novelden Chapter 62 The Wallfacer Zhang Beihai
Chapter 62 The Wallfacer Zhang Beihai
Zhang Bin parked his bicycle next to the bench and asked impatiently, "Why? Why do you know my ball lightning model isn't producing results?"
Li Youyu smiled. He didn't actually understand any formulas or calculations; he only knew that Zhang Bin had spent his entire life trying to construct a correct model of ball lightning. Therefore, at this point in time, every calculation he made was naturally wrong.
However, this doesn't mean Zhang Bin lacks ability; he simply hadn't realized that ball lightning isn't actually lightning at all, but rather macro-electrons with microscopic particle properties. The thunderstorm at the Jade Emperor Peak of Mount Tai misled him, leading him further and further astray.
"Teacher Zhang, what do you think ball lightning is?"
"Is that even a question?" Zhang Bin paused, "The name 'Rolling Mine' already explains its nature. It's a rare physical phenomenon in the atmosphere, with an unknown formation mechanism."
"I have some observation records of ball lightning here, you can take a look." Li Youyu handed over a pile of materials, which were eyewitness records of ball lightning from across the country over the past 30 years.
Zhang Bin glanced at the results; there were only five times in total. He laughed self-deprecatingly.
Spanning 30 years and involving several generations, the observation records for the entire country are only a handful.
Ball lightning is a very rare thing; to have seen it twice is already a blessing from heaven.
As Zhang Bin reviewed the documents, he noticed that most of the five eyewitness accounts were about ball lightning seen during thunderstorms, which was very similar to his experience at the Jade Emperor Peak of Mount Tai.
What is most heartbreaking is the plight of one family.
They were struck by ball lightning. His parents, along with his wife Zheng Min, were turned to ashes by the ball lightning, leaving only their young son alive.
The most unique account comes from a veteran's eyewitness account. In the summer of 52, on the battlefield north of the Yalu River, the veteran was on a flight mission when he saw a ball lightning floating in the air at an altitude of 2000 meters. At that time, his flight speed was 400 kilometers per hour. The basketball-sized object stayed close to the fuselage of the aircraft until it disappeared half an hour later.
After reading this detailed eyewitness account, Zhang Bin realized how outrageous his previous model was.
Ball lightning is not affected by the atmosphere and may not have a spatial entity, or even an ionic entity.
This one point alone could completely overturn his decades of research.
"I see."
Zhang Bin, trembling, took off his glasses. "I'll go back and adjust the model based on these eyewitness accounts..."
These materials illuminated a corner of ball lightning, and Zhang Bin felt that there was much more to study. He didn't know when this path would end, but at least there was a way.
"Teacher Zhang, I'm not here to tell you how to recognize ball lightning; I'm here to tell you what it actually is."
If ball lightning were a problem, providing Zhang Bin with eyewitness information would simply give him more known conditions, while Li Youyu would directly tell him the reference answer, saving him the trouble of solving the problem.
"Ball lightning is an observable phenomenon that occurs when macro-electrons are excited to high energy levels; it has nothing to do with lightning."
"Hong Electronics...? You mean this thing, about the size of a basketball, is electronic...?"
Zhang Bin's eyes widened. Compared to the size of a ball lightning bolt, an electron might be billions of times smaller. If an electron can be observed with the naked eye, then what about the atomic nucleus? How big would an atomic nucleus have to be?
"Macroelectrons are transparent cavitation bubbles under normal conditions. They are only excited and transformed into luminous and dense spheres when they receive external energy input. This is why they often appear during thunderstorms, as lightning itself is a high-energy plasma."
"this……"
Zhang Bin was stunned by Li Youyu's rapid-fire explanation.
He tried to find answers from the perspectives of electricity, atmospheric dynamics, and space weather, but he never thought of looking at ball lightning from the perspective of microscopic particles.
"I need to think about it."
Zhang Bin believes that scholarship is never an abstract concept, and that what Li Youyu presents is too unconventional for him to fully accept.
"Please go ahead, Teacher Zhang."
Li Youyu didn't say anything more.
On the surface, Zhang Bin is conducting research on ball lightning alone. In reality, his wife Zheng Min, who was struck by ball lightning many years ago, has long since transformed into a quantum ghost, watching him from the world of probability.
In the original novel, it was Zheng Min who engraved the correct mathematical model on Zhang Bin's tombstone after his death, which guided Ding Yi and Lin Yun to find the macro-atom.
Having reached a quantum state, Zheng Min has a more extensive and profound understanding of ball lightning.
