Chapter 140: The Seismograph Appeared

As soon as Legion Ant Company responded, many netizens gathered to watch.

A heated debate erupted online around Chen Mo’s statement.

“Lu Xun said: Silence, ah, silence! If one does not erupt in silence, they perish in silence. I suddenly discovered a shocking secret.”

“Lu Xun said: I never said that.”

“Lu Xun isn’t the point. The point is, where does Chen Mo get the confidence to call himself a genius?”

“Albert Einstein said: To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself. I kind of believe Chen Mo will be the next authority.”

Under Legion Ant Company’s official Weibo page, debates about Chen Mo’s paper split into three groups: supporters, opponents, and neutrals.

The opposition held seventy percent, an absolute advantage. At any time, new things face doubt before their value is proven.

Theories without factual support can never be convincing. Plus, no authoritative expert was willing to step forward to support Chen Mo, which made his paper seem less credible.

The paper incident overshadowed the robot hype, and the debate about Chen Mo’s paper remained at its peak. Earthquake prediction was too big a topic, and mocking comments were everywhere.

In the villa, Xiaoyu sat on the sofa looking at her phone, seeming a bit unhappy.

Noticing her unusual mood, Chen Mo put down his book and glanced at her phone.

“Are you upset because of this?” Chen Mo pointed at the news on Xiaoyu’s phone.

“I just don’t understand why they have to be so sarcastic. If they don’t believe it, they could just ignore it. Why make so many mocking comments?” Xiaoyu said.

“People can say what they want. Don’t worry about it.”

“But it bothers me to see it.”

“One day, I’ll make all these news articles turn into praise for me. If it bothers you now, don’t look. Just check it later.” Chen Mo smiled and took Xiaoyu’s phone. “Don’t hide inside playing on your phone. Go change your clothes and come out with me for a walk.”

Ignoring the rumors online, Chen Mo’s life returned to normal.

For half a month, Legion Ant Company gave no further response about Chen Mo’s earthquake early warning paper, and the buzz slowly died down.

Chen Mo’s paper remained on Legion Ant Company’s official website, still occasionally being dug up by people.

The making of the seismograph progressed steadily amidst all the debates.

Since the technology came from the Science and Technology Library, there were no technical bottlenecks. With ten robots working day and night, the seismograph’s construction went very smoothly.

“Brother Mo, the first seismograph has been assembled.”

Ink Girl’s voice lifted Chen Mo’s spirits in the office. He quickly stood up and headed toward the laboratory.

This was good news.

It had been almost three months since he obtained the seismograph technology. With complete technology and simple manufacturing, it took him three months, which was quite slow.

Chen Mo entered the laboratory and saw the two-meter-tall cylindrical instrument surrounded by ten robots. It had a bullet-shaped, smooth surface, stood on three legs, and had no extra decoration—simple and plain.

Chen Mo knew this thing would smash the doubts from outside.

“Was the algorithm written in?” Chen Mo touched the seismograph.

This seismograph predicted earthquakes based on changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, geothermal changes, and seismic waves. It used detected underground data for comprehensive calculations to achieve early warning.

This small cylindrical instrument combined the most advanced Earth magnetic field detection technology, seismic wave technology, and geothermal detection technology—a typical high-tech combination.

“It was written in,” Ink Girl said. “It can operate normally, and there are no issues with the instrument. All that’s left is the formal test.”

“Hmm.” Chen Mo nodded. “Where do you think is the most suitable place for testing?”

“The Pacific Rim seismic belt. Eighty percent of the world’s shallow earthquakes, ninety percent of intermediate-depth earthquakes, and almost all deep earthquakes happen there. The most suitable foreign locations are the Mariana Trench near the Island Nation, Alaska, Chile, and Sumatra. The most suitable domestic location is the Tibet Region. These are all at tectonic plate boundaries.”

Chen Mo thought it over. Testing domestically would be easier; testing abroad would be more difficult. Those countries wouldn’t just let him bring such a large unknown instrument in.

“Notify Zhao Min to come up,” Chen Mo said.

Not long after Chen Mo’s notification, Zhao Min came up to the laboratory with Xiaoyu.

“What is this?” Zhao Min asked as soon as she entered the lab.

“A seismograph.”

Chen Mo dropped a bombshell. Both Zhao Min and Xiaoyu were stunned on the spot. Chen Mo’s paper on earthquake early warning had only come out half a month ago, causing a huge stir. Now, just half a month later, the instrument was already finished?

“Is this the thing that made you the target of so much ridicule?” Zhao Min examined the instrument closely, trying to see what was special about it.

“Yes, it was made based on the basic principles in the paper,” Chen Mo said. “This is for short-term earthquake early warning. Theoretically, it can warn five hours in advance, but we’ll have to see in practice. Nothing is absolute.”

When Chen Mo mentioned five hours in advance, Zhao Min took a sharp breath. If it really succeeded, she knew what that would mean.

After the shock, Zhao Min calmed down. She knew it sounded a bit like a fantasy.

No wonder there was so much mockery and doubt from outside—the technology sounded too sci-fi.

“Is it done now?” Zhao Min asked.

“It’s done. I called you up to ask if there’s a way to get a few units abroad for testing,” Chen Mo said.

“Can’t we test it domestically?” Zhao Min asked.

“We’ll test it domestically at the same time, but its accurate detection range is only 50 kilometers. We need several units testing together. I plan to send them to seismically active areas abroad.”

“Testing in other countries could be troublesome,” Zhao Min said. “Aside from customs issues, once in those countries, they’ll likely seize the instrument citing national security. This is high-tech; no country would pass up such a good opportunity.”

“Actually, there is another way,” Xiaoyu chimed in from the side.

“Go on,” Chen Mo looked at Xiaoyu.

“Test in oceanic seismic zones by deploying the instrument on the seabed in earthquake-prone areas. But retrieving the instrument later might be a bit troublesome,” Xiaoyu said.

“That could work. But the seabed is much more complex than land. I’ll need to make some technical modifications,” Chen Mo said.

“How would this thing be installed on the seabed?” Zhao Min pointed at the instrument and asked.

“I can handle the technical aspects. Have someone prepare materials for ten seismographs now. I’ll arrange the rest.”

After Zhao Min and Xiaoyu left, Chen Mo returned to his office.

Next, how to transport this seismograph overseas to the specified locations was still a problem. For now, the only channel he could think of was Li Chengzhi.

“Ink Girl, call Li Chengzhi,” Chen Mo said.

“Okay, Brother Mo.”