Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 516 - 342: Meteor_2

Chapter 516: Chapter 342: Meteor_2

Labs are such a money pit!

From the other end of the line, "Next time you buy one, make sure you pay attention to the cold storage box!"

"Like I need you to tell me that!"

A fierce light flashed in Uncle Wei’s eyes.

Those who had experienced the period of climate irregularities were not of a soft or gentle disposition.

The voice from the other end reminded him again, "When you go looking for a connection, you can discreetly ask around if anyone’s [Y] was improperly preserved, or if for some other reason, the substance inside had become largely inactive, we could still buy it to give it a try."

Uncle Wei nodded, "Makes sense. But given the preciousness of [Y] nowadays, such situations are rare. Even if happenstance causes a change in the components, those big teams would surely let their students practice with it. It’s unlikely they’d hand it over to someone else so easily."

There was a tone of disappointment from the other end, "True, there are too many secrets hidden in [Y], and nobody knows whether what’s called ’inactivation’ truly means a loss of all effects. Maybe there’s a balance within; when some active substances become ineffective, other functional materials start to act."

Uncle Wei strongly agreed with this view.

Exactly! Just like his experience this time. Even though improper preservation rendered many active substances ineffective, the rats’ reaction told him clearly that there were still some components at work!

If it hadn’t been for this incident, [Y] might not have exhibited such a pronounced rodent-repelling effect!

"Ancestral Factory is truly a magical company. How on earth did they figure out how to make such wondrous substance?"

Tuo Jia Town.

The sole global supplier of the "miraculous substance" was currently playing with stones.

Feng Yi and his companions had arrived in the desert area near Tuo Jia Town.

Deserts are one of the most suitable regions in the world for meteorite hunting, known as natural dry boxes for preserving meteorites, where meteorites can often be preserved at their landing sites for a long time.

The location they were in was not a meteorite-rich area, but a local hotspot for social media popularity.

Wen Zhiyu pointed to the darker stones on the ground and said to Feng Yi, "These stones here look like meteorites, but they’re not. Most are replicas. I heard that this area used to be fenced off for education, with teachers specially assigned to teach people how to identify real from fake meteorites. Now that the education area is gone, it has become a hotspot for visitors who come here to take photos."

Feng Yi picked up a stone from the ground. It wasn’t difficult for him to distinguish, but with photos alone, it truly was hard to tell the real from the fake.

"Can you pick up stones from this area at will?" Feng Yi asked.

"Yes, they are unclaimed, and many tourists who come here to take pictures will pick up one or two as souvenirs. Anyway, people will keep throwing more stones here. This is one of the local ideal places for taking photos, and without enough stones for decoration, they won’t be able to attract more visitors," replied Wen Zhiyu.

"Aren’t you afraid tourists might take them and sell them as real meteorites?" Feng Yi asked curiously.

"Maybe it’s because the craze for meteorites has cooled down, the trading volume has decreased, and the market isn’t stirring much, so there isn’t strict regulation. Do you want to pick up a couple for fun?" Wen Zhiyu asked.

"I’ll pick some up to compare with real meteorites," Feng Yi said.

"That’s true, comparing them could strengthen your ability to recognize the real ones," Wen Zhiyu agreed.

Feng Yi just smiled and didn’t elaborate further.

He didn’t need to strengthen his recognition skills; he wanted to conduct other comparative experiments.

Feng Yi selected three stones of various sizes, the smallest was about the size of an adult’s fist, and the largest resembled a soccer ball.

Seeing this, Wen Zhiyu asked, "Need any help?"

"No need," Feng Yi said as he easily picked up the bag containing the three stones.

Wen Zhiyu remembered the day at the paintball club when Feng Yi had effortlessly swung him around.

Forget it, he obviously didn’t need any help with his strength!

"Will you guys be staying up to watch the meteor shower tonight? The sky here is quite suitable for stargazing," Wen Zhiyu asked.

Pan Weining wasn’t interested. They often ran around outside and had seen more shooting stars than most people.

