Chapter 77 Domestic Public Opinion

Smith's questioning and Chen Xueming's open letter had sparked continuous discussion in the international academic community. Three days later, this discussion finally reached back home.

The first to set things off was the technology channel of a major portal website. They put Smith's interview and Chen Xueming's response together to create a special feature with a very eye-catching title:

"Nobel Laureate Questions Chinese Battery Breakthrough: Major Innovation or Academic Bubble?"

Below the article, the comment section quickly exploded.

"I told you so, how could we suddenly lead by that much?"

"1,520 watt-hours per kilogram? Three times the current level? They're bragging without even making a draft."

"I hope it's true, but even a Nobel laureate is questioning it, so it's probably unlikely."

"Hanxin was like this back then too, and look how that ended."

"Be rational, let's wait for third-party verification."

There were also a few supportive voices:

"Why can't Chinese people make a breakthrough?"

"Is this old man just salty?"

"Support Dr. Chen! Let the facts speak for themselves!"

But the supportive voices were soon drowned out by the wave of skepticism.

The next day, more media outlets reprinted the relevant reports. Some used more sensationalist titles: "Chinese Battery Technology Faces International Skepticism: Breakthrough or Scam?"; others were relatively objective: "Nobel Laureate's Skepticism Sparks Heated Debate, Chinese Side Welcomes Verification."

On social platforms, the hashtag #ChineseBatteryTechnologyQuestioned reached the top ten trending topics. Hundreds of millions of people watched, with hundreds of thousands of comments—everyone had something to say.

Li Xiao scrolled through these on the second morning.

She opened her phone as usual, preparing to look at academic news, only to find the top trending topic was about them. She clicked in and looked for a while, her expression becoming increasingly grim.

"This is too much!" she couldn't help but shout. "These people know nothing, what right do they have to say this?"

Chen Xueming, who was debugging equipment, was startled by her: "What's wrong?"

Li Xiao handed her phone over: "See for yourself!"

Chen Xueming took the phone and scrolled through the comments one by one.

"It's this kind of news again, hyped up to the heavens, and in the end, it's nothing."

"It's not the first time data has been faked; those who know, know."

"A Nobel laureate is questioning it, what else is there to say?"

"I hope it's fake, otherwise how can we praise foreign countries in the future?"

"Don't rush to conclusions, wait for the verification."

His finger stopped on the screen, not moving for a long time.

Zhang Zhe walked over, took a look, and fell silent.

The laboratory suddenly became quiet, with only the humming of the instruments.

Li Xiao couldn't help but say, "They have no idea what we've done! They don't know how many nights we've stayed up, how many experiments we've conducted! Just because of some foreign old man's words, they start attacking us!"

Chen Xueming put down the phone and took a deep breath:

"Xiao, don't get worked up. People online don't understand the situation; it's normal for them to be led by the narrative."

Li Xiao's eyes reddened. "But... but we're clearly telling the truth! The data is all real! What right do they have to say we're faking it?"

Zhang Zhe spoke up rarely: "Because they've never seen the real thing."

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Lin Mo walked in, saw the three of them, and paused for a moment. "What's wrong?"

Li Xiao handed the phone over.

Lin Mo took it and scrolled through, his expression unchanged.

After finishing, he handed the phone back to Li Xiao and said calmly:

"I've finished reading."

Li Xiao was stunned. "Teacher Lin, aren't... aren't you angry?"

Lin Mo shook his head:

"What's the use of being angry?"

He walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker:

"Look, the current situation is like this—"

He wrote a few words on the whiteboard:

International Skepticism → Domestic Reprints → Public Opinion Fermentation

"Smith's skepticism was amplified by domestic media, which then triggered online discussion. This process is very normal."

Li Xiao was indignant. "But they don't understand anything! They're just talking nonsense!"

Lin Mo looked at her:

"Xiao, let me ask you a question."

Li Xiao nodded.

