Return again

In the laboratory, under the shadowless light, Li Qiang's eyes were bloodshot and his fingers were trembling slightly with excitement.

That set of high-precision mass spectrometry peak signals, like a set of mysterious codes, repeatedly appeared in his mind.

"This isn't an ordinary trace element... nor is it the structure of any known organic compound..." Li Qiang muttered to himself, his gaze behind the lenses so intense it nearly burned through the screen. "This is definitely a completely new, unknown active substance!"

He could almost foresee that once the structure of this substance was analyzed and the principles of how it promoted the rapid growth of plants, optimized the taste, and even affected human functions were figured out, what an earthquake it would cause in the biological field!

The cover of a top journal! A national-level scientific research project! Countless honors and resources! His blood seemed to boil at the thought.

However, after the excitement, anxiety quickly came.

He only had a small bucket of water sample, and after repeated testing over the past few days, there was very little left. This small amount of sample was not enough to support him in conducting more in-depth structural analysis and activity verification experiments.

Without more original samples, his "great discovery" could only remain as a few meaningless maps.

"I must... I must get more!" Once this thought arose, it entangled Li Qiang's mind like a vine.

He thought about contacting the woman named Zhong Ling, but she had already left. Besides, would she easily reveal such a core secret to others? Impossible.

The only way was to return to that yard, to that big water tank! There had to be more there! Last time, he had only scooped out a tiny bit from the bottom of the tank. Perhaps there was still some left, adsorbed on the walls or seeping into the material of the tank!

The desire for scientific breakthroughs and the vision of future success overwhelmed the uneasiness in my heart about stealing.

He began to find reasons for himself: this was for the advancement of science, to reveal the mysteries of nature, and it might even benefit more people in the future...

Zhong Ling, a country girl, might not understand the true value of this thing. It would be a waste to keep it in her hands.

He took action immediately. He first called home and vaguely said that his mentor's project had encountered some minor problems and he needed to go back to the village to find some specific soil samples for comparative research. He would go back tomorrow.

Although Lao Li and Zhang Qinglan felt that their son's research direction was a bit "down-to-earth", they did not doubt it and only reminded him to be careful when he came back.

The next day, after Li Qiang returned home, in the middle of the night, he went to Zhong Ling's house again under the cover of darkness.

With the experience from last time, he was more careful this time and his movements were much more agile. He climbed over the courtyard wall lightly and quietly.

The yard was still the same as before. He suppressed his excitement and walked straight towards the big water tank that held all his hopes.

The flashlight beam couldn't wait to shine on the bottom of the tank.

However, the expected moist bottom of the tank did not appear, and the tank was very dry.

Li Qiang's heart sank to the bottom in an instant, and a cold feeling rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"How could...how could it be dry?!" He reached in and touched it desperately, but all he felt from his fingertips was the rough and cold touch of clay.

What about the water? Even a little bit left would be great!

Unwilling to give up, he checked several other water tanks again, and the results were exactly the same. Li Qiang squatted dejectedly beside the large tank, his flashlight dropped at his feet, his face covered in sweat and despair.

Could it be that... his great discovery has come to an end?

He raised his head unwillingly, his gaze fixed on the tightly closed door. Perhaps the secret wasn't in the water, but in the house? Or perhaps, beneath the burned land? An even crazier thought began to grow in his mind.

Li Qiang squatted beside Zhong Ling's vegetable patch, holding a small shovel in his hand.

The water tank is empty, so could the secret be hidden in the soil? Those vegetables are growing so fast and so well, they must be absorbing special nutrients from the soil!

He avoided the most thoroughly burned area in the middle of the yard and chose the edge near the fence where the fire was relatively less severe.

The shovel sank into the soil with a dull, thumping sound. He didn't dare use too much force, for fear of disturbing the neighbor's dog. He dug deep, until he reached the moist, earthy-smelling soil below.

The soil looked the same as anywhere else, but he felt strangely confident. He carefully filled a plastic bag with soil.

After doing all this, he quickly filled the dug hole and restored it to its original state as much as possible. Then he used the stones to climb over the courtyard wall again and slipped back home.

The next day, Li Qiang made another excuse that "field sampling is needed for the experiment" and said goodbye to his parents.

"Qiangzi, your research... why do you always come to our remote village?" Old Li squatted at the door, watching his son carry the bulging bag again.

"It's just... comparing the differences in soil quality in different environments." Li Qiang responded vaguely, his eyes flickering.

Zhang Qinglan came out of the house, holding two hot cornmeal buns and stuffed them into his hands: "Eat them on the way. You are just studying mud lumps, what future can you have?" Zhang Qinglan now really regretted that he had gotten involved and cut off his family's possible source of income.

"Mom! My research is very promising!" Li Qiang interrupted her impatiently and took the steamed bun. "I'm leaving now. I'm busy with experiments."

He almost fled from home, fearing that his parents would ask more questions.

Back at the university laboratory, Li Qiang immediately processed the soil samples he had brought back. He separated the deep soil from the normal soil and performed a routine soil composition analysis—nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, trace elements, organic matter, acidity, and alkalinity.

After a series of tests, the results made him frown again.

The data panel showed that all indicators of both deep soil and ordinary soil were average. There was no significant difference between the soil in Zhong Ling's home and the soil samples he had dug up near his school.

"It's still not right... There must be something wrong..." Li Qiang scratched his hair irritably, his eyes behind the lenses full of bloodshot.

Could it be that the magical effect does not come from some directly detectable chemical component?

He recalled the strange peaks he'd detected in the water sample. They were trace amounts of an unknown substance with an unusual structure. Could it be that... this substance also existed in the soil, only at lower levels, or in a form undetectable by conventional soil testing?

His eyes fell on the bag of deep soil. Since direct analysis of the composition couldn't yield any breakthroughs, could he instead verify it through practical application?

An idea gradually formed in his mind: use this soil to try to cultivate some plants with a short growth cycle, such as... mung bean sprouts? Or ordinary cabbage seeds?