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

The hospital disinfectant smelled pungent and was cold.

Zhang Haohan stood outside the orthopedic ward, looking inside through the glass window. Xiao Wang, his left leg in a cast and suspended high, slept with a pale face.

"The doctor said I need at least three months of rest," Qin Feng said in a low voice. "It's a torn ligament, but thankfully it's not broken."

Zhang Haohan nodded silently and pushed the door open to go inside.

He placed the fruit basket on the bedside table, then took an envelope from his bag and gently tucked it under his pillow. It contained the prize money from today's game, plus some money he had added himself.

"Vast expanse..." Xiao Wang woke up at some point, his voice weak, "Did you win the match?"

"We won." Zhang Haohan forced a smile. "Take good care of your injury, we'll be waiting for you to come back."

After leaving Xiao Wang's ward, Zhang Haohan sat on a bench in the corridor for a full ten minutes. He kept his head down, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

Finally, he stood up and dialed Lin Feng's number.

"Old Lin, I'm treating everyone to dinner tonight at a Sichuan restaurant outside the school."

At six o'clock in the evening, the largest private room in the Sichuan restaurant was full. There were nine people in total: the members of the Aerospace Engineering Class 1 basketball team, the substitutes, and Lin Feng who came to help.

The dishes were plentiful: boiled fish, spicy blood curd, spicy chicken... a sea of ​​red. But the atmosphere was somewhat somber.

"This meal has three meanings," Zhang Haohan said, standing up and raising his glass. "First, to celebrate our place in the top four of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Second, to thank Lao Lin for saving the day. Third..."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Apologize to Xiao Wang. As the team leader, I failed to protect him properly."

Everyone stood up.

The clinking of the wine glasses was crisp yet heavy.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere gradually warmed up. The team members began to review the day's game, and when they mentioned Lin Feng's amazing dunk, a gasp of amazement rippled through the private room.

"Old Lin, you've been hiding this for far too long!"

"That jumping height is definitely good enough for a dunk contest!"

Lin Feng simply smiled and waved his hand, without saying anything more.

After the meal, the team members left one after another. Zhang Haohan called Lin Feng back, and the two walked to the alley behind the restaurant.

The ice city was even colder, and the breath we exhaled condensed into white mist under the streetlights.

"Old Lin," Zhang Haohan lit a cigarette, the embers flickering in the darkness, "thank you for today. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten this far."

"You're too kind." Lin Feng looked at him, "But I want to tell you the truth—you're very strong, but your teammates are terrible."

Zhang Haohan smiled wryly: "I know."

"If you want to represent Harbin Institute of Technology in the national competition, or even go further, you need stronger teammates," Lin Feng said seriously. "With the current lineup, we won't make it to the end."

The alley was quiet for a moment.

The sound of traffic could be heard in the distance, faint and indistinct.

"Once we get first place in the School of Aerospace Engineering," Zhang Haohan stubbed out his cigarette, his eyes brightening again, "I'll go recruit people. The School of Aerospace Engineering has some good prospects, and so does the School of Mechanical Engineering; I've already inquired about them. As long as we can win the school-wide selection representing the School of Aerospace Engineering, we can compete in the national college league."

He looked at Lin Feng: "But before that, we need to win a final match. Xiao Wang is injured, next match..."

"I'll go," Lin Feng said without hesitation. "I'll help you finish the finals."

Zhang Haohan patted Lin Feng on the shoulder heavily: "Thanks, bro."

A week later, the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics held its basketball finals.

With Lin Feng joining the team, the outcome of the match was almost a foregone conclusion. Lin Feng and Zhang Haohan's teamwork became increasingly seamless, with one focusing on the outside and the other on the inside, tearing the opponent's defense to shreds.

The final score was 78-52.

Class 1 of Aerospace Engineering won the championship trophy of the School of Aerospace Engineering.

After the awards ceremony, Zhang Haohan immediately began his talent scouting plan. He took the game footage and went to each of the players he was interested in, working from morning till night.

Lin Feng and Qin Feng then returned to their normal student lives.

Classes, library, cafeteria, dormitory. Life was as uneventful as going back to the most ordinary college days.

Lin Feng even began to get used to this rhythm. He would get up at seven in the morning and go to the cafeteria for breakfast with his roommate; he would attend classes in the morning, sitting in the back row of the classroom and listening attentively—although most of the content was too simple for him; in the afternoon, he would go to the library, borrow a few books that interested him, and sit there for several hours.

Occasionally, he would think of Project Dawn and the research that had been temporarily shelved due to technological barriers. But that anxiety gradually subsided in these ordinary days.

Spring has passed and winter has arrived; Harbin has welcomed its first snowfall.

The ginkgo leaves had long since fallen, leaving only a thin layer of white frost on the bare branches. The heating on campus was on full blast, and the windows of the cafeteria were always fogged up.

One noon in December, Lin Feng and Qin Feng were eating in the second canteen.

Stewed beef with potatoes, Mapo tofu, and two bowls of rice. A simple student meal.

Suddenly, an excited voice came from the next table. A boy, holding up his phone, his face flushed red, exclaimed, "Have you guys seen the news? Those bastards from the Free Country!"

The cafeteria became much quieter instantly.

