Chapter 246 Progress Recovery

January 15, 2039.

Equatorial Pacific, 157 degrees East Longitude.

At six in the morning, Chen Xueming stood at the edge of the platform, watching the spreading orange-red glow on the eastern horizon. The sea breeze was light, as gentle as a lover's breath, a world away from the raging typhoon a month ago.

He had grown thin.

That was the first thing anyone would say upon seeing him. His cheekbones protruded, his eye sockets were sunken, and his work uniform hung loosely on his frame. The left arm injured during the typhoon a month ago had healed, but a faint scar remained on his wrist.

But his eyes were bright.

It was the kind of brightness that only comes after a mountain has been lifted from one's shoulders.

"Manager Chen!" Liu Jianguo walked up from behind him, holding a thermos container. "Breakfast! We have braised pork today; Master Liu specifically asked someone to bring it over!"

Chen Xueming turned around, took the thermos, and glanced inside—bright red chunks of meat, smelling fragrant. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth; it was fatty but not greasy, melting the moment it touched his tongue.

"Master Liu's cooking is truly something else," he said indistinctly.

Liu Jianguo stood beside him, also looking at the distant horizon. "Manager Chen, what day is it today?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment. "Counting from the day of the typhoon, it's the thirty-ninth day."

"And the schedule?"

"We've caught up." Chen Xueming swallowed the meat. "According to the original plan, today should be..."

He paused, his gaze falling on the Tower Crane that had already been installed in the center of the platform.

"Today should be the day for the inspection and acceptance of the Anchoring Base."

Liu Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then he smiled.

"Manager Chen, this past month, you've really..." He couldn't find the words to describe it.

Chen Xueming also smiled. "Really what?"

"Really been reckless with your life."

A month ago, three days after the typhoon, Chen Xueming had issued a military pledge before all the workers:

"One month. We will recover the lost time. Every day we've been delayed, we will seize back day by day."

No one spoke at the time.

Over three hundred pairs of eyes watched him, filled with doubt, hesitation, and a glimmer of hope.

One month later, they had done it.

The data was the best proof—

Anchoring Base: 28 main piles, all driven. Concrete pouring complete, strength testing passed.

Tower Cranes: All six installed; four have passed commissioning and are ready for use at any time.

Storage Yard: Cleanup complete, all Carbon Nanotubes spools inspected; only one crate needs to be returned to the factory due to impact damage, the rest are all qualified.

Pier 3: Reinforcement complete, six new sets of diagonal braces added, and all connection points that exceeded stress tests by 23% have been repaired.

living quarters: Expansion complete, forty new dormitory rooms added, Canteen expanded, and medical clinic upgraded.

Personnel: Three hundred and twenty-seven people, zero fatalities. Five minor injuries, all fully recovered.

Chen Xueming stood next to the Anchoring Base, watching the massive steel structure glinting with a dark golden luster in the sunlight. Twenty-eight main piles, each driven forty-five meters deep into the seabed, supported a circular platform thirty meters in diameter. In the future, the first cable of the space elevator would depart from here, pointing straight at the stars.

"Manager Chen," a young voice came from behind, "you've run out here alone again."

Chen Xueming turned his head; it was Wang Lei.

The nineteen-year-old worker was the kid he had rescued from the waves on the day of the typhoon. This past month, Wang Lei seemed like a changed man—he worked the hardest, stayed the latest, and continued working even when others rested. Chen Xueming had scolded him a few times, telling him to mind his health; he would agree verbally, but then turn around and run back to work.

"Didn't you run out here too?" Chen Xueming looked at him.

Wang Lei scratched his head. "I... I came to find you. Factory Director Liu said there's a meeting at eight, and told you not to forget."

Chen Xueming checked his watch—seven-fifty.

"Let's go."

The two walked back side by side. Passing the Storage Yard, Chen Xueming stopped to look at the neatly arranged rows of Carbon Nanotubes spools.

Thirty-seven crates, thirty-six intact. The damaged crate had already been sent back to the factory for testing; Section Chief Wu had messaged yesterday saying it could be repaired without delaying its use.

"Manager Chen," Wang Lei suddenly said, "can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away."

"That day... why did you save me?" Wang Lei lowered his head. "I'm just an ordinary worker, and I was disobedient, almost getting myself killed and dragging you down too. Why did you take such a big risk?"

Chen Xueming looked at him for several seconds.

Then he said, "Because you are also a member of this team."

Wang Lei looked up.

"No one in the team gets left behind," Chen Xueming said. "That's what Chief Designer Lin taught me."

Wang Lei stared at him blankly, his eyes turning a bit red.

Chen Xueming patted his shoulder. "Alright, enough with the sentimentality. Let's get to the meeting."

At eight in the morning, the video conference began on time.

On the other end of the screen, Lin Mo sat at his desk in the Chief Engineers Office. Li Xiao was beside him, and Zhao Gang was also online.

"Xueming," Lin Mo looked at him through the screen, his gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds, "you've lost weight."

Chen Xueming smiled. "Losing weight is good; saves me the trouble of dieting."

Li Xiao chimed in from the side, "Senior Brother Chen, Master Liu said that when you get back, he's going to weigh you himself. For every pound you've lost, he'll make you a serving of braised pork."

Chen Xueming laughed. "Then he'll be cooking for a month."

Everyone laughed.

After the laughter, Lin Mo said seriously, "Report on the progress."

Chen Xueming took a deep breath and began reporting item by item.

The Anchoring Base, Tower Cranes, Storage Yard, pier, living quarters, personnel... data and photos were presented page by page, each item clear and every photo distinct.