"If someone told you that a laboratory in some African country had created a technology three times more advanced than ours, what would you think?"

Li Xiao paused, then said, "I... I would be skeptical."

Lin Mo smiled:

"Exactly. You would be skeptical. Not because the people in that country aren't capable, but because you've never seen it. When it's something you've never seen, the first reaction is skepticism. That's human nature."

He walked back to the whiteboard and wrote another line:

Skepticism ≠ Denial

"The netizens' skepticism isn't directed at us personally; it's directed at 'something they've never seen.' Once they've seen it, they naturally won't be skeptical anymore."

Li Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then said softly:

"But they're saying such nasty things..."

Lin Mo nodded:

"Nasty words are indeed uncomfortable. But think about it, if we lose our composure because of these nasty words, wouldn't we be falling right into their trap?"

He put down the marker and looked at the three of them:

"Our task now isn't to argue with netizens, nor to explain how hard we've worked, but—"

He said word by word:

"To let the results speak."

Chen Xueming looked up at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo continued:

"Smith wants to come for verification; this is the best opportunity. When he's in our lab, personally measuring that data and watching us run the device with his own eyes, what will he say? What will those netizens say?"

He paused:

"At that time, all the skepticism will turn into silence."

The laboratory was quiet for a few seconds.

Then Chen Xueming stood up and walked over to Lin Mo:

"Teacher Lin, you're right."

He turned to look at Li Xiao and Zhang Zhe:

"Let's get back to work. Debug the device to its best state and organize the data as completely as possible. When Smith comes, we'll leave him with nothing to say."

Li Xiao took a deep breath and nodded vigorously. "Okay!"

Zhang Zhe also nodded. "Let's keep working."

In the afternoon, Fang Lin arrived.

She walked into the lab and saw the few of them buried in their work, which surprised her a bit:

"Are you all... okay?"

Lin Mo looked up. "What's the matter?"

Fang Lin smiled. "Haven't you seen those things online?"

Lin Mo nodded. "We saw them."

Fang Lin looked at him. "And you're still this calm?"

Lin Mo said, "We can't win an argument, so we might as well work."

Fang Lin paused, then smiled:

"Alright. You have class."

She walked up to Lin Mo and lowered her voice:

"The higher-ups have noticed this as well. The leadership asked me to tell you: don't worry about the online public opinion, just focus on preparing for the verification. The country will back you up."

Lin Mo nodded. "Thank you, Director Fang."

Fang Lin looked at Chen Xueming and the others again, then said:

"By the way, regarding Smith, IUPAC has officially sent a letter. In a month, they will send a five-person expert panel to China, led by Smith, for on-site verification."

Chen Xueming looked up. "A month?"

Fang Lin nodded. "Yes. The time is tight, but it's enough. Are you ready?"

Chen Xueming took a deep breath:

"We're ready."

In the evening, Li Xiao was the last to leave the lab.

She stood at the door and looked back. The device was still running, and familiar data pulsed on the screen. Everything was the same as usual.

But her mood was different from usual.

Those comments from earlier in the day were still spinning in her head. Those calling them frauds, those calling them braggarts, those saying they were a disgrace...

She took a deep breath, trying not to think about them.

Teacher Lin was right: let the results speak.

She turned off the lights and walked out of the lab.

Outside the door, Zhao Gang was standing there.

"Kid, you alright?" he asked.

Li Xiao shook her head. "I'm fine."

Zhao Gang looked at her, silent for a few seconds, then said:

"Don't take those words to heart. People online don't know anything."

Li Xiao nodded. "I know. Teacher Lin said to let the results speak."

Zhao Gang smiled:

"Right. Let the results speak."

The two of them walked out together.

In the distance, the lights of the laboratory building were still on. Chen Xueming and Zhang Zhe were definitely still working overtime.

Li Xiao looked at those lights and thought silently to herself:

In a month, when Smith comes...

We'll show them what the real deal looks like.