American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

Suwei walked around the engine twice.

It must be dismantled.

But before that, he had to clear out a clean enough place to put the parts that might be covered in grease.

He crouched down, his gaze fixed on the shadowy area at the bottom of the workbench.

The place was piled high with discarded parts left over from who-knows-when.

Su Wei reached inside and rummaged around.

My fingertips touched a thick layer of dust, followed by a cold, hard metallic sensation.

It doesn't look like scattered parts.

He used both hands to pull a military-green metal box out of the pile of junk.

The box is heavy.

The insulating tape wrapped around the handle has hardened and cracked, exposing the rusty steel core inside.

In the center of the box hung a brass lock.

The keyhole was sealed shut with black sludge, clearly indicating it hadn't been opened for years.

Su Wei reached for the drawer.

There was nothing inside except for a few twisted washers and a broken drill bit.

There is no key.

Su Wei picked up the claw hammer beside him and weighed it in his hand.

With just one touch, this old brass lock will be ruined.

But he hesitated for two seconds and put the hammer back where it was.

Since wiping the wrench is maintenance, disassembling the water pump is repair.

So, if you open a lock using technical means without a key, does that count as a skill practice?

This is a delicate task that really tests the stability of your fingers.

Su Wei's eyes narrowed.

He took out two thin steel wires from the toolbox he had just cleaned.

The needle-nose pliers gripped one end of the wire.

Rotate your wrist.

The steel wire was bent into the shape of a hook and a pin.

Although rudimentary, it is theoretically sufficient to deal with this old-fashioned pin tumbler lock.

Su Wei dragged over a folding stool, sat down next to the engine, and steadily placed the metal box on his lap.

laugh--

Spray WD-40 rust remover into the keyhole.

Wait a moment, until the pungent solvent smell dissipates slightly.

Suwei pressed down on the buckle with his left thumb and gently applied a rotational torque.

With his right hand gripping the single hook, he probed deep into the keyhole.

The first attempt was very rough.

The spring inside the lock cylinder appears to have lost its elasticity.

Su Wei steadied himself.

At this point, vision is no longer useful; he can only rely on the subtle vibrations transmitted from his fingertips to form an image.

Click.

A faint, crisp sound.

The first marble is back in place.

Su Wei maintained the force of the broken pen and remained motionless.

The rough fingers that the original owner had developed from years of hard labor now displayed remarkable stability.

In addition, the insight he gained while disassembling the water pump gave him an almost instinctive intuition about this mechanically interlocking structure.

Click.

The second one.

Cotton Candy squatted to one side, tilting its head, watching its owner stare blankly at a metal box, its tail idly sweeping the dust on the ground.

Unbeknownst to it, a fine layer of sweat had already seeped from Suwei's forehead.

The third marble got stuck.

The touch transmitted by the single hook felt somewhat soft.

Su Wei did not rush to confront him directly.

He slightly reduced his strength, his wrist twitching very slightly, as if teasing a prey that had taken the bait while fishing.

That's the metal parts struggling against each other in the rust.

click!

A sense of ethereal light, as if resistance had suddenly vanished, came from my fingertips.

Biezi spun around smoothly.

pat.

The brass lock beam popped open with a click.

[Successfully opened the rusted mechanical lock without damage.]

This was an excellent demonstration of fine motor skills.

[Life Module Experience +30.]

really.

The higher the difficulty, the more experience you gain.

Thirty experience points are equivalent to Su Wei scrubbing an old screwdriver for half a night.

Su Wei took off the padlock and casually put it aside.

Hold the lid with both hands and slowly lift it open.

There are no gold bars.

There are no banknotes.

Only a musty, old paper smell wafted towards me.

Inside the box, seven or eight thick notebooks were neatly stacked.

On the side, there were also several rolls of blueprints tied together with rubber bands.

Su Wei picked up the book on top.

The black leather cover was worn white and the edges were curled.

Turn to the title page.

Those were the handwritings that Su Wei knew all too well.

The handwriting was cursive, appearing messy, with each letter seemingly running wildly across the paper.

That was his father's handwriting.

According to his memory, Su Wei always had a headache with this kind of word, and he would have to struggle to guess it for a long time every time his parents signed it.

But now, on this snowy night.

Looking at these words, Su Wei felt her eyes welling up with tears.

