Master, Please Accept My Knees!

"Hum!"

All the metal instruments in the hall suddenly resonated in unison.

Polaris raised her chin slightly, and her green hair stirred without a breeze.

An invisible magnetic field passed through the glass and enveloped the valve, which had cost eight million yuan.

"Stop! Security! Where's security?!"

Chief Designer Gao was so frightened his heart nearly leaped out of his throat. "That's a precision titanium-alloy component! If she breaks it, the whole project will be delayed another three months! I... I... holy shit!"

Under Polaris's control, a spectacle appeared on the monitoring screen, one capable of overturning modern understanding of materials science.

Inside the valve, the metal lattices had microscopic defects that had left dozens of veteran experts helpless after three sleepless nights. Under the influence of her power, they began to rearrange themselves.

They were stripped away, crushed, and then perfectly joined together, completing a seamless weld.

Polaris snapped her fingers and looked at Sing Sing, lifting her head proudly. "Done."

The hall remained utterly silent. Sing Sing leaned against the doorframe and clapped his hands. "Old comrades, what are you standing around for?"

"Run the numbers and take a look. Staring at her like that, are you hoping to see a Kármán vortex street on her face?"

(A Kármán vortex street is a fluid mechanics phenomenon.)

The tester shuddered and pressed the start button for the high-pressure simulation test with a trembling hand.

The data on the big screen began to jump wildly, and the red warning line disappeared.

Ten seconds later, all the red lights on the screen turned green, signifying perfection!

The tester stared fixedly at the screen, his voice quivering along with his whole body. "Chief... Chief Designer Gao... the valve's response delay has dropped to absolute zero! Complete synchronization! No error!"

"How is that possible?!"

The balding old expert lunged toward the screen, his face almost pressed against the glass.

"This isn't scientific!"

"This completely defies everything we know about aerospace materials science! Microscopic lattices reorganizing themselves? Zero response delay?"

"It's theoretically impossible! What did I spend forty years studying for?"

"No! It's not my problem, it's physics! Physics owes me an explanation!"

No one paid him any attention.

Lao Gao also stared at the data on the screen in silence for a long moment before turning to look at Polaris, who stood there looking indifferent.

He walked up to her, his eyes red.

Suddenly, the old chief engineer, who had devoted his life to the nation's space program, bent his legs, so overcome that he was about to kneel on the spot.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can't do that!"

Just as Lao Gao's knees were about to touch the ground, Sing Sing slid forward and firmly caught his arms with a move of Tai Chi Cloud Hands.

Holding him up, Sing Sing turned and shouted to Polaris, "Stay right where you are!"

Polaris did stay put, but her expression was visibly flustered.

She wasn't afraid of being hunted down, and she wasn't afraid of being locked in a cage.

A man in his sixties was about to kneel to her?

She really had never seen anything like this!

"Chief Designer Gao, we don't do that sort of thing!"

"Stay calm, stay calm!"

Sing Sing straightened his tie, looking solemn.

"As the saying goes, a man has gold beneath his knees. How can you give it to someone so easily? In this new era, we believe in equal employment relationships!"

"People might think we're forcing a highly respected elderly scientist to perform illegal manual labor!"

Lao Gao gripped Sing Sing's hand tightly, his strength astonishing. "A miracle! This is an industrial miracle! Comrade Zhou, this expert, Polaris..."

"No, Master Polaris! I want to take her as my teacher! I want to ask her to teach everyone at our materials institute! Make her the director!"

The white-haired aerospace experts around them all crowded over at once.

Every one of their eyes gleamed green.

"Expert, what's the formula for that lattice restructuring? Could you give me a hint?"

"Master, could you help me look at this titanium-alloy nozzle? Just one look!"

"Master, are you taking disciples? I'm sixty-five, just the age to strive hard! I have a pension, so I don't need a salary!"

"Could I serve you tea and water as an apprentice? I can brew tea too! Longjing, Biluochun, Tieguanyin—I can brew them all!"

