Slap!
At last, Long Lao slapped the battery summary written by Jiang Fan onto the laboratory desk, his actions punctuating the air.
The three onlookers—Xia Xiaoyu, Xu Guangyuan, and Niu Xu—felt a simultaneous jolt of tension in their hearts.
Xia Xiaoyu's mind raced in panic: It's over! All because of my carelessness. I forgot to put away Jiang Fan's summary. Now Long Lao is definitely going to be furious!
Meanwhile, Xu Guangyuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly: Let's see how you act so smug now. Just wait for Long Lao to scold you!
At this moment, Long Lao turned to them and asked, his voice heavy with authority:
"Where is Jiang Fan?"
Xia Xiaoyu hurriedly explained, her voice laced with concern, "He's a freshman and has military training starting tomorrow. He probably has something to attend to... I... I'll call him right away!"
She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed Jiang Fan's number.
Meanwhile, Jiang Fan was sitting on the grass with Chu Ruoxi, sipping milk tea and enjoying their cheerful conversation.
When his phone rang, he saw it was Xia Xiaoyu calling. He figured it must be something related to the lab.
He picked up, and immediately Xia Xiaoyu's anxious voice came through.
"Jiang Fan, you need to come back to the lab. Academician Long is looking for you!"
"Okay, I'll be right there," Jiang Fan replied calmly.
Two seconds later, Xia Xiaoyu lowered her voice and added, "He looked at your summary, and his expression wasn't too good. You'd better go back and apologize properly!"
"Got it."
Jiang Fan hung up the phone and turned to Chu Ruoxi.
"Ruoxi, there's something I need to take care of at the lab. You can go to my dorm if you'd like. I'll come find you once I'm done."
"Alright, you go ahead with your important work," Chu Ruoxi responded, though inwardly disappointed. She had hoped Jiang Fan would stay with her longer, but she understood well that as a freshman, getting into a lab was no small feat, and she didn't want to hold him back.
Jiang Fan handed her the key to his dorm and left in a hurry.
Chu Ruoxi made her way to the faculty dormitory, surprised that Jiang Fan, as a freshman, had a private room.
It seemed his invention of the solar photovoltaic panel material must have contributed significantly to the country.
After asking a few classmates, she eventually found the building.
Upon entering Room 302, she was immediately struck by the elegant, vintage decor. The furniture—dining table, chairs, sofa, bookshelf—was all made of redwood.
This was understated luxury.
She wandered around the room, admiring it, her surprise evident. "This treatment is incredible!"
...
Back at the lab, the atmosphere was unusually tense.
Long Lao was still poring over Jiang Fan's materials, occasionally making notes with his pen.
When Jiang Fan entered, Xia Xiaoyu quickly approached and whispered, "Jiang Fan, be sure to apologize properly. After all, Academician Long is your mentor. He probably won't be too angry."
"Apologize? Why should I apologize?"
Jiang Fan looked at Xia Xiaoyu in confusion—he didn't think he had done anything wrong.
Xia Xiaoyu, seeing that Jiang Fan wasn't taking this seriously, became frustrated.
"You're so thick-headed. Just do as I say!"
Ignoring her, Jiang Fan walked straight up to Long Lao and said, "Professor, you wanted to see me?"
Long Lao looked up, setting down his pen. "Where were you this afternoon?"
"With my girlfriend," Jiang Fan replied nonchalantly.
Xia Xiaoyu, Xu Guangyuan, and Niu Xu froze, their jaws dropping.
He hadn't been at the lab all afternoon... and he had been with a girl? And said it so confidently?
They feared Long Lao might explode with rage at any moment.
But to their surprise, Long Lao merely smiled benignly.
"You've got a girlfriend? Not bad. When can you bring her by to meet me?"
"She's at my dorm now," Jiang Fan replied.
"Good, take me to see her later. Ha-ha..." Long Lao's face broke into a broad grin, much to the confusion of the three observers.
They couldn't believe their eyes. Was this really the same strict and fiery Long Lao they knew?
After a moment of bemusement, Jiang Fan asked, "Professor, is there anything you need from me?"
Long Lao's expression became serious once more as he refocused on the matter at hand.
"About this project you wrote..."
"Hmm?"
"The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery idea is very novel. Can you explain to me how the reactions happen at the positive and negative electrodes?"
"The negative electrode reaction: C6Li−xe− = C6Li(1−x) + xLi+
C6Li represents lithium atoms embedded in graphite to form a composite material...
And the positive electrode reaction: Li(1−x)MO2 + xLi+ + xe− = LiMO2..."
Jiang Fan began to explain, and Long Lao, like a diligent student, asked questions from time to time. Each time Jiang Fan answered, Long Lao nodded with comprehension.
Meanwhile, Xu Guangyuan, Xia Xiaoyu, and Niu Xu watched in a daze, utterly confused.
Jiang Fan had torn apart Long Lao's lead-acid battery research, yet Long Lao was now humbly seeking his guidance.
They had expected that Long Lao would be furious, maybe even throw Jiang Fan out of the lab!
But as they observed the scene, they couldn't help but seriously consider whether Jiang Fan's lithium iron phosphate battery plan might indeed be feasible.
Two hours later, Long Lao had a solid understanding of the project.
He believed Jiang Fan's lithium iron phosphate battery proposal was very promising. If successful, it could elevate the energy storage industry to new heights and solve the energy problems of mecha technology.
"Jiang Fan, how long do you think it will take to develop this battery?" Long Lao asked.
Jiang Fan pondered for a moment before replying, "Conservatively, about half a month."
"Half a month?"
Everyone in the lab was stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
A new battery material could be developed in just half a month?
This was completely impossible!
After all, when lead-acid batteries were first developed by F-country's Plante, it had taken them five years and countless failures to succeed.
And now, Jiang Fan was claiming he could develop lithium iron phosphate batteries in just fifteen days.
Even if Jiang Fan had the formula, it was still unthinkable that he could succeed so easily.
The development of a new battery material typically took at least 2 to 5 years.
"Jiang Fan, are you... really saying you can develop it in half a month?" Long Lao asked, shocked.
"Mm," Jiang Fan nodded seriously.
Long Lao became visibly excited. If anyone else had said this, he would have dismissed it as impossible. But Jiang Fan had already proven himself capable of controlled nuclear fusion.
A genius like him—if he said he could develop a spaceship, Long Lao would believe it without hesitation!
Turning to Xu Guangyuan and the others, Long Lao issued his command.
"You three, stop all your current research. For the next half month, focus entirely on assisting Jiang Fan!"