Failure

Chapter 96 Failure

Soon, a special task force dedicated to hunting slimes set off.

The "Handbook of Dangerous Creatures" also records low-level monsters like slimes, and the distribution of these monsters, as discovered by adventurer teams, also includes detailed markings of areas where they congregate.

However, since these low-level monsters generally do not attack people on their own initiative and are not valuable, the adventurer team had not actively hunted them before.

Just as the team entered the Misty Mountains to hunt slimes, the steam engine project team also began casting the cylinder as planned.

In the brief moment before the cylinder casting cavity was filled with molten steel and about to solidify, Matthew exerted all his power to activate the mage's hand.

The invisible force field penetrates deep into the molten steel, not by roughly stirring it, but by performing a "micro-massage" with extremely high precision. It gently smooths out the micro-shrinkage cavities that may be caused by cooling and contraction, guides the grains to grow in a more favorable direction, and "pushes" tiny impurities to the pre-set riser positions.

This results in an initial smoothness and density of the inner wall of the cast cylinder blank that far exceeds that of ordinary sand castings, laying a near-perfect foundation for subsequent precision machining.

In fact, Matthew's mental power cannot observe the microscopic structure like the eyes. He simply operates instinctively based on the successful experience and methods he has gained from repeated practice, just like a blacksmith forging iron based on experience.

This intuition and experience is often no less than the intuitive feeling one gets of changes in the internal structure of a material.

After a long while, as the cylinder casting gradually solidified and cooled, the huge sand box was carefully lifted open, revealing the dark red cylinder casting blank inside, which was still radiating intense heat.

Zhang Hongjian, He Wentao, project manager Cui Hongyuan, and a group of engineers who had been waiting nearby immediately gathered around, their eyes scrutinizing the prototype of this crucial component like the most sophisticated scanner.

"Quick! Measure the critical dimensions and check for surface and internal defects!" Cui Hongyuan's voice was urgent, filled with barely suppressed anticipation.

The technicians immediately sprang into action, using specially made calipers and gauges to measure the preliminary outline of the outer and inner diameters of the casting. At the same time, they gently tapped different parts of the casting with pointed hammers to judge whether there were obvious shrinkage cavities or cracks inside by the sound.

Preliminary results came out quickly.

"Report! All major dimensions are within the allowable machining margins, with minimal deviation!"

"The surface finish is amazing! Sand holes and sand adhesion are almost invisible!"

"The sound when tapped is dull and even, indicating excellent internal density!"

Cui Hongyuan personally approached the preliminary forming surface of the cylinder's inner wall, examined it closely, and his face lit up with joy: "Incredible, Commander! Your mage's hand is simply divine! The initial state of this inner wall is smoother and more uniform than the best centrifugal casting I've ever seen. This will save so much rough boring work!"

The success of the first step brought jubilation to the team.

Matthew's "precision casting" achieved through magic has raised the quality of cylinder blanks to a level they never dared to imagine before. This means that the amount of subsequent processing will be greatly reduced, and the yield and service life are expected to be greatly improved.

However, the real challenge followed—the final finishing of the cooled cylinder walls to achieve the mirror finish and near-perfect cylindricity required by the steam engine.

Matthew brought over a set of miniature polishing tools specially made by the craftsman for his sorcerer. These included a conical grinding head inlaid with fine diamond grit in hardwood, tiny rollers wrapped with sandpaper of different grits, polishing plugs made of soft leather, and even a miniature supply device for adding polishing paste.

Then, the monk carefully "grasped" a diamond grinding head.

He manipulated these "hands" to insert them deep into the cylinder.

When the grinding head contacts the inner wall, he transmits even and precise pressure through the mage's hand and controls it to move and rotate along the inner wall at a stable speed.

The cutting efficiency of the grinding head against the metal wall far exceeds that of pure energy grinding, producing a subtle and uniform "shh" sound.

Metal debris was effectively removed.

Based on his previous practice experience, such as the resistance and vibration feedback of the Mage's Hand, he observed the chip removal situation and flexibly changed different grit grinding heads. From coarse grinding to fine grinding, and then to final polishing, the process was clear and the efficiency was extremely high.

Moreover, this process of polishing tools with the hands of a mage does not consume much mental or magical energy; he can basically polish continuously for three hours at a time.

After resting for an hour, you can continue polishing, but according to Matthew's estimate, it will probably take three to five days to completely polish the cylinder.

However, he wasn't in a hurry, because even after the cylinder was finished, he still had to wait for Evelyn to begin refining it.

rubber".

The hunting team's mission went smoothly, and that afternoon they returned to Ember Ridge with several large bags of dark green gelatinous material that emitted a humus and sour smell.

Evelyn donned her mask, her expression focused and serious, and began to process the corpses of the slimes with the hands of a mage.

The first thing she needed to deal with was the corrosive nature of the slime and its unbearable stench.

