Chapter 90 The Hottest Commodity: Lord's Technological Breakthrough
If the coolness brought by the bamboo spirit is like applying a towel soaked in lukewarm water to your forehead, then the chill of this mineral is like pouring a whole bucket of crushed ice over your head with a "bang".
"System, what kind of ore is this?" Lin Nanxing asked in his mind.
[...]
She was met with only silence.
The system's silence actually calmed Lin Nanxing down a bit. She turned to Shu Yi, who was still on guard, and asked, "Shu Yi, did your game interface display any information about this ore?"
Upon hearing this, Shu Yi quickly became distracted and brought up the interface.
A moment later, a clear look of surprise flashed across his eyes, and he shook his head: "No, there is no identification information whatsoever, not even the name is unknown mineral."
The two exchanged a glance and both saw the seriousness in each other's eyes.
In this data-driven, almost naked, game world, the unknown itself signifies the unusual, which is either accompanied by opportunities or dangers far beyond expectations.
But the bold get rich while the timid starve; neither of these two were cautious people.
"Never mind all that, we're already here."
Lin Nanxing made a quick decision, pulling out a bunch of mining tools from his backpack and calling out to the many magical plants that were still curiously observing from the side, "Babies, let's get to work! Come and mine for me!"
She commanded the magical plant army like a foreman; the iron tree spirit's branches curled up the pickaxe, the carnivorous plant used its leaves to support the chisel, and even the lazy coriander spirit directed its clover minions to move the scattered raw stones in a cart.
Recalling the bone-chilling cold from just now, Lin Nanxing loudly warned, "Be careful not to let any part of your body come into direct contact with the ore for an extended period of time, or you might get frostbite!"
Amidst the clanging and clattering sounds of the magical plants "working," a small mountain of ore quickly piled up inside the cave.
Lin Nanxing waved his hand and put all these precious unknown ores into his backpack.
Upon returning to her territory, she immediately contacted the Dongling City Research Institute, with whom she had a good working relationship, and sent them a sample of an untreated raw ore.
She originally thought that analyzing this completely unknown mineral would take a long time, but to her surprise, Yan Jing, the head of the research institute, came to her door in less than a day.
Its high efficiency made Lin Nanxing's heart skip a beat.
When she met Yan Jing in the reception room, the middle-aged scholar, whom she hadn't had much contact with but remembered as very calm, looked at her with unusually intense eyes.
Being stared at so intently by those eyes, Lin Nanxing felt inexplicably intimidated and subconsciously leaned back in her chair.
"Director Yan, the results are in. Is it not good?" she asked tentatively.
Yan Jing seemed to realize his lapse in composure only then. He took a deep breath and barely managed to suppress his emotions, but his voice still carried an uncontrollable excitement: "Lord Lin, how could it be bad? This result is wonderful!"
He stepped forward and handed over a neatly prepared data report and a processed ore slice.
Lin Nanxing took the report, flipped through a few pages, and was immediately struck by the dense array of waveforms, structural formulas, and impressive-sounding technical terms, which made her dizzy.
Yan Jing was clearly aware of this as well. He quickly suppressed his overt excitement and explained it to her in the clearest possible language.
"In summary, our initial assessment is that this ore is very likely the core matrix material for constructing and maintaining temperature control capabilities similar to those of your territory's barrier. It is a system material, not a regular resource that players can collect, which is the fundamental reason why our game interface cannot recognize it."
He paused, his tone tinged with disbelief: "According to the game's consistent underlying logic, these kinds of materials that constitute the basic rules of the world shouldn't appear in the player's activity area."
After introducing this astonishing discovery, Yan Jing adjusted his glasses, leaned forward slightly, and his tone became somewhat eager again: "Lord Lin, forgive my intrusion, but I wonder if you have any more samples or remaining ore?"
Lin Nanxing immediately understood his intention: "You want to apply it to the barrier of Dongling City?"
"Yes." Yan Jing nodded without any attempt to hide it, his eyes gleaming with the unique light of a researcher.
"The theory has been preliminarily verified. If we can obtain enough materials for pilot testing or even large-scale application, it may be possible to modify or strengthen the protective barrier of Dongling City, so that it can maintain a suitable internal temperature even under extreme high temperatures."
"This is not only about survival comfort, but also about significantly reducing the energy consumption of the barrier and improving the overall sustainability of the defense, which is of strategic significance to both of us."
Lin Nanxing is always generous when it comes to things that can benefit other players. She said frankly, "I have a batch of materials here that you can use, but we need to make it clear that only I can provide these raw materials at present, and I am confident that only I can provide them."
The subtext is: don't even think about getting your hands on the source of this ore.
Yan Jing nodded, not surprised by her warning: "Don't worry, Lord Lin, I have the most basic professional ethics."
*
I heard that the Star Territory has come up with something amazing again. Within just one month, the mayors of several major cities who had left long ago have all returned.
Logically speaking, as the head of a city, they shouldn't be running around every few days. The last time they all gathered was already an exception. But the new discoveries revealed by the Star Territory this time are so tempting that they can't care about any rules anymore.
Several groups of people bumped into each other at the teleportation channel in the Star Territory.
This is not surprising, since the news was spread at the same time. After learning about the barrier, no one wanted to fall behind and everyone acted immediately.
When the group of people exchanged glances, an unspoken awkwardness immediately filled the air. They were all secretly cursing how these old foxes were so well-informed.
Everyone present was shrewd and knew that seizing the initiative meant having more confidence in future collaborations.
Upon learning that Lin Nanxing had not yet decided who to collaborate with on this new material and was currently only using the Dongling City Research Institute for research and development, they unanimously resorted to their most practical approach.
Buy a house.
