8: Chapter 8's bizarre title sold out instantly!

As Lin Zhou's promotion took effect and the first batch of "Title Certificates" was sent out, netizens who received their "Iron Certificates" shared photos on forums and social media, sparking a new round of heated discussion. This "emotional value" attraction far exceeded Lin Zhou's expectations.

"My god, it actually shipped! I've got my County Baron certificate!"

"The certificate is finely crafted, and the electroplated silver has a great texture!"

"Holding this certificate, it really feels like a nation is about to be founded!"

"Who would have thought I'd become an aristocrat in this lifetime? Even if it's in a cyber world!"

With the appearance of physical items and Lin Zhou occasionally shouting slogans like "Core technology breakthrough imminent" and "Water crisis completely resolved" in his livestreams, the sales momentum for the titles rose again.

Over the next two weeks, new funds continued to pour into Lin Zhou's account.

Excluding the 20 "Founding County Barons" and 6 "Founding County Viscounts" sold previously, he sold another 30 "Founding County Barons" at 1,000 yuan each, totaling 30,000 yuan.

10 more "Founding County Viscounts" were sold at 5,000 yuan each, totaling 50,000 yuan.

Unexpectedly, the "Founding County Earl" finally broke the deadlock, with 2 sold at 10,000 yuan each, totaling 20,000 yuan.

One "Founding Rural Marquis" was also added for 50,000 yuan.

What Lin Zhou found most encouraging was that another "tycoon" splurged 100,000 yuan to obtain the third "Founding Duke of the State"!

In total, within a month, Lin Zhou raised another sum through selling titles:

(30 * 1000) + (10 * 5000) + (2 * 10000) + (1 * 50000) + (1 * 100000) = 30,000 + 50,000 + 20,000 + 50,000 + 100,000 = 250,000 yuan!

Adding the 150,000 yuan raised previously, the total amount had reached 400,000 yuan!

This sum might be considered a fortune for an ordinary programmer, but for a "country," it was still just a drop in the bucket. However, for early-stage scientific research, it was no different from timely assistance.

Lin Zhou worked intensely to produce and send out these new Title Certificates. With every one he made, he felt as if the future of the "Cyber Freedom Republic" was drawing closer to reality, step by step.

The one-month time limit passed quickly, and the date Lin Zhou had agreed upon with the "Spring of the Material Dog" team approached. Carrying the remaining 200,000-plus yuan, he set off for the university laboratory.

Arriving at the university, "Spring of the Material Dog"—a young man around thirty named Chen Fan, with thick lenses and messy hair—was waiting at the school gate.

"Mr. Lin, I am Chen Fan. I have studied your theory for a long time and am very much looking forward to this." Chen Fan reached out to shake hands with Lin Zhou, his eyes revealing the intense investigative desire unique to academic researchers.

"Dr. Chen Fan, thank you and your team for joining." Lin Zhou shook back with a calm smile.

Chen Fan led Lin Zhou through the bustling campus to the laboratory of the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

In the lab, several young master's and doctoral students were busy. Lin Zhou's appearance piqued their curiosity; after all, the founder of the "Cyber Freedom Republic" was already somewhat famous online.

"Mr. Lin, this is our main battlefield." Chen Fan pointed to rows of precision instruments with a look of pride.

Lin Zhou scanned the surroundings; he was already familiar with these devices. Although he wasn't a materials science major, in a certain time and space in his world, he had crammed relevant knowledge to complete a polymer materials project.

"Good, Dr. Chen Fan. Let's get started as soon as possible," Lin Zhou responded.

From then on, Lin Zhou and Chen Fan's team threw themselves into intense R&D.

On the surface, Lin Zhou played the role of "black tech" provider and sponsor, offering "concepts" and "theoretical guidance," while the actual experimental operations and verification were completed by Chen Fan and his students.

However, problems kept cropping up during the experiments. The preparation of the new adsorption material required extremely precise control of temperature, pressure, and time, along with meticulous screening of catalysts.

"Mr. Lin, according to the structural model you provided, the samples we synthesized show an improvement in adsorption efficiency, but they haven't reached the 'high efficiency' level you described." Chen Fan frowned, pointing to the data in the experimental report.

Lin Zhou pretended to be in deep thought, then "casually" suggested a direction: "Dr. Chen Fan, have you considered adjusting the doping ratio of a certain specific element during synthesis? I once envisioned in a theoretical model that a tiny difference might lead to a significant change in the structure."

Chen Fan's eyes flashed: "Doping ratio? We are currently using a general ratio. If we make a slight adjustment, it could indeed affect the growth of the molecular crystals. We'll try it immediately!"

This kind of "guidance" was common during the experiments.

Lin Zhou couldn't directly state the final answer. As a programmer, if he directly gave the precise parameters for material preparation, it would defy common sense and might instead arouse the suspicion of professionals. He could only use "heuristic" guidance to lead Chen Fan's team step by step toward the correct answer.

Whenever the team hit a bottleneck, Lin Zhou could always timely propose a "bold assumption" or "recall" a "vague theory" to open up new lines of thought for the team.

This "pointing the way" style of participation satisfied the research team's desire for exploration while also advancing the project.

Days passed, and the laboratory lights often stayed on until late at night. Lin Zhou's funds were continuously invested in consumables and equipment maintenance. Fortunately, title sales continued; although the amounts had decreased, they still managed to support the laboratory expenses.

Finally, a month later, a burst of cheering erupted in the laboratory.

"We did it! Mr. Lin! We succeeded!" Chen Fan rushed toward Lin Zhou excitedly, his expression a mix of disbelief and ecstasy.

In his hand was a test report clearly marking the adsorption efficiency of the new material, which had finally reached the staggering figure Lin Zhou had initially described!

"This brand-new Nanoporous Material shows excellent water molecule capture capability! At the same time, its regeneration ability and stability are both superb!" Chen Fan was so excited his words were jumbled. "This is truly a miracle in the field of materials science! It's enough to revolutionize existing water treatment technology!"

Lin Zhou stared at the report; although he had expected it, he still felt a sense of heartfelt satisfaction.

"Dr. Chen Fan, congratulations. This is the result of your team's hard work," Lin Zhou said with a smile.

Everyone in Chen Fan's team gathered around, their faces showing the joy of success. They knew this discovery was enough to add a brilliant stroke to their respective academic careers.

And Lin Zhou's black technology had finally stepped from paper into reality.

At this point, he was one step closer to making the "Cyber Freedom Republic" recognized by the world.