Chapter 341.1: Is This Game Really Made By Aliens?!

"Have you seen that administrator?"

"Yes."

In the wilderness to the north of West Continent City, faint wolf howls could be heard in the distance.

Standing beside a makeshift tent, Xavier held a phone in his hand, displaying a respectful demeanor.

The person he was currently speaking with was Sigma, the uncrowned king of the Bugra Free State and President/Chairman of the Flintstone Group.

After briefly inquiring about the administrator, Sigma proceeded to ask the most pressing question.

"What about Dillon?" He asked.

"Dillon... Is dead," said Xavier, his tone heavy.

There was a brief silence on the communication channel.

Sigma slowly asked, "How did he die?"

Xavier truthfully replied, "People from the New Alliance said he died on the battlefield, buried in a trench near the pine forest..."

As Xavier spoke these words, he felt slightly nervous.

Although the Great Rift Valley was the Bugra Free State's overlord, the Army was the primary trading partner of the Flintstone Group. He didn't know what agreements his boss and the Army had reached, but his intuition told him that Dillon's identity wasn't ordinary.

Fortunately, his boss was a sensible person and didn't vent his anger on him.

After taking some time to calm his emotions, the voice on the communication channel continued to inquire. "... What about the trade agreement?"

Xavier sighed, "We couldn't reach an agreement... They only agreed to give us certain tariff advantages for non-military products. As for exploration and mining rights, they don't intend to negotiate with us."

"How strong are they?" The voice became sharp, like the edge of a blade exposed.

Xavier's heart trembled slightly, and he instinctively lowered his voice, cautiously saying, "They probably have about 2 brigades of soldiers. Not many in number, but individually powerful. Also, their weapons, though not particularly advanced, are abundant and uniquely designed... Their victory over the Fang Clan wasn't a fluke."

There was a moment of silence on the communication channel, as if the other person was lost in deep contemplation.

After a while, the man slowly spoke. "I got it. Come back first. I have another mission to assign to you."

Xavier breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully said, "Yes, sir."

3 days had passed since the end of the auction.

In the real world, in a laboratory at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, overtime work was in progress.

"... How... How exactly did they achieve this?" Staring at the image on the computer screen, Professor Liu Yiping's face was filled with an expression of disbelief.

A less than 100-nanometer thick, flexible artificial SEI film, seemed like a barrier constructed by magic.

Indeed.

The miraculous characteristics it possessed was akin to magic.

Its mechanical strength was extraordinary, with high stability and a single ion channel.

The high electronegativity and thiolate affinity of the metal sites in the coordination polymer channels effectively improved the transfer number of Li+ in the composite material film, as well as the conductivity of the single ion channel.

And this series of ingeniously designed features allowed it to effectively suppress the generation of side reactions, regulate the deposition pattern of Li+ on the negative electrode, effectively suppress the growth of lithium dendrites, thus maintaining the stability of the battery's positive and negative electrodes.

It was simply incredible!

"... Professor, the data analysis from the charge-discharge cycle group is ready," a bespectacled researcher with dark circles under his eyes walked over, also wearing a surprised expression.

Liu Yiping immediately turned to his student and said, "Quick, let me see it!"

"It's here..." The researcher handed over a USB drive.

Of course, 3 days weren't enough for the entire research team to go through all the files. However, it was entirely sufficient for them to use the most advanced equipment in the laboratory to reproduce the 404’s Artificial SEI Film according to the methods provided.

After making the film, the next step was to test its performance.

The researchers in the project team quickly put together a simple lithium battery model, using lithium foil as the negative electrode.

Those materials weren't difficult to handle, and the lab was well-stocked with electrochemical-related items.

After disassembling the discharged pouch cell battery, they quickly obtained surface 3D images of the sample under scanning electron microscopy and 2D projections under transmission electron microscopy by transferring it to the observation area under non-air conditions using an in situ transfer box.

Everything they did was to gather more information about that film.

Those tasks might sound simple, but in reality, they took up quite a bit of their time.

During the 3 days, his research team hadn't done anything else and had focused all their energy on that 10GB worth of data.

In fact, after obtaining such results, there was no need to continue their previous project...

After inserting the USB drive into the computer and looking at the screen, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on Professor Liu Yiping's face.

Rubbing his slightly sore brow, he kept muttering the same sentence repeatedly while sitting in his office chair, "... How exactly did they achieve this?"

The researcher standing beside him didn't say anything, but it was evident that he also wanted to ask the same question.

