Chapter 198

Chapter 198

*Pop!*

The brightly lit laboratory suddenly plunged into darkness. Wei Pan instinctively looked up at the warning lights above, and, confirming no immediate danger, sighed, "Looks like another overload."

It was unavoidable. To ensure data accuracy, all three high-throughput testing machines in the debugging room were running continuously. Most likely, the R&D Department's power surge had tripped the circuit, affecting the lab.

"Ah!"

Hearing Lu Fangqing’s shriek from inside the lab, the technician swallowed hard and quickly said, "Director Wei, would you mind taking these documents to the archives? I need to rush to the Engineering Department and get Master Qiu over here."

Even though Director Wei was usually approachable, the technician didn’t dare order his superior to make such a long trip, opting for the more distant task himself.

Wei Pan was about to offer to go to the Engineering Department again when a thick stack of documents was shoved into his hands. In the blink of an eye, the technician was gone.

"Master Qiu!"

The technician rushed into the Engineering Department and, before Qiu Jiexi could snap at him, blurted out, "Master Qiu, the lab suddenly lost power. Could you come take a look right away? The backup power in the sample storage room won’t last long."

Priorities were clear. No matter how impatient Qiu Jiexi was, he understood the critical impact of a lab blackout. Muttering irritably, he cursed, "I told them not to share the power supply with the R&D Department! To save a paltry amount of electricity from restarting machines, they keep overloading the system—day after day! They’re not even married, why stick together like glue? Once Xiao Ma and the others get back, I’m tearing out all the wiring in the institute and redoing it myself!"

The technician ducked his head, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible to avoid becoming collateral damage.

He stood to the side, not daring to rush Qiu Jiexi, knowing that despite the grumbling, the old man would definitely help.

Qiu Jiexi bent down, pulled out a toolbox from under the desk, and rummaged through it to ensure he had everything he needed. Then, turning around, he patted Su Xu’s shoulder and said, "Come on, helper. Let’s take you on a little field trip."

Su Xu raised an eyebrow, pointing at the lab just across from the Engineering Department’s entrance. "Field trip? You mean the kind where we just cross the street?"

"You coming or not? Sitting around all day, your ass must be asleep," Qiu Jiexi retorted, grimacing as he rubbed his back while limping toward the door.

He hadn’t taken two steps before the toolbox in his hand suddenly felt lighter. Without looking, he knew Su Xu had caught up and taken it from him.

"The institute’s power supply relies on the kinetic energy generated by the purifier’s turbine blades outside. Originally, the lab and the R&D Department’s power consumption wasn’t much different from the factory across the way, so they were wired together. But recently, the R&D Department’s been using high-wattage equipment, and the current system can’t handle the load. All we need to do is separate the R&D Department’s circuit and connect it to a new power supply."

Qiu Jiexi calmly explained the institute’s internal wiring structure to Su Xu as they worked. First, they restored power to the critical lab circuits, then, with Su Xu watching, Qiu Jiexi rerouted the R&D Department’s main line and connected it to a power panel on the wall.

"There are nine more of these power boxes in the hull—they’re distribution points for the power system. Now, we just need to redirect the R&D Department’s line to one with lower usage."

Despite his age, Qiu Jiexi’s decades of experience allowed him to calmly and efficiently handle most technical issues. His overall speed wasn’t much slower than Su Xu’s, though he deliberately slowed down at times to let the younger man follow along.

"Understood," Su Xu nodded. Seeing Qiu Jiexi finish half the connections, he took over the remaining wiring, quickly copying the steps to complete the job.

Qiu Jiexi watched quietly, a satisfied smile on his face. After inspecting Su Xu’s work and confirming it was correct, he clenched his fist and pointed his thumb toward the lab. "Let’s head inside and check everything while we’re at it, so we don’t have to come back later."

"Sure," Su Xu agreed.

The buzz of returning power hummed in their ears, but the sudden brightness dispelled all discomfort, leaving them refreshed.

Lu Fangqing sighed, staring at the interrupted sample in the instrument. In the dark, he jotted down in his notebook: *42nd separation experiment—failed.*

As the lights flickered back on, all the lab equipment rebooted. Perhaps this marked a new beginning.

After failing the same experiment forty-two times, Lu Fangqing had experienced every possible outcome. He was past caring.

Bemoaning failures wouldn’t solve anything. He’d just have to start over.

Silently, Lu Fangqing prepared another sample and loaded it into the separator. While waiting for the results, he adjusted his stance, muttering, "Not this direction—it’s bad luck. Let’s try this way instead." He straightened the white lab coat he often wore for other experiments, hoping this "lucky robe" would grant him success.

The red indicator light flashed urgently, silently making his heart race and tightening already strained nerves, making it impossible to look away.

"Su Xu, head to the other side and check if there are any faulty connections," Qiu Jiexi instructed.

"Got it," Su Xu replied, then turned to a nearby lab technician. "Could you show me the way?"

"Of course."

Guided by the technician, Su Xu hurried down the hallway toward the opposite end of the lab. Passing by a brightly lit glass window, he glanced inside and was surprised to see Lu Fangqing.

