White armor

Chapter 772 Your ridiculous vehicle purchase tax scare me half to death!
Luo Hao didn't care much about heavenly lightning; he even thought the heavenly tribulation was just a rumor.

But Chen Yong was enthusiastic, and Luo Hao was happy to stand aside and watch the fun.

The cables he encountered on the road today cast a shadow over Luo Hao's heart.

An accident?
Luo Hao didn't think so.

He watched quietly as Dr. Geng and Chen Yong collected data together. It was clear that they intended to use this place as a base to study how to attract lightning and various data about lightning.

Who knows, it might really become possible anytime, anywhere.

If there really is a heavenly tribulation, Chen Yong's chances of surviving it would be much greater, Luo Hao thought to himself.

More than two hours later, the rain subsided, and their discussion gradually came to an end.

Luo Hao only overheard them discussing preparing three drones to detonate mines next time, since drones aren't worth much these days.

This can be considered a new approach in the new era, and Luo Hao neither agreed nor disagreed with it.

"Let's go, let's go." Although Chen Yong was reluctant to leave, it was getting late and he had to go to work the next day, so he turned around and said goodbye.

Master Qi escorted them to the door.

"Master Qi, how do you prevent fires at this picnic and camping spot?" Luo Hao asked.

"There are drones monitoring the area 24 hours a day, as long as the weather permits. If the weather doesn't permit, no one will be barbecuing here," Master Qi said, offering a "truthful" statement.

This is true.

Like today, it's pouring rain, so even if you want to have a barbecue, you can't.

Those two tents below are quite interesting, though.

The rain has stopped.

Luo Hao saw someone carrying a cat out for some fresh air.

"Are they here specifically for camping? Would it be better to go to a deeper location if they're going to camp?" Luo Hao had nothing else to do, so he asked Master Qi.

"Camping is not allowed here. It's all deep in the mountains and forests. What would happen if there were a wildfire? The whole area would burn down, and the Taoist temple wouldn't be able to survive either."

"Pfft~~~" Chen Yong burst out laughing.

"Hey." Luo Hao knew Chen Yong was laughing at the word "wave," which became famous forty years ago during the Great Khingan Mountains wildfire.

“They are all waiting to be the first to burn incense tomorrow,” Master Qi said.

"Hey." Luo Hao remained noncommittal.

As Luo Hao descended the mountain, he noticed the man holding a cat was also looking at him. The Siamese cat in his arms looked rather strange.

Luo Hao's gaze was firmly fixed on the Siamese cat in the man's arms.

This cat, which should have had typical dark point markings, now looks like a faded ink painting—its face, ears, and limbs, which should have been dark chocolate, are now light milk tea color; its body, which should have been cream color, has almost faded to pale white, like an old photograph that has been exposed to the scorching sun.

The most obvious change is the cat's tail. What should have been an ebony-like tip is now just faint caramel-colored stripes, as if someone had casually smeared a few strokes with diluted coffee.

The dark "mask" that should have been around its pink nose was so faint as to be almost invisible, making its sapphire-like eyes stand out starkly against its pale face.

Luo Hao found it interesting and went to greet him.

"What's this?" Luo Hao asked tentatively.

"Sigh." The man felt a sense of closeness to Luo Hao because he saw that Luo Hao liked cats, but he didn't speak. Instead, he let out a long sigh.

"You don't actually think the Siamese cat mutated and attracted some evil spirits, do you?" Chen Yong laughed.

“I don’t,” the man said. “Siamese cats carry a TYR gene mutation, which causes tyrosinase to become more active in low-temperature environments, promoting melanin synthesis.”

Their ears, limbs, and tails—areas furthest from the heart—remain cooler, thus appearing as dark patches. In winter or cold environments, their entire coat may darken.

"Oh, that's because of something else." Luo Hao smiled, knowing that men understand.

"No, it's because of this." The man explained helplessly, "This is my mom's cat. It's been especially hot this year, and the cat started to lose its color. She even had someone do a fortune telling, and they said... well, they said a lot of random things."

"You didn't explain?"

“I explained, but no matter what I said, my mom wouldn’t listen. She’d rather listen to those scammers than to me.”

"hehe."

"There's nothing I can do but bring it here to pray and burn incense."

