Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

After Chen hung up Lin Feng's call, seven black cars drove toward the building that would determine the fate of the nation.

The lights in the top-floor emergency conference room were still on at four in the morning.

Seven decision-makers sat around the oval conference table. No one spoke; only Old Chen's deep voice echoed as he reported.

Sitting in the main seat, Old Li was the first to speak after listening to the report: "Three-year construction period, is Comrade Lin Feng confirmed?"

Mr. Chen carefully chose his words, saying, "Based on my understanding of him, this means the success rate is over 99%."

"But this is a space carrier," a military leader said solemnly. "It's not a tank, not a fighter jet, but a mobile fortress capable of operating in space. Once construction begins, there's no turning back. If it fails, the trillions of dollars invested, the hundreds of thousands of personnel mobilized, and the national resources consumed... will all be wasted."

"But if successful," another leader added, "China will gain a strategic advantage for the next hundred years. Control over near-Earth space, initiative in deep space exploration, and even... the possibility of interstellar colonization."

A brief silence fell over the meeting room.

A huge map of China stands silently on the wall, showing everything on this land—from the coast of the East China Sea to the Gobi Desert in the west, from the snowy plains of the north to the islands of the south—all of it has been changed under their decisions.

Now, an even more important choice lies before us.

Should we stake the future of our nation on a starship?

Old Li slowly got up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the Beijing skyline gradually becomes clear in the morning light. This ancient yet new city has witnessed the entire process of this nation's rise from standing up, becoming prosperous, to becoming strong.

Now, it's time to head towards the stars.

"Gentlemen," the old man turned around, his gaze piercing, "what have we, this generation, experienced?"

He asked himself and answered: "We have experienced the period of rebuilding the country in the early days of its founding, the arduous exploration of reform and opening up, the self-reliance under Western blockade, and the whole process of catching up, running alongside and then leading the world."

"And in this process," Mr. Li looked at everyone in the conference room, "there was a young man who, since he was sixteen, has been contributing everything he has to the strength of our country."

"The Kunpeng aircraft carrier gives us the confidence to venture into the deep blue sea."

"The Suzaku 6th generation fighter jet has given us control of our own skies."

"Pangu AI allows us to build a Great Wall in cyberspace."

"Shennong Super Rice has ensured food security for 1.4 billion people."

"The Bian Que Mental Restoration Device has given hope to millions of families."

"Nuwa's controlled nuclear fusion has given us a permanent energy source."

"The Fuxi Space Fighter allows us to expand our territory into space."

"The Kuafu Global System allows us to see the whole world."

"Hua Tuo's antiviral medicine allowed us to save civilization from the plague."

"The Azure Dragon Gene Agent has allowed our entire nation to evolve and transcend."

With each item the old man mentioned, the atmosphere in the meeting room grew more somber.

Because everyone knows that behind these achievements that have changed the fate of the nation, there is the same name—Lin Feng.

"Now," Old Li's voice suddenly rose, "this young man tells us that he can build a space carrier. He can enable our civilization to truly reach the stars and the sea."

He surveyed the audience: "Ladies and gentlemen, should we question him based on past experience, or should we believe in him based on the miracles he has created in the past?"

silence.

A three-minute silence followed.

Then, the eldest leader slowly raised his right hand: "I agree to launch Project Xuanyuan."

Immediately afterwards, a second hand was raised: "Agreed."

The third one, the fourth one...

All seven hands were raised.

Passed unanimously.

"Comrade Chen," Old Li looked at Old Chen, "tell Lin Feng—the country trusts him. Give him all the people, resources, and authority he wants. But there's one condition…"

The old man paused, then said, word by word, "Three years from now, I hope to see Xuanyuan take flight with my own eyes."

The command was issued with the highest priority.

Within 24 hours, all 47 top universities, 39 national-level research institutes, and the aerospace departments of 17 military industrial groups across the country received top-secret transfer orders.

The transfer order consisted of only one sentence: "Effective immediately, proceed to the Northwest to participate in the Xuanyuan Plan. Return date: three years."

No one knows what the Xuanyuan Project is, but everyone knows that anything that can mobilize such a large-scale, top-tier national force must be a monumental project that will change history.

Within three days, 1,273 top experts in China's aerospace field gathered in the Northwest from all over the country.

When these experts arrived at a base in Northwest China, they were all shocked by what they saw.

That is no longer a simple testing ground; it is a rising space city.

Within an area spanning 300 square kilometers, twelve gigantic factory buildings stretch like steel mountains. Dedicated railways crisscross between them, with heavy transport vehicles constantly moving about. In the distance, a newly built rocket launch tower pierces the sky, next to a vertical assembly workshop designed specifically for large components.

Even more impressive is the command building at the center of the base—no ordinary building, but an intelligent center covered by holographic projections. The building's exterior walls display real-time orbital parameters, weather data, project progress, and even real-time images of Earth's geosynchronous orbit.

Standing in front of the command building to greet them was Lin Feng.

"Dear teachers and seniors," Lin Feng's voice resounded throughout the venue through the amplification system, "Welcome to the starting point of Project Xuanyuan."

Without wasting any words, he directly turned on the holographic projection.

A 3D model of the Xuanyuan-class space carrier slowly rotates above the base.

At that moment, all 1,273 experts fell silent.

Many people instinctively steadied themselves on those around them, some took off their glasses and wiped them repeatedly, and some opened their mouths wide but couldn't utter a word—it wasn't that they hadn't seen renderings of spacecraft before, but this one in front of them... was too real.

It's so realistic that every rivet is clearly visible, so realistic that the thrusters' exhaust flames seem to be burning, so realistic that it makes you feel that this starship is not a projection, but a real entity that already exists somewhere.

