I'm doing engineering in the instance.

My mind went blank for about ten minutes, and then it automatically started running the preparatory assessment for the next project.

This is a habit developed on construction sites; it doesn't require conscious effort. When a project wraps up, the mind leaves a blank space for a while before automatically switching to preparation for the next project. Xie Chengzhou once managed as many as three projects simultaneously on a construction site. At that time, his mind was like a monitor that automatically switched between three windows; when one window closed, another would automatically take its place.

He did not stop it.

He picked up the memo, turned to a new blank page, and wrote a title at the top:

"On-site #004 - Assessment Preparation Framework"

He then paused and added a line below the title: "Drafting date: #004 Countdown approximately 46 hours."

---

The change in his wrist occurred after he finished writing the first line of the title.

It's not a countdown update; it's a new format—C-0047 originally only had one line: "Experience #004·Summon Confirmed·Countdown XX:XX:XX," but now there's a second line:

「历境#004·场景类型：水利大坝·规则碎片预览：[3/8条]·进场倒计时：22:17:43」

He stared at the line of text for about ten seconds.

For the first three instances, the wristband only showed a countdown before entering; there was no scene information, no rule preview, nothing at all. This was the first time I had seen "scene type" and "rule fragment preview" before entering.

他在备忘录里记了一行：「1阶历境新机制·进场前24小时触发·场景类型可见·规则碎片预览[3/8条]·0阶历境无此机制·机制来源：本构·用途：待核实。」

Then he looked down at his wrist and wrote down the three fragments word by word:

"Fragment 1: Water Level [██]"

"Fragment ②: Load-bearing · [██] · Prohibited"

Fragment 3: Passage [██] One-way

He added three words after each fragment: "·To be verified".

Then he stopped his pen on the third line and took another look.

"Channel - One-way".

He had seen one-way passages on construction sites—temporary passageways where pedestrian flow was controlled, entry and exit were separated, and collisions were prevented. In his cognitive framework, the word "one-way" was a spatial concept: this road could only be traveled in one direction, and one could not return the way they came.

He added a line after "Fragment ③: Channel · [██] · One-way · To be verified": "️Note: The specific meaning of 'one-way' needs to be confirmed upon entry. There are three possibilities: spatial one-way/temporal one-way/conditional one-way, which cannot be distinguished at present."

Then he put down his pen and wrote a general warning in his memo:

"The source of fragments is constitutive. The information provided by constitutive is not necessarily neutral."

---

After he finished recording the fragments, he began to build the framework.

This is his habit when managing projects on construction sites—before entering the site, he first establishes an assessment framework, separates known and unknown variables, and separates predictable and unpredictable risks, then prioritizes them and verifies them one by one after entering the site.

He divided the framework into five columns in his memo and wrote down each column one by one.

**Framework 1: Rule Structure Scanning**

"The common pattern of the three instances: explicit rules are the framework, and implicit rules are the field test. Explicit rules tell you where the boundaries are, and implicit rules tell you what lies beyond those boundaries. After entering the field, prioritize finding the explicit rules, and then actively trigger the boundaries of the implicit rules with minimal cost—not by brute force, but by exchanging controllable small losses for a complete map of the rule structure."

He added a line at the end of this column: "#004 Fragment Preview gives three explicit rules (water level/weight-bearing capacity/channel), but the values ​​are obscured and need to be tested after entering the field."

**Framework Two: Threat Entity Perception Mechanism Detection**

"All three instances are based on a single sensory dimension plus exploitable blind spots. Factory Supervisor: Vibration. Crawler: Light source. Steelworm: Vibration (saturation failure during surges). The first thing to do upon entering: Find the threatening entity, observe which physical stimulus it responds to, and then find which stimulus it does not respond to. Sensory blind spots are the core tool for clearing the game; they are not based on luck, but on something that can be systematically found."

**Framework Three: Artificially Implanted Information Retrieval**

"Each of the three copies contains one of the following: #001 G blueprint, #002 note, and #003 designer's symbol. Common characteristic: they do not conform to the natural physical laws of the scene; they are things left behind by someone. Upon entering, actively scan for 'illogical' items—blueprints, markings, traces, unusual materials—anything that doesn't make sense physically is a candidate."

**Framework Four: The Existence Assumption of the Third Path**

"All three instances have unconventional solutions, not explicitly stated in the rules, and must be found on-site. Upon entering the site, establish a list of 'currently known solutions' and continuously search for possibilities outside this list. The third path is usually related to artificially implanted information—what the designer left behind often points to an exit point pre-planned by the designer."

**Framework Five: Predicting Motivational Questioning Nodes**

"Confidence level 40%, #003 single data point is insufficient for confirmation. After entering the field, pay attention to the scenario nodes of 'limited resources + multiple needs'—the allocation of maintenance agent is the trigger condition for #003, and the trigger condition for #004 may be different, but the structure is similar: limited resources are needed by more than one person, and the constitutive model is recording your choices."

