Chapter 646

"I want to follow and see what Dr. Xie is looking for Mr. Zhang about, but there's a high probability I'll be discovered. Brother Duan, do you have any good ideas?"

Fu Weijun sat in his wheelchair, watching Xie Yanshan and Zhang Su leave the parking lot, laughing and talking, his eyes filled with longing.

Duan Wuhu was still tidying up. He rolled his eyes after hearing Fu Weijun's words: "Weijun, I say, why is your career ambition so strong? Isn't it good to rest? Look at tonight, if Brother Zhang hadn't had foresight, both of us would have been blown down the mountain. We don't know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first. Give your heart a vacation, okay?"

"Sigh, I'm just rambling. I'm counting the days; there aren't many days left in confinement, so I'm just saying it. Come, let me help you adjust the light. Is it brighter like this?"

Fu Weijun didn't dwell on it and changed the subject.

Zhang Su, who hadn't gone far, heard the conversation between Duan Wuhu and Fu Weijun and found it secretly funny. He also felt that Fu Weijun's career ambition was too strong.

The two arrived at the pitch-black mountain stream entrance. Zhang Su turned on his flashlight. Due to the terrain, this area was almost unaffected by the shockwave. It was the same as it had been during the afternoon training.

"Besides when we come here for training, usually only Haoyun wanders around this area. How about it? Is it open enough, is it secluded enough?"

"Very good, very good. This place is really good, quiet and sheltered from the wind."

Xie Yanshan praised it casually, then continued: "After you left at noon today, I immediately started testing this cubic crystal. The first item was fire..."

"Ah! Fire! Fire shouldn't be used recklessly!"

Zhang Su was startled, just as surprised as Zhao Erhu was when he heard Pang Qingyun say not to take military pay, and directly interrupted Xie Yanshan's speech.

The venom zombie explosion was just a few hours ago. The earth-shattering commotion was still fresh in his memory, and he was still shaken. And here, they were actually using fire to test the zombie's energy source. It was daring!

"You should know what that explosion tonight was about, right?"

Zhang Su stepped forward, frowning and asking seriously.

Xie Yanshan nodded: "I know, I know. It should be the explosion of the kind of venom zombie we handled before. Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, I have a sense of proportion..."

Sensing Zhang Su's panicked and serious tone, he explained: "My heating of the crystal was very gentle. During the process, I constantly observed its activity. As the temperature increased, I concluded that the black crystal has fire resistance. In short, it doesn't fear fire, and what's more..."

Having said that, he took out a large pair of tweezers from his pocket, clamped the black crystal out of the self-sealing bag, and then took out a lighter.

"Mr. Zhang, turn off the flashlight. Come, I'll give you a big surprise."

"It's agreed, it must be a surprise, not a shock!"

Zhang Su turned off the flashlight and watched Xie Yanshan's actions, understanding what he was going to do. He figured he wouldn't joke with his own life.

Snap.

Xie Yanshan lit the lighter. A small flame a few centimeters high rose from the lighter, flickering and jumping. A faint, tiny arc of light enveloped the two, casting blurry shadows on the ground.

After the flame stabilized, Xie Yanshan used the tweezers to move the black crystal onto the flame.

Throughout the process, Zhang Su's muscles were tense. However, less than two seconds after the black crystal was placed on the flame, his expression tightened. He tensed his legs, pushed off with force, and jumped three or four meters away! Whoosh.

A cluster of flames half a person high rose from the black crystal. The ink-blue flame revealed an enchanting quality, and the scorching temperature rushed toward them.

"Hahaha, Mr. Zhang, look quickly. Is this a surprise? It's more than a surprise, it's a miracle, right?"

Xie Yanshan stretched his arms straight, leaning his head back, trying to stay as far away from the heat source as possible. The light made the smile on his face look very strange, and his emotions appeared exceptionally excited. "This... a flame magnifying glass?"

Zhang Su didn't need to get too close. He could see it very clearly. The lighter's flame roasted the black crystal, and unlike how a normal flame would spread out when hitting the bottom of a pot, the lighter's flame was directly absorbed by the black crystal, and then a large cluster of flames emerged from the top of the black crystal.

