24: Chapter 24 Anti-gravity artifact appears, and Grandpa's identity is top secret!

Su Che returned to the workshop.

The lights were not on.

The room was very dark, with only a few slivers of light from the searchlights temporarily set up by the Engineering Battalion outside the window filtering in, stretching the shadows of the "divine treasures" on the floor into clawing, monstrous shapes.

He ignored them and sat directly at the desk.

A promise made to General Zhang had to be kept.

That homework paper with the three formulas written on it was the key, the core idea.

But to turn that idea into blueprints that the country could use and mass-produce, a massive amount of derivation processes and experimental data was still needed.

All of this had already been bundled and stuffed into his brain by the system when he redeemed the technology.

He picked up a pen, spread out a new sheet of draft paper, and prepared to start writing it out from memory.

But as soon as the tip of the pen touched the paper, he stopped.

Something was wrong.

The information in his brain was only the "primary version."

It could achieve point-to-point Quantum Communication in a laboratory environment, much like that disposable "Taishang Laojun" router he had cobbled together for the village elementary school.

But to achieve large-scale civilian use, to cover the entire country, and to withstand complex electromagnetic interference... it was still far from enough.

"System." He called out in his mind.

[Host, please speak.]

"Is there a complete version of Quantum Information Technology?"

[ [Quantum Information Technology] can be upgraded to the complete version. After the upgrade, it will include large-scale networking protocols, dynamic error-correction algorithms, and military-grade anti-interference modules. ]

"How many points for the upgrade?"

[ According to system rules, the skill points required for a technology upgrade are 200% of the original redemption points. ]

"The original redemption cost was 300, so the upgrade is..." Su Che did the mental math.

"600 points?"

[ Yes, Host. ]

Su Che opened his attribute panel and took a look.

[ Current accumulated skill points of the Host: 230 points. ]

"..." Su Che wanted to curse.

He was still short by 370 points.

This damn thing was failing him at the critical moment.

"Can't you offer a discount?"

[ The System Mall does not negotiate prices. ]

"I just handed over a trillion-level technology; don't I get some internal discount?"

[ The technology submitted by the Host was a voluntary act of patriotism; the system does not interfere, nor does it provide additional rewards. ]

[ However, the upgraded version also bundles Quantum Computing and Quantum Precision Measurement technology. Host, you aren't losing out! ]

"Damn it!"

"This system is quite sentient. The two quantum technologies added later are also quite good, but since I can't redeem them now, what's the point!"

"Damn!" Su Che kicked the table leg.

There was no other way.

It seemed he had to complete the task for the Anti-gravity water pump first.

Completing the task would reward him with 500 points, which would be more than enough by then.

He sighed, threw the paper and pen aside, and turned to walk toward that complex-structured "scrapped cooling pump."

This thing was the heart of the Anti-gravity water pump.

He spent the whole night disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling the entire cooling pump, and according to the blueprints provided by the system, he added several key parts salvaged from other "precious trinkets."

Early the next morning, a brand-new machine full of industrial violent aesthetics appeared in the courtyard.

To test it, he asked Su Hao to go to the reservoir behind the mountain and bring back a bucket of water.

He didn't rush to start the machine; instead, he first took a small sample from the bucket.

The system had warned that the water source was untreated and there were risks to drinking it directly.

He poured the water sample into a simple filter he had temporarily made using the [nanoscale sediment filter element formula] and some old filter screens and activated carbon.

The water flowed through and became much clearer.

But when he was about to pour out the filtered water, he discovered a layer of grayish-white, ultra-fine substance—finer than powder—precipitated at the bottom of the filter element.

What was this?

He scraped off that bit of powder, placed it on a glass slide, and took it under the microscope to observe.

The microscope was also an old antique he had scavenged from a junk station, discarded by some middle school laboratory.

Under the lens, those powders presented a strange, irregular crystalline structure.

On a whim, he took a small magnet out of his pocket and brought it close.

No reaction.

It wasn't metal.

He recalled the "electromagnetic pulse firecracker" he had made before; its core was a strong electric field.

He found two wires, connected them to a battery salvaged from an old car battery, and created a miniature strong electric field across the two ends of the glass slide.

A bizarre scene occurred.

The moment the power was turned on, those grayish-white powders on the glass slide seemed to lose their weight, silently... floating up.

