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

On the night the national press conference ended, countless families watched on television, their hearts pounding with emotion.

In the mountain city, the familiar villa was unusually quiet. Lin Guodong, Su Wenqing, Shen Moran, and the much more mature Lin Chuxue and Lin Sibin sat in the living room, replaying news clips over and over again. On the screen, Lin Feng's photo and his earth-shattering achievements flashed alternately.

Lin Guodong's hands trembled slightly as he picked up the teacup and put it down again. He recalled the occasional weariness and depth in his son's eyes after he returned from those "business trips" over the years. It turned out that it wasn't just ordinary work fatigue.

"This child..." Su Wenqing was already in tears. She held Shen Moran's hand, "Moran, you've suffered so much, and so has Xiaofeng... We knew nothing, and we always blamed him for being too busy and not coming home..."

Shen Moran's eyes were red, but she shook her head vigorously, her voice choked with sobs but filled with pride: "Mom, it's not hard. I know he's doing something important, but I never imagined... it would be something this big." She looked at her husband's young and resolute face on the screen, and all the hardships she had endured supporting the family alone over the years transformed into unparalleled pride.

"Daddy's a superhero!" Lin Sibin pointed at the TV, his face flushed with excitement. "Daddy built that biggest spaceship!"

Lin Chuxue nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with admiration: "Brother protected everyone."

A complex mix of heartache, shock, and pride flowed through this ordinary family. They silently wiped away their tears, their hearts filled with an unprecedented sense of peace—their son, husband, and brother were protecting the country, and the country, in turn, had illuminated his figure, hidden for so many years, with the highest honor.

Almost at the same moment, strange phenomena suddenly appeared in the four corners of the sky over China.

Over the East China Sea, the clouds were silently torn apart. A colossal silver warship, 1,200 meters long, slowly descended, hovering thousands of meters above the sea. Its massive hull blocked some of the sunlight, casting an awe-inspiring shadow on the ground. The streamlined bow bore the two enormous Chinese characters "Xuanyuan," gleaming brightly in the sunlight. On the deck, rows of Fuxi aerospace fighters stood like eagles awaiting their orders.

"Look at the sky!" Residents of the coastal city were the first to notice, their exclamations echoing through the streets.

Immediately afterwards, over the western Gobi Desert, the northern grasslands, and the southern rainforest, three "Xuanyuan-class" space carriers of equal size emerged from the clouds and hovered majestically. They guarded the four directions respectively, forming a space-based defense and deterrence network covering the entire territory of China together with the "Fuxi" which had just embarked on its maiden voyage.

The four starships, like the four pillars supporting the heavens and earth in mythology, declared to the nation and the world with their overwhelming power the strategic strength that China now possesses, a strategic force that transcends its time.

All television signals were once again connected to the starship's external live feed. The people could clearly see the steel dome suspended in the sky, the imposing array of weapons on the hull, and the streaks of light from fighter jets taking off and landing. The excited and proud commentary of the news anchor filled their ears:

"Dear viewers, this is my country's independently developed and built 'Xuanyuan-class' space-based aircraft carrier! They have been deployed and are working in conjunction with ground defenses and the 'Kuafu' system in near-Earth orbit to form a comprehensive and seamless national defense system! People across the country can rest assured that no threat can cross this sky protected by technology and will!"

At that moment, in every street and alley, in every household, all remaining worries and fears melted away instantly, like snow under the sun. In their place came a soaring sense of pride and an unwavering sense of security.

"My God! It really...it really is a spaceship that big flying in the sky!"

"With them around, what's there to be afraid of? Can zombies jump that high?"

"Born in China, I am proud!" Similar cries flooded all platforms online. The starship that symbolizes national defense has a visual impact far exceeding any words. The nation's confidence has never been as unwavering as it is now.

The shock and uproar within China, like a raging storm, also violently impacted the sinking world outside.

Through the remaining satellite signals and the difficult-to-transmit information, high-ranking officials from various countries saw in horror the four hovering giant ships, the long list of technologies published in the news that was enough to overturn the world order, and also remembered the young face named "Lin Feng".

In their despair, they seemed to see their last straw.

Within almost 24 hours, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a deluge of high-level diplomatic notes and urgent phone calls. These came from free countries, the European Union, Russia, and even many struggling nations, with unprecedented humility and even pleading.