"That's right, hahaha. Can you believe it? This is actually a flame enhancement device. Mr. Zhang, look again!"

Xie Yanshan clearly hadn't finished demonstrating. He carefully rotated the black crystal. As the angle of the crystal's contact with the flame above the lighter changed, the size and color of the flame above the crystal also changed accordingly! "This is the smallest state, and the temperature is also the lowest!"

While speaking, the flame above the crystal shortened to a foot high, shorter than an adult's arm, and the diameter of the flame tail was no more than the size of a bowl, with a pale red color.

"I'm adjusting the angle now, moving along this axis... Excuse me."

While operating the demonstration, the lighter in Xie Yanshan's hand went out. He clicked it repeatedly; it might have been an overheat protection, and it wouldn't light.

"Here."

Zhang Su took out his own lighter and handed it to Xie Yanshan.

After relighting the lighter, Xie Yanshan continued: "Align this edge with the flame. Look, the color has changed. This kind of flame, no, no, it's too hot."

The flame, mixed with dots of white within the black, looked to have a unique sense of high-end quality. However, because the temperature was too high, he couldn't even finish the explanation. Xie Yanshan realigned the flat side of the block with the lighter, and the black flame from just now turned back into a pale red.

"The closer to the edge, the higher the temperature of the enhanced flame. So how do you adjust the size?"

Zhang Su asked curiously.

Xie Yanshan shook his head and smiled: "Each face of the crystal is equivalent to having X and Y axes. This one adjusts the size, and this one adjusts the temperature. Look, as long as you change the position, the size and temperature can be combined at will. The maximum setting can only be demonstrated with the lowest temperature, otherwise, it will cause burns."

While explaining, Xie Yanshan held the black crystal and roasted it back and forth on the lighter. The flames presented various colorful hues. As his voice fell, the flame on the black crystal roared and burned, expanding to the height of a person, with the thickest part being as thick as a water vat.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the flame was vigorous as if it had life, releasing a large amount of light and heat! It couldn't last too long. Xie Yanshan turned the flame back to the smallest setting and lowest temperature, holding it up like a small torch, which was particularly sci-fi.

Zhang Su watched the leaping flames for a long time without speaking. The reflection of the flame spirits dancing was in his sunglasses. After about half a minute, until the lighter's flame went out again, he realized: "In this way, has our camp basically achieved energy freedom?"

Energy, the eternal pursuit of humanity.

Xie Yanshan turned on the flashlight to illuminate the ground and slowly shook his head: "Energy freedom is not quite there yet. The black crystal only provides a certain degree of enhancement. Because there is no professional equipment, I cannot accurately measure the magnification factor. Roughly estimating, combining the strength and temperature of the flame, the maximum increase can reach over ten thousand times, and even the smallest increase is a hundred times."

This was a very conservative estimate given by Xie Yanshan.

"The flame of a small lighter can become so big, and the released energy expands over ten thousand times... Dr. Xie, I don't understand much. I've only heard that nuclear fusion is very powerful. As long as humans master nuclear fusion, they can have inexhaustible energy. Is this thing any different from a nuclear fusion reactor?"

Zhang Su reached out to try and touch the black crystal. Dr. Xie indicated he could take it. Sure enough, when he got it in his hand, it was only slightly warm, about thirty degrees, which was quite magical.

"Mr. Zhang, there might be some misunderstanding here."

Xie Yanshan smiled and said: "Although I don't have professional equipment to measure it, I can be certain that the factor by which the black crystal enhances energy still has a gap compared to nuclear fusion. Do you know how many tons of coal energy the energy released by one gram of nuclear fusion fuel is equal to? Ten tons! One gram and ten million grams, there is a ten-million-fold gap in between."

"Ten million times... No wonder they say energy freedom. This technology is powerful!"

Zhang Su was shocked. The energy provided by one gram of fuel is equal to one hundred thousand tons of coal. It is indeed one of the most cutting-edge technologies of human civilization. It's a pity that it's unknown when it will be reproduced.

(End of chapter)