Wasteland Development Diary

Sandport, Mushroom Forest Elementary School.

Liang Xing looked at the students below the stage.

"Today, we will continue talking about the application of chemistry in daily life."

"Students, what chemical reactions have you seen in your daily lives?"

The students eagerly raised their hands. After more than a month of learning and participating in experiments, chemistry had become a popular subject, almost like a magic class.

"Combustion!"

"Correct."

"Precipitation."

"Good."

"Decomposition reaction!"

"Photosynthesis... and corrosion!"

"Crystallization, explosion!"

Everyone answered actively.

It wasn't that these young children had a strong interest in chemical knowledge itself.

It was just that Liang Xing had designed a small classroom trick—any student who participated in class discussions and answered questions would participate in his impromptu experiments and might become Liang Xing's lab assistant.

Students might not be very interested in chemical theories, but they were very interested in the expansion, color changes, explosions, combustion, and new substance displacement demonstrated by chemical experiments.

Therefore, Liang Xing's class was always full of lively discussions and debates.

This group of children was young, and their perspectives and ideas were not bound by common sense. Occasionally, they would come up with ideas that even Liang Xing found inspiring.

"...Okay, next is the experiment part."

Liang Xing picked up a wooden box at the door and carefully placed it on the podium.

He looked around at the 36 students in the room.

Everyone sat upright, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Today, this is a very special experiment. I won't tell you its purpose. You will tell me after observing it."

Liang Xing deliberately kept it a secret.

He gently opened the box.

Inside was a transparent glass fish tank, with an opening on the left and right at the top, each fitted with a rubber tube connected to a metal bottle. The tube and bottle on the left were marked with a red symbol, while the right one was black.

A black rubber column supported the bottom of the fish tank, on top of which was fixed a miniature glass house. It was connected to thin metal wires on the left and right, which flickered, like a lamp.

"Cat house!"

A sharp-eyed student had already shouted.

"Electric cat, there's an electric cat!"

The students ran to the podium for a closer look.

The people of Sandport all knew that the company was breeding electric cats, but there were very few opportunities to see the real thing in public.

Liang Xing waved the wooden pointer in his hand and said seriously: "Same rules, keep your distance, keep the environment ventilated, and remember the experimental safety regulations!"

The students immediately opened the glass windows on both sides. They stood orderly outside the marked line on the ground, all trying to peer in. Some prepared telescopes to improve clarity, and others stood on the desks for a high-altitude view.

"This is indeed a cat house. Inside is an experimental working electric cat I applied for from the company, Flash Spirit No. 3. I named it 'Assistant Teacher'."

"Assistant Teacher has a kind and stable personality. It is an electric cat that has undergone professional training and has good cooperation skills. Today is also its first public appearance."

Liang Xing pointed the pointer to the tube and bottle on the left, which were marked with red flame symbols.

"What is the meaning of this symbol?"

A student answered: "Flammable and explosive!"

Another person added: "Must be stored separately! Cannot be exposed to high temperatures or fire."

Liang Xing nodded and pointed the pointer to the bottle on the right: "What about this?"

The skull on this bottle was very conspicuous.

Another student said: "Highly toxic, cannot be opened or touched casually. The substances inside will kill people if they evaporate."

"Correct."

Liang Xing praised.

In every experimental class, he would tirelessly warn about safe operating procedures, which would help these students develop good habits of safe operation.

To make it easier for them to understand at a glance, he also drew markings on various instruments and equipment to facilitate their understanding of the risks behind them.

Liang Xing then brought over a bucket of solution that he had prepared earlier and poured it into the glass tank.

After the liquid was more than halfway full, he closed the lid.

"Observe carefully."

The cat house began to flicker faster.

About ten seconds later, a ball of electric light flew out from inside. It flew back and forth in the water-filled tank, causing the metal wires in the entire glass tank to emit brilliant highlights, illuminating the entire classroom.

"Wow!"

"So bright!"

"Much brighter than yellow luminous mushrooms... like in Emerald City!"

"This is an electric light, it's an electric light! Teacher Liang has reproduced the electric light of a mechanical-electrical life!"

The students chattered.

Someone immediately noticed the key point: "The electric cat is swimming! Look!"

As the sharp-eyed person described, the electric cat "Assistant Teacher" was swimming in the liquid in the tank. Its running speed slowed down and stabilized into the image of a lightning cat head.

The electric cat swam around in the water, looking very comfortable.

"So electric cats like water!"

"No, this water is not ordinary. It should be some kind of chemical solution."

A student suddenly said: "A large number of bubbles and gases are emerging from the water surface. It is not as clear as ordinary water. It is a little turbid. There should be other substances inside."

"The generated gas enters both sides. The left side is flammable and explosive, and the right side is a toxic substance... This is a chemical reaction, decomposed or displaced from this liquid."

Liang Xing was secretly surprised.

What keen insight.

