The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

Chapter 200 Which old man could stand it?

A military airport in Fucheng.

A gray transport plane without any markings slowly emerged from the clouds, its tires making a dull screech as they touched the ground. It glided for a long distance before coming to a steady stop.

The hatch opened, and a blast of cold air rushed in.

Director Lu Weiguo was the first to step off the gangway.

He wore a dark-colored uniform jacket, his temples were gray, his face was calm, but his eyes were bloodshot and he looked somewhat tired.

From receiving the order to boarding the plane, it took him less than two hours.

Behind him, a dozen or so people dressed similarly filed out.

These people are the elite troops that 7** has kept hidden away.

Leading the group was Liu Guodong, the head of the Second Section. He was 53 years old, with gray hair, a slightly hunched back, and a habitual forward lean when walking.

He worked at the institute for nearly thirty years, growing from a young engineer to a middle-aged man.

Following behind him was Zhou Yongqiang, the deputy head of the third section, who was forty-seven years old, with a buzz cut, square face, and sharp eyes.

Next was Chen Zhe, a young backbone member of the Fourth Division, thirty-one years old, wearing black-rimmed glasses and carrying a silver combination lock suitcase.

This guy is known in the institute as the "most powerful brain" because of his excellent algorithm skills. But because he is too smart, he is arrogant and skeptical of many things.

At the very end of the line was a young woman.

He wore a dark blue bomber jacket over a dark turtleneck sweater, and his posture was upright with a brisk pace.

Qin Ye, 27 years old, is a doctoral student at a research institute and holds the rank of major.

At such a young age, she was able to be promoted to major, and she was a woman. In a place like the 7** Institute, which is full of hidden talents, there were bound to be many rumors and gossips.

Such things as "relying entirely on family connections," "coming to the institute is just for gilding your resume," and "in two years you'll be transferred to Beijing to work in an office."

But anyone who has actually worked with her knows that this girl is a monster.

Others consider it rigorous to conduct three sets of experiments, but she conducts thirty sets and still complains that the data is not clean enough.

While others read literature and abstracts, she reads literature by digging out and studying all the references, and then casually points out in a group meeting that a certain formula you used was cited from an outdated paper.

She volunteered to join the most challenging high-energy laser thermal management project in the institute. She was only 25 years old that year, the only woman in the project team, and the only one who dared to argue with the senior experts face-to-face.

At this moment, Qin was standing on the airport runway, the night breeze gently swaying her ponytail.

She looked up at the scattered lights of Fucheng city in the distance, her eyes revealing a cold light.

"Is this Fucheng?"

She spoke, her voice clear and melodious, with a hint of a smile.

"It's pretty ordinary, not what I imagined."

"What's it like in your imagination?" Chen Zhe, who was walking ahead, turned around and asked.

"It should have some of the characteristics of a superconducting capital, but now it looks no different from an ordinary third- or fourth-tier city."

Chen Zhe chuckled and adjusted his glasses: "The Superconducting Capital hasn't been built yet. Besides, wherever Ji Shen lives, that's the Superconducting Capital. It has nothing to do with the city itself."

"You're quite good at flattering people," Qin said, glancing at him sideways.

"I'm just stating the facts."

Chen Zhe shrugged: "Did you watch Ji Shen's live stream? Putting everything else aside, I have to admit I admire his R&D speed."

"I admire him as much as I do," Liu Guodong interjected, "but the materials we sent over, each project is a tough nut to crack that has been around for ten or twenty years. No matter how capable Ji Bai is, he can't possibly crack them all in a short time."

"I think the expectations set by the authorities this time are probably too high."

"Section Chief Liu is right." Zhou Yongqiang sighed, touching his almost bald head.

"The things in our institute can't be solved by one person having a flash of inspiration; you have to persevere, experiment, and keep hitting walls!"

"You can't say that. After all, they've achieved room-temperature superconductivity."

Chen Zhe expressed his dissatisfaction: "That thing took top laboratories around the world decades to figure out, and a high school student solved it. Doesn't that prove something?"

"What does that prove? At most, it shows he does have talent in materials science, but try putting him in charge of phased array radar!"

Liu Guodong said unhurriedly, "Xiao Chen, you studied this. Tell me yourself, how many majors are there between materials science and radar engineering?"

Chen Zhe opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Qin Ye then spoke up:

"I don't believe in those empty things."

"Room-temperature superconductivity is impressive, I acknowledge that, but the project in our institute is a different story."

"Take thermal management for high-energy lasers for example. I've been working on this for so long, the data is piled up all over the room, and the solutions are riddled with problems. No matter how good Ji Bai is, can he match the decades of accumulated experience of our entire institute?"

Qin paused, a defiant glint in his eyes:

"We shouldn't belittle ourselves just because someone is famous. We still need to compete where we need to."

"That's right!"

Section Chief Liu Guodong nodded emphatically: "Xiao Qin's words hit the nail on the head! We have to make the decisions about things in our institute."

Ultimately, it wasn't that the people didn't trust Ji Bai; it was just that they had been working on the project for so long, and suddenly they were asked to hand it over to someone else. Who could accept that?

Imagine raising a daughter for over a decade, only to have her suddenly call someone else "Dad," and that person is even younger than your daughter. Which old man could accept that?

Director Lu Weiguo walked at the front, listened for a long time, and did not turn around.

He couldn't stand it either!

"Alright, stop talking about it."

Director Lu raised his hand, glanced at his watch, and said in a deep voice, "Get in the car first."

A dark green bus with military license plates slowly drove up and stopped in front of the crowd.

Everyone boarded the bus one after another.

Qin Ye didn't rush up, but walked to Lu Weiguo's side and whispered:

"Director Lu, how about... we head straight to Ji Bai Research Institute now?"

Lu Weiguo turned his head slightly to look at her.

"Now?"

"Yes! We rushed over overnight just to see them as soon as possible, right? We brought all the documents, and they're here now, perfect timing."

"I agree with Xiao Qin's opinion."

Liu Guodong leaned out of the car window: "Let's get this done as soon as possible and go back. It's neither safe nor reassuring for us to keep these documents in our hands."

"I agree," Zhou Yongqiang nodded.

"I also think it's better to go now," Chen Zhe echoed.

Lu Weiguo looked at the group of people in front of him and remained silent for a moment.

He actually wanted to go too.

He was even more anxious than they were.

He wanted to see for himself whether the boy, who was rumored to be a miracle worker, really had three heads and six arms.

But just then, his phone rang.

Director Lu took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and his expression changed slightly.

He walked to the side and answered the phone.

"it's me."

"Um."

"I've landed, just got off the plane."