86: Folding space

The vibration on the garage roof stopped. Chen Wang remained still. He stared at the kindling system map; the red dot had stopped seventeen kilometers away, motionless. He turned off the alarm and looked at Lin Wei.

"Check the energy fluctuations first," he said.

Lin Wei nodded and activated Advanced Diagnostic Mode. The waveform on the screen kept jumping; the problem was in the colloidal filling area above the rear right wheel. She zoomed in on the area and found that it happened to cover a main energy pipe of the Space Folding Module.

"It's not an external problem," she said. "The inside is vibrating on its own."

Chen Wang walked to the rear of the vehicle and opened the inspection hatch. The weld seam was still warm, and the newly added reinforcement patch was pressed tightly against the oil line. He reached out and touched the conduit; the metal surface was cold, yet he could feel a subtle vibration.

"Something has been wrong since the welding finished yesterday," he said. "The newly installed components are blocking the heat dissipation vent, causing heat to accumulate here and disrupt the energy flow."

Lin Wei retrieved the historical data, comparing the time of the armor reinforcement with the time the fluctuations appeared. The two curves completely overlapped.

"It is indeed a problem that arose after the repair," she said. "The original design only had one path for energy transmission; once it's blocked, the entire system goes haywire."

Su Ling walked over and glanced at the screen. "What do we do now?"

"Rebuild the energy model." Lin Wei returned to the computer and quickly entered commands. In the 3D diagram, the Space Folding Module was broken down into several units, and every pipe was labeled with pressure and temperature readings.

"We must add a backup pathway," she said. "Otherwise, even a slight obstruction will cause the system to crash again."

Chen Wang watched the image for a moment, then turned and walked toward the engine bay. He lifted the heat shield, revealing the heat dissipation pipe—its wall was covered with a thin layer of frost, which was slowly melting.

"We've always tried to vent the waste heat," he said. "Could we use it in reverse?"

Lin Wei looked up at him.

"Let this portion of heat enter the system." Chen Wang pointed at the heat dissipation pipe. "The system is heat-sensitive now because of the uneven temperature distribution. What if we use this heat as part of a stable input?"

Lin Wei paused, then quickly modified the formula. She set the engine waste heat as an input variable and started the simulation run.

The result failed. The core output fluctuated violently, and the system displayed a warning: [Folding Chamber Imminent Overload].

"The thermal state is unstable," she said. "The engine heat changes too quickly to be controlled."

Chen Wang was silent for a moment, then took out his personal notebook and flipped to the page where they had tested the armor. It recorded the temperature curves Su Ling had compiled after multiple impacts.

"The data is here," he said. "The heat dissipation patterns for different scenarios are all recorded."

Su Ling approached and pointed to one section of the curve. "This is the temperature rise process after the third impact. It lasted forty-seven seconds and rose very smoothly."

Lin Wei looked at the chart and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "The medical pod's Temperature Control Program! That Dynamic Regulation System that maintains organ viability!"

She looked at Su Wan.

Su Wan nodded and stood up to go to the medical pod. She opened the cabinet below and retrieved a black chip.

"This is the Dynamic Temperature Control Program used for surgery," she said. "It can automatically adjust the temperature based on real-time conditions."

Lin Wei took the chip, inserted it into the Engineering Terminal, integrated it into the energy system, and set it to Real-Time Response Mode.

The first test started.

The energy core gradually increased its power, and the energy flow stabilized. But after three minutes, the left-side connection was interrupted, and the system shut down automatically.

"It's still not working." Lin Wei chewed on her pen cap. "The magnetic field at the connection point changed, and the signal couldn't pass through."

She opened an old notebook and flipped through it page by page. Suddenly, she stopped.

"I remember... there was a silvery-gray metal wire that the lab used to shield against electromagnetic interference. It was very thin, and winding it could stabilize the field strength."

"Do we still have stock?" Chen Wang asked.

"I think I saw it in the scrap pile we picked up last time," Lin Wei said.

The five of them immediately sprang into action. Su Ling put on gloves and carefully searched through the parts box. A few minutes later, she held up a fragment that shimmered faintly.

"This?"

"Yes!" Lin Wei took it and used tweezers to pull out a fine strand. It was flexible but wouldn't break, and its surface had spiral patterns.

"That's it."

They cut off a section and, following Lin Wei's instructions, wrapped it counter-clockwise around the main energy pipe. The connection points were sealed and secured with Bio-adhesive.

The second test began.

Low-power current was applied; energy flowed along the pipe, slightly delayed in the wrapped section, but without interruption.

The power was increased further.

The kindling system displayed a prompt: [Space Folding Protocol Activated, First Quadrant Stable Deployment]

A faint humming sound echoed inside the vehicle. From the floor seam behind the driver's seat, a metal plate slowly slid open, extending upward into a two-meter-deep space framework. The toolbox that had been resting in the back row was pushed into the new space, and a complete rest area appeared.

"It worked," Lin Wei whispered.

Chen Wang walked into the new space and reached out to touch the wall. The metal was still slightly warm, and the surface was smooth and seamless. He checked the system status: [Space Stability: 98.6%]

"We can install a bed and storage cabinets," Su Wan said, standing at the entrance. "Now there's a place if anyone needs to lie down for an IV drip."

Just as she finished speaking, the medical pod alarm sounded.

"Whose vital signs are abnormal?" Chen Wang asked.

"Not vital signs," Su Wan quickly checked. "It's the air alarm—the carbon dioxide concentration in the new space is rising too fast."

Lin Wei immediately retrieved the air data. "The ventilation port isn't connected to the main system; the enclosed space is consuming oxygen faster than anticipated."

Chen Wang approached the edge of the new space and inspected the wall structure. Sure enough, no ventilation channel had been reserved.

"Let's handle it temporarily," he said. "Connect the backup exhaust pipe from the top of the cockpit."

He opened the top cover and pulled out the flexible hose. Su Ling helped secure the bracket, and Lin Wei connected the wiring.

Within five minutes, the fan started. Fresh air flowed in, and the carbon dioxide concentration gradually decreased.

"It's temporarily solved," Chen Wang said.

Lin Wei sat on the chair, her hair slightly messy. She still held the metal wire in her hand and murmured, "So it really can conduct 'Zero-Point Energy'..."

Su Ling took off her jacket and gently draped it over Lin Wei's shoulders, then headed to the Armory to check if the power supply was affected.

Chen Wang sat in the driver's seat and reviewed the final report of the kindling system. All parameters were normal, and the Space Module was in standby mode.

He did not shut down the system.

The vehicle was still running, the engine humming softly, and all lights were on. The garage was as bright as day.

Lin Wei stood up and walked to the entrance of the new room. She pressed a blank panel on the wall, and with a click, the hidden light strip illuminated.

"We'll install the switch tomorrow," she said.

Chen Wang watched her. She was exhausted, but her eyes were bright. He remained silent.

Su Wan closed the medical record book and wrote the final line: 17:45, Space folding successful for the first time, all personnel physically normal.

She put down the pen and looked up at the door that had appeared out of thin air.

Outside the door, Lin Wei was bending down to check the floor seam.

Su Ling walked out of the Armory, holding a detector, and headed toward the corner of the new space.

Chen Wang rested his hands on the steering wheel, and the interface of the kindling system appeared before his eyes, with green characters continuously refreshing.

Outside the garage, the night was deep.

Inside the vehicle, the lights were bright.

Lin Wei straightened up and clapped her hands. She walked back to the workbench and picked up a piece of white paper.

The pen tip descended.

She drew a line.