Chapter 22 Successful Trial

At six in the morning, Lin Mo woke up.

It wasn't the alarm clock that woke him, but the tension in his mind. Today was the eighteenth experiment of the pilot line, and the third verification after parameter adjustments. The first two had been successful, but the third one was the key—continuous, stable output was the true hallmark of a successful pilot test.

He finished washing up and walked out of his room. The corridor was very quiet, with only the sound of his own footsteps. As he passed the stairwell, he subconsciously glanced over—Zhao Gang wasn't there. Security had been noticeably tightened in the last few days, yet Zhao Gang himself appeared less frequently. Lin Mo knew this meant he was busy with more important matters.

There weren't many people in the cafeteria. Lin Mo got a bowl of porridge, and just as he sat down, Li Xiao came running over with her tray.

"Good morning, Teacher Lin!" She plopped down, her eyes sparkling. "I woke up at four o'clock today; I couldn't sleep!"

Lin Mo glanced at her. "Nervous?"

Li Xiao nodded vigorously. "More nervous than the college entrance exam! If you don't do well on the entrance exam, you can retake it, but if this succeeds, then it's…"

She paused, lowering her voice. "That's something that will change the world!"

Lin Mo smiled but didn't speak. However, he knew in his heart that Li Xiao was right. A successful pilot test meant that Room-Temperature Superconductivity materials had taken the most crucial step from the laboratory toward industrialization. Once this step was crossed, what followed would be mass production, application, and industrial upgrading…

He thought of the number in the system: a balance of 10 research points, with 120 points needed for the next stage.

A successful pilot test should earn him quite a bit.

At seven-thirty, Lin Mo arrived punctually at the pilot workshop on the third underground floor.

This was a newly renovated area, covering about three hundred square meters, with a two-story-high piece of equipment standing in the center—a stainless steel reactor, dense pipelines, flashing instrument panels, and buzzing vacuum pumps. This was the pilot line that the base had urgently assembled by pooling resources from across the country over the past month.

Zhang Zhe was already there, doing a final check on the console screen. Academician was crouching next to the equipment, holding a tablet, not sure what he was recording. Su Qing was preparing the testing instruments and waved at Lin Mo when she saw him enter.

"Is everything ready?" Lin Mo asked.

Zhang Zhe looked up and nodded. "The raw material batch inspection passed, the equipment is running normally, and the environmental parameters meet the requirements. We can begin."

Lin Mo walked to the console, looked at the dense array of buttons and instruments, and took a deep breath.

"Then let's begin."

At eight o'clock sharp, the first batch of raw materials was fed into the reactor.

The next four hours were the most tense for the entire team. The temperature had to be strictly controlled, pressure had to be monitored in real-time, and not a single error could occur in any step. Lin Mo stood at the console, eyes fixed on the curves on the screen, not daring to relax for a moment.

Zhang Zhe operated the equipment nearby, his fingers dancing across the buttons with the precision of a machine. Academician ran back and forth, recording parameters at every time point. Su Qing took samples every half hour and sent them to the adjacent testing room for analysis.

Li Xiao couldn't help much, so she stood behind Lin Mo, not daring to breathe loudly.

At eleven-twenty, the reaction entered its final stage.

"Cool down," Lin Mo said. "Control the rate at 2.5 degrees per minute."

Zhang Zhe glanced at him without speaking, but his fingers had already pressed the buttons.

On the screen, the temperature curve began to drop slowly. Everyone stared at that line, even holding their breath.

At twelve o'clock sharp, the reaction ended.

The first batch of material was produced.

Su Qing rushed into the testing room with the sample, and the door closed behind her. Lin Mo stood where he was, staring at the closed door, his palms already sweating.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes…

The door opened.

Su Qing walked out, her expression strange—as if she wanted to laugh, but was also holding something back.

"What happened?" Li Xiao couldn't help asking. "Did it work?"

Su Qing looked at her and suddenly smiled, a bright, radiant smile.

"99.8%," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "For the third consecutive batch, the purity is stable at over 99.7%. The pilot test is a success."

The workshop was silent for a second, then erupted into cheers.

Li Xiao was the first to jump up, hugging Su Qing, and the two of them jumped and shouted. Academician stood nearby, smiling so wide he couldn't close his mouth, not even noticing his glasses sliding down to the tip of his nose. Even Zhang Zhe revealed a rare smile on his face.

Lin Mo stood where he was, watching them cheer, and a strange feeling welled up in his heart—not wild joy, but a sense of calm, a solid feeling of knowing his hard work hadn't been in vain.

He walked to the console, looked at the final data frozen on the screen, and whispered, "It's done."

The system's voice rang in his mind: "Host has overcome the pilot test challenge and completed a critical scientific research task. Calculating contribution value…"

"Assessment complete: The successful pilot test is a key breakthrough from laboratory to industrialization; the system rates it as a 'Major Achievement'. research points +200."

"Current research points balance: 210 points."

