I Have a Bad Feeling

Hearing Academician Lu's words, Lu Zhou gave him a puzzled look.

"How could that happen?"

Academician Lu sounded anxious. "Then why did you go and build a spaceship?"

Oh, so that was what this was about.

Lu Zhou immediately understood what Academician Lu was thinking. He cleared his throat and explained.

"The reports may have gotten it a little wrong. The space shuttle is mainly Xiao—Starry Sky Technology's project. I only put in some money."

That was close. He had almost mentioned Xiao Ai.

Academician Lu didn't notice Lu Zhou's pause. He sighed and continued gravely, "I don't know much about aerospace, but I've talked about it with a few old friends at the Academy of Engineering. Despite government support, domestic private aerospace companies still struggle to compete with international firms. For now, most of them are mainly looking to raise money."

"I didn't come here because I'm worried your research has gone astray. I'm worried you've lost your direction!"

"Once a scholar becomes a businessman, it's hard for him to settle down and focus on research again. I've seen it happen too many times."

"Maybe I'm not the one who should say this, but you're spreading yourself too thin. If you settled down and devoted yourself to physics, one day you might even stand alongside scholars like Newton and Einstein. Why go into aerospace now? Aren't you getting your priorities backward?"

Lu Zhou said, "But if I'd done that, Controlled Nuclear Fusion wouldn't exist either."

Academician Lu froze. For a long while, he said nothing.

Lu Zhou paused, then continued.

"Theoretical science is fascinating. I've always believed that. But science isn't just theory. Using what we know to change the world around us is meaningful too."

"Take the Mass Gap," Lu Zhou said after a pause. "If my theory