Building a Sci-Fi Empire: Starting with Cold Nuclear Fusion

The next day, at 7:00 AM.

Chen Yuangang took Ayu to Jinghai.

Inside the car, Ah Yu said, "Take my car back."

Although he hadn't slept for more than a few hours, people in love are full of energy, and Chen Yuan was no exception.

He asked, "I'll drive back, what about you?"

Ah Yu smoothed her hair. "I still have one more."

Chen Yuan chuckled and said, "I know you have another car. What I mean is, I'll drive this one back, and then you..."

He paused halfway through his sentence, then realized what he meant, "Okay, I'll drive back, but I can't guarantee I'll be in Suzhou next week."

Ah Yu smiled and said, "You can drive to Luzhou. I'll just come find you then."

After thinking it over carefully, Chen Yuan said, "Alright, we'll see then, maybe I'll come to you."

"Whatever's convenient for you." Ah Yu pointed to her wrist. "Remember to wear that watch, don't be reluctant to part with it."

Chen Yuan saluted. "Yes, sir."

Ayu was amused and let out a clear laugh. "Okay, stop being silly. I'm going back to change my clothes and then go to my uncle's house."

"Wait a minute."

Chen Yuan called out to her.

Ah Yu, who had just opened the car door, turned her head and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Chen Yuan pointed to his lips. "Have you forgotten something?"

After yesterday's close contact, Ah Yu is no longer so shy.

She smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll kiss you then."

As she spoke, she looked around to make sure no one was there, then leaned over and gently touched Chen Yuan's lips.

Suddenly, Chen Yuan felt full of energy.

……

Back to Suzhou.

Chen Yuan took out the watch he had been reluctant to wear and put it on.

I ordered takeout for lunch.

I also sent a message to Ah Yu.

The other party sent me a photo of my cousin and the bride.

It was a little past 1:50 PM.

Chen Yuan sat in the living room chatting with Lawyer Zhang, who had just arrived.

Although the employment contract contains some special conditions, it does not involve sensitive or confidential information, which can be handled by a regular lawyer. However, if it involves sensitive or confidential information, he would not hire Attorney Zhang.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Chen Yuan called out, "They're here."

He knew who it was; Li Nian had just called.

Walk over and open the door.

Li Nian and three or four strangers came into view.

"Mr. Chen."

"Mr. Li, gentlemen, please come in."

"Your watch is really nice, what brand is it? I'll buy one too."

"An Omega, bought by my girlfriend."

"Wow, your girlfriend is really great. She even bought you such an expensive Omega watch. I'm so envious. I wish I had a girlfriend as good as her."

Chen Yuan and Li Nian chatted casually as they invited everyone into the house.

Afterwards, the group sat on the sofa and introduced themselves to each other.

The elderly, thin man in the crowd who was quite old and wore glasses was one of the vice presidents of the Institute of Plasma Physics, named Yu Xu.

The Institute of Plasma Physics has one executive vice president and three vice presidents.

He is one of the three vice deans, but not the executive vice dean.

Originally, Yu Xu, who is in charge of technology, shouldn't have come over to discuss onboarding.

He was just eager to see Chen Yuan, so he volunteered to come.

This shows how optimistic he is about Chen Yuan's "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" project.

Chen Yuan had heard of Yu Xu's reputation and knew that he held a high position in the field of magnetic confinement nuclear fusion research.

He respected the other person and stood up to extend his hand, saying, "Hello, Teacher Yu, it's an honor to meet you."

Yu Xu was completely unpretentious. He stood up to shake hands and replied respectfully, "Mr. Chen, hello. I was really eager to see your academic viewpoints in your paper last night. I'm so glad to finally meet you in person."

Chen Yuan humbly replied, "I'm just showing off my limited skills in front of you."

"Hey, you're too modest," Yu Xu said with a smile. "The points in your paper really enlightened me, and the technology is simply amazing. Can I talk to you about the 'Coronal Mass Ejection Simulator' device?"

