Chapter 267: The Second Frequency

The work in the Alpha Lab was urgently underway. After a week of struggle, Xia Fei finally found time to grab some sleep in the lounge. The Deathguards from the Assassin Sect had already completed their work and quietly returned back to Nameless. Murati died in his home, and the initial police investigation ruled it as suicide. Samsung had officially been incorporated into Quantum Holdings as well, while Wu Long’s campaign work was progressing smoothly. All this good news came back to back, which improved Xia Fei’s mood significantly.

After a simple grooming, Xia Fei wore his white lab coat and strolled out of the room, heading straight for the eighteenth floor. At present, the most important task at hand was to finish studying the core technology of the nether bell as soon as possible. According to Xia Fei and Harris’s preliminary testing, this communication device utilized a sort of directional transmission mechanism as its source of sending and receiving. Originally, a communication device would be transmitted in all directions, which would seamlessly cover every corner, but the nether bell was like an aimed bullet, concentrating all its power to one point, thus capable of penetrating through any potential barriers. However, it was still a mystery as to how they could fix their transmission in spite of the various nodes in the vast expanse of space.

Along the way, Xia Fei bumped into several researchers who were in a hurry, swiftly departing after exchanging a quick greeting, not even willing to tarry a second longer. Xia Fei looked at the time and saw that it was just 5 AM, which showed just how hardworking these young scientists were with their work and studies.

Pushing open the entrance to the laboratory, he saw that Harris was already in. Xia Fei had finally managed to convince the stubborn old man to head back for some rest, yet here he was, earlier than Xia Fei, perhaps not having even gotten any rest at all.

He turned around and glanced at Xia Fei. Harris’s eyes were both bloodshot as if extremely excited.

“You came just at the right time! I just made an astounding discovery,” Harris anxiously called.

Xia Fei took his time pouring himself a cup of coffee, then walked over unhurriedly. “There’s no rush. If there’s anything, just say it slowly.”

Harris nodded, reaching out to turn on an audio playback system. A rhythm could be heard, deep and rumbling, as if it was a beating wardrum.

Xia Fei had heard this frequency that rang from the nether bell for the umpteenth time, but he patiently listened on.

“What’s unusual about it?” Xia Fei curiously asked.

Harris quickly pushed a few buttons and then said, “Hear it again, carefully.”

The sound was the same, though there was this nearly imperceptible hum. Just like the frequency wave, there was a rhythm to it as well, though it was a lot more condensed as if it was the sound of a bee rapidly fluttering its wings.

Xia Fei was a little surprised. He set his cup of coffee down on the table and asked, “Is that the nether bell sound? Why wasn’t there this hum before?”

Harris turned up the frequency of the audio amplifier once again and the shrill sound became clearer as if there were a hundred bees dancing in the air together.

“There’s a special conduction unit inside the nether bell’s frequency transmission system, which we assumed as in charge of amplifying the frequency, but we were wrong. It’s actually a frequency emitter that is entirely separate in itself, using a completely different system. What you’re hearing now is the melding of both frequencies,” Harris’s eyes were gleaming as he excitedly explained.

“So now, let me play the two different frequencies for you, individually,” Harris said.

Shock. Extreme shock.

The two sounds were very crisp after being isolated. It turned out that the nether bell was made up of two completely different systems, which were matched to become a set used for transmitting messages. The other set was also used to transmit signals, though while one was for transmitting signal to similar communicators, the other worked as transmitter of a weird frequency toward an unknown part of space.

“How did you make this discovery?” Xia Fei asked

Harris replied, “Actually, I stumbled upon this out of sheer coincidence. Going by past experiences, in order to get a better frequency reading, we would usually attempt to remove any potential clutter. This morning, I accidentally forgot to turn off the filter and, as a result, discovered this weak signal that it was transmitting. After repeated tests, I confirmed the regularity of its waveform, and that it can be followed. Thus, it’s deliberately being transmitted, and what’s more, this hidden frequency isn’t just a transmission port also a receiver of extremely weak feedback from the universe at large.”

With that, Harris turned on the audio monitor again, and after some adjustments, revealed that this buzzing sound was being fed back from deep space, at approximately 1500m/s.

Xia Fei could not help but be somewhat thrilled. The nether bell was not just communicating with each other, it was also secretly communicating with some unknown signal-generating device. Given how the nether bell was no larger than a human’s thumb, the level of complexity it demonstrated through the various functions it accommodated was simply incredible.

Xia Fei smiled. “Alright, then let’s find out just what this frequency is being used for and just who or what its contacting.”

…

Ever since they discovered this second frequency, Xia Fei and Harris had both turned into even greater maniacs, working tirelessly in that laboratory, even forgoing meals and care for themselves, hardly differentiating between day and night.

Gu Fengzhu was somewhat worried over their health, so she would visit the laboratory twice, reminding them to rest, though Xia Fei would always respond with: “Who cares about not sleeping; not working is far more fatal.”

