Lin Xue was also stunned.
She stared at the incredibly simple Rune.
She couldn’t sense the slightest bit of obstruction.
Instead, it possessed a natural, harmonious beauty, an elegance born from the principle that the greatest truths are the simplest.
This completely contradicted the decade-plus of Rune Engineering knowledge she had accumulated.
But she trusted her Intuition more.
"Everyone, shut up!"
Lin Xue’s cold shout instantly silenced the noise in the lab.
She walked up to Han Feng, her gaze sharp.
"And the risk?"
"Verifying it is simple."
Han Feng’s tone was calm.
"We don’t need to etch it permanently. Find a Spiritual Energy Paint with Dragon Blood Ink as the main component. I’ll use it to paint the Rune on by hand."
"It’s a one-ti-use consumable. We can wipe it off at any ti. Zero risk."
"If it doesn’t work, we’ll figure sothing else out."
’Zero risk?’
A decisive look flashed in Lin Xue’s eyes.
"Alright! We’ll do it your way!"
"I’ll have soone prepare the materials imdiately!"
This scene was quickly relayed to Chen Kai by a spy he had planted.
In his private office.
After hearing the report, Chen Kai was first taken aback.
Then, his unrestrained, wild laughter echoed through the office.
"Hahahahaha!"
"A Harmony Talisman?"
"And painted on with Spiritual Energy Paint?"
"Has Lin Xue lost her mind? She’s truly clutching at straws!"
He picked up a cup of Spirit Tea and took a leisurely sip, a look of absolute confidence on his face.
"Go. Leak this information anonymously to those old fossils at the institute."
"Just say that Lin Xue is ssing around with the Su Family’s project, fooling around with so superstitious snake-oil redies."
"Just you wait."
"Once they’ve completely wrecked the aircraft, Miss Su will naturally understand who the only reliable person for this project is."
Chen Kai was in an excellent mood.
He even decided to head to the lab personally to "offer his support."
And at the sa ti, enjoy watching their final struggle.
...
「Half an hour later.」
Lin Xue’s team had prepared all the materials Han Feng needed.
Under the nervous gaze of everyone in the lab,
Han Feng held a special rune pen, dipped it into the viscous, blood-like paint, and began to draw, stroke by stroke, on the brand-new Coupler.
His movents were as smooth as flowing water.
Without the slightest pause.
It was as if he had rehearsed it a thousand tis in his mind.
A few minutes later, a perfect "Harmony Talisman" appeared on the Coupler’s surface.
Just then, Chen Kai walked in with a "concerned" smile, carrying a few cups of coffee.
"Engineer Lin, everyone’s been working hard."
"What are you all doing? Drawing talismans to pray for blessings? I suppose that’s one way to do it."
he teased with feigned surprise.
Lin Xue couldn’t be bothered with him and directly issued a command.
"Mount it!"
"Connect to the main console! Prepare for a full-power ground test!"
"So soon?"
Chen Kai’s smile grew even wider.
"It seems you’re quite confident. In that case, I’ll have to enjoy the show."
He crossed his arms and stood to the side, ready to watch the drama unfold.
Red warning lights flashed silently.
The roar of the engines sounded once again, growing from a low rumble to a high-pitched scream, until it was deafening!
On the lab’s main screen, a massive stream of data refreshed frantically.
Chen Kai’s eyes were locked onto the few most critical core trics.
Power at one hundred percent!
Full power output!
The corners of Chen Kai’s mouth had already begun to curl upward.
’In three seconds at most, a piercing alarm will blare throughout the lab.’
However, three seconds passed.
Ten seconds passed.
The screen remained a safe, solid green.
The curve representing the energy loss rate, at the mont the power reached its peak, didn’t skyrocket madly as expected.
Instead...
it plumted below zero!
-0.03%!
"This..."
The researcher in charge of data monitoring was trembling.
"The energy loss... is negative?"
"My god, it... it’s generating its own Energy!"
"Structural resonance frequency... zero! The reading is zero! There’s absolutely no excess vibration!"
In that instant, the entire lab fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
It was imdiately followed by a tsunami-like eruption of cheers!
"We did it!"
"We actually did it!"
Lin Xue and her team mbers embraced excitedly, so even shedding hot tears.
But for Chen Kai, who stood not far away, the smile on his face completely froze.
His gaze was nailed to the glaring "-0.03%" on the screen.
His mind went blank.
’How is this possible?’
’It’s absolutely impossible!’
’Negative gain!’
’This isn’t engineering anymore, this is theology!’
CRASH!
The coffee cups on the tray in his hand slipped and fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
Scalding hot coffee splashed onto his pant leg, but he didn’t even notice.
He just stood there like a puppet, dazed, muttering unconsciously.
"Impossible... How is this possible..."
Inside the lab, the tsunami of cheers was like a physical wave, repeatedly slapping Chen Kai across the face.
The smile on his face had completely stiffened, as if he were wearing a cheap mask.
Negative gain!
Those two words were like a red-hot brand searing his mind, scorching his thoughts to a crisp.
’This isn’t scientific!’
’It violates every theory of Spiritual Energy Engineering I’ve learned over the past decade!’
