A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 74 Professor Jiang Si

Xiao Jiang's father, Jiang Si, is a professor at the University of Singapore, but his appearance and attire don't quite resemble that of a teacher.

He had a full head of white hair, the strands of which stood up and bulged, as if affected by a static electricity outburst. He wore a white shirt, a black tie, and a white lab coat stained with various unknown oil stains. Gold-rimmed glasses hung in the pocket of the lab coat, and he wore a pair of thick sneakers.

Upon arriving in Guanluoyang, the first thing he did was stuff something that looked like a thermometer into the mouth of Xiao Jiang, who had just regained consciousness.

Guan Luoyang had read the encyclopedia "New Things in Singapore and Malaysia" published after 1950. This thing that looked like a thermometer was a derivative achievement of Zhenling Mechanical Technology, called a health management device.

This instrument records a person's biomagnetic field data in a healthy state. In the future, to know the person's health status, you only need to compare the data with the initial record as a percentage.

However, this kind of thing can only roughly check health status and cannot directly detect whether someone has a certain disease.

Xiao Jiang was in a daze, showing no reaction to the thing stuffed into her mouth.

He clearly remembers the feeling of waiting to die in that cold storage room. His stomach and chest were hot and painful, while his body surface felt as if something cold was constantly piercing his skin. Under the stimulation from both inside and outside, even losing consciousness became a luxury.

Looking back now, Xiao Jiang still remembers the man in the silver-gray suit stepping on his leg while making a phone call, remembers that his new boss actually came over, and remembers that after a few vague words of conversation, the wind drowned out everything.

At the end of that memory, he seemed to see a large electromagnetic cannon. The terrifying feeling was so intense that he couldn't tell if it was a nightmare or reality. It must have been a dream.

But why am I still alive?

Xiao Jiang looked at Guan Luoyang, who was nestled on the sofa drinking tea, her face filled with trepidation: "Brother Luo, did you save me?"

As soon as he spoke, the testing instrument in his mouth almost fell out. Professor Jiang Si quickly reached out and caught it, carefully examining the scale on it in the sunlight coming through the window.

Guan Luoyang took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Otherwise what?"

Xiao Jiang's expression changed again. This was not the first time Guan Luoyang had saved his life, but this time, the feeling of death approaching was so real that he finally understood what the debt of saving a life truly meant.

"But..." Xiao Jiang touched her chest, "But I clearly felt like I was about to die back then, but now I'm perfectly fine."

"What do you mean, 'dying soon'? Don't talk nonsense!"

Professor Jiang patted his head and raised the measuring instrument in his hand. "Amazing! You're much healthier now than you were a few months ago. You used to suffer from chronic insomnia, irregular eating habits, and improper exercise. Your health level was at most 80. How come it's almost 100 now?"

Upon hearing Professor Jiang Si's words, Xiao Jiang jumped up like a firecracker, yelling at him, "What do you know! A couple of days ago, someone pointed a gun at my head and I almost got blown up. Just today, I was dragged into a cold storage and beaten like a dead fish. You call that nonsense?!"

"If it weren't for Brother Luo, I would be dead without a trace, and you wouldn't even remember to look for me!"

Professor Jiang Si took two steps back after being scolded, scratched his head, and buried his head in his instruments.

Guan Luoyang had no interest in watching a family drama unfold. He poured another cup of tea on the coffee table and pushed it toward Professor Jiang Si, saying, "You're able to be so lively now because I used two very expensive medications. Now that your parents are here, let's consider when to settle the medical bills."

Professor Jiang asked, "How much is it in total?"

Xiao Jiang sneered, "Two lives, how much do you want? Why don't you go ask the garbage collector how much your son costs per pound? When Mom was hospitalized before, how much did you give her? Those bald doctors still couldn't save her!"

Professor Jiang scratched his head again, and said awkwardly, "But I don't have that many patents to sell right now."

"If we only consider the price of the medicine, it would be around 500,000 US dollars."

Guan Luoyang quoted a figure, which is the price of the most common mechanical modification on the market. For someone like Yan Xiong, a robotic arm plus surgery fees would cost around this price.

Professor Jiang said with a troubled expression, "Five hundred thousand US dollars isn't a lot, but lately, sigh, I've really been..."

Xiao Jiang was about to speak again when Guan Luoyang glanced at him and said, "Quiet."

Xiao Jiang immediately shut up.

Professor Jiang Si couldn't help but feel a little envious when he saw his son's obedient appearance.

"Professor, please have a seat."

Guan Luoyang said, "I heard that you work at the University of Singapore and have been featured in the newspapers many times. You have achieved great academic success."

As Professor Jiang Si was about to sit down, he noticed his son's warning look and took off his dirty white coat first.

"Sigh, those are all things of the past."

He draped his dirty clothes over his arm, sighed, and said, "But don't worry, sir, I still have some savings. If things really don't work out, I'll figure something out and be able to pay back a little each month. I just don't know if the interest could be lowered?"