The family's alchemy notes are vague, only mentioning that it is necessary to "neutralize the acid with the ashes of the Blazing Sun Grass and absorb the filth with activated charcoal powder".

"Sunflower ash — activated charcoal powder —" Evelyn murmured to herself, her gaze sweeping over the several materials that had been prepared on the workbench.

Sunflower is a common plant, and its ash is indeed alkaline, but the notes do not specify the proportions or mixing method. Activated charcoal powder is also an easily obtainable material.

On her first attempt, she took out a portion of the gel and added an excessive amount of Sunflower ash, then stirred it.

As a result, the gel reacted rapidly and violently, producing a large number of pungent bubbles, and eventually solidified into a hard lump.

The inelastic, charred lumps were too alkaline, which damaged the molecular structure of the gel itself.

In her second attempt, she reduced the amount of ash, but the mixture was uneven, with some areas being over-neutralized and others still acidic. The resulting material had uneven elasticity and still had an odor.

The key lies in the harmony of evenness and gentleness —

Evelyn was not discouraged. After a moment of contemplation, she came up with an even more ingenious idea.

She mixed the ash of the blazing sun grass with the morning dew, let it stand to allow the impurities to settle, took the clear liquid from the top, and filtered it through multiple layers of fine linen cloth to obtain a bottle of relatively clear alkaline solution containing a gentle "neutralizing" power.

Next, she placed the chaotic gel in a white crystal bowl engraved with a simple "stabilize" rune and began to add the alkali solution very slowly, drop by drop.

At the same time, he stirred the mixture at a constant speed along a specific trajectory with an obsidian rod, and with all his might, he used his magic hand to carefully sense the subtle changes in the ebb and flow of the two forces of "acidity" and "neutralization" within the gel.

This is a process that severely tests one's patience and mental perception.

She had to concentrate fully, judging the critical point of neutralization by observing the changes in the viscosity of the gel, the subtle rhythm of the bubbles, and the magical ripples fed back by the mage's hand.

She immediately stopped adding the solution when the gum no longer reacted violently to the addition of the alkali, and when the parchment used for testing, which had been soaked in alfalfa juice, turned a pale green, indicating neutrality.

"Next, it is time to devour the filth and return to purity—"

She removed the initially neutralized gel and added carefully ground activated charcoal powder. Using a specific technique, she repeatedly kneaded, let it sit, and kneaded it again, allowing the charcoal powder to fully absorb the impurities and odors.

This process was repeated several times until the color of the gel changed from an unsettling dark green to a calm light brown, and the pungent smell of decay was greatly reduced.

The purified gel became much milder, but it was still a viscous, amorphous mass.

The next step was crucial shaping, which the notes only vaguely described as "shaping it with fire."

Temperature, duration, and method are all blank.

Evelyn decided to try multiple approaches.

She divided the gelatin into several portions and used different methods: soaking it in warm water, roasting it directly over charcoal, and heating it on a mithril plate with a miniature array of "constant temperature" runes embedded in it.

The results showed significant differences; the warm water soaking effect was too mild and slow, resulting in poor shaping effect.

Direct fire roasting is difficult to control; some samples were charred on the outside but still not set inside.

Only on the "constant temperature" mithril plate, under Evelyn's precise mental guidance, at a constant and suitable temperature, the colloid slowly loses excess moisture, its internal structure quietly connects, and finally solidifies into a dark brown, slightly crystalline, elastic solid.

"The basic shape has been formed!" Evelyn picked up a cooled sample, squeezed it hard, and felt a full and resilient rebound at her fingertips.

She stretched the sample and saw that it had good elasticity, and it could slowly return to its original shape after being loosened.

But this is just the beginning.

She discovered that the material in its initial stages of formation was elastic enough, but its toughness and durability were far from sufficient to withstand the continuous impact of the steam engine and the erosion of high-temperature water vapor.

That concludes the notes; she will need to explore the path of "enhancement" on her own.

That's the real challenge.

Over the next few days, Evelyn felt like she was crossing a river by feeling for stones in the dark, failing time and time again, which even plunged her into despair and made her begin to doubt her initial judgment.

But when she thought about the importance of the steam engine Matthew had mentioned, and the high hopes Matthew had for her, she couldn't bring herself to give up easily.

Meanwhile, on Matthew's side, as the cylinder walls were being polished to a mirror-like smoothness, other work on the steam engine project was also being pushed forward with all efforts.

With the full cooperation of the blacksmith workshop, key metal components such as connecting rods, crankshafts, and flywheels are gradually formed through repeated forging, quenching, and tempering, and are undergoing precise finishing.

The carpenters then followed the blueprints to build the boiler's outer shell, base, and massive flywheel frame.

The entire shed was filled with the clanging and clattering of metal, wood, and sweat, and a tense sense of anticipation seemed to hang over everyone's hearts.

Everyone knows the significance of this machine to Emberstone Ridge.

However, as each part was completed and neatly placed on the worktable covered with a clean canvas, the group still did not receive any good news from Evelyn.

>