At the end of the report, he looked into the camera and said:

"Old Lin, rest easy. The time we lost, I've seized it all back."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

Then Lin Mo said, "Good."

Just that one word.

But Chen Xueming heard everything contained within it—relief, trust, and a bit of heartache.

Li Xiao whispered from the side, "Senior Brother, you did it."

Zhao Gang gave a thumbs up. "Chen Xueming, you're awesome."

Chen Xueming leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

He had been holding this breath for a month.

At two in the afternoon, Chen Xueming took Liu Jianguo and Wang Lei to perform one final check of the Anchoring Base.

The three of them stood on the massive circular platform, with two-meter-thick reinforced concrete beneath their feet. The tops of the twenty-eight main piles were neatly arranged in a circle, each welded with a precision connection device—the place where the cable would be secured in the future.

Liu Jianguo crouched down and touched one of the connection devices. "Manager Chen, how high is the precision requirement for this thing?"

"The design requirement is 0.1 millimeters," Chen Xueming said. "The actual test results averaged 0.08."

Liu Jianguo whistled. "Incredible."

Wang Lei asked from the side, "Manager Chen, can these twenty-eight piles really support the space elevator?"

Chen Xueming looked at him. "Do you know how much force a single pile can withstand?"

Wang Lei shook his head.

"The design load is two thousand tons," Chen Xueming said. "Twenty-eight piles means fifty-six thousand tons. The total weight of the space elevator, including the cable and the climber, is only about twenty thousand tons."

Wang Lei did the math, and his eyes widened. "So there's a huge margin?"

"Of course," Chen Xueming said. "And it's more than double."

As Wang Lei looked at those piles, something new appeared in his eyes—awe, and a sense of pride.

"Manager Chen," he suddenly said, "when the elevator is finished, I want to go up and see."

Chen Xueming turned his head to look at him. "Go up to do what?"

Wang Lei thought for a moment. "I just want to see what the Earth looks like from up there."

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said, "There will be such a day."

In the evening, Chen Xueming stood at the edge of the platform, watching the sunset slowly sink below the horizon.

His phone rang. It was a message from Lin Mo:

"The platform progress is recovered; you deserve the most credit. Take a good rest for two days. I'll be over next week, and we'll discuss the cable laying."

Chen Xueming looked at the message, smiled, and replied:

"No need for rest. The platform side is ready to start work at any time."

Lin Mo replied instantly:

"Rest when you're told to rest. That's an order."

Chen Xueming laughed out loud when he saw the word "order."

He put away his phone and continued watching the sunset.

In the distance, a few seabirds skimmed over the water, letting out crisp cries. The lights on the platform flickered on one by one, illuminating the entire steel island. Workers walked toward the Canteen in groups of twos and threes; some were humming, some were joking, and some looked back at the newly built facilities as they walked.

Liu Jianguo walked over and handed him a bottle of water. "Manager Chen, time to eat."

Chen Xueming took the water, took a sip, and then said, "Director Liu, do you think people like us will be remembered in a few decades?"

Liu Jianguo was taken aback and thought for a moment. "Remembered for what?"

"Remembered for building an elevator here."

Liu Jianguo was silent for a while, then said, "Probably. After all, this thing won't be torn down for thousands of years."

Chen Xueming nodded and didn't speak further.

The two of them stood together at the edge of the platform, watching the last afterglow of the sunset disappear below the horizon.

In the distance, the warning lights on the Anchoring Base began to flash, their red glow particularly striking in the dusk.

That was the first light of the elevator.

At seven in the evening, the Canteen was bustling with activity.

The braised pork that Master Liu had specifically sent over had been made into a massive potful. Workers queued up for food, each bowl piled high with braised pork.

Chen Xueming sat in a corner, eating slowly. Wang Lei sat opposite him, eating rapidly.

"Manager Chen," Wang Lei said indistinctly with his mouth full of meat, "why are you eating so slowly?"

Chen Xueming smiled. "I'm used to it. Old Lin used to always say that you should chew slowly to be kind to your stomach."

Wang Lei blinked. "Chief Designer Lin even cares about that?"

"He does," Chen Xueming said. "He cares about everything."

Someone nearby chimed in, "Manager Chen, tell us about Chief Designer Lin? We've never met him."

Chen Xueming put down his chopsticks and looked at the expectant faces.

"Chief Designer Lin..." He thought for a moment. "He's a special person."

"How is he special?"

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said, "He makes you feel that working for him is worth it."

The Canteen went quiet for a moment.

Then someone whispered, "Well, now you also make us feel that working for you is worth it."

Chen Xueming was stunned and looked at the speaker—an old worker in his forties, his face weathered by the elements, but his gaze was sincere.

He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the words.

Liu Jianguo laughed from the side to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, enough with the sentimentality, eat your meat, eat!"

The Canteen became lively again.

Chen Xueming lowered his head and continued to slowly eat his bowl of braised pork.

But his eyes felt a little warm.

At eleven at night, Chen Xueming stood on the Anchoring Base, checking the connection devices one last time.

The moonlight spilled down, plating the entire platform in silver-white. On the distant sea, the waves shimmered like countless scattered stars.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Lin Mo:

"Old Lin, the platform side is ready. Waiting for you."

After sending it, he put away his phone and looked at the starry sky overhead.

The Milky Way spanned from north to south, with dense stars like crushed diamonds scattered on black velvet. He thought of what Wang Lei had said that afternoon—'I just want to see what the Earth looks like from up there.'

Soon, he thought.

Soon.

He turned and walked back.

Tomorrow would be a new day.