The Shining Rock Core

Su Ming took out his phone and snapped a picture of the Zijin.

"Why do you like taking pictures so much?" Zijin suddenly asked.

Su Ming paused for a moment, then quickly came up with a reason, "Let's keep a record. Like today's photos, so we can remember what happened today when we see them later."

"... Why don't you take a picture of yourself?"

Su Ming raised the camera high, adjusted the angle to frame himself and Zijin together, and took a picture along with the equipment behind him.

"This is the perfect shot!"

****

A "beep" sound indicates that the equipment has finished warming up.

Su Ming put away his phone, placed a single-crystal silicon standard sample on the stage, performed wavenumber calibration, and then set the working parameters according to the data provided by Sangzi.

"532nm green laser, 0.01W." Su Ming looked at the data, "Only such low power?"

He picked up a sample to be tested; the quantity was quite small, and there were no Magic Power fluctuations. However, for safety's sake, Zijin still cast a shield on herself and Su Ming.

He placed the first material on the stage and started the test. The results came back quickly, showing that it was a material with a high tungsten content.

Su Ming followed the list prepared by Younier and filled in the component and abundance data in the corresponding positions according to the sample number.

"Good!"

This device works on the principle of Raman scattering. When a monochromatic laser irradiates a sample, about 0.0001% of the photons will Life and Wrong inelastic collisions with molecules, resulting in a frequency shift and forming a "fingerprint" of the substance, thereby enabling component identification.

As the testing continued, the two quickly discovered special materials containing zirconium and niobium. Su Ming noted down the data one by one.

"How were you able to determine whether that enemy entered Earth from beyond the realm by detecting a single element?" Zijin suddenly asked.

Su Ming initially thought Zijin was asking about the device, but quickly realized she was asking about things on Earth. Hair samples from the soldier killed on Earth yesterday had been taken and were undergoing rigorous testing.

"It's cesium-137," Su Ming explained. "The principle is simple: under natural conditions, the content of cesium-137 is almost zero. Assuming that warrior came from beyond the realm, his body wouldn't contain cesium-137; he would only be contaminated after arriving on Earth. Once hair grows out, it solidifies, recording this process of change like tree rings."

Zijin understood quickly, "By analyzing the hair segments, you can not only determine whether he came from outside Earth, but also when he arrived on Earth?"

"That's right. But if he came to Earth a long time ago, past the age of hair growth, this method won't work," Su Ming replied. The warrior's hair was indeed very long; hopefully, it would be long enough.

Zijin asked another question, "Since cesium-137 doesn't exist naturally, why does it exist on Earth?"

"Nuclear tests," Su Ming replied. "Our planet conducted over two thousand nuclear tests of various kinds by the end of the Cold War, as well as nuclear power plant accidents. These activities produced large amounts of radioactive elements, much of which entered the atmosphere directly."

This characteristic has been utilized many times throughout history. For example, many so-called "antique masterpieces" have been found to have plant fibers in their canvas materials that actually grew after the start of the Cold War.

Of course, it's also possible that the egg depicted wasn't painted by Leonardo da Vinci, but rather a nuclear egg.

Su Ming found it strange that Zijin ignored the Raman analyzer in front of her that could directly detect elemental composition, but instead inquired about Cesium-137.

"Why are you concerned about this?" Su Ming asked.

"... If I went to Earth," Zijin gently stroked her long hair, "Would I also be detected in this way? Just like our current necromancy fluctuations?"

Su Ming paused for a moment; this was a perspective he hadn't considered before. "I doubt... anyone would bother to test it. By the way, I'll help you obtain legal status," he said. "Based on the current progress, there shouldn't be any problems!"

"That's good." Zijin breathed a sigh of relief. "Such a terrifying world, all the fighting and constant defense must be exhausting."

"What's so scary about it?" Su Ming asked, puzzled. "Life in our country is very harmonious!"

"How can it not be terrifying?" Zijin retorted. "Of the weapons you've displayed, at least two are so powerful that even if I were directly hit, I couldn't defend against them. The key point is that in another world, achieving this level of power would require at least the strength of Grand Magus Mentor. But your weapons can be manufactured and controlled by ordinary people—that's truly terrifying! Won't you be unable to eat or sleep in peace?"

"..." Su Ming was speechless. Different environments shape completely different perceptions.

He decided that he would share more information about Earth's culture with Zijin in the future.

"I think it's too early to discuss these things now," Su Ming changed the subject. "There's still a lot to do regarding the teleportation portal."

"Too."

****

Suddenly, a crackling sound of electricity came from outside the door, followed by the scream of a unicorn.

This was expected; besides the high-voltage warning sign, there was also a picture of a unicorn on the lab door, circled in red and crossed out.

