My own war game

Chapter 231 The Poor Scholar

The fog gradually dissipated, and He Chi's feet touched solid ground again. Above his head was still the magnificent Milky Way, but it was different from the summer sky over the Pacific Ocean.

He is back.

He let out a long sigh and checked his body, only to find a small note in his pocket, which was given to him by Colonel Carlson before. It said that the government of the United States had collected 400 tons of mercury from individuals during the war and would pay a reward of 224 million US dollars in due time. This document would be used as proof and would not be replaced if lost.

That was the proof that the Allied Forces purchased mercury from He Chi.

When is the right time?
Why does it feel like a white strip?

He Chi laughed in silence, shook his head, and casually stuffed the thing into his pocket.

He walked towards his RV, opened the door and returned to his bed, while Lola beside him kicked over the quilt in her dream.

He Chi is now like a husband who went out without telling his wife. After secretly smoking a cigarette, he wiped off the smell on his body and returned to the daily life of firewood, rice, oil and salt.

On the way to the tour the next day, no one noticed anything unusual about He Chi, but Rona was still a little weird. She was still upset about not being able to go treasure hunting in the cave.

"Okay, don't be angry, take a look at this." Lisa handed her sister a piece of leaflet, which she got from the unattended public reading area.

The leaflet clearly stated that tourists were prohibited from conducting cave exploration in the valley without permission, and also listed a list of toxic substances. When He Chi saw the top item, his eyebrows twitched.

It says in bold: Mercury sulfide
This is the raw ore of mercury. He Chi subconsciously touched the note in his hand.

He was sent into the dungeon after he gave up exploring the cave, and mercury became his biggest source of income in the dungeon. It seemed that the system was intentionally guiding him to come into contact with this heavy metal.

What is the connection here? He Chi was a little curious.
-
One weekend after the trip, He Chi rang the doorbell of an independent villa in the university community.

Squeak~ A small thing flipped out from the courtyard wall and approached He Chi at a very fast speed.

He Chi subconsciously took out his revolver, and when he pointed the gun, he found that the other party was a small climbing robot.

The robot is about the size of a fist and looks very much like a spider. It has four cameras "growing" on the top of its head, staring at He Chi like compound eyes.

The little thing jumped around He Chi very quickly, but He Chi just raised his hand and held it in his palm.

"He, please be careful. This thing cost me about half a million dollars, and I haven't even bought insurance yet." The robot suddenly spoke.

He Chi said to the robot's camera, "Boss, can you open the door for me?"

"I remember that it's not payday yet. If you want an advance, I'm short on cash lately and I'll have to use the rest of the money to pay off my credit card," the speaker in the robot's mouth shouted.

"Boss, I have something to ask you..." He Chi said to the spider robot.

"Well, you know I'm very busy lately, and you've been attending classes for me..."

"I'll pay for the consultation." He Chi just uttered these simple words, and the door opened directly.

A white man, about 60 years old, walked out of the house and pulled He Chi into the house.

This is He Chi's current boss, Professor Craig, from whom He Chi took over the teaching assistant job with an hourly wage of $25. This gentleman's room is very messy, with strange mechanical design diagrams all over the walls, a dozen uncommon electronic tools on the workbench, various components of unknown models lined up together, and an unfinished pizza box in the corner of the room.

"He, I'm so glad you can come. You are the most talented young person I have ever met...Oh, by the way, would you like coffee or tea?" the old man asked, picking up two disposable packages.

"Boss, I can do whatever you want, but it seems that you are holding a desiccant..." He Chi replied with a stiff expression.

The old man looked at the package in his hand and threw it into the already full trash can. "Please don't worry about these details. Let's get started. My paid consultation is 10 yuan per minute. I can give you a % discount because of our relationship."

After saying that, he pressed the timer and adjusted a peculiarly shaped ring on his hand.

That’s right, this Mr. Craig is both He Chi’s temporary boss and his colleague in the organization, codename: Scholar

Mr. Craig has a wide range of interests and holds professorships in three basic disciplines, as well as being a professor of history.

Normally, the salary from the school was enough for him to enjoy a comfortable life, but his biggest hobby was to study some strange things at home like a "folk scientist", which consumed a lot of money and even overdue credit cards several times. Even He Chi's hourly wage of US$25 was occasionally overdue.

Seeing the timer running, He Chi sighed and began to ask, "Sir, how much do you know about nuclear fission?"

"Nuclear fission? Theoretical research on this kind of thing can basically be found in various journals. For more basic ones, you can even ask Wikipedia." Mr. Craig was obviously surprised that He Chi would ask such a question.

"Okay, let me explain in more detail. Does mercury play a key role in the production of atomic bombs?" He Chi changed his way of saying it.

"Mercury?" The professor rubbed his temples with his hands, as if trying to dig out the memories of the past.

"Although nuclear physics is not my research area, as far as I know, mercury is not a radioactive metal and is basically not used in the nuclear fission we study."

"Is there absolutely no connection at all?" He Chi still didn't give up.

"Well, it can't be said that there is no relationship at all." Professor Craig thought for a moment and added, "For example, mercury can be used as a coolant, but its effect in a fission nuclear reactor is obviously not as good as liquid sodium."

"The mercury vapor can then act as a seal in the centrifuge, but again, this function can be replaced."

"In a word, although mercury can be used in nuclear fission experiments, it is indeed an unnecessary thing." Professor Craig spread his hands.

A look of disappointment appeared on He Chi's face, so he stood up and wanted to say goodbye.

Looking at the watch which showed less than ten minutes had passed, Professor Craig, who was in a hurry to pay off his credit card, became anxious and hurriedly stopped He Chi from getting up.

"Wait! I have other information."

"Didn't you say there is no direct relationship?" He Chi turned around and asked.

"Well, conventional theory says yes, but it's different if we take non-verified theories into account." The professor pulled out a notebook from the bookshelf, opened a page and said with a storytelling expression.

"Have you ever heard of the term red mercury?"

(End of this chapter)