Chapter 769 - Brainstorm
Chapter 769 Brainstorm
Returning to his lab, Roland put the crystal item on the table and said, “Pause all the other studies. Let’s focus on this thing for now.” Looking at the green crystal stick, Su Minluo picked it up and said, “Where’s there to investigate? Isn’t it made of green agate or emeralds? Its purity seems very high… Huh?”
After she touched it with her hands, she found that this wasn’t right. “Is it jade?” she asked in confusion.
Her feeling was different from Roland’s.
When Roland grabbed it, he sensed nothing but energy; the feeling was so strong that he couldn’t sense anything else. However, Su Minluo couldn’t sense the energy in it. She simply felt that the item was warm and smooth, like a piece of warm jade from legend.
Also, it was quite heavy, and it was also translucent and looked quite refreshing.
“It’s not jade, but an energy stick,” replied Roland.
Huh???
All the researchers in the lab were greatly shocked.
“It’s indeed an energy stick,” explained Roland. “I can absorb it. If I fully absorb it, my strength will reach a very high level!”
“How high exactly?” Su Minluo’s eyes were glowing again.
“I may be able to blow up this entire base if I attack with my full strength.” Roland smiled.
“This little thing contains so much energy?” All the researchers were shocked.
They knew how big and well-defended the base was more than anybody else did.
That was an underground base that could resist a nuclear explosion equivalent to 100,000 tons of TNT right on the surface.
Director Huang could blow this place up after absorbing the stick?
“It sounds rather unbelievable!” Su Minluo crossed her arms and leaned on the back of her chain, thinking. Then she said, “I find it hard to believe, but if your feeling is right, it’s indeed worth studying.”
The other researchers agreed with her.
Although it looked like a simple crystal stick, Director Huang wasn’t an ordinary person and if he said that it was an energy stick, it had to be one.
It remained unknown what kind of energy was contained within.
The researchers were quite excited to have a new project to work on.
After trying some simple impact experiments in safe places, they confirmed that the stick was hard and the energy in it was inert and wouldn’t explode.
Therefore, they applied for the best cutter in the base, hoping to cut off some powder or a tiny piece from the stick for research.
As it turned out, neither laser cutters nor physical ones could extract the tiniest bit of powder from the crystal stick.
“This is unbelievable.” Everybody was shocked. “What is this exactly?”
Then, they made use of large scanners.
However… all of the scanners showed nothing but pixels. Then, observing with the naked eye, they found that it was still a green crystal stick.
The weird phenomenon raised discussions all over the base.
After that, the crystal stick was passed to a dozen labs in the next month, but no progress was made.
Eventually, it was returned to Roland. It was jokingly called a black-box energy stick that violated all common sense.
Nobody had seen such a thing before. A lot of the research teams applied to keep it for their own studies. Even if they couldn’t find out anything yet, they might make discoveries after the technologies advanced.
However, their bosses replied that it was Comrade Huang Wenwei’s personal item that he could keep to himself. One day after work, Roland gazed at the energy stick on the table in his dormitory and extended his hand, communicating with the energy with his mental power. Unlike magic power, the energy in it was very pure and seemingly could be transformed into any energy that Roland knew, such as magic power, light, or electricity-whatever he wanted.
The energy was of a very high level.
Logically, it would be great to absorb such high-level energy, but the problem was that Roland couldn’t directly absorb it.
He had to transform it first.
Closing his eyes and observing with his mind, Roland saw that the energy stick was no longer a green stick but a tiny green globe with detailed terrains on it!
Well… Roland tried to absorb some of the energy. He sensed that he had gotten ten times more magic power than he could from one Magic Power Transformation session.
It was truly pure. After absorbing it for a while, Roland sensed that his energy was full. He estimated that something terrible would happen if he continued.
His body might even explode and he’d die.
It was mainly because his body in reality was too pathetic compared to that in the game.
Then, he opened his eyes, only to find that the energy stick was absolutely the same.
He picked up the energy stick and found that it weighed as much as before.
He frowned and weighed it in the lab, only to find that its weight really was absolutely the same.
Su Minluo and the other researchers were in the lab. Because the study on the energy stick had been put on hold, they resumed their old projects.
Seeing Roland in front of the weighing machine, Su Minluo walked over and asked, “Did you find anything, Director Huang?” “I just absorbed a lot of energy.” Roland pointed at the crystal stick. “But it weighs the same as before.”
“Is it possible that you didn’t really absorb much?”
Roland nodded. “It’s possible that the loss of weight is too insignificant for the machine to detect. However, there may be another reason for that. Could it be refilling its energy on its own?”
Su Minluo was stunned. “How is that possible? Wouldn’t it have perpetual motion?”
“You can’t say that a black hole has perpetual motion, right?” Roland opened his hands. “Are you saying that it’s similar to a black hole in that it has a greater mass and can absorb objects with smaller masses?” Su Minluo thought for a moment and asked a new question. “But were it true, it should be gaining weight all the time, shouldn’t it?”
“Maybe it has a limited capacity?” Roland stroked the surface of the crystal stick and found it surprisingly smooth.
Su Minluo thought for a moment and said, “Should I ask some people to assist you with your research? You can absorb it for a while longer and see if its weight and appearance change at all.”
“Let’s do that.”
From then on, Roland absorbed some energy from the crystal stick and transformed it into magic power every day.
His strength continued expanding at a crazy speed.