He nodded politely at the man inside but didn’t linger, quickly moving on.

Lu Fangqing shrank back, instinctively avoiding eye contact. Just then, the separator beeped, signaling completion. He bolted upright, eyes wide with disbelief, then turned toward where Su Xu had disappeared, his gaze alight with gratitude and reverence.

Meanwhile, Su Xu, busy verifying signal responses in the equipment room, suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. He reflexively shrugged it off, confirmed the connections were correct, and prepared to report back to Master Qiu. As he opened the door, his eyes landed on a stack of duty rosters pinned to the back.

The schedules themselves were ordinary, but what caught his attention was the name of the person who had drafted them. It was only then that Su Xu fully realized Wei Pan’s role as the Director of the Deep Sea Research Institute.

Flipping through a few pages, he murmured, "Seems like the institute’s staff is pretty stable. Your schedules are planned three months in advance."

In contrast, personnel changes in Matia were constant. Teammates fighting side by side today might become eternal flames on Posuo Hall’s memorial platform tomorrow.

The technician guiding him shook his head. "Not usually. In the past, schedules were made monthly or every two weeks. Director Wei suddenly prepared three months’ worth this time. We found it strange too."

Su Xu didn’t know much about the institute’s inner workings, nor could he guess Wei Pan’s intentions. Still, his gaze lingered on the date the schedules had been issued.

"Well done."

With just a little guidance, Su Xu had handled it perfectly, much to Qiu Jiexi’s delight.

Leading Su Xu out, the old man was almost reluctant to let him go. "That’s enough for today. Two straight days in the Engineering Department—even someone made of iron would be tired. Get some rest. Your pay’s coming through soon."

If he kept Su Xu any longer, Wei Pan would probably come after him.

*Money.*

The news he’d been waiting for lifted Su Xu’s spirits, washing away any fatigue. He felt like he could work another two days straight.

*Buzz buzz.*

Qiu Jiexi frowned, pulling out his communicator. "Who’s messaging me at this hour?"

Grousing, he checked the sender, then shot a glance at Su Xu beside him, his expression turning complicated.

"At the enthusiastic request of an anonymous individual, it is proposed that Mr. Su Xu, a non-camp resident, be formally admitted into the institute with the same privileges as original residents. Thus, opinions are sought from all department and camp leaders. Please reply with ‘Agree,’ ‘Disagree,’ or ‘Abstain.’"

Oliver, slouched lazily in his chair, pointed at the group message on his communicator and smirked at the sender sitting right beside him. "Wei Pan, really? ‘Anonymous individual’? Who wouldn’t guess this was your idea?"

Their camps were scattered across the sea, making meetings difficult. Unlike Matia’s formalities, they usually relied on messages for non-urgent matters. But today’s message from Wei Pan was suspiciously transparent.

"Didn’t everyone already accept Su Xu joining? They even gave him gifts!" Liang Zhan, worn out from missions, yawned as he slumped over the table. "As for access rights, if my brother brought Su Xu back, he wouldn’t restrict his access anyway."

He wasn’t a camp leader—just tagging along with Oliver after seeing the message on his communicator.

Wei Pan, skimming through a newly delivered report while waiting for data to import, fought back a smirk. "I wouldn’t do something so redundant."

As for Su Xu joining the institute, he liked Su Xu well enough, which made sense. Logically, Su Xu's abilities alone held immense recruitment value.

"Then who could it be?" Oliver couldn't help but voice his doubt.

Shortly after, someone entirely unexpected was the first to respond.

Lu Fangqing: "I agree!"

Staring fixedly at the name on the screen, Oliver grew more suspicious. Pointing at Lu Fangqing's name, he asked Wei Pan in disbelief, "This anonymous person... it couldn’t be him, could it?"

Lu Fangqing was usually buried in research, indifferent to everything else. Yet today, he was more active than anyone else—hard not to think something’s up.

Seeing Wei Pan not deny it, Oliver was quiet for a beat before saying, "Personally, I have nothing against Su Xu joining, but did the lab door slam on Lu Fangqing’s head or something? This isn’t his usual behavior!"

When Su Xu first arrived at the institute, Lu Fangqing had to be practically forced to give him a welcome gift. And now, just two days later, he’s Mr. Hospitality?

Though even he thought the reason was a stretch, Lu Fangqing had indeed explained it this way.

"When Su Xu went to the lab for maintenance earlier, his experiment succeeded," Wei Pan said matter-of-factly.

"Wei Pan, I want to apply for the highest clearance for Su Xu. From now on, he can waltz in and out of the lab whenever, stay as long as he wants—he can even hover in front of me all day, I don’t care!"

"Or better yet, just move him to Zone 4! Let him live across from me, and you move out! Wei Pan, I really need him! He’s my good-luck charm!"

Wei Pan knew Lu Fangqing wasn’t being malicious, but he still refused the absurd proposal with great displeasure.

"Scram, get back to your lab!"

The corner of Oliver’s eye twitched slightly. He had plenty to say but held back, fearing it’d sound crude. In the end, he clenched his jaw and muttered, "Superstitious."