The rebuilt line did not rely on permanent jacks alone.
With the paired anchors passing their tests, crews connected the remaining twenty thousand main jacks in stages. All fifty thousand were ready by the time the relief trials began.
Crews transferred the held weight onto cross-braced star-jade stacks, section by section. The jacks remained ready to lift again, but the stacks carried the steady load. If a pump failed, the structure would not fall with it.
At the center of the line, Austin and Tie inspected the pressure-relief manifold.
Tie’s shoulder was out of its sling, though he still could not raise that arm above his head. He directed Yuan Shi and Situ Ming through the bolt checks while Wu Ji tested the local release handles.
“Every valve needs two ways to open,” Tie said. “Automatic if pressure rises, manual if the controls fail. And every section dumps into its own storage bank before it can pass a surge to its neighbor.”
Austin ran a hand over the cold pipe. “The energy we store here becomes the return stroke.”
Situ Ming looked up. “Enough to restart expansion?”
