Chapter 1279 The Returnee's Notes 353

She didn't have that much time, but research is not something that can be accomplished overnight, so she was undoubtedly happy that more people were investing in the research.

But it's not enough... there aren't enough people, and she doesn't have enough time.

After Xie Ning left the research center and returned to her villa, she stared blankly at the pile of manuscripts on the table. She still had a lot to do, but if asked if she regretted it...

She has no regrets.

Fallen leaves in the stream always drift away with the current to some unknown distance.

Xie Ning rubbed her temples, got up and walked towards the villa's laboratory. She had just sat down when a cylindrical robot came over carrying strong tea.

Then came Xiaomai's voice, "You have exceeded the limit for today's work hours. You should rest now."

But since you opened the lab door, you must want to continue working, so I had the kitchen prepare some refreshments for you to replenish your energy.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, it's my pleasure to serve you."

This wheat is obviously more human-like, but it was trained by Xie Ning in private, and its server is obviously unable to handle such a large workload from the outside.

The wheat in her villa is the primary source.

The villa's laboratory was completely different from the laboratory where she usually worked. It didn't have so much cold, technological metal; instead, it had a more human touch.

Xie Ning put the small porcelain bottle aside, looked at the model that Xiao Mai had opened, and said softly, "He will die by your hand."

Luo Ying's research includes not only drone swarm control but also AI analysis, which can accurately locate faces through satellite monitoring.

However, this is still the initial version, and she needs to debug and improve it before it can be used.

Meanwhile, Chen Qi, whom Xie Ning was searching for, was hiding in a secluded courtyard under his own name. Back then, he had just come out of the escape tunnel and was still struggling with how to deal with the people outside the escape tunnel.

Unexpectedly, all the people who were supposed to be there to meet them were dead.

It could be said that Heaven was helping him.

The people there were dead, but the tools and vehicles remained, which made it easy for him to escape.

Moreover, to be on the safe side, he didn't go through any busy areas, but instead drove the coffin all the way back to his own territory. He couldn't guarantee where else he would be, but in his familiar territory, no one would be able to find him.

After all, the ID cards he used were all fake.

No one is stupid enough to use their ID card to do something bad; if they get caught, they'll be in deep trouble.

Feeling his vibrant body, Chen Qi smiled with relief. He had thought the blood droplets would only alleviate his symptoms, but they had unexpectedly had such an effect.

Once things calm down, he'll go see a doctor he knows to get a checkup. If he's really fully recovered, then he'll have found a real treasure.

Along with the blood droplets was the old woman in the coffin.

Chen Qi couldn't understand what Elder Yue was doing, but that didn't stop him from studying it. It was just a pity that the corpse inside the coffin had been decaying ever since it was brought out.

It is now covered with livor mortis.

He subtly inquired with several colleagues, but they didn't know anything about it either. However, a person with a small snake head contacted him. After chatting for a while, the person told him that this was a bride, the best vessel to receive the vengeful spirits.

As the saying goes, "A dead tree sprouts new branches," which represents new life.

The bride must be an old woman, representing withered wood, who, after receiving the ghost's resentment, can bring life back to life.

If that life force is used in a specific way and stored in an excellent piece of jade, it is called Rebirth Jade, which can be used by people and has the effect of bringing the dead back to life and healing flesh and bones. However, the ghost's resentment must not be severed, otherwise the bride will rot.

Then the Reincarnation Jade will be useless.

What the person opposite Chen Qi didn't tell him was that the bride in the coffin was alive!

He originally wanted to use the information he knew to get a share of the profits, after all, that Reincarnation Jade was too tempting, and he was also a follower of the treacherous path, so he was more interested in the new bride.

After all, this thing isn't so easy to make; he'd only ever seen it in ancient books.

Unfortunately, Chen Qi had no intention of sharing; he would at most offer some money to appease the man, and thus missed the man's warning that if the bride was hungry, she might eat people.

This was a backup plan he left behind. Did you really think he was so foolish as to share without any benefits?

They even tried to bribe him. He could easily make a lot of money by swindling a rich person. Does he look like someone who's short of money?

Unfortunately, even with the help of hackers, he couldn't find Chen Qi's identity or location; that guy was too cunning.

——

On the other hand, after the comprehensive testing in the desert area was completed, Professor Wang and others took care of the aftermath, while Xie Ning led a team directly to Qingdao to conduct corrosion resistance tests.

"We have selected suitable warships according to your requirements." The person in military uniform submitted the prepared data to Xie Ning, and then stood silently to the side.

Xie Ning nodded, and then went with his assistant to the dock area for an on-site inspection.

