The first ray of New Year's sunlight pierced through the dust-proof mesh of the workshop, casting dappled light onto the automotive engine test bench. Chen Feng stared at the brand-new V6 engine on the mount, his fingertips gently brushing against the embossed character "Feng" on the cylinder head. This was the first automotive engine prototype built by his team over three months, crafted according to the blueprints from the Space System.
"Director Chen, the bench test is ready." Engineer Zhang, wearing noise-canceling earmuffs, handed over the test report. "The cylinder pressure data is 8% higher than the designed value. That's probably related to the cylinder block quenched in the Cold Pool Water."
Chen Feng nodded, his gaze landing on the deflector grooves on the side of the engine. Those curves, designed in accordance with the Cold Pool Water Ripple, shimmered with the distinctive cold sheen of metal in the morning light. He took a deep breath and pressed the start button. A roar instantly filled the entire laboratory, deeper and more powerful than a motorcycle engine.
"RPM has broken through 6,000!" Engineer Zhang exclaimed, looking at the dashboard. "Thermal efficiency has reached 38%, beating mainstream competing products by 5 percentage points!"
Yet, Chen Feng noticed the blue smoke at the exhaust port, his brows furrowing slightly. "The air-fuel ratio still has issues. Notify the R&D department to lower the proportion of the ice-moss extract by another 0.5%."
Just then, his phone vibrated, and Liu Ruyan's video call popped up. On the screen, she was standing in front of the food factory's new production line, with the EU certification copper plaque being hoisted into place behind her. "Chen Feng, overseas orders for the wild mushroom cookies have broken one million euros. Uncle Linhai is asking if we should pour the profits into the automotive project?"
"Not for now." Chen Feng wiped the machine oil from his hands. "The machinery side needs to be built step by step. On the contrary, as for you..." He recalled the industry intelligence report he had received last night. "Pay attention to the patent litigation from a certain Japanese food company. They might make an issue out of the microbial testing standards."
After hanging up, Chen Feng's thoughts returned to the engine. The prompt for "new energy battery core technology," unlocked by the Space System last week, was still flashing. However, he knew that before traditional fuel engines had fully matured, making a rash transition carried too much risk. At that moment, Old Zhou pushed the door open carrying a toolbox, with his father's old wrench tucked into his belt.
"Xiaofeng, I was thinking, the automotive engine sketches your dad drew back in the day look a lot like the oil circuit design of this machine." The old man pointed at the gear train on the blueprint. "Especially this balance shaft. He tried a similar structure on a tractor back then, but unfortunately, the materials weren't available to make it a reality."
Chen Feng's heart stirred. He opened his father's old blueprints and indeed found an almost identical design in the corner. He suddenly realized that the technology from the Space System did not come out of nowhere, but rather generated a wondrous resonance with his father's unfinished research. This trans-temporal echo gave him a fresh perspective on improving the engine.
Late at night, three days later, the laboratory lights were still bright. Chen Feng integrated the balance shaft design from his father's blueprints into the existing scheme, paired it with tungsten-chromium-vanadium alloy components quenched in the Cold Pool Water, and initiated the test once again. This time, the engine's roar was even steadier, the blue smoke at the exhaust port completely vanished, and the thermal efficiency rose to 40.2%.
"It's ready for inspection." Chen Feng took off his oil-stained gloves and watched Engineer Zhang prepare the test report overnight, suddenly recalling the new prompt from the Space System—"Passing the inspection unlocks the complete vehicle design module." He knew this engine would become the key to opening the door to automobile manufacturing.
However, on the eve of the inspection, the State Administration for Market Regulation suddenly issued a notice requiring an additional inspection of the engine's emission system. Chen Feng keenly realized this might be a conspiracy by competitors. He visited industry experts late into the night and indeed discovered that a certain German automaker was pushing new emission standards in an attempt to squeeze local Chinese enterprises out of the market.
