After finishing his usual business, Lucian did not head straight home.
Instead, the vehicle traveled along a road on the opposite side of the city.
As the urban district gradually receded behind them, the surrounding buildings became noticeably fewer.
There were no commercial streets here.
No ordinary residential neighborhoods, either.
Most of the buildings lining the road had a subdued, enclosed appearance.
There were no conspicuous signs.
No entrances open to the public.
Even windows were few and far between.
This was the Jace Family's research district.
Unlike the headquarters responsible for managing the family's commercial, financial, and industrial interests, this was where the family focused on technology itself.
Lucian sat inside the vehicle, his gaze sweeping across the buildings outside the window.
This was his first visit since returning to the country.
In the past, most of his dealings with the Jace Family had concerned management and administration.
The technical division, meanwhile, had always operated with a considerable degree of independence.
The vehicle continued forward.
Eventually, it stopped in front of a dark gray building.
The structure was not particularly tall, standing only six stories high.
Its exterior was almost unremarkable.
Yet the moment Lucian stepped out of the vehicle, he noticed the exceptionally well-concealed protective infrastructure surrounding it.
Beneath the ground.
Inside the walls.
Even along both sides of the road.
There were numerous devices that had no place in an ordinary building.
They were neither surveillance systems nor weapons.
They were facilities designed to control experimental environments.
Lucian withdrew his gaze and walked toward the entrance.
After his identity was verified, the heavy metal doors slowly swung open.
There was none of the commotion he might have expected inside.
Instead, the facility was unusually quiet.
Only the low hum of operating machinery could be heard.
Lucian entered the research facility.
A spacious internal corridor stretched out before him.
Along both sides, thick observation windows separated the various experimental areas.
The research conducted here focused on how matter itself responded under different conditions.
Lucian stopped outside the first laboratory.
Inside, a piece of silver-gray alloy was secured at the center of an experimental platform.
Dozens of sensors had been installed around it.
The researchers were making adjustments to their equipment.
A moment later, the experimental chamber sealed shut.
The high-temperature system activated.
BOOM!
Brilliant white flames erupted from both sides of the chamber.
They rapidly engulfed the alloy.
Under the intense heat, the metal's once-cold surface gradually turned dark red.
The temperature readings climbed rapidly.
The researchers did not approach the chamber.
They remained outside the isolation zone, monitoring the data.
Surface temperature.
Internal temperature.
Thermal expansion.
Structural changes.
Every measurement was recorded.
Lucian watched quietly for a while.
He remained there until the experiment ended.
The flames gradually died down, and the interior of the chamber returned to stillness.
The staff opened the equipment.
The alloy remained secured in place.
Its surface had undergone obvious changes, but the material had not fractured.
The researchers immediately began recording their observations.
Lucian said nothing and continued forward.
The second laboratory was entirely different.
There were no flames inside.
Instead, a cloud of white frost hung in the air.
A piece of black composite material was secured at the center of the experimental platform.
Temperature-control equipment around it continued to operate.
The temperature kept falling.
Tens of degrees below zero.
One hundred degrees below zero.
Two hundred degrees below zero.
The researchers carefully monitored every change in the material.
None of them cared whether it could produce any special ability.
They were concerned with only one thing.
Once the temperature dropped beyond a certain point, would the material's structure change?
Would its toughness decrease?
Would cracks appear inside it?
Ultimately, how much extreme cold could it withstand?
Lucian's footsteps slowed slightly.
As he looked at the white frost swirling inside the chamber, he suddenly thought of Northveil.
That was what a truly extreme low-temperature environment looked like.
Here, however, the same conditions were artificially recreated inside a laboratory.
Potential dangers from the real world were broken down into individual variables that could be repeatedly tested and verified.
This was what made the Jace Family's technical division truly formidable.
They did not rely on chance.
Instead, they continually created specific conditions, recorded the results, and moved on to the next experiment.
Lucian continued down the corridor.
The third experimental area contained neither extreme heat nor extreme cold.
There was only a massive impact-testing machine.
A heavy metal hammer hung suspended in the air.
Directly beneath it, a thick material plate was secured in place.
The moment Lucian reached the observation window, the researchers began their preparations.
All personnel withdrew from the experimental area.
The safety doors closed.
The mechanical locks engaged.
Then the metal hammer dropped with tremendous force.
BOOM!
A deep, muffled impact reverberated through the laboratory.
The entire room trembled slightly.
The force of the collision spread rapidly through the mounting platform.
A crack appeared on the surface of the material plate.
But the plate did not break apart completely.
The staff immediately recorded the data.
Then they adjusted the hammer's height and prepared for another test.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The force of every impact was measured with precision.
From the moment the material first sustained an impact, to the appearance of the initial crack, and finally to the complete failure of its structure, every stage of the process would become valuable data for future material design.
Lucian stood outside the glass, watching in silence.
He was familiar with this kind of research.
In the past, however, he had mostly concerned himself with the final results.
Today was the first time he had seriously observed the entire process.
A material could not simply be classified as hard or soft, strong or weak.
