The next day, Bai Mo received the remaining fifteen "Spirit Stones" from Yue Hai.
After seeing him off, he packed the fifteen stones into a sample box and took them back to his dorm room in one go.
In the time that followed, in order to research these stones undisturbed, he even added a stack of laboratory equipment to his single dorm room to explore their various properties.
Of course, he didn't neglect his research work in the lab. For experiments that weren't too private or required high-end instruments, he'd take his samples to the public laboratory. After all, studying this material was originally a task he received from his mentor, and his classmates were aware of it, so there wouldn't be any questions.
While conducting his research, he simultaneously cultivated himself. In his free time, he also practiced developing his newly acquired superpower. His schedule was basically packed to the brim with his own affairs. Outside of experiments, he rarely interacted with his lab mates and almost never showed up at private gatherings.
However, to others, Bai Mo was simply someone who could endure solitude, truly cut out for scientific research.
Although most people pursued graduate studies to earn a degree, their true aim was more about the school's reputation and a social circle. Still, there was no need to antagonize classmates genuinely aspiring to develop in academia. Having more friends, even mere acquaintances, was better than having more enemies; constantly inviting ridicule didn't seem like the mainstream way of survival in society.
Time continued to tick by slowly, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed.
After crushing two Spirit Stones, Bai Mo finally made a significant research discovery.
First, he pulverized a Spirit Stone whose green color had faded considerably, attempting to determine if the stone's powder could achieve the same effect. The results didn't disappoint him; under high temperatures, the Spirit Stone powder still emitted Spirit Qi.
He then began to let his thoughts wander toward the realm of fantasy novels. In the typical settings of such novels, Spirit Qi was almost omnipotent, capable of nurturing spiritual medicines, spiritual materials, and even spiritual beasts. Thus, Bai Mo combined his knowledge of rare earth elements in material chemistry and sought to test whether the Spirit Stone could achieve effects similar to rare earths.
One afternoon, he brought the Spirit Stone powder to the laboratory. In the materials lab's small smelting experimental field, he added the Spirit Stone powder to molten steel. Observing the inside of the smelting furnace with his X-ray vision, he noticed some bubbles emerging from the steel.
After removing the slag and cooling the material, he conducted a detailed analysis of the properties of the new steel. He discovered a significant increase in hardness, with its Mohs hardness even approaching that of common gemstones.
Upon making this significant discovery, he somewhat reluctantly shattered an unused Spirit Stone and placed it into the lab's smelting furnace. As expected, the new steel's hardness climbed another level, now almost comparable to that of diamonds.
After a series of subsequent experiments and obtaining all the parameters for the new steel, he began to ponder his next steps.
"If I don't tell my mentor about this discovery, it'll certainly be difficult to answer him later when he asks about the test results for the sample's special properties. My mentor has quite high hopes for this unknown material's characteristics."
"It'd be better to report this result to him and redirect his attention to the material's industrial applications. That way, he'd be highly unlikely to consider its impact on the biological domain. After all, a normal material couldn't possibly possess such broad universality, having enormous uses in both industry and biology simultaneously."
"And using one truth to conceal a greater truth should be the safest approach. The truth itself isn't afraid of being discovered; a normal person wouldn't imagine that behind a treasure room full of valuables, there's an even larger one."
"As for future research, it's unlikely anyone would consider the impact of a rare-earth-like material on biological evolution."
Shaking off the thought of directly making himself the first author, bypassing his mentor, he considered it and chose to give up. For a research newcomer who hadn't even earned a doctoral degree, submitting to an influential professional journal without including their mentor would be virtually impossible. It was better to let his mentor take the limelight and, in exchange, gain something more substantial for himself.
Having decided, Bai Mo directly dialed Zhao Jiasen's mobile phone.
"Hello, mentor. Regarding the sample you asked me to test earlier, I've made a significant discovery," Bai Mo tantalized.
"Continue!"
"I discovered that the sample's effect is somewhat similar to that of rare earth materials, but in certain aspects, its efficacy far surpasses rare earths. During the steel smelting experiment, I tried adding a small amount of ground sample powder, and the resulting new steel showed a Mohs hardness comparable to diamond."
"Its hardness increased that much? What about its brittleness, and ductility? How are those?"
"While this new additive significantly enhances the steel's hardness, its brittleness hasn't increased much. As for ductility, testing hasn't been conducted yet. I suggest that the next step should be to confirm the mixture's crystal structure using an X-ray diffractometer."
"Alright. I'm busy with other projects right now. Prepare a detailed experimental report and send it to me. I'll come to the lab three days from now, at two in the afternoon," Zhao Jiasen said, clearly interested, but unfortunately unable to drop his current projects immediately.
"No problem."
After hanging up the phone, Bai Mo began typing out the experimental report on his computer.
Opening the experimental report template, he rapidly filled in the data, then polished it to ensure Zhao Jiasen wouldn't spot any issues. In just half a day, the fresh experimental report was complete.
Casually sending the experimental report to his mentor, he pulled out pre-prepared compressed food from a drawer. At the same time, he placed the Spirit Stone he intended to use into a crucible and resumed his cultivation for the day.
This time, Bai Mo had a sudden whim: he wanted to see if his X-ray vision could detect what was happening inside his body after he inhaled Spirit Qi.
For better observation, he focused his attention intensely, directing his gaze towards his chest.
He found that the inhaled Spirit Qi appeared as a faint green color through his X-ray vision, exactly the same color as a heated Spirit Stone.
Faint green particles flowed through his capillaries, with a large portion heading towards his head. As his perception continuously tracked the Spirit Qi flowing towards his head, Bai Mo realized his ability was faltering.
In his last glimpse, he saw that the destination of most of the Spirit Qi flow was his eyes, and strange tissues seemed to have grown in the spaces behind his eyeballs, connecting to them...
After overusing his ability, Bai Mo rested for a while before realizing something was wrong—how could X-ray vision see the eyeball itself!
Once his ability recovered, Bai Mo tested again and found that if he willed it, he truly could see his own eyeballs, and also clearly discern the unidentified tissues connected behind them.
As someone who considered his memory quite good, Bai Mo clearly recalled that the medical anatomy textbooks he'd skimmed through some time ago showed no such strange tissues behind the eyeball. Thus, he could only attribute this to a product of his own evolution.