You Called Us Here Just for This Thing?

Forty minutes later, P4 High-Energy Physics Lab.

The lab's main hall was buzzing with excitement, as if it were New Year's.

Dozens of Huaxia's top scientists had gathered in small groups, their faces glowing with barely contained excitement.

Among them were honorary lifelong academicians, leading authorities on quantum mechanics, chief designers of the highest-level strategic weapons, and even several national treasures who had been retired for years and existed only in textbooks. They'd all been wheeled in by special security personnel.

Half an hour earlier, they'd received a Double Red Summons of the highest order. Before entering, each of them had even signed a top-secret agreement of the kind that appeared only in the Third World War Plan.

"Old Qian, even you were called in?"

A silver-haired chief materials expert stared with shining eyes, like a child waiting for a present.

"On my way in, I saw that the security personnel were all carrying live ammunition! They even had anti-aircraft missile trucks set up! I've only seen this kind of scene once in my life—when the first atomic bomb was detonated!"

"I heard Little Lei activated a Level One alert. Did they find the wreckage of an alien spacecraft that crashed on the far side of the moon? Or did controlled nuclear fusion finally achieve ignition?"

The physics authority known as Old Qian straightened his tie and lowered his voice. Uncontainable excitement colored his words, and the hand gripping his cane trembled slightly.

"Whatever it is, it's definitely something that'll overturn humanity's understanding of the world! I have a feeling that after today, all our current physics textbooks will end up in the trash! I'm lucky these old bones of mine can still witness history. It's worth it! I can die with no regrets!"

The crowd's excitement reached a fever pitch.

They were already imagining antigravity engines, Dyson sphere fragments, and even living aliens.

Just as they waited in eager anticipation, their hearts pounding up into their throats—

Click.

The heavy blast door slowly swung open.

Lei Zhan entered in a crisp special forces uniform, his face as stern as iron. Wearing pristine white gloves, he solemnly carried in a tray covered with red velvet.

Behind him, four fully armed special forces soldiers followed, their weapons loaded as they warily watched their surroundings.

The grim, solemn atmosphere made every scientist present hold their breath. Not one dared make a sound.

"Everyone."

Lei Zhan walked beneath the spotlight in the center of the lab and surveyed the room. His steady, powerful voice carried the weight of history.

"What you're about to see is something that will overturn modern physics—and may even reshape human civilization."

The entire room held its breath. A deathly silence fell.

Dozens of intelligent, eager eyes stared fixedly at the red cloth.

Lei Zhan took a deep breath, then slowly and ceremoniously lifted the velvet covering.

Whoosh—

The red cloth slid away. The spotlight focused on the tray.

"..."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The air, which had been so charged it seemed ready to catch fire, froze in an instant. It was as if time itself had stopped.

There was no antigravity engine glowing with an eerie light on the tray.

No writhing alien brain.

No futuristic chip from a science-fiction movie.

At the very center of the expensive shockproof tray lay a lone...

silver ring.

And it wasn't even an exquisite piece of craftsmanship.

At first glance, it looked like the sort of cheap trinket you'd find tossed in a corner of a flea market.

A full ten seconds passed in silence.

Someone took off his glasses and frantically wiped them, thinking his failing eyesight was playing tricks on him.

Someone else craned his neck, trying to find the thing that would overturn modern physics behind that battered ring.

The enormous letdown left these brilliant minds temporarily stunned.

"Um..."

At last, an expert specializing in high-energy lasers broke the silence. He pointed at the dull, gray ring.

"Little Lei..."

"This is what you said would overturn physics?"

"A silver ring you could buy a dozen of for ten yuan at a flea market? Are you making monkeys of us old folks?!"

The crowd erupted.

"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"I canceled a meeting for a key research project to come here, just to look at some antique?"

"Is this some kind of performance art? It's an insult to science! I'm filing a complaint with the Supreme Committee!"

Doubts and curses rose one after another.

It was no wonder. The higher their hopes, the greater their disappointment.

In their eyes, this was nothing more than a ridiculous farce.

Some were already preparing to leave.

Lei Zhan was just about to explain when—

Suddenly—

The Portal Receiver in the center of the lab, which had been sitting idle, let out a piercing alarm without warning!

"Wooooong—!!!"

Space warped violently, and a swirling blue vortex tore open out of thin air!

"Holy crap! What is th—"

A young researcher didn't even finish speaking before the sight made him fall flat on his butt.

A figure stumbled out of the center of the vortex.

"Coming through! Excuse me, coming through!"

Wearing a red Nezha Burger apron stained with grease and carrying a gleaming stainless-steel spatula, Su Yun barged into this temple of the highest technology on Earth, reeking of fried chicken. Somehow, he didn't look out of place at all.

"Ah!!!"

"A living person?! Is that a portal?!"

"A god? A monster? An alien?!"

These experts, who normally wouldn't even bat an eye at Mount Tai collapsing in front of them, were now so pale with fright that they scrambled backward. Qian Lao clutched his chest and nearly fainted.

"Don't panic! I'm Su Yun!"

Su Yun took off his Sunglasses, wiped the sweat from his brow, and spoke urgently to Lei Zhan.

"Captain Lei, hurry! We're swamped over there! Xiao Wu shook the soda machine until it broke, and I've got to get back and save the day! You've only got one minute, so watch closely!"

Before the scientists could even figure out what this cook was talking about, Su Yun snatched the ring off the tray and grabbed a high-density lead brick from the workbench.

"Watch carefully. Don't blink!"

Su Yun waved the ring at Qian Lao, who was still too stunned to move.

The next second—

Whoosh!

The ten-kilogram lead brick vanished into thin air before everyone's eyes.

"Huh?" Qian Lao's glasses slid down his nose, and he froze on the spot.

Then—

Whoosh!

The lead brick reappeared out of thin air and slammed onto the table with a loud bang, jolting everyone back to their senses.

"Got it? If you didn't, there's nothing I can do!"

Su Yun tossed the ring back onto the tray and glanced at his watch. His expression changed dramatically.

"Crap! There's still a family bucket order to fill! Captain Lei, I'll leave this thing with you. Take your time playing with it. I'm out of here! See you later!"

With that, he dashed back into the blue vortex, spatula in hand, as fast as the wind.