Chapter 8: Engine Roar
The drizzling rain after the start of spring beat against the windshield at the test track. Chen Feng’s grip on the steering wheel tightened suddenly. The SUV prototype, equipped with their self-developed V6 engine, stalled while driving through the downpour. The malfunction light on the dashboard glared like a red eye—the third time power had been interrupted in three days.
"General Manager Chen, the test report is in," Engineer Zhang’s voice came over the intercom, clearly anxious. "It’s not an engine issue; the transmission cooling module can’t handle the constant heavy rain."
Chen Feng stared at the blurry factory building through the rain curtain. He suddenly recalled that in the vehicle design schematics unlocked by the Space System, there was an angular deviation between the transmission cooling slots and the engine’s air diversion ducts. He pulled out his pendant, and the Light-Mist unfolded a 3D model in his palm. Sure enough, he saw the cooling airflow forming vortices in the heavy rain, causing the transmission to trigger its overheat protection.
"Notify the production line to suspend all prototype deliveries," Chen Feng said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Send the transmission cooling module to the back-mountain laboratory. Reforge it using the special steel quenched in Cold Pool Water." He knew that for a technological bottleneck of this level, he could only break through by combining the material advantages of the Space System.
Back in his office, Liu Ruyan’s legal report was already on the desk. After losing their lawsuit, the Japanese firm had pivoted to join forces with European manufacturers to launch a Section 337 investigation against the "Cold Pool fungus" technology, attempting to block the food company’s overseas expansion. "They’ve filed for a temporary injunction. The hearing is in Geneva next week," Liu Ruyan said, her finger tracing the red annotations on the document. "But our fungus gene sequence formed naturally ten years before theirs. That is a natural temporal advantage."
Chen Feng nodded, his gaze falling on the ID badge on her chest—Liu Ruyan now served concurrently as the legal director for the machinery company, and she had pinned a brooch shaped like Father’s Old Wrench to her chest. "Have Su Yuhan turn the fungus cultivation timeline into a blockchain-backed record," he said, suddenly remembering the "Time Stamp" feature of the Space System. "The first collection record for every fungus strain is in the surveillance footage by the Cold Pool."
In the back-mountain laboratory, Jiang Xue was taking photos of the newly forged transmission cooling module. She wore grease-stained overalls and had an industrial-grade flashlight clipped to her waist. "Chen Feng, the hardness of the steel quenched in Cold Pool Water has increased by 15%. The cooling efficiency during the rain test should be fine." She suddenly lowered her voice. "We caught two reporters taking photos at the factory entrance earlier; their phones were full of pictures of the production line."
"It’s people from Black Wolf Heavy Industries." Chen Feng looked at the familiar suit styles in the surveillance screenshots, recalling the piston ring PR war from three years ago. "Notify the security department. From now on, all electronic devices entering the factory must pass through a magnetic demagnetizer—except for our work phones."
The second test of the transmission module took place amidst a thunderstorm. Chen Feng sat in the driver’s seat, feeling the rain battering the roof of the car. The engine tachometer remained steady above 5,000 RPM. When the vehicle successfully completed the 30-kilometer off-road rain course, thunderous applause erupted in the test track. Engineer Zhang came running over, brandishing the test report: "Cooling efficiency improved by 40%! The transmission temperature remained within the safe range the entire time!"
However, the joy did not last long. As the first batch of mass-produced engines was about to roll off the line, Master Zhao, who was in charge of the painting process, suddenly collapsed in the workshop. Chen Feng rushed into the infirmary and saw the old man clutching a fallen gear—it was a core component of the imported painting equipment. The supplier had just sent a notification suspending shipments due to "force majeure."
"It’s our competitors cutting off our supply," Su Yuhan’s fingers danced across her keyboard. Her hacking techniques traced the IP address of the supply cut notice back to a Black Wolf Heavy Industries server. "They bought off the equipment manufacturer, trying to choke our painting production line."