Chen Yuan nodded and said, "No problem."

Afterwards, Li Nian, Attorney Zhang, and several others watched as Chen Yuan and Yu Xu discussed technology.

They chatted for more than half an hour.

During the conversation, Yu Xu fell into deep thought several times, and occasionally asked for advice like a primary school student.

Except for the key technologies that he did not disclose, Chen Yuan spoke frankly and openly about everything else he knew.

At this point, the conversation was coming to an end.

Yu Xu exclaimed, "The student surpasses the teacher. Although Mr. Chen is young, his research on nuclear fusion technology has far surpassed mine."

Chen Yuan humbly replied, "Teacher Yu, please don't say that. I still have a lot to learn from you."

Li Nian and the others exchanged bewildered glances.

They were certainly aware of Yu Xu's expertise and achievements in nuclear fusion technology.

I wouldn't dare call him a paragon of his craft, but he's at least a master.

This master-level figure actually admitted that he was inferior to Chen Yuanyuan in his field of expertise?

Li Nian and the others immediately realized that Chen Yuan was very likely to become a leading figure in nuclear fusion research in China in the future, and their eyes became humble and respectful.

Yu Xu, utterly perplexed, asked, "Your research on nuclear fusion is so in-depth, and you're such a humble person. I'm very curious, why didn't we reach an agreement when I first contacted your company, Huazhong Nuclear Power?"

Chen Yuan explained simply, "When Academician Xin heard 'hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere,' he probably thought I was going to install a Dyson sphere device on the hydrogen bomb, so he didn't listen. In the end, I contacted everyone else."

Yu Xu chuckled and said, "No wonder. We researchers don't even have this much patience. It's no wonder we missed out on you. I reckon Huahe will be ridiculed for years because of this. Alright, shall we talk about cooperation?"

Chen Yuan perked up and said, "Alright, please go ahead."

Yu Xu looked to the side.

Li Nian took the document out of her briefcase and handed it over.

Yu Xu took the document without opening it. "Regarding salary and R&D funding, Xiao Li mentioned before that there have been no changes, so I won't go into details. Let's talk about some more practical issues."

Chen Yuan nodded, signaling the other party to continue.

Yu Xu said, "You can't just be a regular researcher when you join our research institute, but you only have a bachelor's degree and little work experience. Besides that paper, you don't have any other notable research achievements... Hey, do you have any research achievements we don't know about?"

Chen Yuan replied, "Do battery cells, nuclear batteries, and cochlear implants count?"

Yu Xu asked, "If nuclear batteries count, what technology of nuclear batteries did you develop?"

Chen Yuan explained the two types of nuclear batteries he had developed and detailed their specifics.

Li Nian, Attorney Zhang, and several others were quite surprised.

They never expected that Chen Yuan, despite his young age, would already have market-leading achievements in nuclear battery research and development.

Attorney Zhang, in particular, was quite surprised when he reviewed the contract for Chen Yuan's cooperation with Kangnuo last time.

It turned out that he only found out today that this young regular customer was actually more capable than he had imagined.

Yu Xu was equally surprised, but he didn't show it.

He said, "These two nuclear batteries are quite good research results. It's a pity that your academic qualifications and work experience are insufficient, otherwise you could be selected as an associate researcher. But it's okay, we will specially appoint you as an associate researcher. Although you don't have a formal title, you can enjoy the treatment of an associate professor. Once you produce some significant research results within a certain period of time, you can officially obtain the title."

Although public institutions can play a key role in the professional title evaluation process, the final confirmation authority usually rests with the government's human resources and social security department or its authorized professional title review committee.

Therefore, it's understandable that the Institute of Plasma Physics couldn't directly grant Chen Yuan the associate professor title, since there's a procedure to follow.

At this point, Yu Xu suddenly laughed and said, "The work you'll be doing this time is quite substantial. If you achieve results, it won't be enough to justify having a deputy senior professional title, right?"