Even more unbelievably, he found that his weight was soaring but his body figure barely changed.
He looked quite slim without many muscles, yet he weighed 97 kilograms. He had put on fifteen kilograms in only one month.
He had been eating regularly and healthily during this time and didn’t overeat at all.
“This is completely unbelievable.”
After extracting Roland’s blood sample and checking his bone density, Su Minluo clicked her tongue, a report in her hand. “Your body is far stronger than that of the best African athletes when you’re not using buff spells. However, there are also side effects. You’ll probably sink when you dive into water, so don’t go swimming anymore.”
Roland chuckled. “I know Levitation spells that can reduce my weight. I can breathe underwater too.”
“You can do anything with magic, can’t you?” Su Minluo measured Roland’s height. “It’s still 179cm, just like before. Do you feel any changes apart from the physical ones? Like those in your mind. Right, I haven’t seen you test spells at the bottom of the base for a while.”
“I don’t dare to do that anymore.” Roland shook his head. “My strength has grown too much for my body to control. I need to rest for a while and get used to it.”
“That explains a lot.” Su Minluo looked at Roland enviously. “You are a literal Superman now, and you’ll probably live a very, very long life.”
Roland was already 30, but his blood and bone tests showed that his actual age was only about 17.
Everybody wanted a young, healthy body, especially Su Minluo, who was almost 33. As a woman who preferred to stay beautiful, and as a researcher who had a career, she was no longer what she used to be when she just graduated in her twenties.
The substance that was extracted from Roland’s essence, internally codenamed Huang Nutrient, had been manufactured and well sold. However, it could only slow down aging, not rejuvenate those who were already old.
There must be other substances or energy at work. All the researchers believed that the special “magic power” must be behind it.
Life went on peacefully in the base for a few days, until some guests from another institute came.
They were led by a white-haired old man, who said in a friendly manner, “Comrade Huang, I already heard your name in the place where I worked. Thank you very much.”
“For what?” Roland found it odd. “I don’t think we’ve met before, have we?”
The old man chuckled. “How old do you think I am?!
“Probably around sixty.” Roland observed him carefully and made a speculation based on his complexion. “You look very well, sir.”
“I’m already 87.” The old man smiled.
After a shock, Roland guessed what happened.
“I had been lying in bed for two years and was ready to retire.” The old man looked at Roland gratefully. “But after I was injected with the Huang Nutrient, I could get up and work for a few more years. I would die with regrets if I don’t finish one certain task well.”
Roland realized that the man was here to ask for something from him. He said with a smile, “Sir, how can I help you? I’ll be sure to lend a hand if I can.”
“You must’ve heard of the moon development program, haven’t you?” asked the old man.
Roland nodded. “I’ve seen it on the news. We’re about to establish a small research base on the moon.”
“The landing on the back of the moon, and the manned mission to the moon that’s about to be carried out, are all preparations for the moon base.” The old man had a mouthful of water and said, “We’ve prepared for most of the steps, and we only need to carry them out one after the other. However, there’s one step that we were never fully confident about.”
Roland listened quietly.
“You know that materials is one of the fields that our country is the worst at.” The old man heaved a sigh. “To establish a base on the moon, we have to deliver the materials in different batches at first and reassemble them up there. Considering the harsh vacuum on the moon and the loading capacity of rockets, our materials have to be light and resistant to cold, heat, and radiation. They also have to be hard and flexible. There are barely any materials that can meet all the requirements. What we do have all present shortcomings in certain aspects. They’re either not resistant to radiation or too heavy.”
“I hear that other countries have similar programs. Their solution is to mix the materials into glue first and then move a small 3D printer up there. Then, they can print the buildings out. Of course, that’s just rumor on the Internet. I don’t know if it’s true,” said Roland.
“Whether or not it’s true, it’s a good solution, but we don’t have that kind of material technology.” The old man opened his hands and said helplessly, “Also, according to our calculations, a moon base built in such a way will expire in five to six years. After all, a 3D printer only has limited compression abilities, and the buildings can’t be too solid. We’re different from them. We aim to try our best and make our base stand on the moon for more than ten years.”
“How can I help with that?” Roland asked.
“We had been upset about the lack of perfect materials, and we intended to use whatever we had and set the expiration date of the moon base to be ten years later, until a special stone slab was delivered to our lab.” The old man smiled happily at Roland. “It’s as light as mud, and it’s much harder, more flexible, and more resistant to cold, heat, and radiation than metals of the same size. It’s the perfect building material that we know.”
Roland knew what happened.
“How many of those slabs do you need?” asked Roland with a smile. “I think I can make several dozen tons.” “Hahaha, you’re a good kid.” The old man stood up and said excitedly, “Come back to my base and help us make the mortise and tenon joints. The more, the better. We’ve prepared the molds for you.”
“A moon base with mortise and tenon structures?” Roland was shocked. “It’s simpler this way. It doesn’t even need nails. It’s also very stable. However, how do you ensure the airtightness?”
“If other countries can deliver tiny 3D printers up above, why can’t we?” The old man laughed. “Our 3D printer will specifically be devoted to the production of airtight materials and structures. Problem solved, right?”
Roland raised his thumb in admiration.
With the 3D printers dealing with the airtightness problem, the base would be a lot more reliable.
“Okay, if you’re on board, just come with us. A transfer order has already been sent here. If you agree, it will be approved immediately.” The old man waved his hand excitedly; he couldn’t wait to drag Roland back to his team.