4: Chapter 4 Metaphysical Alchemy? Before the Nation, I Choose to Surrender Myself!

(PS: To save word count, National Defense University of Technology will be referred to as National Defense University in this book)

"Sourced from a junkyard?"

Captain Li Jun's voice was like a cold current blowing in from Siberia, every word carrying ice shards.

Even Su Che himself didn't believe this excuse!

"I..." Su Che's brain worked at warp speed, cold sweat sliding down his temples. "I... I saw the recipe in an ancient book!"

In his desperation, he could only shift the blame to his ancestors.

[Ding! Host crisis response logic triggered! System generating rationalized explanation...]

[Explanation strategy: Claim the formula comes from a fragmented ancient Taoist alchemy book. The core principle is utilizing the "Boundless Golden Light" generated by specific metals under a strong electric field. It sounds metaphysical, but it cannot be disproven.]

The mechanical voice in his head instantly gave Su Che a sense of reassurance.

"Right! It was just a crappy book about alchemy!"

Su Che spoke at lightning speed, as if grasping at a lifesaver.

"The book said that by using a few specific scraps of copper and iron to set up some kind of formation, one could summon heavenly thunder and generate 'Boundless Golden Light.' It's silent and smokeless, and it can even ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters! I was just messing around blindly based on that, how could I know it would cause such a huge commotion!"

"..."

The chill in Captain Li Jun's eyes grew even deeper, and the strength in his grip tightened.

"Alchemy?"

"Boundless Golden Light?"

"Warding off evil and avoiding disasters?"

Is this kid fucking pitching 'Approaching Science' to me?

"Do you take me for a three-year-old?"

A hand as large as a cattail leaf fan grabbed Su Che's collar. Taking a violent step forward, he pinned him against the wall.

Su Che's back ached from the impact with the hard wall.

"I'll ask you one more time: what is the modulation frequency of the pulse? How many nanoseconds is the duration of the peak power?"

The barrage of professional jargon left Su Che completely bewildered.

What on earth? What frequency? What nanoseconds? It wasn't written on the blueprints provided by the system!

Seeing the genuine confusion in Su Che's eyes, Captain Li Jun's heart sank.

This kid... really doesn't seem to understand!

Spooked by his gaze, Su Che could only brace himself and stick to the metaphysics to the very end.

"Fr... frequency? What frequency? That crappy book just said it had to be thrown when the sun is at its fiercest to 'summon the pure Yang energy'! How would I know anything about that!"

"pure Yang energy..."

Captain Li Jun mulled over these four words. The murderous intent in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by gravity, and even... a hint of shock and suspicion.

Captain Li Jun locked eyes with Su Che, trying to find any trace of a lie.

But in Su Che's eyes, there was only panic, innocence, and a hint of grievance that said, "I'm telling the truth, why don't you believe me?"

This acting was so good that even Andy Lau would have offered him a cigarette.

Captain Li Jun fell silent.

Two little voices in his head were fighting a fierce battle.

One voice said: This kid is talking nonsense! Electromagnetic pulses are high-end technology; he must be strictly interrogated!

The other voice said: But would someone who can hand-craft an EMP with bare hands be expelled from the National Defense University? And just stay in the village blowing up pigs for fun? This makes no logical sense!

Unless... his source of knowledge itself is unscientific and unreplicable!

A bizarre story of "an expelled hothead who accidentally found lost magical arts in an ancient text and successfully replicated them using materials from a junkyard" was more absurd than "a civilian expert independently developing a military-grade EMP," but it was also... much safer!

The former was an uncontrollable fortuitous encounter, while the latter was an uncontrollable threat!

Moreover, Su Family Village was already a key target of special surveillance.

Captain Li Jun slowly released his grip.

He patted Su Che on the shoulder with heavy force, his tone complex. "Young comrade, some things are not for you to play around with."

"Where is that ancient book?"

"Bur... burned," Su Che said, steeling himself. "It was just ordinary straw paper. After reading it, I used it as kindling."

No evidence left, perfect!

