Chapter 157: Experiment
Chapter 157: Experiment
Chen Chen gently lifted the blue glowing crystal in his hand. The volume of this crystal was about 0.001 cubic meters, which was 1000 cubic centimeters, but the weight was in the vicinity of 4.5 kilograms.
Something was off...
Chen Chen frowned. There was no way this was the relative density of a crystal. The main component of a crystal was silicon dioxide which chemical formula is SiO2, its mass was about 2.66g/cm3.
Following that logic, if the main component of this piece of crystalline in his hand was silicon dioxide, it should not weigh above 2.7 kilograms.
According to the movie setting, the crystalline was a protective layer of shell formed by a reaction caused by the alien plantation secretion reacting with underground soil. It should not be composed of foreign matter.
It should only contain the residual biological energy field of the alien plantation at most. Energy fields had no weight behind them.
In other words, the matter composition of this crystal was closer to that of a spinel.
Just like a crystal, the spinel was a variation of a gemstone. It was superior to the crystal whether in terms of Mohs hardness, quality, or even price. The chemical formula of spinel was MgAl2O4. It weighed 4.5g/cm3, with Mohs hardness reaching up to grade 8.
Things were getting interesting...
Chen Chen continued dissecting the subject.
After all, he had personally read the setting written by the scriptwriter. The crystalline was simply referred to as a crystal in the movie setting. There was no mention of its base component, which made sense since the screenwriter was not a chemist. As far as Chen Chen and the rest of the audience was concerned, it was a crystal, which was silicon dioxide.
As it turned out, upon extracting the crystalline, he had discovered that the crystalline was not silicon dioxide but aluminum-magnesium tetroxide instead.
In that case, did that make the universe to which the USB drive connected to reality or an abstract universe?
If it was an abstract universe, how was it able to overturn the crystalline component logic as portrayed in the script and yield an unexpected result instead?
What was the explanation behind its appearance if it was reality?
Chen Chen looked down at the crystal in his palm. Was it the screenwriter Max Landis who had devised an instance of a real universe in the USB drive or did the universe come before Max Landis and in turn inspired Max Landis’ work?
Also, how was it that the sequel which he had instigated managed to synchronize itself accordingly with the built universe?
“It would be great if there was a way to explore the opposite universe...”
An idea suddenly struck Chen Chen’s mind like a zip of lightning. It was an unprecedented revolutionary idea. Chen Chen’s pupils shrunk faintly as he seemed to have thought of a possibility.
Could that be the truth?
No, it was impossible!
In that case, what was the explanation behind him being able to constantly instantiate the same item from a movie?
Hundreds of billions of neurons in Chen Chen’s mind began operating at maximum efficiency. Countless thoughts and ideas bounced off of each other in Chen Chen’s mind. In that very instant, numerous possibilities raced through Chen Chen’s mind.
Phew!
Chen Chen shook his head and buried these ideas in the depths of his mind. It was not yet the moment to verify his hypothesis as it would have to wait until the completion of the nuclear power plant.
Chen Chen picked up a radiation detector and tested the crystalline with it. He discovered that the radiation field of the crystalline was very small.
It would appear that just like in the movie, the force field of the crystal would not be triggered unless it sensed the surrounding biological force field.
This was the exact reason Chen Chen wore the nuclear radiation quarantine suit.
At this point, Chen Chen had already long confirmed that the attributes of items extracted from a movie were the same as its variation inside the movie. Any item that was harmless inside a movie was harmless in real life as well. The same logic applied to drugs like NZT-48 and AD-001.
Still, it was better to be safe than to be sorry, especially since Chen Chen was going to directly use it on himself. He decided to conduct an animal experiment.
There was no need for a complex experiment. Chen Chen only had to make sure that the irradiation process did not harm the body in any way before conducting the irradiation on himself without cause for worry.
Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao quickly returned to the Spire laboratory.
Upon being notified by Little X, Chen Chen placed the crystalline in the quarantine zone before exiting and unlocking the exterior door for the two men.
“Uh, Boss, you...”
Qian Wenhuan and Cheng Cao were slightly startled when the sliding metal door revealed Chen Chen who was tightly wrapped in a heavy suit of protective gear, standing at the opposite side.
“Where are the mice?”
Chen Chen asked.
“Oh, yes. It’s here!”
Qian Wenhuan quickly took out two mouse cages from behind him.
Each of the cages contained four white mice with a bed of pure white fur and stark red eyes.
Chen Chen nodded as he took them with one hand while he further instructed, “If there’s nothing else going on, Cao can take a look around the area. It’s going to be some time before I come back out so Wenhuan can head back first.”
“Okay.” After receiving Chen Chen’s instructions, Qian Wenhuan took his leave hesitantly.
After all this time, he was starting to figure out Chen Chen’s style. Chen Chen was a standard efficiency-oriented leader, there was no need for any flattery or curry favoring with Chen Chen. All he needed to do was do his part and complete whatever further instructions given to him.
After sealing up the laboratory again, Chen Chen first placed one of the cages on a bench outside the quarantine zone. He then took the other cage into the quarantine zone with him.
Upon stepping into the quarantine zone, Chen Chen suddenly heard a low but piercing hum. This noise originated from the crystalline with its faint blue glow.
Did it sense the surrounding biological force field?
Chen Chen glanced at the cage he held in his hand. He decided to just open the lid of the cage and place the fist-sized crystalline inside the cage right away!
One of the mice seemed to be taken by curiosity. It stared at the clear, transparent crystal before crawling up to it without any reservation and gave it a sniff.
Upon the mice making the first contact with the crystal, the humming of the crystal suddenly began to grow louder. Its blue body was slowly morphing into a red tint as well!
Chen Chen was fascinated. He quickly picked up the radiation detector to his side to check its reading. The radiation at this moment had spiked to up to 30 millisieverts.
It was rather clear that the radiation inside the crystal was completely released following the mice’s touch!
“Is there something decaying in the crystalline?”
Chen Chen considered silently. He was going to have to run a proper test after this experiment concluded. He needed to see if this crystalline was truly a spinel and if some substance within it triggered a decaying process upon contact.
The substance in the crystal decayed rapidly. Within a little over ten seconds, the glowing red light it had emitted slowly faded out and soon vanished without a trace.
The crystal regained its original blue luster as well.
The mice seemed to be affected by the crystalline activity. When the crystalline was releasing its radiation, the four mice became visibly irritated and were running around inside the cage. Two of the mice had fresh blood spilling out of their eyes and the tip of their noses.
All of the mice regained their composure after the crystalline had completely released its radiation.