"Here they come," said Professor Xia, glancing up at them. In the spacious room, a few middle-aged men stood, and on the wide workbench in the center, there lay some scattered parts.
The group greeted him.
Ding Hui then dragged Li Ming over to the workbench. "If you help me solve this problem, you won’t need to come for the next few years. I’ll give you full marks directly."
"But Teacher Ding, if several professors and mentors haven’t solved the problem, how could I possibly do it?" Li Ming demurred.
"Ding Hui, have you become so desperate as to grasp at straws? Don’t worry, even if you can’t solve it, we won’t laugh at you. Why give a student such a hard time?"
A person at the workbench laughed, smeared with grease.
"Is he... Li Ming?" Someone recognized Li Ming, with a not-so-pleased look on their face, "Old Wu’s student, what brought you here to us?"
Old Wu’s "enemies" were everywhere; Li Ming had become accustomed to it.
"Ding Hui said, this kid can refine heavy magnets by hand." Those at the workbench all stood up, scrutinizing Li Ming.
"You don’t know shit," said Ding Hui with a cold laugh, then turned a different face to Li Ming: "This is a city defense equipment order we’ve taken on, named—’Sub-Electromagnetic Cluster Gun.’
"However, we’ve run into a problem. The core conductive material just can’t meet our needs."
"This problem has got you all stuck?" Qi Xing asked, puzzled.
"Kid, you don’t know shit. We need the most suitable conductive material. The conduction efficiency must be high, the price low, the density suitable, the degree of heating within a reasonable range, and it must also be safe," one of them said with a frown.
"We’ll be making tens of thousands of sets at a time; the costs must come down."
"Oh, I see," Qi Xing nodded, not sure if he understood.
"Can’t you just exhaust all possibilities?" Li Ming didn’t understand. "There should be relevant data in the material database, right?"
"We’re using a type of sub-energy, called ’Class Electromagnetic,’ mainly to paralyze the nervous system. This sub-energy was only discovered recently, and the database isn’t complete," said Ding Hui with a sense of helplessness. "We can only simulate new alloy ratios based on relevant parameters and then experiment."
"Then I can’t help either," Li Ming said, spreading his hands.
"No, I believe in you," Ding Hui said earnestly. "A genius like you must have something that surpasses ordinary people. Perhaps you can see the right material composition at a glance."
"Are you out of your mind?" Ding Hui’s peers were speechless, and someone came up, pushed Ding Hui aside, and said to Li Ming: "He’s been obsessing over this for days without sleeping; his brain’s a bit off. Don’t mind him."
However, Professor Xia laughed, "Since you’re here, give it a try. If you really figure it out, I’ll give you a gift."
With Professor Xia speaking up, other voices in the room gradually faded, and all eyes fell on Li Ming.
After pondering for a moment, Li Ming said, "Since the professor has said so, I’ll give it a try. Please find me a quiet room."
Nobody minded his request; everyone has their idiosyncrasies. Some of them even liked to work stark naked.
The room was stocked with all kinds of materials. Li Ming closed the door and took the model gun to study by himself.
"How did it turn out ," Qi Xing muttered, "to actually pin their hopes on Li Ming."
"They don’t lose anything by trying. Who knows, maybe it will work out. At the initial stages of many technologies, luck plays a significant role," Roth said casually. To him, this was just a sideshow.
The others shared a similar attitude.
Ding Hui’s eyes were eager as his peers quietly discussed.
"Ding Hui said this person’s skills are not beneath his; is that true or false?"
"He’s talking nonsense. Knowledge isn’t inherent from birth. I believe he has certain expertise, but to say he’s comparable to Ding Hui..."
They shook their heads, and someone added, "You all know the situation at the machinery side. Ding Hui has been dealing with this mess for years and wants to achieve some results. It’s understandable."
The door opened, and Li Ming came out holding the assembled ’Class Electromagnetic Cluster Gun.’
"It’s normal not to succeed on the first try. Try a few more times," Ding Hui couldn’t help saying.
The others weren’t surprised; such tough labor can dissuade perseverance.
"It’s done," Li Ming said, holding the glimmering blue gun in his hands.
"What do you mean it’s done? You believe..." Ding Hui hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly paused, his pupils slowly dilating, "It’s done?"
"What do you mean by it’s done?"
"Done means it’s done," Li Ming repeated.
Ding Hui’s throat bobbed, and the others watched in silence, then he suddenly took a leap forward, grabbed the gun from Li Ming’s hands, and rushed to the test bench.
The others quickly followed, and soon, exclamations of surprise were heard—
"Damn, a 3% conduction loss rate, even better than the 5% we aimed for!"
"The hardness is also up to standard, and the heating rate isn’t high. What the hell is this alloy? Quick, get the conductive material out for analysis!"
"Damn, this is against the heavens, how can the kid get it right on the first try? A top-quality result!"
Professor Xia’s smile faded, his brows furrowed, and even his usually steady steps quickened a bit as he approached the test bench for a look, seemingly deep in thought.
"Looks like Li Ming really did it," Qi Xing remarked, seeing the commotion. "Can luck really be that good?"
"Don’t listen to those old men. This has nothing to do with luck," Nuo Xing shook her head, gathering her messy hair behind her ear, elucidating, "The alloy material composition is precise to at least four decimal places. A slight error, and the properties of the alloy would be completely different."
"A 97% energy conduction efficiency is considered top-quality in any energy spectrum."