Chapter 116: Willing

Fortunately, there were no special projects these past couple of days. Everyone remaining in the laboratory was trustworthy, and everything was under control.

Ruan Chengxu promptly began collecting the phones that others had handed over in cooperation; this was standard procedure. They had practiced or even experienced this before, so everyone willingly complied, their excitement palpable. In a sense, they had also participated in a confidential project, becoming secret warriors themselves.

They could confidently swear that their loyalty was unwavering, their hearts devoted to the Party, following its commands without question—model citizens and exemplary youths of the new era.

As the tests progressed, everyone grew more exhilarated. Under room temperature conditions, each result amazed them; the data surpassed their expectations, showing outstanding superiority.

With anticipation, they moved on to the more critical high-temperature tests. This new titanium-aluminum alloy material could withstand temperatures exceeding two thousand degrees Celsius. Its performance under such extreme heat—structural integrity, creep resistance—was even more remarkable.

Such a material was nothing short of a celestial star descending upon the aviation industry!

Cheng Huanan understood the significance deeply. Moreover, this was no longer just a laboratory product; the preparation process established by Wu Tong was scalable into a production line, ready for immediate manufacturing. If designing and developing this new material was the foremost achievement, then this was the second invaluable highlight.

He had others conduct repeated tests to gather more data on the new material. Cheng Huanan immediately took out his special phone reserved for confidential missions and made a call. He needed to report upward at once and ensure that both the data and the researcher, Wu Tong, were protected without delay.

Before the call connected, Cheng Huanan instructed Wu Tong to thoroughly organize and perfect all the data on this material, keeping the most detailed information solely in her possession. Even if a hint of information leaked, without the detailed data, immediate reproduction would be impossible.

In the office, Cheng Huanan placed Wu Tong on an equal footing, speaking earnestly: "Wu Tong, I won’t beat around the bush. The material you designed is a groundbreaking leader in aerospace materials. It holds immense significance for the nation and immeasurable economic value. Its worth is not in the billions or hundreds of billions—that’s just the beginning. I can’t elaborate further on its uses right now."

In truth, Wu Tong, as the material’s developer, understood its potential well. In military and aerospace sectors, such projects that uphold the nation’s global standing are tremendously important.

Wu Tong nodded. There was no need to spell it out for her; she had found her direction and simply created the material. How it would be used was not her area of expertise.

What mattered was that it would be useful—that was what she wished to see.

"Before the commissioner arrives, Wu Tong, I want to seriously ask you—and also request—would you be willing to hand this new material over to the country? There may not be much financial compensation, and for some time, this achievement might not be publicly disclosed. Nor can I promise the fame or improvement in your personal life that might come with it. Of course, I will do everything I can to secure compensation for you."

From data derivation to material modeling, composition, process matching, and even the comprehensive production process, Wu Tong had done it all alone. There was no doubt that this new titanium-aluminum alloy belonged to her.

Anyone who dared to steal Wu Tong’s achievement would find her the first to oppose it—regardless of whether she chose to submit her work.

After all, this new alloy could revolutionize aerospace materials like a storm. Its immense value could not be lightly abandoned. This was no longer an era when people selflessly contributed without expecting anything in return. Cheng Huanan could not demand saintly selflessness from everyone.

"I am willing. This is my aspiration!" Wu Tong replied without hesitation, nodding firmly. "Even before deriving the data and the material model, I thought that if I could offer even a little help to the country, it would be my honor. Besides, without your guidance and the laboratory’s support, this material would have remained just theoretical."

"Moreover, I have some confidence in research and study, but handling operations, publicity, or business—that’s beyond my skill set. I’d probably be in danger before I even figured things out!" The cunning and deadly temptations of commerce were no friendly domain. Her uncle’s modest enterprise had been built through countless struggles by the whole family.

"You need not worry about that, Wu Tong. The country will protect your safety. Your talent and achievements are precious national assets," Cheng Huanan assured her decisively. Then he stood and solemnly bowed to her.

"On behalf of the organization, I thank you for your contribution, Wu Tong."

"Old Cheng, you flatter me too much!" Wu Tong quickly steadied the elder’s movement. "I really can’t compare to you veterans who have contributed so much to the nation. What I’ve done is nothing."

"Old Cheng, you’re stealing our job!" A clear, bright voice called out as a group led by Ruan Chengxu, who was on external watch, entered.

Wu Tong raised her eyebrows in surprise upon seeing the leader of the newcomers. This was...

"Hello, Wu Tong. It’s a pleasure to see you again!" Lu Xiao greeted her with a slight nod, taking them back to yesterday.

At 11 p.m. at the Xizhou 606 Research Institute’s General Office,

After finishing a data analysis and discussion meeting, Lu Xiao returned to compare multiple data sets again. In the blink of an eye, the data switched and compared at a terrifying speed in his mind. If he had special abilities to display data visually, he would have been overwhelmed by the massive flow.

After a while, no new inspiration came. Lu Xiao relaxed, leaned back, and rubbed his brow to ease the tension. Closing his eyes briefly, he recalled the materials Dean Pan had sent him and immediately retrieved them for careful study. He did not take it lightly; materials sent by Dean Pan were always extraordinary.

He had been too busy during the day—too many data to analyze, too many decisions to make—to study it sooner.

With serious intent and anticipation, Lu Xiao opened the encrypted files sent by Pan Wenhua. The enormous mathematical model drew him into a storm of mathematics, cleansed by the beauty of logic and aesthetics.

Most importantly, it offered him some insight to overcome his current bottleneck. At the end, he saw a note from Pan Wenhua: the model was developed by Wu Tong from Peking University, the prover of the Zhou’s conjecture, the twin prime conjecture, and the Polignac conjecture.

Lu Xiao couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in admiration. Such is the wonder of fate.

(End of chapter)