With the engine's heart, the power distribution hub, now glowing with a steady, contained energy, it was time for the most delicate part of the entire operation: the installation.
Xianyun, with a quiet, focused grace, used her adeptal powers to levitate the heavy, crystalline core into the very center of the sleek, lightweight chassis. It was a perfect fit, sliding into its designated housing with a soft, satisfying click.
Then came the long, patient work of connecting everything. Ren, with his small, nimble fingers, was a natural at this. He would take the special, insulated wires they had created and carefully, meticulously, connect each one, from the power hub to the various systems of the car. It was like a giant, three-dimensional puzzle, and he loved every minute of it.
He connected the main power lines to the four, large, primary propellers that would provide the lift. He then connected the smaller, secondary lines to the eight smaller, directional propellers that would be used for steering.
The steering mechanism was Ren's own, brilliant design. It was a simple, intuitive lever, much like the tiller of a boat. Pushing it forward would direct more power to the rear propellers, pushing the car forward. Pulling it back would do the opposite. And moving it from side to side would angle the smaller, directional propellers, allowing for smooth, graceful turns.
Finally, after days of this painstaking, delicate work, every wire was connected, every system was in place. The hovercar sat in the center of the workshop, a silent, beautiful, and complete, machine.
It was time for the first test.
"The initial test will be for vertical lift only," Xianyun stated, her voice a mixture of a scientist's caution and an inventor's barely-suppressed excitement. "We must confirm the stability of the primary propulsion system before we attempt any forward motion."
Ren nodded, his heart pounding a fast, excited rhythm. He held a small, remote-control-like device he had built, a simple tool that would allow them to test the basic functions from a safe distance.
He pressed a button.
Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
A low, powerful hum, much deeper and more resonant than the hoverboard's, filled the workshop. The four main propellers began to spin, slowly at first, and then faster, and faster, until they were just a blur of motion.
He slowly, carefully, pushed a small lever on the remote upwards. The hum grew into a powerful, steady roar. And the hovercar, with a smooth, almost majestic, grace, lifted off the ground.
It rose, perfectly level, a few inches, then a foot, then five feet into the air, hovering there with an absolute, rock-solid stability.
A wide, triumphant grin spread across Ren's face. He looked at Xianyun, who had a look of pure, unadulterated, scientific joy on her own.
"Vertical lift is stable," she confirmed, her voice full of a quiet, profound pride.
He then gently pulled the lever down, and the hovercar descended with the same, smooth, controlled grace, settling onto the workshop floor with barely a sound.
"Now for the next step," Ren said, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Low-power, forward and backward motion."
He pressed another button on his remote, and this time, the rear propellers whirred just a little faster. The hovercar began to creep forward, slowly, cautiously. It moved a few feet, and then he reversed the power, and it moved back to its original position.
But as it moved, they both noticed a problem. A small, but significant, flaw.
The car was tilting.
As it moved forward, the nose of the vehicle dipped down slightly. As it moved backward, the tail dipped. It wasn't a dangerous wobble, but it was an unstable, inefficient movement.
"The center of gravity is shifting with the thrust," Xianyun observed, her mind immediately dissecting the problem. "On your hoverboard, your own body acts as the gyroscope, you correct the tilt with your own, intuitive sense of balance. But a car… a car must be perfectly, intrinsically, stable on its own."
Ren brought the hovercar back down, the excitement of the successful lift now replaced by the focused, analytical mind of an engineer facing a new, interesting puzzle.
"You're right," he said, already sketching a new diagram in his mind. "We need to add gyroscopic attunements. A way for the car to automatically correct its own balance. And we need to refine the directional propulsion system, to separate the lift from the forward movement."
The first, trembling breath of their creation had been a success. But now, the real, fine-tuning, and truly brilliant, work was about to begin.