Temperature could change it.
Impact could change it.
Pressure could change it.
Different environments produced different outcomes.
Farther along the corridor were pressure-resistance tests, corrosion tests, radiation-environment tests, fatigue tests, and experiments involving different combinations of materials.
There were even comprehensive laboratories designed to simulate extreme environmental changes.
In one experimental area, two different temperatures were forced into the same testing cycle.
The material was first exposed to extreme cold before being rapidly transferred into a high-temperature environment.
As the temperature shifted between these extremes, changes occurred inside the material that could not be detected by the naked eye.
The instruments recorded every one of those changes in full.
In another area, pressure was continuously applied to a material until subtle alterations appeared in its internal structure.
Elsewhere, researchers left materials in a specially designed corrosive environment for extended periods, recording changes to their surfaces every day.
There was no such thing as the fastest possible result here.
Some experiments continued for months.
Because what the researchers truly needed to know was not whether a material could withstand a particular condition for a single moment.
It was how long it could endure.
Lucian continued walking without disturbing any of the experimental teams.
Nor did the researchers interrupt their work because of his arrival.
The facility operated with remarkable consistency.
Everyone knew their responsibilities.
Every set of data had a corresponding record.
Every experiment was conducted under clearly documented conditions.
No one ended a study simply because of a single success.
Nor did they immediately dismiss a material because of one failure.
They adjusted the conditions.
Repeated the tests.
And conducted comparisons.
As Lucian watched the equipment beyond the observation windows, images of Northveil gradually surfaced in his mind.
Extreme cold.
Pollution.
Abilities.
The environment.
Irina.
And everything that had happened inside that hidden space.
Above all, there was the pollution crystal.
And the technology Facet had demonstrated.
Lucian's expression grew increasingly composed.
The power involved was completely different from the phenomena being studied here.
Yet there was a subtle point of commonality between them.
Endurance.
Materials could withstand extreme heat.
They could withstand extreme cold.
They could withstand impacts and pressure.
They could even endure certain extreme environments.
Then, what if there were a force that ordinary matter could not directly withstand?
Could some kind of specialized material allow that force to exist, even temporarily?
Irina's ability to process pollution.
The alternative technology demonstrated by Facet.
The two ideas continued circling through his mind, gradually converging into a single line of thought.
He continued forward.
At the end of the corridor, he finally reached a much larger comprehensive experimental area.
The equipment inside was considerably more complex than anything he had seen before.
At its center stood a large, sealed experimental chamber.
Multiple pipelines connected to its exterior.
Different environmental parameters could be adjusted independently within the chamber.
Temperature.
Pressure.
Gas composition.
Radiation intensity.
Impact conditions.
Even the energy environment surrounding the material could be controlled.
Lucian stopped in front of the observation window.
Inside, the researchers were conducting a comprehensive test.
A piece of specialized material had been secured at the center of the chamber.
First came extreme cold.
Then rapid heating.
Immediately afterward, a powerful impact.
Finally, the pressure inside the chamber began to rise slowly.
A series of extreme conditions was applied in succession.
Gradually, changes appeared across the material's surface.
The researchers showed no signs of alarm.
They simply watched the instruments.
Recorded the readings.
Made adjustments.
Then recorded the results again.
Eventually, after reaching its endurance limit, the material's internal structure began to disintegrate visibly.
The experiment ended.
The chamber returned to normal operating conditions.
The researchers began organizing the data.
There was no cheering.
No disappointment.
To them, this was simply another experiment.
Failure itself was also a result.
Lucian stared at the material inside the laboratory for a long time.
Then he suddenly spoke.
"Is this place..."
"Entirely devoted to material research?"
The director accompanying him nodded.
"Primarily materials and equipment."
"Stability under extreme environmental conditions."
"Heat resistance, cold resistance, impact resistance, pressure resistance, corrosion resistance, and structural changes during long-term use."
Lucian continued with another question.
"What about ability users?"
The director was visibly taken aback.
Then he shook his head.
"This facility doesn't conduct ability testing on ability users."
"Abilities themselves belong to a different field of research."
He glanced toward the laboratory.
"What we study is whether the materials of a device can withstand extreme conditions when that device needs to operate in such an environment."
"Whether a structure can remain intact for decades when a country needs to build facilities designed for long-term operation."
"Whether a piece of equipment will fail when exposed to high temperatures, extreme cold, pollution, or powerful impacts."
Lucian said nothing more.
The director did not elaborate.
The two stood before the observation glass, watching as the equipment inside the laboratory gradually powered down.
After a moment, Lucian slowly withdrew his gaze.
"Take me to meet the project director."
"Of course."
The director nodded.
The two turned and headed deeper into the research facility.
Lights illuminated the corridor one after another as they passed.
Behind them, the experimental areas continued operating.
Again and again, they repeated those seemingly monotonous tests.
Meanwhile, Lucian's footsteps carried him farther away from the laboratories.
Yet the thought that had taken shape in his mind did not fade.
Instead, it left a faint but persistent trace deep within his thoughts.