Late Autumn, fourth day, clear night.
Power source: water, combustion.
Principle: fire heats water, generating steam pressure to drive the bellows. The connecting rods rotate the crankshaft, powering the mechanism and causing the astrarium to turn according to calculated patterns.
Trial Record 1: Steam successfully turns the wheel, but the mechanism isn't smooth yet. Adjustments required.
Trial Record 2: Steam drives the wheel smoothly, mechanisms function correctly, yet the astrarium's movement doesn't match predictions. Further testing needed.
...
Trial Record No. 387: All mechanisms operate smoothly, but no unusual phenomena have occurred the experiment remains unsuccessful.
...
Sanxun often comes to check on me. His right arm has been fully replaced with puppet armor but remains as nimble and steady as ever. Watching him finely adjust the instruments and set dials with perfect precision, I see again the boy from long ago kneeling with a furrowed brow, carefully repairing my clockwork goldfish.
"Little Ying'er, after learning so much from your master, is this all you're doing making little fish?" Sanxun once teased me.
I just laughed, admitting I'd never been very interested in those grand, world-changing projects.
"Who would've guessed that Little Ying'er, who only cared about crafting tiny contraptions, would become the creator behind the time instrument?" Sanxun's words draw me back from my thoughts. Memories blur into reality, though the person before me is no longer the boy he once was.
Even Sanxun was amazed at the complexity of the time instrument the calculations, mechanisms, star charts, every detail impeccably precise.
Yet despite its flawless design, the instrument still cannot defy the iron law of time.
What power could truly turn the heavens, shifting cosmic order itself? Ah-Hui, I cannot find it. The laws of this world must have their limits and I've reached mine.
Sanxun urged me to let go of my obsession, to stop dwelling on shadows of the past. Gently tracing the puppet armor of his arm, he shared his vision with me
human strength alone will always be limited, but mechanical craft could break those limits. With such devices, people could carry greater burdens, leap higher, run faster, and fight stronger as if they'd grown wings.
He had already completed the first batch of the Mystanic Exo-suit. Some suits made the wearer agile as a swallow; others granted immense strength. Yet for now, only those with exceptional martial skill could control them.
Sanxun, however, wasn't content. He dreamed of turning these creations into something beneficial for everyone, harnessing mechanical craft to serve the entire world.
So he asked me to join him to help redesign the Mystanic Exo-suit, turning it into a true gift for all.
I agreed.
I never had such grand ambitions. My thoughts were simpler
what if... if there truly were an "if"...
if armor strong enough to protect the body really existed... then Ah Hui, maybe just maybe you could've survived that day...