Running Into the Real Owner?

After saying goodbye to Jiang Xingye and returning home, Lin Xu went straight to sleep.

He had expended too much energy in Bracelet World. The number on his bracelet had dropped all the way to 1, so he needed a good night's rest to recover.

After sleeping through the night, the number on his bracelet had only recovered to 3. He did not rush to enter it again to search for clues. Instead, following Jiang Xingye's instructions, he carefully prepared the materials he would need for Monday's meeting with the boss.

The other world was one thing; life was another.

He was not the president of Skyvault Technology now. He was not even a flight-control system designer. He was merely a lowly programmer.

If he did not seize the opportunity, how would he become president someday?

If he did not become president, how would he obtain enough resources?

If he did not obtain enough resources, how would he investigate the truth behind the apocalypse?

If he did not investigate the truth behind the apocalypse, how could he escape on a rocket?

Well then.

There was his motivation.

Lin Xu spent a full ten hours preparing all the materials.

The most important of them was a feasibility analysis report.

He researched as he wrote, and by the time he finished, he realized that the true designer of the Star Traveler One project had been an absolute genius.

The technology looked complicated, but once it was properly broken down, he found that none of the key technologies were particularly difficult.

Some could directly make use of military-to-civilian technology, some could be innovated within existing mature frameworks, and those that truly could not be solved yet could be set aside until technology matured in a few years.

After completing the report, Lin Xu found that the project was already so complete that it was nearly flawless.

So whose work had he stolen?

Shen Li? That chief engineer?

No. Skyvault Technology did not have anyone by that name either.

He could not figure it out.

Could the person be parachuted in after some time?

Good grief.

Having an ex-wife at the company was not enough; now there would also be some big shot whose work he had freeloaded off.

Just thinking about his future life was enough to make his head hurt...

Lin Xu collapsed onto the bed as the light from his computer screen gradually dimmed...

The next day.

Lin Xu arrived at the reception room beside the chairman's office on time to wait. Jiang Xingye had arrived a little earlier than him, and sitting beside her was Chen Yan, the team leader and project manager for the new project.

"Have you prepared all the materials?"

The moment he saw Lin Xu, Chen Yan asked impatiently.

It was obvious that his attitude was much better than it had been when they had met before.

"Yeah, everything's ready."

"Team Leader, would you like to take a look first?"

"Sure, give it to me."

Chen Yan reached out and took the materials from Lin Xu. He did not bother dwelling on the minor matter of Lin Xu completing them without first reporting to him, the team leader.

As he flipped through the documents, Chen Yan clicked his tongue in admiration.

"A young hero indeed. I could tell at a glance that a kid like you was bound to be highly capable."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have entrusted such an important task to you at the meeting."

"Now it seems my judgment was completely correct."

"Your proposal is excellent. You have no idea how highly President Ren and Engineer Chu think of you."

"Mm, this feasibility report is very well written too."

"Have you accumulated all this technical information yourself over the years? That's quite an impressive foundation..."

Listening to Chen Yan's endless praise, Lin Xu did not know whether he should respond or stay silent.

If he said nothing, the man really was praising him.

But if he answered...

What did he mean, his judgment had been right?

When he had dumped this task on Lin Xu back then, did he really think no one knew what he had been thinking?

So Lin Xu merely gave a few perfunctory responses and did not engage much.

Jiang Xingye, on the other hand, seized the chance to vent.

"President Chen, that sounds much more humane."

"So I was the one who misunderstood you. At the meeting, I thought you were deliberately targeting Lin Xu."

"No, no, not at all."

Chen Yan repeatedly waved his hands, looking slightly embarrassed.

Fortunately, he did not have to stay embarrassed for long. He had only flipped through two pages when the reception room door opened.

"Lin Xu, come with me."

The chairman's secretary who entered called Lin Xu's name. Jiang Xingye and Chen Yan wanted to follow, but the secretary stopped them.

"Lin Xu will go first. Please wait here, you two."