The warship used for testing required special modifications. After the survey was completed, Xie Ning and his team designed a modification plan. For this type of test ship, the forward main gun needed to be removed and replaced with an electromagnetic gun prototype system.

"...The deck needs to be paved with anti-slip and acid-resistant ceramic bricks, and then 16 4K high-speed cameras will be installed around the gun positions. Then, here, and at these points, a special sensor array will be installed to monitor the Cl concentration, pH value, and surface potential."

A movable salt spray chamber was built on the starboard side of the ship, equipped with 6 ultrasonic atomizers for environmental simulation.

"...The temperature control system simulates the extreme climates of the South China Sea and the North China Sea, with a switching cycle of 8 hours."

The first round of testing lasted seven days, which, simply put, involved statically exposing the test ship.

Technician Qiu Li, wearing her work uniform, adjusted her glasses and jokingly broke the serious atmosphere, "The NaCl solution we provide has a concentration of 50g/L, which is 3 times higher than the national standard GB/T. Engineer Xie, your requirements are too high."

Before Xie Ning could speak, another technician who was looking down at the data chimed in, "We can't afford to be low-level. Technology is changing every day. Only by raising the bar from the start can we achieve breakthroughs."

Next, there was an artificial seawater spray to simulate a wet-dry cycle. Someone coughed twice and laughed, "This is the authentic Bohai Sea formula, the experimental results will definitely be good!"

Why don't you use the Beihai recipe?

"The South China Sea is not bad either!"

The atmosphere started off well, and Xie Ning even smiled, but she didn't join in the conversation. Instead, she took a nap whenever she had a spare moment.

Another night passed and dawn broke.

At this moment, the morning mist over Qingdao had not yet dissipated, and the outline of the Type 05K3 frigate slowly emerged in the No. 3 dock.

As Xie Ning climbed the dew-covered iron ladder to the deck, his fingertips touched the fine salt grains on the railing—the mark the ocean left on all metals.

The massive electromagnetic railgun track on the bow of the ship gleamed bluish-gray in the morning light, resembling an ancient sword exuding a chilling aura.

Xie Ning crouched down and ran his hand over the honeycomb-shaped heat dissipation holes on the track surface through his gloves. At that moment, a grain of crystallized salt was stuck on the edge of the hole.

Xie Ning frowned slightly and said to the person next to him, "Record: C copper-chromium alloy, signs of pre-grain boundary corrosion appeared after 72 hours of salt spray exposure."

The technician behind him immediately marked the coordinates on the tablet.

"Thank you, the fleet has arrived."

Xie Ning looked up and happened to see a naval officer with the rank of senior colonel scraping rust off the seams of the deck with a long-handled brush. The brush bristles made a screeching sound as they rubbed against the metal.

As Xie Ning's fingertips retracted from the electromagnetic railgun's track, the colonel's boots were already stepping onto the seam of the deck.

He continued scraping the rust off the base of the railing with his long-handled brush. "Mr. Xie, your coating... it's thinner than a dumpling wrapper."

The colonel pinched up a pinch of rust powder, salt grains falling through his fingers. His gaze was fixed on Xie Ning. "The East China Sea Fleet is waiting for electromagnetic guns to be installed on its ships, but it can't wait for seaweed to grow in the crystal realm."

Xie Ning took the tablet handed to him by his assistant, pulled up the corrosion rate curve to check, and said, "The grain boundary corrosion depth is 50 micrometers after 72 hours, which is considered minor damage in the Yellow Sea."

After saying that, he retorted, "It's still better than the rails you fed barnacles in the South China Sea last year."

The colonel snorted coldly. He was quite familiar with Xie Ning, and what Xie Ning was talking about was the island resupply mission that he personally commanded. At that time, three landing ships were stranded there for two weeks due to corrosion problems.

He was laughed at for a long time.

Now that it's been brought up again, he's swallowed his anger, and he can't find a reason to attack Xie Ning. This guy is really outstanding.

He is actually quite satisfied with the current situation, but he needs even better results.

The deck suddenly fell silent. Seeing the two superiors facing off, the other technicians and naval personnel dared not speak.

Just then, the sonar operator's voice suddenly boomed from the bridge: "Southeast 37 degrees, altitude meters, US HF-3K electronic reconnaissance aircraft, approaching within 19 nautical miles of the territorial sea line!"

Xie Ning subconsciously looked up, but she couldn't actually see it at all. However, she did remember this model of electronic reconnaissance aircraft.

During the standoff in the South China Sea a few years ago, its active interference directly caused a certain type of anti-ship missile to deviate by 32 kilometers.

