918: Chapter 913 Good Craftsmanship

Liu Xing slapped a handwritten list onto the table, densely packed with equipment names, many of which were even English abbreviations.

Shen Yan glanced at it and pushed the list to An Ran, who was sitting opposite him.

"Money is not an issue. I want to see the equipment on this list in the laboratory before dawn tomorrow."

An Ran, wearing eight-centimeter heels, took the list without even a tremor in her fingers, as if it were a grocery shopping list.

"Some equipment isn't available in stock domestically. I've had Ning Ke arrange for special channels to air freight them from Germany and Japan. They should arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Shen Yan never had to worry about An Ran's work twice; this woman possessed astonishing talent and efficiency when it came to spending money.

"Guang Ke, raise the security level to the highest. Besides us here on this floor, not even a fly is allowed to enter."

Shen Yan leaned back in his leather executive chair, his fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest—a habitual gesture when he was deep in thought.

Chen Guangke had just washed his face, and the plateau blush hadn't faded yet. Hearing this, he immediately pulled out the unholstered engineer's shovel from behind his waist and brandished it.

"Don't worry, Brother Yan, anyone who dares to snoop around here, I'll crack their head open."

Although his words were crude, everyone knew Chen Guangke wasn't joking. The security force in this building now consisted entirely of the old brothers who had fought alongside Shen Yan to build his empire.

Wu Ya walked in with several hot coffees. Even in this tense atmosphere, she maintained her unique elegance and competence.

She placed a strong Americano next to Shen Yan's hand, a hint of concern hidden in her eyes, then quickly switched back to work mode.

"Mr. Shen, the registration documents are ready. Have you decided on the laboratory's name?"

Shen Yan took a sip of coffee; the bitter taste slightly eased his tense nerves.

"Jinsan."

He wrote these two characters on the white paper on the table, his brushstrokes sharp and piercing through the paper.

"Repairing broken porcelain with gold powder, making imperfections more precious than perfection—this is not only the technology we aim to develop but also what Shenyan Group will pursue next."

Wu Ya's eyes lit up as she looked at the two characters, quickly recording them on her tablet.

"Jinsan New Materials Laboratory. I'll go handle the procedures immediately, registering it as an independent subsidiary under the group to facilitate future capital operations."

After arranging the basic work, Shen Yan sent the others to rest but remained alone in his office.

Outside the window, the night view of Jinghai was bustling and brilliant, with traffic converging into flowing rivers of light. Yet, beneath this prosperity, countless undercurrents surged.

"System."

Shen Yan silently recited in his mind.

[Today's intelligence has been updated]

[Advanced Intelligence: Han Mo, former chief researcher at the National Key Materials Laboratory, was blacklisted by the industry for exposing academic fraud. He now lives in seclusion, repairing antiques in Jinghai's Panjiayuan Antique Market. A low-temperature polymer polymerization patent in his possession can perfectly solve the curing problem of the repair fluid.]

[Random Mission Issued: Recruit Han Mo to join Jinsan Laboratory. Reward: One piece of advanced wealth intelligence.]

Shen Yan's lips curved slightly as he looked at the text appearing on his retina.

He had searched high and low for it, only to find it effortlessly.

Early the next morning, Shen Yan changed into casual clothes, didn't bring a driver, and only called Chen Guangke. The two drove an inconspicuous Audi A6 to Panjiayuan.

Panjiayuan was bustling with people in the morning, full of vendors trading cultural artifacts and calligraphy, and tourists looking for bargains.

The air was filled with the aroma of jianbing guozi and the musty smell of old paper.

Following the system's positioning, Shen Yan found a small shop without even a sign in a secluded alley at the market's furthest corner.

A wooden sign hung at the shop's entrance, crookedly scrawled with "Professional Ceramic Mending, Jade Repair."

A middle-aged man in a gray gown sat on a small stool, holding a tiny drill, meticulously drilling holes in a Zisha teapot that had broken into three pieces.

His hair was a bird's nest, and his beard was scruffy, but his hands were terrifyingly steady; each drill was as precise as microsurgery.

"Excellent craftsmanship."

Shen Yan watched him from behind for two minutes, then suddenly spoke.

The man's hands didn't stop, and he didn't even lift his head.

"If you're here to get something repaired, queue up. If you're just watching, move aside; you're blocking the light."

His voice was hoarse, carrying an air of cold indifference that kept strangers at bay.

Chen Guangke, who had never endured such disrespect, was about to step forward to argue but was stopped by Shen Yan's raised hand.

"Dr. Han Mo, a top expert in polymer materials science, how did you end up mending teapots here?"

Shen Yan's words were not loud, but they struck like a bolt of lightning, causing the middle-aged man's back to stiffen abruptly.

The drill stopped spinning. Han Mo slowly turned around, two cold glints instantly shooting from his cloudy eyes, staring intently at Shen Yan.

"Who are you? Who sent you?"

"If it's that Zhang fellow again trying to humiliate me, tell him to get lost. I, Han Mo, would rather starve to death than work for his company."

Han Mo was very agitated, the drill in his hand creaking as he clenched it.

Shen Yan smiled, pulled a small stool over, and sat down, taking a small transparent glass bottle from his pocket.

The bottle contained a few milliliters of the repair fluid that had just been decanted last night.

"I'm not interested in your old grudges. I came to show you something."

Shen Yan placed the small bottle next to the still-unrepaired Zisha teapot.

Han Mo was initially disdainful, but out of professional instinct, his gaze fell upon the bottle.

The pale golden liquid exhibited a strange fluidity in the sunlight, as if it were alive.

"What is this? A new type of glue?"

Han Mo frowned, picked up the bottle, and shook it.

"Open it and see."

Shen Yan made a gesture of invitation.

Han Mo skeptically unscrewed the cap, used a toothpick to pick up a little liquid, and applied it to the fractured surface of the Zisha teapot.

For the first few seconds, nothing happened.

Just as Han Mo was about to throw the bottle back and make a few sarcastic remarks, a miracle occurred.

Tiny bubbles began to emerge from the liquid-coated fracture surface. Immediately after, the two Zisha fragments seemed to be attracted by a magnetic force, automatically moving towards the center.

The crack healed at a visible speed, and in the end, not even a trace was left, as if the teapot had never been broken.

Clang—

The drill in Han Mo's hand dropped to the ground, hitting the bluestone slab with a crisp sound.

He looked as if he had been struck by lightning, his hands trembling as he picked up the Zisha teapot, bringing it close to his eyes for repeated inspection.

"This... this is impossible... Molecular recombination? Adaptive filling?"

"What kind of material is this? How can it achieve such activity at room temperature?"