When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

The banquet ended, and people gradually dispersed.

Only a few logistics staff were left in the canteen cleaning up the tables. Wang Donglai and Yang Anchao walked slowly along the cement road of the launch center.

The nights in the Gobi Desert are bitterly cold, but the starry sky is extremely bright. The Milky Way stretches across the sky, and the countless stars look like a handful of diamonds scattered by someone.

The two walked for a while, then found a large rock by the roadside and sat down side by side.

Yang Anchao took out his flattened pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and the orange-red flame flickered in the night.

"Mr. Wang, there's a question I'm not sure if I should ask."

Yang Anchao's voice was lower than usual, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.

"Where is the Southern Heavenly Gate Project at now?"

He immediately added after he finished speaking: "I know this is a classified project, you don't need to go into the details. I just... want to know the general outline. The technical architecture of that solution is the most ambitious thing I've ever seen."

"Space carriers, plasma engines, anti-gravity fields—each one of these could revolutionize current aerospace technology. If it really works, what are all the things we're doing today—the Hercules engine, whole-rocket lunar landing, lunar bases—comparable?"

When he said his last words, his voice suddenly softened, like a stone falling into a deep well, and it took a long time to hear the echo.

Wang Donglai did not answer immediately.

He looked up at the Milky Way overhead, where countless stars crowded together, like a luminous river stretching across the night sky.

He spoke after a long time, his voice not loud but every word clear.

"Engineer Yang, do you remember when I first mentioned the Nantianmen Project to you, you asked me where these technologies came from? I said then, from the laws of physics, from countless failures. Now I can tell you that the key bottleneck of the plasma engine, the magnetic field gradient problem of the pre-ionization chamber, was successfully tested at the base in the Northwest last month. Thrust vector control, the deflection angle is stable at 0.08 degrees."

Yang Anchao's cigarette ash fell onto his pants, but he didn't brush it off. He just stared at Wang Donglai's profile, the bloodshot eyes looking particularly deep in the night.

"0.08 degrees? When we discussed it in the dome last time, the best result was 0.42. How did Zhou Jimin solve it? Was it an additional magnetic field? Or the nozzle configuration?"

"neither."

Wang Donglai turned to look at him, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

“Zhou Jimin used the approach we had verified on the Pioneer series. Instead of using an external magnetic field to correct it, he used a micro-protrusion at the front end of the nozzle axis to actively create controllable density disturbances. He used the fluid properties of the plasma itself to counteract the asymmetry of the boundary layer. Just like when you solved the coupled vibration of the Lux engine, you didn’t try to force the resonance, but instead moved the resonant frequency away. Zhou Jimin said that you taught him this approach when you were holding a test run summary meeting in the Gobi Desert.”

Yang Anchao remained silent for a long time.

He stubbed out his cigarette, rubbed it with the sole of his shoe, and spoke in a hoarse voice that sounded unlike his own.

"So the Nantianmen Project is not just a pie in the sky; it is actually moving forward."

He paused, then looked up at the Milky Way stretching across the sky: "If space carriers can really fly, then are we rocket builders obsolete?"

"It will never go out of style."

Wang Donglai answered without hesitation: "The space carrier is the next generation, but the next generation always needs the foundation laid by the previous generation. Zhou Jimin directly used the parallel control logic of the Hercules engine to optimize the vector thrust distribution of the plasma engine. The application of superconducting coating technology in the pre-ionization chamber is a gradient coating scheme redesigned by the materials laboratory based on the characteristics of the soil. The AI ​​autonomous navigation data accumulated by Pioneer 1 and 2 is the training set for the flight control system of the Nantianmen Project. Engineer Yang, everything you have done has been engraved in the underlying architecture of the next generation of technology. Without Hercules, there would be no Nantianmen."

Yang Anchao didn't say anything; he simply lit another cigarette.

The smoke dissipated quickly in the night wind, merging with the Milky Way overhead, which had stretched for billions of years.

He suddenly smiled, his wrinkles around his eyes crinkling together, but his eyes brightened considerably.

“That old rascal Zhou Jimin used to lose clumps of hair from the thrust oscillations of the plasma engine in the dome space. Now that he’s got it working, please pass on a message to him: Tell him that Engineer Yang said to have him organize the experimental data so that I can be in the control room and watch the maiden flight of the space carrier. If he causes problems with the magnetic field gradient again, I’ll fly over from Jiuquan to personally adjust the parameters for him.”

Wang Donglai smiled and nodded, explaining that he would send it to him via an encrypted channel first thing tomorrow morning.

Yang Anchao stood up, brushed the sand off his pants, and the two walked back side by side.

The lights of the launch center gradually faded into the distance behind them, while the Milky Way above them continued to flow quietly, as if waiting for them.

After handling the follow-up matters at the launch center, Wang Donglai's special plane took off from Jiuquan the next morning and flew southeast.

The docking of Pioneer 2 and Pioneer 1 has been completed. Four Foolish Old Man robots are laying lunar soil bricks to form a protective wall on the lunar surface according to the predetermined plan. The three astronauts have entered their first complete work cycle.

Yang Anchao and Lao Zhou have begun preparing the payload plan for the Pioneer 3.

