I will go myself!

"Director, the results are out."

A thousand miles away, at the 906 Metamaterials Research Institute, a researcher placed a freshly printed report onto the director's desk.

The man sitting behind the desk was Zhao Minggao. He hailed from the Academy of Sciences and served as the director of the Key Laboratory of Metamaterials. Simultaneously, he was also the head of the 7th Design Division of the Shenfei Group.

Looking at the newly minted report on his desk, he felt a mix of excitement and anxiety, unable to bring himself to open it. He could only turn his gaze toward his subordinate.

"How are the results?"

"Not promising..." The subordinate quietly shook his head. "The latest batch of trial materials has a radar cross-section of 0.004."

As the words fell, the office sank into a profound silence.

The 7th Design Division held a pivotal role in the entire fighter jet project, bearing the primary responsibility for developing stealth modules. Because this was a new generation of combat aircraft, higher authorities demanded superior stealth performance from the fighter.

Therefore, the mission entrusted to Zhao Minggao and the entire 7th Design Division was to develop stealth materials superior to those used on the J-20.

However, easier said than done.

Domestic metamaterials started relatively late. Achieving a overtaking maneuver on a curve and applying stealth materials on a large scale for the J-20 was already no small feat. Now, materials science had practically touched its ceiling. How could it be easy to engineer a material that met top international RCS standards while also being more economical and durable?

This marked Zhao Minggao's sixteenth failure.

He covered his face with both hands, unable to suppress a wave of exhaustion.

"Let's start over from scratch..."

"Our previous approach focused heavily on durability and cost-effectiveness."

"Yet once we placed too much emphasis on material durability, the RCS data fell short of expectations."

"It seems we need to find the right balance."

Zhao Minggao's research team had endured countless setbacks before arriving at this discouraging truth: you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

Realistically speaking, the new frontline fighter was far more demanding than the J-20 era.

The J-20 project had only one primary requirement: stealth. Demands regarding durability and economic efficiency were very low.

There was no other reason; the nation lacked such capabilities back then and time was of the essence.

Now, things were different. The country already possessed a substantial fleet of stealth fighters, making durability and economic practicality the primary topics of research.

Regarding durability, the current state-of-the-art level required re-spraying roughly every three flights.

Consequently, maintenance costs for the fighter jets were extremely high. Economic practicality was directly tied to this. Under current pricing, the maintenance and repair of stealth skins accounted for 15% of a fighter's total upkeep expenses.

Such performance was simply insufficient to support a new generation of frontline combat aircraft.

Yet, the researchers were growing demoralized.

"Director, we've attempted this sixteen times and failed sixteen times."

"Is it possible... that this is a false proposition?"

"Does striving for durability and cost-effectiveness inevitably compromise stealth performance?"

Zhao Minggao shook his head. "No, I've heard that the Yankees have already developed adaptive repair technology."

You might call the Yankees wicked, but you could never call them incompetent. After all, they sat atop the crown of the aviation industry and had been formidable for nearly a century. Their technological reserves still held a lead.

Although there was no concrete documentation, Zhao Minggao had caught wind of rumors within academic circles. The Yankees had pioneered adaptive wave-absorbing coatings capable of automatic self-repair during operation, drastically reducing wear and tear.

As a result, high durability naturally translated to high cost-effectiveness. Moreover, this technology had already been retrofitted onto certain fighter jets without any compromise to RCS performance.

"If the Yankees can pull it off, so can we."

Zhao Minggao gave himself a motivational pep talk.

"Since we've hit a bottleneck in our independent research, we'll just have to cross the river by feeling for the Yankees."

The researcher looked puzzled. "How do we feel our way across?"

"I heard that earlier, the Kirin Theater Command shot down an F-35."

"My proudest student, Qin Xi, joined the reverse-engineering task force for that aircraft."

"We can only place our hopes on your senior schoolmate to produce some results for us to reference."

Zhao Minggao knew that stumbling around blindly like headless flies and hoping for a breakthrough was purely a matter of luck. Fortunately, heaven leaves no dead ends; the Kirin Theater Command had a ready-made F-35 on hand. If they could reverse-engineer some data from it, that would be a tremendous blessing. After all, Qin Xi was the most exceptional student under his tutelage.

"Let's do this: temporarily shelve our project and see what's happening on Qin Xi's end."

"Understood!"

The researcher replied smartly, simultaneously pulling a sheet of paper from a folder. "There's one more thing."

"What is it?"

The researcher answered, "The Linyang Municipal Public Security Bureau is requesting technical assistance. Should we send someone over, in your opinion?"

Zhao Minggao was slightly taken aback.

Linyang?

The Municipal Bureau?

Technical assistance?

Logically speaking, a public security bureau requesting technical support from a technical department was quite common. After all, when solving cases, any number of situations could arise, and a police technical squad wasn't omnipotent.

However!

Why on earth would they request the 906 Institute?

You must know, this was the nation's highest-tier metamaterial center. The researchers employed here were the cream of the crop, elite scientific personnel enjoying state subsidies.

For a criminal investigation technology task, local engineering universities could easily handle it. Why use a butcher's knife to slaughter a chicken?

Furthermore, what kind of criminal case could possibly involve metamaterials?

Harboring doubts, Zhao Minggao read through the official letter from the Linyang Bureau. The tone was earnest, the phrasing formal, and it even bore an official red seal. It seemed impossible to simply ignore.

"Let's do this," Zhao Minggao prepared to handle the matter perfunctorily. "Have the institute dispatch an intern researcher over there; at least that will give them an answer."

The researcher immediately nodded. "Alright! As it happens, we have two doctoral graduates just assigned from the Academy of Sciences."

"Good, send them." Zhao Minggao didn't pay much mind. "Did you specifically ask Linyang what this case is actually about?"

The researcher nodded. "I asked. They said it's regarding a speed-measuring radar."

"???"

Zhao Minggao was completely baffled.

What on earth?

I am a metamaterial research institute, not an optical signal research laboratory. Speed-measuring radar is, fundamentally, an optics matter. What does that have to do with me?

"Why would a radar issue bring them to our metamaterial institute?"

The researcher offered a half-understanding explanation. "They said there's a speeding case where the radar failed to capture the vehicle, which is why they are seeking our help."

Hearing this, Zhao Minggao's heart skipped a beat.

He might not understand the intricate technologies of radar, but he understood its basic principles. This device emits electromagnetic waves that reflect off an object and return to determine the object's speed and shape.

Domestic traffic police generally used Ka-band speed radar, which was already considered quite advanced in the civilian sector.

How could it possibly fail to detect something?

Could it be...

"If I understand correctly, do they mean... the speeding vehicle can absorb electromagnetic waves?"

The researcher nodded. "It seems so. They suspect there's something wrong with that car's wrap."

"Good grief!"

Zhao Minggao was completely speechless.

What kind of car wrap could fool a Ka-band radar?

He could no longer sit still.

"Forget sending the interns."

"Book me a flight for today!"

"I'm going personally!"