Bates Ball

"Have you heard of Bates Balls?" Leng Xiangwen said.

"Bates Balls?" Song He was bewildered. "What's that?"

Leng Xiangwen was silent for a moment before speaking seriously,

"Three days ago, I was invited to an event at a club. I took the Governor's private plane. The weather was clear and sunny. After flying high, I suddenly saw a small thing flying in the clouds."

"It was a silver-white metal ball, about the size of a basketball, and it was incredibly fast, probably twice as fast as our plane, flying straight diagonally."

"I called everyone on the plane to look at the ball. Everyone was a little panicked. Someone used a professional camera to zoom in and took a relatively clear picture. It was just a metal ball, with no engine nozzles or wing protrusions on the surface, a very smooth ball."

"The Governor's expression was very wrong at the time. He cursed and took out his phone to make a call, apparently to the local air force, saying that the ball had appeared again."

"After the Governor finished the call, the ball disappeared into the clouds. I asked him what it was. Some kind of aircraft from the Lighthouse Air Force?"

"The Governor said how could that be? A basketball-sized object flying at high speed at an altitude of 40,000 feet, where does the power come from? This thing is not man-made at all."

"People in the cabin asked the Governor if it was something from Alienware. The Governor said he didn't know. He had seen it once over the Atlantic Ocean ten years ago, and this was the second time he had seen it in his life."

"He said that the Lighthouse Air Force encounters this thing once or twice every year. F22s have been scrambled to pursue this metal ball, trying to chase it at full power."

"After the ball discovers it's being chased, it will drastically accelerate and change direction. Its change of direction is very violent, as if it has no inertia. It can drop from supersonic speed to 0 speed in an instant and hover, and then accelerate to Mach 3 or more in an instant, flying in another direction."

"In order to chase this thing, the Lighthouse Air Force's few remaining F22s had two engine failures. One crashed in the Pacific Ocean, and the pilot fainted during ejection and drowned. One crashed on a farm in Tennessee, the pilot luckily escaped, and it was said to be a training accident."

"The Governor said that there are sighting reports of this ball Worldwide. Almost every military power with fighter jets has tried to chase it, but no one has caught up. Various radars can't detect it either, they can only rely on pilots to visually track it."

Leng Xiangwen finished speaking, waiting for Song He's reaction.

Song He opened his mouth, stunned for a long while, "Isn't it... really?"

"I can swear on everything, I saw that thing with my own eyes, and I took a picture with my phone, but I can't send it to you." Leng Xiangwen raised a hand to swear, "These days I have been checking information about this thing, and found that the closest description is Bates Ball, but it is different from the rumored Bates Ball."

"Honestly, if someone else said they witnessed a UFO, I would definitely stay away from that person, thinking they were a liar, but when you say it... I get goosebumps." Song He frowned.

"Who says it isn't? In High School, I even sprayed people online about UFOs, scolding the other side until they were covered in blood. I never believed in the existence of this thing, thinking that those blurry UFO videos were either photoshopped, or some kites, plastic bags, or rare meteorological phenomena." Leng Xiangwen smiled wryly, "Until I saw the Bates Ball with my own eyes, the worldview formed over twenty years collapsed in twenty seconds."

"This is the first time I've heard of this thing, I'll help you inquire about it later." Song He nodded, "Now that you mention it, I'm also quite curious, but I'm afraid I won't be able to find out anything!"

"I don't expect any results, just let me know if there are any." Leng Xiangwen said.

After the matter was finished, the two suddenly had nothing to say.

After a moment of silence, Song He opened his mouth, "How are things on your side... lately?"

"So-so, I won't chat anymore, thank you again, the Dream Control Helmet is selling well, and my position there has become more stable." Leng Xiangwen said.

Taking off the Dream Control Helmet, Song He sat down in front of the computer and quickly wrote a report to submit, detailing the encounter with Leng Xiangwen in the dream.

After writing, he sighed deeply.

He didn't know why, but he felt more and more tired.

The surging passion of High School was fading, and the fighting spirit to fight the world was quietly receding. Recently, he had been relatively idle, far less tense than studying all night in High School, but he felt deeply exhausted.

Could it be that he was getting old?

No, he was far from the aging period, and his physical fitness was so good that he could run a marathon back and forth.

If today's self and High School's self faced each other in a boxing match, with the current full muscle mass, one punch could knock the High School version of Song He unconscious, to the point where pinching his philtrum wouldn't wake him up!

After thinking about it, Song He felt that the reason for his fatigue might be responsibility.

The responsibility on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier.

In High School, he was a lone wolf, simply enjoying the pleasure of learning and moving forward. It didn't matter if he failed temporarily, he could always regroup with a little effort.

At that time, he was like a small soldier wielding a knife on the battlefield, without having to think too much, just charging forward!