"Unlocked next stage exchange items: Mass Production Process Package (150 points required), Application Scenario Analysis (80 points required), Patent Layout Strategy (60 points required)."

Lin Mo closed his eyes, feeling the information flow through his mind.

200 points. Four times more than a research paper.

It seems the system's recognition for "key breakthroughs" is far higher than for routine achievements.

"Teacher Lin!"

Li Xiao's voice pulled him back to reality. He opened his eyes and saw Li Xiao holding her phone up toward him.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a photo!" Li Xiao said as if it were obvious. "This is a historic moment! It must be recorded!"

Lin Mo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Stop taking pictures, hurry up and prepare the next batch. Continuous, stable output is the true success."

Li Xiao stuck out her tongue and put away her phone, but the smile on her face remained irrepressible.

At four in the afternoon, the third batch of material was produced.

Test results: 99.8%, 99.8%, 99.7%. Three consecutive batches stable at over 99.7%.

Fang Lin appeared at the workshop entrance, though no one knew when she had arrived. She stood there, looking at the glistening material samples, with something in her eyes that Lin Mo had never seen before—it was relief, excitement, and the satisfaction of a guardian seeing the results of their efforts.

"You've worked hard." She walked up to Lin Mo, her voice low but sincere. "From today on, this project officially enters a new stage."

Lin Mo looked at her and suddenly asked, "Director Fang, what comes next?"

Fang Lin smiled. "Next? You'll know soon enough."

She didn't say anything more and turned to leave. Walking to the door, she looked back at Lin Mo, her expression carrying a strange look—like pride, yet also like worry.

At six in the evening, Lin Mo walked out of the workshop.

The corridor was quiet, with only the sound of his own footsteps. When he reached the elevator, he saw Zhao Gang standing there, back to him, looking at the mountains outside the window. Lin Mo walked over and stood next to him.

"Heard it was a success?" Zhao Gang didn't turn around.

"It was."

Zhao Gang was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Congratulations."

Lin Mo looked at his cold, hard profile and suddenly remembered the strange look in Fang Lin's eyes earlier.

"Captain Zhao," he asked, "is there something wrong?"

Zhao Gang turned his head and glanced at him. There was something in his eyes that Lin Mo couldn't decipher—it was vigilance, worry, and an indescribable complexity.

"It's nothing," he said. "Just do your job."

He turned to leave, took a few steps, then stopped and said without looking back, "Don't go to the cafeteria alone at night from now on. Let that girl named Li accompany you."

Lin Mo was stunned and wanted to ask more, but Zhao Gang had already walked away.

That evening, the base cafeteria served an unprecedented extra meal.

Braised pork, sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed fish, and a large pot of steaming chicken soup. Li Xiao ate until her mouth was oily, praising the chef's skills while she ate. Academician, for once, wasn't in a rush to go back and check data, leisurely gnawing on a rib. Su Qing and Li Xiao huddled together, chatting away.

Zhang Zhe sat across from Lin Mo, eating at a steady pace.

"What are your plans for the next step?" he asked.

Lin Mo put down his chopsticks. "First, stabilize the process and produce more than ten consecutive batches. Then…"

He paused, looking at the pitch-black night outside the window. "Then prepare for mass production."

Zhang Zhe nodded and didn't say anything more.

After eating, Lin Mo walked out of the cafeteria alone.

The night breeze blew, carrying the chill of early autumn. He stood at the entrance, watching the silhouettes of the mountains in the distance, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

The pilot test was a success; that was a good thing. But Zhao Gang's words made him feel vaguely uneasy.

"Don't go to the cafeteria alone at night from now on."

That cold, hard-headed security chief never said things without meaning.

Lin Mo turned to walk back. Passing through the lobby on the first floor, he saw Zhao Gang standing at the door of the security control room, facing the screens on the wall. The screens displayed dense surveillance footage, with every corner clearly visible. Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then walked over.

"Captain Zhao."

Zhao Gang turned his head and looked at him.

"That thing you said earlier," Lin Mo asked, "is there some situation?"

Zhao Gang was silent for a few seconds, then said, "No situation, just a routine reminder."

Lin Mo looked at him, knowing he was lying. But he also knew that if Zhao Gang didn't say, there must be a reason.

"Fine." He nodded. "I'll be careful from now on."

He turned to leave, took a few steps, and heard Zhao Gang's voice from behind.

"Dr. Lin."

Lin Mo turned back.

Zhao Gang stood at the door, the light casting mottled shadows on his face. He looked at Lin Mo, a complex emotion in his eyes.

"You do your work," he said, "the things outside, leave that to us."

Lin Mo looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"I know," he said. "I've always known."

Returning to his room, Lin Mo lay on the bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Outside the window, the mountain wind howled. In the distance, faint bird calls could be heard, sounding exceptionally clear in the silent night.

He closed his eyes, and the numbers from the system appeared in his mind: 210 research points, with 150, 80, and 60 needed for the next stages…

The road ahead was still long.

But he knew he was not alone.