Chen Feng stared at the painting workshop outside the window, suddenly recalling the "Industrial Replication" function in the Space System. He closed the office doors and windows and activated the pendant. The full molecular structure of the damaged gear emerged in the Light-Mist. As he brought the pendant close to the discarded gear, the metal surface began to repair itself automatically, and the teeth on the edge of the gear gradually became as sharp as new.
"Send this for testing," Chen Feng said, handing the repaired gear to Engineer Zhang. "Tell the equipment supplier that we have found an alternative solution—and it is twice as durable as their original parts."
On the day the painting production line resumed operations, Chen Feng received a video call from Marco in Italy. On screen, the helmeted racer was tuning a car equipped with the "Feng" engine, with the roar of the Monza circuit in the background: "Chen, our racing team needs lighter and stronger engine parts. Can your Cold Pool steel do it?"
"Not only can it do it," Chen Feng said, showcasing the newly developed carbon fiber-reinforced tungsten-chromium-vanadium alloy, "but it can also reduce engine weight by 15% and increase strength by 20%." He knew that the formula for this material was a dual gift from the Space System and the back-mountain mineral vein, a core advantage that competitors could not replicate.
At the Geneva court, Liu Ruyan was delivering her closing statement. The screen behind her played a documentary on the natural evolution of the back-mountain fungus, with shots sweeping over the monitoring station by the Cold Pool; the 24-hour live feed proved the natural origin of the fungus strains. When the judge announced the dismissal of the European Union’s temporary injunction, cheers erupted in the food company’s overseas warehouse, and orders for the wild mushroom cookies exceeded three million units within ten minutes.
In the machinery factory during late autumn, the first mass-produced SUV slowly rolled off the production line. Chen Feng personally applied the "Chinese Core" metal badge to the hood, and Old Zhou tremblingly hung Father’s Old Wrench on the rearview mirror of the cab. "Old Chen, our car is finally running."
The new car launch was held in the plaza by the Cold Pool. When Chen Feng pressed the start button, the roar of the engine blended magically with the flowing sound of the Cold Pool water. The live broadcast camera swept over the intelligent mine in the back mountains, the transparent food processing plant, and the bustling machinery workshop. For the first time, global viewers saw how a Chinese craftsman used the gifts of the mountains to create an industrial miracle spanning both food and machinery.
"Next, I would like to introduce our new energy plan," Chen Feng said, holding up a battery model newly unlocked by the Space System. "Based on Cold Pool factors, our new energy battery will allow our cars to exceed a range of 1,000 kilometers and increase charging speed to 100 kilometers per minute."
Amidst the applause from the crowd, Chen Feng saw Liu Ruyan smiling from the side stage, Jiang Xue standing by the production line clutching her hard hat, and Su Yuhan adjusting the broadcast equipment. He suddenly understood that the so-called Space System was never a shortcut for one person, but a resonance between a group of people harboring dreams and the generous gifts of this land.
As the first SUV drove into the night, its headlights illuminating the winding road of the back mountains, Chen Feng took out his father’s old blueprints. The outline of the car on the paper was now truly driving on the mountain road, the roar of the engine sounding remarkably like the mechanical ballads his father used to hum. His phone vibrated; Su Yuhan had sent a message: "Space System prompt: the core material for the new energy battery is hidden in the permanent magnet ore at the bottom of the Cold Pool."
He looked toward the Cold Pool. The moonlit water sparkled as if hiding countless industrial codes waiting to be unlocked. That night, Chen Feng wrote in his diary: "The roar of the engine is the harmony of the land and our dreams. Once the gears start turning, they will never stop—because in every craftsman’s heart, there lives a Cold Pool that never runs dry."
In the distance, the food factory’s production line remained brightly lit, and new engine sounds drifted from the machinery plant’s test track. Chen Feng knew that his road to speed had only just begun—from motorcycles to cars, from traditional energy to new energy, the Light-Mist of the Space System would continue to guide him, and he, carrying the dreams of the older generation and the gifts of this land, would forever maintain a posture of full-speed advancement on the journey of manufacturing.