"Hehe, yes."

"If the project succeeds, having an academician is a guaranteed minimum."

"Not only academicians, but winning the Nobel Prize would be a piece of cake for them."

"Haha, if semi-controlled nuclear fusion is achieved, even Nobel would have to get up and kowtow to Professor Chen."

Li Nian and the others seemed to be joking, but in reality, they were expressing their feelings.

Chen Yuan then said a few more humble words.

Afterwards, Yu Xu talked about some basic benefits and treatment.

For example, providing a car, a house, and an assistant.

It didn't take long to finish speaking.

Yu Xu asked, "Mr. Chen, do you have a question?"

"There are no problems in these aspects." Chen Yuan shook his head and pointed to the contract on the table, saying, "However, there are three points I hope you can include in the contract terms."

Yu Xu sat up straight and said, "Please speak."

Chen Yuan said, "First, no one can interfere with my project work. I will do it the way I say, and I will use the funds wherever I say they will be used. I know that the destination of funds should be clearly stated, so you can rest assured that I will not misappropriate a single penny. All funds will be used for the project, and I will be subject to supervision at any time. But as I said before, no one can interfere with my project work, not even the leaders above me."

Yu Xu hesitated for a moment, "I can't make a decision about this. How about I make a phone call and ask?"

Chen Yuan said, "Okay."

Yu Xu got up and went to the balcony to make a phone call.

About five minutes later, his first words upon entering the room were, "Okay, what's your second request?"

Chen Yuan said, "The second requirement is very simple: I can resign at any time after I complete the project."

Yu Xu knew that it would be difficult for the Institute of Plasma Physics to retain someone as outstanding as Chen Yuan.

The reason the other party agreed to take the position is probably only to work on the project.

If an ordinary person said that, Yu Xu would definitely not care, but the Institute of Plasma Physics invited Chen Yuan to work for the semi-controlled nuclear fusion project.

As long as the project can be completed, everything else is negotiable.

After a moment's thought, Yu Xu said, "Okay."

Chen Yuan nodded and said, "For my third request, I can sign a confidentiality agreement and a non-compete agreement, but the non-compete agreement will only be valid until the moment I leave the company, and it will expire immediately after I leave. The confidentiality agreement is fine, and a longer term is also acceptable."

Yu Xu seemed to have noticed something and asked softly, "Are you planning to develop some major project after finishing the 'Hydrogen Bomb Dyson Sphere' project? I'm just asking casually. If it's inconvenient for you to answer, it's fine if you don't say anything."

Chen Yuan admitted, "Yes, I can't say exactly what I'll be doing for now. What I need right now is seniority, so I'm going to work at your research institute. Once I have that seniority, I'll want to work with people beyond the research institute, and... you know what I mean."

Yu Xu, Li Nian, Attorney Zhang, and the others all understood, and their expressions turned serious.

Yu Xu, in particular, sensed something unusual in those words.

Could it be that Chen Yuan has mastered nuclear fusion-related technologies that are more advanced than the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere"?

Although Yu Xu had such doubts, out of respect for the principle, he did not ask, but directly agreed: "The term of the non-compete agreement is not a problem."

Chen Yuan stood up happily and extended his hand again, saying, "Okay, then I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

Yu Xu stood up, shook hands, and said firmly, "Our cooperation will definitely be very pleasant!"

As Chen Yuan shook hands with Yu Xu, he was filled with excitement. Finally, they were going to develop controlled nuclear fusion.

Yes, the reason he put forward the first condition was not to develop the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" project at all, but to prepare to build a real controlled nuclear fusion reactor.

Only by building a controllable nuclear fusion reactor can he conduct research and development on cold fusion; otherwise, the energy supply would be insufficient to support such a large project.

Yu Xu, Li Nian, and the rest of the research team, as well as the people behind them, had no idea what kind of surprise Chen Yuan would bring next. They were still dreaming about the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere".