Deyan rebuilt the prototype junction with the cutoff valve placed before the two anchor feeds met. Qiao Wen checked the metal seat and asked a local keeper to operate the release by hand.
The mechanism closed without a lantern or central seal. The test would determine whether the new placement isolated the load before the pylon overheated.
The crew sent current from one anchor at a time. The pylon read cleanly, and the manual switch disconnected the local barrier. The second anchor remained isolated until the first circuit was fully closed.
Vey watched the gauge. “Repeat the reading under the same load.”
Deyan set the stone bank to the marked level. The keeper closed the valve, then reopened it. The readings held within the expected range.
Yan stood by the furnace and added a modest pulse of cultivation only after the engineers requested it. His channels strengthened through his practiced method, but the test load stayed measured by the stone bank. He did not become the valve or the power source for every node.
The local keeper handled the disconnect. The neighboring line remained stable.
“Now the second feed,” Qiao said. “Only after the first circuit is fully closed.”
