Chapter 126: Critique Session

"Come now, Brother Cheng, we're all on the same side here. No need to bully your own people!" Engineer Zhan was well-versed in the art of knowing when to yield. After the initial shock, he realized his earlier words had been ill-tempered.

He changed his tune instantly. Any fool would know to scramble for such high-performance materials for their own projects; he was in dire need of them. He couldn't afford to have Old Cheng hold back the requisition forms out of spite, and there would be nowhere to appeal such a decision. Swallowing his pride was no disgrace—what was face, anyway? It wasn't worth a penny!

"To actually create such a formidable material—Old Cheng, you're amazing!" Engineer Zhan gave a thumbs-up in genuine admiration. With such superior materials, the nation's aviation industry could take a massive leap forward.

His professional eye was sharp. "This material—it's enough to be used for engine blades, isn't it?"

"Of course, though we have even more suitable materials for blades. This is for the fuselage!" Cheng Huanan straightened his back with pride; the old man was feeling quite boastful today. "T4 titanium-aluminum alloy. High resistance, high defense, the best titanium-aluminum alloy there is. Its mass is lighter than standard fuselage materials, reducing the aircraft's weight, which allows for a higher thrust-to-weight ratio and greater ordnance capacity."

"Master is brilliant. I need to go back to the school and start learning all over again!" Zhang Shaoming clapped softly to support his teacher. He was Cheng Huanan’s first disciple, having been elected an academician of the Division of Materials Science and Engineering two years prior. Mindful of his teacher's devoted instruction over the years, Zhang held him in high regard. He had been one of the assistants who quietly stood up to help Old Cheng with the projector earlier. He had remained silent only to avoid the appearance of a nepotistic clique, especially since those who spoke out were his elders. Now, seeing his teacher's state, he immediately voiced his support.

"You're congratulating the wrong person. What you should be congratulating is the fact that this old man found you a brilliant junior apprentice sister. You can discuss this when you return, but not with me—with your junior sister. She is the designer and developer of this T4 titanium-aluminum alloy material on the screen, as well as the upcoming T5 single-crystal nickel-iron alloy blade material. Her name is Wu Tong!"

"Wu Tong? The child who recently rose to fame—the one who proved the three major conjectures: the Zhou Conjecture, the Twin Prime Conjecture, and the Polignac Conjecture? Or is it just someone with the same name?" Yan Chunli, head of the Mathematical Statistics and Analysis Department at the Aviation Group and an academician of the Academy of Sciences, exclaimed in surprise. For those in mathematics, that name had become incredibly sensitive recently.

After all, not everyone could deliver a one-hour lecture at the recently concluded International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad and demonstrate the level of a top-tier international scholar. His close friend, Ming Enhe, had attended the event as a representative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and had just finished sharing his excitement and awe with him.

"Of course, it is that same child. Peking University only has one Wu Tong!" Cheng Huanan said with deep emotion. "She drew inspiration at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Hyderabad, translated the material science problem into a mathematical one, and, by combining it with dynamics, derived and designed the mathematical model for this T4 alloy. When she returned, Old Pan from the Peking University School of Mathematical Sciences put her in touch with me, and she came to my laboratory for experimental verification. I initially thought it was just a whim of hers. However, when we ran the simulations, the data was astonishing, and the actual results were even more staggering than the simulated ones!"

Cheng Huanan sighed. Thank goodness he hadn't let his own empiricism block the path of such a brilliant child. If he had lost such an epoch-making new aviation material, he would have been a sinner against the nation.

*Heh, heh... and so you, Old Cheng, managed to pick up a huge bargain, tricking her into your fold while she didn't know the ropes? Acting as if you taught her everything yourself?* The attendees couldn't help but inwardly grumble as they watched Cheng's proud display. However, since he held the "big gun" in his hands, even the fiery Engineer Zhan kept his mouth shut.

As if guessing their thoughts, Cheng Huanan continued proudly, "I've said that I don't deserve to be this child's teacher. But Wu Tong insisted; she holds me in high regard. So I had no choice but to swallow my pride and hold this position, barely managing to guide her path and provide a stepping stone in her journey through material science!"

What did it matter if they were unhappy? Who told them he had such a good student like Wu Tong, after they had spent all that time picking at him? Today, he was paying it all back! There would be plenty of times for them to be green with envy in the future!

Of course, Cheng Huanan didn't just spend his time boasting. He moved straight to the point, introducing the performance, prospects, and current manufacturing status of the T4 alloy. He then proceeded to introduce the T5 blade material and its projected data.

With these materials, their WS-15 engines could grow wings like a tiger. Coupled with the parameters optimized by Wu Tong, they could truly eliminate the "heart disease" that had long plagued Chinese fighter jets. Finally, by incorporating the refined aircraft design from that young man, Lu Xiao, their "Chinese Divine Eagle" would be capable of maintaining a top-tier international standard, possessing the ability for beyond-visual-range precision strikes, and safeguarding complete control over their airspace.

"Good!" Most of those present were experts. Even if they weren't material scientists, they were in the aviation sector and were highly sensitive to such data.

"This material is real. Our fighter jet thrust can increase by at least a few percentage points. The fuselage material is high-density and lightweight, and the engine blade performance is superior. Surpassing the so-called 'Raptor' on the other side is no small feat. Old Cheng, your student did a beautiful job this time!"

Academician Lu, Engineer Zhan, and the others applauded. For the birth of such an epoch-making material, they didn't mind letting Cheng Huanan be smug for a while! After all, Old Cheng had a sharp eye and had stumbled upon a stroke of luck to bring such a brilliant apprentice into his fold. One senior student was Zhang Shaoming, a newly elected academician of the Academy of Engineering; the junior student was already an internationally top-tier mathematician and was now shining in material science. She was clearly a candidate for the dual academies. To have such talent under his wing was truly enviable!

"Approve it, Director Lin. This must be approved! We used to throw hundreds of millions, even billions, at materials, often to no avail. Now that Wu Tong and Old Cheng have created a physical prototype of a new material with such astonishing data, the second type of blade material is highly likely to succeed, solving the major 'heart disease' problem of our engines! What is three hundred million? Even if it were three billion, we have to do it! If we have to tighten our belts this year to produce and put these two materials into operation, it will be our greatest success! As for the internal report, I'll be the first to sign it!" Engineer Zhan raised his hand first.

If these two materials were truly brought to market, his H-20 project would no longer remain a paper simulation; it could become a reality, move toward implementation, and soon take flight into the blue sky.