Chapter 123: The Romance of Science! |
"It’s fine. I’m sure you’ll consider keeping me around."
Ding Junyi’s expression was calm and unreadable. She gestured toward the workstation in the distance, where several carefully labeled petri dishes sat.
Inside them were the plant seeds that Lin Xian and KIKI had collected back on Level 89. It looked like Ding Junyi had already categorized and sorted them all.
"Your plan is to cultivate greenery on the train. Conveniently, I’m an expert in this field. While academic research and practical forestry cultivation are fundamentally different, I doubt anyone else on this train is better suited for this project than me.
"Besides, you have two Kor-3 Biological Science Research Carriages—one can be my research lab, and the other can be used as a dedicated planting carriage. I’ve already made progress in researching the Blood Scourge Flora. Plus, with multiple Ability Users onboard, I can gather valuable observational data.
"Keeping me around will help you expand into new fields."
Lin Xian raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know, there are Dawn Project operatives in Yubei City. You could probably also join Federation Phoenix or even the Iron Guard Battalion. With your credentials, why insist on boarding my train?"
Ding Junyi tilted her head slightly and gazed at Lin Xian with serious eyes.
"I already told you last night."
"I enjoy advanced physiological stimulation. Staying underground suppresses my emotions. Besides, it’s not even safe down there, is it? The events we just experienced prove that."
Lin Xian frowned. "Are you telling me you enjoy the thrill of being on the run?"
Ding Junyi responded with absolute righteousness:
"I wouldn’t entirely rule that out. But more importantly, there’s nothing more romantic than racing toward Dawn on a speeding train while facing Death. This is a fusion of science and romance—and I get to have both."
Lin Xian was speechless.
He had assumed Ding Junyi was just a stoic academic, but now he understood why people often said:
"The calmest people hide the fiercest passions."
Ding Junyi was a prime example of that.
After a long sigh, Lin Xian finally responded, "Fine. If you still feel this way after we reach Yubei City, I’ll let you stay on board."
"Thank you."
Without another word, Ding Junyi turned back to her work.
Lin Xian shook his head with a smile and left to wake up Daluo, planning to start installing armor on the nuclear-powered locomotive.
Blueprint Upgrade Complete!
Just then, his system screen flashed with a notification from the R&D Center.
【Blue Sky KK-93 Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier Blueprint Upgrade Complete! Please retrieve the new blueprint.】
Lin Xian’s eyes lit up.
"Perfect timing!"
He immediately selected Retrieve Blueprint.
With a flash of light, a new design appeared in the R&D Center.
【Congratulations! You have obtained the A1-Class Subcritical Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier (Blueprint)!】
Lin Xian blinked. "Subcritical Reverse Osmosis? What the hell is that? Is this some kind of next-gen tech?"
Halfway to the next carriage, he abruptly turned around and marched straight to KIKI.
"Hey, little troublemaker—question for you. Ever heard of Subcritical Reverse Osmosis?"
KIKI furrowed her brows. "Huh? That sounds… complicated. Is it related to the purifier?"
Getting no answers, Lin Xian then sought out Ding Junyi.
"Dr. Ding, do you know what Subcritical Reverse Osmosis Water Purification is?"
Ding Junyi adjusted her glasses and explained:
"If you’re referring to RO (Reverse Osmosis) filtration, it’s a process where a semi-permeable membrane separates solutes from solvents under pressure, filtering down to 0.0001 microns. High-end laboratories and residential areas with strict water purity requirements commonly use this technology."
"As for ‘Subcritical’—that describes a material’s state. In engineering, it refers to substances that exist in a fluid form at temperatures above their boiling point but below their critical temperature, and at pressures below their critical pressure…"
Lin Xian walked away mid-sentence.
Ding Junyi watched him go, expressionless, before calmly returning to her work.
"Alright. I was overthinking it. It’s just an advanced filtration system that most people haven’t heard of."
Still curious, Lin Xian tried feeding the new blueprint back into the R&D Center—just to see if he could upgrade it further.
【Mechanical Manufacturing Level Insufficient. This blueprint has already reached its highest standard.】
"Damn. Hit the limit already, huh?"
Constructing the Purifier
Next, he opened the Manufacturing Plant.
By now, his Disassembly Space had accumulated a decent amount of High-Energy Solid Propellant, but before making more ammunition, he wanted to build the water purifier first.
To do that, he needed the base material for the reverse osmosis membrane.
Lin Xian tried using steel and plastic for conversion, but quickly realized that this membrane was a Tier-2 material—and converting it from Tier-1 materials drastically increased resource consumption!
"Sht. This is expensive as hell."
Luckily, he still had plenty of Tier-2 materials, and the membrane didn’t require too much of it.
He used carbon steel for conversion, and after about 20 minutes, he had successfully produced the necessary materials.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Xian activated the Mechanical Heart.
A soft glow radiated from his hands as countless materials flew into the air, assembling themselves in real-time.
Within moments, a sleek, white purification system took shape—a network of cylindrical tubes and pressurization components fused together into one compact unit.
Lin Xian inspected the final product. "Damn. This thing actually looks super high-tech."
"Only one way to find out if it works."
Excited, he carried the new water purifier to Carriage No. 1 and hooked it up to the locomotive’s water tank.
Once powered on, the machine began operating silently.
A few seconds later—
Clear, purified water flowed out.
Lin Xian watched for a moment and muttered, "Looks good…"
Then he scowled.
"Wait. The fck am I saying? I can’t see microbes with my eyes!"
The First Water Quality Test
Grabbing the sample, Lin Xian marched straight to Carriage No. 3 and found Ding Junyi.
"The lab has water quality testing equipment, right? Check this for me."
Ding Junyi, without hesitation, took the sample and began testing it.
After running the analysis, she concluded:
"If you’re asking about general water quality, we analyze multiple factors: particle content, turbidity, organic matter levels, pH balance… But if you just want to know whether it meets drinking water standards, then yes—it’s exceptionally pure.
"However, I don’t have the equipment to detect whether it carries Black Night Infection Energy Vectors. Federation Phoenix or HQ might have made progress in that area, but it’s outside my research scope."
Lin Xian took back the crystal-clear water sample, hesitated for a moment—
Then drank it all in one gulp.
His water purifier’s filtration standard exceeded the bottled water they had onboard.
If there were still invisible contamination risks, there wasn’t much else he could do.
Besides, no one had fallen sick from drinking their bottled water so far.
Also—
If the Eerie Radio Cube had truly blocked all Dark Energy influences, then this purified water should be safe as well.
"If this still isn’t safe, I don’t know how the other survivor groups are even managing to stay alive."
Finally relaxing, Lin Xian returned to the R&D Center and inserted the blueprint for the M556 Light Machine Gun.
【Select Research Focus:】
- Firepower (13 Hours)
- Mobility (9 Hours)
- Precision (12 Hours)
"Firepower!"
With a confirmed selection, the system displayed:
【M556 Light Machine Gun Firepower Upgrade (12:59:59) – Countdown Initiated.】