The fault report was still open on Austin’s desk when his core changed.
The Compressed Star-Fire Sphere folded inward. Heat and gravity packed its fire into a tiny white point. Pressure rolled through his body, then settled into a deep, steady beat.
Light bent around his shoulders. Loose screws, pine needles, and a hex nut lifted from the desk and began to circle his boots.
Pug snapped at the hex nut. It curved around his teeth and stayed in orbit.
Gu Qing dropped to his knees. “Heavenly bodies attend the Ancestor!”
Austin picked a pebble out of the air and checked it for cracks. “That is going to interfere with plumb bobs.”
He found the particle display and confirmed that the effect used no extra processing power. Then he tried to turn the particles off. They remained visible, so he made a note not to measure vertical lines while standing close to them.
The more important result was stability. His core output had risen, but the cooling plant stayed normal. Tie and Xiaoyao watched the gauges rather than the floating stones.
“Return temperature steady,” Xiaoyao said.
“Freight relay steady,” Tie added.
Austin nodded. “Good. Level-ups are not a maintenance plan.”
He stood at the observation rail and looked across the three floors. Floor 1 sorted limited, safe ore lots. Floor 2 poured Stellar-Steel under capped production schedules. Floor 3 recovered heat and protected the water loop. All twelve rebuilt golems worked under electric power. The 532 workers had names, pay rates, and shifts.
Austin gave his standing orders for the trip.
“Gu Qing handles trade messages and the sect. Tie handles plant operations. Xiaoyao travels with me. Follow the maintenance sheets. Stop the line if the water readings disagree. Do not chase quota.”
Tie accepted the operations log. “I do not need a boy’s floating pebbles to tell me the plant is stable.”
“No,” Austin said. “You have gauges. Use those.”
Gu Qing promised to defend the base with his life.
Austin shook his head. “Defend it by following procedure. Nobody dies for a production target.”
He reviewed the expo goals one last time: pneumatic valves, double-acting cylinders, the matrix core if it proved useful, and stable trade talks with buyers and small smiths. The scrap cap would stay in force while he was away.
At the wagon, he checked the wheel nuts and cotter pins. “Never reuse a bent cotter pin. A two-cent pin can cost you a wheel.” Xiaoyao had already loaded two crates of ingots and a set of sample tools. The load sat balanced over the axle.
Pug climbed into the back and curled around the tool chest.
Austin took the reins.
“Three hundred and twenty kilometers. Let’s see what Canglan has to offer.”