Cesium-137

The arriving units immediately took action, and various advanced detection equipment conducted a comprehensive scan of the surrounding area.

"The initial attack that caused the helicopter crash should have come from target 2, which was located further away," Miao Xin stated her judgment. "At the time, I didn't detect any fluctuations from target 1."

"What methods did they use to cause the crash?" Jin Rongjia pressed.

Su Ming then explained the "Calamity Mark" to everyone.

"The time Gao Boyang was in a car accident was our first encounter with Resentment Mark. We couldn't make any connection; we simply thought it was bad luck," Su Ming explained. "The second time we encountered it, it just so happened to be a few geese that had frozen to death."

"A goose? Where did you encounter it?" Jin Rongjia asked. "Give me the detailed address, and I'll have someone investigate immediately!"

Miao Xin recalled for a moment and wrote down the market location and specific time when she bought the goose.

As time passed, the search for Target 2 made no progress. Everyone gradually realized that although the fishing operation had successfully lured out the enemy, the real big fish had already escaped.

Jin Rongjia's face grew increasingly dark.

The fishing plan focused most of its resources on helicopters, lacked anticipation of the emergence of superhumans, and had little understanding of methods such as "Calamity Mark," leading to a serious failure in the net-pulling phase.

However, this was the first time they had caught the real enemy by the skin of their teeth, and it also ended the long-standing error of going in the wrong direction in their investigation.

Jin Rongjia clenched his fists, determined to capture or eliminate whoever the other party might be!

****

Su Ming stopped paying attention to these things. He lowered the connection level and began to think about where these people came from.

When Galio opened the dimensional portal at the Cui'an Sea Cliff, Zijin observed that Earth belonged to the Demon-poor plane.

Similar demon-poor regions exist in other worlds, such as the Antarctic continent of this planet. According to research in other worlds, the power replenishment of extraordinary individuals is extremely slow within these demon-poor regions.

The related research also led to another, more important conclusion: extraordinary individuals cannot be cultivated in demon-poor regions.

Therefore, Diodos, and his accomplice who could unleash the "Calamity Mark," must have come to Earth from elsewhere. And their stay on Earth was likely not long, which is why they have accumulated a large reserve of extraordinary energy.

However, these are all just theoretical speculations; it would be best to find conclusive evidence.

Su Ming looked at the screen on the side of the command room; it showed the scene of Target 1, Diodos. The forensic team members were carefully collecting biological samples.

A worker in full protective gear is carefully placing the collected hair into a sterile sample bag. Diodos's hair is very long, estimated to be at least 40 to 50 centimeters.

Su Ming's eyes lit up; this might be a breakthrough!

He unfolded his phone, opened the chat app, and found Sangzi. "Can you test for trace amounts of cesium-137?"

Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of cesium with a half-life of 30.17 years.

"Of course," Sangzi replied quickly. "The normal accuracy can reach 0.1 decays per kilogram of sample per second, and it can be further improved if needed."

This level of precision is more than sufficient.

"If you cut a single hair into a hundred segments, can you test each segment separately?" Su Ming continued to ask.

"... You'd better provide more samples."

Su Ming didn't put her phone away; instead, she showed the chat content to Jin Rongjia.

After reading the chat messages, Jin Rongjia thought for a moment before suddenly realizing what had happened. He slapped his forehead, "Damn it, I'm such an idiot!"

"Target 1 has quite long hair," Su Ming said. "That will help us determine whether he has been living on Earth for the past four years."

Jin Rongjia handed his phone to the person next to him, "Execute immediately!"

****

At the Upper Ridge Mountains, the Youth Civilization slowly came to a stop.

This is the last mountain range they need to cross on their way to the Sacred Mountain. Afterwards, they will enter the third tier of the Icefield and continue towards the north side of the Dome Mountains.

Ahead lay Pagni Canyon, a somewhat uneven passage winding through the mountains. With the upgrade of his motorcycle, Su Ming no longer needed to be too picky about the road.

The train is currently stopped because some preparations need to be made for the mountain crossing. These include shunting, transferring fully fueled freight cars to the back of the locomotive, and replenishing the boiler water reserves.

Currently, there are no ideal water sources in the surrounding area, but fortunately there is plenty of snow. Thanks to its unique environment, the Northern Lands is a pristine place from a pollution perspective, as the water hardness is extremely low after the natural snow melts here.

However, it is still necessary to filter out the solid particles and remove the large amount of dissolved oxygen. Under high temperature and pressure conditions, oxygen will still corrode the inside of the boiler.

But there wasn't much to do, so Hansite and Newman, along with the skeletons and zombies, carried out their tasks methodically. After finishing her part, Younier went to Jielusi's room to continue helping her pack.

