Qinghe laid out the independent circuit in sections across the capital engineers’ room. Each furnace node would take a smaller share of the current, use ordinary spirit stones, and connect through a local switch. A keeper could disconnect an unstable channel without waiting for a central seal.
“If one node goes offline, where does its load go?” Mira asked.
Qinghe showed her the bypass line and the step-down path for nearby stations. “The load reduces first. The remaining nodes take only what their own limits allow.”
“And if they’re already at the limit?”
“Then the district loses some barrier coverage. It does not force the neighboring node above its rating.”
Mira considered the drawing. “That may be safer. It may also leave a larger gap.”
“Yes,” Qinghe said. “The design trades a controlled local loss for a chance to prevent one fault from overloading the whole district.”
Yan asked whether he could contribute extraordinary capacity during a test without becoming the permanent anchor. Qinghe said he could add power under clear limits, but the circuit had to be measured at its ordinary load first. The system could not depend on his presence everywhere.
