Qinghe turned the console lever and rerouted part of the west load toward the tested east channel. Yan moved his hands to the east mark, carrying the central line through the turn. The current settled into its new route.
The instrument crew compared three gauges with the station reports written on the wall. The east channel stabilized, but one western relay remained below its safe reading. Qinghe asked for the local release status rather than guessing from the central panel. A runner left with the question and returned with a handwritten number from the station captain.
“Still open,” Qinghe said. “They have not reconnected it.”
The runner had also brought a small sketch of the station panel, showing which local indicator had dimmed. Qinghe matched it against the central map and moved the marker to the correct side of the wall. The difference mattered: the damaged segment was isolated, while the next station continued to carry its own load.
Yan completed another cycle. He felt his foundation grow denser beneath the current. He could sustain more than when the sequence began. The improvement was immediate and satisfying, but the furnace still needed accurate routing.
“Keep the east flow inside the tested range,” he told Qinghe, “even if the west mark keeps falling.”
