National Survival: I Supported the Dragon Nation by Hunting Dinosaurs

The pattern is not decoration.

He saw the same pattern on the pillar at the bottom of the lake, with the same logical arrangement...

The curved lines represent the direction of energy flow, the right-angled broken lines represent energy conversion nodes, and the crystals embedded in the grooves act as control switches...

There are seven empty slots on the door frame, but only one on the base of the pillar, where the embedded crystal has become dull and cracked...

Zhang Li opened his eyes.

"The designers of this system used modular control logic."

He quickly processed the information in his mind: "The crystal is the key; if you insert it correctly, the device will obey you. Otherwise, it will enter a self-destruct sequence!"

The crystal on the base of the pillar shattered, and the defense mechanism lost its owner authentication, defaulting to repelling any target it came into contact with.

To disable the defense, you need to replace it with a working crystal...

Zhang Li retrieved the dark purple abyss condensation core from his storage space.

The mother worm ingests the internal deposits formed by long-term consumption of Star Marrow Elixir.

The previous analysis by the All-Knowing Eye was that it was "a crystallized product of a high-level energy source".

This abyssal condensation core is the same thing as that crystal!

The problem now is the shape...

The original crystal is a regular hexagonal prism with a regular hexagonal cross-section, approximately four centimeters long and two centimeters in diameter...

Abyssal condensate nuclei are irregular lumps the size of a fist.

Zhang Li flipped the dark purple crystal in his hand, using his third-tier strength to pinch the edge and try to break it...

Not moving an inch!!!

The crystal is extremely hard; it cannot be scratched by a military knife or broken by hand.

He paused for three seconds, then thought of a skill—a master of ceramics.

The core of ceramic forming is not brute force, but a precise understanding of the material's microstructure and ultimate control over the direction of force application.

During high-temperature firing, the internal grains of the ceramic body rearrange and the pores close, ultimately forming a dense structure...

Zhang Li placed his palm on the surface of the condensation nucleus, activating the ceramic master's tactile memory...

The tactile feedback from the fingertips reveals the microscopic structure inside the crystal, with energy distributed along a specific axis...

He used another skill... electromagnetic pulse.

Extremely fine electromagnetic fields penetrate into the interior of the crystal along the cleavage plane, like an invisible wire saw, applying stress along the weakest direction of the atomic arrangement.

"Click."

The first cut... a piece of excess material fell off...

Zhang Li continued.

Electromagnetic pulses serve as both the heat source and the cutting tool, master ceramicists provide micron-level force control, and an all-seeing eye monitors in real time the deviation between the crystal cross-section shape and the target size...

Fifteen minutes.

A standard six-sided prismatic crystal lay in his palm.

The crystal was complete. But he didn't rush into the water...

The second question is – even if the defense is turned off, what happens to the catalyst?

The Omniscient Eye is described as "a catalytic liquid that continuously converts sulfur-containing minerals in water into sulfuric acid, and has a self-replenishing mechanism."

The essence of a catalyst is to lower the activation energy of a reaction without being consumed itself.

To permanently deactivate a catalyst is chemically termed "catalyst poisoning."

(Note: This refers to the phenomenon where trace impurities (poisons) in the raw materials undergo strong adsorption or chemical reaction with the active sites of the catalyst, resulting in a significant decrease in activity and selectivity or even complete deactivation.)

The principle is simple: certain substances can form extremely stable chemical bonds with the active sites on the surface of the catalyst, occupy the active sites and then stop moving, so the catalyst can no longer function.

What is the most common catalyst poison in industry?

Sulfides, arsenides, lead compounds.

Zhang Li looked down at the pile of lead-containing ore fragments at his feet.

lead.

The raw material he just used to make lead sulfate armor plating.

Lead ions are highly poisonous in the vast majority of metal catalysts.

Lead atoms have a large electron cloud radius and strong adsorption capacity, and once they bind to the active site of a catalyst, the binding is almost irreversible.

This is why leaded gasoline can poison a car's catalytic converter.

Zhang Li picked out the highest-grade pieces from the ore fragments and scraped off the high-purity galena powder with his military knife.

Acid lakes are inherently highly acidic environments. When galena powder is introduced into the water, it dissolves in the acid, releasing a large amount of lead ions, which directly bind to the active sites of the catalytic solution...

Fight fire with fire!

He stood up and re-examined the bindings of the lead sulfate armor plate, securing the crystals and galena powder bags tightly to his body.

Take three deep breaths...fill your lungs to their limit...

Zhang Li plunged in headfirst.

The burning sensation returned to my entire body.

The areas protected by the lead sulfate plate were safe, while the exposed skin on the face and palms quickly turned white, peeled off, and regenerated in a continuous cycle.

Adaptation to extreme environments significantly reduced the intensity of the damage, and superhuman regeneration plugged the remaining gaps.