"They want to curb us through technical barriers." Chen Feng paced the meeting room in the small hours of the morning, the projection flashing with comparisons of emission standards across various countries. "But our engine inherently possesses the advantage of low emissions. The cylinder block quenched in the Cold Pool Water naturally yields a stronger fuel atomization effect."
He swiftly organized the team to include a real-time monitoring livestream during the emission test, allowing global audiences to witness the engine's eco-friendly performance. When the test data showed that pollutant emissions were 30% lower than EU standards, the live broadcast room's barrage was instantly flooded with "Rise of the Chinese Core," and the procurement director of a domestic automobile manufacturer sent a cooperation invitation on the spot.
Meanwhile, the food company's crisis arrived right on schedule. When the Japanese company's patent litigation documents were delivered to the company, Liu Ruyan was leading the legal team to sort through technical documents. She pointed at the microbial data on the test report. "They accuse us of using prohibited strains, but they don't know our fermentation process originates from the natural flora behind the mountain. Under the cultivation of the Space System, these strains have long since formed a unique ecosystem."
Chen Feng participated in the video conference remotely and suddenly remembered the Space System's "biological database" function. He activated his pendant, and the gene map of the mountain flora emerged within the light-mist, displaying key differences in molecular structure from the strains accused by the Japanese enterprise. This natural technical barrier became the key evidence for winning the lawsuit.
On the day the automotive engine passed the national inspection and obtained its production license, Chen Feng brought Old Zhou to his father's grave. He gently placed the engine model in front of the gravestone and said softly, "Dad, look, the dream back then has come true." Old Zhou wiped the corner of his eye and placed the old wrench beside the model. "Old Chen, the gears of us two generations have finally turned toward automobiles."
Returning to the company, Chen Feng received an email from Marco, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. The attachment was a photo of a racing car winning a championship, with the character "Feng" clearly visible on the engine. Even more exhilarating was that the Space System's complete vehicle design module was officially unlocked, and a 3D model of an SUV emerged within the light-mist, with its chassis marked "Cold Pool Mineral Vein special steel application."
"Director Chen, the first domestic SUV prototype equipped with our engine has rolled off the production line!" Engineer Zhang's voice on the phone was full of excitement. When Chen Feng rushed to the test track, the workers were cheering around the prototype. He climbed into the cockpit, and the moment he turned the ignition, the engine's roar sounded just like when his father used to repair tractors back then, yet it was even more surging and powerful.
In the twilight, Chen Feng stood beside the prototype, looking at the "Chinese Core" logo on the car body, and thought of the hardships along the way. From selling mountain goods to making piston rings, from the food factory to the machinery plant, every step had been inseparable from the guidance of the Space System and the support of the older generation's dreams. His phone vibrated, and Liu Ruyan sent a message: "The lawsuit in the EU is won. They want to buy our strain cultivation technology."
He smiled and replied, "Tell them the technology can be licensed, but the core Cold Pool Water belongs exclusively to Chinese craftsmen." In the distance, the mining lights behind the mountain twinkled like stars scattered across the mortal world, illuminating the brand-new battlefield he was about to conquer—from engines to complete vehicles, from domestic to international, Chen Feng's era of roaring acceleration was officially beginning along with the engine's thunder.
When moonlight spilled over the windshield of the prototype, Chen Feng fished out the new energy battery blueprint newly unlocked by the Space System. Each battery cell on the blueprint was marked "Cold Pool Factor Activated," and on the back of the blueprint, his father's handwriting emerged once again: "Son, drive forward, don't look back."
On this night, the lights of the test track and the mining lights from behind the mountain complemented each other, forming a magnificent industrial painting. Chen Feng knew there were countless challenges ahead, but he was no longer the lost youth of his past life. Carrying the expectations of the older generation and the gifts of the Space System, he would drive the "Chinese Core" automobile he had built, accelerating at full throttle on the manufacturing racetrack, letting the world hear the deafening roar of Chinese craftsmen.