"Is this a Siamese cat?" Master Qi asked.

"Yes, young Siamese cats have lighter fur, with a whiter base and lighter points. As they grow older, the activity of the TYR gene gradually stabilizes, melanin synthesis increases, and the points gradually darken. This is a normal physiological phenomenon, similar to how human skin darkens during puberty."

Luo Hao gave a brief explanation.

"Tsk tsk, young master Chen, this cat looks much more docile than a tabby cat."

"What are you talking about? My tabby cat isn't that kind of delicate girl."

"It's a male cat, a male cat," the man whispered in protest.

"Not this kind of too..." Chen Yong blurted out, and just as he finished speaking, a foot landed on the instep of his foot.

"You came by yourself?" Luo Hao chuckled, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I came by myself." The man clearly understood what Chen Yong was trying to say. He laughed, took out a cigarette, and lit it up.

Meeting is fate. Besides, although these people look young, the fact that they came out with Master Qi at least proves that they have a good relationship.

"Not married yet?" Luo Hao steered the conversation further and further away from the topic.

"I'm not getting married." The man chuckled and took a drag on his cigarette. "Because of this, my mom got angry and got a cat. She won't listen to anything I say, and I don't dare to argue back."

"Oh? Why?"

"Let's not even talk about marriage, I can't stand blind dates. Blind dates these days are like going to a funeral. I'm kneeling and she's lying down. I want to kneel and kowtow, but she ignores me and doesn't move. Not only does she not move, but she also eats my offerings. After eating the offerings, she tells me that I knelt in the wrong place and it wasn't her."

"..."

"..."

Luo Hao realized he had said the wrong thing.

This is completely irrelevant.

"It's fine being alone. After get off work, I buy a bunch of food, go home, watch TV shows, and drink. I can be as carefree as I want. Why would I need someone to make things difficult for me?" the man laughed. "Besides, I'm just a cow or a horse. If I have a child, it'll just be a little cow or a horse. Why bother?"

Luo Hao felt helpless.

He couldn't continue the conversation on these topics.

After exchanging a few brief words with the man, Luo Hao drove away in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

"Dr. Luo, Siamese cats can change color? They can even change color like chameleons?" Dr. Geng asked.

"It's a bit of an exaggeration to say they're like chameleons. The way Siamese cats change color is different from chameleons. It's mainly because their fur color is sensitive to temperature."

In the cold winter, to keep warm, the skin's blood vessels constrict, and melanocytes become more active, temporarily deepening the pointed coat color. As spring warms up, blood vessels dilate, melanin synthesis decreases, and the coat color gradually lightens.

"It's been particularly hot this year, so the Siamese cats have turned a very light color, almost like white cats."

"So that's it."

As the saying goes, "every profession has its own secrets," and after listening to Luo Hao's explanation, Dr. Geng didn't delve into it further, nor did he care to know whether what Luo Hao said was correct or not.

"Dr. Geng, do you have a girlfriend? I'd like to introduce you to a nurse who's a freshman at medical school?" Chen Yong asked.

"Me? No, and I don't want to look for one," Dr. Geng said calmly.

"Why?" Luo Hao asked curiously. Logically speaking, Dr. Geng shouldn't lack girlfriends.

"No time."

"No time?" Chen Yong asked, puzzled.

What is time for?

Aside from dating and cultivating oneself, it doesn't matter where you spend your time.

"I did joint training at an institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, not a large institute like the one in the power industry."

Before I went there, I thought the university would be tough, but after I got in, I was like, "Holy crap!"

The researchers in the institute are all working like their lives depend on it. My supervisor gets off work at 6 pm, but he does research until 8 or 9 pm, then goes home to spend time with his wife and kids. After putting them to sleep, he goes back to the office to continue working around midnight.

I go back to sleep around 3 or 4 a.m., and then come back to work around 8 a.m. I do this at least half the week.

One researcher even had a sudden heart attack. After being taken away by ambulance, about a week later, emergency cardiac resuscitation equipment was installed on every floor, with a thoughtful sign that read: "Let cardiac arrest survival become the new normal."

"..."

"..."

Is surviving cardiac arrest becoming the new normal?!

Are there really any slogans this outrageous?

