Chapter 6 The Mysterious Visitor

At two o'clock the next afternoon, George appeared at the entrance of the laboratory building right on time.

Lin Mo saw the black sedan stop from the window. George got out and looked up at the aged building. Today, he had changed into a light gray casual suit, looking more formal than when they met in the cafeteria, as if he were heading to an important meeting.

Lin Mo went downstairs to meet him. By the time he reached the door, George had already approached him warmly.

"Dr. Lin! Good afternoon!" He extended his hand, his smile as bright as if he were seeing an old friend.

Lin Mo shook his hand, feeling that the other man's palm was dry and strong. This was the hand of someone who shook hands often—a politician, a businessman, or some other profession.

"Mr. George, welcome." Lin Mo stepped aside to lead the way. "The laboratory is on the third floor. Let's take the stairs."

"Of course, of course." George followed beside him, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "This building has some history, doesn't it? I see the exterior walls are still the old-fashioned brick-and-concrete structure."

"A building from the fifties or sixties; it's been renovated a few times," Lin Mo replied casually.

"Huaqing University's Physics Department is a powerhouse in the Chinese physics community." George's tone carried just the right amount of admiration. "I've read many papers by the teachers in your department. Professor Wang Zhenguo, Professor Imposter, Professor Zhang Min... they are all internationally renowned scholars."

Lin Mo nodded without responding. As he led the way, he could feel George's gaze falling on him from time to time, as if observing or evaluating him.

They soon reached the third floor. Lin Mo pushed open the laboratory door, and George followed him inside.

"Please, come in. This is our laboratory."

George stood at the door, slowly looking around. His gaze swept from the lab bench to the optical table, from the reagent rack to the desk, and finally settled on the high-temperature furnace in the corner. That furnace was the very equipment Lin Mo had been using repeatedly over the past few days, and it still held a hint of residual warmth.

"A wonderful laboratory," George said, walking to the optical table and leaning over to look at the complex lenses and optical fibers. "Is this a Quantum Entanglement experimental setup? A very ingenious design."

Lin Mo was somewhat surprised. Most people looking at this setup would only see a messy pile of optical components. To recognize it as a Quantum Entanglement experiment at a glance meant the person had a considerable understanding of the field.

"Are you very familiar with Quantum Optics, Mr. George?"

George straightened up and smiled. "I wouldn't say familiar, I just did some related research in the past. However, I later shifted toward applications, so I've done fewer of these fundamental experiments."

He walked to the bookshelf and glanced at the literature on it. They were all papers Lin Mo usually read, printed and bound into volumes, categorized by theme. George's hand lingered over a few volumes, but he didn't pull them out to look.

"What direction has your research been taking lately, Dr. Lin?" he asked suddenly.

Lin Mo was prepared. "Still the same Quantum Entanglement stuff—measuring the fidelity of entanglement sources, optimizing the system. It's all routine work."

"Routine work?" George turned around and looked at Lin Mo. "I've looked up your papers on Web of Science. Although they aren't many, each one is very solid. Especially the one about the stability of entanglement sources; it proposed a very clever method."

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected George to look up his papers, and he had even read that small, seemingly unremarkable article.

"That was just a minor improvement, no major innovation," Lin Mo said, trying to keep his tone flat.

George shook his head. "Don't underestimate minor improvements. Major breakthroughs in science are often accumulated from little improvements." As he spoke, he paced to the lab bench again, looking at the reagent bottles. "Take superconducting materials, for example. For decades, it's been generations of scientists slightly improving formulas and processes to move from the liquid helium temperature range to the liquid nitrogen range. If someone could push it to Room-Temperature Superconductivity, that would be Nobel Prize-level work."

As he said this, his gaze fell on a reagent bottle—it was the bottle of rare metal oxide Lin Mo had used two days ago. He hadn't had time to put it back in the reagent cabinet, so it sat in a corner of the lab bench.

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. He tried to control himself and not look in that direction.

"Room-Temperature Superconductivity." Lin Mo smiled. "That's the Holy Grail; so many teams around the world are chasing it. In a small laboratory like ours, we wouldn't even dare to dream of it."

George turned his head and looked into Lin Mo's eyes. Those blue eyes were calm, with a hint of inquiry, or perhaps he was just chatting casually.

"Dr. Lin, you're too modest. Professor Wang is an expert in the field of superconductivity. How could a student of his not have thought about this problem?"

