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

Two hours is neither a long nor a short time.

Lin Feng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed. Every detail of the Kunpeng was flashing through his mind: the ship's streamlined shape, the catapult trajectory angle, the reactor power curve... He was about to face the country's top experts, and any oversight could cause the project to fail.

The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from time to time in the corridor.

The elevator went up and down continuously, and each time the doors opened, several people stepped out, some in suits, some in work clothes, and some in military uniforms. Some had gray hair, while others were in their prime, but without exception, they all wore different colored passes on their chests—red for academicians, blue for chief engineers, and gold for high-ranking military officials.

These people were hurriedly led into different meeting rooms. Quiet conversations, questioning inquiries, heavy silences… a mix of emotions permeated the corridor.

Zhao Weiguo stood guard outside the door, like a guardian deity. Assistant Xiao had come to check on the situation for the third time, each time hesitating to speak, and finally just silently handed over a cup of fresh tea.

The clock struck four o'clock in the afternoon.

The office door was pushed open.

Old Chen walked in, his face unusually solemn: "Lin Feng, everyone's here. Forty-seven people at the main venue and thirty-nine online, all core experts in their respective fields."

He paused, then emphasized, "The deputy commander of the navy is online, and the director of the nuclear power research institute is on site... These people control half of the country's coastal defense construction."

Lin Feng opened his eyes and stood up.

"Okay, Mr. Li."

The two walked out of the office, across the corridor, and came to the heavy double doors. A murmur of conversation could be faintly heard from inside, but the moment the doors were pushed open, all sound ceased.

The conference room was large and arranged in a tiered manner. There were long tables in the front row and curved chairs in the back row. Eight huge screens were mounted on the wall—four displaying the main venue's view and four displaying remote connections from the four branch venues.

At that moment, nearly a hundred eyes turned to the doorway.

Those gazes held scrutiny, curiosity, impatience, and undisguised skepticism. Those seated here were authorities in their respective fields, many having dedicated their lives to the dream of aircraft carriers, only to be repeatedly thwarted. Now, suddenly summoned with the news of a major breakthrough, most people's first reaction wasn't excitement, but skepticism.

"Old Chen!"

"Old Chen, why did you summon us so urgently?"

"My reactor testing is at a critical juncture, and unless something important comes up..."

Several elderly men in the front row had already stood up, their tone clearly showing dissatisfaction. They were all national treasure-level experts, and their time was measured in minutes.

Instead of answering immediately, Mr. Chen walked to the center of the stage and pressed his hands together in a gesture of respect.

The meeting room gradually quieted down.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for interrupting your work." His voice carried throughout the room through the microphone, "But what we are doing today is worth every one of us putting aside everything we are doing."

He stepped aside to make room for him: "Before explaining the specifics, let me introduce a comrade."

Lin Feng walked to the front of the stage.

The lights shone on him. Very young—that was everyone's first impression. Too young, so young it seemed out of place in this setting.

"His name is Lin Feng," Old Chen said only three words, then added, "His identity is confidential."

A slight commotion arose in the conference room.

The word "secrecy" carries special weight in this setting. Those sitting here have signed countless confidentiality agreements and know what that means—it either involves national security or disruptive technology.

"I've gathered you all here today," Old Chen said, looking around the room, enunciating each word clearly, "because Comrade Lin Feng has completed a theoretical research project."

He paused for three seconds, letting his words resonate in everyone's hearts.

"About aircraft carriers."

He spoke the last four words very softly, yet they resounded like a thunderclap.

"An aircraft carrier?!"

"Mr. Chen, you're not joking, are you?"

"Our own aircraft carrier theory?"

A cacophony of doubts, exclamations, and gasps filled the air. Some people in the back rows stood up abruptly, while several elderly men in the front exchanged glances, all seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

The four parallel sessions on the screen also stirred. On the naval side, a middle-aged man with general's stars on his shoulders leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Lin Feng on the screen; on the shipbuilding side, several chief engineers had huddled together and were discussing in hushed tones; and the experts at the nuclear power research institute frowned deeply.

"Professor Chen, is this true?" An elderly man with white hair, sitting in the center of the front row, spoke up. He was Academician Zhou, a leading figure in naval architecture, seventy-six years old this year, who had dedicated twenty years to the dream of aircraft carriers. "Our country... really has a team that has made a breakthrough in aircraft carrier research?"

