Chapter 474 Yanhuang No. 2 Project Launch

When Ma Yuejin slammed his hand on the table, the teacup lid jumped up with a clinking sound.

"Five hundred billion? Have you ever spent five hundred billion before saying you want to start a project?" His voice was so loud it echoed down the corridor, even shaking the ashtrays. He Yuzhu sat at the head of the long table, a half-smoked cigarette butt lying in the ashtray in front of him, wisps of smoke rising. He didn't look at Ma Yuejin, but stared at the four characters "Yanhuang No. 2" written in pencil on a piece of white paper.

Lin Jianguo flipped through the report but didn't read it aloud. Qian Zhiyuan twirled the pen in his hand, then twirled it again.

"The Kunlun hasn't even returned yet, and you're already thinking about a second one?" Ma Yuejin's voice trailed off, the last few words almost squeezed out of his throat. He grabbed the water glass on the table and took a sip; the water was already cold.

"The cracks in the curvature coil prove that the first one was an experiment." He Yuzhu finally raised his head. "The second one is the real interstellar spaceship."

Ma Yuejin put down his water glass. The bottom of the glass hit the table with a dull thud. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He Yuzhu was telling the truth. The curvature coil of the Kunlun had cracked less than two months after it went into space. Although it was only a micro-crack, it indicated that the design margin was insufficient. A 400-meter-long ship weighing 2,000 tons, after its spaceflight, needed major repairs.

"Alpha Centauri." Qian Zhiyuan placed his pen on the notebook, the cap still on. "Four light-years. The Kunlun spacecraft's warp drive only reaches a maximum speed of 0.001 percent of the speed of light. Four light-years—four thousand years. Do you plan to have astronauts reproduce there?"

He Yuzhu didn't respond. He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up a marker. He unscrewed the cap with a snap. "Second warp drive target—ten percent of the speed of light. Forty years to reach."

Qian Zhiyuan sat up straight in his chair. "At ten percent of the speed of light, the coil would need a magnetic field strength twenty times stronger than it does now. The materials won't pass the test. We won't be able to develop that kind of strip in ten years." He spoke very quickly, as if giving a report.

Lin Jianguo flipped to a page of the report, then closed it again. He Yuzhu drew an upward arrow on the whiteboard, with "15%" written next to it. He turned around: "The critical current density of carbon nanotube tapes increases by 15% annually. By 1990, it will have tripled. Adding the high-temperature superconductor, 20 times will be sufficient."

Lin Jianguo shifted in his chair. "Dean He, that's lab data. Industrial production can't keep up."

He Yuzhu looked at Lin Jianguo. "Then let industrialization catch up."

Ma Yuejin stacked the budget sheets on the table and flicked the edge of the paper with his finger. "Five hundred billion over ten years, averaging fifty billion a year. Last year, the total funding for the Chengshan Research Institute was eighteen billion. There is a shortfall of thirty-two billion." He said this without looking at He Yuzhu, staring at the arrow on the whiteboard.

"We'll contribute the lion's share. We'll contribute a portion ourselves. We'll invest everything: technology transfer, military products, and civilian products."

Ma Yuejin fell silent. He reached for the cigarette case on the table, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. He held the match in his palm.

Lin Jianguo closed the report and placed it on the corner of the table. "Dean He, the repair plan for the Kunlun has been finalized. The curvature coil will be replaced, the anti-gravity system will be upgraded, and Wang Hao's psychological intervention will continue. After returning to port, the repair cycle is expected to last three months."

"After repairing it, archive it. Make a backup."

Lin Jianguo was taken aback. Qian Zhiyuan also looked up.

"The Kunlun has proven that warp drive, anti-gravity, and ecological recycling are feasible. But every single part of it is first-generation and has flaws. It's not the future." He Yuzhu's voice wasn't loud, but every word was firm and impactful.

Ma Yuejin took the cigarette out of his mouth. "So you're going to build Yanhuang II, starting from scratch?"

"We're not starting from scratch. We're building on the experience from the Kunlun spacecraft. The margin for maneuvering coils has been increased from 5% to 20%. The number of anti-gravity coils has been reduced from 100 to 64 because the materials have improved. The ecological recycling module has been doubled in size to make it more comfortable for astronauts to grow vegetables."

Qian Zhiyuan laughed. "Growing vegetables in a spaceship would be even more comfortable." His laughter was short, like a cough. "Dean He, are you building a spaceship or a greenhouse?"

