Was the equipment reacting?
Upon hearing Xiao Zhou's words, Pan Yongnian and Ma Heng, who had been standing behind the control console, immediately stepped forward and spoke in unison:
"Xiao Zhou, what's the situation?"
"There's an unknown gas seeping out from the surface of the spirit stone!" Xiao Zhou quickly pointed at the screen while explaining rapidly, "But strangely, this gas doesn't seem to conform to the classical kinetic theory of gases."
"From the moment it began seeping out, its concentration gradient has barely changed. It maintains a self-sustaining structure, with a very clear overall boundary."
Ma Heng and Pan Yongnian exchanged a glance, then both leaned in toward the screen.
Sure enough.
At this moment, on the split-screen of the thermal imaging overlay view, a misty silhouette could be seen drifting slowly above the spirit stone.
Apart from occasionally wriggling slightly like a few LPL teams, it showed almost no diffusive behavior.
"It isn't even undergoing Brownian motion..."
Ma Heng then paused for thought, gestured for Xiao Zhou to step aside, and personally sat at the console to operate it.
The head coach had taken the field.
Pan Yongnian silently stood at the rear, not rashly interrupting Ma Heng.
Half an hour later.
Ma Heng wiped the sweat from his forehead and stopped his work.
Pan Yongnian then spoke: "Academician Ma, how is it?"
"As expected of something from another world, quite extraordinary," Ma Heng said, taking the thermos cup Xiao Zhou handed him and gulping down a large mouthful. He then sighed to Pan Yongnian:
"This gas belongs to no known organic or inorganic category. Its density is very low, roughly one two-hundredth that of nitrogen at standard atmospheric pressure in the same volume."
"But its spectral absorption peaks are extremely dense, covering nearly the entire band from far infrared to soft X-rays, while its refractive index variation curve is almost flat."
"Later, I scanned it with a high-precision magnetometer. This thing's magnetic field showed almost no response, but when I switched to a low-current probe, the readings showed faint fluctuations, at a frequency around the kilohertz level, completely unlike environmental noise."
Low-current probe?
Pan Yongnian blinked rapidly, catching what Ma Heng was getting at:
"In other words, this thing is inert to magnetic fields, yet sensitive to some kind of electric field, or... energy field?"
"So far, yes, basically consistent with your earlier judgment," Ma Heng affirmed, summarizing, "Combining these characteristics with the spirit stone as the excitation source, I think we can conclude: this gas is the so-called spiritual energy."
Pan Yongnian nodded in agreement with Ma Heng's view.
Ma Heng then turned to Xiao Zhou: "Xiao Zhou, begin the next step."
Xiao Zhou acknowledged, returned to the console, and entered a command.
Soon.
Whoosh—
Beneath the platform holding the spirit stone, three small containers emerged.
The containers held a common potted plant, a white mouse, and an American cockroach—Guangdong's provincial pet, the twin-tailed little sprite.
What was slightly unusual was that all three samples appeared unhealthy.
The potted plant had withered yellow leaves and cracked stems. The white mouse's eyes were half-closed, its breathing rapid, its limbs twitching slightly.
The American cockroach was even more exaggerated—whether slammed by a slipper or something else, it had been flattened into a 2.5D art style, barely clinging to life.
Under the operation of the on-site team.
The spiritual energy emanating from the spirit stone was divided evenly by high-pressure ion wind and introduced into the three containers.
Pan Yongnian and Ma Heng walked straight to the edge of the platform to observe the samples up close.
A few minutes later.
Ma Heng suddenly raised an eyebrow and nudged Pan Yongnian with his elbow: "Academician Pan, look at that white mouse!"
Pan Yongnian quickly looked in that direction.
At this moment.
The white mouse's originally rapid breathing had visibly steadied, and its trembling limbs had stopped twitching.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Pan Yongnian even felt its fur had become a bit softer...
Ten or so seconds later.
Swish—
The white mouse suddenly opened its eyes, stamped its hind legs, and then...
It began darting about wildly in the container.
It ran two laps around the container's edge, then stood upright, resting its forepaws against the transparent wall, trying to scratch at the observation window.
A true deathbed shock-sit-up.
Hadn't they watched the entire process firsthand, just looking at the white mouse's current performance, no one would have guessed it was on death's doorstep minutes earlier.
Next.
The potted plant in the second container also changed.
The originally withered, drooping little plant—its outermost leaf trembled slightly.
Then, like a boys' dormitory in the early morning, it gradually lifted from its limp state.
Then the second leaf, the third...
Even the leaf color quietly shifted from gray-yellow to light green, then gradually deepened.
In less than an instant.
The plant had straightened more than half, its leaves glossy, stems unusually plump.
Witnessing the entire process, Ma Heng subconsciously clenched his fist, turned around, and asked Xiao Zhou: "Xiao Zhou, how are the white mouse's vital signs?"
Xiao Zhou at the console reacted a bit slowly, taking several seconds to come back to himself—this scene was equally shocking to him: "Academician Ma, about three minutes ago, the white mouse's monitoring curve went from an initial cliff-like decline to a remarkably stable waveform."
"Its heart rate, respiration, and myoelectric responses are all within normal ranges, even slightly elevated. Also..."
Ma Heng glanced at him: "Also what?"
"Also, that American cockroach is showing signs of movement," Xiao Zhou pointed to a secondary observation screen on his left. "According to the macro camera footage, its abdomen appears to be slowly swelling."
Oh?
Ma Heng and Pan Yongnian hurried over to the American cockroach's container.
Sure enough.
Inside, the cockroach that had already entered a biological countdown was showing signs of revival!
Its abdomen was being puffed back to its original state bit by bit, as if a blower had been turned on, and brown light emanated from the edges of its broken wings, continuously mending the torn openings.
In less than half a minute.
The American cockroach went from a 2D art style back to a three-dimensional creature.
It lay quietly on the bottom of the container for a few seconds, then extended its two antennae tentatively forward, as if greeting Pan Yongnian and Ma Heng.
Had it not been blocked by the container.
Given its current posture, it would most likely have fluttered over to one of the two bigwigs' faces with a coquettish air for an impassioned embrace...
Looking at the three samples restored to vitality in the containers.
Pan Yongnian and Ma Heng exchanged glances, speechless:
"......."
.........."},
Chapter 35