SNAPCRAFT | Ch. 26 - Root Cause Analysis (Patreon)

Spring of 346, A.D.

Kai stared at the fire, looking for answers to his conundrum. Alex was head over heels for this Cassie chick. She seemed nice, but they weren't supposed to chat with other sectors. There was a reason for that. And what were the lovebirds going to do about the wall, anyway? No one got through. Should he tell on him? Should he help him?

"Kai!" Barked Sunny. He looked at her and found her staring daggers at him.

"Yes, Sunny?" He heard Ariel giggle to the side, and he flushed.

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

“I’m sorry, I was distracted.”

“At least you’re honest. Root cause analysis. We’re discussing RCA, Kai.”

“OK.”

"Do you know why we're talking about this, Kai?"

"Uh… no. Sorry."

“Sometimes, we come across a problem. A difficult problem."

Kai gulped.

"When we do, we need to dig deep. Strip the problem to its bare bones. We uncover the roots. We find out the cause.”

As Sunny stared at Kai, he felt his chest grow cold. Did she know he was thinking about the problem with Alex? How could she? Had she seen them leave the city? Had she followed them?

“Going back to the story, Earth’s scientists were shocked when their mission failed. They had to do RCA. After extensive research, they finally narrowed it down to a simple mistake. Two different teams at NASA were using different units of measurement. The engineering team used the metric system, while the navigation used the imperial system."

Kai sighed in relief. She was just sharing a tall tale about engineering as she always did. She didn’t know about Cassie.

“As the spacecraft approached Mars, this unit discrepancy led to navigation errors. The orbiter's thrusters, which were supposed to slow it down for orbital insertion, were fired with too much force, causing it to come in too close to the planet. This resulted in the spacecraft burning up in the Martian atmosphere.

“Lesson: The real reason behind the problem might not be obvious in engineering, real life, and the Daisy exams. I have prepared several folders. I want you to look at the disaster and try to run RCA on it. We'll compare notes at sunset. Dig deep, folks.”

Kai opened his folder. It had 'Titanic' written in big letters on the front. He spared a glance at Alex and sighed. He had to dig deep into this problem, too.

*

353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 64.

After crossing plastic wall after plastic wall, Kai found a relatively intact location. There were no skylights here nor windows. Had it not been for his gaslamp, he would have missed it. It was well hidden in the shadows. There was a metal door in good condition. He tried to go through it but couldn’t. He compared his location against the map and confirmed the reason for it. The door coincided with the edge of the arena. There was nothing beyond it. Next to the door was an axe inside a glass box. Although the metal box was rusted and the glass cracked, the red and grey axe was in good condition and sported a good edge.

Kai framed it and took a photo.

Fire Axe (Uncommon)

Cutting tool designed for emergencies.

Tries left: 13 of 20

1 of 3

Hp: 4

Vp: 0

Fire Axe (Uncommon)

Cutting tool designed for emergencies.

Tries left: 12 of 20

2 of 3

Hp: 4

Vp: 0

It was a fantastic tool, much more durable than the flint axe. He wondered what combination he would get from combining it with the [Arabian Oryx]. He spared a look at the metal door and scratched his chin. Although the metal seemed in good condition, he wasn’t sure if photographing it was a good idea. Was he going to be able to use a metal door in crafting? It seemed unlikely. He stopped himself before he captured it. Just in case, he took a mental note of where he was on the map. If nothing better happened, he would check it out later.

After going through office after office, Kai returned to the scrapyard where he had first spawned. He had just finished running a full circle around the map. Kai had been looking forward to coming back here. There could be treasures hidden under these piles of trash, and he wanted to dig through them and see if there was anything of interest. Just as Kai was about to put on the gloves, red blinking lights appeared on the ground. Footprints. The [Hunter's Eyes] upgrade! He had found his opponent!

