Great, we're doomed now!

'If only I could go with you...'

She couldn't dwell on this feeling for long, because soon someone came over to ask her something.

"Lord Rurikawa, what are the young master's clothes that he changed out of?"

"Destroy... No!"

Remembering Ye Shou's instructions to inspect the factory, Liuli thought for a moment and said, "Seal it up and keep it safe."

"Yes!"

-

Factory manager Maya Yoshida was extremely nervous. There had been a commotion in town earlier, with rumors that a monster had escaped from the mountains, causing the workers to flee en masse. He had initially dismissed the rumors, but when he finally saw the hideous monster, as big as a small mountain, in the distance, he was so terrified that he fell down the stairs!

Thankfully, it was just a sprained ankle.

Just as he was about to find a car to escape, news came that the monster had disappeared. Overwhelmed by the sudden change in his mood, he leaned against the wall, speechless for a long time.

Fortunately, several workers hadn't had time to escape, and he was usually quite respected, so they were carried back to his office.

He had finally managed to calm himself down and was thinking about how to recall the workers and write a loss report when a phone call threw him into complete panic.

why!

Why would the eldest son of a prestigious family like Jiushi come to such a remote and impoverished place?

And of all times, it had to be at this time!

Normally, Yoshida would be overjoyed, because someone of his level shouldn't be qualified to communicate directly with Yoshida, and he would definitely want to take the opportunity to showcase his abilities.

But now? Even a god couldn't restore the factory to its original state!

The thought of a bleak future visibly darkened Yoshida's expression. He was only brought back to his senses by repeated calls from his subordinates, and he frantically began to arrange the welcoming ceremony... In the end, he could only gather less than thirty people, who looked incredibly shabby standing in front of the empty factory gate.

"This is it, we're doomed..."

"Manager, what did you say?"

"If the higher-ups (Kuse) see the factory like this... I, the manager, will be fired before we even officially start operations!"

"No, no, no, as long as it's explained clearly, it should... probably be fine!"

His subordinates tried their best to encourage him: "After all, monsters are natural disasters, and there's nothing anyone can do about them."

“Even if you say that… handling emergencies is my job, and there’s no way I can shirk it.” Yoshida shook his head.

The most important thing in operating a large factory is safe production, without exception!

Therefore, in theory, the person in charge of each key department must understand the production process, cultivate safety awareness, and undergo extensive professional training before they can take up their post.

As the factory's direct supervisor, Yoshida must remain calm and composed in the face of danger, making the right choices as quickly as possible to minimize losses—whether to loss of life or assets.

The monster hadn't even arrived yet, and the factory was already in chaos. He messed up at the crucial moment, twisted his ankle, and couldn't do anything... It would be a miracle if he passed with this performance!

The factory is not yet officially completed; only a portion has undergone trial operation.

If he had time, he might have been able to embellish the report or find a subordinate to take the blame, but Ye Shou came too fast, and he didn't have time to react!

At this point, people's will to survive and their initiative come into play, but not in Yoshida, but in the subordinates who realize they might be sacrificed to the heavens—

"Why don't we call Dr. Nezu out and introduce him to Lord Kuze?"

"Nezu?" the manager asked in surprise. "That chemist?"

"He's a physicist," the subordinate managed to correct, barely managing to control his expression.

"What's the point of bringing him here? He's only in charge of researching waste purification and treatment, right?" The manager said dismissively. "He's just a university professor we hired, he's just a figurehead. We don't expect him to actually come up with anything."

In fact, new technologies may not be suitable for this type of factory, because managers need to consider costs and returns. Existing technologies are sufficient to cope with environmental investigations, so there is no need to open new production lines.

"No, actually Dr. Nezu has been researching entirely new high-energy clean energy. He only accepted our job to use the factory's laboratory because the university gave funding to another team. It just so happens that his research is also related to the reuse of waste."

The subordinate whispered, "I heard that Lord Kuze is very fond of cutting-edge technology and treats elite scholars with special courtesy... If he knew that we have been conducting research on new energy sources, he might look at us differently!"

Huh?

The manager's eyes lit up, and he patted his subordinate on the shoulder with satisfaction: "Good! It wasn't for nothing that I've always praised you so much. From now on, I'll treat you like my own child. Go and invite Dr. Nezu out!"

The subordinates expressed their gratitude repeatedly, but in their hearts they were wondering whether they should follow Dr. Nezu if he was valued by his superiors.

He'd gotten along well with the doctor lately, and he was the only one in the factory's management who saw the potential in new energy. If he could seize this opportunity to leave this impoverished area and catch Young Master Kuze's eye again, he'd be set for life!

He didn't listen to a word the manager said:

That's easy for you to say, but I've never seen you invite me to go to the club before!

-

"Lord Kuze, this is Dr. Nezu, our strategic partner, who leads the development of new renewable energy, and also an old friend of mine."

The manager felt flattered after shaking hands with Ye Shou and led him through the welcoming lines of workers on both sides to the workshop. As if to show off his achievements, he quickly introduced Dr. Nezu to him.

"Dr. Nezu? Hello, I am Kuze Yoshimori."

"Um... Oh! Hello, I've heard of you. I heard that Dr. Kayaba, an expert in quantum physics, works for you?"

Nezu appears to be someone focused solely on academics and lacking social skills, which explains why he couldn't compete with others in university.

"Yes, Dr. Kayaba and I have a pleasant working relationship, and in addition to him, many other scholars have received funding from the Kuze Group and have collaborated in various fields such as education, healthcare, and energy."

