"Professor Xu, how did you determine the shape of these damaged iron artifacts?"
Shen Le scanned the entire ceramic urn inside and out, top to bottom, and found large deposits of iron elements on its inner walls—
Some had been released into the water after the corroded iron lump was soaked, leaving only a thin layer of residue; others, especially at the bottom of the urn, had seeped into the pores of the pottery after the corroded iron lump had sat in it for ages.
Based on these traces, Shen Le could roughly outline the shape of the iron lump's base, but that was not enough. How tall had it been?
What had its overall shape been? Cylindrical, oval, or some other kind of object?
How much had it weighed in total?
Shen Le scanned, outlined, and sensed the entire ceramic urn over and over, yet he could never find a lead. With no other choice, he asked his advisor for help and requested a meeting with the National Museum's expert in iron artifact restoration:
"I really can't find a direction..."
Professor Xu looked helplessly at him, then at the photos, videos, materials, and 3D-printed model of the corroded iron lump Shen Le had brought. After a long silence, he raised a hand and pointed outside.
"Get out."
"Huh?"
"Out the door, turn left, rooms 15 and 16 in Zone F. Go take a look, then come back and tell me what you think."
Shen Le left in confusion and felt his way over in the direction the professor had indicated. There were two studios and four workbenches, all occupied by people busy with restoration work—measuring, scanning, testing, cleaning—without even lifting their heads.
On the shelves nearby, box after box of items awaiting restoration had been stacked up. Some were