Gu Fengzhu was helpless; all she could do was ensure that someone would bring them food and leave it outside the laboratory daily, knocking on the door to remind them of its arrivall. Despite this, the food would often be returned without having been touched, which only showed that the two men were really working hard as if their lives depended on it.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it had been half a month since anyone saw Xia Fei or Harris take a step out from the laboratory. During this time, the Earth Federation had begun another round of presidential elections, and due to Wu Long gaining the full support of Quantum Holdings, his vote count was well ahead of his competitors. He was no more than a step from taking the seat.

This last-minute election was happening in too much of a hurry that the other candidates hardly had any time to accomplish their preparatory work before being rushed into battle. Naturally, none of them was a match for Wu Long. Quantum Holdings was well ahead of the other campaign teams, be it in terms of their financial backing or material resources. Through Xia Fei’s timely promotion and strategy on behalf of Wu Long, there was practically no suspense to the eventual outcome of the election.

The citizens of Earth had lost faith in politicians since the Murati incident, so they were more than willing to trust an industrialist like Wu Long who would be able to lead the planet toward glory. Quantum Holdings had also made many promises to help the Federation toward further development, and that only garnered even greater attention and support. After all, the citizens would also benefit greatly if the Earth Federation managed to make large strides in its development.

Far away in the capital ring, Avril could not help but give a few calls to Xia Fei, but when she saw just how busy he was, she felt awkward taking more of his time, so their calls were all just a few simple questions before ending.

Actually, it was not Xia Fei’s intention to give her the cold shoulder. It was just that he had too much work at hand, and that mysterious second frequency was captivating all his attention. Between romance and work, Xia Fei chose the latter, though he also promised to go visit Avril soon, because the Golden Finger Cup’s competition site would be in the capital ring, well in the vicinity of Avril’s abode.

Hearing that Xia Fei would be coming to see her, Avril could not help but jump for joy, hinting to him that she would love to go out shopping and visit the Interstellar Amusement Park together. Xia Fei naturally promised to accompany her. Why would he not be tempted to spend some time together with the lady of his heart?

Another week went by, and Wu Long had been elected as the third president of the Earth Federation with a commanding seventy-two percent of votes, perfectly closing out Xia Fei’s regime change plan.

For his inauguration, Wu Long made an impassioned speech, announcing his intention to expand the Federation’s foreign trade so as to close the gap between the Pan-Human Alliance and the Earth Federation. What caught Xia Fei by surprise was that the speech had actually been personally penned by Wu Long; he was simply impressed by the fact that Wu Long could actually compose such a well-polished address.

After finishing his inauguration speech, Wu Long first made a call to Xia Fei. The latter gave some words of encouragement to the former, which could more or less be summarized as feel free to do whatever he wished. He had Quantum Holdings’ fullest support, so there were no hurdles ahead of him.

Encouraged, Wu Long was determined to demonstrate his skills and do a good job. Seeing how Xia Fei had spent so much effort in seating him in the position, it showed just how high his expectations were of him.

A week after, the researchers in the research facility watched in bewilderment as Xia Fei and Harris stepped out from the laboratory because the allotted time was up. All of them were most concerned as to find out who would become Harris’s students.

Early in the morning, at six on the dot. Gu Fengzhu made her way to the cafeteria as always to prepare something to start the day. Though she was the laboratory supervisor, having also made some achievement within the field of research, she found the prospect of becoming Harris’s protégé extremely appealing. After all, the knowledge that Harris possessed was for all to see, well beyond that of any scholars on Earth. Even throughout the Alliance, that man was considered as one of the foremost experts.

Pushing open the door, Gu Fengzhu was surprised to find Xia Fei happily chatting with Harris. Dozens of plates were piled on the table, so much food that Gu Fengzhu would be unable to finish it all even if she was given a whole week.

Xia Fei delightedly called for Gu Fengzhu to join them when he saw her. She hesitated for a moment before she took a seat by the two men’s side, ordering some xiaolongbao and a bowl of soya bean milk as she slowly ate her breakfast.

“The two of you appear to be in a good mood today; are you done with your research?” Gu Fengzhu curiously asked.

Xia Fei smiled. “That’s right. Now that we’ve made an important progress, we’ll next need plenty of help in the work after.”

“Then, let me congratulate the both of you in advance.” Gu Fengzhu laughed. “During the last meeting, you mentioned that the most outstanding researcher will become Harris’s students. Now that the month-long time limit has passed, I wonder when the name list will be announced?”

Xia Fei scratched his head. “We’ve been far too busy lately that this matter has completely slipped my mind. Harris, I wonder what are the standards by which you choose your students?”

Harris answered, “No standards. As long as they are smart enough, that will do. All I’ll do is teach and mentor. Everything else will have to depend on their hard work. I’ve already confirmed the first list of names, you can go announce them later.”

After some time, Xia Fei and Harris stood up and left for the laboratory once more. Gu Fengzhu was flabbergasted. The two had gone without sleep for close to a month, and their eyes were completely inflamed. Just what could it be that captivated them so thoroughly that they would forgo sleep and rest?