"Old Zhou, this question," Old Chen looked at Lin Feng, "let Comrade Lin Feng answer it."

He stepped off the stage and sat down in an empty seat in the first row.

At this moment, only Lin Feng remained on the entire stage.

Facing nearly a hundred of the country's top experts and prominent figures on the screen who could influence national strategic decisions, this young man stood under the lights, his back straight and his expression unusually calm.

He picked up the remote control and pressed a button.

The large screen behind me lit up, displaying the words: "Overall Design Scheme for New Aircraft Carrier - Kunpeng Project".

There's no fancy cover, no lengthy preface, just a simple line of text.

But the name "Kunpeng" caught the attention of many present. "The Peng bird migrates to the Southern Ocean, its wings striking the water for three thousand miles"—what a magnificent sight!

"Before answering the questions from my seniors," Lin Feng began, his voice clearly transmitted through the microphone to every corner, "please allow me to present all the technical information first."

He pressed the remote control again.

The screen transitions, displaying a tree-like file directory. From top to bottom, it is divided into seven main folders:

【I. Overall Design and Performance Indicators】

II. Ship Structure and Materials

III. Propulsion System (Nuclear Reactor + All-Electric Propulsion)

IV. Electromagnetic Catapult and Arresting Systems

V. Carrier-based Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems

VI. Stealth and Defense System

VII. Construction Technology and Schedule Planning

Each main folder contains dozens of subfolders.

The meeting room was completely silent.

Everyone was glued to the screen; some had already put on their reading glasses, while others had pulled out their laptops. These were all experts; just by looking at the table of contents, you could tell it wasn't something an amateur could have created—the logic was rigorous, the system complete, covering all the key aspects of a modern aircraft carrier from design to construction.

"The materials have been distributed to the tablets in front of you," Lin Feng said. "Each expert can only see the relevant section within their own area of ​​expertise; this is due to confidentiality requirements. Please take fifteen minutes to browse through them, and then I will answer all your questions."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of tablet protective covers being flipped open filled the conference room.

Academician Zhou put on his reading glasses and opened the folder titled "Ship Structure and Materials." The first file inside was a "Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis Report on the Strength of a 120,000-ton Ship." He scrolled through the screen, his expression gradually becoming serious.

Three minutes later, he raised his head and looked at Lin Feng on the stage, his eyes showing genuine respect for the first time.

On the other side, a middle-aged expert in military uniform clicked on the [Electromagnetic Catapult System]. He was the head of this field and was well aware of the technical difficulties involved—the Free Nation had been researching electromagnetic catapults for twenty years, and the failure rate remained high. But when he saw the document "High Power Density Catapult Scheme Based on Superconducting Energy Storage," his finger stopped on the screen.

The same applies to online sub-venues.

Experts at the Nuclear Power Research Institute are engaged in a heated debate. One academician points to the data on the screen: "How is this power density even possible? How do you solve the heat dissipation problem when miniaturized to this extent?"

"Look at page seven, he used a liquid metal cooling loop combined with phase change material energy storage..."

"But can the materials withstand it?"

"See Appendix 3, fatigue test curves of novel composite materials..."

Fifteen minutes flew by in silence and shock.

When the clock struck 4:20, Lin Feng stepped forward to the stage again.

"Time's up." His voice roused the experts who were engrossed in the data. "Now, I can answer your questions."

He surveyed the entire room, his gaze calm and confident.

"No matter the field or the question, I will provide an answer."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Then, Academician Zhou was the first to raise his hand.

The old man, who had dedicated his life to aircraft carriers, spoke with a trembling voice: "Young man, I only have one question—how theoretically feasible is this plan?"

All eyes were on Lin Feng.

Everyone in the four breakout sessions on the screen held their breath.

Lin Feng looked at Academician Zhou, then at every expert present, and slowly began to speak:

"hundred percent."

Four words, resounding with conviction.

"As long as we follow this plan, and the resources and personnel are in place, within two to three years," he paused, emphasizing his words, "we will be able to build the world's first 120,000-ton nuclear-powered electromagnetic catapult stealth aircraft carrier."

Dead silence.

Then came even larger-scale unrest.

But this time, a different emotion began to creep into the doubts—

hope.