Chapter 2 Half-believing, half-doubting

At 2:40 AM, Lin Mo put down the reagent bottle in his hand.

He didn't actually start the experiment in the end. It wasn't because of fear, but because he realized that if it truly succeeded, the problems he would face would be far more complex than "is this a hallucination."

Lin Mo turned off the laboratory lights, locked the door, and walked into the late-night campus. The early summer breeze carried a hint of coolness, clearing his head as it hit his face. He walked back to the dormitory along the familiar path, and that silver spiral icon remained quietly in the upper right corner of his vision, like a lingering shadow.

Back at the dormitory, Lin Mo didn't turn on the lights. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the ceiling he couldn't see in the dark, and began to recall everything that had just happened.

System. Blueprints. Room-Temperature Superconductivity.

He closed his eyes and tried to recall the "blueprints" that had flooded into his mind. To his surprise, the information was still clear—molecular formulas, temperature curves, catalyst ratios, and even the details to watch for in every step were etched into his brain.

Lin Mo opened his eyes, fished out a pen and paper from the head of the bed, and began to record.

He wrote down the first chemical formula: YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋δ. This was the known Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide high-temperature superconducting material, with a critical temperature of about minus 180 degrees Celsius. But the material on the blueprint was clearly different—the molecular formula was more complex, doped with a certain rare element, and the structure had undergone special modulation.

Next was the preparation process. Raw material mixing, high-temperature sintering, quenching, annealing... every step had precise parameters. Although Lin Mo didn't come from a materials science background, he had basic chemical common sense. These steps looked completely reasonable, even ingenious—the temperature curve was designed perfectly, staying at a certain phase transition point long enough to allow the crystal structure to align perfectly.

The most critical part was the final test. The blueprint said: Use the four-probe method to measure resistance; at minus 20 degrees Celsius, the resistance should drop to zero.

Minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Lin Mo's hand trembled. This temperature could be easily reached with ordinary refrigeration equipment. If this was true, it meant—

He didn't dare to think further.

Lin Mo put down the pen and looked at the few pages he had recorded. If he had made this up himself, he would definitely be a genius—no, a genius beyond the era. But he knew his own level very well: an ordinary physics Ph.D. Student, having published a few second-tier papers, considered "quite hardworking" in his supervisor's eyes, and that was it.

So, what was going on with that system?

Lin Mo closed his eyes and tried to call out to the system in his heart. No response. He tried to imagine the spiral icon again, and this time it appeared—still translucent, floating in the upper right corner of his vision.

[civilization climber system]

[Host: Lin Mo]

[Technology Points: 0]

[Unlocked Technology: Room-Temperature Superconductivity Material Preparation Process]

[Technologies to be Unlocked: (Click to View)]

He tried to "click to view," and a new list expanded: [New Energy], [Advanced Materials], [Aerospace Technology], [Military Technology]... under each category were gray icons showing "Locked" and the required technology points. They ranged from a few hundred to several hundred thousand.

Lin Mo's heart began to beat violently.

If this was real—if this system could really provide so many technologies beyond the era—

Then what was he holding in his hands? Was it the future of human civilization?

Fear suddenly overwhelmed the excitement.

Lin Mo opened his eyes, and the interface disappeared. He gasped for air, finding his palms covered in sweat.

"Calm down, calm down," he told himself. First, he had to confirm that the system truly existed and wasn't some mental health issue. Second, he had to confirm that the blueprint was feasible and not some elaborate scam—though who would they be scamming? What was the point of scamming a poor Ph.D. Student?

The sound of birds chirping came from outside the window. Lin Mo glanced at the time: 5:00 AM. Without realizing it, he had been sitting there for two hours.

He stood up and walked to the window. The eastern sky was beginning to turn white; a new day was about to begin. There were already students in the campus who had woken up early for morning reading, walking in small groups. Everything was so normal, so familiar.

Only he knew that some things had changed.

Lin Mo took a few deep breaths and decided to sleep for a while. He set an alarm for 9:00 AM—he was originally supposed to go to the laboratory to organize data this morning, but now he had a new plan.

Lying in bed, Lin Mo thought of the system again. He tried to ask in his heart: Who are you? Why did you choose me?

No answer. The spiral icon just stayed there quietly, like a silent bystander.

Sleepiness finally hit him. Lin Mo closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

At 9:00 AM, the alarm rang on time. Lin Mo opened his eyes, and his first reaction was to look at the upper right corner of his vision—the spiral icon was still there. It wasn't a dream.

He got up, washed up, grabbed a quick bite, and then went to the laboratory. Along the way, he tried his best to act normal, nodding and greeting the acquaintances he met. No one saw anything unusual about him.

Arriving at the laboratory, Lin Mo first checked the equipment from last night. Everything was normal, with no signs of damage. He remembered that blue light and the photon trajectories rotating in the air—had that really happened?

He shook his head and decided to do his work first.

