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

"hundred percent?!"

These four words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing an uproar in the conference room.

An elderly expert with thinning hair in the front row suddenly stood up, his eyes wide behind his glasses: "Young man, do you know what you're saying? There's never anything 100% certain in scientific research! Don't you understand the uncertainty principle?!"

"Exactly! An aircraft carrier involves millions of parts and thousands of subsystems; a problem in any one of these areas could lead to failure!"

"One hundred percent? Even the Free Country, which has been building aircraft carriers for seventy years, wouldn't dare to make such a boast!"

A torrent of doubts followed. There were sneers, head-shaking, and undisguised mockery. Those seated here were all authorities in their respective fields; they had witnessed far too many brilliant pronouncements ultimately succumb to harsh reality.

Lin Feng stood on the stage, offering neither rebuttal nor explanation.

He simply stood there calmly, his gaze sweeping over every face—whether angry, doubtful, or disappointed. That calmness wasn't feigned; it was a deep-seated conviction—when you've seen tens of thousands of simulations, optimized every parameter, and verified every possibility, you'll know that this path will definitely work.

The mockery lasted for a full three minutes.

Academician Zhou, seated in the first row, remained silent. The 76-year-old expert kept his head down, his fingers rapidly swiping across the tablet screen, reviewing the detailed information on "Ship Structure and Materials." His brow furrowed and relaxed intermittently, and his breathing gradually became rapid.

As the noise in the conference room subsided, Academician Zhou finally raised his head.

He ignored his emotional colleagues and looked directly at Lin Feng on the stage.

"Young man," his voice was hoarse, yet it instantly silenced the entire conference room, "which model did you use in this document regarding the fatigue life prediction of the ship's hull materials?"

All eyes turned to Academician Zhou, and then to Lin Feng.

This is a professional issue, and an extremely critical one at that. The ship's hull materials must withstand decades of salt spray corrosion, wave impact, and drastic temperature changes at sea. Even a 10% error in fatigue life prediction could lead to catastrophic consequences.

Lin Feng bowed slightly: "Elder Zhou, I used an improved MC model, but added three correction items."

"Be specific."

"The first revision takes into account the influence of microstructural inhomogeneity in the weld region on crack initiation. The algorithm is in Appendix A.7.3..."

He spoke for five minutes straight.

Without pausing or hesitating, every parameter was accurate to four decimal places, and every formula was given its specific location. When he got to the crucial point, he even went to the whiteboard and casually drew the trend of the stress-life curve.

Only Lin Feng's voice and the scratching sound of a pen slicing across the whiteboard remained in the conference room.

Academician Zhou's hands were trembling.

He wasn't angry, but rather excited. Having spent his life studying ship hull materials, he knew all too well what these modifications meant—a problem he'd been struggling to solve for over a decade!

"So," Academician Zhou took a deep breath and asked his second question, "how did you calculate the maximum bending moment of the 120,000-ton hull when encountering sea state 9?"

"Three-dimensional fluid-structure coupling simulation was used to calculate seventeen typical wave directions. The most dangerous condition was a 45-degree oblique wave, with the maximum bending moment occurring at one-third of the ship's length. Specific values ​​are shown in Table 3-7-2 of Section 7 in Chapter 3."

The question and answer flowed smoothly, like clouds and water.

Academician Zhou's questions became increasingly in-depth and challenging. From the microscopic mechanisms of materials to the macroscopic response of structures; from the feasibility of manufacturing processes to inspection and maintenance during service. Each question directly addressed the core difficulties in aircraft carrier design.

Lin Feng's answers remained calm and composed throughout.

He not only answered the questions but also often went on to elaborate on them. When Academician Zhou asked about a certain welding process, he would point out the potential defects of this process under high temperature conditions and propose three improvement schemes. When asked about anti-corrosion coatings, he would compare the advantages and disadvantages of seven mainstream technologies at home and abroad and then give the test data of his own designed nanocomposite coating.

Twenty minutes have passed.

Academician Zhou finished asking the seventeenth question.

He leaned back in his chair, took off his reading glasses, and rubbed his temples. Then, he did something that left everyone speechless—this highly respected academician slowly stood up and nodded slightly to Lin Feng on the stage.

No words were spoken, but the gesture said it all.

The conference room was deathly silent.

The experts who had just been mocking him now had a change of expression. They knew Academician Zhou all too well—this old man was known for his rigorous, even demanding, standards, and he never readily gave his approval to anyone. Everyone understood what it meant to get him to nod in agreement.

