6: Rewards and new "troll" tasks

The power trip incident was like a pebble thrown into a pond, stirring up a ripple of tension at the time, but it soon returned to calm.

Excellence huddled in his dorm, terrified, ears pricked to catch any movement in the corridor. Every knock on the door made his heart jump, fearing it was the dorm manager or someone even more terrifying coming to have a "talk" with him.

However, a day passed, then two... Apart from his roommate Li Hao occasionally complaining that the power outage that night caused him to disconnect from his game, there was nothing unusual.

The campus forum was calm, and there was no relevant news in the class group chat.

It seemed that the brief darkness was really just an insignificant, common little glitch in the old power grid of University Town.

Excellence's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, slowly and tentatively settled back into his chest. The crisis seemed to have been temporarily averted.

Once he relaxed, that irrepressible curiosity and sense of achievement quickly took over.

He couldn't wait, filled with a pilgrim-like reverence, to "click open" in his mind the reward issued by the system, marking the completion of the [Glimmer of Civilization] task.

Deep in his consciousness, the translucent system screen quietly unfolded, clearer than before, with even a faint golden halo around the edges representing the completion of the task.

On the screen, a rigorously structured and astonishingly long PDF document slowly emerged.

"Controlled Nuclear Fusion (Kitchen & Garage Simplified Edition) Technical Feasibility Report and hand-crafted Guide.pdf"

Just the name made the corner of Excellence's eye twitch. "Kitchen & Garage Simplified Edition"... This system was truly down-to-earth to the extreme.

He focused his consciousness and "opened" the report. After just a cursory glance at the table of contents and the summary, his mouth began to twitch violently and uncontrollably.

This report... the rigor of its content, the meticulousness of its logic, and the detail of its data were simply outrageous!

It completely followed the format of a top-tier academic paper, starting from the most basic plasma physics and nuclear fusion principles, using the most concise and clear language and formulas to derive and argue step-by-step for the theoretical possibility of achieving miniature controlled fusion under extreme resource constraints.

Mathematical formulas, physical models, and simulation curves were all present, rigorous enough that any physics professor would struggle to find any major faults.

However, the further he read, the more peculiar the style of this report became. In the specific implementation plan section, all its case studies and material recommendations exuded an inseparable, frugal "everyday life" vibe:

[Core Magnetic Field Coil Winding Techniques]: "...Given that high-purity oxygen-free copper wire is expensive and difficult to obtain, you can prioritize using enameled copper wire dismantled from old electric scooter motors or old transformers. After annealing with an open flame (Note: temperature must be controlled evenly to avoid excessive oxidation), its conductivity and ductility can barely approach the minimum standard requirements. Appendix A.3 provides three common dismantling diagrams for old motors."

[Vacuum Chamber Acquisition Plan A]: "...It is recommended to purchase a commercially available large 304 stainless steel insulated bucket (capacity ≥ 20L is preferred); its internal finish is acceptable, and its basic airtightness is good. You need to perform internal mechanical polishing yourself (you can borrow a polishing disc from the school's metalworking workshop) and modify/weld the flange interfaces (Appendix B.7 provides a simple argon arc welding guide and rental information for nearby hardware stores). This plan costs about 0.8% of a brand-new professional vacuum chamber."

[Energy Output Interface Design]: "...It is strongly recommended that the output end be compatible with the most common household appliance interfaces, such as a standard two-pin plug. This will greatly simplify subsequent energy utilization steps, making it easy to directly power small household devices (such as LED desk lamps, mobile phone chargers, laptops, etc.), enhancing the device's practicality and concealment. Warning: Absolutely do not plug directly into a wall power outlet!"

[Safety Regulations - Daily Use]: "...Note: Do not use the energy generated by this device to directly boil water for instant noodles. Because there may be tiny fluctuations and high-frequency harmonic interference in the energy output, it will seriously affect the heating uniformity and taste of the water, and may cause the instant noodle seasoning packet to not dissolve fully. It is strongly recommended to use a regular electric kettle."

[Failure Case Analysis and Troubleshooting Guide]: "...Case 4: The dorm fuse blew at the moment of reaction startup. Reason: The power grid input end was not equipped with a simple isolation transformer and filter circuit (see Appendix D.2 for construction methods; main materials are parts from old radios). Solution: Try it late at night when the power grid load is lower, or connect to a laptop battery (requires interface modification) for islanded operation..."

[Cost Analysis]: At the end of the report, there was even an extremely detailed table listing the material list and estimated costs for three configuration plans, from "Top-tier (Laboratory Grade)" to "Beggar (Scrap Yard Grade)," along with price comparison links and coupon retrieval guides for major e-commerce platforms (Pinduoduo, 1688, Xianyu). The system thoughtfully selected the "Beggar Edition" plan for Excellence automatically and noted: "This plan has saved the host 97.3% of the budget. Please keep up the good work."

Excellence stared in dumbfounded amazement, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

This system... is truly a master of frugal living! How is this a high-tech guide leading the rise of civilization? This is clearly a "Guide to Saving Money" or "The Self-Cultivation of a Scavenger," filled with life wisdom, extreme cost-effectiveness, and the spirit of turning trash into treasure! It perfectly interpreted what it means to "do the biggest things with the least amount of money," even if this thing seemed so fantastical.

