Chen Hao's finger was still hovering next to the light switch. The light was on. He didn't move.
The pulses on the screen were still jumping, but the frequency was much faster than before. It wasn't the machine making random noises on its own; it was rhythmic. One after another, it sounded like someone was knocking on the wall from the outside.
“It’s waiting,” he said.
Nana stood on the other side of the experimental table, the camera slightly turned, aimed at the main control screen: "The remote signal strength continues to rise, and the local sample response synchronization rate has reached 91%."
Susan returned from the medical room with a glass of water in her hand. She walked to the terminal and glanced at the data. "You didn't turn off the equipment?"
"We just discovered something." Chen Hao didn't turn around. "When we looked at it, the one outside changed too. It's not a coincidence."
"You mean... it can sense our actions?" She put down the cup, her voice softening.
“More than that.” Chen Hao pointed to the waveform. “When we use a two-second flash, it responds with a two-second rhythm. When we change the vibration frequency, it adjusts accordingly. It’s not a passive response; it’s cooperating.”
The room fell silent. Only the sounds of the medical equipment and Karl turning over in bed could be heard.
“So it knows what we’re doing,” Susan whispered.
"They probably already knew," Chen Hao grinned. "Our little tricks might have been observed by them for a long time."
Nana accessed the database: "Search keywords: remote resonance, non-contact energy transfer, biomineral interaction model."
The progress bar starts moving. As slowly as an old-fashioned printer.
“Don’t expect it to provide the answer.” Chen Hao turned around and opened the tool cabinet. “What we need to do now is not to look up information, but to build an even more powerful device.”
"Are you going to put something together again?" Susan frowned.
“It’s not about rebuilding, it’s about upgrading.” He pulled out an old cooling fan, two spare circuit boards, and a twisted metal bracket. “Yesterday’s setup was too simple. Just flashing lights and shaking the table were enough to make it yawn at best. This time, we’re going to wake it up.”
"What are you planning to do?" Nana asked.
“Add more components.” He piled the parts on the table. “First, change the light source. The UV lamps weren’t powerful enough, so I removed the high-intensity bulbs from the lighting system for a more concentrated wavelength. Second, increase the speed of the vibration platform to simulate more people walking around at the same time. Third, turn on the humidification function of the temperature control box to reproduce the process of the air drying out last night.”
Susan looked at the pile of junk: "This doesn't look like lab equipment, it looks like it was picked up from a junkyard."
"As long as it works, it's fine." Chen Hao had already started connecting the wires. "We're not some big research institute, so we'll just make do with what we have."
Nana came over: "I can help with the assembly. My robotic arm is more precise."
"Then you'll be in charge of soldering the circuits." Chen Hao handed her a soldering iron. "My handwriting is crooked, so don't connect the wires backwards."
“No,” she said. “But I suggest adding an isolation layer to prevent backflow of current from affecting the monitoring system.”
"I'll listen to you." He bent down to tighten the screws. "Anyway, if it explodes, it'll be your module that gets blown up."
Half an hour later, the new device was set up. It looked ugly, square like an oven, wrapped in tape and wires, with mineral samples stuffed inside. All three sets of stimuli were connected and centrally controlled from the main console.
“Let’s name this device,” Nana said.
“Let’s call it a ‘solar cooker’,” Chen Hao patted the outer casing. “After all, we’re the kind of people who cook with stones.”
Susan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Your name is really shabby."
"Practicality is the most important thing." He sat down at the operating position. "Prepare to start the composite simulation. First, run the A-01 sequence once to see if it recognizes it."
“Parameters loaded.” Nana confirmed, “Light cycle 2.7 seconds, vibration frequency 120 times per minute, temperature control set from 28 degrees to 22 degrees, humidity decreases accordingly.”
"Start." Chen Hao pressed the start button.
The light came on. A vibration was felt. The temperature control box emitted a low beep.
Ten seconds later, the fluorescence reappeared. A faint blue glow appeared on the surface of the mineral, slightly brighter than before.
"The temperature has risen by 0.9 degrees." Susan stared at the reading. "It's not due to environmental conduction, but internal heat generation."
“Peak current 0.21 millivolts,” Nana reported. “Still on an upward trend.”
The pulses reappeared on the screen, with a stable rhythm. Immediately afterwards, a notification of enhanced remote signal appeared.
“The synchronization rate is 94 percent,” Nana said, “and the local output energy is growing exponentially.”
“It’s getting excited.” Chen Hao’s eyes lit up. “Let’s do it again. This time I’ll shorten the light exposure to 1.5 seconds and see if I can force it to go faster.”
“Risk warning.” Nana looked up. “The current system load has reached 76%. If the intensity is increased further, it may cause instability in the sample structure.”
"It's okay." Chen Hao had already adjusted the parameters. "If it explodes, we can just pick up another piece."
“You seem to have it easy,” Susan said, rubbing her forehead. “This is the last complete sample.”
“That’s why we have to try it,” he said. “If you keep using it sparingly, you’ll never know what it can do. Now that it’s clearly working, let it do more.”
Second startup.
The lights flickered faster. The vibrations intensified. The air became dry.
Fifteen seconds later, the fluorescence did not disappear but continued to glow. The ammeter needle jerked sharply, jumping to 0.38 millivolts.