The villa area in Star Territory has beautiful scenery and is quiet; it's not fully occupied yet.
With a wave of their hands, the mayors each selected a villa location that caught their eye, signed the contract, and paid in full, as if they were buying cabbages on the street rather than houses.
"I plan to have my good-for-nothing son come and stay here for a while, to get some experience and soak up some of the prosperity of the Star Territory." The mayor of Nansha City said with a smile, his words quite eloquent.
The mayor of Beihai City gave an even more compelling reason: "My parents are getting old. This place is quiet, safe, and has a comfortable environment, making it suitable for them to live out their retirement."
The mayor of Zhongyuan City is a single woman whose parents passed away in an accident at the beginning of the game. She scoffed at the first two reasons and said bluntly, "With more interactions with the Star Territory in the future, we need to have a place to stay so that it will be convenient to discuss matters."
As for Dongling City, Qi Changkong had already bought a house, and his younger sister had been Lord Lin's neighbor for quite some time.
The sudden appearance of 15 million in the account immediately alerted Lin Nanxing, who usually didn't pay much attention to the specific accounts.
After listening to Zhou Qisheng's report on the silent clash between the mayors and the frenzy of buying up the villas, she couldn't help but chuckle, rubbing her forehead: "These people are too enthusiastic."
She shook her head, somewhat helplessly, "I didn't say that this ore material would only be available to one company."
That being said, the Dongling City Research Institute was still working on the specific application methods of the ore and was far from being able to promote it on a large scale. Lin Nanxing could only keep quiet about the promotion, but unexpectedly, this caused a misunderstanding, making the other major cities think that she had fallen in love with Dongling City again.
As a result, Lin Nanxing's villa began to receive a steady stream of visitors.
In the morning, the son of the elegant mayor of Nansha City personally came to visit, bringing a set of jewelry inlaid with ice crystal gemstones. He spoke earnestly, saying that it was "a small token of appreciation from his hometown, which is just right for Lord Lin's temperament." However, he left hastily under Shu Yi's death stare.
In the afternoon, the mayor's parents from Beihai City, supporting each other, brought over some homemade dried meat and dried fruit, their smiles kind: "It's just some homemade food, Miss Lin, please don't mind, have a taste."
Even in the usually low-key Zhongyuan City, the shrewd and capable female mayor sent someone to deliver a handwritten manuscript of the city's most popular romance novel, with the note: "Zhongyuan City has recently seen a surge of talented individuals, and many literary works have been revived. You can take a look in your spare time."
Lin Nanxing picked up the top book, whose title page had a few large characters: "The Cold-Faced City Lord's Little Runaway Wife".
She paused for two seconds, then flipped through the next few books.
Titles like "Rebirth: I Became a Lord in the Apocalypse" and "The Overbearing Demonic Plant Fell in Love with Me" are increasingly eye-catching, and their synopses and summaries are packed with classic elements such as misunderstandings, amnesia, and running away with a baby.
Lin Nanxing: "..."
This is truly a revival of literary works.
It has to be said that this gift was indeed unexpected. In her impression, Mayor Zhou of Zhongyuan City had always been a low-key, meticulous, and almost rigid professional woman. She never expected that she would enjoy reading melodramatic romance novels in private.
Why does this sudden contrast feel so cute?
In response, Qi Ruiyi offered a sharp comment: "Nanxing, have you ever considered that this is most likely her judgment of you?"
Lin Nanxing paused in his action of putting meat into the hot pot: "You mean, Mayor Zhou thinks I like watching this? How could that be? I am..."
"Come on," Qi Ruiyi interrupted her rudely, pointing at her with the tip of his chopsticks, "Look at your dark circles, you've been staying up late these past few days, haven't you?"
Lin Nanxing subconsciously touched her cheekbone, somewhat speechless. The novels were indeed incredibly entertaining; in a world where entertainment was scarce, they were practically addictive.
Seeing her guilty look, Qi Ruiyi laughed, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. You've been a little annoyed by these people these past few days, haven't you? Having known you for so long, I know you fairly well. You're not the kind of person who likes to entertain guests or engage in power struggles."
Lin Nanxing looked up at her and didn't deny it: "Didn't you invite me to hot pot this time for the same reason?"
“My brother did mention it, asking me to spend more time with you.”
Qi Ruiyi nodded frankly, then shrugged, "But based on my understanding of you, you must already know what's going on. Our deliberate attempts to please and get close to you will only be a burden for you."
She scooped up a mouthful of fresh, tender mushrooms and placed them in Lin Nanxing's bowl, her voice cheerful: "So this hot pot meal is just a get-together between friends, a chance to chat. You can eat without worry."
Looking at the steaming food in the bowl, Lin Nanxing felt a slight, invisible tension in her heart ease; she believed what they said.
My initial contact with Qi Ruiyi was through the trade of bamboo products.
At that time, Qi Ruiyi was in charge of a team leader. He spoke clearly and decisively, and appeared serious and reliable.
But after getting to know her, I discovered that this girl was actually lively and outgoing at heart, and a complete fighting fanatic. She was ten times more excited about sparring than about playing.
Therefore, Lin Nanxing felt most relaxed when she was with Qi Ruiyi, without having to guess whether she had other intentions.
She picked up a mushroom from the bowl and put it in her mouth. The delicious juice melted on her tongue, and the frustration of being subtly surrounded by enthusiasm from all sides for the past few days seemed to dissipate a little with this sweet taste.
Yan Jing's research on the Cold Marrow Ore has entered the final verification stage, and her team of magical plant miners has been working diligently these days, with the ore reserves steadily increasing.
In a few days, once the specific application plan and preliminary allocation plan are released, she will probably be able to breathe a little easier from the current overwhelming enthusiasm.
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