Chapter 455 Kunlun's First Suspension

Ma Yuejin stared at the wattmeter, his mouth opened slightly, but he didn't say anything. He turned to look at Qian Zhiyuan. Qian Zhiyuan was squatting next to the coil, clutching the ammeter, his knuckles white.

"Full power supply? The fusion reactor would overload."

Ma Yuejin's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed heavily in the factory. Several technicians turned around simultaneously. He Yuzhu stood in front of the control panel, his finger hovering above the start button. He didn't look at Ma Yuejin, but stared at the red power curve on the control panel.

Two seconds later, he pressed his finger down. Without hesitation.

The instant the current surged into the coil, all the lights in the factory went out. Not slowly dimming, but abruptly shutting off. The overhead fluorescent tubes flickered twice before going completely out. The electric wrenches in the workers' hands fell silent, and someone shouted, "Don't panic!"—the voice sounding hollow in the darkness. A fraction of a second later, the backup power switched on, and the emergency lights came on, casting a dim, yellowish glow on everyone's faces, like the glow of a kerosene lamp.

A deep hum emanated from the Kunlun ship. It wasn't a sharp whistling sound, but a vibration coming from deep within the hull, like the lowest string of a cello being plucked by a bow. The pointer of the ammeter in Qian Zhiyuan's hand suddenly sprang to the end of the red zone, and his body trembled, but he didn't let go.

The hull began to tremble. A metallic scraping sound, like someone filing metal, emanated from the hydraulic support rods against the hull. Ma Yuejin crouched down and shone his flashlight into the gaps in the support structure.

One centimeter. Five centimeters. Ten centimeters. The pressure sensor readings are dropping.

"It's off the ground." Ma Yuejin's voice was muffled. He didn't stand up, but squatted there looking up.

Thirty centimeters. Fifty centimeters. One meter. The hydraulic support rods were completely detached from the hull, and the Kunlun was steadily suspended in mid-air. A gap appeared between the hull and the ground, just big enough for a person to bend down and crawl through. Through the gap, the pipes on the opposite wall could be seen.

A young technician dropped the wrench he was holding with a thud. No one picked it up.

Several people began to applaud. The applause was sparse at first, then grew louder and louder. Someone whistled, the sharp sound echoing in the factory. Ma Yuejin was still squatting, one hand supporting himself on the ground, the other holding a flashlight, the beam of light swinging erratically on the ceiling.

He Nianhua squeezed through the crowd. He bumped into a technician's shoulder, but the technician didn't seem to care and continued clapping. He ran to the side of the ship's hull and looked up at the meter-high gap. It was dark inside, but he could see the outlines of rivets on the ship's hull insulation.

He reached out, trying to touch it. He couldn't reach it. He stood on tiptoe, but still couldn't reach it.

A tall worker next to him bent down and picked him up. He Nianhua's fingertips touched the insulation layer; it was cool and a little prickly. The worker put him down, but he stood there, his hands still raised.

"Mom, it really floated up!" he shouted into the crowd.

He Yushui didn't hear it; she was talking to her female colleague next to her, and her voice was drowned out by the applause.

He Yuzhu didn't look at the bottom of the ship. His eyes were fixed on the power meter on the control panel. The pointer was still stuck in the red zone, and the fusion reactor's cooling system emitted a sharp alarm. Qian Zhiyuan stood up from beside the coil, strode to the cooling control panel, and pushed the liquid helium flow knob to its maximum.

"The temperature is rising. 4.2 Kelvin, 4.5, 4.8." He counted as he twisted the coil, his voice growing increasingly tense. "It's five Kelvin now. If it rises another 0.9 degrees, the coil will lose overrun."

Ma Yuejin stood up from the ground and wiped the dust off his knees. "Dean He, that's enough, you can lower the price now."

He Yuzhu glanced at the stopwatch. "Hold for thirty seconds."

Qian Zhiyuan's hand was on the emergency stop button, but he didn't press it. His eyes were fixed on the thermometer, his lips were pursed, and his cheeks were puffed out.

Twenty seconds. Temperature 5.2 Kelvin.

Twenty-five seconds. 5.4 Kelvin.

Thirty seconds. 5.6 Kelvin.

The entire factory fell silent. No one applauded, no one spoke. Only the hum of the coils and the sound of the cooling system compressors remained.

"Shut down the machine," He Yuzhu said.

Qian Zhiyuan pressed the emergency stop button. The current was cut off, and the hum of the coil went from high to low, like a tire slowly deflating. The Kunlun began to descend, and the hydraulic support rods pressed against the bottom of the ship again with a dull thud. All the lights came on, the emergency lights went out, and the factory was brightly lit again.

Ma Yuejin crouched down and shone his flashlight on the contact surface between the support pole and the bottom of the boat. "It's settled."

He Nianhua was still standing by the bottom of the boat, head tilted back, refusing to leave. He Yushui squeezed through the crowd and pulled him by the arm.

"Let's go, don't delay the workers' work."

"Mom, it just floated, it really floated."

"I saw it." He Yushui dragged him away. He Nianhua kept looking back as he walked, his neck twisted, and he almost bumped into a pillar.

Qian Zhiyuan withdrew his hand from the emergency stop button and wiped the sweat from his palms on his work pants. He opened his notebook, paused for a moment on the paper with his pen, and then began to write.

The suspension height was one meter, the duration was thirty seconds, the maximum power was 120%, the highest coil temperature was 5.6 Kelvin, and there was no overshoot.

He Yuzhu walked over to him, picked up the record sheet, glanced at it, folded it, and put it in his pocket. "Disassemble the propellant. Drain half the fuel from the storage tank."

Lin Jianguo stepped forward from the crowd. "What if we remove half the fuel? What will we do for the maiden flight?"

"Add it back before the maiden flight. Now we'll do a hover test; the lighter the fuel, the better."

Lin Jianguo nodded and turned to make the arrangements. Ma Yuejin walked up to He Yuzhu, took out a cigarette from his pocket, glanced at the no-smoking sign, and then put it back.

"Dean He, one meter is a success. But one meter is too low, and the ground effect interference is too great. If it can float at a height of ten meters, the ground effect will be weaker, and the hull will be more stable. Only when it can be stable at ten meters can it be considered a true success."

He Yuzhu looked at the gaps in the bottom of the boat. "Two months. Change the strip, add coils, increase the power."

Qian Zhiyuan stuffed the notebook into his bag. "Two months later, get the Kunlun to drift ten meters."

He Yuzhu didn't answer, and turned to walk towards the factory entrance. He Nianhua stood outside the door, being pulled by He Yushui, her eyes fixed on the bottom of the boat.

"Dad, I want to come watch the next test again."

"Finish your homework first."

He Nianhua kicked away the pebbles at her feet, lowered her head, and walked away.