Now, Li Youyu is revealing information about ball lightning to Zhang Bin in advance so that he can pass the message on to Zheng Min in the quantum world.
The couple knew the nature of ball lightning twenty years in advance and developed the correct model; it shouldn't be too long.
With the model, Li Youyu can try to locate and capture macro-atoms, and use the characteristics of macro-atoms to counter the quantum ghost that has been hiding in the dark.
Li Youyu left his contact information with Zhang Bin and then returned to the Deep Space Research Department from the south.
As soon as I stepped out of the train station, I was hijacked into a jeep with military license plates and driven toward the military family compound.
"You've been promoted to major."
The two taels of silver on Zhang Zhi'ao's military uniform were particularly glaring in the sun.
"Nonsense, lying still in one place, that's a turtle."
Zhang Zhi'ao gripped the steering wheel and tossed Li Youyu a brown paper bag. "You've been away lately, so the Future Historians have compiled all their predictions from the past year. The results are in here. Take a look."
Li Youyu tore open the paper bag; the documents were arranged according to real-world time.
"Four simulations in less than a year?"
The simulation was a complex task, involving data collection, logical evolution, and discussions among all participants. Just compiling the results took a month.
In Li Youyu's understanding, this kind of deduction is like a major version update in a game, which usually happens only once every few months or half a year.
Where does it happen so frequently?
Zhang Zhi'ao glanced at Li Youyu, "We'll have to ask the ministry. Scientific and technological achievements change every day. We don't want to be so frequent, but it seems like we can't miss any of them, so we can only keep updating."
"Humanity is destined to lose, isn't it?"
Li Youyu turned two pages and asked.
"Humanity is doomed to lose."
Zhang Zhi'ao smiled helplessly. Even though they thought technological progress had reached an exaggerated level, the result remained unchanged.
As they chatted, the car entered the military compound. Suddenly, a small figure darted out. Zhang Zhi'ao reacted quickly, turning the steering wheel and driving to the side.
"Dad! I scared you!"
Beside the car, a dazed-looking little boy laughed.
Zhang Zhi'ao was so angry he wanted to grab his belt and beat him up. "You good-for-nothing, you think you can scare a car like that?!"
As a child, Zhang Beihai ran into the house wailing. Zhang Zhi'ao was about to chase after him when a woman carrying dishes came out. "You're back? Quickly take Comrade Youyu to wash his hands and eat."
"oh."
Zhang Zhi'ao immediately forgot about taking his son away, obediently led Li Youyu into the bathroom to wash his hands.
The food was plentiful, but it was delicious and visually appealing. During the meal, Zhang Zhi'ao put a chicken leg on his wife's plate and a chicken wing on Li Youyu's plate.
"What are you doing? Feeding the guests."
Zhang Zhi'ao's wife tried to push him away, but Zhang Zhi'ao pushed her back down.
Zhang Beihai, picking up his chopsticks, exclaimed, "I want some!"
Zhang Zhi'ao stuffed a piece of chicken butt into his bowl, and Zhang Beihai chuckled.
After the meal, Zhang Zhi'ao's wife got up to clear the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them. Zhang Beihai was doing his homework at the small table in the living room, while Zhang Zhi'ao and Li Youyu were standing in the yard to digest their food.
"So, did this trip south yield any results?"
Zhang Zhi'ao asked.
"Yes, I've found the person. If we can construct a macro-atomic mathematical model, we can set a trap and catch the quantum ghost that sent the letter."
"It would be best if it were sooner."
Zhang Zhi'ao pouted, "The thought that there might be a ghost watching me makes me so uncomfortable that I can't sleep."
"You can't even handle this? What about Tomoko?"
Quantum ghosts are at least somewhat restricted in their activity, but sophons are things that can appear anywhere, in all weather conditions, and on all terrains.
They were even more terrifying than the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
"Speaking of Tomoko,"
Zhang Zhi'ao sighed, "The Trisolarans are too monstrous. How could they even create something like this? With a thing that can collect information everywhere, how can we fight a war? There's simply no way to fight it."
"So, I agree with your point of view: humanity is destined to lose."
"No," Zhang Zhi'ao waved his hand, "If even you give up the fight, then humanity truly has no hope."
"I didn't say that humanity is destined to lose, or that it will necessarily be a complete defeat."
"Are you just going around in circles with me?"
"You don't understand, but someone else does."
"Who?"
"Your son."
"Zhang Beihai?"
Zhang Zhi'ao turned around and waved to Zhang Beihai, who was doing his homework in the living room. "Silly son, come out."
