High-density composite panels are cut into irregular shapes and bolted to a steel frame to form the basic outline of the rock wall.
Su Wei stood on the scaffolding, holding an angle grinder in his hand.
[Muscle memory activation at Mechanical Repair LV2.]
The grinding wheel of the angle grinder is attached to the surface of the composite material plate.
Su Wei slightly tilted his wrist, controlling the depth and angle of the cut.
The grinding wheel scrapes an arc-shaped groove into the material, with jagged edges and flying debris.
The second one, the third one.
Each groove has a different orientation.
The deep ones are two centimeters deep, while the shallow ones only scratch the surface.
Su Wei would stop every now and then, run his fingertips over the freshly cut lines to feel their roughness, and then continue.
He spent two hours cutting through a four-meter-high rock face.
The scaffolding was raised and lowered three times, and two grinding wheels were replaced.
The surface of the composite material panel was transformed from a smooth industrial product into a "natural rock wall" covered with weathering cracks and water erosion grooves.
Su Wei jumped down from the scaffolding and looked up.
One last step is needed.
He walked over to the basalt slabs and picked out a dozen or so flat, irregularly shaped thin slices.
He used epoxy resin to attach these basalt flakes to key locations on the composite material panel.
The corners of the rock face, the intersections of cracks, and the areas where the bottom meets the ground.
Real stone and imitation stone are mixed together.
Viewed from three meters away, the entire rock face appears as a single, seamless unit.
No one can tell which parts are composite materials and which are genuine Neptune Cliff basalt.
Su Wei made Matt confirm the reserved slots for the concealed drip irrigation pipes.
Six thin pipes run along the steel frame on the back of the rock face, with their outlets hidden in cracks and grooves, completely invisible from the front.
The mounting brackets for the full-spectrum lamps are also welded to the top of the steel frame, and the lamp head angle can be adjusted to cover the entire rock face.
"Climbing plants will grow out of these cracks later."
Su Wei said to Matt.
"I've calculated the angle of the rock's inclination; each groove can hold at least two milliliters of water, enough for the aerial roots of small ferns to hold onto."
Matt stood beneath the scaffolding, head tilted back, his icy blue eyes slowly sweeping across the rock face.
He didn't speak immediately.
As darkness fell, the outline of the second floor had fully emerged.
Left side, Woodland Base.
Scattered dead cedar logs peek out from the dark substrate, exuding the scent of damp woodland.
Under cool light, the silvery-gray wood fibers and the emerald green moss create a striking color contrast.
The sky area is on the right.
A miniature cliff four meters high rises abruptly from the ground, its deep gray basalt blending seamlessly with the matte texture of composite materials, its surface crisscrossed with cracks, rugged and imposing.
In the middle, a 100-square-meter open space was cleared away.
Su Wei labeled it "rest space" on the drawing.
There will be no landscaping in this area; there will only be a few handcrafted wooden chairs and a low, solid wood tea table.
Invite customers to sit down, have a cup of coffee, and feel the distinctly different ecological atmospheres on both sides converging around them.
The dampness of the woodland and the mineral dryness of the cliff face coexist.
The workers began packing up their tools and carrying them downstairs one by one.
Footsteps echoed on the steel staircase.
Matt didn't leave.
He stood in the central rest area on the second floor and slowly turned around.
Look to the left, then look to the right.
Then he walked to the edge of the woodland, squatted down, and touched a newly planted peat moss with his finger, feeling a cool dampness on his fingertip.
He stood up again, walked to the rock wall in the sky area, and pressed his palm against it, the rough weathered texture digging into his skin.
This doesn't feel right.
It's not that the project is "wrong"; quite the opposite, the project itself is impeccable.
The steel frame is sturdy, the drainage is unobstructed, and the pre-reserved points are precise; he could judge these things even with his eyes closed.
The problem lies with something else entirely.
He worked on engineering projects for nearly twenty years, from Anchorage to Fairbanks, from the Yukon River to the Arctic Circle.
He had built so many things; when each building was completed, all he saw was concrete, steel, and pipes—it was all engineering.
But this second floor isn't part of the project.
He couldn't tell what it was.
Su Wei walked over from the stairwell, carrying a half-cold cup of black coffee.
Matt turned around.
His lips, beneath his brown beard, twitched slightly, and his icy blue pupils appeared remarkably serene in the cold light of the spotlight.
" Su Wei."
Su Wei stopped in his tracks.
Matt pulled his hand away from the rock face and wiped it on his overalls.
"I must say, your expertise in Ecological Landscaping is remarkable."
He paused for a moment.
"He's almost identical to the masters I've met."
After Matt finished speaking, without waiting for Su Wei's reaction, he picked up the toolbox on the ground and walked towards the stairwell.
The work boots clattered on the metal pedals, the sound fading into the distance.
Su Wei stood in the center of the second floor, with living woodland on his left and a silent cliff on his right.
He lowered his head and took the last sip of his cold coffee, the coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup leaving a slightly bitter taste on his tongue.
He placed the empty cup on the ground beside his feet and took out his phone from the inside pocket of his windbreaker.
There is an unread message on the screen, sent by Emily seventeen minutes ago.
"I've received the copies of the data from the guild. Are you free tomorrow? Also, the official notification letter for the hunting zone assessment has arrived."
Su Wei's thumb hovered above the screen.
The next message popped up immediately.
"By the way, do you have time later?"
"I've come all this way, how about we go out and have some fun?"
Chapter 202 The Plug-in, the World Lights Up
Su Wei's thumb hovered above the screen, staring at the sentence "I've finally come all this way, how about we go out and have some fun?" for three seconds.
Emily's typing habits haven't changed. She always posts important matters first, while personal matters are started with "Oh, right," as if it were just a casual remark.
But the phrase "It's not easy to come here" reveals what she really wanted to say.
After pondering for a moment, Su Wei typed a line.
"Are the ski slopes over at Pyramid Mountain open?"
It was sent, and less than ten seconds passed.
A reply popped up.
"It's open! It just opened last week. I heard the snow conditions are exceptionally good this year. You didn't even know that?"
Then another one followed.
"I checked, the weather will be sunny tomorrow and the day after, with winds below level three and very high visibility. The conditions are perfect for skiing."
Su Wei stared at the two messages.
She checked the weather.
It's not that we should check the weather forecast before deciding; we've already done the research.
She even listed the wind speed and visibility.