Smash It with a Hammer

Day after day passed, and Yue Yuan ultimately had no choice but to unveil the Emergency Hibernation Plan that Xu Zhenyi had proposed long ago.

But he was unwilling to halt all human activity except spacecraft construction now. It was not just him—almost no one was willing to accept it.

They had only just managed to get this massive construction effort underway, yet now they had to extinguish it with their own hands.

But what could unwillingness change?

Under these circumstances, the warship construction plan was called off before it had even begun. The Emergency Hibernation Plan was formally brought forward, and experts began discussing its feasibility while carefully calculating the energy it would require.

Today, after dealing with the matters at hand, Yue Yuan crossed through the lowest level of the base as usual and entered the damaged spacecraft.

He did not go to the Armed Forces Department. Instead, he turned a corner and entered a spacious room where a group of scientists worked. It was also where the experts researching the damaged spacecraft had gathered.

With no other options, Yue Yuan had no choice but to place that sliver of hope in the wrecked spacecraft. The moment he entered the room, he heard one rough voice spewing trash talk while another tried to calm him down.

"Goddamn it, after all these years, you haven't figured out a damn thing. The base has been feeding you for nothing. If you still can't produce results, I'll have the whole lot of you dismantled! Dig farther in and excavate the Original Cockpit. I refuse to believe everything was destroyed beyond recovery—the engineering experts already ran the calculations!"

"Old Liu, why are you taking your temper out on them again? Researching this thing can't be rushed."

"Isn't it because I'm in a hurry?"

"Being in a hurry won't help. Oh, and if you really want to dismantle it, you'll need to submit an application. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I know. I'm just talking. If I really dismantle it, I'll file the application myself. Sigh."

The two went back and forth, one old and one middle-aged, pointing at the computer screen. Neither noticed Yue Yuan arriving behind them.

One was Liu Miyan, the most outstanding physicist of the modern era and a leading figure in Particle Physics. The other was Yu Nanfeng, a doctor of engineering mechanics and a dynamics expert.

The one with the more explosive temper was Liu Miyan, around fifty years old. Yue Yuan had long grown accustomed to his personality.

Anyone who did not know him would indeed find it hard to imagine such an outstanding physicist talking so much trash.

"What are you two doctors planning to dismantle?" Yue Yuan leaned over and asked.

"Dismantle your sister—ugh..." Liu Miyan, already irritated, heard the voice behind him and blurted it out. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong. The voice sounded rather familiar.

Liu Miyan hurriedly turned around. "You wouldn't happen to be planning to dismantle this, would you?!" Yue Yuan ignored him and leaned closer to look at the screen, where he found a 3D model reconstructed from a component in the rear half of the spacecraft.

"We do want to dismantle it. We believe this thing is connected to the spacecraft's engine. It connects directly to the engine compartment, but we don't know what purpose it serves, because the part connected to it is clearly a complete engine, with a nozzle-like opening and structures resembling fuel tanks."

"Besides, it's already badly deformed. We can't restore it without dismantling it. And this wrecked spacecraft is already in such terrible condition that we can't excavate and use it anyway. We might as well dismantle it and study it."

As Liu Miyan spoke, he manipulated the computer and rotated the 3D model, explaining it to Yue Yuan. His eyes gleamed with excitement, making him seem like a completely different person from before.

"Chief Yue, look here, here, and here. The structure of this spacecraft isn't entirely beyond our understanding. Based on our judgment, this thing is definitely part of the engine. But its construction is completely unlike anything we know about engines. It seems like a redundant component, but how could a spacecraft have redundant components? Especially in a place as crucial as the engine compartment."

Yue Yuan nodded seriously, then asked, "There's a pair of these things, isn't there?"

"This wrecked spacecraft has twin engines, so of course there's a pair." Liu Miyan's voice carried excitement, as though they could dismantle it at any moment.

This thing had troubled the research team for years. If they could dismantle it and investigate it thoroughly, perhaps they would finally figure out what it did.

At Liu Miyan's words, Yue Yuan recalled something. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Right. I remember the other set of engines is still embedded in the soil. Has it been excavated?"

"It has. That set is in much better condition than this completely ruined and deformed one. Only the engine nozzle is slightly warped." Yu Nanfeng was the one who answered.

"Warped. Is it serious?" Yue Yuan had barely finished asking before changing his mind. "Come on, let's go take a look."

No sooner said than done.

The moment Yue Yuan moved, Liu Miyan and Yu Nanfeng immediately followed. The three bounced along while grabbing guide rods to propel themselves, quickly arriving at the engine compartment.

This place had originally been completely packed with earth, but it had now been cleared out. The huge breach on the left had also been braced by engineering personnel.

Yue Yuan saw that the engine beneath the supports was severely deformed and had shifted inward. The engine on the other side was in much better shape, but when he looked farther back, he could not help wanting to curse.

The seemingly intact engine had a tubular opening near its rear end that had changed from round into a duckbill shape.

"You call this slightly warped?" Yue Yuan looked at Yu Nanfeng beside him.

"It's slightly more than that," Yu Nanfeng said awkwardly.

Yue Yuan: ...

He was speechless. In the end, Yue Yuan moved over and knocked on the duckbill opening, which stood taller than ten of him stacked together. "Is there any way to restore it?"

"Mm, yes!" Yu Nanfeng moved closer as well.

"Oh?"

Yue Yuan's eyes lit up. He turned back to Yu Nanfeng in surprise and saw his confident expression, immediately breaking into a delighted smile. "What method is it? Tell me. Or have you already drafted a proposal? What's the feasibility? This is such a major matter—why haven't I seen a plan from the institute with your name on it? Mm, it's fine if you haven't had time to write one yet. Draft it later and let me see it."

Uh.

Faced with Yue Yuan's stream of questions, Yu Nanfeng froze for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "Smash it with a hammer!"

Pfft—"Cough, cough, cough!"

Before Yue Yuan could say anything, a violent fit of coughing erupted beside him. Then he saw a stream of water spray diagonally into the distance.

Liu Miyan had happened to take a sip from his bottle and choked on the water.

"Cough, cough, cough! Damn it, Yu Nanfeng, are you trying to choke me to death so you can inherit my property?! Mm—cough, ha—cough..." Liu Miyan coughed and cleared his throat as he complained, "What the hell do you mean, smash it with a hammer? Is that something an engineering mechanics expert would say?"

Yue Yuan was also rather speechless and was about to say something when he noticed Yu Nanfeng looking at him with a completely serious expression.

Seeing that, Yue Yuan raised one eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"Of course. Simple and crude—Miracles Through Brute Force." Yu Nanfeng nodded and replied with utmost seriousness. "This thing is far tougher than we imagined. An ordinary engineering hammer can't even make it budge."

Yue Yuan fell into thought.

This is a niche story, so please send some recommendations my way.