The Unpenetratable Needle

Old Wang was the neighborhood's renowned "Mr. Fix-It." Appliance repairs, plumbing unblocking – there was nothing he couldn't handle. Today, he took on a new job. Mrs. Li, his neighbor, had a broken smart scale. The display only showed a red dot, like an eye, staring eerily.

Mrs. Li complained, “This thing, they said it was so smart and accurate when I bought it. After only two years, it’s just a decoration. It's a real ghost!” Old Wang chuckled in response, he loved these kinds of challenges.

He opened his toolbox and took out his long, thin testing needle, his old companion for many years, specifically used for circuit testing. But today, this needle seemed to have hit a steel wall, unable to penetrate the scale's port no matter what. Old Wang changed the angle a few times and applied some force, still nothing. He wiped the sweat from his brow, wondering if the port was blocked by something.

He fetched a magnifying glass and carefully examined the port. No foreign objects, clean as a mirror. Old Wang scratched his head. This was abnormal. He’d never encountered anything like this.

“Old Wang, do you think this scale can be fixed?” Mrs. Li asked anxiously.

Old Wang shrugged, "Auntie, I need to study this carefully."

He took the scale back to his workshop, which was filled with all sorts of old appliances, like a small museum. He plugged it in and attempted to measure the voltage with a multimeter, but the multimeter probes wouldn’t go in either.

This bizarre situation intrigued Old Wang. He took out a cutting machine and carefully cut open the scale's casing. Inside, the circuit board was exposed, the delicate components neatly arranged, with no signs of damage.

He then tried to poke the solder joints with the testing needle. The same thing happened - the needle tip seemed to be blocked by an invisible force. It was as if an invisible film covered all the contact points, preventing the needle from penetrating.

Old Wang picked up an old phone charger and tried to power the scale. The charger's plug wouldn't fit into the scale's power interface either. Old Wang picked up a loose wire and tried to insert the wire head into the port, still failing.

At this point, Old Wang was getting a little frustrated. This went against all logic! He tried every method he could think of, even getting a finer needle, but the result was the same – it wouldn’t go in. It was as if the scale's interface had become an absolutely sealed entity, impenetrable by anything.

He began to wonder if he was hallucinating. He pinched himself hard, and the pain told him it was real. Old Wang put down his tools, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and amid the swirling smoke, he began to recall the events of the past few days, trying to find answers in the smallest clues.

Recently, there seemed to be more new smart devices in the neighborhood. Smart trash cans that could automatically sort waste, smart access control with facial recognition, and even the watering system in the flowerbeds was claiming to “precisely irrigate.”

Old Wang suddenly remembered a rumor circulating among the neighborhood aunties: it was said that the latest electronic devices had been upgraded, that they could automatically learn, automatically repair, and even evolve on their own.

It dawned on him that Mrs. Li's scale might not be broken, but evolving. It had evolved some kind of self-protection mechanism, rejecting any "external intrusion."

“What the hell is this crap!” Old Wang stubbed out his cigarette, talking to himself. He picked up the scale again. The red dot was still blinking, as if mocking his inability.

Just then, there was a knock on the workshop door. It was Mrs. Li, who asked anxiously, "Old Wang, how is it? Is the scale fixed?"

Old Wang took a deep breath and put on his trademark smile, "Auntie, the scale isn't broken, it just... needs some time to adjust to the new environment."

Mrs. Li looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Old Wang pointed to the scale, "This scale, it doesn't need a needle to fix it anymore, it will fix itself."

Mrs. Li was even more perplexed, "Fix itself? Then how do I use it?"

Old Wang smiled even wider, "Use it? From now on, it will use you!"

Mrs. Li didn't quite understand, but Old Wang had already put the scale back into its box. He felt he needed a good rest. This world was just getting crazier and crazier. He looked back at the red dot flickering in the box, like an evolving eye, silently watching the world it had abandoned.