In just a few weeks, word of the ForgeStation had spread far beyond Li Wei's local network.
It started with whispers on underground forums: "Minimalist OS, open hardware," followed by screenshots of students running rudimentary programs on stripped-down microterminals.
No flashy branding. No online store.
But something about its purity caught people's attention — especially those disillusioned by bloated modern tech, paywalls, or government-mandated app stores.
Soon, packages bearing the forge gear insignia began showing up in mailrooms of underground hacker spaces and vocational schools.
The Curious Ones Arrive
The Forge Lab door opened late one afternoon, unannounced.
A girl stood in the frame. Shoulder-length black hair, plain clothes, sharp eyes — the kind that saw through people.
"I'm Xie Lanyun. First-year electrical engineering. I want in."
Lan Jie raised an eyebrow. "You're a bit late to the party."
"I brought schematics," Lanyun replied, handing over a hand-drawn memory paging design. "I think you're wasting I/O pins."
Li Wei looked up from his debugger. He scanned the drawing in silence.
She was right. It could shave off 5% in pin usage — maybe more, depending on the microcontroller variant.
"You're in," he said, nodding toward the spare stool.
BlueFire 2.0 Begins
Lanyun's addition accelerated their momentum.
Where Lan Jie excelled in physical builds and mechanical rigging, and Yanyue managed logistics and documentation, Lanyun attacked circuit optimization with surgical precision.
Within days, they had:
Cut the controller board's size by 20%
Reduced EEPROM corruption rate by 40%
Doubled memory paging efficiency
"She's scary," Lan Jie muttered to Li Wei during a late-night soldering session.
"She's focused," Li Wei replied. "Just like us."
The team now had four full-time members, all under 20 — each obsessed with different aspects of what Forge could become.
The School Notices
Li Wei had kept a low profile at Qinghe College since returning to his younger self.
He aced his exams, barely attended lectures, and mostly kept to the shadows.
But now, the faculty noticed him.
A professor from the mechanical engineering department invited him for tea.
"Mr. Li Wei," he said, placing a cup down. "Students speak highly of your... extracurricular projects. The administration is curious."
Li Wei knew what that meant: scrutiny.
"We're building educational kits," he replied calmly. "Helping young people learn about embedded systems. All non-commercial."
The professor smiled in a way that didn't reach his eyes.
"We'd like you to showcase it at the regional science convention."
Li Wei hesitated. Going public meant risk. Attention. Maybe sabotage.
But it also meant legitimacy. Access. Connections.
He nodded.
"I'll consider it."
The ForgeSociety Expands
Outside the lab, a quiet movement was forming.
Using public-domain bulletin boards and anonymous file drops, ForgeOS source code had spread to:
A garage workshop in Jakarta
A student club in Chennai
A group of farmers in northern Vietnam using it for soil monitoring
They weren't waiting for permission.
They were modifying. Experimenting. Reporting bugs. Requesting features.
Even Yanyue, normally reserved, was stunned.
"Someone submitted a patch for the kernel memory leak," she said. "From a guy in a rice village. Wrote it on his phone."
Li Wei smiled.
This was exactly what he wanted: a system no one could control, yet everyone could build upon.
A platform that belonged to no country, and thus, belonged to all.
The Invitation
Then came the letter.
Thick envelope. Gold trim. Official seal from the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Lan Jie opened it first.
"They want you to join the National Young Inventors' Council," she said. "All-expenses paid. Government-sponsored mentorship. Patents. Grants."
Li Wei didn't even look up from his schematic.
"No."
"You sure? This could mean lab space. Machines. A budget."
"It also means bureaucracy. NDAs. And losing control."
He folded the blueprint and stood up.
"We're not here to impress. We're here to build. Quietly. Independently."
Lan Jie didn't push further.
But Yanyue sighed. "We're getting too visible."
Li Wei looked toward the window. The city skyline buzzed in neon. Drones zipped by overhead.
"Then it's time we start thinking long-term."
Laying the Groundwork
That night, Li Wei gathered the team.
He placed a large map on the table — not of the city, but of the region: forests, mountains, river deltas.
"Within the next two years, we'll need land," he said. "Remote. Quiet. Outside corporate and political oversight."
"To build?" Lan Jie asked.
"To begin," he replied. "This lab is temporary. Our real work starts when we can create without anyone watching."
Yanyue nodded. "Like a frontier."
Lanyun traced a finger along the edge of a mountain range.
"I might know a place."