Guan Luoyang waved his hand: "If the professor can answer some of my questions, the interest can be waived."

"What?"

Professor Jiang Si's face lit up with joy, and he sat up straight, saying, "I don't know what the problem is, please tell me."

Guan Luoyang poured himself a cup of tea and said, "I saw a book called 'A Brief Introduction to 40 Years of True Spirit Mechanics' in the library of the University of Singapore and Malaysia. The first half introduces the updates and replacements of True Spirit Mechanics technology in various countries, while the second half is a record of the author's interviews and inquiries with some strange people and events around the world."

"There are three authors for that book. Jiang Si, who is listed second, can't just happen to share the same name as you, Professor, can he?"

Professor Jiang Si nodded and said, "I did participate in that book, but when it was published, quite a few of my passages were actually cut."

"Oh?"

Guan Luoyang's expression brightened, and he smiled, "Is it related to the latter part of the interview transcript?"

The latter half of the book is largely written in a question-and-answer format, especially the conversation between Professor Jiang Si and an anonymous friend, where there are many points that leave much to be explored.

Professor Jiang Si said, "Indeed, a lot of it was cut. At that time, the mainstream view in academia in Singapore and Malaysia, or rather East Caledonian, North America and Central Europe, was that true spirit mechanics should be based on mechanics, and all human qualities should only be secondary. The improvement of technology and materials should be the main research direction."

"But my friend is from China, and he has some completely opposite views. He told me, 'The True Spirit Machine is a key that mankind has been waiting for. It is extremely important before it opens the door, but after it opens the door, we should not lose sight of the essentials.'"

Guan Luoyang's eyes shone brightly as he asked, "You agree with his opinion?"

"Of course I can't completely agree, but I think it's a very important direction to consider."

Once the topic turned to academics, Professor Jiang Si opened up, and his demeanor was completely different from that of the previously incompetent and taciturn father.

"The spirit of science lies in unwavering exploration, error correction, and practice."

"If, after achieving success in a certain area, one suppresses thinking in other areas or even tries to block others' speech in order to protect the interests of one's own group, then this cannot be called science at all; it is just a kind of superstition disguised as science."

Professor Jiang Si said firmly, "Several ideas in my current research still benefit from the long, deep conversations I had with that friend back then."

"The Book of Songs says, 'Even stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade.' Many people in Singapore and Malaysia consider themselves advanced, yet they have forgotten the teachings left by our ancestors thousands of years ago."

Guan Luoyang praised, "Well said. But I'd like to know more: where is your friend now? Could you take me to visit him?"

"He is Chinese and went back to China a long time ago."

Do you have his contact information?

"He did have it in the past, but it seems he changed his number later and we can't contact him anymore."

Professor Jiang Si said, "However, I have kept many notes from my conversation with him. If Mr. Guan needs them, I can send them over later."

Guan Luoyang said, "Alright. Professor, the book says that among the people you interviewed, some could see into the forest and start a fire out of thin air, some could summon wind and snow on a long street, and in India, there were even miracles that allowed thousands of people to witness the Buddha's descent."

"So, how many of these extraordinary individuals do you think there are in Singapore and Malaysia?"

Professor Jiang Si pondered for a moment and said, "That book was published many years ago. At that time, there were probably very few people in Singapore and Malaysia who could do something similar. But in recent years, according to what I've heard, the number of such people has been steadily increasing."

"If you want me to give you an exact number, I can't. I can only give you a range. There are no fewer than eighty people like this who live in Singapore and Malaysia, but no more than two hundred."

Guan Luoyang nodded slightly, and then chatted with Professor Jiang Si for nearly two hours.

The fact that this Q&A session took so long surprised Guan Luoyang himself; he hadn't expected Professor Jiang Si to have such a wide range of knowledge.

Professor Jiang could provide a reference answer to almost every question he raised, and even draw on a wide range of sources, drawing inferences from one instance to another, and proactively connecting with more information to share with him.

Professor Jiang Si also joked that it was because he was too distracted that he often strayed from the topic when doing some research projects at the university. In the beginning, the university valued him quite a bit and allocated him a lot of funding to research the projects he had come up with on his own.

However, after Professor Jiang Si produced thirteen useless patents in a row, the school leaders' attitude towards him plummeted, and many of his friends in the academic community stopped associating with him.

Finally, Professor Guan Luoyang and his son had dinner together, and then he called Xiao Jiang to the balcony alone to give him some instructions.

"Don't tell anyone about meeting that man with the golden hands. During this time, you're not allowed to go anywhere except my house and your house. Just stay home with your dad and study your textbooks."

Xiao Jiang nodded repeatedly.

Seeing how readily he agreed, Guan Luoyang frowned and said, "I'll have someone keep an eye on you. If I find out you're two-faced..."

"Don't worry, Brother Luo, I've thought it through."

Xiao Jiang didn't avoid his gaze and said seriously, "I used to think I was so powerful and carefree, but actually I'm nothing. I'm just like a fish kept in a tank. One day, if I don't know what's good for me and attract attention, I'll be gutted and thrown into a cold storage to wait to be eaten."