Kai rushed toward the source of the footprints and followed them. His opponent was walking around the piles of trash. They walked at a steady pace, not too slow or too fast. Finally, they bumped into the edge of the arena. Kai compared the direction from where they had come with where they were on the map. It looked like they had finished exploring the map's center and decided to explore the edges. Putting his foot next to the footprints, he found that his feet were significantly bigger than their opponent’s. That told him he was probably facing a woman. The size of their steps corroborated this.

It wasn’t a very helpful discovery. It didn’t help him in the least. The only change this brought was that he would think of ‘her’ and ‘she’ as he contemplated his opponent’s steps. He followed after her for a few minutes. The way she walked told Kai she was oblivious to his presence.

If Kai had [Hunter's Eyes], other trial runners could have it, too. Nothing guaranteed that he was the only one with this upgrade. However, since she had just kept walking naturally and unperturbed after Kai showed up, it looked like she did not have it.

Kai looked at the dimensional gloves and hesitated. So far, trial runners could only see the world, not interact with it. What if when he put the gloves on and started moving things around, the opponent saw the objects being handled by him? On the one hand, logic told Kai that shouldn’t happen. None of his upgrades that interacted with the arena seemed perceptible to his opponents. He hadn’t seen anyone else’s lamps, flashes, shadows, or any other signs of an opponent’s location before. Only after getting [Hunter's Eyes] was he seeing their tracks.

But something told him that it wouldn’t be that simple with the gloves. Kai put them away. He held off on rummaging through the scrap piles in this area for now. The worst thing that could happen was for him to do all the work and dig out something valuable, only to find that his opponent captured it before he could. After all, if they shared the very same arena, she would see objects being picked up by invisible hands and could just lie in wait, waiting for something valuable to be dug out from the piles of trash. No, he couldn’t let that happen. He would let his opponent explore the outskirts now while he checked what was in the middle of the arena. He would come back later when he was sure she wasn’t here.

Kai looked at the clock. Only 30 minutes had elapsed since the trial began. He had already captured one mystery box, one legendary card, two rare cards, and four uncommon ones. He was feeling confident about this round. Additionally, if he wanted, he had the factory rooftop to explore and his shadow puppets to get some points in, even if his opponent had picked the treasure trove clean.

Even if she had been thorough, it couldn’t hurt to explore the inner area of the arena. In the quarry, he had found opportunities that his opponent had missed. That was the worst part of a more aggressive strategy. Being in a rush could make trial runners miss out on many opportunities. After stepping through the wall into the warehouse, he kept moving further into the building and found a laboratory.

Even though Kai could tell it was a laboratory, it didn’t mean there were any vials filled with colorful liquids or white lab coats scattered everywhere. The cold, metallic tiles cladding the walls and the rusty metal furniture were what gave this space away as a laboratory. Here, closer to the factory’s heart, the elements had been kinder on the metal, and he could still make out what was left of screens and dials, every single one shattered and broken.

If Kai hadn’t seen the outside of the factory, this would all have just been unrecognizable scrap to him. But now that he knew this factory used to produce engines, he could recognize some of the broken machinery. He found what was left of a bench vise. He also saw what looked like the shaft of a lathe.

This might have been the laboratory where the factory’s research and development department had been situated. He went through each of the machines carefully, but after careful inspection, he didn’t find anything that was salvageable. He clicked his tongue. Knowing what these were used for wasn’t giving him an edge.

Finally, he found something that he instantly recognized. It was a toolbox. The value of tools such as pickaxes, knives, and axes had already proven itself many times in previous rounds. Kai got the gloves out and put them on. With them, he opened the toolbox and found it empty. Daisy wasn’t going to make things easy for him, huh?

Once confident that he hadn’t left any stone unturned, he removed the gloves and went through the next wall. He found another lab and instantly recognized it as this map’s treasure trove. There was a shiny, almost brand-new engine encased in glass. After seeing so much junk scattered everywhere, coming across something shiny and new only made an even grander impression.

The engine's exterior was polished, reflecting a chrome finish, capturing every ray of light from Kai’s gaslamp. Each nut, bolt, and gear was pristine. The engine’s pistons were positioned as if the engine had been frozen in mid-operation, and the crankshaft could resume its rotation with but a touch. If Kai wasn’t mistaken, this was a combustion engine, not an electrical one.

