Chapter 87: The Lighthouse Nation, the Eastern Metaphysics Research Institute Established!

Langley, Lighthouse Country.

A sealed meeting room filled with the smell of tobacco and an air of anxiety.

The slide projector hummed, its beam of light cutting through the dust dancing in the air.

"Gentlemen, first of all, wipe those sci-fi movie expressions off your faces."

Deputy Director Smith tapped the table, pointing to the close-ups of a Red Star fan and a razor on the screen.

"In the past year, this obscure 'Red Star Labor Service Agency'..."

"...has not only earned over ten million US dollars in foreign exchange for China but has also shifted the strategic landscape of China's rare earth trade."

"Can anyone explain to me..."

"...exactly what kind of organization this 'Service Center' is?"

"A secret branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences? Or a special military laboratory?"

"Why does our intelligence network know absolutely nothing about this 'Service Center'?"

"Sir, actually..." An intelligence officer spoke with a grim expression.

"The primary business of this Chinese 'Service Center' is... giving haircuts to neighborhood grannies and helping residents fix their pots."

"This type of institution is generally not within our scope of interest."

"Fixing pots?!"

Smith took a deep breath, feeling his intelligence had been insulted.

"Are you trying to tell me that a Service Center that cuts hair and fixes pots earned over 10 million US dollars in a year?"

"And that they've developed things that even our top scientists in the Lighthouse Country haven't figured out?"

The meeting room fell into a dead silence.

This wasn't just magical; it was 'Outrageous's mother opening the door for Outrageous'—beyond any level of absurdity!

To break the suffocating awkwardness, a scientist stood up with gritted teeth, waving a laboratory report in his hand.

"The magnetic energy product of this third-generation permanent magnet, known as 'neodymium iron boron,' exceeds our imagination."

"We attempted reverse engineering, but we discovered extremely subtle interference elements embedded within its molecular structure."

"To crack it would take at least a year."

"A year?" Smith snorted coldly.

"In a year, every micro-motor in the world might be stamped with 'Made in China'."

"I heard General Electric's lab is also working on this?"

"Yes, they originally expected results by 1982." The scientist wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"But now it seems the Chinese have not only overtaken us, they've blocked the road behind them as well."

The scientist looked utterly confused.

"The strangest thing is that we haven't found any R&D information from China regarding this."

"This third-generation permanent magnet seems to have appeared out of thin air."

"Regarding that..."

The intelligence officer opened another report, his expression strange.

"Robert Harrison from Sears Department Store provided a highly valuable contact report."

"That young man named Lin Xi revealed that Red Star's technical breakthroughs do not originate from physics as we know it."

"But rather from... mysterious Oriental Metaphysics."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

A scientist pushed up his glasses, his face full of questions: "What? Metaphysics?"

"Yes. It's recorded very clearly in the report."

The intelligence officer swallowed hard and read word for word:

"The curvature of the fan blades was derived from the 'mutual generation and overcoming of the Five Elements,' emphasizing 'overcoming hardness with softness'."

"They view air as 'Qi' and use Tai Chi principles to make the wind harmonious."

"As for the razor, the magnetic circuit layout of the micro-motor refers to the 'Bagua'."

"And that ridiculously thin blade net is said to be produced using an ancient technique called 'Turtle Breathing Technique'."

"The goal is to keep the metal's 'breathing frequency consistent' as it cools."

"Nonsense! Ridiculous!"

A physicist suddenly stood up and argued loudly:

"This is nothing but absurd witchcraft!"

"How can magnetic moments and lattice constants have anything to do with some Bagua?"

"Turtle Breathing Technique? What is that? Making metal hold its breath?"

"Sit down!"

Smith spoke suddenly, his eyes unnervingly deep. "Don't be so quick to deny it."

He looked around the room, his tone eerie.

"Don't forget that Niels Bohr, the founder of quantum mechanics, only understood wave-particle duality after seeing China's Tai Chi diagram."

"If Bohr could do it, why can't others?"

"Perhaps within that ancient philosophy, there truly are ultimate mathematical models hidden that we have yet to decode."

As these words were spoken, the physicists who had been raging just a moment ago were stunned.

They stared at each other in silence.

In that instant, the logic actually... formed a closed loop?

After all, that was Bohr!

"Or do you have another explanation?"

The big boss waved his hand and made the final decision.

"Whether it's metaphysics or not, we'd rather believe it than not."

"First, immediately establish the 'Oriental Metaphysics Industrial Application' Task Force!"

"Organize the best Sinologists, theologians, and physicists in America to specifically study the application of Oriental Metaphysics in cutting-edge industry!"

"Second, strengthen the collection of technological intelligence."

"If China can produce one 'neodymium iron boron,' it can produce a second."

"We cannot let it happen again where we only learn the name of a product after it has been sold all over the world."

"Third, and most importantly."

He pointed to the slide; on the screen was a silhouette of Lin Xi at the Canton Fair.

"Keep a close eye on this Lin Xi."

"This young man is the key figure."

"If necessary..."

He paused, his tone turning cold, "I authorize the use of our deep agents lurking in China, as well as senior agents from headquarters."

"I want to know exactly how much more he has stored in that head of his."

...

In a corner of the Fifth Workshop, in a laboratory temporarily converted from a storage room.

Zzzzzzz—

High-frequency vibrations echoed in the air.

Lin Xi, wearing goggles, was staring at a stainless steel tank.

This was originally an industrial ultrasonic cleaner used for washing precision parts, but now it emitted a strong smell of Chinese medicine.

The tank was filled with high-purity alcohol, and the purple-black liquid was churning violently, like boiling magma.

"Safflower, Frankincense, Myrrh, Chuanxiong..."

Lin Xi muttered to himself as he watched the guidance from the bullet chats in the live stream.

["Streamer, turn up the power! You must completely shatter the cell walls; we need the medicinal molecules!"]

["This isn't brewing medicine; this is Cyberpunk Alchemy!"]

["If you don't know, don't talk nonsense. This is called ultrasonic low-temperature extraction; it's a hundred times more efficient than boiling over a fire!"]

Lin Xi reached out and turned off the machine, a satisfied smile appearing on his face as he looked at the tank of shiny black liquid.

To cure Old He, his great manager...

...the netizens had even brought out their 'folk extraction' skills!

...

At the same time, at the Red Star Laboratory expansion construction site.

"Slow down! That level must be calibrated!"

He Zhenhua stood under the scaffolding, shouting directions.

He wore a military coat, and his empty left sleeve flapped loudly in the wind.

Though he had only been there for two days...

...his almost obsessive-compulsive rigor had already made the habitually lazy workers a bit intimidated.

Suddenly, a violent spasm came from the stump of his left shoulder.

The feeling was like a pair of red-hot iron pincers...

...tightly gripping his non-existent left hand.

And then twisting and tearing with all their might!