Chapter 18 — After I Resigned, the Whole Academic World Upraised

I'm like a circus performer walking on a tightrope. Just a little bit off. Everything will fall into the abyss. Little by little. I adjusted the frequency of the plasma's confining magnetic field. 3.5 Hertz... 3.6 Hertz... Everyone held their breath. Stare at the screen. The oscillations began to weaken. It's effective! My heart almost jumped out of my chest. The moment I locked the frequency at exactly 3.7 Hertz. The two curves were shaking crazily. Like being smoothed by an invisible hand. In the blink of an eye. Completely stable. Smooth as a mirror.

“Success!”

The long-suppressed cheers finally exploded. The whole laboratory seemed to come back to life. I gently leaned against the console. The whole body is limp. Cold sweat had soaked the back of my shirt. But I don't dare relax. Real challenge. Just getting started.

“Maintain the same temperature.”

“Entering the crystal growth stage.”

The next two hours. It's a long time. And the most tormenting. The blue light inside the reactor gradually turned bright yellow. That's when silicon carbide crystal fibers are growing at the atomic level. One micrometer at a time. One micrometer at a time. Growing up silently. 12 noon.

“The development phase is over.”

“Starting to cool down.”

This process. Even more dangerous than heating. Just a sudden temperature change. The fragile crystal structure will crumble immediately. It took us a full six hours. Just brought the temperature in the oven to a safe level. The reaction chamber door slowly opened. Everyone immediately gathered around. Inside the quartz bowl. There is no metallic shine as imagined. There was only a thin layer of dark gray material. It looks exactly like a bunch of burnt cotton. Ly Triet was stunned. A look of disappointment appeared on his face.

“Failed?”

I wear specialized gloves. Carefully pick out a dark gray crystal strand. Thinner than a strand of hair. Then place it under an extremely high magnification electron microscope. The screen displayed an image that made everyone breathless. Perfect hexagonal atomic structure. Each atom lines up neatly. So beautiful that it looks like a work of art personally created by God. Not a single defect. Not a single crack. I looked for a long time. The corners of the lips slowly curled up.

“We succeeded.”

No one said anything. Because everyone is dumbfounded. One second later. Cheers echoed throughout the laboratory. Some people burst into tears. Some people hugged their teammates. Some people were so excited that they banged on the table. We have succeeded. Successfully created a type of matter that has never appeared on this planet. Super flexible silicon carbide fiber crystals. We have smelted the first batch of steel. Belongs to this era. The joy of victory did not last too long. The very next morning. I issued an information blockade at the highest level. All personnel participated in the experiment. All must sign a special confidentiality agreement. All data related to “Superflexible Silicon Carbide Fiber Crystals”. All are classified as strictly confidential. I understand very well. What we just opened. Not just a window of opportunity. But also a Pandora's box. Inside it. Beyond the future. There were countless eyes watching. Lots of greed. Countless forces want to take over. Before being strong enough to protect yourself. We must learn to be silent. But not in everyday life never operate according to human will. The tree wants to be quiet. But the wind wouldn't stop. One week later. Professor Tien personally called me. His voice was a bit heavier than usual.

“Hua Tinh, there is a guest who specifically wants to visit your research institute.”

“As Senior Academician of the National Defense Industry and Technology Committee.”

Academician Cao. Cao Thien Thanh. Hearing that name, I suddenly frowned. In the domestic materials science world, this is a figure that no one can ignore. He is a giant in the field of metal materials, holding countless key projects and an extremely large network of relationships. But at the same time, his scholarly style is equally famous. Hieu wins. Always like to recruit the best talents and projects under our command. Those who obey will be supported. It is very difficult for those who oppose to have a peaceful day. When I was at University A, I had contact with him several times. He had many times, sometimes openly and sometimes implicitly, suggested that I bring along the project to join his faction. I politely refused. Because of that, I suffered many hidden losses. In the two previous reviews for the professorship, more or less his figure stood behind. This time it suddenly appeared. Absolutely not just for sightseeing. He must have heard something.

"I got it."

“There is no problem from my side.”

“If he wants to come, let him come.”

I calmly answered. But inside I started to be wary. Because now is different from before. I am no longer an assistant professor who is arbitrarily oppressed by others at University A. I am the director of Tsinghua Advanced Materials Research Institute. Behind me is Thanh Hoa. Is the Ministry of Science and Technology. It's the whole national research system. Even if Cao Thien Thanh is a real dragon. Then when entering my area. He must also know how to retract his claws. The next morning. A black Hong Ky car slowly stopped in front of the research institute. Cao Thien Thanh walked down accompanied by a group of people. He was nearly seventy years old. But the spirit is still extremely clear.