As soon as those words fell, all three people in the reception room froze.

He only wanted to see me?

That doesn't seem right, does it?

Those wish-fulfillment novels always had scenes where someone powerful took a liking to a subordinate and met with them alone. It sounded satisfying enough, but reality was completely different.

Generally speaking, when a superior several levels above met with someone lower down, there would always be middle-management leaders present as a bridge.

On one hand, it ensured smooth coordination from the broad picture down to the details. On the other, it prevented communication problems between the two sides.

But now...

Ren Jian had broken that convention.

What was he planning?

Lin Xu was full of question marks.

He followed the secretary, knocked on the door, and entered the chairman's office. The moment he stepped inside, he sensed that the atmosphere was off.

Heavy.

Both Ren Jian and Chu Xu, who sat off to the side, wore rather stiff expressions.

This was completely different from the meeting he had imagined.

"Sit."

Ren Jian spoke only a single word. The secretary turned, closed the door behind her, and left.

Lin Xu was not intimidated. He walked over to the sofa and sat down, quietly waiting for the boss's next instruction.

"I'll get straight to the point."

Ren Jian continued.

"We've read your materials. They're very good."

"How good?"

"Frankly, they are not something a person in your position, with your level of experience, should be capable of producing."

"When we first skimmed through them, we only thought you had some good ideas. But after going back and examining them carefully, Engineer Chu and I both concluded that many of the concepts and solutions in this proposal were highly rigorous in their logic."

"We believe research must follow objective laws."

"It is already 2025. There is no longer any fertile ground for geniuses to suddenly emerge out of nowhere."

"So we began to question the source of your report."

"After consulting with industry peers and research partners at higher levels, we found that your proposal bears considerable similarities to one of our competitors' proposals."

"We cannot obtain that competitor's complete proposal, so this conclusion can only remain at the level of speculation."

"But the risks involved are obvious."

"Now, I must ask you a question."

"Did you write this proposal yourself, or did you obtain it through some illegal channel?"

"..."

Lin Xu was speechless.

Well, here it came?!

Had he run into the real owner?

Impossible.

If the similarities were truly that extensive, the people speaking with him now would most likely not be these two. It should have been State Security.

Lin Xu let out a breath of relief.

The proposal really had not been written by him.

But it definitely had nothing to do with any so-called competitor.

With that in mind, Lin Xu spoke.

"First, I wrote this proposal myself. It has nothing to do with any competitor, much less with official research. I can guarantee that."

"Second, even if there are similarities or overlaps between our proposals, that does not prove that I stole anyone's trade secrets."

"After all, there are only a few major frameworks for manned spaceflight proposals at present. Even if you casually searched Baidu for one, you'd find a few similarities. Making a judgment like that is too hasty."

"Finally... I understand why the leadership has concerns about this proposal. After all, we're a commercial company, so we always have to consider legal risks."

"But what if we move faster than everyone else?"

"What if the technical details we can produce are more detailed and concrete than anyone else's?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Jian and Chu Xu both froze.

"You really have them?"

Lin Xu nodded heavily.

"I do!"

An hour later, Lin Xu left the chairman's office.

Ren Jian exchanged a glance with Chu Xu before asking, "Engineer Chu, in your opinion, how credible is this Lin Xu?"

Chu Xu frowned first, then shook his head.

"I can't judge."

"He really does understand many of the technical details we discussed just now."

"But if you ask whether he is especially professional, not really."

"Yet from another perspective, is that truly so important?"

"Many things cannot be concluded so simply. Young people always have possibilities we cannot predict."

"In any case, give him some time."

"Whether he succeeds or not, we cannot abandon this proposal."

"Lin Xu is right. As long as we move faster, no one can restrict us legally."

"We can begin organizing the technical team as soon as possible. As for the person in charge..."

"If Lin Xu can truly produce something useful, then let him take the role."

"I have a feeling that with him here, this Star Traveler One project... might actually be possible..."