Chapter 45: Microscopic Fireworks Show
Gu Changshan’s tone remained serious and calm, as if he were just talking about something very normal.
But in Jiang Yang’s ears, this short sentence felt as heavy as a mountain.
He seemed to see, after this sentence, the millions of workers—scientists, engineers, and workers at the two detector bases—shuttling helicopters and transport planes in the sky, and countless workers busy in factories.
Mobilizing the power of an entire nation, even directly deploying strategic killer weapons like intercontinental ballistic missiles, only yielded this result in just ten days.
Jiang Yang took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.
It was still that familiar experimental hall, still those familiar personnel.
There were still thirty minutes until the apocalypse, and the hall was deathly silent.
After familiarizing himself with the changes in this experiment, Jiang Yang lay down on that chair again, allowing various equipment to connect to his body.
Then, another person wearing a white coat entered carrying a refrigerator.
Jiang Yang looked at Sun Changhe, then at Gu Changshan, then at Professor Lu Zhaoming, and finally turned his gaze to Zhou Yu.
“Want an injection?”
Zhou Yu’s expression was tense, and she forced a smile: “There’s an important branch in psychology called thanatology…”
“Enough, enough.”
Jiang Yang directly interrupted her: “Last time you were rolling on the ground in pain, and you specifically told me to make sure you got the injection this time. If you don’t have that willpower, don’t act like a steel warrior—honestly get the injection.”
“Ah?”
Zhou Yu was startled, her face growing even paler: “Really?”
“Would I trick you?”
Zhou Yu was dazed for a moment, then gritted her teeth: “Director Sun, is there, is there any extra painkiller?”
“Yes, anyone who wants one can have it.”
Sun Changhe beckoned, and another doctor walked in carrying a refrigerator.
He looked at Jiang Yang: “So, does that mean we all made it through?”
“Uh, actually, it doesn’t mean much. Just suffer a little less pain if you can.”
Sun Changhe smiled and shook his head.
Zhou Yu lay down on another lying chair, and two injections were administered into Jiang Yang and her bodies at the same time.
Time was down to the final minute.
The atmosphere in the experimental hall had become as solemn as a tangible substance.
In that familiar “detachment” sensation, Jiang Yang seemed to float above his own body, manipulating it like a robot to turn his head toward Zhou Yu not far away, and called out: “Hey, want that prank in the next life?”
Zhou Yu’s voice at this moment sounded exceptionally ethereal and distant: “Up to you…”
“Countdown, 10, 9, 8… 0!”
The instant the time became 0:00:00, Jiang Yang saw people in the experimental hall lifting their heads in bewilderment, shock, and confusion, as if wanting to see clearly where the changes had occurred.
But people saw nothing.
The outside world remained as normal, but the changes happening in the body were real.
Countless people’s expressions began to twist ferociously, and countless people began to howl in pain.
Jiang Yang’s attention at this moment was undisturbed, still focused on the screen in front of him.
But at this moment, no data had appeared yet.
“Data observation, generation, analysis, and summarization also take some time.”
He thought silently.
At this moment, in the numerous muon detection cloud chambers distributed globally, the frequency of “tracks” appearing in the supersaturated steam remained the same as before, neither slowing nor speeding up.
Those “tracks” were traces left by muons passing through the saturated steam.
No change in frequency meant that the muon radiation intensity at this moment had not changed.
Data observed by muon detectors was transmitted to the Arctic No. 4 Supercomputer via fiber optics and radio waves in just tens of milliseconds.
Including the one just built domestically, the only four gravitational wave detectors in the world worldwide were also maintaining normal working state, with their detection precision raised to the maximum.
Lasers raced back and forth in the vacuum cavities, continuously and precisely measuring distance changes in the space they occupied.
The data they generated was also transmitted in real time to the Arctic No. 4 Supercomputer for unified analysis and processing. But up to now, no anomalies had appeared.
Sen Mountain Neutrino Detection Base.
The completely sealed telescope main body was pitch black inside, with no light and almost no radiation.
Over 50,000 tons of pure water was quietly stored in the large jar, in a state of near absolute stillness.
Due to its location deep underground, even muons with extremely strong penetration reached here and interfered with observations at a frequency of less than 2 times per year, which could be ignored.
The only particle known to humans that could reach here was the neutrino.
On average, about once per hour, a rather unlucky neutrino would hit a hydrogen or oxygen atomic nucleus, exciting a muon and an electron, thereby causing Cherenkov radiation, releasing an extremely faint blue glow in the pure black water body, which was then captured by thousands of photomultiplier tubes.
At this moment, such a faint glow was blooming in the pure water.
Of course, this was only detectable by highly sensitive instruments. Even if its intensity increased ten thousand times, the naked eye could never see it.
This glow was precisely captured and transmitted in real time to the Arctic No. 4 Supercomputer.
This did not attract the attention of the analysis program. Because under normal conditions, it was about this frequency.
But the next moment, less than a second later, another blue glow appeared. Then a third, a fourth…
At this moment, in the pure and pitch-black pure water jar of the Sen Mountain Neutrino Telescope, in the absolute darkness undetectable by the human eye, a magnificent fireworks show in the microscopic world was unfolding.
Similar situations were synchronously occurring in the six neutrino detectors located elsewhere on Earth, temporarily taken over by the domestic science team.
Observation data surging like a tidal wave rapidly flooded toward the Arctic No. 4 Supercomputer. Under the control of the pre-set analysis program, related signals were generated accordingly and presented to Jiang Yang in the form of charts in different colors.
Jiang Yang’s pupils suddenly widened.
Having undergone several rounds of cyclic learning, he could now roughly understand the meaning of the data in these charts.
That was, that was neutrinos!
At the moment the apocalypse arrived, the neutrino radiation intensity received by Earth instantly increased by at least 200 times!
But, but how could neutrinos cause acute radiation sickness?
Quickly memorizing the chart in front of him, he turned his head to the side and saw that Professor Lu Zhaoming was already in a moribund state.
He still had his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at the ceiling, his face full of bewilderment.
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Seeing some Reader Lords doubting if this book is a short story, here’s a reply: this book is not a short story; it’s very long, at least over 2 million words.
Of course, the story pace won’t change. Reader Lords don’t need to worry that the Author will be stuck in the current plot, padding word count with filler and dragging to reach 2 million words.
As for how exactly the Author has arranged it, please just patiently read on, Reader Lords.
The Author already has the full outline and synopsis of the book in mind and will complete it according to plan, so please rest assured, Reader Lords.
Because it’s Monday, this chapter’s update is at 00:01 AM, and the second update is normally at 7:00 PM.
Also, a new week has arrived—begging all Reader Lords for support!
For those without it, please add to collection; for those who have, please click to the latest chapter every day; those with monthly tickets or recommendation tickets, please cast them.
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