"What?" Zhang Beihai asked, clutching a pencil as he walked out.
Zhang Zhi'ao stroked his son's head and said, "Tell your Uncle Li, do you think Earthlings can defeat aliens?"
Zhang Beihai thought for a moment and nodded, "We can win."
"Hey, why?"
"Because Dad is here."
"You brat!" Zhang Beihai's sudden flattery made Zhang Zhi'ao a little tipsy, and there was a hint of a smile that he couldn't suppress.
But to show Li Youyu that he had misjudged the person, Zhang Zhi'ao added, "Suppose this alien is very powerful, even the strongest dad on Earth can't beat him, do you think humans can still win?"
Zhang Beihai nodded again. "Okay."
"You just said your old man is the best, but even the best of them all failed. Who else can beat you?"
Zhang Beihai said, "I... When I grow up to be even more powerful than my father, I will come back and defeat these bad guys."
"Alright, that's all for you. Go do your homework."
Zhang Zhi'ao sent Zhang Beihai back, then turned to Li Youyu and spread his hands, revealing an expression that said the child was beyond redemption.
Li Youyu also smiled.
The little sapling that is Zhang Beihai, the wall-faced man, has already begun to sprout.
-----
The military compound where Zhang Zhi'ao lived was very close to Ye Wenjie's home. After leaving Zhang Zhi'ao's residence, Li Youyu made a detour to Ye Wenjie's house.
When they knocked on Ye Wenjie's door, they learned that the couple had gone to the nearby night market to buy things.
"Teacher Ye isn't here, you should go back first." A little girl blocked Ye Wenjie's doorway, her body pressed against half the door, looking at Li Youyu warily.
"Who are you?"
The little girl blocking the doorway was unfamiliar. She was probably three or four years older than Yang Dong, but her manner of speaking was much more mature than that of her peers.
"Uncle Youyu."
Hearing Li Youyu's voice, another head appeared from behind the door. Yang Dong, with pigtails, patted the little girl's shoulder and said, "Sister, this is Uncle Youyu. He's not a bad person. He can come in."
"Oh." Hearing Yang Dong's words, the little girl took half a step back, opened the wooden door, and then returned to the coffee table in the living room, where she began to read a book by herself.
Yang Dong took one of Li Youyu's fingers and guided him to the coffee table. Pointing to a small wooden stool, he said, "Uncle Youyu, please sit down. Mom and Dad will be back in a little while."
After entertaining Li Youyu and sitting down, Yang Dong also started reading a book.
Two little girls sat facing each other, their draft papers spread out on the coffee table. Li Youyu peeked over and saw that Yang Dong was learning multiplication. You should know that this is a course that is taught in the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school. Yang Dong is only 4 years old now, just the right age to start kindergarten.
The little girl opposite was even more outrageous. She was holding a book about mechanical principles, reading it with great interest, occasionally taking notes and calculating formulas, looking like she had completely mastered the book.
"Xiao Yangdong, is this your friend?" Li Youyu asked.
Yang Dong hummed in agreement and said, "Sister Lin Yun is my good friend. Every day, she comes to ask my mom questions."
"Your name is Lin Yun?"
Li Youyu looked at the somewhat aloof little girl with some surprise.
Lin Yun glanced at him, then looked back at the book in her hand. "Yes, my name is Lin Yun."
"Why are you reading these books? Are you interested in weapons?"
"Yes," Lin Yun said, "I think they are all very beautiful, like roses."
Upon hearing this, Li Youyu confirmed that the little girl was Lin Yun from Ball Lightning, a woman whom readers considered to be even more intimidating than Wade.
Unfortunately, she triggered macro-atomic nuclear fusion, transformed into a quantum rose, and fell before the Crisis Era, becoming the person Ding Yi could never forget.
On another note, it seems that both Yang Dong and Lin Yun in the future have some connection with Ding Yi, but it's unclear where that kid is currently.
Li Youyu didn't plan to look for him. He thought that after more than ten years, he would naturally stand out. At that time, he would bring him into the Deep Space Research Institute when he was in his prime to help with science.
Among the pile of books beside Lin Yun, Li Youyu found a brochure announcing the opening of the USTC Unlimited Class. On the seam of the brochure, the two large characters "Lin Yun" had been written in pencil.
"Do you want to take this exam?" Li Youyu asked, pointing to the brochure.
Lin Yun nodded, "Yes, I want to create beautiful weapons."
"What will we do with it after we build it?"
Lin Yun rubbed his nose.
"Nothing, I just like it."