For many people, this is an utterly monotonous life.
There's no entertainment, with only intimidating data for company in their daily lives, but this is the routine for many scientific researchers.
It was also the reason Edward Witten misunderstood Qiao Ze and spoke up to rebut him.
Many researchers, though not as inherently talented as geniuses, still dedicate themselves to this career, doing the things that geniuses look down upon.
And it's because of these people that the fleeting moments of inspiration from geniuses can be advanced into technological progress that benefits the ordinary masses.
The saddest part is that ninety-nine percent of basic research scientists will never become famous in their lifetimes.
Their lives are the most ordinary, with their highest moments perhaps being a speech at a conference, only to be quickly forgotten.
History books are too precious with their ink to give more than a passing mention to these contributors.
Yet every era has countless individuals who continue down this path, becoming the pillars of the times.
Of course, there's also the one percent of fortunate individuals whose work in the laboratory leads to outcomes that are recorded. They might not be remembered forever, but they could perhaps find their names on the list of some award.
Naturally, this is also Yang Xuanqing's greatest aspiration.
After a shallow sleep of three hours, Yang Xuanqing went to the restroom to casually wash his face. The cold and stimulating sensation temporarily dispelled his accumulated fatigue.
However, when he looked up at the mirror, the sunken eye sockets and heavy dark circles were indisputable.
At forty years old, his energy was inevitably not as abundant as in his twenties.
Back when he was a graduate student, he could endure more than thirty hours without sleep in the High Energy Laboratory. He could even become more spirited as he pulled all-nighters, but those days were gone.
A lament about his age crossed his mind, but Yang Xuanqing quickly cast aside these sentiments. Now was not the time for sentimentalities.
He pulled a couple of tissues and wiped his face roughly, then scrubbed his face vigorously with his hands, appearing more awake before stepping out of the restroom and heading straight to the laboratory.
"How's it going? Is the preliminary work ready?"
"The system has been adjusted to the optimal state. This time it's completely based on the requirements summarized by Professor Witten."
"Let me see, check it again."
"Sigh, well... Okay, as long as you're happy, Professor Yang."
"Is the target cooling system stable?"
"The system is displaying stability."
"Reconfirm and calibrate the ion injection path again..."
"Alright, Professor Yang."
"Speaking of which, the system's precision requirement is high; I'm skeptical whether the energy exceeding the critical threshold can be controlled accurately."
"Though skepticism is needed in science, now is not the time to doubt. Just follow the procedure... Is the synchrotron operation meeting the requirements?"
"Yes, Professor Yang, we've confirmed it."
"Alright, let's hope for success today."
"Be confident. Now, the next step."
After a lengthy process of adjustments and confirmations, it was time to wait for feedback from the sensors.
The experiment proceeded as usual, with everyone starting their respective tasks.
There wasn't much excitement or agitation; each attempt was a new beginning, but it didn't guarantee success.
As the assistant had questioned, following the requirements of Qiao Ze's paper demanded high precision in energy control.
So each experiment felt like a roll of the dice.
In such a situation, it's hard to maintain excitement. Or maybe any excitement had already been worn away by repeated failures.
Until the monitoring equipment suddenly emitted a "beep beep" alert, and almost at the same moment, someone who had been intently watching the monitors shouted: "It worked! Look!"
In an instant, after a brief moment of stupefaction, everyone's gaze converged on the monitors in the laboratory.
"My God, an unknown decay chain sequence!"
"Where's Professor Qiao's paper? Begin the analysis right away!"
"I'm on it, I'm on it... Report, Professor Yang, the system confirms that the measured half-life and decay mode match the records in the paper."
"Hurry, don't dawdle, everyone starts analyzing its chemical properties and nuclear structure in detail. Prepare a thorough report and send it immediately to the International Atomic Energy Agency."
"Eh? Professor Qiao hasn't submitted a report on the discovery of a new element to the International Atomic Energy Agency?"
"Nonsense, otherwise, why would we be in such a hurry? Professor Qiao..." At this point, Yang Xuanqing paused, suddenly feeling quite sad.
The recognition he strived for, was probably something the other party didn't care for at all?
But still, suppressing that complex emotion, he finished, "He doesn't care about these things."
The previous atmosphere of excitement and celebration in the laboratory instantly faded by half, taking on a somewhat eerie quality.
"Alright, what's with the faces, get to work. Everyone has a share in this success, this data is essential firsthand material on the new element's impact on nuclear physics theories. Or do you all want to compete with Professor Qiao?"
The good news was, after Yang Xuanqing's words fell, everyone's actions silently sped up a notch.
Normal people shouldn't compare themselves to those unreasonable geniuses, they thought, and with that, the mood seemed to brighten a bit.
If the rumors were true, at the very least, they were the first team to truly discover element 119 in the laboratory.