I can upgrade the shelter
Chapter 121 - 119 Underground Water Getting Warmer (5/10)

Chapter 121: Chapter 119 Underground Water Getting Warmer (5/10)

Chen Xin didn’t answer Qin Lan’s question because it wasn’t one that required his response.

"Have Uncle and Auntie gone back to their hometown? How are you going to bring them back, Xin?" Qin Lan put down the game controller and placed her hand on Chen Xin’s shoulder. "If you need my help, just say the word, Xin. I’ll help as much as I can."

Chen Xin believed Qin Lan when she offered help, but he knew her ability to help was quite limited. Nevertheless, he thanked her, "Thanks, Lan. I’ll let you know if I need anything."

Seeing Chen Xin looking listless, Qin Lan didn’t try to force him to perk up. She simply said, "If you’re feeling down, find something to do. The more you wallow, the harder it is to bounce back."

"Is that so? Then what do you think I should do, Lan?" Chen Xin looked at Qin Lan, not really wanting to work. "And you said you want to stay for two days? I don’t have an extra bed or toiletries. Where will you sleep? And you didn’t bring any clothes to change into. How will you take a shower?"

"Can’t I just wear yours?" Qin Lan blurted out, but regretted it immediately.

Back when they were dating, Qin Lan did wear Chen Xin’s clothes. But now that they had broken up, saying such a thing felt too awkward.

It was Chen Xin who broke the awkwardness by crushing the empty soda can, standing up and saying, "I was planning to take a day off today, but with you here, I suppose I can’t. Come help me then. I’ll start by dismantling the air conditioning units you brought."

Saying this, Chen Xin tossed the can and walked out of the living room, heading towards the storage room.

Qin Lan watched Chen Xin walk out and quickly followed him.

They lifted an air conditioning unit out of the storage room and placed it on the workbench.

Staring at the charred air conditioning unit, Qin Lan asked, "Xin, can this still be used? How do we take it apart?"

"It’s not too badly burnt; it should still be usable. Let’s start by removing the casing." Chen Xin sat down, reached for a screwdriver, and handed it to Qin Lan. "Help me loosen the screws."

With that, he picked up another screwdriver and began unscrewing the bolts on the air conditioning unit.

Thanks to Qin Lan’s assistance, they quickly unscrewed all the bolts, allowing Chen Xin to remove the outer shell and expose the inside.

Even with the casing as protection, the inside didn’t seem too badly burnt. All the parts remained intact, but they were covered in soot.

"Looks good. Everything should still be usable." Chen Xin nodded slightly, signaling Qin Lan to continue unscrewing the bolts.

Dismantling things is often easier than assembling them; even if you’re not familiar with it, unscrewing bolts is straightforward as long as you have hands.

Once all the bolts are loosened, anything detachable can naturally be taken apart.

With Qin Lan’s cooperation, Chen Xin soon disassembled the air conditioning unit into a pile of parts.

Chen Xin placed these parts one by one on the workbench, frowning slightly at the layer of soot on them. He said to Qin Lan, "Lan, could you get a basin of water? These need cleaning."

The parts were all charred black; even if they weren’t damaged, the layer of soot on them definitely needed cleaning.

Qin Lan nodded and was about to get the water, but she couldn’t find a basin. "Xin, where’s your basin?"

"Basin?" Chen Xin was a bit taken aback. He suddenly remembered he hadn’t used a basin in years, so he said to Qin Lan, "Lan, go to the storage room and get a large plastic container. I don’t seem to have a basin."

Seeing this, Qin Lan could only nod without saying much and went to the storage room to fetch a plastic container.

Watching Qin Lan enter the storage room, Chen Xin suddenly had an idea. He wanted to test the abstraction effect of the system’s information state concept.

He opened the system interface, seeing the air conditioning unit displaying disassembling, he clicked disassemble.

A green light flashed in the storage room, and the air conditioning unit Qin Lan brought today silently disassembled into parts on the shelf, unnoticed by Qin Lan.

Seeing this, Chen Xin was relieved. Now he didn’t have to worry about using the system’s functions in front of others, and after upgrading the entire shelter, he could consider recruiting others.

Qin Lan didn’t realize Chen Xin had done something just now. She came out of the storage room with a large plastic container and asked Chen Xin, "Xin, is this okay? Where’s your faucet?"

"The faucet is over there by the water tank; just fill it up." Chen Xin pointed to the water tank embedded in the wall next to the storage room.

After pointing out the water tank to Qin Lan, Chen Xin prepared to go to the storage room to get some parts to make another ground-source heat pump.

But before Chen Xin could stand up, Qin Lan exclaimed in surprise, "Xin, are you using hot water? Even if you have a heat source, you shouldn’t waste it like this!"

Chen Xin was puzzled. He stood up and walked over to Qin Lan, questioning, "I’ve always used cold water! I drilled a well for groundwater, not hot water!"

But when he put his hand under the faucet, feeling the water, he was also surprised. "What’s going on? Why is the water so hot!"

Surprised, Chen Xin pressed his hand against the side of the water tank, feeling the warmth. Clearly, the water in the tank was now hot.

"What’s happening? The water I’ve been drawing has always been cold!" Chen Xin was utterly confused.

The water in his tank had always been cold. Initially, it was regular tap water, but after upgrading, it was groundwater. The temperature had always been cool.

Now, it suddenly turned hot, leaving him utterly baffled.

While checking the water tank and supply system with the system function, Chen Xin pondered what had changed the water temperature in the tank.

Ground-source heat pump? That was unlikely. While a ground-source heat pump uses a water cycle, the connected pipes have valves and only open in one direction, eliminating the possibility of backflow.

As for rising temperatures causing the water to heat up, that still wouldn’t make the entire tank feel hot.

"Xin, you’re using groundwater? Could it be a hot spring?" Qin Lan suggested a possibility.

Hearing Qin Lan’s suggestion, Chen Xin thought it was possible, but something still didn’t add up.

"That’s odd. The water I’ve been drawing was always cold. There’s no reason for it to suddenly turn hot!" Chen Xin still found it strange and shook his head, "If I’d discovered earlier that it was hot spring water, I wouldn’t have needed a ground-source heat pump. I could simply pump up hot water and use it, completely eliminating the need for shallow geothermal heating."