Luo Hao's memories are filled with thirty years of dedicated work for scientific research and health.

It seemed that he had unknowingly become outdated. Luo Hao shook his head helplessly.

"Do you know how to use it?" Chen Yong asked casually.

"Of course, the principle is very simple, and everyone can apply it proficiently." Dr. Geng said, while looking at the data he had just collected on the computer, and then began to mutter to himself.

He has become completely absorbed in the world of scientific research.

In this situation, whether or not you get married is really not important.

People who do scientific research really work incredibly hard. Luo Hao felt that he hadn't worked hard enough and had started to push himself.

As they gradually entered the city, Luo Hao decided to take Dr. Geng back to the university first. It seemed that Dr. Geng was prepared to work himself to the bone; after all, the newly acquired data was probably quite important, and even if he were allowed to sleep, he probably wouldn't be able to.

The provincial capital's drainage system is subpar; with the sudden downpour, many roads were flooded. Chen Yong grumbled about how the so-called "sponge city" had turned into this mess, all the while looking out the window.

Luo Hao didn't have many feelings. The Peugeot 307 had been modified, so although he wasn't worried about it becoming a flooded car, he still avoided the flooded sections of the road.

Modern navigation systems are advanced enough to indicate which sections of the road are flooded and plan new routes.

Although the new route is a bit longer, it's still better than trekking through mountains and rivers and using the car as a boat.

Luo Hao wasn't very familiar with the new route, so he drove rather slowly.

As they passed a secluded street corner, a Mercedes suddenly sped out from the side. Luo Hao slammed on the brakes, and Chen Yong, lost in thought, hit his head on the car window despite wearing a seatbelt.

"What the hell is that idiot driving like that!"

Chen Yong instantly entered a state of road rage. Luo Hao noticed that his fingers seemed to have muscle memory, and began to tremble and make some kind of hand gesture.

Although Chen Yong stopped himself the next second, he still looked unhappy.

"Ignore him." Luo Hao reached out and patted Chen Yong on the shoulder.

"Are you fucking an idiot?!"

Before Chen Yong could drive down and start cursing, a chubby man with a menacing face got out of the Mercedes. He became even more arrogant after seeing that the other party was driving an old Peugeot 307. He raised his hand as if to hit him and started cursing.

The foul language continued unabated, and Chen Yong's anger disappeared. Luo Hao quickly pulled him back.

"You stay in the car, I'll handle it."

After speaking softly, Luo Hao opened the car door and leaned out.

"Dude, I didn't run into him, it can't be that bad."

"Bump? You're driving a beat-up Peugeot 307, and you dare to bump into my Mercedes? You're driving a car that's just for the purchase tax!" the fat man cursed viciously.

"Hey, it's not that bad, it's not that bad." Luo Hao laughed as he got out of the car, glancing at Chen Yong as he closed the door.

This guy successfully attracted lightning today, but for some reason, Luo Hao felt that he was a bit agitated, which might be related to the lightning. In any case, he couldn't let Chen Yong speak; he had to handle it himself.

The provincial capital's weapons and ammunition had long been wiped out, so where did this guy come from?

"This is a Mercedes! Ask around, it's lucky we didn't run into it, if we had, we couldn't afford to pay for it even if we sold you."

After hurling countless insults, the fat man roared viciously.

Luo Hao glanced around; there were no cars nearby. He then glanced at the S600, noticing something different about it.

"Do you know how much this car costs?!" the fat man roared.

However, his anger was mostly tinged with arrogance, which left Luo Hao somewhat helpless. He didn't want to pay attention to him, but Chen Yong was already eager to try, so Luo Hao had no choice but to walk over to the S600 and place his fingers on the car body.

"How much is it worth? Let me see."

have a look?

The fat man was taken aback.

Lost in thought, Luo Hao's fingers lightly rested on the S600's hood, his fingertips slowly gliding across the paint. His movements seemed casual, yet they carried an expert's precision—his index and middle fingers were slightly separated, moving along the metal surface like two calipers.

"Tsk." Luo Hao's fingertip paused on the edge of the right front fender.

