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

Academician Li's unfinished words, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, rippled through the conference room.

If it could really happen...

in case.

These two words carried too much weight, so much so that the hundreds of experts present hesitated to utter them. They had dedicated their lives to researching controlled nuclear fusion, witnessing too many "ifs" turn into "buts," and too many hopes turn into disappointments.

But this time, perhaps it will be different.

Standing before the podium, Elder Chen's gaze swept over each face—some excited, some solemn, some still bearing a hint of doubt. This old man understood all too well the historical significance of this moment—whether successful or not, today's meeting would be recorded in the annals of Chinese scientific and technological history.

He took a deep breath, and his voice, transmitted clearly through the microphone, reached everyone's ears:

"Since everyone agrees with this theory, the Nuwa Project is officially launched today."

The moment the words were spoken, a suppressed gasp rippled through the conference room.

The project has been approved.

Is that all? No layers of approval? No lengthy feasibility studies? No endless debates and compromises?

"Professor Chen," Academician Li was the first to stand up, his tone cautiously reminding, "Research into controlled nuclear fusion... requires astronomical resources. Shouldn't we report this to the highest levels first and wait for formal approval...?"

"The highest level has already authorized it," Old Chen interrupted him, his tone calm but firm. "Comrade Lin Feng's research project, as long as it passes expert review, can be handled as a special case and directly approved, with priority given to it by national resources."

These words struck like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart.

Special handling, priority guarantee—behind these eight words lies unimaginable political determination and resource allocation. Those sitting here are all veteran experts who have experienced countless project applications and funding battles, and they know all too well the weight of these eight words.

Academician Li opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing and slowly sat down.

"Now I announce," Old Chen raised his voice, "that the chief architect of the Nuwa Project is Comrade Lin Feng."

There was no applause, no cheers. Everyone looked at the young man standing on the stage.

No one raised any objections.

The 500-page technical proposal is still projected on the screen, and those groundbreaking data are still imprinted in everyone's minds. Faced with absolute ability, age, seniority, and titles all become irrelevant background noise.

"Deputy Chief Designer," Chen continued, "Academician Li."

Academician Li stood up, nodded slightly to the audience, then turned to Lin Feng and solemnly extended his hand: "President Lin, please guide me in the future."

"Academician Li, you're too kind." Lin Feng grasped his hand. "There's still so much I need to learn from you."

The two held hands tightly.

One represents the future, and the other represents inheritance.

"The specific division of labor for the other personnel will be arranged by Director Lin and Academician Li through consultation." Old Chen looked at Lin Feng, "For the next two weeks, your main task is to digest the theory and build a team. List out what resources you need, and I will coordinate them personally."

"Understood." Lin Feng nodded.

Meeting adjourned.

The commands are concise and powerful.

For the next two weeks, that small building at the Chinese Academy of Sciences became the busiest place in the country.

The first thing Lin Feng and Academician Li did was to divide the work into groups.

One hundred and twenty-three experts were divided into eight core groups according to their professional fields:

Group 1: Plasma Physics and Magnetic Field Design, led by Academician Li himself.

The second group: Reactor Engineering and Structural Materials, led by Academician Zhang from the Academy of Materials Science and Engineering.

The third group: heating and feeding system, led by Chief Engineer Liu from the China National Nuclear Corporation.

Group 4: Diagnostic and Control Systems, led by Professor Chen from the Institute of Automation.

Group 5: Tritium Cycle and Proliferation Blanket, led by Professor Zhou from Tsinghua University.

Group 6: Thermoelectric Conversion and Energy Management, led by Academician Wang from Harbin Institute of Technology (Tang Guohong specially transferred from Harbin).

Group 7: Safety and Radiation Protection, led by Director Zhao, a radiation protection expert from the Academy of Military Sciences.

Group 8: Integration Testing and Overall Coordination, with Lin Feng temporarily serving as the group leader.

Each group was further subdivided into several research teams, each with a team leader and deputy team leader. A comprehensive organizational chart was created within three days.

The second thing Lin Feng did was distribute the materials.

He broke down the 500-page technical solution into 327 technical modules, each of which includes: theoretical derivation, design drawings, process requirements, verification methods, and risk contingency plans.

"These materials will be distributed according to access permissions," Lin Feng emphasized at the first meeting of all team leaders. "Each person can only see the part they are responsible for. This is not because we don't trust everyone, but it's for confidentiality and to allow everyone to focus more."

No one objected. In projects of this caliber, secrecy is the lifeline.