"This isn't a conceptual design," Lin Feng's voice broke the silence. "This is a mature solution that has completed all theoretical verification, process design, and simulated construction. What we need to do now is turn it from virtual to reality."

He pulled up the project schedule:

"The Xuanyuan Project is divided into three phases."

"Phase 1: Ground Prefabrication. The entire hull module will be manufactured on the ground within one year. This includes the main keel section, the outer hull, the internal compartments, and the core components of each subsystem."

"Phase Two: Orbital Assembly. Over the course of a year, all modules will be transported to geostationary orbit and assembled in the space dock."

"Phase Three: System Debugging and First Flight. In the final year, we will complete the joint testing of all systems and achieve the first manned deep space flight."

The plan is clear and the timetable is well-defined.

But everyone knows that these three seemingly simple stages are each a challenge to the limits of human engineering history.

"Now, please proceed to the designated meeting room," Lin Feng continued. "Over the next week, we will be conducting company-wide technical training. The encrypted tablets you hold have already been loaded with all the technical data relevant to your respective areas of responsibility."

He paused, then added, "The total amount of this material is equivalent to making fifty copies of the entire National Library's collection. Please be prepared."

Of the 1,273 experts, not one complained.

Because in their eyes, they all see the same flame burning—a flame that witnesses history, participates in history, and creates history.

For the next seven days, the base transformed into a giant classroom.

Thirty-seven specialized conference rooms were simultaneously hosting lectures, covering topics ranging from materials science to propulsion technology, from ecological recycling to artificial intelligence, from orbital mechanics to deep space navigation...

Lin Feng moved between the meeting rooms. He didn't need to explain from the beginning—the experts were all titans in their respective fields, and they understood immediately. He only needed to provide the most precise guidance on the key and difficult points:

"Academician Wang, the key to the space-based forming of the superconducting main keel is the control of the cooling rate. This is the optimal parameter curve."

"Chief Engineer Li, the magnetic confinement of the fusion thruster requires the introduction of an active turbulence suppression algorithm. The code is here."

"Professor Zhang, the microbial community in the ecological cycle chamber must be configured according to this ratio, otherwise the nitrogen cycle will be unbalanced."

Every piece of advice enlightened the experts.

They gradually discovered that the technical solutions Lin Feng provided were not only complete, but also... perfect. So perfect that they seemed to have undergone hundreds of practical verifications, so perfect that they wondered if it was technology from the future.

But no one questioned it.

Because the technology they are learning belongs to the future.

The Xuanyuan Project was officially launched after the training concluded.

On the first day, the materials preparation center was ignited.

The Xuanyuan alloy, specially developed for the Xuanyuan spacecraft, has begun to be smelted in a new type of electric arc furnace. This alloy needs to undergo 99 forging cycles at an ultra-low temperature of -270 degrees Celsius to achieve the strength and toughness required for the space environment.

The academician in charge of the materials group stared at the monitoring screen. When the first qualified alloy ingot came out of the furnace, the old man burst into tears: "My life... has been worth it."

In the first month, the main keel sections were completed.

Twelve 100-meter-long superconducting main keel sections are quietly displayed in a dust-free workshop with constant temperature and humidity. The error of each section is no more than one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair, and the surface is as smooth as a mirror.

The engineer in charge of the inspection measured it three times before daring to sign the acceptance form: "Perfect... This is a level of precision that human craftsmanship could not achieve."

In the third month, the first hull module rolled off the production line.

That was the command section at the bow of the Xuanyuan-class frigate, weighing 8,000 tons and pre-installed with 3,700 pieces of various equipment. As the module was slowly transported out of the workshop by a giant transport vehicle, all the technical personnel involved in its construction spontaneously lined up and applauded.

They knew they were making history.

In the sixth month, the core components of the thruster were assembled.

The four sets of magnetic confinement coils for the fusion thrusters each weigh 1,500 tons. A specially designed magnetic levitation hoisting system is required for installation—because any mechanical contact could disrupt the superconducting state.

The installation process lasted for seventy-two hours, with all technicians taking turns on duty and no one leaving the workshop.

When the last set of coils was in place, the chief engineer slumped into his chair, his voice hoarse: "We...we really built an engine that can propel a starship."

In the ninth month, the ecological cycle system passed the ground test.

A team of 300 people lived in a closed experimental chamber for 90 days. The air was always fresh, the water always pure, food production was stable, and waste was 100% recycled.

Upon exiting the capsule, the head of the experimental team uttered only one sentence: "This is not a life support system, it is... a complete miniature blue planet."

In the twelfth month, the last batch of hull modules rolled off the production line.

With this, the first phase of Project Xuanyuan—ground prefabrication—was completed.

Inside the twelve workshops of the Northwest Base, three hundred giant modules are neatly arranged. They are covered with a silver-gray heat-insulating coating and look like sleeping behemoths under the lights.

Each module underwent 1,200 tests.

Every single data point has reached its theoretical limit.

When Lin Feng signed his name on the final acceptance report, the base erupted in applause that lasted for ten minutes.

It's not a celebration, it's a tribute.

A salute to these 1,273 experts, a salute to the 100,000 skilled workers who participated in the construction, and a salute to the engineering miracle this country created in a year.

"Everyone," Lin Feng's voice echoed throughout the base via the broadcast, "Phase one, a complete success."

He looked out the window at the modules waiting quietly in the factory:

"Right now, they are just steel on the ground."

"But soon, they will fly into space."

"To assemble the first true starship in human history in geosynchronous orbit."

"And we've only completed one-third of our mission."

"The second phase—orbit assembly—is about to begin."

"Please keep up the good work, everyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone straightened their backs.

In their eyes, an even more intense flame burned.