Ye Kaifu

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ye Kaifu (叶开富)
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Earth Era passenger
Occupation/Role	Eighth-Level Machinist; robotics enthusiast
First Appearance	Chapter 24 24

Background / History

Ye Kaifu is Zhang Yuan’s roommate at Xisha University while both prepare to depart Earth. He arrives with numerous self-made robots and struggles to decide which creations to take aboard because passengers are limited to 20 kilograms of personal belongings. 24

He is an undergraduate and an Eighth-Level Machinist, capable of shaping metal manually with files, cutters, and polishers to extremely fine tolerances. Such high-level machinists are valued on the Earth Era because not every industrial machine tool can be transported for the rebuilding of civilization. 25

Before meeting Zhang Yuan, Ye Kaifu had competed in robotics contests but failed to win first place after carrying an unproductive “girlfriend” and her male best friend on competition teams. Though he calls her an ex-girlfriend, he admits they never even held hands. 25 27

Ye Kaifu departs for space ahead of Zhang Yuan. Before leaving, he admits that their time together was exhausting but fulfilling, and believes he would have become better had they met earlier. 33

Personality

Ye Kaifu is enthusiastic, expressive, and deeply attached to his mechanical creations. He can talk at length about robot models, chips, and space weapons, and imagines owning a private spaceship named Queen Elizabeth. 25 27

He is competitive and easily affected by Zhang Yuan’s superior theoretical knowledge. Rather than withdrawing entirely, he asks questions, seeks further explanations, and attempts to match Zhang Yuan’s intense study routine. 26 27 29

His diligence has limits: after studying for roughly twelve hours a day for a week, he becomes desperate for rest, games, food, and romance. 29 He also values romance and hopes to find a girlfriend aboard the spaceship, initially clashing with Zhang Yuan’s belief that people “live to learn.” 27 29

Abilities & Skills

Eighth-Level Machining

Ye Kaifu is trained in high-precision manual manufacturing.

• Can use basic hand tools to grind a cubic iron block into a sphere within approximately a hair’s breadth of error. 25
• Manufactures many components for his robot projects by hand. 25
• Expects to begin shipboard life with an eighth-grade work rank due to his machinist qualification. 33

Robotics Construction

Ye Kaifu designs and builds mechanical devices, including competition robots and a motion-mapping mechanical arm.

• Created robots for the ESL Robot Competition and national-level competitions. 25
• Built a power-armor arm over four months; it received second place in the Galaxy Awards and was borrowed for the film Terminator 100. 25
• Uses a glove-based MIA Pressure Sensing System to translate hand movements into mechanical-arm movements. 25
• Ultimately abandons the arm for space travel after acknowledging its lack of tactile feedback, grip-force control, smooth response, and positional precision. 25

Basic Programming

Ye Kaifu wrote most of the control program for his mechanical hand himself, despite describing himself as self-taught and not highly proficient. 25 26

• His program derives finger movement directions from pressure changes in the sensing glove and transmits those directions to the mechanical hand. 26
• The program discards over 70% of the glove’s generated data to manage its volume. 27
• He recognizes that his design omits rotational degrees of freedom, but had previously abandoned them because the modeling difficulty was too high. 27

Equipment / Creations

• Power-armor mechanical arm — A nearly 20-kilogram motion-mapping arm with a maximum grip strength of 320 kilograms; later packed away and abandoned. 25
• MIA Pressure Sensing System glove — A tight leather glove connected to the mechanical arm by wire, used to detect hand and finger pressure changes. 25 26
• Self-made robots — Mechanical creations from robotics competitions, many containing hand-crafted components. 25

Relationships

• Zhang Yuan — Roommate, fellow Earth Era passenger, and informal mentor in robotics algorithms and mathematical theory. Ye Kaifu is initially intimidated and jealous of Zhang Yuan’s ability, but becomes eager to learn from him and follows his study routine. 25 27 29
• Unnamed former “girlfriend” — A college acquaintance whom Ye Kaifu supported during robotics competitions along with her male best friend; he later concludes that he had been used. 25 27

Story Role / Major Arcs

Meeting Zhang Yuan

Ye Kaifu meets Zhang Yuan after accepting half of Zhang Yuan’s seafood mixed noodles. Their shared interest in mechanics leads Ye Kaifu to demonstrate his creations, while Zhang Yuan gives a frank critique of the power-armor arm. 25

Robotics Discussion and Study Rivalry

After Zhang Yuan reviews Ye Kaifu’s mechanical-hand code, Ye Kaifu realizes the gap between his own programming and Zhang Yuan’s theoretical understanding. He asks Zhang Yuan to explain data processing, degrees of freedom, and quaternion-based rotational calculations. 26 27

Influenced by Zhang Yuan’s philosophy, Ye Kaifu tries to prioritize study over romance and spends a week matching Zhang Yuan’s library-and-dormitory routine. The effort leaves him mentally exhausted, though he continues to admire Zhang Yuan’s dedication. 29 30

Departure from Earth

Ye Kaifu attends a difficult mathematical-physics lecture with Zhang Yuan, where he cannot solve a Green’s-function problem but watches Zhang Yuan answer it correctly after waking from a nap. 31 32

He later leaves for space before Zhang Yuan. Despite joking during their farewell, he openly thanks Zhang Yuan for making his final days on Earth more fulfilling. 33

Notable Quotes

“I'm an eighth-grade machinist. I'll start with an eighth-grade work rank, which is much higher than yours.” 33

“Zhang Yuan, being with you, although it's tiring, it's very fulfilling. If I had met you earlier, I definitely would have been better than I am now...” 33

Trivia

• Ye Kaifu’s mechanical arm could crush a soda can with ease, but its lack of feedback made delicate manipulation impractical. 25
• He believes his past robotics results might have been better if he had worked with someone like Zhang Yuan. 27
• He plans to look for a girlfriend aboard the spaceship, partly because its male-to-female ratio is controlled at 1:1. 29