The third thing is theoretical training.

For the next ten days, Lin Feng held two large lectures every day.

From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., we will talk about core physics principles—from plasma stability to magnetic field configuration optimization, from fusion reaction cross section to energy balance equation.

From 2 PM to 5 PM, we will talk about the engineering implementation—from the selection of the first wall material to the design of the cooling circuit, from the manufacturing of the superconducting magnet to the writing of the control algorithm.

The conference room was packed. An elderly academician with gray hair sat in the front row, wearing reading glasses and taking notes diligently; a middle-aged expert sat in the middle, raising his hand to ask questions from time to time; and a young researcher sat in the back row, his eyes shining like stars.

Lin Feng's teaching style is quite unique—no PowerPoint slides, no notes; all formulas and charts are written on the whiteboard by hand. His strokes are fluid and expressive. Sometimes, when he reaches a crucial point, he will pause and ask the audience, "Any questions here?"

Any questions will be answered on the spot.

Sometimes, if the question was too complex, he would say, "This is rather complicated; we'll discuss it separately after class."

After ten days of classes, everyone's notebooks were full. Someone privately calculated that if Lin Feng's formulas written on the whiteboard over those ten days were compiled into a book, it would be at least two thousand pages long.

"In my entire life," Academician Li remarked after a lecture, "I have never heard such a thorough lecture. There are some concepts that I have studied for thirty years, and I still only vaguely understood them. After President Lin's explanation, everything became clear."

The fourth thing is resource coordination.

Old Chen kept his word. The entire list Lin Feng provided was completed within three days.

Special steel was urgently transported from Ansteel, superconducting materials were airlifted from the Northwest Superconducting Laboratory, precision machining equipment was loaded onto trucks overnight from the Northeast Machine Tool Factory, and high-performance computing clusters were directly allocated from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Supercomputing Center...

Most remarkably, to meet the power needs of the Nuwa Project, the State Grid specially installed an ultra-high-voltage line from a neighboring province to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the laboratory 24 hours a day.

"This is the national system." Academician Li's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the continuous stream of equipment being brought in. "I've been doing scientific research all my life, and this is the first time I've seen such a scene."

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On the morning of the fifteenth day, all the group leaders gathered in the conference room again.

Lin Feng stood in front of the projection table, with a full-size design drawing of the Nuwa device behind him.

"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice was calm yet firm, "the theoretical digestion phase is now complete."

There was silence in the conference room.

"From today onwards, the Nuwa Project will enter the implementation phase."

He pressed the remote control, and the design diagram on the screen was broken down into eight parts, each corresponding to one of the eight groups.

"The first group, led by Academician Li, will complete the winding plan for the magnetic field coil within this week."

"The second group, led by Academician Zhang, is to produce a trial sample of the first wall material within ten days."

"The third group, led by Chief Engineer Liu, will complete the detailed design of the heating system within two weeks."

"Group Four..."

Tasks were assigned one by one, with deadlines specified down to the day.

No one raised any objections. After half a month of adjustment, everyone understood their position and the young man's capabilities—his timetable, though seemingly tight, was actually quite flexible upon closer examination.

"Finally," Lin Feng looked around the room, "I have two things to say."

The meeting room became even quieter.

"First, this project is very difficult. So difficult that it may fail, it may be a waste of effort, and it may cause all of you here to have wasted several years of hard work."

He paused, then continued, "But secondly, this project is worthwhile. Worth risking everything for, worth betting our lives on. Because if it succeeds—"

He pointed to the rising sun outside the window:

"We can then put that kind of light into this device."

As soon as he finished speaking, the conference room was filled with the sound of synchronized breathing.

Then, Academician Li was the first to stand up and applaud.

Next came Academician Zhang, Chief Engineer Liu, Professor Chen…

Finally, all 123 people in the conference room stood up and applauded.

The applause wasn't enthusiastic, but it was heavy, like war drums.

Lin Feng watched this scene, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled:

"Meeting adjourned. Everyone back to your positions."

The order has been issued.

One hundred and twenty-three people, like well-trained soldiers, quickly left the conference room and went to their respective posts.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, laboratory doors opened one by one, and the roar of machinery gradually filled the air.

The Nuwa Project has officially begun.

Outside the window, the morning sun over Beijing is rising above the horizon.

Golden light streamed into the conference room, illuminating the empty chairs and the enormous design drawing.

And at the end of that light, it seemed that one could already see—

An artificial sun is rising.