Chapter 72

Yang Chen spent two days in the metal materials laboratory arranged by Zhu Rongqiang. Worried about too many people and the risk of leaks, Yang Chen refused any help from the laboratory other than the equipment, and conducted the tedious experiment alone for two days and two nights.

Since it was only a basic device, the requirements for the materials were not so extreme. Although the loss of over twenty grams of Nine Meteorite Gold Rock made Yang Chen quite heartbroken, he managed to solve the core component material problem relatively smoothly.

A strange metal, yellowish-orange, neither gold nor copper, weighing about 780 grams, finally appeared before Yang Chen.

"Although it doesn't quite reach the strength of the genuine 't3-level Nine Meteorite Adamant' from my previous life, it should be enough to manufacture a simplified version of the particle collider," Yang Chen said, tossing the unremarkable metal in his hand and stretching comfortably.

Experiments were not his strong suit; he could even say he was half-knowledgeable. However, because the t3-level Nine Meteorite Adamant was so famous in his previous life, even someone like Yang Chen, who was solely focused on cultivation, roughly remembered its formula.

Although he failed more than ten times over the past two days, he managed to produce it勉强地……

"There's still a lot of room for improvement. With a few more adjustments to the formula, I should be able to get a stronger and purer Nine Meteorite Adamant. But it won't reach t3-level for now; t2-level might be achievable... If I can make it, a lot of important components for various instruments can be resolved."

Looking thoughtfully at the Nine Meteorite Adamant in his hand, Yang Chen stretched his sore neck and then casually tossed it into a black leather bag he had brought in.

For the current technological level on Earth, even a Nine Meteorite Adamant with purity and strength that didn't even reach t1-level would still be a super metal material capable of shocking the world. According to Yang Chen's estimation, the Nine Meteorite Adamant he had produced could withstand the penetration of the most powerful bullets currently in the world with just 0.7 millimeters of thickness!

If increased to about 1 millimeter, no armor-piercing rounds could penetrate it!

Of course, even in the future, when Nine Meteorite Gold Rock was gradually found in various lost subspaces, its price remained extremely high, and no one would use it to mass-produce tanks or planes...

But just to be safe, before leaving the laboratory, Yang Chen meticulously cleaned up everything he had used over the past two days, ensuring everything was in order before he left the laboratory with his bag.

After two days and two nights of continuous experimentation, even Yang Chen felt a bit dazed.

Just as he closed the laboratory door behind him, he turned around to see a slightly chubby figure approaching.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a collision. If he had been slower, he would have bumped into the man solidly...

"How do you walk? So careless!" The bald middle-aged man stopped, frowned, and scolded, "Which professor's student are you? I've never seen you before."

"Sorry, I've been in there for two days straight, and I'm a bit dazed," Yang Chen apologized.

The middle-aged man's frown deepened, "In there for two days? Nonsense! Where's your teacher?"

"I'm not a student of your school... I just borrowed your laboratory for two days," Yang Chen replied with a smile. "It was approved by Director Liu. If there's any problem, you can talk to him. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving."

There was no metal laboratory in Jinzhou City that met Yang Chen's requirements. In the end, it was Zhu Rongqiang, with his extensive connections, who helped Yang Chen contact the national key metal materials research laboratory at Shazhou University of Science and Technology. Because Zhu's metallurgical company had a project cooperation relationship with this laboratory and invested a significant amount of money each year, they allowed Yang Chen to use the laboratory for two days.

But just as Yang Chen was about to leave, the bald man's face darkened, and he stepped forward to block Yang Chen's path, "Stop right there! I'll verify who approved your access, but you're not leaving until you explain yourself!"

"What do you mean?" Yang Chen was also getting annoyed. He frowned and asked, "Why are you being so unreasonable? Who are you?"

"Who am I? Hmph!" The bald man snorted, reaching out to grab Yang Chen's arm. "You don't even know me, and you dare to come here and occupy the national laboratory resources? I don't think you'll be going back! Follow me!"

Yang Chen wasn't about to be pushed around. He slapped the man's pudgy hand away, "Talk properly and don't touch me. Don't cause trouble for yourself!"

"How dare you talk to me like that?!" The bald man's face turned green with anger. He laughed bitterly and pointed at Yang Chen, "You've got some nerve! Do you know who I am?"

