Tie Kuang guided two lead blocks into Austin’s back frame. Austin locked them in place and raised the cooling pumps to sixteen hundred turns a minute.
The change began with a deep pull behind his ribs.
His half-Earth core drew in the crushing force around the fault and packed it tighter. The shelf stopped turning beneath his boots. Loose bolts rolled toward him. Pug planted all four feet and leaned against the tool chest.
Golden light filled Austin’s sight.
Xuan Ming stared at the quiet shelf. “The weight of a whole world.”
“A counterweight,” Austin said. His voice was lower now. “Like the weight on the back of a crane. Without it, the crane tips forward. Dangerous if we forget everything else can still break.”
He tested his footing with a steel bar, then signaled Chonker.
The pangolin brought in the first pile: a star-iron tube four thousand feet long. Three hundred riggers waited behind the safety line. Wu Ji stood at the hammer controls. Tie watched the pile guides, and Pug watched the movement dial from a padded box.
