Overpowered Resident Doctor

Chapter 639: Chapter 638: Super Work Mode

Repairing a satellite—a highly precise and advanced task—especially by remote control under all sorts of adverse conditions, sounded like something straight out of science fiction.

Besides, for Yan Feifan, this was severely outside his field of expertise.

He cautiously stated he would need to see the specifics before committing to anything.

Next, on a high-definition screen that took up an entire wall, Yan Feifan was shown a high-resolution image taken in space, with the blue Earth as a backdrop.

In the center of the image was a gray satellite, shaped like a flattened cylinder. It had long solar panel arrays on either side and was fitted with numerous antennas and signal receivers.

As the photo zoomed in, Yan Feifan saw that the satellite’s body, near the left solar array, had been pierced. An unknown object had punched a hole straight through it at an angle, leaving an entry wound nearly four centimeters in diameter.

The General explained that they had sent up a small repair craft to take 360-degree photos of the damaged satellite, which was how they located the point of impact.

Yan Feifan could clearly see the tangled mess of severed, complex wiring inside the hole. He shook his head vigorously.

’A remote repair for damage this severe, and completely blind at that? How is that even possible?’

The General quickly reassured Yan Feifan, telling him that the repair wasn’t actually as complicated as he might think.

Although it was pierced straight through and looked severely damaged, the satellite had a number of redundant systems. Many of the damaged circuits and components had backups.

Therefore, they only needed to repair two specific circuits—just weld the two broken wires back together—to get the satellite operational again.

As the General spoke, two circuits were highlighted on both the high-definition image and a 3D cutaway view that appeared on the screen.

He mulled it over. ’If it’s just those two circuits,’ he mused, ’it might be possible to pull this off.’

Next, Yan Feifan was shown the repair robot.

At first glance, the robot looked like an eight-legged lobster; it wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty.

Yan Feifan learned from the explanation that the robot’s four front legs were for manipulation, while the four rear legs were for locomotion.

"What’s wrong with this robot?"

"How did the camera break?"

As soon as Yan Feifan finished asking, the image on the large screen changed again.

The new image showed only a few antennas, half a solar array, a pitch-black night sky, and over a dozen cracks of various sizes spiderwebbing across the view.

"Mr. Yan, here’s what happened..."

A middle-aged engineer, Mr. Wei, began to explain. "Because this was an emergency, and our first attempt at an in-orbit satellite repair, our preparations were a bit rushed."

"When the repair robot was transferring from the repair craft to the satellite, there was an accidental collision."

"The robot’s camera lens was damaged in the impact, and it can no longer rotate."

"This is the current view from the robot’s camera."

At this, the image on the screen changed again.

The new photo showed the ’big lobster’ with tools clutched in its four front limbs, resting quietly on the satellite. A large section of its ’head’ was clearly caved in.

Mr. Wei continued his explanation. "Mr. Yan, using reference points on the satellite visible from the robot’s fixed camera, along with images provided by the repair craft, we’ve already managed to move the robot into the repair position."

"However, because the camera can’t rotate, we have no visual on the work area. It’s the equivalent of performing the operation blind."

Hearing this, Yan Feifan opened his mouth to speak, but Mr. Wei cut him off. "Mr. Yan, I know what you’re going to ask: why not use the repair craft’s camera?"

"That’s because the repair craft has exhausted its fuel for orbital adjustments. It can no longer maintain its position above the damaged section of the satellite."

Upon hearing this, Yan Feifan instinctively looked toward the General.

Before he could even ask, Mr. Wei’s voice chimed in again.

"Mr. Yan, we initially thought we could handle this ourselves, but we underestimated the difficulty."

"It wasn’t until this morning that someone recommended you to us, Mr. Yan, saying you might have the skill to fix the satellite."

Yan Feifan looked at Mr. Wei, who was a head shorter than him and wore glasses with incredibly thick, thousand-degree-plus lenses. He opened his mouth to speak again.

But once again, the engineer spoke before he could. "Mr. Yan, we did consider programming an automated repair based on the available data."

"However, during the collision, the robot’s two right manipulator arms were slightly deformed. This changed their operational parameters, and we couldn’t be confident in programming a procedure with such high precision."

This time, Yan Feifan opened his mouth again but didn’t make a sound.

Mr. Wei paused, puzzled. "Mr. Yan, is there something else you’d like to know?"

Yan Feifan exhaled. "Mr. Wei, I was starting to think you had a special talent for mind-reading. You gave me a bit of a scare."

The General, suppressing a smile, said with a stern face, "Time is short. Mr. Wei was just trying to answer all of your questions in one go, Mr. Yan."

"Mr. Yan, you have the general picture now. Are you confident you can succeed?"

Faced with the General’s expectant gaze, Yan Feifan didn’t answer directly. His mind was already racing.

He was calculating the probability of success under the given conditions.

Quickly, Yan Feifan identified a crucial missing variable.

"Mr. Wei, you said the two right mechanical arms were deformed. What about their range of motion and precision?"

"We’ve run diagnostics on them, Mr. Yan!"

Mr. Wei tapped on a tablet in his hands, and a video clip appeared on the large screen, showing the repair robot’s arms going through a series of movements.

"This is the diagnostic video we recorded using the repair craft’s camera before it had to move!"

"By analyzing this video, we determined that the motion data for the two left arms are unchanged from their design specifications."

"However, the two right arms now exhibit a slight positional deviation in their movements compared to their original operational design."

"This is why we can only attempt a manual repair, and can’t use a pre-programmed automated procedure."

Yan Feifan pulled his gaze away from the screen and turned to the General.

"General, you brought me in as a last-ditch effort, didn’t you?"

The General didn’t beat around the bush. He nodded. "That’s right."

"For the past six days, hundreds of our technicians and engineers have been working around the clock on this repair."

"But, as you can see, we’ve failed at the final hurdle."

"In just a few hours, the satellite will pass a critical point, after which any attempt at recovery will be impossible."

"We were truly out of options and had to call for outside help. That’s when someone recommended you, Mr. Yan."

The General said with a pained expression, "Mr. Yan, this is a highly advanced military satellite. Its construction cost alone was over two billion."

Hearing this, Yan Feifan cut in, "General, let me ask—if I fail, if I screw this up, I won’t be held responsible, will I?"

"No, absolutely not!"

The General said with a solemn expression, "We are not unreasonable people. With so many of our own experts unable to succeed, how could we possibly place excessive demands on you, let alone hold you accountable?"

"Mr. Yan, you can proceed with full confidence."

"If you fail, there will be no repercussions whatsoever."

"And if you succeed, I will personally recommend you for a commendation. A First-Class Merit, at the very least."

Yan Feifan quickly waved his hand. "There’s no need for that. I’m more than happy to contribute to our national defense."

"I felt a little guilty about the last First-Class Merit I received. If I can successfully complete this mission, then I’ll be able to show off my medal with a clear conscience."

With that said, Yan Feifan turned to Mr. Wei. "Prepare a private room for me. And send over all the data and information I might need."

"Also, I’ll need medical-grade oxygen and some dark chocolate."

"Next, I’m activating my super work mode..."