Chapter 15: Reverse the Cycle
The midday heat shimmered above the corrugated rooftops of Ruihua Factory, but Chen Rui barely noticed. He was hunched over a workbench in the rear corner of the workshop, a dismantled brake disc spread out like the bones of a puzzle.
He adjusted his goggles.
Every groove, every curve, every manufacturing mark told a story — one he could now read with startling clarity.
[SYSTEM FUNCTION – Reverse Engineering Activated]
Component: Steel Brake Disc (Type 82)
Scanning… Processing Structural Properties…
✅ Material: Medium Carbon Steel
✅ Machining Technique: Precision CNC
✅ Wear Rating: Mid-range
✅ Weakness: Heat dissipation under stress
Estimated Reproduction Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
Suggested Improvements:
Alloy blend for better heat tolerance
Internal venting pattern to reduce brake fade
Chen Rui's lips curled into a small smile.
"In my last life, I never even saw this data."
Li Wei watched in awe.
"You're really going to build our own parts?"
"Eventually. But first, we replicate. Then improve."
"But won't that take too much time?"
"Not if we start simple. We'll focus on three components: brake disc, handlebar clamps, and exhaust brackets. All outsourced. All prone to delay. If we take control of just these, we can cut our dependency by nearly 30%."
Later that afternoon, Chen Rui called a meeting with his father and the three floor supervisors.
On the whiteboard, he drew three overlapping circles.
"Current factory output is vulnerable here, here, and here. If we don't secure these parts, delays will bottleneck everything."
"You want to make these ourselves?" one supervisor asked. "We don't have the machines."
"Not yet," Chen Rui nodded. "But we can prototype using existing equipment. Retrofit what we have."
His father, Chen Zhong, frowned thoughtfully.
"Is this just a temporary patch?"
"No," Chen Rui said firmly.
"It's the start of a new foundation."
[SYSTEM TASK UNLOCKED – Factory Autonomy Path: 4.3% Complete]
Current Goal:
Prototype 3 High-Risk Parts
Pass Internal Quality Test
Increase In-House Production Ratio to 15%
That evening, as the sun dipped low and the clang of tools echoed into the night, Chen Rui stood at the heart of the factory floor.
His shirt was soaked in sweat. His hands smelled of oil and steel. But his eyes gleamed.
He wasn't just rebuilding a factory.
He was rewriting its fate — bolt by bolt.