My whole family is involved in diplomacy, so you dare to flex your muscles?

Scott felt like he had punched cotton; instead of hurting his opponent, he was pricked by needles hidden inside the cotton, leaving him bleeding profusely.

His proud Artemis Protocol was deconstructed by Gu Yun using the analogy of "Chang'e flying to the moon".

His proud resource development was looked down upon by Gu Yunyong for "growing vegetables".

How can we argue this out?

They're not even on the same wavelength!

"Gu Yun!" Scott took a deep breath, deciding to abandon these abstract cultural debates and return to the most realistic level. "No matter what you say, we still hold the reins of the International Space Station!"

Although your "Heavenly Palace" is under construction, it is still too small in size!

If you refuse to cooperate and refuse to use common English, you are isolating yourselves!

"Self-isolation?" Gu Yun asked as if she had heard a joke. "Scott, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'isolation'?"

"The current situation is that the whole world wants to get on our ship because your ship is sinking. But because of your arrogance and unwillingness to learn Chinese, you can't get on."

"Does this mean we're isolating you?"

"You've ruined yourselves."

Gu Yun walked to the edge of the stage and looked at the audience below.

"Actually, I'm not an unreasonable person. That hearing test just now was probably a bit difficult."

"To show our sincerity, I am willing to offer you Western elites another opportunity right here on the spot."

"If you can answer this question correctly, I'll suggest to the space agency that we issue you a standing ticket to Tiangong. How about that?"

Scott's eyes lit up. Even a standing ticket is still a ticket!

As long as you can get online, you can steal technology... no, you can share technology!

"Fine! You give me the question!" Scott gritted his teeth. "I refuse to believe that Chinese is really that difficult! I have a PhD in linguistics from Oxford University!"

"An Oxford PhD? Excellent." Gu Yun nodded approvingly.

"Listen carefully, this question is about 'meaning'."

Gu Yunqing cleared her throat and imitated the dialogue between the two:

Scenario: A leader gives a gift to a subordinate.

Subordinate: Boss, what do you mean by this?

"Boss: It doesn't mean anything, it's just a token."

Subordinate: Well, that's not very kind of you.

"Boss: Hey, you're really something else."

Subordinate: Actually, I didn't mean anything by it.

"Boss: Then I'm sorry."

After Gu Yun finished speaking, he looked with a smile at Scott, who was completely petrified, and the translation team next to him who were frantically flipping through dictionaries and sweating profusely.

"Excuse me, Dr. Scott."

What does each of the "meanings" here mean?

The entire audience: "..."

Scott: "..."

The tablet computer in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

He looked at Gu Yun, his eyes filled with despair. Is this even human language?

Why do the same two words feel completely different in every sentence?

What does "meaning" mean? He feels that life has no meaning anymore!

"This...this..." Scott stammered for a long time before finally looking to the judges for help.

However, Professor Hamilton on the judging panel had already closed his eyes and pretended to have fainted.

Even God would be stumped by this kind of question.

"It seems that an Oxford doctorate isn't all that valuable when it comes to Chinese culture," Gu Yun said, shaking his head regretfully.

"Since you can't answer that, there's nothing we can do."

"If you want to communicate with our space station in the future, or if you want to say hello to our base on the moon."

"Please enroll in a Chinese class first and learn it well before you come back."

"After all, in space, not understanding instructions can be fatal."

"and……"

Gu Yun suddenly dropped his joking expression and his tone became serious.

"I'm not just making things difficult for you."

"I'm teaching you how to adapt to the future."

"For the past hundred years, you have defined the world with English, forcing everyone to learn your language and follow your rules."

"We learned it, we endured it, and we even learned it better than you did."

"But now, times have changed."

"When our spaceships fly to Mars, when our bases are spread across the moon, when our space station becomes humanity's only ark."

"Chinese is the universal language of the future."

"This is not hegemony, it is the natural selection of strength."

"Whether you learn it or not is up to you."

"Anyway, the spaceship won't wait for anyone."

After Gu Yun finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to his seat, leaving behind a dashing silhouette.

Scott stood in the center of the stage, like an abandoned child. Looking at the huge space station on the big screen with its Chinese-language interface, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness for the first time.

That was the fear of being abandoned by the times.

[Awesome! So awesome! I was dizzy just listening to that part, let alone foreigners!]

This is true cultural confidence! We used to suffer through the CET-4 and CET-6 exams, now it's their turn to take the Chinese listening comprehension test!

[Brother Gu is right, this isn't about hegemony, it's about strength! If you're so capable, why don't you build a space station yourself!]

Seeing their bewildered expressions, I'm sure I can eat two extra bowls of rice tonight!

[Gu Yun: I'm not targeting anyone in particular, I'm just saying that everyone here has terrible Chinese skills.]

Just then, host Mark finally found an opportunity to interject.

He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, trying to get back on track.

"Uh... thank you, Mr. Gu Yun, for your wonderful... language teaching. It seems that Chinese is indeed profound and extensive."

"However, the game must continue."

"Although there are disputes between the two sides regarding the space station and cultural ownership, there is one area that absolutely cannot be ignored."

That is—deep space exploration and Mars colonization!

"In this regard, SpaceX in the United States already has concrete plans. As for China, it seems to be still in the stage of unmanned exploration."

Mark looked at Scott and gave him a "seize the opportunity" look.

Scott took a deep breath and picked up the tablet from the ground again. This was his last lifeline.

"That's right!" Scott exclaimed. "Earth is just a cradle; humanity can't stay in the cradle forever! Our goal is the stars! It's Mars!"

"We have Musk! We have Starship! We plan to send humans to Mars within ten years!"

"Gu Yun, what about you? Besides growing vegetables on the moon, what other grand visions do you have?"

"Do you dare to compete with us to see who can land on Mars first?"

Scott thought he had found China's weakness. After all, manned missions to Mars are an incredibly difficult undertaking.

However, Gu Yun did not show the embarrassment he expected when he heard these words.

Instead, Gu Yun's expression became very strange.

That expression was like looking at a fool who was showing off that he had bought fake medicine.

"Mars?" Gu Yun raised an eyebrow. "You mean that desolate planet with a terribly thin atmosphere, no magnetic field, and radiation so intense it could cook you alive?"

"Where are you going to immigrate?"

"Of course!" Scott puffed out his chest. "That's humanity's second home! A symbol of courage!"

"Courage?" Gu Yun smiled. "I think it's a symbol of 'seeking death'."

"However, since you've brought up deep space exploration..."

"Let me show you something too."

"Frank, cut the diagram. Release that 'South Heavenly Gate Project' PowerPoint presentation."

"Although it's just a 'concept,' I think it's a little bit more reliable than your starship or something."