NOVEL NEXT Chapter 265: Alive
"What does the ring refer to?"
Chen Jian asked Fu Xi.
"There is no definite result yet."
Fu Xi's tone carried a hint of confusion.
"From the decoded information, the so-called ring most likely refers to something akin to a large-scale particle accelerator."
"The document mentions the high energy consumption attribute of this device, confirming that it requires a large amount of power."
"Mountain City ultimately abandoned this plan due to an insufficient energy supply, unable to support the operation of the device."
"But the deeper encrypted information, I cannot obtain it for now."
"Subsequent attempts might be made to regain control through reverse hacking, though it will take time."
"The computing power of Mountain City is already beyond mine, pure reliance on high-level permissions can't realize direct control."
"Understood."
Chen Jian nodded slightly.
After contemplating for a moment, he continued to ask:
"Based on the current information, can we make a credible conjecture on the specific function of the so-called 'ring'?"
"We can make some conjectures."
Fu Xi replied:
"According to current clues, the so-called 'ring' is most likely fundamental physics experimental equipment aimed at solving the problem of entropy increase."
"There are mainly three conjectures."
"First, a ring-shaped particle accelerator equipped with synchrotron light source, used to analyze the dynamics of biological macromolecules, and the change in entropy during protein folding/unfolding processes (such as conformational entropy)."
"This conjecture aligns most closely with Mountain City's view on 'entropy increase', perhaps one of the reasons for Mountain City's comprehensive virtualization."
"Second, the positron-electron collider. This device mainly explores the connection between black hole thermodynamics and quantum field theory entropy through the AdS/CFT duality theory."
"This line of research is considered likely to dissolve the low-dimensional entropy increasing process through boundary coding characteristics between high-dimensional and low-dimensional spaces, possibly achieving negative entropy effects."
"Third, the Penning trap device. It confines charged particles (such as ions) using uniform magnetic and electric fields, allowing for precise measurement of their mass/charge-mass ratio."
"This equipment is mainly used for precision observation purposes, primarily focusing on the field of weak interaction entropy, regarded as a necessary device for solving the grand unified theory."
"All three devices could be named 'ring'."
"But... I really don't understand how these three devices and research directions are related to solving the apocalypse crisis."
"In my database, related basic theoretical research is still quite rudimentary."
"Even if the equipment can be activated, it won't bring immediate results."
"Perhaps it's because my permissions are not sufficient?"
After Fu Xi finished explaining, Chen Jian, who listened in a fog, slowly shook his head.
"It can't be a permission issue."
"The so-called ring should be a device we don't yet understand."
"Otherwise, Mountain City wouldn't use the ring as a substitute."
"This is most likely a variant of existing equipment----no matter what, we must figure out what it is."
"Contact the Ring Chamber of Commerce."
"We don't have a clue, but they might!"
Upon saying this, Chen Jian paused slightly.
According to the previous information from Wang Lizhi, the Ring Chamber of Commerce had already gone into hibernation after the Beast Tide began.
Now, the Beast Tide has ended, and even Mountain City has been secured.
They certainly can't continue to sleep, right?
It's time to get to work!
"Understood, I will try to establish contact with the Ring Chamber of Commerce as soon as possible."
"Find Jin Zan."
Chen Jian added:
"He was once a merchant from the Mechanical God Sect, and had deep interactions with the Ring Chamber of Commerce."
"He can definitely find Wang Lizhi; he has his own ways."
"Understood."
Fu Xi's voice fell, and at this time, the "far-reaching" He Shuo finally entered the interior of Mountain City, meeting Chen Jian waiting at the temporary departure base.
"Captain."
He Shuo handed something to Chen Jian as soon as he arrived.
Chen Jian took a look and frowned as he asked:
"What is this thing?"
The item in his hand was covered in bloodstains, but beneath the cover of blood, there was metal with a cold gleam.
"A mineral that fell from the monster's body..."
"Mineral??"
Chen Jian asked in astonishment:
"What do you mean? Can those monsters digest minerals to power themselves?"
"No."
He Shuo shook his head and explained:
"This thing doesn't have any functionality."
"It's purely waste material enclosed within the monster's body."
"But... don't you feel there's something wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
Chen Jian weighed the mineral in his hand, contemplated slightly, and answered:
"It's too heavy?"
"Yes, extremely heavy."
He Shuo nodded.
"In terms of volume, it's heavier than gold."
"I did some simple calculations, and its density should reach 24 grams per cubic centimeter—at least."
"Where on Earth is such a thing found? How did it come about?"
As the words fell, Chen Jian's brows furrowed again.
24 grams per cubic centimeter...
To be honest, heavier than gold, but not much heavier.
But the problem is, even the heaviest metal element found on Earth, osmium metal, is only 22.59 grams per cubic centimeter.
But the issue is, the content of this metal is extremely scarce, can only be extracted from platinum, and however you look at it, it can't be manufactured into such inexplicable metal components.
"Are you sure you didn't measure it wrong?"
Chen Jian asked again.
"We can take it back for testing—shouldn't be much of an issue."
"I just heard your discussion, and I'm wondering if this thing might be a product of the so-called 'ring equipment'?"