"Xiao Nie, what are you doing? Making such a fuss!"
Professor Ma appeared to be in his seventies or eighties, his temples streaked with white, his eye sockets deeply sunken, yet his eyes still gleamed with vibrant clarity.
He was a seasoned scholar at Hualing Research Institute and the chief examiner Chen Jin had summoned to assess Su Xun.
Nie Xun, Professor Ma's disciple, should have been in the laboratories of the academic complex attending a seminar on plasma energy batteries. Yet, for reasons unknown, he had fled the room in a state of panic.
"Professor Ma, you must come quickly! Teacher Liang and Professor Zhang are on the verge of coming to blows!"
"Hmm?!"
At these words, everyone present—except Su Xun—stood frozen in disbelief.
Thinking he had misheard, Professor Ma asked again, "What did you say?"
"Teacher Liang and Professor Zhang have an irreconcilable disagreement regarding the core issues of the button-type plasma battery. Their argument has become uncontrollable—we can barely restrain them!"
"Nonsense!"
Professor Ma's expression darkened instantly. Embarrassed, he turned toward Chen Jin and apologized, "I'm sorry to have you witness this spectacle. How about we bring young Su to the lab? Testing can be conducted there as well."
Chen Jin had no objection. "That's fine by me. Su Xun, what do you think?"
"No problem."
Hearing mention of button-type plasma batteries piqued Su Xun's interest. His Iron Man suit's plasma rifle was powered by this very technology.
He had not expected this world to have already advanced such cutting-edge technology and was eager to inspect their research progress.
"Since no one objects, let us proceed quickly," said Professor Ma, hastening toward the academic complex. If they arrived late and a fight broke out, his reputation would be utterly ruined.
Inside, they ascended the escalator. From the elevator, Su Xun observed the building's layout:
The first floor housed the university's history exhibition;
The second floor contained various administrative offices;
The third floor held the university leadership's offices;
The fourth floor was the archive room;
And the fifth—the highest floor—was the domain of the departmental laboratories, their destination.
As they approached the entrance of the physics laboratory hall, heated voices erupted from within.
Without hesitation, Professor Ma pushed open the door.
Inside Z City University's physics lab, Su Xun's eyes brightened. The room contained dozens of experimental benches, each arrayed with intricate, precise instruments. A massive supercomputer dominated the space, tirelessly running a specialized program.
Su Xun thought silently: If integrated with Nikola, this supercomputer's memory could be expanded thousands of times over!
Drawn by this thought, he moved toward the machine.
Meanwhile, Teacher Liang, clad in a blue suit, and Professor Zhang, wearing a white lab coat and black-framed glasses, continued their fierce dispute regarding the cost and practical value of manufacturing button-type plasma batteries.
Liang's voice trembled with passion: "You claim to use magnetic fields to separate the fuel and oxidizer involved in the electrochemical reaction. How large a magnetic field can you realistically fit inside such a tiny button battery? How much power could it possibly generate? Even if you manufacture it, what practical use would it have?!"
Zhang, flushed and agitated, retorted, "Replacing electrolytes with magnetic fields removes the need for electrolyte membranes, drastically cutting costs. Our goal is civilian application—who would adopt it if it remains prohibitively expensive?"
Liang scoffed, "Civilian use? The device you've created can't even power a toy car!"
Zhang shot back angrily, "Do you think you can fit a high-capacity electrode into a button battery no larger than a fingernail? Impossible!"
The two glared at each other, poised to clash physically, but their colleagues intervened swiftly, urging calm.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
A sudden rebuke silenced the room. All eyes turned toward Wang Xin.
His piercing gaze was fixed on the supercomputer. Su Xun stood before it, hand raised, poised to act.
Ignoring the warning, Su Xun's fingers descended upon the keyboard, directly altering the formula under calculation.
The scene left everyone utterly dumbfounded.
Professor Zhang exploded with rage, "Who is he?! Where did this brat come from?! Who authorized him to tamper with my calculations?!"
Breaking free from those restraining him, Zhang charged at Su Xun.
This formula was the culmination of several days' painstaking work. With results imminent, the sudden interference by an unknown youth was unforgivable!
Fang Min shook her head silently, "This kid is about to cause a catastrophe!"
Behind Chen Jin, Zhuang Yan shook his head as well. He glanced at Chen Jin but found him unperturbed, standing there with calm composure.
Watching Professor Zhang charge toward Su Xun, no one stepped forward to intervene; they merely whispered among themselves,
"Who is this guy? How can he just tamper with the lab's work so casually?!"
"He just arrived today, supposedly to join Hualing Research Institute. Seems like he has connections—Chen even sent professors to welcome him."
"Tch, this fellow's doomed for daring to mess with Professor Zhang's data!"
"He's finished."
"Serves him right! He's bound to become a laughingstock at Hualing."
"Xin Ge, do you think this guy's unlucky? He hasn't even stepped inside the institute's gates before getting kicked out."
Hearing their chatter, Wang Xin chuckled softly but said nothing. Inwardly, he mused: This brat really might be an arrogant second-generation heir who knows no bounds.
Yet, just as the crowd settled in to watch the drama unfold, they noticed that the furious Professor Zhang had abruptly fallen silent.
Now standing beside Su Xun, he leaned forward, adjusting his glasses, his gaze fixed intently on the supercomputer's screen.
"What's going on?"
"Did Professor Zhang get stunned by anger?"
"Stop guessing; let's go see for ourselves."
The crowd edged closer to the supercomputer.
Teacher Liang strode ahead with a scoff, "Hmph, it's just a crude formula. So what if it's changed? No big deal."
Though he spoke dismissively, Liang's irritation toward Su Xun—who had dared to tamper with Professor Zhang's data—was palpable. He vowed to have the students throw this troublemaker out later.
However, as Liang drew near, his eyes widened in disbelief. "What… what is this?!"
Everyone fell silent.
All eyes fixed upon the screen where the calculations had completed, and a cascade of data appeared—the design scheme for the button-type plasma battery was finalized!
"What on earth is happening?"
Chen Jin was perplexed and glanced at Professor Ma, who remained riveted to the supercomputer, showing no sign of acknowledging him.
Fortunately, Fang Min overheard Chen Jin's query and quickly explained,
"The button-type plasma battery that Su Xun modified is not only smaller in size than the original, but it also produces results millions of times more powerful than the original design."
Her excitement smoothed the lines on her face as she swallowed hard and continued,
"Moreover, this design is more cost-effective and exhibits far greater feasibility!"