Everything is proceeding according to plan!
But Wang Donglai did not return to Tangdu.

His private plane made a brief stop at a military airport in Gansu Province to refuel before continuing its flight into the northwest.

Several hours later, the plane landed on a runway hidden deep in the Gobi Desert.

The runway is very short, flanked by barren gray hills, making it almost invisible from the air.

This is one of the core bases of the Nantianmen Project, and also the place where Zhou Jimin and Shen Li fought day and night.

As Wang Donglai stepped off the gangway, the wind of the Gobi Desert, carrying fine sand, lashed his face, dry and biting.

He looked up at the sky, then strode toward the blast-proof door embedded in the mountain.

The door slowly opened, revealing a huge, brightly lit domed space. Compared to when he came a few months ago, the prototype of the plasma engine had changed from a test piece half a person's height to an engineering prototype as tall as a two-story building, with its silver-gray body covered with a dense array of sensor cables.

On the anti-gravity device platform next to it, a fist-sized metal sphere is quietly suspended more than two meters above the platform, an increase of a whole order of magnitude compared to last time.

Wang Donglai's gaze lingered on the suspended metal sphere for a few seconds before he reached out his hand to Zhou Jimin.

Zhou Jimin was wearing a faded blue work uniform, and his eyes were dark from long hours of overtime, but his handshake was steady and firm.

"0.08 degrees. Engineer Yang asked me to pass on a message to you. He said that Zhou Jimin should organize the experimental data so that he can sit in the control room and watch the maiden flight of the space carrier in the future."

Zhou Jimin's hand trembled slightly, and then he smiled.

The smile bloomed on his tired face, like a rare rain in the Gobi Desert.

"Tell him that the seat in the very middle of the first row in the control room is reserved for him."

Wang Donglai stayed in the dome space for a long time.

He reviewed the test data of the plasma engine and the magnetic compensation parameters of the anti-gravity device item by item, discussed the thrust amplification scheme for the next stage with Zhou Jimin's team, and had a private conversation with Shen Li about the boundary effects and material tolerance of the anti-gravity field.

It wasn't until late at night that he entered a small, secure conference room deep inside the base.

Open the encrypted terminal and bring up a document labeled "South Heaven Gate Project, Second Phase Implementation Plan".

A set of data popped up on the screen: the thrust amplification curve of the plasma engine, the power density model of the anti-gravity device, the energy conversion efficiency prediction of the superconducting energy storage system, and a time coordinate labeled "Node One".

He looked at the data and nodded in satisfaction.

The domed conference room is not large, with sound-absorbing materials on all four walls and cool lighting.

Zhou Jimin sat opposite Wang Donglai, with the latest test data of the plasma engine engineering prototype spread out in front of him.

Shen Li sat next to him, her tablet still displaying the power density model of the anti-gravity device.

Both of them had dark circles under their eyes from long hours of overtime, but there was no weariness in their eyes, only a kind of anxiety that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally being released.

Since Wang Donglai has come here, he naturally wants to know about the research and development progress and the latest situation.

At the same time, it also helps them solve some difficult problems.

At this moment, Wang Donglai projected the second phase of the implementation plan onto the screen.

It was an extremely concise technology roadmap, from the thrust amplification of the plasma engine to the boundary effect verification of the anti-gravity device, from the energy conversion efficiency of the superconducting energy storage system to the system integration and commissioning of the three major modules, with a time coordinate accurate to the week following each node.

At the bottom is a line of text highlighted in red: "Node 1: Ground-based commissioning of the entire system".

Zhou Jimin stared at that line of red text for a long time.

He took off his glasses and slowly wiped them with his sleeve, repeating this action several times before putting them back on.

“Academician Wang, the power load required for the ground-based joint commissioning of the entire system is several times the current power supply capacity of the base. We have been using independent superconducting energy storage modules to supply power to each subsystem, but the existing thorium-based molten salt reactor at the base simply cannot withstand the full-power joint commissioning of the plasma engine, anti-gravity device and superconducting energy storage system at the same time. This is not a problem with the equipment, but a problem with the power architecture of the entire base that needs to be redesigned.”

He put his glasses back on, swiped his finger across the screen, and pulled up a power load forecast.

"I have made a preliminary estimate that the peak load during the joint commissioning period will exceed three times the existing power supply capacity of the base. If we use backup diesel generators to fill the gap, there will be safety hazards in fuel transportation and storage, and the power response speed will not be able to keep up with the start-up curve of the plasma engine."

Shen Li put down the tablet and took over the conversation.

Her voice wasn't loud, but she pronounced every technical term perfectly.

"The power ramp-up rate of thorium-based molten salt reactors is too slow to adapt to the transient impact during plasma engine ignition. The hysteresis loss of superconducting energy storage modules is about three percent. Theoretically, the loss can be reduced by increasing the accuracy of the magnetic compensation controller. However, this requires redesigning the layout of the compensation coils, which will take at least several months. If a mobile superconducting energy storage vehicle is transferred from Tangdu and operated in parallel with the existing energy storage modules at the base, it should be able to barely withstand peak loads. However, the interface standard of the mobile energy storage vehicle is incompatible with the existing power distribution system at the base, so a new power adaptation solution needs to be developed."