Captain Li Jun took a deep breath, seemingly accepting this outrageous premise.

"This time, considering you didn't do it intentionally, we can handle it as a 'signal anomaly caused by civilian equipment.'"

"However!"

He shifted his tone, his gaze turning sharp once again.

"From today onward, you and all of your 'little inventions' will be under our surveillance. I do not want to see a second 'Boundless Golden Light,' understood?"

"Understood, understood! Absolutely never again!" Su Che nodded like a woodpecker.

"Hand over the remaining 'materials.'"

Not daring to delay, Su Che quickly ran back into the house, gathered the remaining unused "firecrackers," and shoved them to Captain Li Jun like hot potatoes.

Captain Li Jun carefully took those dusty iron lumps as if cradling several antimatter bombs.

He gestured toward the black off-road vehicle at the village entrance. Two more equally sharp-looking young men got out of the car and began installing grain-sized black devices around the yard.

They were wiretaps and miniature cameras.

Su Che's eyelids twitched at the sight, but he didn't dare voice any complaints.

Having finished his work, Captain Li Jun cast another deep look at Su Che before leaving.

"Young comrade, stay in the village and serve the people well. Don't be misled by people with ulterior motives."

He pointedly glanced in the direction where Jiang Yingxue had disappeared.

"The nation's laboratories are always open to true talents. But the prerequisite is that you must be a 'clean' talent."

With that, Captain Li Jun took his men and those few "time bombs," got into the car, and quickly disappeared down the end of the village road.

Only when the car's exhaust fumes had completely cleared did Su Che let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his back drenched and freezing cold.

"Che'er!"

Su Pingan rushed over, grabbing his son's arms to look him up and down, his face filled with lingering fear and worry.

"Were those people just now... really from the Telecommunications Bureau? They didn't do anything to you, did they?"

"I'm fine, Dad. It was just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding warrants a five-thousand-yuan compensation?" Su Pingan looked completely skeptical.

Just as Su Che was wondering how to explain, a careless voice came from the doorway.

"Brother! You're finally back! Quick! Let me borrow your computer! My crappy phone lags like a slideshow when playing 'Honor of Kings'. I was just flamed as a 'thrower'!"

It was Su Che's cousin, Su Hao, who was in high school, rushing in while holding a phone with a shattered screen.

Su Family Village was remotely located, and the network signal was already poor. Once the peak internet usage hours in the evening arrived, let alone playing games, even watching a short video would result in endless buffering.

Poor network...

Hard to get online...

Su Che would also complain about the network every time he came home for winter and summer breaks, but there was nothing he could do about it!

While Su Che was still thinking about the network speed, the mechanical voice in his mind rang out.

[Ding! New livelihood demand detected. Main quest triggered!]

[Quest Name: The "Last Mile" of the Information Superhighway]

[Quest Details: Your cousin's wails represent the voice of the entire village! Please develop a civilian-grade device to completely solve the problems of poor network signals and lagging internet in Su Family Village, allowing left-behind children to smoothly attend online classes and young people to play games to their hearts' content!]

[Quest Reward: 300 skill points, unlocking beginner redemption rights for [Quantum Information Technology], requiring 100 redemption points]

[Current host accumulated skill points: 100 points. Redeem now?]

Quantum Information Technology?!

Using quantum technology to solve a village's network speed problem?

Isn't this fucking using a nuke to kill a chicken?!

He took out the black card from his pocket, which was still warm and carried a milky fragrance, and took a look.

Jiang Yingxue.

One hundred million? How is that any different from selling myself!

He chuckled softly and casually threw the card into the pen holder on the desk.

To hell with your hundred-million-yuan temptation!

I'm going to use black technology to get the whole village online!

And he wouldn't need to use that crappy enhanced signal amplifier to start a livestream anymore.

He threw his arm around his cousin Su Hao's shoulder and grinned. "Isn't it just slow internet? What's the big deal!"

"Just you wait, your brother is going to make a divine tool for you!"

"I guarantee your game ping will be green all year round!"