 2 days, Chen Fan became the most frantic experimenter. He used various basic materials (copper, aluminum, common plastics, wood scraps) as subjects, attempting different intent anchor points.

Massive amounts of experimental data accumulated, and Xiao Zhi continuously summarized and analyzed it.

"Preliminary patterns summarized," Xiao Zhi reported, "One, the more complex the intent, the lower the success rate and the more uncontrollable the result. Two, intent intensity (mental concentration) affects the Amplification upper limit, with less impact on the lower limit. Three, the response to 'affirmative' and 'creative' intent (what is desired, what it becomes) is more stable, while the impact on 'negative, what is not desired' is unstable. Four, mental consumption is enormous, directly related to intent intensity and duration, and there is a clear fatigue threshold."

Based on Xiao Zhi's summary, Chen Fan finally figured out some tricks.

The experiment consumed a huge amount of mental energy, and Chen Fan planned to get a good night's sleep. Who knew he would sleep for three days. Before going to bed, he told Wang Defu not to wake him for meals, as he didn't know how long he would sleep. If the military order came, then wake him up.

During this period, Wang Defu came to check on Chen Fan a few times, worried that something might happen to him. He was always light-footed, afraid of waking him. Three days later, news came from Engineer Yang that a preliminary cooperation agreement for a 200,000 order could be signed on Monday.

Wang Defu planned to wake Chen Fan, who just happened to wake up, stretching.

"Uncle Wang, how long have I slept?" Chen Fan asked.

"Three whole days. Engineer Yang sent a message." Engineer Yang handed the phone to Chen Fan.

"Three days?" Chen Fan was somewhat shocked that he had slept for so long.

Chen Fan took the phone and saw the message. "Uncle Wang, our order has passed the test. We are now a military supplier!" Although he knew the outcome, his heart was still incredibly excited when he actually saw the message.

Wang Defu, standing nearby, was also very happy. He, an old man who collected junk, could actually participate in such a project. He felt very proud.

Next, he immediately had to address the most urgent need—increasing the number of machines and expanding production scale. He planned to add five more sets of equipment to the existing foundation, which was also the limit of the current workshop area.

"Xiao Zhi, prepare a raw material list for adding five sets of equipment." Chen Fan arranged the work in an orderly manner.

"Uncle Wang, I'll trouble you to help gather the items on Xiao Zhi's list."

"No problem! Leave it to Old Wang!" Wang Defu seemed to have found meaning in life and happily accepted the task.

His body, which had been dormant for three full days, awoke, feeling as if his mind had been cleansed by an icy spring, exceptionally clear. The mental exhaustion from the previous experiments had vanished without a trace. However, the fact that he had slept for three days still made his heart clench. The consumption of this "intent guidance" was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Chen Fan began to ponder how to increase his "mental strength".