Sarah stood before the mental energy detection device, her eyes carefully appraising the machine that Professor Sun had deliberately brought to challenge her. When Sarah heard Professor Sun mention the device's official name, her heart skipped a beat. She felt a sudden sense of alertness, as if her thoughts had been laid bare. However, this feeling quickly dissipated when she heard Professor Sun's affectionate tone.
"You can also call it 'Thirty Billion'," Professor Sun said, patting the device.
Sarah's alertness gave way to speechless disbelief.
Right, thirty billion in debt. Of course.
Sarah glanced at Professor Sun's pristine, sophisticated outfit, and the sympathy in her eyes grew even more pronounced. Look at what debt had done to this person!
"Director," Sarah said carefully, "I'm afraid Thirty Billion is beyond saving."
Based on Sarah's rich experience in salvaging and repairing equipment in Nova Scrapyard, she could tell at a glance that the cost of repairing this device would likely exceed the price of a new one.
Professor Sun was taken aback by Sarah's blunt assessment. This wasn't how new assistants usually responded to assigned tasks.
"You haven't even touched it yet," Professor Sun said sternly. "Is this the attitude you bring to learning?"
Sarah quickly realized her mistake. This wasn't Nova Scrapyard or the cleaning company where her job was to fix things efficiently. Here, she was supposed to be learning, even if that meant working on seemingly useless projects.
"I apologize, Director," Sarah said, bowing her head slightly. "I'll do my best to learn from this experience."
Satisfied with Sarah's change in attitude, Professor Sun began explaining the device's blueprints in detail. "Open the blueprints," she instructed. "I'll start explaining from the most basic elements. If there's anything you don't understand, ask immediately. Don't think about figuring it out on your own later."
The mental energy detection device was a precision instrument, a field Sarah had never encountered before, even in her previous life. However, Professor Sun's teaching experience was evident, and by the end of the day, Sarah had a good grasp of the operational principles of the device.
As the day's lesson concluded, Professor Sun offered a brief assessment: "Your foundational knowledge is lacking, but your practical experience is impressive."
Sarah nodded, remembering Inspector Vega's similar evaluation. "That's why I was sent here to study," she explained.
"You can start working on the wiring now," Professor Sun said. "My office is the third on the left near the entrance if you have any questions."
As Professor Sun left, Sarah turned her attention back to the damaged device. She pulled out her toolbox, a glint in her eye. Sure, she would work on the wiring as instructed, but it seemed a waste to leave such an advanced piece of equipment, even if broken, as just a teaching prop.
With practiced efficiency, Sarah began disassembling the mental energy detection device. Her experienced hands made quick work of the outer casing, revealing the full extent of the damage inside. Nearly half of the internal components were charred beyond recognition.
After a thorough examination, Sarah estimated that out of the nearly one million parts that made up the device, less than a thousand were still usable. She shook her head in disbelief. No wonder the institute was in such debt if they couldn't even salvage parts from their damaged equipment.
But Sarah didn't mind. She spent the entire night carefully removing the salvageable components, referring to the blueprints to determine their functions.
Operation cycle, transmission link, control module, mental energy total detection unit...
Sarah paused, examining the last component more closely. A slow smile spread across her face.
Not bad, she thought. She had salvaged something good.