Zhang Li closed his eyes tightly, using his deep-sea vision to penetrate the dark red acid liquid.

The outline of the gray-white ruins reappeared beneath my feet.

The remains of an arched wall, with smooth curves, and a single piece of dark gray mineral material...

He passed through a gap in the remaining wall and entered the heart of the ruins.

A circular groove...a two-meter-high metal column.

From the bowl-shaped depression at the top, dark red catalytic liquid slowly seeped out, reacting with the surrounding acid, causing bubbles to surge...

The distance is twelve meters.

Zhang Li stopped and took out a dark purple prismatic crystal from his body.

The back of the column base.

The crack contained a dull, fragmented original crystal.

He had to complete the replacement underwater—pulling out the old one and inserting the new one. Touching the column would trigger a defensive repulsive force.

But what if the point of contact is the crystal slot itself?

System designers can't make maintenance interfaces off-limits; otherwise, who will fix them if they break down?

Zhang Li took the gamble.

He adjusted his posture and swam to the back of the column base as quickly as possible.

With the index and middle fingers of his right hand, he clamped the remaining fragment of the broken crystal and pulled it outward with force.

There is no repulsive force.

The shattered crystal fragments were pulled out, revealing a cavity half a finger deep in the groove, with more intricate patterns engraved on the inner wall.

Zhang Li aligned the new crystal with the groove and pushed it in.

The moment the bottom of the crystal touched the deepest part of the groove, the pattern lit up.

Blue light spreads rapidly from the base of the column along the grooved lines, like blood being re-infused into dried-up blood vessels.

The geometric patterns on the entire column were illuminated, and the deep blue light turned the acid within a three-meter radius into a sapphire blue...

The rate of efflux of the top catalyst solution dropped sharply.

The system detected the crystal and restored the controlled state.

But the catalyst is still there. Although the efflux has slowed down, as long as the catalyst remains active, the acid lake's self-sustaining mechanism will not stop.

Zhang Li tore open the bag with one hand and poured all the high-purity galena powder into the bowl-shaped depression at the top of the column.

The grayish-black powder fell into the dark red catalytic solution.

The reaction starts within two seconds.

Galena powder is dissolved in acid, releasing lead ions which then rapidly bind to active metal sites in the catalytic solution...

The dark red catalyst solution darkened at a visible rate... from dark red to brown, from brown to grayish-black...

Catalyst poisoning.

The active sites are firmly occupied by lead atoms, permanently blocking the catalytic conversion pathway from sulfur-containing minerals to sulfuric acid...

[Second core pollution source - acidification catalytic column: catalytic activity reduced to zero. Purification assessment: Complete.]

[Core pollution sources have been purified: 2/3.]

Zhang Li didn't have time to enjoy the Blu-ray show. Eight minutes had already passed since he last held his breath.

He turned and swam at full speed towards the surface of the water.

Forty seconds later, his head emerged from the acidic lake and he gasped for breath.

While recovering on the rocks by the shore, the All-Knowing Eye automatically updated the coordinates of the third core pollution source.

Zhang Li looked up at the gray-yellow sky.

Dark yellow clouds churned, and dark red lightning silently exploded...

The third source of pollution is not underground, nor in the water. It's in the sky.

[The third core source of pollution, the engine of atmospheric toxicity. Located inside the highest volcanic cone, it continuously emits high concentrations of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into the atmosphere, serving as the source of the entire acid rain cycle in this hidden realm.]

[WARNING: High-level biological activity signals detected in this area. Threat assessment... Unable to assess.]

The words "cannot be assessed" have appeared again!

Just like the huge dark shadow that passed by on the way to Acid Lake last time.

Zhang Li tore off the lead sulfate plaster that had been corroded and pitted by the acid, changed into spare clothes, and started walking in the northwest direction.

After walking two kilometers, he suddenly stopped.

On the horizon directly ahead, the highest peaks of the volcanic cluster were completely obscured by dark yellow clouds.

Within the clouds, a huge black shadow was slowly circling.

Wingspan—the estimated value given by the All-Knowing Eye made Zhang Li's pupils shrink slightly.

More than forty meters.

Zhang Li stood on the wasteland, looking up at the dark shadow swirling in the clouds for a full thirty seconds.

Its flight path was stable, with a hovering radius of about 500 meters, which covered exactly the top of the highest volcanic cone.

The all-knowing eye cannot assess the level; a direct confrontation will only lead to certain death.

But the third source of pollution is inside that volcanic cone.

If you don't go in, you'll be trapped in the ark forever.

Zhang Li sat cross-legged on the cracked ground and brought up the system panel...

S-Rank Hunting Roulette - 3 turns remaining.

He's been holding onto those three trump cards... Now it's time to make his move!