According to the list on the blueprint, Lin Mo began to take stock of the reagents and instruments needed. Most things were in the laboratory—yttrium oxide, barium oxide, copper oxide, and some common acids and solvents. But there was a rare metal oxide that the laboratory didn't have enough stock of.

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment and decided to do the parts he could first. He took out the necessary chemicals from the reagent cabinet and began to weigh and mix them. These operations were second nature to him, and soon, the first batch of samples was ready.

Next was high-temperature sintering. The blueprint required 1250 degrees Celsius, held for 24 hours. The laboratory happened to have a high-temperature furnace, so Lin Mo set the program and put the sample in.

By the time he finished all this, it was almost noon. Lin Mo sat at the computer, staring at the temperature curve of the high-temperature furnace on the screen, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

If, 24 hours later, he really obtained that material—

"Lin Mo?"

A voice suddenly sounded from behind him. Lin Mo was startled and turned around abruptly.

It was his supervisor, Academician Wang Zhenguo.

Wang Zhenguo was sixty-six years old, with a head full of silver hair, wearing reading glasses and a shirt that had been washed until it was white. He was an authority in the field of condensed matter physics in the country and the person Lin Mo respected the most.

"Teacher Wang," Lin Mo stood up.

Wang Zhenguo walked to his side and glanced at the running high-temperature furnace: "A new experiment?"

"Yeah, just trying something out," Lin Mo tried to make his voice sound natural.

"What direction?"

Lin Mo hesitated for a second and said, "Superconducting materials."

Wang Zhenguo nodded and didn't press further. He patted Lin Mo on the shoulder: "Stayed up late again last night? You have dark circles under your eyes."

"It's alright, I just went to bed a bit late."

"Young people need to take care of their health. Experiments never end, but if your health collapses, everything is gone." Wang Zhenguo said, taking a document out of his bag, "By the way, there's an international academic exchange conference next week. A scholar named George wants to visit our laboratory. I told him to find you; take him around."

"George?" Lin Mo frowned, "Which organization is he from?"

"He said he's from some international joint laboratory, and his research direction overlaps with yours. Exchanging ideas will be good." Wang Zhenguo checked his watch, "Alright, I have a meeting. You carry on.

He turned to leave, but at the door, he turned back and said, "That superconductivity experiment, let me know if there's any progress."

"Okay, Teacher Wang."

The door closed, and Lin Mo let out a long breath.

He sat down again, staring at the display of the high-temperature furnace. There were still 23 hours to go.

In the afternoon, Lin Mo went to the Chemistry Department's reagent warehouse and used his research project funds to buy that bottle of rare metal oxide. The reagent administrator was a middle-aged woman. Looking at the slip he signed, she asked, "Xiao Lin, what experiment are you doing lately? These reagents aren't cheap."

"Just a new direction, trying it out," Lin Mo answered vaguely.

Returning to the laboratory, he continued to prepare the equipment needed for the subsequent steps. The four-probe tester, cryostat, X-ray diffractometer... the laboratory had all of these; he just needed to reserve time for them. Lin Mo set the time for the morning of the day after tomorrow—if everything went well, the sample should be prepared by then.

In the evening, as Lin Mo was about to leave the laboratory, his phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Is this Dr. Lin Mo?" a voice with a foreign accent said in fluent Chinese. "I am George White. I'm coming to Huaqing University for an exchange next week. Professor Wang Zhenguo said I could find you to visit the laboratory. I wanted to contact you in advance; I wonder if it's convenient?"

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, remembering what his supervisor had said in the afternoon.

"Oh, hello. It's convenient. You can just come directly to the laboratory when the time comes."

"That's great. I heard you are doing research in quantum optics and am very interested. I hope to have an in-depth exchange with you." The other person's voice sounded very enthusiastic. "Do you have time tomorrow? We could grab a coffee first."

"Tomorrow..." Lin Mo glanced at the high-temperature furnace that was still running. "Tomorrow might be a bit busy. Let's talk when you arrive."

"Alright, alright, then I'll contact you when I get there. Looking forward to meeting you!"

The call ended. Lin Mo stared at his phone screen, feeling something was slightly off—why was this person in such a hurry?

He pushed the thought aside and didn't think much of it. The most important thing now was the result in 24 hours.

At 9:00 PM, Lin Mo checked the running status of the high-temperature furnace one last time; everything was normal. He turned off the lights and left the laboratory. Tomorrow was Saturday, and he planned to come early in the morning to keep watch.

Back at the dormitory, Lin Mo lay in bed and called out to the system again. The spiral icon was still there, but there were no new prompts. He looked at it, a strange feeling rising in his heart—like he had been chosen by something, both excited and uneasy.

"Who are you, exactly?" he asked softly.

No answer.

Lin Mo closed his eyes. In the last bit of clarity before falling asleep, he made a decision: Tomorrow, no matter what, he would complete that experiment. If it really succeeded—

No, wait until it succeeds before thinking about that.

He turned over and fell into a deep sleep.