Chapter 173 Setting the Tone

Without Chu Hengyuan needing to spell it out, they all knew full well why they had been summoned for this research project initiation: to be asked for funding, of course! But as for those bottomless financial pits, they certainly had no spare cash to throw into them.

However, if Wu Tong were to lead the research and development, and it turned out to be the cutting-edge air-to-air missile required by the Air Force, well, that was a different story—that was negotiable!

Wu Tong was branching out into missile development? Oh? Oh? Now this was worth considering. A genius was likely a genius wherever she went. As the brilliant mathematician who had single-handedly doubled the performance data of the Mighty Dragon, they owed her their full support. Just in case she managed to pull off another "Mighty Dragon-style" miracle, combining the Mighty Dragon with a revolutionary, ultra-high-performance air-to-air missile would mean the Air Force could finally hold their heads high and smile in their sleep!

Compared to the Air Force, which had a direct stake in the matter, the leader from the Artillery Corps was somewhat out of the loop and failed to react in time.

"Who is Wu Tong?" Why did the name sound so unfamiliar? He couldn't recall any top-tier expert in the missile research community bearing that name. Was this some sudden, dark-horse newcomer?

"A project initiation for the PL-15? Isn't the PL-14 still under development? Hasn't Chief Hua always been in charge of missile development? Why change the lead for a new project?" Could this meteoric dark horse be trusted? Compared to a stranger with an unfamiliar name, they still placed their trust in Hua Yanxing, who had already delivered extraordinary achievements.

When the question "Who is Wu Tong?" was uttered, several heavyweights in the scientific research community cast sidelong glances at the speaker. It was truly rare nowadays for anyone not to know who Wu Tong was. How many geniuses of that caliber could possibly exist across the entire country?

Even they had to admit that the girl was the pride of China! In her presence, they all had to concede to their age.

"What? Is Wu Tong famous?" Feeling the collective gaze of so many eyes, the Artillery leader was somewhat baffled. Had he committed some sort of taboo? Raising a hand to rub the back of his head, he suddenly recalled a news report from the national press: "Is it that mathematical genius Wu Tong? The one who solved some world-class problem and brought glory to the country? That kid?"

He remembered the newspaper reporting at the time that the child was only sixteen years old, right? Allowing for another year having passed, she was barely seventeen now? A seventeen-year-old child was going to take charge as the principal leader of a national-level project like the PL-15?

And she had dragged such a massive gathering of industry elites here for a review? Had he not woken up yet, or had Chu Hengyuan lost his mind and started dreaming?

He cast an incredulous look at Chu Hengyuan, who was presiding over the meeting from the center. Was this some kind of joke?

"Ahem..." The Air Force leader covered his mouth with a slight cough as a reminder. It was precisely as you were thinking.

Don't be so honest in displaying the fact that you were out of the information loop to everyone present. Although this was due to confidentiality protocols, Old Wu, why haven't you learned how to read the room yet? Didn't you notice that so many top-tier scientific researchers haven't rushed to voice their opinions?

If they hadn't belonged to the same brotherhood, he truly wouldn't have wanted to admit that this fellow was on his side.

"The PL-14 will still be led by Chief Hua Yanxing, while the PL-15 was applied for by Chief Hua and will be led by Wu Tong. Everyone present here is trustworthy; once you walk out these doors, not a single word of this may be leaked. Some of you probably already know that the maiden test flight of the Mighty Dragon J-20 was successfully completed, achieving data of 3.22 Mach and a range of up to twenty thousand kilometers... This earth-shattering performance data stems in part from Wu Tong's optimization of the WS-15 engine and her extraordinary contributions to materials science. This is China's great fortune, and such a top-tier scholar stands firmly on China's side!"

Taking advantage of the Artillery leader's remark, Chu Hengyuan offered a brief explanation.