Ye Shou only glanced at him and knew how to deal with Nezu. He said slowly, "We believe that promoting scientific progress is a necessary driving force for mankind to move into the next stage. Only by transforming scientific research results into resources for people's livelihood can we truly benefit all mankind."

"Oh!"

Dr. Nezu was greatly surprised: "It's rare for someone your age to be in such a high position and still have such insight. You're quite different from Manager Yoshida."

"Haha, after all, I wasn't good at physics when I was in high school." Yoshida quickly laughed it off. "Professor, please introduce your research findings to Lord Kuze."

"But we haven't succeeded in researching it yet."

"This..." The manager was speechless, and glared at Nezu with great dissatisfaction.

I wanted you to take the important person on a tour of the lab, say some vague and cryptic things, make it sound impressive, and ideally, convince them. That way, you get funding, I get promoted, and we all have bright futures. Then suddenly you tell me it didn't work.

No wonder you ended up in a factory like this!

"So, what stage is the research at now? Can I take a look?"

Ye Shou was not an outsider like the manager; he remained interested in Nezu's research, while the doctor glanced at his entourage.

"So many people can't be in the lab."

"It's just me and Ruri... my assistant."

"Ok."

Nezu remained expressionless, making the manager wish he could force a smile on his face!

-

Nezu's lab conditions weren't great, and he only had two graduate student assistants, but judging from his thick notebooks and experimental records that could almost be piled up into a small mountain, his enthusiasm for his work was unmatched.

"I think it's a huge waste to use fossil fuels only to power machinery. Every industry needs oil, and industrial products are the foundation of modern society. We should use them more carefully."

Other energy sources are either inefficient to obtain or limited in scale... My dream is to one day develop a new energy source with extremely high energy density and a utilization rate of over 60%, to replace oil and give humanity more options for the future.

Dr. Nezu's remarks made no mention of "costs" or "profits," let alone the "monopoly" that capital loves most, and he didn't even realize that his research actually infringed on the interests of many energy companies.

He spoke with great enthusiasm, and Ye Shou listened attentively, only Liu Li frowned slightly.

As for the two graduate students? They looked at each other, both wanting to try and secure financial assistance for their advisor, but they clearly lacked social experience and didn't dare to speak up.

"This is my research sample. It is not mature enough yet, but it has great potential. Its energy density per unit volume is far greater than that of conventional energy sources, and it is currently in an unprocessed and unpurified state."

Currently, it only has 15% purity and exists in gaseous form, but according to my estimation, it can be liquefied once it reaches a purity of over 93%, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of storage and transportation.

Dr. Nezu's face radiated pure joy, as if he were showing off his child's achievements to his neighbors.

"I named it [Zelda Gas]."

"..."

"Lord Ye Shou?"

The observant Liuli looked at Ye Shou with suspicion. Although the boy did not show any change in expression on the surface, the maid could sense that the "atmosphere" around him was different.

“Dr. Nezu, your success is remarkable, and I believe it will succeed sooner or later.”

Ye Shou smiled and said very sincerely, "So, could you please give up your research?"

Chapter 112 Two Fatal Fantasies of Men

The most destructive weapon ever created by mankind, known as the "Tsar Bomba," has a thermal radiation range of 70 kilometers and a shock wave range of 90 kilometers. This is even with the choice of high-altitude detonation to maximize the effective kill radius.

Taking Japan, the only country with experience in nuclear weapons, as an example, the Tsar Bomba was roughly equivalent to three to four thousand Little Boys, and its radiation range was at most one-twentieth of Japan's. To ensure that no one could survive, the range would be even smaller.

In Ultraman Tiga, there is a thing that, with a size of only a suitcase, can raze half of Japan to the ground.

—This is Zelda gas.

Strictly speaking, it is "high-purity Zelda gas". According to Dr. Nezu, the purity is at least 90%, and it has not even been purified to 20% yet.

Honestly, if it were the purified stuff from the original novel, Ye Shou would definitely turn around and leave, and switch to online communication!

Because it's too unstable!

The TPC hawks have never given up on weapons development. During the Defense Force era, they had a bunch of powerful weapons, and they even had their eyes on the Magus power system. They even had artificial Ultraman and monsters. It's hard to say whether Masaki Keigo has any supporters in the TPC.

But this group of people never dared to open the Zildar gas, burying it as deep as possible, which is the value of its "extreme instability"!

Ye Shou is now extremely grateful that he chose to take a gamble and defeated the crazed tanuki monster. Otherwise, if it had absorbed more of the low-purity Zelda gas, wouldn't he have gone from a lowly monster to a powerful one?

(Phoenix Sira mutated through Zelda gas, but it should also have absorbed volcanic energy, similar to Golza, to strengthen itself a second time.)

We can't count on Obik then...

Dr. Nezu was so optimistic about Zildar gas because its energy density was indeed frighteningly high, but he lacked sufficient equipment, resources and facilities to conduct extensive safety tests. Therefore, he did not know that while it was fine at low purity, it became more unstable at higher purity!

"Liquefaction" is a threshold; once that threshold is crossed, this thing becomes extremely dangerous!

The tragedy in the original work actually stemmed in part from the same reason:

Nezu's research could affect the interests of traditional energy companies, so his development was restricted in many ways. He lacked space and manpower, and was also ostracized at the university. As a professional, Nezu could only use his home as a half-laboratory, and even put his finished products in his study.

With his talent, he should have been a guest of honor among celebrities, but he fell into such a state of destitution in order to realize his dream, which also reveals his character.

So when Ye Shou advised him to stop his research, Dr. Nezu suppressed his anger, but his neck stiffened.