Chapter 34 Zhao Gang Returns to the Team

At 8:00 AM, a military SUV pulled up to the base gate.

Zhao Gang pushed the door open. The bandage on his left arm had been removed, leaving only a faint scar. He flexed his arm; although a bit stiff, it no longer hindered normal movement.

The young security guard on duty at the gate saw him, and his eyes lit up: "Captain Zhao! You're back!"

Zhao Gang nodded and walked inside.

"Captain Zhao, is the injury healed?" The young security guard caught up, his face full of concern.

"It's healed." Zhao Gang was concise.

"Then you are here to..."

"Return to duty." Zhao Gang said without looking back.

The young security guard was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "I knew it, you can't stay idle."

Zhao Gang ignored him and walked straight to the third underground floor.

He didn't know why he had to go there. According to the rules, the first thing to do upon returning to duty should be to report to Fang Lin. But his feet had walked themselves to the door of the laboratory.

Through the glass, he saw Lin Mo sitting in front of the console, writing and drawing on the screen. Li Xiao was standing beside him, and the two were discussing something, occasionally pointing at the screen, occasionally arguing a bit.

Zhao Gang stood there for a long time.

He remembered a month ago, the first time he stood in this position, looking at the "bookworm" inside. At that time, he felt that those doing scientific research were just a group of greenhouse flowers that needed protection.

Now he knew, they were not flowers, but seeds.

Seeds that could grow into towering trees.

He was about to turn and leave when Li Xiao suddenly looked up and saw him.

"Captain Zhao!" She exclaimed, then pulled Lin Mo and ran to the door, "Teacher Lin! Captain Zhao is back!"

Lin Mo looked up, saw Zhao Gang outside the window, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled.

He stood up, walked to the door, and opened the door of the laboratory.

"Captain Zhao." He reached out his hand.

Zhao Gang held that hand.

The two hands held together and shook vigorously.

"Is the injury healed?" Lin Mo asked.

"It's healed." Zhao Gang said.

"That's good." Lin Mo stepped aside, "Come in and sit?"

Zhao Gang hesitated for a moment, but still followed him inside.

In the laboratory, Zhang Zhe looked up at him, nodded, and that counted as a greeting. Academician stood up somewhat cautiously and called out "Captain Zhao". Su Qing smiled and waved at him.

Zhao Gang stood in the middle of the laboratory, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.

He was a soldier, accustomed to the battlefield, the training ground, and the security control room. This laboratory, full of instruments and data, made him feel out of place.

"Sit." Lin Mo pointed to a chair nearby.

Zhao Gang sat down, his eyes sweeping over the documents on the table. He couldn't understand a single word of those dense data and formulas.

"What... are you busy with?" He asked.

Lin Mo sat down beside him: "Lithium-Sulfur Battery."

Zhao Gang remembered what Lin Mo had said last time: "The kind that can let electric vehicles run three thousand kilometers?"

Lin Mo nodded.

Zhao Gang was silent for a few seconds, then asked: "Is it difficult?"

Lin Mo thought for a while: "It's difficult. Many people have been working on it for decades and haven't succeeded."

Zhao Gang looked at him: "Then are you confident?"

Lin Mo met his gaze: "Yes."

Zhao Gang stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled.

"Alright," he said, "I just like to hear you say 'Yes'."

Li Xiao leaned over and asked with a grin: "Captain Zhao, now that your injury is healed, are you going to stand guard at our laboratory door every day again?"

Zhao Gang glanced at her and didn't speak.

Li Xiao wasn't afraid of him and continued: "You don't know, in the days you weren't here, Teacher Lin mentioned you every day. Saying things like 'I wonder how Captain Zhao is doing' and 'I wonder if the injury is healed yet'..."

"Li Xiao." Lin Mo interrupted her.

Li Xiao stuck out her tongue, retracted it, and continued looking at the data.

Zhao Gang looked at Lin Mo, a trace of complex emotion in his eyes.

"Dr. Lin," he suddenly said, "I want to learn something."

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment: "Learn what?"

Zhao Gang pointed to the documents on the table: "These. The things you are doing. I want to learn the basics, at least to be able to know what you are doing."

Lin Mo looked at him and didn't speak for a while.

Zhao Gang continued: "I used to think that to protect a person, it was enough to just block bullets. But now I know that what you are doing is much more dangerous than bullets."

He looked into Lin Mo's eyes: "I want to understand a little. That way, when you encounter problems, I might be able to help. Not just the kind of help that involves blocking bullets."

The laboratory was quiet for a few seconds.

Li Xiao, Zhang Zhe, Academician, and Su Qing all looked over here.

Lin Mo was silent for a while, then stood up and walked to the bookshelf. He pulled out a few books, hugged them, and put them in front of Zhao Gang.

"Introduction to Physics"

"Fundamentals of Materials Science"

"Principles of Electrochemistry"

"Introduction to New Energy Technology"

"These," he said, "are the textbooks from when I was an undergraduate. You read them first, and ask me if you don't understand."

