I Dare to Guess

Second Lieutenant Wu drove to the entrance of Shen Qi Research Center building.

The car stopped, and Second Lieutenant Wu got out first. He quickly surveyed the surroundings, then opened the back door and invited Shen Qi to get out.

After getting out of the car, Shen Qi said, "Thank you for your hard work, Second Lieutenant Wu."

"It's not hard work." Second Lieutenant Wu stood ramrod straight, his military bearing still evident despite his civilian clothes. "Academician Shen, you can call me Xiao Wu, or Jianjun, or Wu Jianjun, it's all fine. I'm a year younger than you."

"You're so young?" Shen Qi was somewhat surprised. Based on Second Lieutenant Wu's appearance and demeanor, he judged that Second Lieutenant Wu was at least 35 years old, but he didn't expect this young comrade to be only 30 years old this year.

"I look old." Second Lieutenant Wu smiled, a rare sight for him.

"I'll be at our center all day today. I'll walk home after get off work. Xiao Wu, you go ahead and do your work. See you tomorrow."

"Okay," Wu Jianjun said. "If Academician Shen has any instructions for me, I will appear before you within a minute."

Shen Qi asked, "Brother, do you have another secret mission, which is to keep an eye on me?"

Wu Jianjun shook his head and said, "No, absolutely not. The order given to me by my superiors is: Wu Jianjun, starting today, you will be responsible for driving for Academician Shen Qi, and you will do whatever Academician Shen tells you to do until the 'Project Starlight' ends."

"Alright, I hope we can get along well in the days to come." After saying this, Shen Qi entered the central building.

The various tasks at Shen Qi Research Center are proceeding smoothly, and Shen Qi is quite satisfied with the current situation. Regardless of whether he is at the center or not, the center operates normally according to the system he has established, which shows that he manages it well.

Shen Qi called Tang Yuan, the leader of the FASTER Project Team, to his office, and the two chatted.

"Tang Yuan, how's your work going lately?"

"Overall, the process has been intense yet orderly, with steady progress. The polymer crystallization research project is nearing completion, and the SAXS observation results are largely in line with our expectations."

"The project on the temperature-dependent photovoltaic performance of planar Solar Energy cells has just been approved, and I plan to assign Da Hua to lead this project. He specialized in this area during his postdoctoral research in the United States. I wonder if Director Shen would agree to this arrangement?"

Shen Qi asked, "I seem to remember, you were the one who seduced Da Hua back to China, weren't you?"

Tang Yuan waved his hands repeatedly. "How could I have seduced him? He was the one who asked to return to China. He was eager to make new breakthroughs under Director Shen's leadership. I was just an introducer. Da Hua was my classmate at Yenching University. To be honest, he's more outstanding than me. Back then, he was qualified and had the opportunity to study at the MIT Materials Research Center, and he went. Actually, I really wanted to go too, but unfortunately, that year the MIT Materials Research Center only set up one admission spot in all of China. My grades weren't as good as his, I wasn't as handsome as him, and I didn't have as many girlfriends as him, so I didn't get to go to MIT... Sigh, it's still quite a regret."

Shen Qi laughed and said, "Alright, alright, stop joking around and get down to business. I also think Da Hua is an excellent comrade. No problem, it's a suitable arrangement to have him handle the Solar Energy cell photovoltaic performance project. You let Da Hua choose two assistants, and the three of them will finish this project. For the polymer crystallization research project, you can assign someone to do the finishing touches. Apart from these four people, everyone else in the FASTER Project Team has new work assignments."

"Please give your instructions, Director Shen." Tang Yuan put away his talkative demeanor and became serious and earnest.

Shen Qi: "Have you heard of the 'Project Starlight'?"

Tang Yuan replied, "Director Shen, to be honest, I haven't received a single byte of information about the 'Project Starlight' from any official channels. But I know about this grand project, quite a bit. My information comes from foreign media reports. According to foreign media, an area of over 100 square kilometers in northwest China is covered with microcrystalline silicon thin-film batteries, and the Chinese government is building a massive, space-ground integrated project... I boldly guess that's probably the ground base for the 'Project Starlight'?"

"Foreign satellites are constantly watching our vast and beautiful land." Shen Qi was helpless against foreign satellites. After all, everyone has satellites. If your country can spy on our country, our country can also observe your country from space.

"To be honest, such a massive ground infrastructure project can't be hidden. That's right, the area on the border of Gansu and Xinjiang is the ground base for the 'Project Starlight.' And I have been appointed as the Chief Scientist of the 'Project Starlight.' This epic and magnificent project is progressing according to plan; otherwise, foreign satellites wouldn't have had the opportunity to photograph the Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Battery Array covering more than one hundred square kilometers."

"The overall progress of 'Project Starlight' is not lagging behind, but there are some technical obstacles in certain areas. My orders are to solve every technical problem in 'Project Starlight' so that the project can be completed smoothly. My strength is limited, and I need help." Shen Qi looked at Tang Yuan with deep eyes, confirming with his gaze, "You are the person I want."

Tang Yuan shuddered; he knew what was going on, he knew far too much.

"We... we have the opportunity to contribute to the 'Project Starlight'?" Tang Yuan was somewhat excited. The time to make a name for ourselves and go down in history had come!

While excited, Tang Yuan was also somewhat puzzled: what could their FASTER Project Team do for the 'Project Starlight'? Improve photovoltaic performance? Or optimize Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Battery Array?

"Yes, I need you, the country needs you." Shen Qi pointed to the air above his head and said, "The Satellite Cluster in the sky also needs you."

"The sky... the sky?" Tang Yuan was even more puzzled. We've never studied anything in the sky before.

Shen Qi explained, "Two years ago, our center was commissioned by the Ninth Institute to begin studying the chaotic phenomenon of monolayer planar fluids under microgravity conditions, and we achieved certain research results under fully enclosed simulated weightlessness experimental conditions. I took on this job because if I didn't take on this job from the Ninth Institute, no one else in China could."

"That's right, that's right, our strength doesn't allow Director Shen to keep a low profile." Tang Yuan nodded repeatedly. He gradually realized that if the research results on the chaotic phenomenon of monolayer planar fluids under microgravity were transferred to a new application environment, such as the special environment of Project Starlight, then it might be possible... Holy crap! Just thinking about it is exciting!

Shen Qi continued, "I was the one who took on the task, but you were the ones who actually did it. You all did an excellent job of researching the chaotic phenomena of monolayer planar fluids under microgravity. And you, Tang Yuan, were the person in charge of this project. What we need to do next is to produce the research results on the chaotic phenomena of monolayer planar fluids under space conditions as soon as possible and apply them to the Fluid Plane Membrane carried by the reflector satellite."

As they spoke, Shen Qi took out a document and handed it to Tang Yuan: "We don't have much time left, we must work against the clock. Tang Yuan, you are the leader of the FASTER Project Team, the most senior employee in our center, my most trusted brother, and a loyal soldier of the Party. Come on, first sign and put your fingerprint on this confidentiality agreement, and then I will explain the more specific technical details to you."