"Both. The spaceship is the means of transportation, and the greenhouse is the means of survival. Without either one, you can't reach Alpha Centauri."

The door was pushed open.

He Nianhua stood in the doorway, his school uniform collar open, his backpack strap slung over one shoulder. He glanced at the people inside, then straightened his backpack strap. "Dad, I'm home from school."

He Yuzhu didn't turn around. "Come in."

He Nianhua walked in. Ma Yuejin took a piece of chocolate out of his pocket and handed it to her. He Nianhua didn't take it.

"Are you talking about Yanhuang No. 2?" He looked at the four words on the whiteboard.

"I heard it in the hallway. Uncle Ma's voice is too loud." He Nianhua said this in a flat tone, as if stating a fact. Ma Yuejin stuffed the chocolate into his hand. "Take it this time." He Nianhua took it, holding it in his palm without peeling it.

"Alpha Centauri, that's Proxima Centauri," He Nianhua said.

Qian Zhiyuan glanced at him. "You know Proxima Centauri?"

"I know. The closest star to the sun is 4.2 light-years away." He Nianhua turned to He Yuzhu. "Dad, I want to apply to an aerospace university and participate in the design."

Which school should I apply to?

"Beihang University. Or Harbin Institute of Technology."

"We'll talk about it after I pass the exam."

He Nianhua unwrapped the chocolate and took a bite. "I'm sure I'll pass the exam."

He Yuzhu didn't reply. He turned back to the whiteboard and looked at the arrow.

"Who do you intend to appoint as the chief designer of Yanhuang II?" Lin Jianguo turned to the last page of the report.

"I."

Ma Yuejin tucked the unlit cigarette back behind his ear. "Dean He, you also have to manage the Kunlun's return and repairs, Antarctic intelligence, and the second spacecraft. You can't do everything by yourself."

"That's why I need you guys." He Yuzhu looked at the three of them. "Lin Jianguo, overall design; Ma Yuejin, power system; Qian Zhiyuan, materials. You each take charge of one area, and I'll oversee you all."

Ma Yuejin took the cigarette off his ear, put it in his mouth, then took it off again. "So, you mean, we three do the work, but you just talk?"

"If you think talking is easier, let's switch. You go to the ocean to hold a project approval meeting and explain to them why the 50 billion will be split over ten years."

Ma Yuejin fell silent. He put the cigarette back behind his ear.

Qian Zhiyuan opened his notebook and wrote "Preliminary Research on Materials for Yanhuang II". His pen paused for a moment on the paper. Lin Jianguo filled in "He Yuzhu" in the chief designer column on the last page of the report, his handwriting neat.

He Nianhua stood in front of the whiteboard, having finished the chocolate, the wrapper folded in her hand.

He Yuzhu stood up. "Meeting adjourned. Starting tomorrow, everyone go back to their own work. Lin Jianguo, submit the overall plan within a month. Ma Yuejin, calculate the weight and power consumption. Qian Zhiyuan, compile a list of materials to be tackled."

Three people were tidying up files. The sounds of chairs being dragged on the floor, zippers being pulled, and laptops being closed filled the air.

He Nianhua did not move.

"Nianhua, go home."

He Nianhua turned and followed He Yuzhu out of the conference room. The motion-activated lights in the corridor turned on. He Yuzhu walked ahead, and He Nianhua followed behind, two steps behind.

"Dad, can Yanhuang-2 really reach Alpha Centauri?"

"able."

"Then I'll design something even faster."

He Yuzhu stopped. The corridor lights hummed overhead. He turned to look at He Nianhua. His son was taller than him now, and his school uniform was a little tight at the shoulders.

"You should take the college entrance exam first."

He Nianhua nodded.

The two men walked out of the building. A layer of dust covered the roof of the old jeep in the courtyard. He Yuzhu got into the car, and He Nianhua sat in the passenger seat. The car drove out of the base. The launch tower at the launch site grew smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

He Nianhua folded the chocolate wrapper into a paper crane and placed it on the dial. He folded it very slowly; the wrapper was too slippery, and it took him several tries to press out a crease.

"Who taught you that?"

"mom."

He Yuzhu didn't speak. The paper crane on the dashboard swayed gently with the bumps of the car.

He Nianhua took out his physics textbook from his schoolbag, opened it, and looked down at it. The small light inside the car illuminated his profile.

He Yuzhu glanced at the speedometer—eighty. The road was long.