Zhao Gang looked at those books. He knew every word on the cover, but put together, he didn't know what they meant.

He picked up the top one, "Introduction to Physics", and opened the first page.

Eyes full of formulas and terminology.

He looked up at Lin Mo: "This... can be understood?"

Lin Mo smiled: "Read slowly. If there are parts you don't understand, mark them down, and I'll teach you."

Zhao Gang nodded, closed the book, and hugged it in his arms.

"Alright," he said, "Then I'll go back and read."

He stood up, walked to the door, stopped, turned back and said: "Dr. Lin, thanks."

Lin Mo shook his head: "You're welcome."

Zhao Gang hugged the books and walked out of the laboratory.

In the corridor, several security personnel saw him and were stunned.

"Captain Zhao, what are you holding?"

Zhao Gang looked down at the books in his arms and said expressionlessly: "Books."

"Books?" The young security guard widened his eyes, "You read books?"

Zhao Gang glanced at him, and that look made the young security guard immediately shut his mouth.

Zhao Gang hugged the books and walked into the security control room. He put the books on the table, sat on the chair, and stared at the "Introduction to Physics" for a long time.

Then he opened the first page.

Chapter 1: Basics of Mechanics.

He took a deep breath and started reading.

At 9:00 PM, Lin Mo came out of the laboratory, preparing to go to the cafeteria to eat something.

Passing by the security control room, he stopped.

Through the glass, he saw Zhao Gang still sitting inside, with "Introduction to Physics" spread out in front of him. He was holding a pen in his hand, writing something on a notebook, his brows furrowed tightly.

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, pushed the door and went in.

Zhao Gang looked up, saw him, and was stunned for a moment.

"Dr. Lin?"

Lin Mo walked over and glanced at his notebook. On it were written a few formulas crookedly, the handwriting was like a primary school student's, but each one was written very seriously.

"Where have you read to?" Lin Mo asked.

Zhao Gang pointed to the book: "Newton's Three Laws."

Lin Mo nodded: "Can you understand it?"

Zhao Gang was silent for two seconds, then said honestly: "Not really."

Lin Mo smiled and sat down beside him: "What don't you understand?"

Zhao Gang pointed to a formula in the book: "This one, F = ma. I know force equals mass times acceleration. But this acceleration, what does it actually mean?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment, picked up a pen, and drew a simple diagram on the notebook.

"Look, this is an object. It was originally at rest, or moving at a constant speed. At this time, you push it, and its speed changes. The speed of this change is acceleration."

Zhao Gang stared at the diagram for a long time.

"So," he said slowly, "The greater the force, the greater the acceleration. The greater the mass, for the same force, the smaller the acceleration?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Correct."

Zhao Gang stared at the formula for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

"Understood." He said.

Lin Mo looked at him, and a strange feeling surged in his heart.

This man, joined the army at fifteen, went to the battlefield at eighteen, and became a top security expert at thirty. He had seen blood, blocked bullets, and walked back and forth countless times on the edge of life and death.

Now, he was sitting here, like a primary school student who had just started school, seriously learning Newton's Three Laws.

"Captain Zhao," Lin Mo suddenly asked, "Why do you want to learn these?"

Zhao Gang was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Because I want to know what I am protecting."

He looked at Lin Mo: "The people I protected before, I knew they were high-ranking officials, experts, important figures. But I didn't know what they were actually doing. They had meetings, I stood guard. They negotiated, I kept watch. They finished signing agreements, I escorted them away."

He paused: "But you are different. You are here, not to sign any agreements, not to discuss any conditions. You are truly, creating things."

He looked into Lin Mo's eyes: "I want to know, how amazing are the things you are creating."

Lin Mo looked at him, suddenly not knowing what to say.

After a long time, he stood up and patted Zhao Gang's shoulder.

"Read slowly," he said, "If there's anything you don't understand, ask me anytime."

Zhao Gang nodded.

Lin Mo turned to leave, but suddenly stopped, turned back and said: "Captain Zhao, you are stronger than many people."

Zhao Gang was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Lin Mo smiled: "Many people live their whole lives without knowing what they want to protect. You know."

He walked out of the control room and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Zhao Gang sat there, looking at his back, and remained motionless for a long time.

Then he lowered his head and continued reading "Introduction to Physics".

Outside the window, the night deepened.

In the laboratory, Li Xiao was tidying up her things to go back. She glanced at her phone and saw an unread message.

It was from Liu Yang: "Sister Li, Captain Zhao came back carrying a few books today and has been reading in the control room all night! Do you know what's going on?"

Li Xiao looked at that message and smiled.

She replied: "Captain Zhao is studying."

The other side replied instantly: "Studying? Studying what?"

Li Xiao thought for a moment and replied: "Learning how to protect us."

After sending it, she put away her phone and walked out of the laboratory.

At the end of the corridor, the light in the security control room was still on.

She knew that he was still there.

And from now on, he would understand them better.