Chapter 322 A leaf before the eyes obscures Mount Tai!

Extremely faint footsteps slowly approached from the other end of the corridor.

Soon, a figure appeared at the half-open wooden door of the office.

At this moment, in an extremely inconspicuous corner of the office.

Wang Dachui was frantically taking notes.

The ballpoint pen in his hand scratched rapidly across his small notebook, and he was intoxicated by the essence of 'acting cool' that he had summarized himself.

Hearing the commotion at the door, he stopped writing and looked up.

Another worker appeared.

This worker was wearing a pair of black, mud-stained high-top rain boots, and in his hands, he carried a large stainless steel basin.

The stainless steel basin was filled with a little less than half a basin of clear water.

And floating on the surface of the clear water was an entire, extremely large lotus leaf.

It was freshly picked from the artificial pond in the backyard of the factory.

The lotus leaf was a vibrant, dripping green.

On the uneven surface of the leaf, a few crystal-clear water droplets were rolling around.

The worker carefully carried the basin, afraid that the water inside would spill and stain the carpet, and moved step by step to the large office desk.

He placed the stainless steel basin steadily on the desktop, bearing the scorching gazes of the circle of national-level Experts around him.

He looked at Li Jiajun, who was slumped in the boss's chair, and said very seriously: "Factory Manager, this is a freshly picked lotus leaf; it is still fresh. Last time you looked at this, you said that the Fishing Rod would no longer be afraid of being soaked in seawater. Take a look this time and see if you have any more inspiration."

...

Inside the office, the Experts who had just been marveling at the Polar Bear biomimetic coating immediately and keenly caught the key words upon hearing this.

"Lotus leaf?"

"Corrosion resistance?"

Immediately, all the Experts understood.

They all quickly matched it in their minds to the last abnormal indicator on that test report.

This was definitely referring to that extremely harsh, ultimate corrosion resistance issue, which was even required to be able to resist long-term high-concentration salt spray erosion.

However, this time, the scene was not like the previous few times where someone immediately stepped forward to answer.

The polymer material Expert, who had just been in the spotlight, looked at the vibrant green lotus leaf in the basin, his brows tightly locked together.

He fell into deep contemplation.

The other Aerospace Experts, who specialized in structural mechanics and thermodynamic conduction respectively, also rubbed their chins and looked at each other.

At this moment, the others were confused.

They all knew that lotus leaves have waterproof properties, which is a very common phenomenon in nature.

But, how could one connect this natural property of a plant to cutting-edge material science capable of resisting strong acids, strong alkalis, and high-concentration seawater salt spray?

The technological gap between the two was simply too large; it could not be explained by simple component addition.

Watching this group of Experts racking their brains, Li Jiajun, sitting behind the office desk, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

He only felt his heart go numb.

'These old fellow workers really want to fix me to death.'

'They don't even intend to leave me with any underwear.'

'This is no longer offering inspiration; they are lining up to give me the torture instruments for a public execution.' This thought emerged in his heart.

Li Jiajun was speechless; he didn't even have the strength to refute it now, and could only slump there like a wooden man.

...

Just when the entire Expert team was stuck in a mental block, Old Qian stood out.

This national treasure-level authority took half a step forward and walked to the desk.

He lowered his head.

He looked at the lotus leaf that was gently swaying on the water surface, the one that is said to "emerge from the mud unstained."

He looked at the crystal-clear water droplets on the leaf surface that slid off like rolling beads, without wetting any texture of the leaf at all.

A knowing smile appeared on Old Qian's wrinkled face.

He didn't rush to speak, but extended a finger and gently nudged the edge of the lotus leaf.

The leaf surface tilted, and a few water droplets instantly gathered together, rolling down the edge into the clear water in the basin extremely smoothly, without leaving a single water mark.

"Simplify the complex."

"True skill is unadorned."

Old Qian retracted his finger and let out a heartfelt exclamation.

Hearing Old Qian's exclamation, the other Experts present immediately quieted down, and everyone's gaze focused on this old man.

Old Qian turned around to face the crowd.

A light of wisdom twinkled in his deep eyes.

Old Qian explained in detail to everyone the famous "Lotus Effect," as well as the superhydrophobic properties formed by the micro-nano dual structure on the surface of the lotus leaf.

"You have all fallen into a blind spot of conventional chemical defense thinking." Old Qian's voice was steady and powerful.

"You always want to find an absolutely inert substance to resist those corrosive liquids head-on."

"But look closely at this lotus leaf." Old Qian pointed to the vibrant green in the basin and explained slowly:

"From a microscopic perspective, the surface of the lotus leaf is not smooth at all. It is covered with countless micron-scale papillae, and on top of these papillae, it is covered with a layer of nano-scale waxy villi."

"It is precisely this extremely precise micro-nano dual structure that holds up a layer of tiny air cushions on the leaf surface that are invisible to the naked eye!"

"When water droplets or any liquid land on it, their contact angle is far greater than 150 degrees, and actual wetting cannot occur at all!"

...

With Old Qian's explanation, the eyes of the Experts present, who were originally full of confusion, lit up bit by bit.

They were all top brains in the industry.

After Old Qian's simple and clear guidance, the layer of window paper covering their eyes was instantly pierced.

Air cushion! Unable to wet! This is absolute defense at the physical level!

Old Qian looked at the sudden realization on everyone's faces and finally cast his gaze toward Li Jiajun, who was sitting in the chair.

His tone carried undisguised admiration.

He concluded: "Li Jiajun utilized exactly this point and had an epiphany about the [Lotus Effect Biomimetic Nano-coating] technology. By constructing a layer of air cushion on the physical level that cannot be wetted by liquid, he fundamentally solved the corrosion problem."

Old Qian's voice echoed in the office.

"As long as the liquid cannot even touch the surface of the material, how can it cause corrosion?"

"Whether it is seawater salt spray or strong acids and alkalis."

"In front of this biomimetic nano-coating, they can only obediently roll off."

"This is the true meaning of 'emerging from the mud unstained'!"

...

This resounding final explanation was like a thunderclap, completely dispelling the last trace of doubt that had been lingering in the minds of all the Experts.

High strength. High rigidity. Lightweight. High-temperature resistance. Low-temperature resistance. Corrosion resistance.

Thus, the six core technical problems on that top-secret report, which had kept the entire national-level scientific research team thinking day and night and struggling to overcome, were all revealed.

All the answers actually originated from the most ordinary things in nature.

After a brief silence, the Experts present burst into thunderous applause.

Their faces were flushed with excitement, and their eyes were fanatical. The applause was sincere and enthusiastic, turning this simple office into a hall of glory.

They cheered for Li Jiajun's series of genius, nature-inspired concepts.

Liu Jianguo stood to the side, watching Li Jiajun, who was surrounded by the crowd like the moon among stars.

Although he had been put through a lot before, witnessing these six miraculous technologies being unveiled one by one at this moment, he felt a great shock in his heart as well.

'This kid is truly a once-in-a-generation genius.' This thought emerged in his heart.

However, amidst the joyous atmosphere of thunderous applause, in that extremely inconspicuous corner of the office, Wang Dachui sat blankly on his small stool.

He stopped his frantic note-taking. He did not applaud with the others; even his breathing became rapid.

Wang Dachui stared fixedly at the Factory Manager surrounded by the crowd. He gasped.