Chapter 145 — The B.A.E. Blueprint
S.C. 1511 — Early March
Foosha Village — Ren's Workshop
The workshop smelled of fresh-cut wood and heated metal. Yesterday's windmill upgrade still hummed quietly through the system, transferring power into Battery V2. The energy box flickered softly with each gust of wind.
Ren sat at his workbench, eyes sharp, pencil moving in smooth, calculated strokes.
A circular framework.
Layered compartments.
Wiring paths branching like nerves.
A rotating input wheel.
A sliding tray for samples.
It wasn't a computer.
Not yet.
But it was the beginning of something that acted like one.
"The Bio-Analytical Engine… version zero-point-one," Ren murmured.
Zemo lay curled beside his chair, watching with tilted ears.
His tail flicked at each pencil scratch, as if sensing Ren's focus.
Kiro leaned over Ren's shoulder.
"…That looks complicated."
Ren didn't stop drawing.
"It is."
Kiro pointed at one section. "What's that circle for?"
"The main input drum," Ren said. "It rotates to sort and hold samples while tiny needles take micro-scrapes."
Kiro blinked. "Tiny needles?"
Zemo perked up.
Ren nodded. "Telescoped metal probes. They'll slide in and out for micro-extraction."
Kiro leaned back.
"Ren… you're basically making a… thinking box."
Ren paused.
"…A very slow one."
He resumed sketching.
---
Foosha Life Interrupts Science (As Always)
The workshop door crashed open.
"RENNNNN!!"
Ren tensed.
Luffy burst in holding—of all things—a turtle.
"A GIANT TURTLE WAS ATTACKING ME!"
The turtle was small. Very small. About palm-sized. And sleeping.
Ren stared.
Kiro wiped his face with his hand.
Zemo barked once in disbelief.
Ren exhaled.
"…Luffy. That is not a giant turtle."
"It tried to bite my thumb!"
"It's sleeping."
"IT DREAMED OF BITING!"
Ren pinched his nose.
Makino arrived moments later, carrying a basket and slightly out of breath.
"Luffy!" she scolded. "You promised not to run into Ren's workshop!"
"But the turtle—"
"Outside. Now."
Makino dragged Luffy away as he protested loudly.
Ren watched them leave.
Kiro burst out laughing.
"You handle machinery better than people."
Ren simply returned to the blueprint.
---
Step 1 — Sorting System Design
Ren rolled the large paper wider.
The top half showed a rotating tray wheel.
Eight slots.
Each for a different sample.
Leaves
Hair
Insect wings
Soil
Residue
Any biological material
He drew a side view of the wheel.
Layers of metal discs.
A thin shaft through the center.
Small copper pins embedded around the edge.
"When the wheel rotates," Ren explained to Zemo and Kiro, "the copper pins complete different circuits. That changes which probe activates."
Kiro frowned. "So it's like… a thinking puzzle?"
"A logic puzzle," Ren said simply.
His brain filled in details faster than he could draw—flow patterns, switching points, where wires must cross and where they must never touch.
He slowed down deliberately.
Too fast, and he'd confuse the team.
Too slow, and the ideas would pile up and overflow.
He kept a steady middle pace.
---
Step 2 — Miniature Gear System
Ren pulled out a box of freshly crafted gears.
Some were tiny, smaller than his thumbnail.
Kiro picked one up.
"This tiny thing does something?"
"Yes," Ren said. "It controls the angle of the probe."
Kiro nearly dropped it.
Ren grabbed a small metal rod and spun the gear.
It rotated smoothly, silently.
Perfect.
He placed it on the blueprint.
"That gear will mount here," he said, tapping the space beneath the main tray. "When the wheel turns, this part adjusts how deep the needle goes."
Kiro whistled. "Your head works different from mine."
Ren didn't answer.
He knew that better than anyone.
---
Step 3 — Electrical Pathways
With the blueprint almost complete, Ren moved to the wiring diagram.
Battery V2 → regulator → needle motor
Windmill line → indicator → rotation stabilizer
Solar panel → auxiliary input
Ren drew each line—with no hesitation, no erasing.
His brain calculated voltage loads automatically.
5.2 volts for the motor.
0.7 for the indicator box.
Small resistor to prevent overload during strong wind.
Low-loss copper wiring looped twice around the stabilizer.
Kiro stared like the page was magic.
Zemo simply wagged his tail.
---
Step 4 — Testing the First Component
Ren reached into another box and pulled out a prototype probe.
A thin alloy needle extended from a sliding cylinder.
He placed it onto the table.
Telekinesis flowed through his fingers.
The needle lifted… smoothly.
Kiro stepped back. "Still freaks me out, every time."
Ren guided the needle toward a beetle shell sample.
The needle touched it—soft, controlled, precise.
He drew in a tiny fragment and set the needle back down.
"That's the level of precision the B.A.E. needs."
Zemo barked approvingly.
Kiro crossed his arms.
"So what's next?"
Ren finally put the pencil down.
"We build it."
And not tomorrow.
Today.
---
Evening — Blueprint Complete
As the sun dipped behind the trees, Ren wiped the graphite from his fingers.
The blueprint stretched across the table—dense, complex, beautiful.
Rotating tray.
Micro-probes.
Copper circuits.
Gear cascades.
Voltage regulators.
Structural frame.
The beginning of a machine that could analyze life itself.
Zemo curled up beside the table.
Kiro set tools on the workbench.
The subordinates arrived to help move lumber.
Ren stood.
"Tomorrow," he said quietly, "we start construction."
No excitement.
No drama.
Just a steady decision.
Another step forward.
---
End of Chapter 145