The colonel, remembering this, gritted his teeth and said, "Continue the test firing, adjust the pulse frequency to 122Hz, and use their electronic waste as a quenching agent!"

The technician's fingers flew across the keyboard, and the ghostly blue flame of the plasma spray gun suddenly turned cyan.

Xie Ning saw that the Cl concentration curve on the monitoring screen was oscillating with the frequency of the electromagnetic pulse. The originally stable rising waveform began to show sawtooth oscillations, like waves being scattered by an invisible comb.

In other words, it is possible that the electronic noise of the US military reconnaissance aircraft inadvertently disrupted the permeation rhythm of the salt spray.

Xie Ning recalled the missile that had deviated due to interference, and his brows furrowed. At that time, the crystal boundary corrosion of the flight control chip caused the inertial navigation to fail. This time, it was also interfered with, but this time it unexpectedly helped it succeed.

The technician following Xie Ning was puzzled and couldn't help but ask Xie Ning in a low voice.

Xie Ning's train of thought was suddenly interrupted, but he still patiently explained again, "The electronic jamming signal emitted by the US electronic reconnaissance aircraft and the electromagnetic gun pulse artificially applied in our test produce a frequency difference effect, generating a low-frequency alternating electric field of 0-100Hz."

This alternating electric field causes Cl ions to undergo electrophoretic oscillations, changing their migration path from directional permeation to disordered diffusion, thereby disrupting the osmotic rhythm of the salt spray.

Qiu Li, who is more knowledgeable about this area, added, "The low-frequency electric field induces electrocapillary oscillations of the micro-liquid film on the metal surface, causing the liquid film to rupture. This principle is similar to ultrasonic cleaning, so salt spray is difficult to adhere to continuously."

After saying that, he looked at Xie Ning.

Xie Ning nodded, then glanced at the technician who had just asked the question, "After the test is over, submit me a paper on metal corrosion."

The technician was stunned, almost to the point of tears.

Seeing the gloating looks on the other technicians' faces, Xie Ning smirked, "You guys too."

Well, now everyone's unhappy.

Xie Ning's assistant quietly moved a little distance away. She probably didn't need to, right?

"Mr. Xie, Technician Liu is calling you. He says he has discovered that the grain boundaries are reorganizing."

Xie Ning followed and walked to the electron microscope, where it was clear that the tungsten disulfide in the WS2 coating was being reconstructed in a hexagonal crystal system within the corrosion cracks, like countless tiny shields embedded in the wounds of the copper-chromium alloy.

"This is a self-healing mechanism..."

Just as Xie Ning was leading the other technicians in their research, someone approached them; it was a senior colonel.

The colonel and Xie Ning proposed live-fire testing.

Xie Ning didn't actually agree, but thinking of those arrogant and annoying reconnaissance planes that were like flies, he couldn't help but nod with a dark face.

Xie Ning tugged at the somewhat heavy protective suit. "I'll fix it. It definitely won't affect the actual test."

After Xie Ning left, the person next to the colonel said, "How do you know Xie Ning will agree? She seems very composed and doesn't seem like a reckless person."

"Everyone says you can't judge a book by its cover, and you're using the word 'rash' incorrectly. She's just hot-blooded."

And that's understandable, you see her leading the team, looking like a big shot, almost like those old men and women, but she's still young.

In terms of age, he's much younger than both of us.

She's old enough to be his daughter.

The blood of youth is the hottest.

"Besides, that American is so arrogant he's practically jumping on your head, and you're still putting up with it? Isn't that cowardly? Even Xi Jinping isn't that cowardly!"

Even if he gets criticized tomorrow, he'll still get beaten!

"Bring me the ship deployment map."

While the colonel was making arrangements, Xie Ning wasn't idle either. She wasn't really impulsive; she only decided to fight because she felt there was an opportunity.

The other party's probing was already quite arrogant; if we don't retaliate, they will definitely push their luck even further.

"Qiu Li, call the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and have them urgently send over a batch of materials..."

"yes."

Seeing that Xie Ning had left, the others relaxed and started chatting. "Didn't we shoot down an American reconnaissance plane today?"

They probably won't be coming tomorrow, right?

"There's so much work, how can we possibly finish it all?"

"Don't overthink it. We just need to fix the track. Besides, I think it's no wonder the US military is coming. They must know we're testing something good here. Why wouldn't they come and sabotage us?"

If the experiment goes wrong, who knows how much preparation work will be needed and how much money will be spent to conduct the test again...

Do you really think funding comes from thin air?