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Chapter 192: Engine
Humans Shrunk 100 Times

An Ruosu continued, "However, the abilities of those people are not very strong. The food they produce is limited and must be distributed properly. Blackwater is the worst food, followed by sterilized food, and of course, the best is cooked food.

"But only the top three layers of members can eat cooked food every day. Those in the middle layers can have it once a week, and the rest of the time, they have to replace it with sterilized food. The lower layers almost have to rely on blackwater to stave off hunger and occasionally eat some sterilized food."

The crowd listened to An Ruosu telling the story of Qingbei as if they were listening to a tale.

Relying on blackwater, similar to eating Chinese medicine every day, is even more uncomfortable than letting Yu Yuan provide nutrients.

Little fatty can't stay with everyone now; otherwise, he will probably stand proudly with hands on hips.

Chen Mu pondered carefully and grasped the information roughly.

In this post-apocalyptic environment, it's quite remarkable for Qingbei to reach this stage. Their biggest advantage lies in their large numbers, which allows them to divide various tasks finely.

For example, there are three ways to prepare cooked rice.

On the other hand, Qiming has a good combination of awakened abilities, which led to the current situation.

In fact, whether it's Dong Junwei, Chen Mu, or Tang Jing and Wei Dalei, without any one of them, everyone's life would not be what it is now.

One cannot deny that luck plays a significant role.

After finishing the meal, Dong Junwei led An Ruosu and Yang Li to a spot by the wall, pointing to a plaque on it and said, "We welcome you to join us, but even though Qiming is not as big and strict as Qingbei, we still have rules. This is our charter, and as for the assignment of other personnel and duties, I believe Zhao Xiaoyan has already informed you."

"Yes, yes," the two nodded heavily.

"In that case," Dong Junwei said, "As the Chief Decision Officer of Qiming, I formally approve your entry into the organization. I hope that everyone can love and support each other, work together, and make the greatest effort for the revival of Qiming and all humanity."

An Ruosu and Yang Li's faces were full of excitement, as if they had regained a long-awaited feeling.

...

He Ying walked to Chen Mu's side and said, "Is it alright to let them join so quickly?"

"They are different from Chen Luoshan's group. After all, they came all the way to seek refuge, and being too hesitant might dampen their enthusiasm," Chen Mu paused and continued, "Besides, Tang Jing said she can vouch for them not causing any problems, and she seems eager to have these two people."

"What kind of mischief does she have in mind?" He Ying asked with a smile.

"It's not really mischief," Chen Mu chuckled.

"To stimulate Cao Zishan's potential, she locked him in a room full of Xue Xu's farts and forced him to dismantle the house with his bare hands," He Ying scolded him.

Chen Mu touched his forehead and dryly laughed, "But it did work, didn't it? He managed to break through his limits to within 2 meters."

This also allowed the high-level artillery to unleash its full power.

He Ying sighed, "I hope these two are sincerely seeking refuge. Otherwise, under Tang Jing's command, they probably won't survive for long."

...

Chen Mu's speculation was confirmed the next day.

It seemed that Tang Jing had already made arrangements for An Ruosu as soon as she learned about her abilities.

"Next, please allow me to demonstrate the latest type of power machinery, which will be the most relied-upon equipment for our Qiming in the short to medium term."

At the meeting the next day, Tang Jing presented what she had drawn up overnight to everyone.

It looked like a machine.

Flywheel, cylindrical object, linkage device, piston...

Although Chen Mu recognized some of the components, they looked a bit unfamiliar when put together.

After studying it for a while, he said uncertainly, "Could this be... an engine?"

"Half right," Tang Jing smiled, "It's more accurately called a Stirling engine."

The words "engine" shocked everyone present.

Not long ago, the clockwork device already impressed them.

Many things are easy to understand in principle, but putting them into practice is a completely different story.

For example, using a clockwork mechanism to power an elevator is a straightforward concept; even Wei Dalei could explain it well.

However, when it comes to building the actual thing, there are numerous problems. Often, a tiny difference in the size of a component can render the entire device useless.

Chen Mu was well aware of this.

Although he personally crafted all the parts for the elevator, without Tang Jing, he couldn't have made the machine operational even with another year's time. Not to mention, he still doesn't fully understand the governor on the cable.

And now, an engine?

Is this too big of a leap?

Dong Junwei, Chen Mu, and others at least knew about Stirling engines from textbooks. The theoretical aspect in the market's materials was limited, focusing more on practical and divergent thinking. In the chapter of thermodynamics, there were comparisons between several types of engines, internal combustion engines, external combustion engines, their advantages, and disadvantages.

However, no one would believe that merely learning a bit from textbooks could enable them to build a Stirling engine from scratch.

The Stirling engine belongs to a typical external combustion engine, and in terms of its structure, it's relatively simpler compared to others.

But obviously, neither Chen Mu nor Dong Junwei could imagine how to build a Stirling engine from scratch.

"Do we have the capability for this now?"

Although Chen Mu knew that Tang Jing wouldn't say this without certainty, he couldn't help but confirm.

"With our previous capabilities, building an engine is not that difficult, but there are two aspects we currently cannot satisfy due to material constraints."

"Which two aspects?"

"The first one is the working fluid. The Stirling engine uses the expansion and contraction of gas to convert energy. The ideal working fluids should be hydrogen and helium, which we obviously can't provide. However, at the current scale, we can substitute air directly, which can still meet practical requirements."

"But the second one is a problem. Because the working fluid is a gas, there are high sealing requirements between the piston and the cylinder. However, at the same time, the piston's movement requires lubrication, which creates a contradiction."

"Don't we have lubricating oil?" Chen Mu asked.

"This is one of the main reasons why Stirling engines couldn't be widely used in the early days - we can't use lubricating oil."

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