He finished writing the five frames, turned the page, and wrote a line in the blank space:

"This is a framework, not an answer. Once you get to the field, the framework will be broken down, and the truly valuable data will be found where it breaks down."

---

He paused briefly in the "Framework Two: Threat Entity Perception Mechanism Detection" section.

Dam.

He had real-world experience with dam engineering. In the Bangladesh port expansion project, one section of the cofferdam was an earth-rock dam structure. He accompanied local hydraulic engineers on a site survey—checking for seepage points at the dam toe, slope stability, and siltation at the spillway. He understood the basic stress logic of concrete gravity dams: the dam body resists water pressure through its own weight and friction, with weak points at the dam foundation, expansion joints, and spillway. He was familiar with common dam problems: seepage, cracks, piping, and slope instability.

He knew under what circumstances the dam would have problems, and he also knew under what circumstances the dam would appear to have problems but actually be fine.

This was the first time he had entered a dungeon scenario with his "real-world professional experience".

For the first three instances, he learned the rules from scratch. The factory supervisor in the abandoned factory had no prior knowledge; he relied entirely on on-site observation. The crawlers in the underground pipe network, he also started from scratch. The steel maggots on the construction site on the isolated island, too. His engineering background provided him with an analytical framework for these three instances, but not with direct professional knowledge—because the threat entities in these three instances were things he had never encountered in reality.

The dam is different.

He wrote in his memo: "#004 Dam - Professional Knowledge Advantages: Existing structural knowledge, foundation in dam stress logic, common defects, and construction techniques. Can build scenario models more quickly after entering the site."

Then he added a line below this one, writing it a little slower than before:

Warning: Familiarity may lead to biased judgment.

He elaborated on this warning: "The rules of the replica do not necessarily follow the logic of real-world physics. The factory supervisor does not follow normal acoustic laws, the crawler does not follow normal biological behavior logic, and the vibration perception of the steel maggot becomes saturated and fails during surging waves—these three rules do not hold true in reality, but they are true in the replica. The threatening entities of the dam replica may also not follow my existing understanding of the dam."

He paused for a moment, then added a parenthesis at the end:

"(This is the most dangerous advantage so far.)"

---

He paused for a moment while writing "Framework 3: Artificially Implanted Information Retrieval".

Expansion joint.

He flipped back to the memo and found the entry he had made in Yuan City: "Voltage isolation pipe vendor - New item - Material suspected to be rubber waterstop - Abnormal shape, irregular cross-section, non-standard waterstop - Possible use: To be verified."

Rubber waterstops are standard components for waterproofing dam expansion joints. Dam bodies experience slight displacement due to temperature changes and water pressure. Expansion joints are structural joints designed to accommodate this displacement, and waterstops are embedded within these joints to prevent leakage. Standard waterstops have a dumbbell-shaped or hollow cross-section, offering good elasticity and allowing them to deform as the expansion joint opens and closes.

But the cross-section of that part was irregular—it wasn't a standard dumbbell shape, nor a standard hollow shape; it was a shape he couldn't name, as if it had been custom-made according to a specific contour, or deformed after being pressed down by something.

He added a line to the end of that record: "#004 Dam Deformation Joint Waterstop May be related to: First verification upon entry: Whether there are abnormal materials or non-standard components in the dam deformation joint area."

Then he closed the memo, opened it again, and looked at the shape of the cross-section once more—he mentally compared it to every component of the dam, but they didn't match.

He closed the memo.

To be verified.

---

When the framework was finished, there were 6 hours and 14 minutes left in the #004 countdown.

Xie Chengzhou put the memo back in the toolbox, closed the toolbox, pushed the toolbox to the center of the table, took out the iron testing hammer, placed it next to the toolbox, and checked the condition of the handle—the texture was worn a bit smooth, a mark from the use of three copies, but the structure was intact, without cracks or looseness.

He put the testing hammer back in the toolbox and closed the lid.

6 hours.

His last six hours before entering the construction site usually consist of this: once the framework is built and the tools are ready, he does nothing else to let his brain rest. It's not because he's not nervous, but because once on site, his mind needs to operate at high speed, and excessive mental exertion beforehand directly impacts his judgment once he's there. This is something he learned from his first overseas project—he spent an entire night thinking about it before entering the site, but by the third hour, he was already reacting slowly and almost caused a problem at a point that could have been avoided.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

This time, the idea of ​​"following the plan" didn't pop into my head.

Without Wang Bo, without Hu Jian, without Lao Chen.

My mind is blank, like a whiteboard waiting to be loaded.

About twenty minutes later, he fell asleep. This time it was a true sleep, not just waiting or thinking with his eyes closed; his mind shut down on its own, leaving the remaining six hours to his body.

The last thing he learned on the construction site was to truly let go of what he had prepared for.

They will definitely come to the event.

But when it comes, you'd better be the one who's had a good night's sleep.