Wang Donglai leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the two men's faces.

“Then let’s do two parallel plans. Zhou, please refine the power load forecast table for the entire system’s joint commissioning and send it to me tomorrow morning. I will approve it directly to the thorium-based molten salt reactor project team in Gansu Province and have them make adaptive modifications for power ramp-up simultaneously. Shen Li, you can directly contact Tangdu regarding the mobile energy storage vehicle. Send a letter in my name requesting the materials laboratory and the superconducting energy storage team to send the people most familiar with the interface protocols. Don’t worry about the construction period, but the joint commissioning date cannot be changed.”

Zhou Jimin quickly jotted down a few lines in his notebook, and when he looked up, the pen tip paused on the paper.

"There's another issue. Verifying the boundary effects of the anti-gravity device requires increasing the suspended mass by an order of magnitude. Currently, we're using a metal sphere weighing around 100 grams. To simulate the curvature field distribution of an aerospace carrier deck, the next step is to replace the test piece with a larger model."

After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Shen Li calculated that it would require a simulation module weighing approximately several tons."

Wang Donglai raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone remaining calm: "How many tons? Shen Li, how do you plan to suspend something weighing several tons?"

Shen Li did not answer directly.

He pulled up a set of simulation data for a magnetic compensation controller, and the magnetic field distribution image on the screen showed layers of concentric circles surrounding a small metal sphere.

Based on previous test results, the suspension stability of the anti-gravity device is almost unaffected by the load. Currently, the deviation in suspension height is within a very small range for both the 100-gram metal ball and the test piece that was increased to several kilograms in the last test.

This is not linear extrapolation, but rather the boundary effect of the device itself has a very wide plateau region.

Zhou Jimin added that the thrust amplification scheme of the plasma engine has redundant cooling capacity. If the timing for joint commissioning is right, the boundary effect verification of the anti-gravity device can be carried out simultaneously with the ground ignition test of the plasma engine, using the same power bus and the same data acquisition system.

After a moment's thought, Wang Donglai made his decision and said, "Simultaneous testing of the anti-gravity device and the plasma engine will increase the risks and complexity exponentially. However, verifying each subsystem one by one takes too long. The Nantianmen Project doesn't need to make one wrong step at a time; it needs to ensure that every step is taken at the most critical time."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like an iron nail driven into wood.

"Zhou, you're the chief engineer of this base. I need to ask you one question: can your team handle this?"

Zhou Jimin closed his notebook and stood up.

He nodded firmly at Wang Donglai, his voice not loud but steady: "I can!"

"Before the joint commissioning, I will thoroughly review all the interfaces of the subsystems. We will prepare two options for the power adaptation plan, combining the thorium-based molten salt reactor and the mobile energy storage vehicle. The control timing will be accurate to within the second. The ignition of the plasma engine and the pressurization of the anti-gravity device must be started off at off-peak times, leaving sufficient buffer windows in between. If the joint commissioning is successful, the next step is to scale up, strengthen, and package all the technologies that have been tested in this base, turning them from engineering prototypes into standardized modules that can be deployed on space-based platforms. This path is not easy, but it is feasible."

Wang Donglai nodded.

His gaze turned to Shen Li, and just as he was about to speak, a low humming sound suddenly came from the dome space.

That was the unique sound of magnetic compensation current when the anti-gravity device was activated, like a very thin string being gently plucked at a very low position, and then vibrating continuously.

The sound penetrated the soundproof door of the conference room, faint but clear.

Shen Li was the first to stand up, pushed back her chair, and strode towards the door.

Wang Donglai and Zhou Jimin followed behind.

On the anti-gravity device platform in the center of the dome, a fist-sized metal sphere is quietly suspended more than two meters above the platform.

Compared to what Wang Donglai saw last time, the suspension height has increased again.

Shen Li whispered from the side that the hysteresis loss data in the recent tests has been reduced to a fraction of the original, and the levitation stability has also been further optimized.

Wang Donglai stopped and looked up at the small metal sphere that was floating motionless in the void.

It is so small and so quiet, yet its very existence is rewriting the boundaries of physics.

"Shen Li."

"The next stage of boundary effect verification will not only look at suspension mass and stability. You need to measure a set of transient response data under low-frequency disturbances. If the curvature field distribution changes beyond expectations in the future, the stress distribution of the entire deck will be affected. No one can provide you with this data at that time."

"clear."

Shen Li's voice was deeper and more steady than when he was reporting earlier, like a stone finally falling to the ground.

"I will design a series of excitation signals, from random white noise to sinusoidal frequency sweep, to fully understand the transient response characteristics of the boundary effect."

Wang Donglai nodded, turned around, and glanced at Zhou Jimin and Shen Li's faces. He then took one last look at the metal sphere floating in the air before striding towards the conference room.

He still has two documents to approve, two phone calls to make, and a decision that will impact the future to be finalized within a week.

The hum of the anti-gravity device behind me continued in the empty dome, not loud, but like the background noise from the deepest recesses of this era—quiet, yet ever-present. (End of Chapter)