Every one of them was a professor, a doctoral supervisor, or a candidate for the academy, and they spoke English more fluently than Chinese.

Seeing that Polaris was a foreigner, they switched to English without another word, each speaking rapidly and enthusiastically.

Frightened by the enthusiastic old men, Polaris took half a step back, instinctively folding her arms across her chest, a little at a loss.

These national treasures looked at her with no fear or disgust in their eyes, only a fervent longing for technology and respect for her as a person.

They called her an "expert"!

They even called her "master"!

Polaris's eyes began to sting, but she bit her lower lip hard and held it back.

She lifted her chin and gave a cold snort, maintaining her proud bearing. "Don't call me master. I'm just an employee."

"Right, right, right, an employee! And she's still on probation!"

Sing Sing spread his arms in front of Polaris. "Experts, everyone, calm down! I must reiterate our 'Labor Law'!"

"Chief Designer Gao, I've entrusted her to you. But let's be clear about the unpleasant things first! Comrade Lorna is still recovering. She has severe anemia and lingering effects from trauma."

"She can't work more than four hours a day! One minute more, and I'll report you to the labor bureau for exploiting an overseas compatriot!"

"No problem! No problem! I'll give her all of my specially provided convalescent meals! A free-range chicken stewed with ginseng every day!"

"What about vitamin supplements?"

"We have them! Imported!"

"What about Xinjiang red dates and goji berries?"

Lao Gao patted his chest. "I'll cover it all! I'll sign the requisition myself!"

Lao Gao nodded repeatedly, as if he wished he could offer up his heart.

"One more thing!"

Sing Sing gave a mercenary smile and rubbed two fingers together.

"She just solved your loss problem and improved performance considerably. Wouldn't you call that a major technological breakthrough?"

"Yes! It's an epoch-making technological breakthrough!"

"Then, well... there's the bonus for solving a technical problem, overtime pay, compensation for mental strain, and things like a high-temperature allowance and a radiation protection allowance..."

Sing Sing grew more enthusiastic as he counted, running out of fingers.

"Oh, right, the wind and sand are bad here. Shouldn't you also arrange a skincare allowance for female comrades?"

"And sunscreen. The ultraviolet intensity in the Gobi Desert is more than twice that in coastal areas. We can't skimp on that."

The balding old expert muttered under his breath, "Are you an agent or a union chairman?"

"I'm the person in charge of the overseas special talent recruitment program."

Sing Sing corrected him.

"Protecting employees' legal rights and interests is part of my job."

Lao Gao waved a hand grandly.

"Approved! All of it! I'll report it to the higher-ups myself! The highest-level technological breakthrough award, whatever the amount is!

"Also, all of Comrade Polaris's living expenses here in Space City will come out of my chief engineer's special funds! Even if she wants to drink snowmelt from Tian Shan, I'll send a special plane to bring it to her!"

Beside them, Soft Serve raised her hand. "What about me? I want seafood too."

"Yours comes out of the logistics department's budget."

Sing Sing spoke without turning around.

"Ah... then what level of seafood do I get?"

"Cafeteria level."

"...Oh."

"Chief Designer Gao, you're generous! Truly a pillar of the nation!"

Sing Sing gave him a thumbs-up, then turned and winked at Polaris behind him.

"From now on, you're a national treasure here, free to do as you please. If anyone dares force you to work overtime without paying you, call me. I'll bring a pig butchering knife and defend your rights!"

Watching Sing Sing's mercenary yet protective manner, Polaris felt the corners of her mouth relax.

She really couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing, her smile blooming like a flower.

She turned to look at the metal valve she had casually molded inside the glass enclosure. "If anyone makes me work overtime and dares not pay me... I'll twist his rocket into a pretzel!"

Lao Gao burst out laughing. "Twist it! Twist whatever you like!"

"As long as you can improve the precision, even if you twist my launch tower into a pretzel, I'll personally applaud and set off firecrackers for you!"