He turned his gaze to the student who was speaking: "What's your name?"

Mushroom Forest Elementary School has a total of three classes, totaling 147 people. He has only been in office for more than a month, and Liang Xing still can't recognize all the students.

"Teacher, my name is Chen Ji."

He knew this name.

Among the veteran teachers Diamond and Sun Chonglai, Black Fungus 102, Chen Ji, and Beta were three highly regarded students, who were excellent in all subjects. They are now also programmer assistants in the program department.

Liang Xing gave the other party an encouraging look: "Chen Ji, based on your observations, tell me your judgment and speculation about this experiment."

Chen Ji was neither tall nor short, and neither pleasing nor annoying in appearance, looking very ordinary.

But when he spoke, there was a peculiar infectiousness that would make people pay attention involuntarily. All the other students were looking at him, and no one was talking.

Chen Ji walked along the police line, looked around, and observed: "As far as I know, life will only maintain a relaxed and resting state in an environment that feels safe and comfortable."

"The electric cat did not return to the safest cat house, but floated in the solution in this container, which shows that it likes it very much. This alone is of great economic value in the field of raising electric cats."

"Because we can't communicate with electric cats, we can only rely on daily interactions and build trust and affection through long-term breeding and companionship. This special pool makes it feel comfortable, like its playground."

Liang Xing smiled: "Good. Continue."

No wonder this kid was highly rated.

He was indeed quick-witted.

Chen Ji stared at the glass tank again for a while, focusing on the rubber tube behind the vent, and the two metal cans at the end.

"This chemical reaction will produce two kinds of gases. Although flammable and explosives are dangerous, the gas that can be detonated can also be turned into a fuel or energy."

"On the other side is a toxic substance. In medicine, toxic substances can cause abnormalities in the organs of life or change microscopic properties, but many poisons are also pharmaceutical raw materials."

"So I think the value of this experiment has three aspects."

"It provides a brand-new electric cat device that can make the electric cat more comfortable, closer to the breeder, and maintain stability."

"Then it can also extract two kinds of chemical raw materials through the electric power of the electric cat for processing and production."

Chen Ji touched his head: "Teacher, I can't say more, my knowledge is still too scarce."

But this was already very amazing.

Liang Xing felt a burst of bitterness in his heart.

When I was 11 years old... I couldn't even write smoothly. Talent is really cruel.

But as a teacher, it is lucky to have such a student.

"Student Chen Ji has done a very good job, observing carefully and with reason."

Liang Xing said to all the students: "Now I will announce the answer. The experiment itself is not complicated. The chemical knowledge involved is actually very basic."

"Inside is salt water, that is, sodium chloride solution."

"After electrolysis by the electric power of the electric cat, sodium hydroxide liquid, chlorine gas and hydrogen gas can be obtained. These three substances are widely used in chemical raw materials in various fields."

"Sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, can be used in textile, printing and dyeing, paper making, soap making, metallurgy, wastewater treatment and adsorption of heavy metal ions, and alumina production - this is also the area with the greatest demand for caustic soda."

"Chlorine gas can be used for disinfection, bleaching, sewage treatment, especially in drinking water disinfection, it plays a great role."

"Hydrogen gas can be used to make rubber, convert energy, for metal welding, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and is also an important chemical raw material for synthesizing ammonia, methanol, ethanol, etc."

"I have written this chemical formula, but this is the first time to conduct an application experiment,"

He looked at the students and said: "I just added an electric cat inside, and everything has become different. The electric cat itself is continuously releasing energy to the outside world. We cannot stop this process, so we can only find a reasonable way to use it."

"Chemistry is like this, find a catalyst, deduce the reaction process, find the environment where the result can be applied, and then replace the things we need from nature."

"I can tell everyone. This device 'Electrolytic Cat Box' has been recognized by the chairman, passed the invention review, and won the first prize of the Wasteland Invention Award, which will be announced soon."

The students under the stage smacked their tongues, and many people exclaimed that the teacher was so strong.

At this time, Liang Xing felt a little blush again.

I can't suppress my vanity... I still can't help but want to show off to the students in advance.

He quickly found a step to change the subject: "Want to win awards and get high rewards? Go study chemistry, this discipline hides the secrets of wealth and power."

The students encouraged each other to say their thoughts one by one.

The classroom became noisy and lively again.

After class, Liang Xing packed up the box and fixed it on a hand truck.

Out of the classroom door.

He found a claw pig with a scarf wrapped around its neck outside.

"Mr. Nightclaw?"

Liang Xing asked: "Are you here for..."

Nightclaw said through the signal transceiver: "The Electricity Department is now holding the latest technology report meeting. You are the technical consultant and you need to participate. The chairman will also attend this meeting, so hurry to Emerald City. I have already notified Xie Dongshan, and you are the only one missing."

"Okay. But my electrolytic cat box has to be put away..."

"Take it with you, let's go."

"Okay."

...