3 days ago, when they received that data, everyone in the project team thought it was a joke.

It was an issue that had not been solved in the academic world after all.

Even in the last academic conference, they were still discussing possible viable directions and whether pursuing the path of lithium batteries was worth it.

But now, suddenly, someone claimed to have found the definitive answer.

They were even moving in a direction that nobody had tried before.

No matter how one thought about it, it seemed like an April Fool's joke.

It was not a question of possibility anymore, but it was logically hard to establish.

If it was about designing a product based on specific needs using existing technology, whether it was a weapon or a water cup, it was not difficult to keep it secret.

However, research in cutting-edge fields was entirely different.

It was not even a matter of doing it publicly or privately. It was impossible to do it behind closed doors.

After the 20th century, research had become a systematic thing.

The role of an individual within this system was more like a wafer on the CPU than the CPU itself.

Except for occasional geniuses in the field of mathematics who might work in isolation, most research in most fields was like group warfare.

Even though some teams might aim to take the lead in their research area, withholding phase results and waiting to unveil a major breakthrough, it was basically impossible to conceal what everyone was individually working on.

"... On page 27 of Document 13, there's a detailed description of the reaction mechanism, but we haven't observed it on our equipment."

"Can you not observe it, or did you not observe it yet?!" the old man asked.

The researcher hesitated and slowly responded, "To be precise... We can’t observe it. Our equipment can observe the deposition process of lithium dendrites in the control group, but how Li+ passes through that layer of film... We can't capture its path. We might need to redesign a set of experimental methods specifically for this type of film material."

"If we do it alone, this might take a long time unless we can find the research team that achieved these results."

"But it's really strange. I just checked the records of the last 2 academic conferences, but I couldn't find any discussion about this research direction. The only few similar ones... They still feel worlds apart from what we have after looking at it closely.”

At this moment, a researcher sitting at the nearby table suddenly sighed. "I wonder which big shot suddenly dropped this nuclear bomb."

"Are there such geniuses in the field of materials science?"

"I counted on my fingers but still can't think of anyone..."

"By the way, what should we do next? Should we continue with the previous project?"

“Maybe we should change the research direction... Even in the industry, fully digesting this thing will take some time, not to mention proposing new questions."

"Sigh... 3 years, all in vain. Luckily, I finished my thesis years ago."

"It can't be considered entirely in vain. Some phase results are still interesting. But regarding the SEI film... There really seems to be no way forward."

Listening to the students' discussion, Professor Liu Yiping remained silent as many thoughts ran through his mind.

The next second, the phone placed on the table rang. Picking it up, he went outside.

As soon as the call was answered, an urgent voice immediately came from the other end. "Old Liu, what's the result?"

Liu Yiping replied, "That film has been successfully produced."

Upon hearing the confirmation, the voice on the other end sounded notably more excited. "Is it effective?"

Liu Yiping sighed, "More than just effective... It’s absolutely stunning."

Strictly speaking, even the currently popular lithium-ion batteries on the market could benefit from this technology.

And if designing a completely new battery specifically for a pure lithium negative electrode, it wouldn't be very difficult technologically wise.

The industrial chains for components like electrolytes, positive electrode materials, and separators were readily available.

By modifying the battery's positive electrode on the existing industrial chain and adding an additional coating production line, the technology could immediately come into play.

He could even imagine the crazy expressions on the faces of his fellow researchers in the industry after learning about it.

That would definitely be very interesting.

The old person on the phone continued to inquire, "What about the cost? Is it difficult to mass produce it?"

Liu Yiping quickly replied, "The specific cost is a matter for the industry. Laboratory preparation and industrial production are 2 different things. But after reviewing the process outlined in the data, according to my understanding of the industry, producing it shouldn't be too difficult."

"That's great! Hahaha, thank you for your hard work this time!"

"You're welcome; this is my job," Liu Yiping paused for a moment, then continued, "By the way... I have a request, I don't know if it's appropriate to ask."

The old person on the phone immediately responded, “What is it? I'll definitely help if I can."

"If possible, I'd like to meet the team that produced those data or meet their leader," Liu Yiping briefly omitted the complex technical details and continued, "There are many things I want to ask them for advice on."

While the industry was interested in that film, he was interested in how the film was made and how they came up with it.

Knowing the result was one thing, understanding the reasons behind it was another.

Copying homework wouldn't take much time, but understanding it thoroughly and comprehending the problem-solving approach was not that easy.

For a researcher seeking the truth, the results, methods, and reasoning were all indispensable.