"We request that China provide emergency assistance based on humanitarian grounds! We also request that they share virus data and the Qinglong medicine!"

"We hope to establish direct contact with Academician Lin Feng's team to jointly combat the virus!"

"We are willing to pay any price for China's protection or technological support!"

"Save our people!"

Pleas, promises, deals, even implicit threats… a cacophony of voices. But at this moment, these once-powerful nations, who had dominated the international stage, were adopting increasingly humble postures. Lin Feng's identity and China's technology were no longer secrets to be hidden, but had become the only possible light in the eyes of a world in despair.

However, China's response was calm and firm.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' public statement was only a few sentences long: "Currently, our country's top priority is to ensure the safety and health of our 1.4 billion people, maintain the basic operation of society, and concentrate all resources to support research into a cure for the virus. Under these extreme circumstances, we do not have the conditions or capabilities to provide large-scale assistance or technology sharing to other countries. We deeply regret this and call on the international community to remain calm and take the most effective measures to protect their people."

The borders remain tightly shut, showing no sign of opening. Along the border, the steel defenses stand silent yet formidable, while starships patrol the clouds. Limited, rigorously vetted humanitarian aid channels are reserved only for select neighboring countries with special historical ties and whose situations are not yet completely out of control, and do not involve any core technologies or medicines.

Limited capabilities are a stark reality. China is not a savior; in the face of the monstrous waves sweeping the globe, protecting everyone on our own ark is already an all-out effort. This "selfishness," in the eyes of the people at this moment, is the greatest responsibility.

China's "showing its sword" and "closing its doors" seem to have angered something in the dark.

Or perhaps, the zombie horde that swept the globe was instinctively drawn to this last, brightest, and most orderly "oasis of life" on the planet.

Border surveillance satellites transmitted chilling images: across the vast Eurasian landmass, on the edge of Southeast Asia's dense jungles, hordes of zombies were no longer wandering aimlessly. As if drawn by some unseen force or summons, they began to move slowly but steadily toward the Chinese border, converging. Their numbers grew, forming a terrifying, writhing gray tide.

They charge through barbed wire and climb over barriers, oblivious to pain, one after another.

The real test has arrived.

"Attention all lines, target has entered firing range!"

"Open fire freely!"

The moment the order was given, China's long-secret military technology revealed its ferocious fangs.

Ground defenses are no longer traditional machine gun bunkers. Intelligent defense towers automatically lock on, firing not bullets, but high-energy pulse beams that instantly vaporize the point of impact; infrasound arrays deployed in key locations activate, and invisible waves cause swarms of zombies to collapse and disintegrate internally like harvested wheat; electromagnetic railgun projectiles streak across the sky at several times the speed of sound, carving deep trenches in the densest areas of the zombie horde from a distance.

In the sky, the Fuxi fighter jets roared past, dropping not bombs, but large swaths of gelled incendiary agents or nerve-paralyzing mists for efficient clearing. Higher up, the hovering "Xuanyuan" ship occasionally fired down a thick beam of directed energy, like a divine sword, completely evaporating the largest horde of zombies.

The border has become a testing ground and showcase for the most advanced weaponry. The firepower is efficient, precise, and brutal. There is no brutal hand-to-hand combat, only the absolute crushing of primal brute force by technological power. The gray tide surges in again and again, crashing and shattering before the invisible wall of steel, leaving charred marks, yet unable to push the defense line back an inch.

All battle footage, after necessary processing, was broadcast to the public through official channels.

As the people watched the sci-fi-like war scenes on the screen, and saw those terrifying zombies vanish before the steel defenses of their homeland, their sense of security and pride soared to its peak.

"Incredible! This is our army!"

"Those weapons...they're like futuristic technology! No wonder the country is so confident!"

"I'm so lucky to have been born in China! It's the only safe place in the world!"

"We don't live in a peaceful era, we just live in a peaceful country! And our country has the ability to keep all threats out!"

Pride, gratitude, identification, and a sense of unity... all these positive emotions surged across the land of China. People more consciously cooperated with all the country's arrangements, social order was well maintained, and a spirit of solidarity and concerted effort even emerged.

China, like a solitary island shining with the light of civilization and technology, stands proudly amidst the turbulent waves of global decline. Starships guard the four corners of the world, iron walls isolate calamities, and national heroes conquer the core.

Hope has never been extinguished, and it shines even brighter here.