Chapter 85: The Solar Car
Chapter 85: The Solar Car
Finding a vehicle suitable for the tiny people was extremely difficult.
Toy cars all shared one common flaw: they “required remote control”.
None were designed with “operating from inside the vehicle” functionality.
Wasn’t that obvious? What idiot would even consider such a design?
Li Daoxuan had already tested this. A remote-controlled car, or even a remote-controlled plane, when operated by him, couldn’t leave his line of sight. It would just crash into the glass walls of the box.
Clearly, the box’s “anti-exploit mechanism” was restricting him, preventing him from reaching beyond his viewable range. Otherwise, he could just mount a camera on a remote-controlled tank and drive it beyond his vision—wouldn’t that grant him mastery over the entire miniature world?
Therefore, what he needed was a vehicle the tiny people could drive themselves.
The difficulty of this task wasn’t just high; it was practically impossible.
He scoured every shopping website but still found nothing.
Just as he was about to give up, his eyes suddenly lit up. Huh? Tucked away in a corner of a shopping site was a strange little toy. He clicked in to see: a Miniature Solar Car. (See image in chapter comments)
The car was 3 centimeters long, 2.5 centimeters wide, and weighed only 4 grams.
It was solar-powered. When sunlight shone upon it, it would automatically move forward. The brighter the sunlight, the better it ran. Without sunlight, it stopped immediately, dead still.
A metaphorical light bulb clicked above Li Daoxuan’s head. This little car had very high potential for customization!
He quickly placed an order and bought it. He immediately private-messaged the shop owner: “I want this car. I’ll pay extra. Send it via SF Express, top priority. I need it in my hands as soon as possible.”
Shop owner: “Dear customer! With extra payment, nothing is impossible! Just wait, SF Express will depart immediately!”
Delivered in the morning, received by evening.
Around three in the afternoon, the solar car arrived.
Li Daoxuan took it out of the package and walked into the sunlight. As soon as he set it on the ground, it started scooting forward with a “whoosh whoosh whoosh” sound. When he blocked the light, it immediately became sluggish and stalled.
Seeing such an incredibly amazing and cool little toy, Li Daoxuan’s mind flooded with inspiration. The little sparks of his ideas were practically threatening to ignite a full-blown wildfire.
He hurriedly hailed a taxi and rushed towards Cai Xinzi’s model shop.
Upon arrival, Cai Xinzi was lounging with her feet propped up, sitting contentedly behind the counter. Business at her model shop hadn’t really improved. But lately, she had helped Li Daoxuan flip one or two 1-millimeter Supreme Lord Lao sculptures. The commission from one deal alone earned her over a hundred thousand yuan — enough to cover two years’ shop rent! She felt extremely relaxed now.
Seeing Li Daoxuan enter the shop, Cai Xinzi sprang up instantly: “Haha! Daoxuan! What brings you here? Here to pick models? Go ahead, take whatever you fancy. If any model in this shop catches your eye, just take it!”
Li Daoxuan: “I need your help to customize a little toy.”
“Customize?” Cai Xinzi was baffled.
Li Daoxuan stretched out his hand, palm open. The solar car on his palm immediately sensed the “light” and lurched forward, almost escaping his grip. Li Daoxuan was so startled he quickly clenched his fist, trapping it securely.
Cai Xinzi recognized it instantly. “A 3-centimeter-long solar car? What’s there to customize on this thing?”
Li Daoxuan: “I want to install a steering wheel on it to control the direction, and I also want to install a set of brake and accelerator pedals.”
“Pfft!”
Cai Xinzi sprayed a mouthful of Nutri-Express beverage a full meter across the room.
Li Daoxuan almost got hit. Thankfully, his youth granted him quick reflexes. He dodged sideways just in time. The spray of Nutri-Express hit a model shelf behind him, staining a Freedom Gundam model.
Cai Xinzi pointed at the models in the shop: “Pick any you want! Take it and leave quickly! Don’t bring me these absurd customization requests anymore! I truly cannot do it, Your Majesty!”
Li Daoxuan: “What? You think my request is that difficult?”
Cai Xinzi: “A 3-centimeter-long car?! Steering is one thing—that’s easy. I’ll just add a handle like on a walking tractor to the front and use a small mechanism to guide the wheels. But what in the world are throttle and brakes?! Just have them hack me to death with blades!”
Li Daoxuan: “How can you call yourself a model maker? Your brain’s not working. Tell me, what kind of power does my car run on?”
Cai Xinzi: “Solar.”
Li Daoxuan: “If you block the sun, can it still run?”
Cai Xinzi: “No!”
Li Daoxuan: “Then aren’t the brakes figured out? Block the sun, and it stops.”
A lightbulb went off over Cai Xinzi’s head. “Damn, Daoxuan! You’ve gotten really clever. That solves it! We don’t need caliper-style brakes—just add a simple sunshade curtain that can slide over the solar panel. Flip the brake lever, and the curtain covers the panel.”
Li Daoxuan: “Exactly. Same with the throttle. Flip the throttle lever, slide the curtain open, done.”
Cai Xinzi: “I’m a professional model maker, and you’re actually teaching me? Your brain’s sharp these days.”
Li Daoxuan chuckled: “Haha! Now you know what a genius looks like? So why not lend this genius buddy a hand?”
Cai Xinzi: “You didn’t start playing the ‘I’m the client’ card this time.”
Li Daoxuan: “I didn’t want to become exactly what I vowed to destroy.”
That night, Cai Xinzi worked late into the night. Li Daoxuan had helped him earn quite a lot of money before, and he carried some unspoken gratitude toward his old friend. He had no way to repay him before—this was his chance to put in his best effort.
First, he fitted the car with a steering mechanism—a handle shaped like those on a walking tractor—then crafted a paper-thin sunshade curtain for the throttle/brake… However, for such a tiny scale, it was impossible to rig a mechanism to control the curtain’s opening and closing. The throttle and brake systems failed—it only allowed manual curtain adjustments.
He assumed Li Daoxuan would be dissatisfied with this compromise. But when he delivered it Early in the morning the next day, Li Daoxuan just paused in thought for two seconds, then smiled: “This’ll do just fine. Thanks, brother.”
Cai Xinzi: “No throttle or brakes… Is that really okay?”
Li Daoxuan revealed a mysterious smile: “Two-person driving. One operates the steering, the other handles the sunshade curtain.”
Cai Xinzi: “…”
A three-centimeter-long car… and you’re already planning for two-person operation? What kind of monster are you?
He reached over and touched Li Daoxuan’s forehead: “Bro… did you eat poison mushrooms today?”
Li Daoxuan firmly declared: “I did not!”
Cai Xinzi: “Then… woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”
Li Daoxuan laughed: “Stop messing around! Actually, this little car is just a prototype. If it works, I’ll commission you again to build bigger solar cars. I’ll need your help then too—for proper steering control and sunshade curtain setups.”
Cai Xinzi: “Stop adding the word ‘system’ to these utterly absurd ideas! It doesn’t make them sound advanced at all.”