NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40 - 40 Dawn Stone!
Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Dawn Stone!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Arctic Circle.
Right now, Lu Zhou is in a research laboratory inspecting a stone. If Chu Zixuan was here, he would instantly recognize the stone to be similar to the one he’d seen in Sky Stone Village!
He was rather content at the moment, with physicists, biologists, historians, and chemists all gathered here. In the past, humans weren’t this unified; even deciding on a collaborative project required assessing its pros and cons…
Shortly after, experts of various disciplines began inspecting the stone with their knowledge and techniques.
Once their examinations were finished, Lu Zhou quickly asked, “What is this?”
The archaeologist started, “Based on the stratigraphy, this stone first appeared on Earth around a million years ago…”
The other scholars agreed, “Indeed, this thing has been on Earth for about a million years!”
Lu Zhou frowned and said, “So you’re saying that this stone isn’t a product of Earth?”
“Correct!”
An astronomy expert nodded, saying, “This is a fragment left over from when a small asteroid about a kilometer in diameter struck the Earth. It isn’t a product of the Earth!”
“We’ve used various formulas to roughly calculate that the meteorite itself existed for about a hundred million years, but it’s only been on Earth for a million years!”
Lu Zhou nodded in understanding, “So there are stones like this one, about a kilometer in diameter. Right now, I’m not asking you to figure out why this stone can repel insects. I want you to calculate, as quickly as possible, the impact point of this small asteroid when it struck the Earth a million years ago, the extent of the splash area, and possible landing sites where fragments could have fallen!”
Just as the words were out of his mouth, an expert interrupted, “The impact point has been simulated. While the others were performing measurements, I’ve already simulated the impact point!”
With that, he quickly handed a simulation image to Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou glanced at the image on the tablet. It indeed showed a small asteroid entering Earth from outer space and subsequently colliding with it. He intently asked, “Where is this?”
He paused, finding the impact location different from any continent that he knew of.
“I simulated it based on the geographical conditions of a million years ago. The continents were different then…”
“Just tell me the geographical location as it is now!”
“Shuchuan!”
Lu Zhou was momentarily taken aback. He stammered, “Please don’t tell me, the Shuchuan basin was formed by this small asteroid?”
“Not entirely by the asteroid’s impact. The Shuchuan basin was formed gradually due to tectonic movements. We can only base our simulations of the landscape a million years ago on differences found in the soil strata…”
After sorting out the information, Lu Zhou got a clear picture. He left a brief instruction to them to continue researching why the stone could repel insects, before rushing towards the command center.
Upon receiving the news, Yao Zhenguo was overjoyed and said quickly, “You’re saying that such a small stone can keep the insects away?”
Lu Zhou nodded, ‘Yes, although we don’t know the specific principle behind it yet, all types of insects encountered so far avoid areas where this stone is present. ”
Yao Zhenguo hurriedly asked, “Then what is the coverage area of this stone?”
“Based on our research, we assume that the stone’s mass determines the scope of its radiation…”
As Lu Zhou earnestly took out a piece of paper to start calculating, he said, “To help you understand, let me explain it using concepts taught in compulsory education…
Yao Zhenguo kept a straight face. He had long forgotten the formulas learned years ago. He wanted to say, ‘Just tell me the conclusion,’ but he didn’t interrupt seeing Lu Zhou’s enthusiastic expression.
“Through professional calculation, we found that the density of this stone is 3g/cm3 , the mass is around loog, and the volume is about 33cm3. The radiation scope is roughly a circle with a diameter of a hundred meters…”
Yao Zhenguo nodded, “So, a small loog stone can radiate within a one-hundred-meter diameter?”
“Correct!”
“And how much of this stone do we have?”
“We roughly calculated that the volume of the small asteroid with a diameter of one kilometer is approximately 294524306.25 cubic meters, and its mass is around 883572.92 tons!”
“If we collect all the meteorite fragments, they can cover about 613442.96 square kilometers!”
At this point, Yao Zhenguo perked up and quickly asked, “Aside from
Shuchuan, where else can we find this stone?”
“Pretty much everywhere in our country. Partly because the splash area is vast, and partly because tectonic movements carried these stones throughout the country!”
“However, the closer to the Shuchuan basin, both the number and density of the stones are higher!”
As Lu Zhou was explaining, he opened the satellite map data, pointed out the situation in Shuchuan, and said, “Look, within Shuchuan, there are more than a hundred sites where no insect intrusion has been reported…”
“Additionally, some of the mountain peaks now have similar situations, indicating the presence of these foreign meteorites!”
“Excellent job!”
Yao Zhenguo unexpectedly praised and then asked, “What’s the name of this stone?”
Lu Zhou paused before answering, “We haven’t had the chance to name it yet!”
After discovering the unusual properties of the stone, the research institute immediately embarked on experiments — they hadn’t had the time to consider what to name it.
“Now, give it a name!”
Knowing the severity of the situation, Lu Zhou named it quickly after some thought, “Let’s call it the Dawn Stone, then. It dispels darkness and brings the dawn!”
“Good!”
Yao Zhenguo clapped his hands in agreement, promptly issuing orders to his staff, “Compile all the information Lu Zhou has provided and distribute it across all the military districts in our country so that everybody is aware of the existence of the Dawn Stone. Moreover, military districts closer to the location can consider leading civilians to retreat to the Shuchuan basin…”
Soon, in the skies above the Arctic Circle base, dozens to hundreds of planes from the Hua Nation took flight again, heading towards the interior of the country. This time, they were bringing hope in the form of the Dawn Stone!
After Lu Zhou left, a member of the think tank inquired.
“Do we need to share this information with other countries?”
Yao Zhenguo counter-questioned, “Do other countries have any Dawn Stones?”
The think-tank member shook his head, “No, almost all of the Dawn Stones are within our country!”
Yao Zhenguo replied indifferently, “Then we can hold off for a bit!”
Upon returning to the research institute, someone quickly reported to Lu Zhou.
“We’ve confirmed via satellite comparisons and calculations. Besides being embedded within rocks, a significant amount of the Dawn Stone had been driven deep underground due to tectonic movements…”
“Based on the tectonic movement chart of the last million years, the deeper one goes into the Shuchuan basin, the more Dawn Stones there are. Similarly, the higher the western mountains of Shuchuan are, the more populated they are with Dawn Stones…”
“Have we found a detection method?”
“No, we can only confirm the existence of the Dawn Stone based on the insects’ fear of it… The Dawn Stone looks too ordinary. If not for its ability to repel insects, all of its properties are almost the same as those of ordinary rocks….”