Zijin initially planned to set up an electric-based defensive array, but Su Ming said that with Qiluo's abilities, it was not impossible to break it.

So he simply installed an electric fence, and it seems to be working well!

Neither of them paid any attention to the noise outside and continued to focus on the testing work at hand.

Su Ming quickly filled out the materials form that Younier had prepared.

"Done!" He put down the form.

This time, they added a lot of rare elements. More importantly, they successfully matched these elements with otherworldly mineral materials. This will greatly reduce the difficulty of collecting them in the future.

Zijin began counting the samples and packing them back into the boxes one by one. Su Ming, not wanting to crowd around her to help, decided to leave the lab first.

Outside the door, the unicorn Qiluo relentlessly confronted the door, intently searching for the runic traces on the high-voltage power grid.

When Su Ming opened the door, he was almost stabbed by her sharp horn.

He quickly used his hand to push against the unicorn's head, and the two remained locked in a stalemate at the doorway.

"Hey!" Su Ming was completely confused, "Why are you so insistent on going in?"

"A unicorn's curiosity won't allow it to stay in a mysterious room it hasn't explored!" Qiluo said confidently, lowering her head and pushing Su Ming backward step by step.

Zijin glanced at the standoff at the door and ignored it. When she finished counting the samples, she found that the number did not match the list. Turning to the back of the paper, she found another record.

"Su Ming, we missed testing one material." As she spoke, she located the sample— the Rock Core— based on its serial number.

"Place it on the loading platform and just press start." Su Ming took a sausage out of his pocket and tossed it aside.

Qiluo immediately went to receive it. Su Ming seized the opportunity and pushed the battle line back to the door.

"Hmph!" Qiluo exclaimed in dissatisfaction, "You cheated!"

"That's wisdom!"

****

Following Su Ming's previous steps, Zijin fixed the material called "Rock Core" onto the platform and pressed the detection button.

Qiluo pushed Su Ming aside and peered into the laboratory. The next second, a blinding beam of light exploded on the platform, instantly engulfing the entire laboratory in intense light.

Although Su Ming had his back to the Raman spectrometer, his vision was still filled with a white blur. When he regained his sight, he found the unicorn covering its left eye, lying on the ground howling in pain.

He hurriedly turned around and saw that Zijin had already taken off her light-filtering goggles and was leaning against the wall, covering her eyes.

"How are you?" Su Ming quickly stepped forward, helped Zijin sit down, and gently removed her hand. He saw that the girl's eyes were tightly closed, and tears kept flowing out.

"It hurts," Zijin replied, a faint blue light flashing in her left eye. "My Omniscient Vision still works— Su Ming, don't get so close."

Su Ming relaxed slightly and stepped back a little.

Jielusi arrived quickly. "Younier, go get my alchemy kit!" she instructed the scribe who had come with her.

The experienced healer glanced at the whimpering unicorn and decisively chose to deal with the Zijin first—it could be making such a loud noise, so it must be nothing serious!

Jielusi laid Zijin flat and gently lifted her eyelids to examine her. "Sunburn?"

"It should be," Su Ming replied.

Jielusi cast "Water Purification," and Zijin's pain was immediately relieved. The healer took out some tools from her medicine box; although they had unique shapes, they could be roughly identified as instruments used for lighting and amplification.

Using a lens, Jielusi conducted a thorough examination of Zijin's eyes and quickly concluded that "the retina is damaged and requires 'remodeling' treatment."

"Is it troublesome?" Su Ming asked nervously.

"Yes, it will require two to three treatments," Jielusi replied. "It will take three days for your vision to recover."

Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief. This time, he truly witnessed the skill level of an excellent healer from another world. In treating certain special injuries, the magical world indeed has an amazing advantage.

Then Jielusi examined the unicorn, and the diagnosis was similar. However, Qiluo's situation was better, since she was farther from the light source. Moreover, she had squeezed under Su Ming's arm with her head tilted, so she only injured one eye, or rather, one eye.

Jielusi carefully cast a spell and quickly stabilized the condition of Zijin and Unicorn's eyes.

"Is this some kind of new weapon?" Jielusi asked curiously. "Even Bay Owl's barrier couldn't stop it."

"It wasn't a weapon; it was more of an experimental accident," Su Ming explained.

He got up to examine the stage of the Raman spectrometer, on which sat the material sample called "Rock Core".

The laser power of the Raman spectrometer is only 0.01 watts. This intensity, and not being a direct beam, could not possibly cause such severe damage. Therefore, the problem must lie with the material itself.

Upon closer inspection, Su Ming discovered that the small clump of Rock Core sample had turned a grayish-brown color, no longer resembling its previous dark yellow hue.

He reported the situation to the other side on Earth and retrieved some records from the equipment as requested.