’The Law of Conservation of Energy is the cornerstone of Spiritual Energy Technology! How could Energy just be created from nothing!’
"Cheating!!"
Chen Kai’s voice suddenly shot up, sharp and piercing, nearly cracking.
"You definitely falsified the data!"
He looked like a madman, his trembling finger pointing at the brightly glowing green number on the screen that seed to be mocking him.
"Lin Xue! To save your project, you actually dare to resort to such thods!"
"This is deception! This is a cri!"
The sudden accusation stunned the researchers, who had just been imrsed in their joy.
The smile on Lin Xue’s face vanished instantly, replaced by an icy chill.
"Chen Kai, watch what you say."
"Watch what I say?"
Chen Kai sneered, as if he had just grasped his last lifeline.
"Do you take for a fool? A negative energy loss? Who are you trying to kid! Only you people could co up with such a crude forgery!"
He took a step forward, spittle flying from his mouth in his agitation.
"What’s the use of faking the ground test data to look pretty?"
"The truth will co out as soon as it’s in the air!"
"When the plane crashes and people die, can you bear that responsibility?!"
His voice echoed through the lab, and a trace of hesitation appeared on the faces of many researchers.
’He’s right, this data is too abnormal.’
Just then, the lab door slid open silently.
A cold, aloof figure walked in.
It was Su Muxue.
She was dressed in a sharp, black combat suit today, her long hair tied back in a high ponytail, exuding a "keep your distance" aura.
She had originally co to check on the project’s progress but hadn’t expected to walk in on such a tense confrontation.
"What’s going on?"
Su Muxue’s voice wasn’t loud, but it silenced the entire lab in an instant.
The mont Chen Kai saw Su Muxue, his eyes lit up as if he had seen his savior.
He rushed over to Su Muxue in a few steps, pointing at Lin Xue and Han Feng with a look of profound grief and indignation.
"Miss Su! You’ve co at the perfect ti!"
"Engineer Lin... she... to pass your review, she and her team actually falsified the core test data!"
"Look!"
He pointed at the glaring negative number on the screen.
"The energy loss rate is negative! This is treating everyone like a complete idiot!"
"They couldn’t solve the problem, so they tried to muddle through with this trick!"
"They’re gambling with your fighter jet and the lives of future Pilots!"
Su Muxue’s gaze swept across the screen.
When she saw the "-0.03%", her elegant eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
She turned her head, her icy gaze landing on Lin Xue.
"Engineer Lin, I need an explanation."
Lin Xue took a deep breath, just about to speak.
But Han Feng stepped forward first, calmly eting Su Muxue’s gaze.
"Miss Su, there’s nothing wrong with the data."
Everyone’s attention imdiately focused on Han Feng.
Chen Kai sneered.
"Still trying to act tough, kid?"
"Why don’t you tell us where this negative number ca from? Does your family grow Energy in a field?"
Han Feng ignored him, simply looking at Su Muxue and slowly explaining.
"The ’Harmony Talisman’ I drew, while guiding the three streams of energy, unintentionally ford a miniature ’Three Talents Array’."
"A Three Talents Array?"
A trace of doubt flashed in Su Muxue’s eyes. It seed there was no such structure among common Rune Arrays.
"Correct."
Han Feng nodded.
"Besides regulating the internal Energy, this array has a side effect."
"It absorbs the ambient Spiritual Power from the surrounding environnt and feeds it back into the Energy Circuits."
"Although the amount absorbed is minuscule, it’s enough to offset the loss generated by the circuits themselves, with even a little left over."
"That’s why the test instrunts produced a result of negative energy loss."
This explanation sounded incredibly esoteric.
’Using ancient Array theory to explain cutting-edge technology?’
Most of the researchers present were completely baffled, feeling as if their worldview had been turned upside down.
Chen Kai reacted as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world and burst out laughing.
"Haha! A Three Talents Array?"
"Kid, have you been reading too many novels?"
"Absorbing ambient Spiritual Power? Why don’t you just say you can channel the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and ascend in broad daylight?"
"I don’t think you’re here to solve problems. I think you’re here to tell fairy tales!"
Han Feng glanced at him as if looking at a buffoon.
"Talk is cheap."
He turned to look at Su Muxue.
"Proving it is simple. We’ll know for sure after a test flight."
He said it casually, but his words carried an undeniable, powerful confidence.
anwhile, a trace of worry unconsciously appeared on Lin Xue’s face.
’Han Feng’s solution has only undergone ground testing, not a flight test. What if sothing goes wrong?’
’Besides, the Rune on the aircraft was just temporarily painted on.’
’Can it withstand the full output of Spiritual Power during high-G maneuvers?’
These were all unknown variables, and the source of her worry.
But with Su Muxue present, she couldn’t very well voice her concerns.
Seeing this, Chen Kai imdiately assud Lin Xue had a guilty conscience from cheating.
’Besides,’ he thought, ’that Rune was just painted on. How effective could it possibly be?’
’It might hold up during a ground test, but once it’s in the sky, a few high-G maneuvers would surely wash that fragile paint away in an instant.’
’Then, the truth will co out!’
At this thought, Chen Kai imdiately put on a righteous and fearless expression and shouted loudly.
"Right! He’s absolutely right! We have to test it!"
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