Chapter 375
“Professor Tang, have you figured anything out?”
He asked with a smile, completely unfazed by Tang Muda’s sarcasm.
“Not at all!”
Tang Muda shook his head.
Zheng Fa’s smile slowly faded.
“I’m an astronomer, not a materials scientist! This thing has more to do with chemistry!” Tang Muda argued passionately. “Besides, with everything mixed together like this, how am I supposed to make sense of it?”
What Tang Muda said made sense:
Zheng Fa was like someone who had recently concocted a pill and was asking for help to analyze its ingredients…
“So, Xiao Tang, you can’t figure out the essence of this thing, and you can’t even perform a divination?”
“...Dean, I’ll try harder!”
……
Zheng Fa decided to abandon the Ling Shan method, leaving Tang Muda to grit his teeth and tackle the images on the computer, while he stepped out of the lab.
The old man Bai and a few others looked at him.
“What’s the verdict?”
“I think we know too little about materials science. I’m planning to break this golden pill down and have Team Leader Yang find some experts in the lab to study it.”
After some thought, Zheng Fa decided to hand the golden pill directly to various major laboratories.
Images alone weren’t enough; the influence of experimental methods could lead to inaccuracies in the images—conducting experiments requires a high level of professional training.
At least, Zheng Fa wasn’t quite there yet.
“Not keeping it confidential anymore?”
Old man Bai was taken aback.
“No need for confidentiality now.”
Upon hearing this, old man Bai turned to look at the sky.
Above, the morning sun rose, dazzling in its own right, completely indifferent to how the world perceived it.
……
Zhao Yan was a PhD student in materials science at Jingcheng University, working under a mentor who specialized in superconducting materials, a big name in the field.
Early in the morning, she bought a steamed bun from the cafeteria, holding it in a small plastic bag as she walked toward the lab, nibbling on it along the way.
When she reached the bottom of the lab building, Zhao Yan sensed something was off.
The building seemed to be missing some things and had some new additions.
She was a laid-back person, usually arriving at the lab just in time… so on normal days, there should have been quite a few people inside.
But today, the building was eerily quiet, as if it were completely empty.
Is it a holiday?
No one informed me!
The new additions were simple—cars and people.
At the entrance of the building, a row of black, unmarked sedans was parked.
Standing beside the cars were five or six men, dressed differently but all wearing the same cold expression—eyes glinting as they scanned the surroundings.
With their straight postures and subtly defined arm muscles, they didn’t look like the kind of people who should be here.
Perhaps she was staring too long and too obviously, when suddenly one of the men turned to look at her, his gaze sharp as a knife.
Zhao Yan had never encountered such people before; she froze, and the bun in her hand rolled down, tragically and unobstructed, landing at her feet…
“…”
“What do you want?”
“I… I’m going to the lab…”
Though she was saddened by the loss of her bun, she felt an inexplicable urge to be compliant in front of these men, answering honestly.
“Which lab?”
“Professor Lin’s.”
The man who asked turned back and took a folder from another person, opening it to reveal character profiles with photos inside.
Among them was Zhao Yan’s.
“Zhao Yan, right? No problem, you can go in!”
Zhao Yan was filled with confusion but didn’t dare to speak up.
As she entered the lab, she discreetly observed that it was indeed empty; there were no voices on any floor, and every room had its door closed.
Even at every corner of the staircase, there was a strange man standing guard.
When she reached her own lab, she was surprised to find two men standing at the door!
They didn’t stop her; it seemed they already knew she was coming and nodded at her.
Zhao Yan pursed her lips and stepped into the lab, quickly shutting the door behind her.
Her fellow students and professor were all present.
She let out a sigh of relief and plopped down in a chair, saying, “This is a big deal!”
“...A big deal? Is everyone else on holiday while we’re not?”
The senior brother chuckled.
But no one in the lab laughed.
“Those people outside… they’re really intimidating.”
Zhao Yan quietly pointed at the door.
“Look at our advisor.”
One of the junior students said.