Kai didn’t even bother with taking a photo. He could tell this was a rare or above card and that his opponent had emptied the pool of cards. He turned his attention to the other things scattered in the lab.

Maybe because this lab was at the very core of the factory, it had been spared the worst of the deterioration. Close to the motor, there was some sort of console. It was broken, but it was still recognizable as a computer. Kai ignored it, drawn to something blue tucked away at the corner of the lab.

He found barrels made of metal. Near the rim was the remnant of a sickly green, crusted, dried chemical. There was also a radioactive sign painted into the barrel, which was faded but still legible. Was this radioactive waste?

Several things weren’t making any sense. This didn’t feel right. Why would the outside of the factory have massive electrical engines only to have a combustion one here? Was it necessary to have radioactive materials inside a factory that made motors? He scratched his head. What was Daisy trying to get at? And why would Daisy put something so eye-catching and new inside a dilapidated factory like this? It felt so out of place.

Whatever the case, Kai thought these barrels were eye-catching enough to make them valuable while deteriorated enough to be graded as uncommon or below. He risked taking a picture.

Radioactive Waste (Uncommon)

Hazardous mixture of radioactive materials.

Tries left: 11 of 20

3 of 3

Hp: 2

Vp: 2

He smiled. His assessment was correct. He was getting pretty good at finding out an object’s grade before he even captured it. The point count wasn’t too bad, and it looked like an ingredient suited to crafting.

As for the rest of the laboratory, it was similar to what he had seen in the previous lab. He looked around to make sure he hadn’t missed out on anything. He found a third empty lab, and that was it. There was nothing else. He hadn’t gotten much from visiting the center of the map. Hopefully, he could turn the game around on the rooftop.

Kai ran to the upper edge of the arena, past the warehouse and assembly line wreckage, and was back to the outdoors. The first thing he noticed was the bright red footprints signaling his opponent’s presence. They were facing the spider web. Kai felt sorry for his opponent. She was about to have a very disappointing surprise.

Kai grabbed the gloves from his inventory. He spared a look at the ladder and then at the footprints. This would be the perfect opportunity to see if what he did interfered with the opponent’s dimension. Even if they did perceive him or could see his gloves, they wouldn’t be able to follow him up to the rooftop.

He put on the gloves, activated them, and headed toward his opponent. He waved his hands in front of the direction his opponent was facing, but there was no sign of movement. She could very well be screaming in surprise at the appearance of floating ghostly gloves, but there was no way he could tell. At least her feet hadn’t moved. If she had been startled, she would have at least taken a few steps back or something.

Kai then tried something different. He looked for something he could throw and found a pebble. He threw it in the direction of the opponent. No reaction either. He went for a final test, went to the spider web, and took the spider off it. Still no movement. It seemed he’d been scared for nothing. His opponent seemed incapable of perceiving what he was doing.

More aware of the gloves’ functioning, he climbed the ladder again. The sky had become even brighter and was now a light blue. There weren’t any clouds today. Seeing the morning sun put him in a good mood. It was time to see what secrets Daisy had hidden up here.

Kai walked the rooftop as a soldier crossing a minefield. There were holes everywhere from which he could see the factory beneath. Thanks to the sunlight and the absence of walls, he could have a wide view of what was around him. After ten minutes of searching, he found nothing noteworthy about this rooftop. Everything was so deteriorated that it wouldn’t be worth any points.

What could Daisy be hiding here? It didn’t make much sense that Daisy would hide access to the rooftops beyond a specialized upgrade, only to have nothing here worth capturing. Was the picture of [Neglect] the only thing to get from here? No, it couldn’t be. A similar picture could be taken without climbing up here. Then what was it? What was he missing?

Kai tapped his foot and then had an idea. What if the holes in the factory beneath were the prize?

Ch. 25 - Narrow Mindedness

INDEX

Ch. 27 - Cassilex Conundrum