[Reward received. Generating new task...] The system's voice sounded again, as cold as ever, interrupting Excellence's shock and complaints.

[Based on the host's current civilization contribution (+0.0001) and basic energy technology unlock progress, new task released: [Invisible First Step]]

On the light screen, the original fusion report shrank to the corner, and a new task document popped up, carrying a hint of unquestionable solemnity.

[Task Requirements: Within 45 calendar days, manufacture an effective optical camouflage demonstration device (covering an area of no less than 0.1 square meters), achieve basic distortion-based invisibility in the visible light spectrum (380nm-780nm), and maintain effectiveness for no less than 10 minutes.]

[Task Reward: [Low-Cost Optical Camouflage (Beggar Edition) Principles and Implementation Plan.docx]]

[Task Failure Penalty: ... (Content same as before; the host's browser history and specific social media account content will be selectively made public, supplemented by AI-generated accompanying images and video materials to ensure maximum dissemination effect)]

"Optical invisibility?! And it has to cover 0.1 square meters?! For ten minutes?!"

Excellence felt his vision go dark, almost unable to catch his breath, and nearly fainted. The little bit of pride and sense of achievement that had just risen from completing the previous task was instantly smashed to pieces by this even more outrageous requirement!

Again?! And the requirements this time are even more perverted! At least one could imagine the principles of nuclear fusion (even if hand-crafting it is a miracle), but optical invisibility?! Is this something that can be "hand-crafted" in a university dorm? The materials science, optics, and electronics knowledge involved—which one of them isn't a massive pitfall?!

"System! Come out! This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Excellence roared madly in his heart, "I need a professional laboratory! I need a cleanroom! I need coating equipment that costs millions! I need funding! I need a team! I need..."

His wailing and protests were cut off mercilessly by the system before he could finish.

[Material list and acquisition suggestions have been generated. Please check, host.] The system's tone had no fluctuation, as if it were just stating an established fact.

On the light screen, the list that made Excellence's vision go dark appeared again, with the format as "thoughtful" and "down-to-earth" as ever:

Metamaterial basic units (for specific resonant frequencies): (Attached Taobao link: XX Nanomaterials Direct Store, search keywords "YY-type nano zinc oxide powder", price ¥XX.XX/gram, Note: The host needs to perform particle size screening and surface modification processing themselves; see Appendix 1 for methods)

Flexible transparent conductive film: (Note: Can be dismantled from the touchscreens of old smartphones or tablets; carefully peel off the ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) coated film, taking care to maintain its integrity. Or you can purchase "heated window film" and cut it to replace; performance is slightly inferior, but cost is reduced by 70%)

Miniature high-energy pulse capacitor array: (Attached Pinduoduo link: "Old Zhang's Electronic Components Clearance", model ZZZ, withstand voltage XXV, capacity XXX μF, ¥X.X/piece, must purchase more than 50 at once to get free shipping)

Adaptive control circuit board: (Note: The host can try to use knowledge from the "fundamentals of analog circuits" and "digital circuits" courses, combined with an open-source hardware platform (Arduino Nano) to design it independently, and use the thermal transfer method or photosensitive board method to etch it themselves. The required ferric chloride etchant can be purchased from chemical reagent online stores, or extracted from old circuit boards...)

High-frequency signal generator: (Suggested solution: Modify the PWM control chip of an old computer power supply, or dismantle a mobile phone charger...)

... (There was a long list of equally despairing items following this) ...

Excellence's gaze was fixed on the words "design and etch yourself" and "knowledge from the 'fundamentals of analog circuits' course." He then thought of his textbook, which was almost brand new and only opened a few pages when marking key points at the end of the term, as well as his transcript, which was already in jeopardy and required make-up exams shortly after the semester began. He suddenly felt that his life was gray and his future was bleak.

"System... Brother System... let's talk, have mercy..." Excellence's voice was tearful as he tried to make one last struggle, "Can you let me pass the upcoming make-up exam first... after I graduate smoothly, find a job, save some money, rent a garage... then we can slowly research this invisibility, okay? Overreaching is just asking for trouble..."

[The development and rise of civilization take precedence over the host's personal short-term academic goals. Please arrange your time reasonably and balance both.] The system's answer was impartial and as cold as a Siberian cold wave, completely extinguishing his last glimmer of hope.

Excellence collapsed desperately on the bed, limbs spread out, staring at the fluorescent light on the ceiling that had once gone out because of him, his eyes empty. He felt like a donkey being driven by a carrot it could never eat, only the carrot hanging in front of him was the tiny hope of avoiding social death, while behind him was the huge threat of electric shock punishment and public execution.

He turned his head and glanced at the pile of "fusion wreckage" under the bed that he hadn't had time to clean up yet, emitting a faint smell of machine oil and ozone. He then looked at the devilish list on the light screen that looked like a heavenly book, and sighed long and deeply. This sigh was so long that it seemed to take away all the strength in his body and the last bit of optimistic imagination about the future.

When will these miserable, nerve-wracking, poor, and tiring "hand-crafted" high-tech days ever end!