The original paint should be as smooth as silk, but here there is a barely perceptible grainy texture. He crouched down and observed it against the light, and the paint surface showed a subtle "orange peel" texture at a 45-degree angle—a leveling defect unique to post-painting.

Luo Hao's fingers felt the thick, rich paint on the car.

Although the difference was only a hair's breadth, Luo Hao's hands, which had been digitally modified, could clearly distinguish it.

"Front left door: 148μm"

Front right door: 213μm

Trunk lid: 187μm

"The original paint thickness of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class should be between 110-140μm."

Luo Hao's voice was as calm as if he were reading a test report.

"The right front door exceeds the standard by 50%, a typical case of excessively thickened sheet metal putty."

His fingernail suddenly scraped at a seam, bringing up a barely visible trace of paint mist—there shouldn't be such a trace of secondary spraying on the original electrophoretic layer.

When he reached the back of the car, Luo Hao deliberately brushed his leather shoes against the exhaust pipe.

He ran his fingertip along the inside of the exhaust pipe, rubbing it. "The particulate filter was removed?" He glanced up at the fat man's instantly pale face. "Your S600, which meets China VI B emission standards, comes stock with a GPF. The inside of your exhaust pipe is as clean as if it's been licked."

The most fatal discovery was on the C-pillar. Luo Hao used his phone's flashlight to shine a light diagonally onto the glass sealant strip, and the original laser welding marks that should have been there disappeared, replaced by rough sealant—like a cake decorator hastily covering up a decorating mistake with inferior cream.

"There are 13 sheet metal parts on the whole car, 6 of which have been repainted, and 2 structural welds." Luo Hao patted the roof one last time. "If this were original factory paint, I'd eat the paint thickness gauge." He turned to Chen Yong and smiled. "Looks like I won't have to sell myself. This car will sell for half price on the used market."

"You're talking nonsense!" The fat man was both angry and flustered. He stared blankly at Luo Hao and cursed a few times without thinking.

Luo Hao sighed and held his hand to his nose to smell it.

"Dude, 92-octane gasoline, who's going to give an S600 that?" Luo Hao shook his head helplessly. "I don't even need to scan your chassis number to know that this is definitely an accident car, or a flood-damaged car, or even a Soul Ring car."

Chen Yong suddenly leaned half his body out from behind Luo Hao, his eyes fixed on the S600, his voice low and carrying a chilling, mystical quality.

"Luo Hao, something's wrong with this car." He quietly pointed to the gap in the car door. "Look closely there, do you see anything strange?"

Luo Hao followed his gaze and saw that the sealing strip at the bottom of the car door was slightly raised, but he didn't see anything wrong with it.

But when the fat man followed Chen Yong's gaze, he could vaguely see a strange dark red color inside, like dried blood seeping into the gaps in the metal.

“I’ve seen this kind of car before.” Chen Yong’s voice grew increasingly sinister. “Last year on a highway in the south, an S600 was involved in a three-car collision. A family of three was in the back seat, and they were all killed. The car was bought by a shady dealer, refurbished, and then taken to another city to sell. Everyone in the area knows what happened; nobody bought it.”

He paused deliberately, his voice becoming low and deep, as if he were telling ghost stories by Chang Chen many years ago.

"I heard that every night around midnight, there are children crying in the car, and women combing their hair in the back seat."

The fat man's face turned pale instantly, and he subconsciously took half a step back.

Pressing his advantage, Chen Yong suddenly pointed to the dashboard: "Look at the grain on that peach wood trim, doesn't it look like three human faces?" He squinted, "These 'soul-ring cars' are the most malevolent; the resentment of the dead clings to them, and whoever drives it will be unlucky."

A gust of cold wind swept by at just the right moment, causing the S600's doors to creak softly, as if confirming his words. The fat man was already covered in cold sweat, and the car keys in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter."

Chen Yong lowered his voice menacingly, his fingers lightly tracing the car window: "Buddy, come here and listen carefully. When this car is idling, doesn't the engine sound a few sighs mixed in? The old mechanic said that's the soul of someone who died unjustly trapped under the chassis; every kilometer the car travels feels like torture."

The fat man's face was deathly pale, like a blank sheet of paper.

My whole body was trembling, and I couldn't even stand up straight.

