Volume One, Chapter 45: Rising Tension

The air in the workshop seemed to freeze.

Li Weiguo’s words struck like a nail, firmly embedding a new order into everyone’s hearts. The workers exchanged glances, then silently began their tasks—cleaning the autoclave, transporting new carbon fiber prepregs. Their movements were slow and cautious, each step laced with doubt.

Shen Qingyun stood rooted to the spot, his chest heaving violently. He neither moved nor spoke. Those around him deliberately avoided him as if he carried a curse. He had become an island alone in this workshop.

Du Yuze approached the control table, picking up a process card and a pen. Ignoring everyone, he bent his head and swiftly wrote down the new process parameters. Every number, every step was unmistakably clear.

“Step one: layup angles staggered at zero, ninety, plus and minus forty-five degrees. During layup, use adhesive tape to remove resin once every three layers, controlling resin content.” His tone was emotionless but resolute.

Several seasoned masters gathered around, scrutinizing the instructions on the card. This layup method was more than twice as complex as the standard procedure.

“Little Du, this method is too slow,” one of the masters couldn’t help but say.

“Slow, yes, but it ensures uniform impregnation of each layer,” Du Yuze replied without looking up. “Defects are what really slow us down.”

The master fell silent, picked up his tools, and began working strictly according to the card’s requirements.

Shen Qingyun fixed his gaze on Du Yuze’s back. Who was this young man to challenge decades of engineering experience with mere theory and a so-called “calculation”? What did he think textbooks and years of expertise amounted to?

Several hours later, the new horizontal stabilizer component was fully laid up and sent into the autoclave. The heavy door slowly closed with a resounding clang and locked tight.

The fate of the entire workshop seemed sealed within this immense steel chamber.

“Begin heating,” Du Yuze ordered the operator at the console.

The operator glanced at Li Weiguo, who tightened his jaw and nodded.

The green indicator light flickered on; the temperature curve began its slow ascent.

“Eighty degrees, reached.”

“Hold. Increase pressure to two atmospheres.”

Minutes ticked by. The workshop was so silent one could hear the hum of electricity. Li Weiguo pulled out a cigarette, hesitated, then put it away—this was a no-flame zone. He paced restlessly.

Shen Qingyun crossed his arms, leaning against a pillar, watching coldly. “All smoke and mirrors,” he muttered, as if to himself.

An hour of temperature hold passed.

“Step two: raise temperature to one hundred twenty degrees,” Du Yuze’s voice broke the silence.

The temperature curve climbed again.

“Pressure, increase to four atmospheres.”

Just as the pressure gauge needle approached four atmospheres, a yellow warning light suddenly blinked on the control panel.

“Beep… beep… beep…”

The piercing alarm tightened everyone’s hearts.

“Pressure unstable! It’s dropping!” The operator’s forehead broke out in sweat.

Shen Qingyun snapped upright and dashed to the console, pointing at the curve on the screen. “I knew it! I knew this would happen! Resin flow is uneven, creating voids inside the component! Pressure is leaking! It’s doomed! This one’s ruined too!”

His voice was sharp, tinged with a morbid excitement.

Li Weiguo’s face drained of color. Had he lost this gamble again?

“Shut up!” Du Yuze snapped, eyes fixed on the screen, his mind racing. The pressure curve fluctuated slightly around 3.9 atmospheres before beginning to decline. It wasn’t equipment failure, nor a resin issue.

“This isn’t a void,” Du Yuze said firmly. “It’s air trapped inside the thick component that wasn’t fully expelled during the eighty-degree hold. Now that the temperature is rising, the heated gas expands, forcing apart the fiber gaps and seeping outward. This is normal.”

“Nonsense! What proof do you have?” Shen Qingyun retorted.

“Proof is in the logic,” Du Yuze replied without looking at him, directing the operator, “Stop increasing pressure. Manually maintain it at 3.8 atmospheres. Hold for ten minutes.”