Lin Mo shook his head. "Teacher Wang did work on superconductivity before, but he hasn't touched it in years. Besides, superconductivity research requires specialized conditions and equipment. Our laboratory mainly focuses on optics; different fields are like different worlds."

George nodded and didn't press further. He took another lap around the laboratory, looking here and touching there, like a visitor truly interested in science. But Lin Mo always felt that every movement and every pause of his carried some purpose.

"By the way," George suddenly stopped. "I have a small academic exchange meeting next week. I've invited a few visiting scholars in Kyoto to gather and chat about our respective research. If you have time, Dr. Lin, you're welcome to attend."

He pulled a business card from his inner suit pocket and handed it to Lin Mo with both hands.

Lin Mo took it and glanced at it. The card was very simple, with only a name, an email, and a phone number. There was no organizational logo or job title.

"George White." Lin Mo read the name on it.

"It's just a small gathering, no need for a formal speech, just casual chatting." George checked his watch. "Oh dear, it's almost four o'clock. I've disturbed you for so long, Dr. Lin, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine, it's my pleasure."

George extended his hand again and shook Lin Mo's. "Then I won't disturb you further. I look forward to seeing you at next week's exchange meeting."

He turned toward the door, but stopped halfway. "By the way, Dr. Lin, if you have any new discoveries recently and are willing to exchange ideas, feel free to call me anytime. I'll be in China for quite a while this time, so I'm free whenever."

As he said this, his gaze swept around the laboratory once more, finally landing on the high-temperature furnace that still held some residual warmth.

"Goodbye, Dr. Lin."

"Goodbye."

Lin Mo stood at the door, watching George's back disappear around the corner of the stairs. The sound of footsteps gradually faded until it was completely gone.

He returned to the laboratory, closed the door, and leaned against it, letting out a long breath.

That high-temperature furnace, those reagent bottles, that Four-probe tester used to test superconducting materials... George's gaze had lingered on every single one. Was it a coincidence, or was it intentional?

Lin Mo walked to the safe and crouched down, looking at the unremarkable metal cabinet. The blue flakes lay quietly inside, but their existence had already made Lin Mo's world no longer peaceful.

He took out George's business card and looked at it again. A simple design, without any extra information. Searching for the name "George White" online yielded all sorts of results—writers, businessmen, university professors—but none of them seemed to match this visiting scholar.

Lin Mo leaned against the safe, his mind a mess.

He wanted to call Wang Zhenguo and tell his teacher about today. But what would he say? That George asked some strange questions? That he stared at his reagent bottles? All of it sounded too far-fetched.

He wanted to verify those materials again, make another batch of samples, and confirm the reality of that blue miracle. But his hands were shaking, and he couldn't calm down.

Outside the window, the setting sun began to sink. Golden light filtered through the glass, casting long shadows on the lab bench.

Lin Mo stood up and walked to the window. Below, a black sedan was slowly driving away. He couldn't see the person inside, but he knew those blue eyes might be looking back at a certain window of this old building through the car window right now.

His phone suddenly rang.

Lin Mo looked down; it was Wang Zhenguo's number.

"Hello, Teacher."

"Xiao Lin, how did George's visit go?" Wang Zhenguo's voice came through the receiver.

"It was fine, he just looked around casually."

"Hmm." Wang Zhenguo paused. "Did he say anything in particular?"

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment. His teacher's question made it sound like he knew something.

"He... asked some things about my research direction. He also said he'd looked up my papers."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

"Xiao Lin, if you have any new discoveries recently, don't tell anyone for now." Wang Zhenguo's voice suddenly became serious. "No matter who it is, don't say a word."

Lin Mo's heart suddenly tightened.

"Teacher, you mean..."

"It's nothing, just a reminder." Wang Zhenguo's tone returned to its usual gentleness. "In the research business, some things require caution. Anyway, that's all. Go get some rest."

The call ended.

Lin Mo held his phone and stood by the window. The sun had completely set, leaving only a streak of dark red on the horizon. The streetlights below began to light up one by one, like some kind of silent warning.

He returned to the safe, crouched down, and pressed his ear against it. The cold sensation of metal transmitted through his skin; it was so quiet inside that there wasn't a single sound.

But Lin Mo knew that those quiet blue flakes had already dragged him into a vortex. And that man named George might just be the first wave of this vortex.