But the doubts did not end there.

"Let me ask about the power system." A middle-aged expert, surnamed Zheng, the vice president of the Nuclear Power Research Institute, stood up from the other side. "Your miniaturized reactor design has a power density three times higher than existing technology. How do you control the neutron flux?"

Lin Feng turned to him: "Dean Zheng, I adopted a triple control scheme. The first layer involves a novel arrangement of boron carbide control rods, detailed in Chapter 5 of the Power Systems section..."

"What about heat dissipation? With such a high power density, how should the waste heat removal system be designed?"

"A combined scheme of phase change energy storage and secondary seawater cooling. The specific thermal-hydraulic calculations are in Chapter 8, which includes complete transient analysis curves."

Vice Dean Zheng fell silent, quickly flipping to the corresponding chapter on his tablet. As he read, sweat began to bead on his forehead—not from the heat, but from astonishment. The calculations were too perfect, so perfect that they seemed beyond human capability.

"An electromagnetic catapult system!" someone else stood up. "Your superconducting energy storage solution requires an instantaneous power output of 120 megawatts, which existing superconducting materials simply cannot withstand!"

"So I didn't use the existing ones." Lin Feng's answer was calm as still water. "I designed a new type of high-temperature superconducting tape with a critical current density three times that of YBCO and a mechanical strength five times higher. The manufacturing process is in Appendix D of the electromagnetic catapult volume."

"What about the cost?!"

"The material cost of a single catapult track is 40% lower than that of the latest model from the Free Nation."

"That's impossible!"

"Please see the cost analysis table in Appendix E. I used some domestically produced alternative materials and optimized the preparation process."

One question after another, and one answer after another.

Aircraft carrier design involves dozens of professional fields, and questions arise from each of them. These range from optimizing takeoff intervals for carrier-based aircraft to the radar wave absorption mechanism of stealth coatings; from the power grid stability of all-electric propulsion to the ergonomics of the island superstructure…

Lin Feng is like a sophisticated supercomputer. No matter where the question comes from, no matter how tricky it is, he can retrieve the relevant data and provide a professional answer within three seconds. Often, he can not only answer the question but also point out the limitations in the questioner's thinking and propose a better solution.

Two hours later.

The atmosphere in the meeting room completely changed.

The questioning gazes gradually turned into shock; the mocking expressions slowly transformed into solemnity; and the impatient posture unconsciously changed into leaning forward.

The same applies to online sub-venues.

On the Navy's side, the middle-aged man with the general's stars on his shoulders had already stood up, his hands on the conference table, his eyes fixed on the screen; several chief engineers from the shipbuilding industry were having a heated discussion, with someone occasionally slamming their fist on the table—not out of anger, but out of excitement; the experts from the nuclear power research institute fell silent—a silence of utter admiration.

When the last questioner sat down, the conference room fell into a long silence.

No one spoke anymore.

Everyone stared at the young man on the stage—he was still standing there, back straight, breathing steadily, though fine beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, and the back of his white shirt was soaked. Two hours of intense question-and-answer sessions would be incredibly taxing on anyone.

Academician Zhou stood up again.

This time, he didn't ask any questions.

He turned around, facing the entire audience, his voice not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears:

"I have studied ships for thirty years and participated in seven aircraft carrier program demonstrations, each time ending in disappointment." The old man's voice choked with emotion. "But today... today I have seen a complete, feasible, and even arguably ahead-of-its-time solution."

He paused, then looked at Academician Chen: "Academician Chen, in my personal capacity, I support the Kunpeng Project."

As soon as he finished speaking, Vice President Zheng also stood up: "I've finished reviewing the nuclear power section. The theory is impeccable. If it can truly be realized... it will be a breakthrough that changes the maritime power landscape. I support it."

"I can't find any fault with the electromagnetic catapult system." Another expert stood up. "Not only can I not find any fault, but many of its ideas are even more ingenious than the solutions I've been researching for twenty years. I'm convinced."

One, two, three...

The experts in the front row stood up one after another. The young researchers in the back row followed suit. On the screen, participants in the four parallel sessions expressed their opinions.

There was no applause, no cheers, only simple yet heavy words of support.

These top Chinese experts expressed their approval of the plan and the young man in the simplest way.

Old Chen slowly stood up and walked to Lin Feng's side.

He looked at the excited, shocked, and hopeful faces below the stage, and at the eager gazes on the screen, and took a deep breath:

"Therefore, Project Kunpeng is officially launched."

Ten words, as light as a feather, yet as heavy as Mount Tai.