"Wu Tong's achievements in mathematics are plain for the entire world to see. As for her classified accomplishments in the fields of engines and materials science, all of you are now aware of them. Now, at Chief Hua's earnest request, Wu Tong is once again charging into the field of missilery, having already designed and researched a new type of aviation engine and its matching novel propellant."

"The projected data for the new engine is exceptionally superior, utilizing Wu Tong's signature flow-field design. As for the novel propellant, Wu Tong has proposed two distinct directions: one is an ultra-superior propellant with a predicted specific impulse starting at eight hundred, and the other..." Chu Hengyuan glanced around at the attendees, particularly the representatives from the Air Force and Artillery, "...is a high-energy explosive whose performance is predicted to be twenty times that of TNT per unit mass!"

"Twenty times TNT?" The Artillery leader, Wu, couldn't help staring in shock, his eyes widening. To be honest, at his level, he had seen every kind of storm and stress; nowadays, no matter how many difficulties or obstacles he faced, his expression wouldn't even flicker.

Yet at this moment, he was genuinely shocked.

Was he certain this wasn't a joke? Were they bullying him because his academic background wasn't as lofty as theirs, trying to trick him with all these convoluted schemes?

His Artillery Corps had always dealt with munitions. What on earth was the concept of a high-energy explosive twenty times more powerful than TNT? It would surpass every high explosive currently in existence worldwide. The opposing side boasted of seizing the crown of explosives with their new military high explosive, yet that was merely twice the power of TNT.

Even domestic China's finest explosive, CL-20, could not compare to it.

Was this definitely not just boasting and shouting slogans to defraud the state of funding?

"Has that so-called metallic hydrogen actually been synthesized?" They had indeed heard rumors that a laboratory across the ocean had worked on metallic hydrogen, estimating it could be twenty to thirty times more powerful than ordinary explosives.

"Leader Wu, please allow me to finish speaking, and everyone can look at the documents in your hands!" Chu Hengyuan didn't mind Leader Wu's astonishment; when he had first seen the data, he hadn't fared much better than the other man.

Chu Hengyuan decided to get straight to the point. Whether it was true or not could be seen in the detailed documents—he would let the experts do the talking. Even though he wasn't a professional in the field, he knew what a starting specific impulse of eight hundred and twenty times the power of TNT truly signified! This was the cadence of an epoch-making revolution in the aerospace industry!

The experts summoned here for this briefing were arguably the top authorities in the fields relevant to the project proposal. They were here to judge its feasibility! If there was even a thirty or forty percent probability of success, they were willing to take the gamble.

If they succeeded, China's aerospace industry would rise to even greater heights, firmly establishing itself among the ranks of the world's major powers.

The few experts who had already gone through one round of project seminars for Wu Tong immediately lowered their heads to examine the documents in their hands.

"Polynitrogen compounds? Polynitrogen ionic salts? Polynitrogen certainly possesses such explosive potential. Previous laboratory verifications showed that the N14 molecule has extremely unstable explosive properties, and there is also an experiment similar to metallic hydrogen where metallic nitrogen can be formed under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions."

"Simulation predictions indicate it must be formed under pressures ten thousand times that of the atmosphere and temperatures exceeding 7,000 degrees Celsius to yield metallic nitrogen, with an energy density over ten times that of TNT."

"Metallic nitrogen is indeed synthesized from nitrogen gas, and therefore possesses the stable properties of nitrogen, but its synthesis and fabrication are far too difficult to achieve, let alone industrialize. Therefore, although metallic nitrogen boasts higher safety performance and greater destructive power, very few countries currently pursue its development because it is incompatible with present technological conditions!"

They were the first to express astonishment at the emergence of polynitrogen compounds. None of the people seated here were mediocre; they immediately established the tone: nitrogen-synthesized materials indeed possessed this potential. "This is a remarkably hot topic in the field of high-energy materials, and many advanced research institutes around the world are conducting similar research!"

It was just that no one had produced results yet, leaving polynitrogen products and gas metallization confined to theoretical predictions and occasional lucky laboratory accidents.