The two girls sorted the pile of clothes, putting away those that were beyond repair. For those that could still be altered, they carefully studied possible modifications, then picked up scissors and began cutting.

Jielusi picked up a sweet-style knee-length skirt, feeling it was a bit small. She held it up against Younier, saying, "You might be able to wear this one, I'll give it to you."

"Is it possible?" Younier was somewhat tempted upon hearing this.

Qiluo passed by carrying her sketchbook. She curiously peeked into the room and saw scraps of fabric scattered on the floor. "Quite pretty clothes," she remarked. Her gaze fell on the black ring around Jielusi's neck, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, wearing such a powerful seal?"

Jielusi put down the clothes in her hands, feeling there was nothing to hide, and said truthfully, "This is to seal my dark power. If I use dark power in battle, I will lose control."

"Is that so!" Qiluo immediately became interested. "Let me see!" She revealed her unicorn form, her long horn glowing faintly, and unfolded her spiritual sea of consciousness.

On a spiritual level, Jielusi's soul appears distinctly black and white. The sealing ring effectively suppressed the dark aspect, and now the black has shrunk into a small ball.

The unicorn examined it carefully for a long time before hesitantly asking, "Mirror Soul Technique?"

"... Yes."

Even the unicorn, an expert in the field of spirituality, took half a day to realize that Jielusi's Mirror Soul Technique was indeed cultivated in an extremely bizarre way.

"A Mirror Soul should be perfectly symmetrical," Qiluo said. "Both sides should be consistent, and any debuffs or mental spells can be eliminated simply by flipping it. I don't know much about this area—what do your colleagues and mentors say?"

"There are very few people in the church who practice this path. There used to be an old priest in the Northern Lands who practiced it, but he died last year," Jielusi smile. "Now there are none left."

"I know a celestial being who is skilled in mirror magic; I can ask him for you sometime."

"Thank you so much."

Younier noticed Qiluo's sketchbook. "Miss Qiluo, are you starting to sketch again? By the way, could you draw a sketch for us?" She glanced at the floral dresses scattered on the bed. "We can wear these pretty dresses and be your models!"

"I'm not good at drawing clothes—I mean, clothes," Qiluo declined. "I can only manage to draw landscapes and such."

"Oh, I see." Younier said, a little disappointed. "I was going to make you something nice to eat."

Qiluo immediately backed away, her eyes wide, and said, "Don't come near the kitchen! I'll paint one for you when I have time!"

"By the way, do you know where Su Ming and Zijin went?" Qiluo asked before leaving.

"They're in that newly built carriage called the Laboratory," Younier replied, "the one with the sign on the door that says 'High Voltage Above, Do Not Approach!'"

"Thanks!" Qiluo said, turning and leaving the room.

****

Inside the newly set-up experimental vehicle, several boxes of material samples were neatly arranged in front of Su Ming and Zijin.

During this visit to Galio's stronghold, we obtained more than thirty kinds of materials that we had never seen before. Combined with the materials we had obtained through various means before, the number of various mineral materials has reached more than two hundred. Among them, more than twenty kinds of materials contain Magic Power, and the rest are ordinary materials.

Younier has systematically categorized all the materials, created a detailed list, and taken samples of each material.

The Zijin recognized most of the materials, but the naming system for matter in this other world was completely different from that on Earth. The scholars knew the content of some common elements, but they were unclear about those involving rare elements.

Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive survey of these non-magical materials and create a detailed table of elemental abundance. Furthermore, as the collection progresses, the quantity of materials will only increase.

The Sangzi Group provided a solution: Raman spectroscopy analysis. This technique requires only simple equipment and has a straightforward process; it only requires smoothing the sample surface and then irradiating it with a laser.

The testing process is fast and efficient, requiring minimal intervention.

As the materials were transported and assembled, a device roughly the size of a freezer was moved into the experimental vehicle.

The two put on masks and gloves, and wore white smocks.

"Basic protection is sufficient," Su Ming said, turning on the Raman spectrometer and letting it warm up. "It's just to reduce contamination of the samples. If it's really necessary, taking more measurements won't hurt."

That's how he did things in his university lab too.

Zijin rolled her eyes at him, then carefully cleaned the lab bench, making sure the work area was spotless before taking samples out of the box.

Su Ming reached out and activated "Summoning of All Things." Materials gathered, and two sets of filter goggles from Earth were formed in his hands.

With the improvement in the quality and quantity of Su Ming's Magic Power, he now handles these small molecular structures with ease. He doesn't even need to use special spells; he can solve the problem directly with the simplest method.

"There are lasers during the test, so wear these to prevent burns." Su Ming handed one pair to Zijin; this was a safety procedure required by Earth.

Zijin put it on as instructed, covering her heterochromatic eyes. Now, she looked exactly like a researcher you'd see in a laboratory on Earth.