"Isn’t it the Perseids meteor shower around this time? We’ve seen it before, after all. Besides, the peak has already passed this year, and you might not even see one if you stay up all night," he said.

Streams of meteors named after constellations just refer to their apparent origin in the sky, not that they are fragments from those distant star systems.

Such periodic meteor showers are usually associated with comets.

Comets scatter material along their orbits every time they approach the sun closely. As our planet orbits the sun, it intersects with the comet’s path at a relatively close point. Whenever we pass near the orbit of a comet, fragments that the comet has shed enter the atmosphere, thus forming meteor showers.

For instance, Halley’s Comet, which is familiar to many. The Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October are meteor showers that stem from Halley’s Comet.

In October, as Earth travels near the orbit of Halley’s Comet, the "little trash" it has left behind invades the atmosphere, creating this year’s Orionids.

The time during which Feng Yi and his group are now is that of the Perseid meteor shower, although its peak had passed many days ago.

Pan Weining is only interested in meteor showers during their peak because outside of those periods, the frequency is low, and sometimes you could spend days without seeing a single one.

Wen Zhiyu was obviously aware of this but didn’t care and said with a laugh, "The active period isn’t entirely over yet; there will definitely still be meteors from this stream to be seen. And I’m not going to be so silly as to watch alone; I plan to set up a camera. This is something machines can watch over for us. Hey, maybe I’ll even capture a surprise!"

Pan Weining was more pragmatic; he wasn’t so optimistic: "Even if the distribution structure of the dust particles from the parent comet isn’t clear, the peak has already passed, and we’re almost out of the orbital area. There won’t be as much ’little trash’ falling down. It’s better not to have too high of expectations at this time."

Wen Zhiyu disagreed, "What do you mean ’trash’? How can you call it trash! Those are celestial bodies! Such a beautiful phenomenon, and you make it sound so low class!"

As he spoke, Wen Zhiyu started to fantasize again, "Ah, it would be nice if a meteor fell to the ground."

Pan Weining ruthlessly interrupted his fantasy: "That’s why I call it ’little trash.’ The meteor shower is composed of very small celestial bodies that burn to ash in the atmosphere."

Wen Zhiyu’s romanticism was sparked, and the two rocks he picked up clacked noisily in his hands: "But what if? What if a meteor fell down with a zoom?"

Pan Weining looked up at the sky, "Then that would be an extraterrestrial meteor. Not the Perseids you’re watching for."

Wen Zhiyu threw the rocks in his hand far away, watching them trace a parabola in the air before falling to the ground, "If it falls, it becomes a meteorite!"

Wen Zhiyu turned his head to look at the silent Feng Yi: "What do you think, Feng Yi?"

Feng Yi...

Feng Yi felt a little guilty.

"Hmm, it might be possible. Nothing is absolute."

Wen Zhiyu laughed heartily and patted Feng Yi on the shoulder. He himself knew all that Pan Weining had said and agreed with it rationally.

But, as people, we always fantasize about that one in a million chance of something wonderful happening.

The group returned to their accommodations from the Gobi area.

Uncle Wei had ordered them a rich dinner, the same amount as the day before, only today there were three fewer people at the table.

Still, all the plates were wiped clean.

Wen Zhiyu thought they finished so much food because they had burned off a lot of energy outdoors.

Pan Weining smiled next to him and said nothing.

Feng Yi also smiled, clearly agreeing.

After the meal, everyone was busy with their own thing.

Wen Zhiyu went to set up his camera, prepared to film the sky all night with it.

Pan Weining was chatting with his family.

And Feng Yi...

Was sitting cross-legged on the carpet.

In front of him were several rocks.

There were a couple he brought up from the underground storage, two meteorites containing energy substances, three ordinary meteorites, and three stones that he had picked up in the Gobi today.

These were the materials he planned to experiment with tonight.

Feng Yi sat cross-legged for a while, feeling uncomfortable, as it wasn’t as cozy as when he was in his original form.

But away from his own territory, he had to maintain this guise.

He changed his position again.

He picked up one of the meteorites that contained an energy substance.

He needed to first learn the tricks his ancestors used with meteorites, then practice with the other stones.