Those from the physics community werenât the only ones who cheered for the completion of the collider. Many other organizations involved in the construction of the collider were also ecstatic.
Not only because this was a huge step forward for humanity, but this was an engineering miracle!
This multi-billion dollar project was finally finished.
Whether it was the project leader or the engineers, everyone could finally rest and sleep peacefully.
Beijing.
China Railway Group headquarters.
Director Li from the State Administration for National Defense came to visit here. He met up with Academician Li Qingquan, chief engineer of the China Railway Group. Director Li expressed his gratefulness to him.
â... The collider construction was extremely successful! The China Railway Group has made a huge contribution to our countryâs physics community!â
âDirector Li, youâre too kind.â Academician Li Qingquan smiled and said, âWe donât deserve all of the credit. Without the technology from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, as well as the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study, none of this would have been possible.â
Construction in a low-gravity environment required special engineering equipment. These pieces of equipment were jointly developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study. The China Railway Group was mainly responsible for proposing specific construction plans and implementing the engineering equipment.
In the beginning, they encountered many difficulties due to their lack of experience in outer space construction.
Fortunately, they received help from the engineers at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Both of them deserved a huge amount of credit.
Academician Li Qingquan had a huge grin on his face. It was obvious he was in a good mood. The wrinkles on his face disappeared, and it looked like he was ten years younger than before.
âAcademician Li, youâre too humble. Regardless of the contribution from the other parties, the China Railway Group clearly deserves a huge amount of credit!â Director Li said emotionally. He paused for a second and said, âSpeaking of which, the next project is the mass driver, right?â
Academician Li Qingquan nodded and said, âWe are talking about this with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. If everything goes well, we can begin construction next year.â
Director Li said solemnly, âThank you so much, guys.â
âOf course, this is our job,â Li Qingquan said. âYou should be thanking Academician Lu, Iâve been paying attention to the academic community; he hasnât taken a break over the past two years.â
âAcademician Lu is special. Most people canât compare to him.â Director Li smiled and said, âBut youâre right, ever since he got back to China, he hasnât taken a break, nor has he dated yet. When I go to Shanghai, Iâll try to convince him to take a vacation and that he should take it easy.â
The Chinese fusion power grid spread across Asia, and they were like tentacles, wrapping themselves in each country. Not to mention the Moon Palace in the sky; Chinaâs international influence had never been stronger.
The only unfortunate thing was that Academician Lu had yet to find a spouse.
Academician Li Qingquan said, âHe doesnât have a significant other?â
Director Li said, âHeâs so busy, how does he have time?â
Academician Li Qingquan rubbed his chin and said, âHow about... I find someone from the China Railway Group?â
âFrom the China Railway Group? For what reason?â Director Li smiled and shook his head.
Forget about the railway group.
Whether it was the military or the university, there had been countless attempts at finding Academician Lu a spouse.
But at the end of the day, this was still Lu Zhouâs own decision. It wasnât like they could force Lu Zhou to marry someone? Young folks these days didnât want to marry or have kids, this was why the birth rate had dropped.
âHeâs so selfless... Academician Lu is really a role model for the scientific research community.â Academician Li Qingquan sighed and said, âIf only other young scholars can be like him.â
Director Li smiled.
If other people were like him?
Forget about landing on the moon.
Weâll be landing on other galaxies.
...
After Director Li left the China Railway Group building, he returned to his office. He told his assistant about his trip to Shanghai and planned on doing some work in his office.
However, he suddenly received a call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
âOld Li, whatâs going on?â
Director Li was confused. He frowned and spoke.
âWhat do you mean?â
âArenât you responsible for the ILHCRC?â
âYeah...â Director Li said. He realized something might have gone wrong at the ILHCRC, so he said, âTechnically, I am, but Iâm not actually involved. Academician Lu is mainly responsible. What is going on? Why are you calling me?â
âWe received a call from the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. They said we did not fulfill the agreements of the joint research project.â
Director Li was stunned.
âDid we not give them a chance to negotiate?â
â... No, the meeting did happen, but Academician Lu decided to do things his own way.â
F*ck...
So there was a negotiation meeting?
Director Li thought that Lu Zhou didnât even host a meeting and just decided to take over the project.
However, the other end of the phone continued to talk.
â... Right now, the problem isnât just with the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The European Union also called us and complained about this. Iâm not saying that Academician Luâs actions are wrong, but I just hope he can consider things from other peopleâs perspectives. Otherwise, we might lose their funding.â
Director Li coughed and spoke.
âFine, fine, I understand. Donât worry, Iâm going to Shanghai tomorrow, so Iâll ask him what is going on.â
The other end of the phone spoke.
âPerfect!â
The phone call ended.
Director Li sighed and shook his head as he placed his phone into his pocket. He didnât really take the complaints from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seriously.
Who cares if the Brookhaven National Laboratory complains?
Theyâre just one laboratory.
In his opinion, this wasnât something the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should take seriously.
He sat down in his office and saw his assistant walking in anxiously.
âDirector Li, bad news!â
Director Li frowned.
âCalm down, what is going on.â
âLook at the newspaper, the headlines from CNN and The New York Times...â the assistant said awkwardly. He handed over the newspaper and said, âLook at it yourself.â
Director Li took the newspaper from the assistantâs hands and read the headline. His eyebrows furrowed.
Jesus Christ.
How come my worries always come true?
Director Li threw the newspaper aside and stood up. He spoke in a stern tone.
âCome with me to Shanghai.â
The assistant paused for a second.
âNow?â
I thought you were going tomorrow?
I even bought the tickets...
âYes, now, refund the tickets for tomorrow.â Director Li spoke in a serious tone, âBook a flight this afternoon, the sooner the better!â