They hovered quietly, motionless, just one millimeter above the glass slide.

This... this is... Anti-gravity?!

He cut off the power, and with a "pop," the powder fell back onto the glass slide.

He turned the power on again.

The powder floated up once more.

"Holy crap..." Su Che muttered to himself.

He seemed to have... discovered an incredible secret.

There was something in the reservoir, so Su Che immediately left to rush to the reservoir.

The reservoir was neither large nor deep, but after messing around for half a day, he didn't find anything.

He wasn't willing to give up, so he called Su Hao to help him draw a few buckets of water to bring back to the workshop for filtering, but that substance never appeared again.

It seemed that being able to filter it out from the first bucket was just a coincidence, but how could such a substance exist in the reservoir?

Just as he was utterly confused, the workshop door was pushed open.

General Zhang walked in, with no one following behind him.

He had taken off his imposing military uniform and changed into a plain gray jacket, looking just like a neighbor uncle.

"Kid, what are you researching?"

General Zhang's voice was a bit hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot; he clearly hadn't slept all night either.

"General? Why are you here?" Su Che quickly put down what he was holding and stood up.

"Passing by, just stopped by to see you."

General Zhang walked to his side, took a look at the crude microscope on the table and the inconspicuous powder on the glass slide, but didn't ask any more questions.

He pulled over a stool, sat down, poured himself a cup of plain boiled water, and drank it in one gulp.

"The matter you asked me to investigate, I reported it to the Military Science Commission in the capital overnight, and now there are results."

Su Che's heart suddenly jumped.

"Fifteen years ago, that 'accident' at the 703 Research Institute..." General Zhang put down the cup, his voice very heavy.

"It was not an accident."

"It was man-made."

Su Che's fists clenched instantly.

"Lin Xiangdong was conducting research on 'high-energy particle weapons' at the time and had already made breakthrough progress. One of his deputies, in order to steal his research results, colluded with an engineer responsible for equipment maintenance at the institute and tampered with the most critical cooling system of the particle collider."

"After the accident occurred, that deputy pushed all the responsibility onto Lin Xiangdong, fabricated the illusion that 'core data was stolen,' and splashed dirty water onto the heads of overseas forces."

"Lin Xiangdong was consequently removed from his post and accepted investigation. A year later, under immense pressure and injustice, he was exhausted and died in depression."

"And that deputy, stepping on Lin Xiangdong's bones, stole his research results, transformed himself, and became a so-called 'academic leader,' rising through the ranks."

"He is now an academician of the Longguo Academy of Sciences, enjoying state allowances, and is infinitely glorious."

General Zhang narrated calmly.

Every word struck at Su Che's heart.

He remembered Lin Waner's silent crying, trembling shoulders under the tree that day.

An uncontrollable rage burned in his chest.

"Who is that person?"

General Zhang looked at him and shook his head.

"Kid, I know what you want to do. But this matter is not that simple."

"That person now holds a high position, and his students and old acquaintances are all over the court and the wild. Without absolute, fatal evidence, at least we in the military cannot touch him. The military does not interfere in politics, you understand!"

"Moreover, the original data from that year was destroyed in that 'accident,' leaving no proof."

Su Che was silent.

The rage in his chest was extinguished by a deeper sense of powerlessness.

Yeah.

What could he do?

He was just a country kid who knew how to play with some scrap metal.

"However..." General Zhang looked at his eyes, which had instantly dimmed, and changed the subject.

"When I investigated Lin Xiangdong, I happened to... also investigate your file."

Su Che raised his head, somewhat confused.

"Your file is very simple, clean and white."

General Zhang looked at him, his eyes becoming somewhat strange.

"But your grandfather's file is very interesting."

"My grandfather?" Su Che was stunned.

"Didn't he long ago..."

Everyone in the village knew that his grandfather, Su Changshan, used to be an engineer at a town factory and died because of a factory accident when he was very young.

"Factory accident?" General Zhang smiled, a meaningful smile.

"That's what's written on the file."

He stood up, walked in front of Su Che, patted his shoulder, and said clearly, word by word.

"Kid, I'll tell you a secret."

"Your grandfather, Su Changshan, he didn't die at all."

"His true identity, and where he is now..."

"In Longguo, belongs to the highest level... core secret."