Zhao Yan turned to see Professor Lin, who was angrily shouting at his phone, but after a moment, he helplessly put it down and looked at the others.
“Temporary project, we need to study a sample.”
Professor Lin smiled at his students, seemingly trying to calm their nerves.
“It’s fine, it’s a confidential project, don’t be anxious.”
“……”
After a while, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Team Leader Yang appeared at the entrance, her smile much friendlier than those of the men guarding the door.
“Professor Lin, I’m sorry to trouble you with this.”
“...I’m curious to see what it is.”
Professor Lin was clearly a bit annoyed.
“I can only say that this thing is very important…”
Team Leader Yang didn’t get angry.
Zheng Fa wasn’t afraid of leaking secrets.
But Team Leader Yang knew her own people… not everyone was devoted to the country, including those in the research community.
She naturally didn’t want any accidents to happen.
“Please hand in all electronic devices—”
“Including phones, cameras, personal computers…”
“……”
Professor Lin’s cheeks puffed up, but while Team Leader Yang’s voice was gentle, her gaze clearly conveyed that this was non-negotiable.
Once everyone had submitted their electronic devices, a man and a woman walked in to check the equipment, even installing a few surveillance devices in the lab, clearly not trusting them.
Zhao Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit angry.
Team Leader Yang chuckled lightly, “I know this is inconvenient for everyone, but let me say again… this sample is extremely important.”
“Please back up your data; after this experiment, we’ll need to take the instruments and computers from your lab as well.”
Zhao Yan couldn’t hold back anymore: “How are we supposed to conduct experiments? I haven’t finished my thesis yet!”
Professor Lin was even more furious and stood up.
“We’ll provide new ones for everyone…” Team Leader Yang smiled, looking at Professor Lin, “You can create a list.”
“Me? What about the budget limit?”
Professor Lin was taken aback.
“There’s no limit.”
Professor Lin slowly sat back down.
……
Team Leader Yang handed over the sample and then tactfully left the room.
Looking at the sample fragments that seemed neither gold nor earth, Zhao Yan and her fellow students exchanged glances for a long time before one finally spoke up:
“What do you think this thing is?”
“Don’t know.”
“I have an idea…” Suddenly, one of the junior students chimed in, “There’s only one reason for all this fuss!”
“What is it?”
“Aliens have come!”
“……”
It was Professor Lin who seemed to have thought of something; he frowned and waved his hand at them: “Stop guessing, let’s get to work.”
“Boss, if we do this experiment… will we still have our freedom?”
The senior brother suddenly asked.
Everyone fell silent; the atmosphere was indeed a bit frightening.
“I think I’ve heard some rumors about this.” Professor Lin shook his head, “It should be fine… but how could this be?”
Professor Lin sighed, saying no more, and simply directed them to start the experiment.
……
“Professor Lin, you…”
Team Leader Yang looked at Professor Lin guarding the sample protectively and couldn’t help but sigh.
Beside Professor Lin, Zhao Yan and the others stood together, subtly shielding the sample, looking reluctant to part with it.
Now they understood… why these people were so cautious.
“Room temperature superconductivity! Do you know what that means?”
“Just give me a little more time! I’ve figured out the structure of this material…”
“The Nobel Prize is no joke! Do you know how significant this breakthrough is for the country and the people?”
“How significant?”
“You may not understand much else, but just think of one thing—controllable nuclear fusion!”
Professor Lin picked the most exciting and popular field.
“...Is that it?”
“……”
Professor Lin couldn’t hold back anymore; what do you mean, is that it?
As if you’ve seen controllable nuclear fusion before!
Seeing that he still wouldn’t budge, Team Leader Yang sighed, “Professor Lin, I’ve heard you say this several times already… we still need to recover these samples.”
“The more so, the more we need to recover them, do you understand?”
Professor Lin paused for a moment, suddenly seeming to understand something, and stepped aside.
The people behind Team Leader Yang entered the lab, categorizing and packing the samples, instruments, and computers, even taking away the papers on the desk.
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