To everyone's surprise, Huansheng's slightly mocking inquiry did not arouse Professor Luk's disgust. Instead, he looked at Liao Huansheng with interest, and said word by word: "Huansheng, what you said is right, I did already have a model at that time, if you verify it according to the model, of course, it will be more time-saving and labor-saving." But the problem is that the laboratory environment is too different from the actual natural environment, and we can solve it by moving one step and changing the angle in the laboratory, but in the desert, this step may be hundreds of kilometers and hundreds of sand dunes. If it is not corrected in practice, that mathematical model is a theory. In fact, you left the mirage chaser back then, not because of the difference in our research methods, but because you think that you have solved the secret of the mirage by completing the mathematical model, and the success of an experiment in the laboratory means that the research is all over, and you can write a book and talk about it, right?"

"Science needs inspiration, I admit, but what is more needed is a tenacious validation process. There is no shortage of wise men in our time, but how many of them can really test the theories one by one? If the desert mirages cannot be conquered, how can we make this model universal?"

Lu Binglin's words were calm, but every word was heartfelt, Huansheng's face flushed, and he subconsciously picked up the wine glass to hide the embarrassment on his face. Lu Binglin didn't go any further into the matter of studying, and continued to tell us the story of the desert thousands of miles away.

Just when the Mirage Chasers were about to fall into a desperate situation and their morale was at rock bottom, Lady Luck finally befell them. In the hinterland of the desert, more than 800 kilometers away from the flagpole, a small detachment led by Lu Binglin observed a mirage and a mirage with three flags fluttering.

Although it was only a short five minutes and twenty-seven seconds, it was enough to make the mirage chaser cry with joy. Lu Binglin did not join the celebration team, on the one hand, he needed to record all the meteorological data and refine the mathematical formula for locating the observation point. On the other hand, he noticed a lot of unexpected details, such as the fact that in the mirage, the flags were all blue and green, and the flag that was supposed to be red turned blue-gray. For another example, the picture of the mirage only shows the upper part of the flagpole and the three flags, and more than 20 meters below the flagpole has become a shadowy fog, but there seem to be many figures shaking in the fog, which is not very real.

The most important point is that ten minutes before the discovery of the mirage phantom, Lu Binglin had just contacted the experimental base once by satellite phone, and the people left behind at the base told him that the weather conditions were very good, there were no clouds, there was no wind, and the flag was almost down. But in the mirage it was a different scene altogether, with the wind covering the sun, the yellow sand covering the sky, and the flags waving wildly in the wind and sand, as if they were about to be torn apart.

After the mirage appeared, Lu Binglin's satellite phone was subjected to strong electromagnetic interference and could not receive any signal at all. Soon after the mirage disappeared, the phone was restored, but after Lu Binglin called, the people left behind at the experimental base swore to him that the weather at the base had not changed in the slightest, and the flag was hanging listlessly.

Lu Binglin didn't figure out the reason for it for a while, and some companions thought that different images had overlapped, maybe just near the test base, there was also a place full of wind and sand, and the weather in the desert was changing rapidly, and the mirages had already understood. But this doesn't explain the problem that happened to the flag, and all of this will only come to fruition when all the data has been collected and the formula is re-substituted.

But just one hour of data calculation allowed Lu Binglin to stay in the middle of the desert for three days, without sleep, until the supplies ran out before returning to the test base.

In the past three days, Lu Binglin has fallen into a huge digital trap. After substituting all the meteorological data of the observation point into the formula, it is impossible to reverse the coordinates of the experimental base, and the difference is several hundred kilometers, which is by no means explained by the error of data collection. Lu Binglin had to face two possibilities, one was that his mathematical model was wrong, and the other was that the appearance of the mirage was completely random and there was no regularity at all.

Observation and prediction of the emergence of a mirage are the basis for the existence of formulas, and if the mathematical model goes wrong, then years of research efforts will be in vain. If the latter is possible, it means that the research itself is meaningless, but Lu Binglin can never accept such a thing as chance and randomness. The huge frustration made Lu Binglin age ten years old overnight.

Seeing Lu Binglin's declining state, the mirage chasers were also anxious in their hearts, and a partner's statement made Lu Binglin rekindle some hope, he guessed that Professor Lu's mathematical model itself was not too problematic, and the reason for the huge deviation was that there was an unknown source of interference in the desert, and it was this interference that made the satellite phone temporarily fail, so it was entirely possible to affect the imaging of the mirage. Lu Binglin thought of the previous mirage sighting reports, and often mentioned that there are some extreme weather conditions that accompany mirages, which may really be the reason for the error.

