Something this small couldn't be weighed on an ordinary electronic scale, not even a food scale designed for weighing small amounts. The reading probably wouldn't even register.
Shen Le spent three seconds agonizing over whether to "order a precision scale" or "find someone to borrow one from," then opened Taobao. One glance at the prices was enough to make him back off.
A domestically made electronic analytical balance accurate to 0.0001 grams cost 630 yuan. An imported one cost at least three or four thousand. Sure, the bargain shop had one claiming an accuracy of 0.01 grams for just 150 yuan—but would anyone dare use that thing?
His fixed monthly income was 100 yuan a day from the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant, split with Little Puppet, leaving him with 1,500 yuan. Touring different schools, he could work all 22 weekdays in a month, earning 100 yuan a day and taking home half, or 1,100 yuan. With 2,600 yuan, he had more than enough for food and daily expenses. But if he splurged on equipment...
Shen Le thought it over, picked up his phone, and scrolled through his contacts. After going through the list, he finally called his police officer friend, Shi Guangbing.
"Hey, are you free? Could you help me out with something?"
You had to admit, the local big shot was something else.
Shi Guangbing made several calls. Thanks to knowing so many people around town, he asked around and actually managed to get Shen Le access to a precision balance. Soon, he called Shen Le and told him to bring the item he needed tested to a certain testing center.
"What? You want me to come there? Can't I borrow it?"
"You wish!" the officer on the other end of the phone teased.
"Do you have any idea how precise a ten-thousandth-gram balance is? You can't just move it around! Not only can't you move it, but the table it sits on is vibration-resistant, and the temperature in the weighing room has to stay constant, or it'll affect the accuracy! Hurry up! The technician's my girlfriend's classmate. Otherwise, she wouldn't be doing you this favor!"
"Okay, okay..."
Shen Le readily agreed. He carefully wiped the Devil's Work Ball clean, then grabbed a blowtorch and blew hard into it for a while, clearing the dust from inside its three layers. Then he took it to the testing center the officer had mentioned. When he got there, they wouldn't even let him into the testing room. He could only watch through the glass, standing on tiptoe.
The technician wore a spotless white lab coat and work cap, with her mask pulled firmly over her face. She took the bag containing the Devil's Work Ball from him, turned back to the weighing table, zeroed the scale, and picked up a...
Pair of tweezers?
Well, it was a testing center that used precision balances every day. What did they usually test, anyway—things so tiny and light?
The technician used the tweezers to carry the Devil's Work Ball through the opening in the balance's glass case and set it in the center of the weighing pan. The display in front of the electronic balance flickered, then immediately showed a reading:
0.6867...
Shen Le covered his face. Great. Fantastic. It really was accurate to four decimal places. That was impressive!
He thanked her profusely and, after pleading with her, also asked if she could measure its volume. Using the water-displacement method, they weighed the solution in a graduated cylinder before and after, and got an answer of:
About 0.85 cubic centimeters.
...In other words, the wood used for this Devil's Work Ball had a density of 0.78 g/cm³. Shen Le spent ages checking a chart of common wood densities, but couldn't draw any conclusions.
Oak, walnut, maple, even jujube wood—all of them fell within that density range. As for the wood's hardness, there was no way to get a meaningful result by measuring it by hand...
"So what kind of wood am I supposed to use?"
Shen Le gritted his teeth, torn and frustrated. He could just pick any suitable wood. He could even go online and order a suitable Devil's Work Ball right now—
It wouldn't even cost much. A 15-millimeter mammoth-tusk Devil's Work Ball was only 145 yuan on Taobao, while one made of deer antler cost just 50.
But Shen Le couldn't shake the feeling that the more work he did himself—carving it by hand, repairing it by hand—the more likely it was that the Ink Marker would develop a mind of its own after being repaired, and become a... a...
Though he had no idea what the Ink Marker would turn into if it developed a mind of its own. Would it become a carpenter?
Shen Le let out a long sigh, then finally took out his phone and contacted his senior martial brother from graduate school.
"Senior Martial Brother, I remember you had a project during your PhD studying the materials used in various ancient buildings?"
"Yeah, yeah." His senior martial brother had clearly been worn down by the project. As soon as Shen Le brought it up, he sent a long message complaining about it. It had several homophone errors and punctuation all over the place; clearly, he'd used voice input.
"I'm working on it right now. It's killing me! I'm running all over the country, climbing up and down to collect samples. My legs are practically worn to sticks! And I have to ask everyone for favors, get senior and junior martial brothers all over the place to collect samples and mail them back... Anyway, what's up?"
"Senior Martial Brother, I remember your project was working with the Forestry Bureau to test the DNA of different types of wood and figure out what kind they were. Could I tag along? I happen to have something I need tested..."
"Sure! Mail it to me!"
"Thanks, Senior Martial Brother! How much will it cost?"
"Nothing! Testing one sample isn't expensive, only a few dozen yuan. The hard part is that if you just show up, they might not agree to do it for you. But if I include it in the project, they can test it along with everything else. We have project funding, anyway..."
His senior martial brother sent him an address, then went quiet again. Shen Le breathed a sigh of relief and photographed the Devil's Work Ball from several angles, made rubbings, and cast a plaster mold. After completing the whole series of steps, he held his breath and carefully took a small sample from it.
"Senior Martial Brother, I'm counting on you!"
Heaven knew Shen Le could have told you where to go for a paternity test—though he had no need for one himself. But testing the DNA of a piece of wood? That had him stumped. Luckily, his senior martial brother came through!
After mailing the sample, Shen Le began researching how to make a Devil's Work Ball. First, he opened CNKI and searched—
Great. There wasn't even half a paper with "Devil's Work Ball" as the keyword.
Shen Le wasn't discouraged. He tried again, opening Taobao, Bilibili, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, searching each one in turn.
"Uh... this one only shows the finished product. It doesn't show how to make it at all."
"This one... where are the crucial steps? Where are they?! You've sped through dozens of times and skipped two-thirds of the important steps. Come on, that's not fair, master!"
"This one... sigh, what can you even tell from a 15-second video?"
"This one... what is this? CNC machining, a twelve-sided openwork ball? So it can be made with CNC? Then tell me how to make one!"
Shen Le spent a full half-day completely absorbed in searching for all kinds of information. In the end, all he got was a vague conclusion:
The key was positioning. First, mark the surface of the ball, then cut several circular openings and carve inward layer by layer, before carving each layer in turn. But how did you mark the positions? How many openings did you cut? How deep did you carve?
The first two questions could be answered by measuring an existing Devil's Work Ball. But how deep to carve was another matter...
Shen Le sighed. Left with no other choice, he picked up his phone and called in another favor.
"Senior Sister, you there? I need emergency help!"