But after charging to this day, more and more people were following behind him, from a small research and development team of hundreds of people, to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands or even millions of industrial workers, and even the progress of the national and Worldwide medical field, all depended on the technological breakthroughs in his hands!

He was no longer a small soldier, but the commander of the three armies holding the tiger tally. Every action had to be carefully considered. A slight negligence would result in hundreds or thousands of sacrifices on the front line. How could he be relaxed carrying this kind of responsibility every day?

When can he be free? It seems that he can never be free.

Slowly adapt, Song He sighed again.

……

The sky gradually darkened, and night descended.

Several buses were parked in front of the School of Pharmacy.

Technical Soldiers and Genius Institute students arrived one after another, lining up in front of the buses. Everyone carried huge backpacks, packed with their belongings, as if they were embarking on a long journey to the ends of the earth, never to return.

Two figures walked over from a distance.

"Attention!" Leng Xiangwen shouted.

The four Technical Soldiers immediately stood in a row, their faces tense, their eyes faintly filled with melancholy.

"Stand properly, no talking!" Tang Rongrong also said, "Attention!"

The students from the three classes also stood neatly, waiting quietly.

Song He and Xiang Xiaotong walked over slowly, first approaching the Technical Soldiers.

"Have you figured out the content of that lesson yet?" Song He asked.

"Report, I just understood it half an hour ago! They need a little more time!" Zhang Juyi said.

"I understand, the Brain-Mimicking Supercomputer is indeed too complex, and it's a considerable challenge for you, but I hope everyone will grit their teeth and persevere, learning bit by bit, gnawing away little by little, and strive to learn everything you need to know in a year or two," Song He said. "There's no other reason, the country needs it, and the technology cannot be lost!"

"Yes!" the four Technical Soldiers shouted in unison.

"I will give you online courses, leave me a message online if you don't understand anything. After the summer class is over, please get on the bus!" Song He took a step back, "Safe travels!"

"Salute!" Zhang Juyi shouted loudly.

The four Technical Soldiers saluted together, and Song He and Xiang Xiaotong returned the salute solemnly.

"Turn left! Board the bus!"

The four Technical Soldiers boarded the bus, and the vehicle started immediately, honked briefly, then turned around and left, disappearing into the dark campus.

Song He and Xiang Xiaotong then walked towards the Genius Institute students.

The two students in the front row were quite conspicuous, their heads wrapped like Mummies.

"Report!" Yuan Tiangang suddenly said.

"Speak!" Song He looked at him.

"Principal, this afternoon, I won Teacher Zhang in Xiangqi!" Yuan Tiangang said, "Seven games in a row!"

"Report!" Yang Yu also said hurriedly, "This afternoon, I won Teacher Tang in Weiqi, four games in a row!"

Dozens of students turned their heads in shock, their expressions incredulous. It was well known that the two Class Teachers had ruthless playing styles, but they were actually defeated by students? And so many games in a row?

Song He turned his head to look at Zhang Cancan and Tang Rongrong. The two Class Teachers, who were highly skilled in chess, had stiff smiles, their faces showing the embarrassment of capsizing in the gutter, unable to refute and being widely publicized.

"Very good, the Scholarship I promised still counts, you will receive it!"

Song He looked at them with approval, scanned the 90 small heads, cleared his throat and said:

"Students, I guess you have all felt it, in the past short summer vacation, everyone's IQ has improved by leaps and bounds!"

"You have officially entered the ranks of geniuses, your IQ is one in a thousand or even one in ten thousand among ordinary people, I hope you will not waste your talents, find the direction you are interested in, and study hard!"

"See you later!" Song He said, "We will meet again in the future!"

"See you later!" Xiang Xiaotong also said.

A student in the crowd suddenly sobbed, and the emotion spread in a few seconds. Dozens of students had red eyes, crying softly sadly.

The Genius Institute children were still young and had not experienced too many partings. As orphans, they were attached to any subtle warmth. Although they only stayed in the Medicine Institute for a summer vacation, they vaguely felt a trace of paternal and maternal love from the two Principals.

"Say goodbye to the Principal, get on the bus!" the Class Teachers said.

The students shouted a series of tearful goodbyes to the Principal, sobbing as they boarded the bus.

Once on the bus, the crying erupted, the children screaming the Principal's name… grieving as if the Principal had died.

Three buses, full of crying children, honked and drove away.

The entrance of the School of Pharmacy became empty and quiet, leaving only two figures.

Song He turned to leave, but after two steps, he looked back and found Xiang Xiaotong still standing there blankly.

"What's wrong? Let's go," Song He asked. "What are you staring at?"

"I feel a little sad." Xiang Xiaotong's eyes were melancholic. "The energetic kids are all gone at once, and it's suddenly become deserted here."

"Deserted my ass, freshmen will be coming to register tomorrow one after another! This place will be as lively as a vegetable market!" Song He laughed. "The School of Pharmacy's opening ceremony will shake the Worldwide, you can come and join the fun, I'll save you a seat."