But speculation does not prove the truth, and Lu Binglin decides to conduct a field investigation to find this mysterious source of interference. The location of the interferer is not difficult to determine, and the coordinates that appear because of the error must be the closest location point to the interferer.

Lu Binglin's idea of nearing madness was unanimously opposed by the mirages, not because of the rejection of his idea, nor because of the lack of supplies, but for only one reason, the location of that coordinate point was too appalling.

This coordinate point is almost in the center of the entire desert, and there are several ancient cities buried under the yellow sand, including the Devil's City in history. Although the oasis more than 1,000 years ago witnessed the wealth and prosperity of the ancient city, there is no trace of life under the sea of sand at this time. Countless caravans, explorers, fugitives, rebels, tomb robbers, and border guards have disappeared here, and what is memorable is Peng Jiamu more than 20 years ago, and Yu Chunshun more than 10 years ago.

This is the place where desert storms are raging, it is a forbidden area for life without any animals and plants, and it is an extreme climate zone where eggs can be scalded at noon and everything freezes at night. Not to mention stationed here for observation and research, even well-equipped professional scientific expedition teams often come in and out.

What is even more desperate is that there is not only one, but as many as four such coordinate points, although they are all only 100 kilometers apart, they must be eliminated one by one. In this sea of sand, it is possible to cross once with the favor of the goddess of luck, and if you cross it four times, it is no different from suicide.

As soon as Lu Binglin's ideas were announced, the direct consequence was that several Kazakh herdsman guides hired by the scientific expedition team left without hesitation. "The Devil's City is a cursed land, a land of divine punishment, a land of the undead, no one who goes can come back alive, and those who come back by luck have become slaves of the devil. This was the only sentence left by the guides when they left, and they even forgot to ask for Lu Binglin's arrears of wages.

The members of the team repeatedly consulted with Lu Binglin, hoping that he would retract this crazy plan, but Lu Binglin was only thinking about the huge desert map in the base, he no longer cared about how many mirages were willing to enter the sea of death with him, and he realized another problem, one that he had deliberately avoided.

If that unknown source of interference can obscure the satellite signal, what effect will it have on the surrounding environment? Obviously, the red light that disappears from the spectrum is one effect, and the sudden arrival of abnormal weather is another, but why is there such a big visual difference between the experimental base and the desert hinterland for the same observation? Is time also affected? In other words, the scene seen in the mirage is not the object of observation at the same time, it may be early or late, and if the energy of the interference source is strong enough, the story of the thousand-year-old caravan circulating in the desert is not a legend. If this discrepancy can be verified, it will be a great discovery of the century, but once it is published, it will become the target of opponents.

Lu Binglin finally made up his mind, he gathered the mirages together, and announced a seemingly compromise but more decisive plan. The next full-scale expedition is scheduled for April next year, when the climatic conditions in the Taklamakan Desert are relatively stable. In the past six months, Lu Binglin will lead everyone back to Beijing to strive for more funds, more supplies, more manpower, and make adequate preparations.

When they return again, the number of vehicles will be doubled, and the team will move forward in a more secure manner. The two convoys, 20 kilometers apart, went hand in hand, always maintaining a distance of one hour to help each other, and set up small supply stations every 60 kilometers to ensure that they could return to the experimental base at any time.

Relying on the supply station, the wired communication equipment was dragged all the way to ensure the connection between the base and the two teams. At the same time, before the scientific expedition starts again, all personnel will conduct a one-month field survival training at the base to learn survival skills, improve the quality of contingencies, and ensure the physical fitness of the team members.

Of course, this is a voluntary action, and the team members who have too many worries about their families and jobs can choose to leave, or stay in the experimental base, but they can also enjoy the great glory brought by this great exploration.

In the end, the nine team members left the scientific expedition team, but after returning to Beijing with Lu Binglin, they still spared no effort to help him find funds, scrape together equipment, and even lobby fresh blood to join the team of chasing mirages. But what Lu Binglin wanted most was another piece of equipment, a piece of equipment that he didn't explain to the team members.

(If you ask for it, you will get it, and if you give it, you will lose it, it is to seek to be beneficial to it, and to ask for it to be in me.) There is a way to ask for it, and there is a life to get it, but it is not beneficial to ask for it, and it is also for those who are outside. --Mencius)