“You’re crazy!” Shen Qingyun nearly leapt. “You should increase pressure now to crush the voids! You’re actually reducing it?”

“Crushing will only damage the fibers. The air will be trapped inside, creating bigger defects,” Du Yuze said coldly. “We need to give it time and a channel to escape.”

The operator’s hand hovered uncertainly over the control lever. He looked to Li Weiguo, whose face pleaded silently.

Li Weiguo stared at Du Yuze. The young man’s face was calm, almost coldly focused.

“Do as he says,” Li Weiguo ground out through clenched teeth.

The operator promptly obeyed.

A miraculous scene unfolded. Once the pressure was actively lowered to 3.8 atmospheres and held steady, the fluctuating curve struggled for a few minutes, then stabilized as if by magic. The yellow warning light ceased blinking.

Shen Qingyun’s triumphant excitement froze, slowly fading into a disbelieving pallor. He couldn’t comprehend it—it completely defied everything he had learned.

Du Yuze gave no chance for reflection. “Ten minutes up. Increase pressure to four atmospheres, then raise temperature to one hundred fifty degrees.”

“Pressure, six atmospheres.”

The final command was issued. The autoclave entered its last curing phase. This time, all parameters remained rock-solid.

The next few hours were agonizingly long. No one left; all stood vigil by the autoclave like prisoners awaiting judgment.

Finally, the cooling cycle ended.

“Open the autoclave.”

Everyone’s breath caught.

A hiss of high-pressure gas released as the door unlocked and slowly slid open. A wave of dry heat swept out.

The platform carrying the mold was gently pulled out by a mechanical arm.

When fully revealed under the lights, the entire workshop inhaled sharply.

On the mold lay a flawless horizontal stabilizer.

Its surface was pitch black, smooth as glass, clearly reflecting the workshop’s ceiling lights. The unique weave of the carbon fiber shifted with the light, shimmering with a profound, enchanting luster—like an artwork from the future.

No wrinkles, no bubbles, no dry spots.

“Quick! To nondestructive testing!” Li Weiguo nearly shouted.

The component was carefully hoisted and transported to the nearby testing room. Everyone followed, crowding the small space until there was barely room to breathe.

The X-ray flaw detector powered on.

On the screen, the stabilizer’s internal structure appeared as a grayscale image. Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the display.

“Density uniform… no voids… no delamination…” The seasoned inspector adjusted his reading glasses, scrutinizing the image inch by inch, murmuring to himself.

Shen Qingyun squeezed to the front, eyes wide as bells, desperate to find the slightest flaw in the perfect grayscale image.

But he failed. The fibers were densely and orderly arranged, like a disciplined army.

“Begin C-scan,” Li Weiguo ordered.

The ultrasonic C-scan probe slid slowly over the stabilizer’s surface. On another computer screen, a colorful cloud map gradually formed. Green indicated intact structure; yellow and red represented defects.

Seconds ticked by, expanding the scanned area.

Green.

The screen was filled with uniform, pure green.

“Strength… perfect.” The inspector set down the probe, removed his glasses, and announced the final result in a near-dreamlike voice.

Li Weiguo slammed his fist onto a nearby table with a thunderous bang—not in anger, but ecstatic joy. He turned and grabbed Du Yuze’s shoulders, shaking him vigorously, repeating only one word: “Good! Good! Good!”

Hundreds of thousands in scrap, millions in equipment, the looming military order—all the pressure vanished in this moment.

Shen Qingyun felt all his strength drain away, staggering back against the wall. He had lost, utterly and completely.

[Major technological breakthrough completed: Mastery of integrated molding process for large composite components.]

[Task rating: Perfect.]

[Reward credited: 5,000 points. New technology blueprint unlocked: Composite Structural Health Monitoring System.]

The system’s prompt echoed in Du Yuze’s mind.

Li Weiguo released him, looked around, and loudly declared to all, “It’s done! Our factory has produced the first qualified domestic composite part for a military aircraft!”

The workshop fell silent for a second, then erupted into a thunderous roar of cheers and applause.