"Maritime conflict! They spotted our nuclear submarine and deployed a carrier battle group—two aircraft carriers and more than a dozen ships—encircling our submarine!"

"What?!" Another boy snatched the phone. "Let me see!"

The news spread like wildfire. Soon, most of the students in the cafeteria had taken out their phones.

Lin Feng also opened the news app.

The headline of the news was so glaring it made one's heart clench: "Free Nations Carrier Strike Group Provokes in South China Sea, Chinese Navy Nuclear Submarine Suffers Simulated Attack."

The report was simple and restrained in its wording, but the accompanying images sent chills down everyone's spines—satellite photos showed the Free State's aircraft carrier as a moving steel island, surrounded by a dense array of ships. And in the center of that deep blue sea, a small black dot—that was the trapped Chinese nuclear submarine.

The comments section has exploded.

"This is outrageous!"

"This is a blatant military provocation!"

"Where is our aircraft carrier? Where is our aircraft carrier?!"

"Upstairs, we...don't have an aircraft carrier."

That last comment was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads.

Yes, there is no aircraft carrier.

The Chinese Navy has developed for so many years and possesses modern destroyers, frigates, and nuclear submarines, but it still does not have a single aircraft carrier of its own.

Without an aircraft carrier, it means lacking a core force for long-range operations.

Without an aircraft carrier, it means that in this kind of standoff, we will always be on the defensive.

"They're simulating an attack..." Qin Feng's voice trembled, "They dare!"

Lin Feng remained silent.

He stared at his phone screen, at the satellite photo, at the tiny black dot surrounded by satellites.

My fingers turned white from exerting force.

Images flashed through my mind: the data stranded in the Dawn Project laboratory due to technological barriers; the ahead-of-its-time theories in the Fuxi Project; and now, on this deep blue sea, that lonely, trapped submarine.

"Old Qin." Lin Feng suddenly stood up. "I have something to do, I'll be going now."

"Hey, you haven't eaten yet..."

Before Qin Feng could finish speaking, Lin Feng had already turned and rushed out of the cafeteria.

The snow is still falling.

Lin Feng didn't use an umbrella, letting the snowflakes fall on his shoulders and head. He walked very fast, almost running.

Walk through the Ginkgo Avenue, bypass the main building, and head straight for the administration building.

Footsteps crunched on the snow.

The principal's office door was ajar.

Lin Feng didn't knock; he just pushed the door open and went in.

Tang Guohong was looking at documents when he looked up and saw Lin Feng. He was stunned for a moment—the young man's hair was covered in snow, he was breathing rapidly, and there was a flame in his eyes that he had never seen before.

"Principal," Lin Feng's voice trembled slightly with excitement, "I have a new research direction."

Tang Guohong put down the documents and took off his glasses: "This is a good thing. What are you planning to research?"

"Aircraft carrier."

Two words, spoken with resounding force.

The office fell silent for a moment.

Tang Guohong looked at Lin Feng, and seeing the mixture of resentment, anger, and determination in his eyes, and suddenly understood something.

"Did you see the news?"

"I saw it." Lin Feng walked to his desk, placing his hands on the surface. "The Free Nation's carrier battle group trapped our nuclear submarines in the South China Sea. They simulated attacks, they provoked us. They dared to do this because we don't have an aircraft carrier."

He took a deep breath, his voice lower but more determined: "Principal, I want to try. Let's see if we can get our own aircraft carrier. I don't want to see our soldiers suffer this kind of humiliation at sea anymore."

Outside the window, the snow was falling heavier and heavier.

Tang Guohong stood up and walked to the window. He looked at the white-covered campus outside, at the students hurrying past in the snow, and remained silent for a long time.

"An aircraft carrier is one of the most complex systems engineering projects in the world." He turned around, his gaze sharp. "It involves dozens of fields, including ship design, power systems, carrier-based aircraft, electronic equipment, materials science, and thousands of technical challenges. It took the Free Nation thirty years to complete this journey."

"I know," Lin Feng nodded.

The two looked at each other.

One is an elder who has dedicated half his life to education, and the other is a young man who has repeatedly created miracles in the field of scientific research.

Their gazes met in the air, sparking a silent flame.

Finally, Tang Guohong smiled.

It was a smile of relief and anticipation.

"How can I help you?"

"All theoretical information about aircraft carriers," Lin Feng said, "from the most basic ship design principles to the most cutting-edge technologies. I want everything I can get my hands on."

"Okay." Tang Guohong walked back to his desk, picked up the phone, and said, "I will use all my connections to get all the existing aircraft carrier research data in China."

Lin Feng bowed deeply: "Thank you, Principal."

"No need to thank me." Tang Guohong waved his hand, his gaze deep. "The ones who should say thank you are the soldiers trapped at sea, and the soldiers who will stand on the deck of our own aircraft carrier in the future."

He paused, then said solemnly, "Lin Feng, this path will be difficult. You may encounter insurmountable technical gaps, experience countless failures, face doubts, and even be ridiculed."

"I know." Lin Feng raised his head, his eyes clear and firm. "But no matter how difficult it is, someone has to leave."

The snow is still falling.

But the flame in the hearts of young people has already been ignited.

The name of that flame is—

unwilling.

It is called—

dignity.

It is called—

A nation's determination to venture into the sea.