"...Are the designers at Ford all brain-dead? The intake manifold is designed like this; disassembling and reassembling it is practically inhuman. If you're going to touch this part, don't try to pry the gasket off. Use a heat gun to blow on it for two minutes, or you'll be waiting to go to town to buy a new cylinder head; those things are ridiculously expensive..."

Between the lines, it's as if the man is standing there, smoking a cigarette and his hands covered in grease, cursing and swearing.

The words were rude, but they were effective.

Suwei continued flipping through the pages.

This is not a proper repair manual at all.

This is a comprehensive guide to unorthodox methods and experiences.

How to remove stubborn rust stains with cola.

How to use a medical stethoscope to listen for abnormal noises from the valves.

How can you blindly adjust the air-fuel mixture concentration by looking at the color of carbon deposits on the spark plugs?

Behind every piece of experience lies a painful failure case.

Su Wei became more and more engrossed in watching.

This is not a book.

This is the culmination of decades of hard work by an old mechanic, recording the pitfalls he encountered, the sweat he shed, and the moments he cursed and swore.

For Su Wei, who was completely in the dark at that moment.

This is a cheat/hack.

This is the secret to passing the level.

With this notebook, Suvy was able to avoid many pitfalls that could have caused his engine to fail.

Su Wei put down his notebook and unfolded the rolls of drawings with trembling hands.

It is a hand-drawn structural analysis diagram.

The painting depicts the old Ford engine right in front of us.

Although the lines on the diagram are not straight, the position and routing of each component are drawn, and even the torque requirements are clearly marked.

Several key parts were highlighted in red.

A footnote was written next to it:

"This area is prone to oil seepage, so apply a thicker layer of sealant."

"This connecting rod is slightly deformed, but I've corrected it. As long as the speed doesn't exceed 3,000 RPM, it will work."

Suwei's fingers gently traced the red characters.

Su Wei understood.

My father never gave up.

Even though the car was totaled, he still wanted to save the heart.

Even at the end of his life, he was still preparing for this.

just now.

It was Suwei's turn to do this.

"Thanks, Dad."

Su Wei murmured softly.

The sound echoed in the empty, cold garage.

This is more than just data.

What his father couldn't finish, he will now do.

Su Wei flattened the blueprints and attached them to the iron door facing the worktable with a magnet.

Under the dim light, the lines on the blueprints seemed to overlap with the cold engine.

At that very moment, the system notification sounded abruptly and violently.

[High-value technical information detected: 'Manuscripts by a senior mechanic'.]

[You are currently reading and deeply understanding the contents of the manuscript...]

[Mechanical principle logic analysis in progress...]

Congratulations! You've received a generous experience reward! Life Module Experience +50!

Your Life Module has been successfully upgraded to LV3!

[Gain new passive effect: Dexterity (Increases efficiency in manual operations by 5% and improves the quality of finished products by 5%).]

[The completeness of theoretical and practical conditions has been detected...]

Congratulations! You have successfully unlocked the Life Skills branch – Mechanical Repair LV1 (1/100)!

warm current.

A clear, warm current rushed up my spine and straight to the back of my head.

At first glance, that engine just seemed like a bunch of complicated lumps of iron.

But now, the world in Suwei's eyes has changed.

The exposed pipes, the patterns on the screws, and the structure of the cylinder block were automatically decomposed and reassembled in his mind.

Su Wei knew which screw to remove first and how much torque to use.

Is this what skill awakening feels like?

There's no need to grind dozens of parts to build up proficiency.

My father's notes are a ready-made package of experience!

Su Wei stood up and stretched his stiff neck, his joints cracking.

Marshmallow seemed to be infected by its owner's aura, suddenly stood up, shook its fluffy white fur, and let out an excited whimper.

"Get to work, Marshmallow."

Su Wei grabbed the adjustable wrench that had just been derusted.

The metallic texture pressed against my palm, cold and heavy, yet very reassuring.

Su Wei walked up to the engine.

The clamps precisely engage with the first screw on the upper left corner of the cylinder head.

The red words in the notebook flashed through my mind: "This one is prone to slipping, so you need to apply force steadily, first loosen, then return, and use the opponent's force against them."

Su Wei lowered his waist and exerted force through his wrist.

His movements were steady and precise, and his exertion was decisive.

hum.

A pleasant metallic snapping sound rang out.

There was no slippage or breakage.

Exceptionally silky smooth.

The light reflected in Su Wei's eyes, and his hand movements suddenly quickened.

This was a night of raging blizzard.

The lights in the garage were destined to stay on all night.