Chapter 352 Another Awakened One
Anvil Star.
As its name suggests, the planet is renowned throughout humankind for its heavy industry, massive machinery manufacturing, and cutting-edge materials research.
The massive orbital dock, like a steel jungle, outlines the planet's silhouette.
The ground is covered with automated factories and smelting facilities stretching for thousands of kilometers, and the air seems to be filled with the unique smell of metal mixed with energy liquid.
Jemin came here to examine and learn about its core industrial technologies.
Therefore, relying on his status as an outstanding graduate of the school, he participated in a public technical seminar on the efficiency optimization of a new generation of high-energy plasma transmission pipelines, held at the headquarters of the "Giant God Forging and Pressing" Group.
The meeting was held in a huge tiered conference room with a hardcore industrial style, where engineers and researchers from various star sectors were having a heated discussion.
Amidst the clash of technical jargon, a familiar voice, with a slightly hurried but extremely clear tone, caught Jemin's attention.
He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure that was completely different from the one in his memory, yet subtly overlapped with it at its core.
That person... is it Rex?!
Jemin could hardly believe his eyes.
The person before me is no longer the level 10 super genius who was covered in ferocious mechanical constructs and exuded the aura of alchemy and metal during the graduation trial at Norren Workshop.
There were no flashing rune eyes, no humming power joints.
Instead, there was a young engineer, thin and wearing slightly oversized standard work clothes, with a pair of plain glasses perched on his nose.
He was standing at the podium, arguing heatedly with an elderly engineer with gray hair about the energy eddy current loss problem at a certain transmission node.
"Your model ignores the second-order topological effects of superfluid media under non-uniform magnetic fields!" Rex spoke rapidly, his fingers drawing complex formulas and data on the virtual screen.
"Look here, if we introduce this correction parameter and combine it with the chaotic oscillation model of the boundary layer, we can explain that extra 3.7% of energy dissipation!"
His words were ordinary, but his logical chain was as tight as the meshing of precise gears, demonstrating his impressive technical skills.
The person in front of me seemed to be a stubborn tech geek who was immersed in his own technical world and could not tolerate the slightest flaw.
In Jemin's opinion, this guy's personality has hardly changed; he still treats the people around him as if they don't exist.
As he listened, Jemin's keen senses detected something amiss.
It didn't come from Rex's appearance or personality, but from the few unconventional technical ideas and simplified models he occasionally used in his reasoning process.
On the surface, those ideas are engineering methods common to this plane, but their inherent simplified logic and certain "intuitive" treatment of the nature of energy gave Jemin a vague sense of familiarity.
After a moment's thought, Jemin confirmed that it was more like a thought process that wizards would use when dealing with elemental energy, rather than a deduction based purely on physical formulas.
“Could it be…” Jemin’s eyes flashed as he thought of a certain possibility.
However, he did not rush forward, after all, the previous intelligence mentioned three unfortunate people who died in this plane, indicating that this plane was not completely safe.
After a short wait, the seminar moved into the free discussion session.
Jemin quietly approached Rex, who was organizing his notes by himself.
“Excuse me for interrupting,” Jemin said with a friendly, inquisitive smile. “Your discussion about applying the chaotic oscillation model to the energy boundary layer was excellent. However, I have a question. The ‘resonant frequency compensation’ algorithm you mentioned doesn’t seem to be a solution from the standard library. Did you derive it yourself? Its assumption of ‘affinity’ for the underlying energy field is very…unique.”
He deliberately added a barely perceptible emphasis to the word "affinity".
This is a concept commonly used in wizarding elements to describe the compatibility between energy and a specific rune or spiritual imprint.
However, in this dimension, this word is generally not used to describe this kind of thing.
Rex looked up, pushed up his glasses, and a hint of impatience at being interrupted flashed in his eyes.
But after hearing Jemin's question clearly, his impatience was quickly replaced by extreme confusion and vigilance.
His fingers curled up unconsciously.
“Standard algorithms are too rigid,” Rex’s voice was lower than before, and he spoke more slowly. “In real high-energy environments, we must take into account the field’s own… ‘bias’.”
He avoided the term "affinity" and used the word "bias".
However, given his previous image as a strict technical professional, his decision not to directly correct the error but instead to quietly modify the terminology was already a subtle response.
“Indeed, rigid standards cannot cope with all variables.” Jemin continued, his gaze fixed on the other man’s eyes behind his glasses. “Sometimes, I wish we could manipulate energy with our will, wouldn’t I?”
This statement is practically an explicit statement.
Rex's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.
He didn't answer immediately, but instead pushed up his glasses again, a gesture that seemed to have become a habit for him to conceal his inner turmoil.
After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly spoke, posing a seemingly ordinary technical question:
"Suppose... there is a closed system whose internal energy follows the law of conservation, but external observations reveal that its total entropy fluctuates periodically... What do you think is the most likely reason? Is it measurement error, or does the system itself possess an unknown... 'breathing'?"
This problem is, on the surface, a discussion of thermodynamics.
However, the terms "closed system," "periodic fluctuations of entropy," and "breathing" are often used together in the wizarding worldview to describe the evolution of demiplanes, the operation of large barriers, and even the energy tides during meditation by certain powerful beings!
The air between the two seemed to freeze instantly.
The conversations of other engineers around them, and the sound of data flowing on the light screen, all became blurred background noise at this moment.
They stood in the bustling crowd, yet it was as if they were in an invisible arena.
Jemin felt a chill run down his spine, knowing that Rex was testing him.
He dared not be careless in the slightest, his brain working at lightning speed, trying to give an answer that conformed to the framework of the world's physics, while also conveying a signal between the lines that only his "kin" could understand.
“The possibility of measurement error needs to be ruled out,” Jemin carefully organized his words, his gaze meeting Rex’s without flinching. “If it is the system’s own ‘breathing,’ then it may mean that it is not completely closed, but rather that it has a slight… energy exchange with a larger ‘void’ based on some ‘law’ that we have not yet recognized.”
He used the words "law" and "void" instead of "rules" and "universe".
If a normal person from this dimension heard what Jieming said, they would only feel that he was not skilled enough, but they could understand what he meant.
But in reality, these terms are core concepts of wizarding civilization.
Rex's pupils contracted slightly, and he involuntarily looked up to meet Jemin's gaze.
They both saw in each other's eyes the shadow of another civilization, deeply buried yet impossible to erase.
(I'm taking a day off tomorrow)
(End of this chapter)
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