"You'd better move your hand away from me!" Yang Chen's face darkened. He had paid a sponsorship fee for the two days of laboratory use, and now this man was trying to deny it?

Just as the tension between them was about to explode, a middle-aged woman in her forties approached. Seeing the situation, she quickly ran over and shouted, "Director Wang, what's going on?"

"What's going on... Hmph! I was only abroad for a few days, and this kind of scoundrel sneaks into our laboratory. If I stay away for a few more days, will you sell the laboratory equipment as scrap?!"

The bald man, Director Wang, said angrily, "Using national resources for personal gain is at best embezzlement, and at worst corruption! This matter..."

"Director Wang, please calm down. This young man is from the Yuanbang Steel Group, not an outsider!" The middle-aged woman quickly explained with a smile. "Director Liu personally approved it. This young man has been working on a new project for the past two days, and they already sent over 50,000 yuan in research funding the day before yesterday..."

The laboratory, though funded by the state and managed by Shazhou University of Science and Technology, always faced the challenge of funding. Besides the regular vertical funding, the horizontal funding from project collaborations with enterprises was now the main source of funding for many laboratories.

Yuanbang Steel Group had project collaborations with many universities in the country, and the metal materials laboratory at Shazhou University of Science and Technology was one of them, receiving millions of yuan in funding each year, making it one of the laboratory's primary funding sources.

Although Yang Chen's use of the laboratory equipment for two days squeezed out research time for many project groups, the 50,000 yuan in funding was not a small amount, especially since it went into the laboratory's petty cash, which could be used freely!

However, Director Wang clearly didn't care about Yuanbang Steel Group. His face darkened even more after hearing the middle-aged woman's words. He said sarcastically, "Associate Professor Chen, are you saying that our laboratory will now be all about money? Whoever pays gets to start new projects, and we can ignore the rules?"

"That's not what I meant..." Associate Professor Chen's face changed. She said, "You can verify with Director Liu..."

"Of course, I will. I don't need you to remind me!" Director Wang coldly snorted. "Do you think that just because you've latched onto a private company and pulled in some funding, you can act like you're above everyone else? I'll report this to the higher authorities immediately!"

"It's not that serious..." Associate Professor Chen coughed and said, "It's not a big deal..."

"Is occupying national resources not a big deal? Chen Aiping, your awareness is impressive!" Director Wang said angrily. "Fine, let's wait here. I'll go report to the president right now!"

"..." Yang Chen, who had been silent, couldn't take it anymore. He frowned and asked, "Are you crazy?"

It seemed that this Director Wang was full of envy and resentment. He clearly had a grudge against Director Liu, who had approved Yang Chen's access. Seeing the large sums of money being brought in, he felt unbalanced and seized the opportunity to vent his frustrations and retaliate.

But for Yang Chen, he had only used the laboratory for two days, for which the Zhu family had paid 50,000 yuan in sponsorship. No one owed him anything, and the conflict between Director Wang and Director Liu was none of his business.

He had received a text message the day before, informing him that his father Yang Xiuyuan's retrial was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. He had a lot of things to handle over the next two days and couldn't afford to waste time here.

Without waiting for Director Wang to recover, he said, "Acting like a mad dog, biting everyone? Whatever issues you have with Director Liu are none of my business. Don't block my way. Even a dog knows not to block the path... Move!"

"Who are you calling a dog?"

"Who else? Can't you understand?" Yang Chen said angrily. "If you keep babbling, I'll deal with you in seconds! I'm saying this for the last time... Get out of my way!"

"You little scoundrel..."

"Damn..." Yang Chen didn't hesitate. He kicked Director Wang in the stomach, "Get lost!"

"Ouch..." Director Wang was immediately knocked to the ground, clutching his stomach and screaming in pain, his face turning white!

The kick was not light, as Yang Chen didn't take him seriously at all!

After the kick, Associate Professor Chen was stunned and silent, while Director Wang screamed, "You actually hit me? Fine! You're not leaving... Xiao Zhang? Xiao Zhang!!"

"Ah, Director Wang, I'm here..." A young man ran out from a nearby office, panicking when he saw Director Wang on the ground, "Oh no, what happened?"

"Call the police! This guy hit me! Call the police!!"