“The output has doubled.” Susan stared at the screen. “And it’s stable.”
“It’s not just electricity,” Nana suddenly said. “A weak magnetic field was detected, limited to within ten centimeters of the sample, and perpendicular to the illuminated surface.”
"It's magnetic?" Chen Hao leaned closer. "It's not as simple as just generating electricity."
"Preliminary assessment," Nana analyzed, "is that, under combined stimulation, this ore not only produces a photoelectric effect but also triggers a local spatial field distortion. Although extremely weak, it conforms to the basic characteristics of a new type of energy core."
No one spoke inside.
After a few seconds, Chen Hao laughed: "You said it's a battery, and it actually came with a charging head."
“That’s impossible.” Susan shook her head. “Natural minerals don’t inherently possess energy conversion and field regulation capabilities. Unless… it was created.”
"Who built it?" Chen Hao asked.
“I don’t know.” She looked at the data. “But its reaction pattern is too regular. It doesn’t seem like a product of natural evolution; it’s more like part of some kind of mechanism.”
"A device?" He stroked his chin. "You mean, what we dug up wasn't rocks, but parts?"
“It’s possible,” Nana added. “According to the remaining records in the database, a similar structure, known as a ‘living lattice,’ has been found deep in the Earth’s crust. It has self-organizing and remote-response properties. The project was frozen due to a funding shortfall.”
"Another half-finished project," Chen Hao sighed. "No wonder nobody knows what it can do."
“But now we know,” Susan said, looking at the screen, “that it can work as long as the conditions are right.”
“Then let it do more.” Chen Hao stood up. “In the next phase, we will no longer replicate the field conditions; we will surpass them. Let’s see how far it can last.”
"You want to increase the intensity?" Susan asked nervously.
“Of course.” He reset the parameters: “Reduce the light intensity to 1.2 seconds, increase the vibration to 140 times per minute, expand the temperature difference to 10 degrees, and directly reduce the humidity to the lowest level.”
"System warning," Nana alerted, "The sample is approaching a critical stress level."
“I know.” Chen Hao’s finger hovered over the confirmation button. “But how will we know if it will spit out golden beans if we don’t try?”
“You’re really gambling with your life,” Susan said.
“In this place, everyone’s risking their lives.” He pressed the button.
The device is running at full speed.
The lights flashed suddenly. The platform shook violently. The temperature control box emitted a sharp alarm.
Thirty seconds later, the fluorescence switched to continuous blue-white light. The peak current exceeded 0.5 millivolts and remained stable.
Even more strangely, the signal at the far end suddenly increased threefold.
"The synchronization rate has exceeded 95%," Nana said, "and the remote frequency has begun to guide the local output rhythm."
“We’re not controlling it,” Susan’s voice changed. “It’s teaching us how to use it.”
Chen Hao didn't speak. He stared at the screen, watching the pulse line gradually become smoother and stronger.
Like a heartbeat.
Like breathing.
It's like something is waking up.
“The third test is complete,” Nana said. “I suggest pausing it and collecting all current data for analysis.”
"No rush." Chen Hao shook his head. "Let's try again. This time I'll max out all the variables and see if there's a limit."
“The sample may not be able to withstand it,” Nana warned.
“Then let it collapse,” he said. “Even if it collapses, I want to know how it collapsed.”
He re-entered the parameters. The light frequency was compressed to once per second. The vibration frequency was increased to the limit. The temperature difference was set to twelve degrees. The humidity was set to zero.
"Final test ready," Nana said. "Start?"
Chen Hao glanced at Susan. She didn't stop him.
He nodded.
"start up."
The equipment roared. The lights flickered wildly. The entire lab bench shook.
Ten seconds later, the fluorescence did not weaken; instead, it spread and enveloped the entire sample container.
The ammeter jumped to 0.6 millivolts and then stabilized.
Then, a new notification pops up on the main screen:
Unknown energy fluctuations detected.
[Frequency: 7.8Hz]
[Waveform characteristics: Neural-like electrical signal]
"What is this?" Susan suddenly stood up.
Nana pulled up the analytical diagram: "This signal does not belong to any known physical excitation mode. Its propagation mode is similar to bioelectrical conduction, but the carrier is an inorganic crystal structure."
"The stone... is transmitting electricity?" Chen Hao stared wide-eyed.
“To be precise,” Nana said, staring at the data, “it’s processing information.”
The atmosphere in the room changed.
No one spoke anymore. Only the machines continued to run.
Chen Hao slowly sat down, looking at the glowing ore.
“We always thought it was a battery,” he said. “But it’s actually more like… a brain.”
Susan opened her mouth, but before she could say anything.
Suddenly, Nana issued a notification: "Remote signal interruption detected."
"What?" Chen Hao looked up.
“Three seconds ago, the signal from the distant end completely disappeared,” Nana said. “It wasn’t attenuation; it was an instantaneous cutoff.”
"It's broken?" Susan looked at the monitor screen. "How is that possible? It was working fine just now."
“No.” Nana quickly switched channels. “All external detection nodes have lost response. It’s not a signal problem; the source has stopped outputting.”
"It's not sending anymore?" Chen Hao frowned. "Why?"
“Perhaps,” Nana turned to him, “we’ve done too much.”
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