Day 7: The Interception Hub

Act II: Reversing the Supply Chain

Location: GrinchTech Logistics Hub A (Formerly Hamburg Port Authority)

You arrive at Warehouse A. It’s not a distribution center—it’s a black hole.

Trucks arrive full of Christmas parcels, but they leave empty. Inside, you see the horror: Giant robotic claws are grabbing beautifully wrapped gifts, scanning them, and dropping them onto a conveyor belt labeled “RECYCLING & INCINERATION.”

You scan your badge. The Grinch pops up on the monitor, looking smugly at a spreadsheet.

System Message from CEO

“Welcome to the ‘GrinchTech Reverse-Logistics Hub.’

You see, I bought the shipping rights for the entire city. Why? To save you from yourselves. Do you have any idea how much carbon footprint this ‘gift-giving’ generates? It’s irresponsible.

My algorithms are currently set to Intercept and Liquidate. We are processing 5,000 ‘units of joy’ per hour and converting them into compressed cubes of recyclable cardboard. It’s elegant. It’s sustainable. It’s over.

If you’re here to try and switch the belts back to ‘Delivery Mode,’ don’t bother. The math required to reverse the torque on these crushers is beyond you.”

– GR

The Challenge

To save the presents, you must reverse the operational parameters of the machinery.

Task a) The Crusher Belt

The main conveyor belt is currently set to “Ramming Speed” (\(s\)) to smash packages into the incinerator. The equation governing the speed is: \[3(s + 4) - 2s = 20\]

Grinch’s Note: “No pressure. Well, actually, lots of pressure.”

Objective: The Grinch set this for maximum destruction. Solving this identifies the velocity. Once identified, the system will allow you to invert the motor polarity.

Solve for s (Crusher Velocity):

Task b) The “Waste” Audit

The Grinch has categorized all presents as “Trash.” You need to hack the inventory log to recategorize them as “Assets” so the system won’t burn them.

  • Total items intercepted: 25
  • “Standard Junk” Value: €3 | “Premium Junk” Value: €5
  • Total Liquidation Value: €95

Grinch’s Note: “A classic two-equation, two-unknown problem. Total items. Total value. I learned this in fifth grade. I was bored then too, but at least I paid attention.”

Objective: Identify how many Standard (\(x\)) and Premium (\(y\)) gifts are currently in the hopper so you can reroute them.

Task c) The Claw Calibration

The robotic claw is programmed to crush (\(|2x - 7| = 3\)). You need to solve this to find the grip boundaries.

Grinch’s Note: “The current setting applies 4,000 PSI of pressure. Enough to turn a Playstation into a frisbee. Don’t touch it.”

Status Update

You hit Enter. The facility groans.

The conveyor belt screeches to a halt, then slowly reverses direction. The sign above the pit changes from “INCINERATOR” to “OUTBOUND DELIVERY.”

The robotic claw stops crushing a Lego set and gently places it onto a delivery truck.

The Grinch appears on the screen, looking furious. He spills a drop of his kale smoothie.

System Message from CEO

“What did you do?!

You reversed the flow? Do you know how much paperwork this creates? I had those crushing quotas approved by the board!

You may have saved this batch of ‘consumerist clutter,’ but Warehouse B is where I keep the **difficult stuff*.

Good job, hero.” – GR

System Status:

  • Incinerator: OFFLINE
  • Delivery Mode: ACTIVE
  • Presents Saved: 2,500

Back to the calendar