"Brother Luo, I'll remember your two lives until I die. If I break even the slightest word you say, may I be bitten to death by wild dogs."

Guan Luoyang scrutinized him and said, "I hope you really remember. Go back now."

A few minutes later, Guan Luoyang watched from the second-floor balcony as the father and son rode away in their tricycle.

Long lines of motorcycles stretched out in the streetlights-lit areas, their engines deliberately amplified, and noisy young people moved about swiftly.

In the shadows behind the green belt, there were occasional figures.

On the way, Professor Jiang Si rode his electric tricycle, sighing and complaining.

After his eighth long sigh, Xiao Jiang, who was sitting on the tricycle with his back to him, finally asked, "Why are you sighing? Is owing 500,000 yuan making you so upset?"

"That's half a million dollars! Oh well, I'm not sighing over that."

Professor Jiang Si said, "The main thing is, I talked to him for so long, and you were able to sit there the whole time without saying a word or moving around. Why are you never this well-behaved in front of your dad?"

Xiao Jiang snorted.

Professor Jiang waited for a while, but the usual sarcastic remarks didn't come. He subconsciously stepped on the brake and suddenly turned around to look.

Fortunately, the kid was still sitting in the back and didn't jump out of the car and run away.

Xiao Jiang turned to look at him: "Why aren't you leaving?"

Professor Jiang Si said in surprise, "You're really different today."

Xiao Jiang said weakly, "When I said I almost died, did you think I was joking? Isn't it normal for me to change a little?"

Professor Jiang Si said matter-of-factly, "When I was your age, I did experiments every day, and there was a 50% chance I'd be blown up or electrocuted more than once or twice. I didn't feel any different."

"you!!"

Xiao Jiang gasped for breath, "Fine, I shouldn't have talked to you seriously. Just consider it as me meeting a good boss. I've turned over a new leaf, okay?"

The father and son stared at each other for a while under the streetlight. A few mosquitoes flew around and bumped into the light bulb. Cars still passed by from time to time, and the atmosphere became inexplicably quiet.

"ah."

Professor Jiang blinked, exhaled calmly, and reached out to touch Xiao Jiang's hair. "You, hello... Hey, go get a haircut tomorrow, your current hairstyle feels prickly to the touch."

Xiao Jiang suddenly realized that his father's gaze had become somewhat incomprehensible to him.

"Um."

The electric tricycle started moving again, startling the mosquitoes that had gathered from the green belt.

Xiao Jiang took the initiative to speak: "Brother Luo told me to study hard. What do you think I should learn to repay him as soon as possible?"

"There's no shortcut to learning anything. If I had to choose, how about you become my assistant?"

"What use would you be as my assistant?"

"You may be useless, but I'm very useful. I'm desperately short-handed around me. If I make any research breakthroughs, wouldn't that be a great help to you, boss?"

"whispering sound."

Xiao Jiang expressed his disdain in a low voice, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Okay."

"Tsk, brat! Hahahaha."

Professor Jiang Si burst into laughter and hummed a little tune as he returned to their home.

They rented a place on the ground floor of a large apartment building, which included a basement. The walls in the hallway were unpainted, revealing the raw, rough texture of the cement, and the lights shone with a dim, yellowish light.

To the side of the stairwell was an overflowing trash can, with piles of black plastic bags of garbage emanating from it, creating a foul odor.

Their door is right next to this garbage.

"Hey kid, wait here. We'll deliver the stuff to your boss tonight."

Professor Jiang stopped the tricycle, took out his keys, and opened the door.

There was hardly any empty space in the room; it was filled with mechanical parts of all sizes and crumpled-up discarded blueprints.

Professor Jiang kicked aside a large crumpled piece of paper and arrived at the entrance to the basement that he had modified himself.

The gate inspection equipment recognized his right eye, opened automatically, and revealed a clean and tidy underground space.

In the middle of the basement was a long table with experimental racks on it, filled with test tubes containing liquids of various colors. On both sides were bookshelves, neatly organized by category.

The only thing that seemed out of place in the entire basement was a black-and-white portrait of a deceased person hanging on the wall.

Professor Jiang Si picked out a few books, looked up at his wife's portrait, and remained lost in thought for a long time.

Xiao Jiang, who was outside, impatiently honked the horn of the electric tricycle.

One of the other tenants in the building opened his window and cursed.

Xiao Jiang looked up, ready to retaliate, but after puffing out his cheeks, he still turned off the horn.

Professor Jiang Si was awakened by the sound of the loudspeaker. Hearing the commotion outside, a slight smile appeared on his face.

He reached out, his fingers just touching the portrait, when suddenly he made up his mind, turned around and squatted down, pulling out a book from a hidden compartment on the far side of the bookshelf.

"Sigh, I can't teach my son well, but someone else has helped me. I can't let someone else be my father for free."

Professor Jiang Si took out his phone and found a number.

"Hey, old friend, I'm thinking of giving away your book..."

(End of this chapter)