Sonoluminescence

Early the next morning, Lü Yongchang got up and left his dorm just as dawn began to break.

It was a habit he had developed in his previous life.

The September morning breeze carried a slight chill.

Looking at the deserted main road through campus, Lü Yongchang sank into thought.

Well... where should I go?

Perhaps it was another habit left over from his previous life, but without a research project on his hands, Lü Yongchang always felt strangely empty.

I wonder how the review of my controlled nuclear fusion proposal is going...

Surely... nothing will go wrong, right?

Although he had great confidence in his proposal, he had little confidence in his current standing.

Right now, he was merely an ordinary second-year undergraduate at Sandao Kou University.

Thinking back on it, even he felt he had acted a little rashly.

But when he remembered that he had only twenty short years, Lü Yongchang felt helpless.

He had no time to waste!

Eight billion people lived on Earth!

Sending all eight billion into space and taking them to the next habitable planet... would require an astonishing level of technology!

In his original plan, getting even ten million of those eight billion people off Earth would have counted as incredibly fortunate!

But ever since learning of the Technology Tree System's existence, his mind had begun racing with possibilities.

Perhaps... if I climb the technology tree fast enough, every human being can escape Earth alive!

If a Type I civilization isn't enough, then I'll reach Type II!

And if that still isn't enough... I refuse to believe even a Type III civilization couldn't pull it off!

As Lü Yongchang thought through his plans for the next twenty years, he wandered aimlessly around campus.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a familiar building out of the corner of his eye.

It was a building with an entirely white exterior.

That's... Sandao Kou University's library!

A spark flickered in Lü Yongchang's eyes, and he turned toward the library.

Once inside, Lü Yongchang instinctively followed his muscle memory to his favorite seat from his previous life.

No one's taken it!

A hint of delight appeared in his eyes.

But what should I read...?

Lü Yongchang's gaze shifted slightly.

He recalled the information the Technology Tree System had given him.

[Prerequisite: Analyze sonoluminescence]

Looks like I need to find some books on sonoluminescence!

Time always flew when he was reading.

In the blink of an eye, more than two hours had passed.

Lü Yongchang closed the book in front of him and thoughtfully jotted down a few key points on a sheet of A4 paper.

Peacock mantis shrimp!

The phenomenon known as sonoluminescence had first been discovered in a creature found in nature called the peacock mantis shrimp.

When attacking its prey, a peacock mantis shrimp could launch the tip of its raptorial appendage in one-fiftieth of a second, reaching speeds of over eighty kilometers per hour with acceleration comparable to a bullet!

This process could produce sonoluminescence!

Countless researchers had studied sonoluminescence as well.

Its principle was simple: when mechanical waves acted on a liquid, they produced a phenomenon called "mechanical-wave cavitation."

In other words, bubbles formed in the liquid, then collapsed to an extremely small volume!

During that collapse, the temperature inside the bubbles became extraordinarily high, producing a momentary flash of light!

Lü Yongchang immediately picked out a crucial detail.

The temperature inside the bubbles becomes extraordinarily high!

It looks like... the breakthrough in Fusion Reactor Miniaturization Technology will have to start with these tiny bubbles!

After all, initiating nuclear fusion required temperatures of over a hundred million degrees Celsius!

"Hi, excuse me. Is anyone sitting here?"

Just as Lü Yongchang was absorbed in consulting various papers and reference materials, a slightly cool female voice reached him from beside his seat.

That voice... why does it sound so familiar?

He abruptly raised his head and looked beside him!

The moment he saw the newcomer, Lü Yongchang's heart gave a violent lurch!

It's her!

Clearly, Lü Yongchang's exaggerated reaction had startled the young woman in front of him.

She took a frightened step back, apologizing repeatedly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. If someone's sitting here, I can..."

"No one's sitting here. Go ahead!"

Lü Yongchang cut her off, then forced a stiff smile onto his face. "I-I was just a little startled and overreacted. Sorry."

The young woman smiled and waved her hand, reassuring him. "It's fine, it's fine. I was too abrupt!"

With that, she sat down without hesitation in the seat beside Lü Yongchang.

As he looked at her profile, a dazed look crept into Lü Yongchang's eyes.

It was as though he had returned to his previous life.

Back then, Su Yutong had sat quietly beside him just like this, helping him handle all manner of research tasks.

Seemingly sensing Lü Yongchang's gaze, the young woman raised her head and looked at him.

"Um... hello?"

She looked at Lü Yongchang in confusion and asked softly, "Is something wrong?"

He snapped back to his senses and bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to pull himself out of those fragments of memory.

"No, nothing. I just thought you looked familiar..."

As he spoke, Lü Yongchang forced himself to turn away and focus on the paper in front of him.

The young woman gave his profile an odd look and instinctively shifted a little farther away.

Something about... the way he looks at me feels strange.

She was beginning to regret choosing this seat.

Lü Yongchang, of course, knew nothing of her private misgivings. By then, a paper had already caught his attention.

"On the Relationship Between Sonoluminescence and Cold Fusion"

The moment he saw the paper's title, Lü Yongchang's breath caught!

Could someone... have already developed Fusion Reactor Miniaturization Technology?

Impossible!

In his previous life, even controlled nuclear fusion had not been successfully developed until 2040, let alone Fusion Reactor Miniaturization Technology!

In other words, at the normal pace of development, true controlled nuclear fusion technology was still ten years away!

Lü Yongchang quickly leafed through the material in his hands.

After a long while, he let out a slight breath, relief flickering in his eyes.

He had been overthinking it.

The paper was merely speculation, with virtually no in-depth research.

It could practically be considered a discarded draft.

No wonder... I never saw this paper in my previous life!

He glanced at the paper's author.

Tao Yuda.

I could talk to him if I get the chance.

Although the paper was not particularly useful, the research intuition behind it was quite sound.

If Tao Yuda truly had potential, Lü Yongchang would not mind bringing him onto his future research and development team!

"Click, click, click..."

As Lü Yongchang pondered this, the clicking of a ballpoint pen's ratchet mechanism came from beside him.