Luo Hao could tell at a glance that although what he said wasn't entirely correct, the car must have been in an accident, and the fat man definitely didn't pay more than 100,000 yuan for it.

They might even have made modifications themselves, adding an S600 logo.

Chen Yong suddenly squatted down and pointed to the inside of the tire: "Look at this brake disc, aren't there finger marks on it? Last time, a buyer who didn't believe in such things test-drove the car, and when he braked suddenly, he heard a 'thump' from the trunk. He went back home and developed a high fever and started talking nonsense, insisting that a little girl in a red dress asked him 'Why did you brake suddenly?'"

Luo Hao shuddered in unison, his fingers discreetly tracing a line on the car door: "The anti-pinch function on these windows keeps triggering by itself. Could there be something wrong with it?"

Before he could finish speaking, the back window suddenly rolled down an inch on its own, then slowly rose again with a strange "creaking" sound.

"Dude, you drive this car a lot, let me ask you, don't you think the weirdest thing about this car is the air conditioning?" Chen Yong leaned close to the fat man's ear, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper, "When the temperature is set to 23 degrees, it automatically blows out cold air, but all that comes out of the vents is the smell of blood."

He deliberately hesitated, glancing at the fat man's pale face. "I know one who wouldn't listen to reason and insisted on driving it. He's still in the mental hospital, constantly complaining about how cramped the back seat is."

A wildcat's mournful howl echoed from afar, sounding like a baby's cry. The S600's headlights suddenly switched on automatically, casting two ghastly white beams of light in the twilight.

Luo Hao added insult to injury at the opportune moment: "No wonder it uses 92-octane gasoline; it's not meant for human use."

The fat on the man's face was trembling uncontrollably, and his pale face had turned ashen.

"Dude, let's go to Funiu Mountain and find Master Qi to break the curse. Oh, right, didn't you ask me if I knew how much this car cost?" Seeing that the fat man was quite frightened, Luo Hao chuckled and stopped Chen Yong, telling him not to cause trouble. "A used accident car, if someone died in it, it's worth at most 50,000."

"The modification cost wasn't expensive, and you added the emblem later, right? But using 92-octane gasoline is too much; the engine can't handle it."

"You...you are...what do you do?" the fat man asked in a trembling voice.

"Me?" Luo Hao pointed to his nose. "I'm a used car dealer. This is a Taoist priest from Funiu Mountain. I specifically asked him to come down the mountain to perform a ritual for the Soul Ring Car. You dare to drive a Soul Ring Car without performing any rituals? You're really something."

After Luo Hao finished speaking, he looked at the fat man and asked, "Any other questions?"

This question came out very naturally, just like when Luo Hao asked his students at the medical university before get out of class ended.

The fat man was speechless.

“Then move your car, we’re leaving.” Luo Hao smiled. “My suggestion is that you go to Funiu Mountain to find Master Qi, otherwise you might get into trouble after driving for a few days.”

"Oh, oh, oh," the fat man replied repeatedly.

He was no longer as arrogant as before, his face filled with fear and embarrassment, but he dared not cause trouble for Luo Hao again.

Seeing the fat man drive away, Luo Hao smiled and got into the car as well.

"Chen Yong, I was just saying that about the Soul Ring Cart, do you really feel there's something wrong with it?"

"No, it's probably a flooded car. The inside is all damaged, and it was repaired secondhand," Chen Yong said casually. "I just wanted to scare him, but I didn't expect him to actually take it seriously."

"Sigh." Luo Hao drove away slowly.

Dr. Geng found it interesting, but his attention was mainly focused on today's data.

After dropping Dr. Geng off at the university, Chen Yong hesitated for a few seconds before finally getting back into Luo Hao's car.

"I thought you were going to be busy all night."

"Sigh, Old Liu is all alone at home. There are some advantages to not getting married, at least I can choose not to go home. But now, if I don't go home, I have to write at least a 10,000-word explanation the next day."

"Not that much."

“A metaphor, a metaphor.” Once Chen Yong made up his mind, he stopped hesitating and stared blankly at the neon lights.

"what are you thinking?"

“I was thinking, if only my master could wait a while longer, maybe he could have survived the heavenly tribulation and become the first person to ascend to immortality in a thousand years.”

(End of this chapter)