Chapter 122: Knowledge Repository

If she had not persisted in her daily practice of the Morning Sun Purple Qi Method and morning exercises for the past year, rarely skipping a day, and kept her body well-nourished, this single night would have been enough to drain her completely.

*I cannot push myself this hard again,* Wu Tong thought, deeply taking the lesson to heart.

"Come, Wu Tong, sit down first!" Cheng Huanan was truly startled, his heart racing. He was grateful he didn't have a heart condition.

He hurriedly helped Wu Tong to a seat. He had finally found a closed-door disciple of such caliber; he could not let anything happen to her. If the King of Hell were determined to take someone, he should take his own old bones instead and leave this young prodigy to bring more progress to the nation’s scientific research!

"How are you feeling now? Let’s go to the hospital and get checked out! I’ll make the arrangements!" Zheng Hongming quickly pulled out his phone, ready to make a call.

For a top-tier scholar like Wu Tong—a child with talent that could be called a national treasure—to have an incident in front of him would be a lifelong regret, far worse than any disciplinary action he might face.

"Drink some hot cocoa." Supporting Wu Tong to ensure she was settled, Lu Xiao scanned the table and spotted the cup of cocoa powder Zheng Hongming had brought earlier. He reached for it, tore off the seal, mixed it with boiling water from the nearby wall-mounted dispenser, and handed it to her. "Be careful, it’s a bit hot."

If this was merely temporary hypoglycemia, a high-calorie sweet drink should help soothe her.

"Thank you, Teacher Lu. Teacher, Director Zheng, there is no need to go to the hospital. I am truly fine! I’ve been a healthy child since I was little!" Wu Tong explained carefully again, almost raising her hand to swear an oath. She wanted to cover her face in embarrassment; she felt she had lost all dignity!

This was truly humiliating. She didn't want people thinking she was so frail she would collapse in a breeze.

"It’s still safer to go to the hospital and get checked," Elder Cheng insisted, still fearful of any potential risks.

"Teacher, I’m really fine, I just need to rest!" Wu Tong reassured him again. She knew her own body better than anyone; she was as healthy as could be. It was just that she had pushed herself too hard this time, causing a temporary energy deficit, and then stood up too abruptly, catching herself off guard.

She lowered her head to blow on the hot drink, taking small, gentle sips. As the warmth entered her body, it calmed her stomach and nerves, which had been slow to react to the sudden strain.

With the stress reaction fading and the timely replenishment of calories being rapidly absorbed and metabolized by her young body, the color in Wu Tong's face visibly improved.

This finally provided some relief to those present, though they remained cautiously concerned.

"Since you don't want to go to the hospital for now, we won't go. But there will be a mandatory medical examination and file setup arranged by the authorities in a few days. You must attend; you cannot dodge it," Lu Xiao cautioned.

As someone who had gone through special arrangements before, Lu Xiao remembered the general process. Once someone was on the priority list, the health department would schedule check-ups and maintain files, updating the data quarterly or semi-annually to ensure health trends were monitored and accidents prevented.

"No problem, no problem!" As long as they didn't drag her to the hospital now, she was fine. Being hospitalized for pulling an all-nighter would be a dark stain on her record forever; she preferred to keep some of her dignity.

"Come, come, you two seniors, let’s have breakfast!" Zheng Hongming went outside to collect the breakfast he had ordered. Once Lu Xiao had cleared the manuscripts from the table, he set the food down and joked, "It’s a bit rushed, just something from the nearby cafeteria. Director Lu, Wu Tong, please make do with this for now!"

Though he called it rushed, the spread was anything but: milk, eggs, porridge, tofu pudding, fried dough sticks, and both sweet and savory steamed buns. He had even thoughtfully prepared toiletries for Wu Tong and Lu Xiao, showing meticulous care.

"Wu Tong, don't be shy. With your knowledge and achievements, calling you 'Boss Wu' is perfectly appropriate!" The "boss" here didn't refer to the nouveau riche, but the standard term for a project lead in the scientific community.

With Lu Xiao and Elder Cheng jointly applying for the project, it was certain that Wu Tong would become the lead of a national key project. A seventeen-year-old in charge of a national key project, wielding a budget starting in the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions—this was setting a precedent for the nation, and perhaps the world.

Regrettably, due to the sensitive nature of the work, it all had to be done in secret. Otherwise, it would have shocked the nation and the world.

"I can't argue with you, Teacher. You and Director Zheng go ahead and eat; we’ll go wash up first!"

There was a restroom within the research facility. Wu Tong asked Elder Cheng and Zheng Hongming to start eating while she and Lu Xiao headed out. This time, Wu Tong remembered to stand up slowly and pace herself steadily, ensuring she wouldn't alarm anyone or cause further worry. Before leaving, Lu Xiao made sure to securely store the briefcase containing the manuscripts.

After breakfast, with the substantial, hearty meal filling her up, Wu Tong felt her condition improve even more, as if she could go another round.

Lu Xiao also seemed to have washed away the fatigue of a sleepless night of deduction, looking refreshed once more.

This couldn't help but make Cheng Huanan and Zheng Hongming sigh in admiration. It was good to be young; look at how quickly they recovered! They had managed to grab some sleep during the night, yet they still felt less energetic than these two. It was truly an enviable age, and the prime time for achieving great things!

"Wu Tong, go get some good rest. We’ll escort these materials and data back first. We’ll see each other often; I might be back tonight, so no need for a formal farewell!"

After organizing all the data and manuscripts from the past two days into the special portable safe they had brought, Zheng Hongming prepared to leave with a portion of the security detail. Given the significance of the findings, he had urgently and quietly brought in additional guards to the laboratory the previous day. While the facility looked unremarkable from the outside, its internal security had been upgraded to be impenetrable.

"See you at the base next time. When the J-20 'Wei Long' takes flight, I sincerely invite you on behalf of the project team to witness the maiden test flight!" Lu Xiao was also leaving to head back to the Xizhou Research Institute.

He had to prepare the new fighter model structure, run the latest data through wind tunnel tests, coordinate with other institutes on new engine and material parameters, and liaise with the aviation group and Factory 103 to organize the production of new materials... A mountain of work awaited his oversight, and not a moment could be wasted.

"See you next time!" Wu Tong waved goodbye. In her eyes, Lu Xiao was a walking library of genius.

The communication with Lu Xiao had been incredibly smooth, and she looked forward to another opportunity for such intellectual collision.

Nowadays, few people could keep up with her line of thinking. She deeply cherished and appreciated encountering someone who could communicate on the same plane, someone who could ignite sparks of thought and serve as a fountain of inspiration.

Through their exchange yesterday, Lu Xiao had perfected his fighter model, while she had absorbed a wealth of knowledge regarding fluid dynamics and kinetics—much of it cutting-edge, unavailable in the public domain, and often the result of Lu Xiao’s own research. It had greatly broadened her horizons and bolstered her knowledge base in this field.

A fighter jet equipped with the general solution to the Navier-Stokes equations—that would be the strongest in the world, wouldn't it?

That would be her next major research project!