Director Li

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Director Li (李局长); personal name not provided
Alias(es)	Old Li 1185 1228
Gender	Male
Age	Early sixties during the semiconductor and lithium-air battery discussions 966
Affiliation	Science and Industry Bureau, under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; later receives support from Pan-Asian Cooperation 1185 1429
Occupation/Role	Director of the Science and Industry Bureau; later a hospital volunteer counseling revived cryogenic sleepers 801 1429
Status	Alive in January 2125; awakened from cryogenic hibernation just over a year before Wang Peng 1429
First Appearance	Chapter 646, the earliest appearance documented in the provided context 646

Background / History

Industrial Technology and Fusion

Director Li first appears in the supplied material seeking a private discussion with Lu Zhou about an important batch of equipment. He acknowledges the lunar program’s long-term importance while emphasizing immediate industrial weaknesses, particularly in engines, submarines, and other defense-related fields 646.

When Secretary Wu attempts to recruit the supposed developer of Lu Zhou’s CNC control system, Li argues that purchasing the technology is preferable to pulling its creator into a company. He privately suspects that Lu Zhou himself developed it, drawing on Lu’s earlier artificial-intelligence papers and fusion-control work 649.

After Lu Zhou demonstrates a successful experimental fusion reactor, Li immediately asks about installation aboard aircraft carriers. He thanks Lu on behalf of the nation and returns to Shangjing to report the classified breakthrough to the Elder Council 670.

Aerospace Development

Li helps receive Lu Zhou in Harbin for the confidential Lunar Landing Project bidding conference 690. His concern becomes more personal when Lu travels aboard the Auspicious spaceplane: he repeatedly checks that Lu is safe and orders a ticket to Jinling, only to be summoned to an emergency meeting about the launch 703 704.

He later presents Lu Zhou’s lunar-mining proposal to the Elder Council, summarizing favorable assessments from Academicians Yuan and Yang Zhongquan before the proposal receives approval 801.

During an inspection of the Jinling Aerospace Assembly Center, Li questions the admission of foreign experts seeking information about the spacecraft. After Hou Guang explains the partnership obligations and safeguards, Li offers government support and reminds him that the industry cannot always depend on Lu Zhou 886.

Cybersecurity and Carbon-Based Chips

During the Eagles of Prey cyberattack investigation, Li trusts information supplied by Dr. Z because the source has helped before. He subsequently probes whether Lu Zhou is Dr. Z, but decides not to expose the identity if Lu prefers to keep it private 922 924.

Li visits Lu’s home carrying breakfast and receives a calculator built with a working carbon-based chip. He promises to safeguard it, then proposes Longteng No. 1: cooperation among Huawei, Starry Sky Technology, and the Hua Academy of Sciences Semiconductor Research Institute to establish an independent semiconductor ecosystem 964 965.

The same visit reveals Lu Zhou’s lithium-air battery designs. Once Li learns that they are not yet mature, he stops pressing for details, offers accelerated patent assistance, and informs Director Lü of the Energy Bureau 965 966. When the Longteng prototype is later completed, he cancels his other plans and immediately returns to the institute 1046.

IMCRC and Research Security

Li remains attentive to threats against Lu Zhou. He questions the international backlash against Starry Sky’s SH Standard patents and later briefs Lu on evidence that the attempted Helios power-station sabotage was partly intended to kill him 983 1045.

His support for Lu’s leadership of IMCRC also requires diplomatic mediation. Following Brookhaven National Laboratory’s protest, Li travels to Shanghai and urges Lu to avoid unnecessarily alienating international council members and their funding governments. He recognizes that he has neither the authority nor the intention to replace Lu as chairman 1134 1135.

Virtual Reality and Quantum Computing

Li volunteers to test Lu Zhou’s plain-looking virtual-reality prototype before Minister Qin. He emerges so stunned that he can only hand over the helmet and tell Qin to experience it personally 1072.

He later conveys a recommendation to release the technology for civilian use once mature, warning against allowing competitors to move first 1078. At the Semiconductor Research Institute, he tests Starry Sky’s Virtual IC Workshop with Academician Liu Changqing, shortly before Lu phones to announce a completed quantum computer 1177.

Li responds by returning to Shangjing overnight and consulting quantum-computing specialists about security implications. He subsequently refuses to disclose the developer of classified technology to Academician Xue 1180 1185.

Holographic Displays and Space Megaprojects

When preparations for the National Day celebration encounter problems with foreign holographic suppliers, Li directs the organizers to seek Academician Lu rather than remain dependent on NTT 1228 1229 1232.

Following the hyperspace-channel experiment, Li explains the findings to the Grand Elder and relays Luo Wenxuan’s cautious assessment of warp travel. He then attempts to visit the secluded Lu Zhou, but Wang Peng refuses him entry under standing orders 1306 1307.

Once admitted the following evening, Li asks Lu to address the world’s questions. Instead, he receives detailed plans for an orbital habitat, the Lagrange Point Space Base, and a Mars outpost. He abandons the prospect of a celebration banquet and returns to Shangjing that night with the drawings 1308 1309.

Li votes without hesitation to approve the space-base and Mars-station projects 1337. He later invents a story about a bet with Academician Yuan to obtain a needed material, only for Lu to immediately provide SuperFiber-1. Li fast-tracks its patent registration and sends the sample to Aerospace Science Group 1342 1344.

Life in 2125

Li enters cryogenic hibernation on official business and awakens to find that his mission has been canceled. By January 2125, he has spent just over a year adjusting to the new era 1429.

He volunteers at Jinling Third Hospital, counseling other sleepers, teaching children, and telling stories about Professor Lu and controlled fusion. Pan-Asian Cooperation provides him with a lifetime allowance of 10,000 credits per month 1429.

Li regularly meets his descendants but chooses not to live with them because their values differ and they have lives of their own. When Wang Peng awakens, Li explains the century’s political changes, reassures him about practical arrangements, and invites him to share a meal after discharge 1429.

Appearance

• Older man: Described as elderly during his visits to Lu Zhou 983.
• Formal presentation: Wears formal clothing and a little makeup for an official event 911.
• Visible fatigue: Has “panda-like” bags beneath his eyes after staying awake through the cyberattack investigation 924.

Personality

Li combines genuine faith in Lu Zhou with bureaucratic pragmatism. He protects Lu’s freedom to remain at his institute, favors commercial cooperation over talent poaching, and declines to expose his suspected connection to Dr. Z 649 924.

His concern can become persistent or overprotective. He worries intensely about Lu’s safety aboard experimental spacecraft, offers to introduce him to a prospective partner, and later monitors him after mistakenly believing he intends to sneak aboard a Mars colonization ship 703 710 1357.

He also uses calculated persuasion to secure cooperation. Lu recognizes his kindly smile and unusually respectful forms of address as signs that a troublesome request is coming. Li’s fabricated SuperFiber “bet” makes this tendency explicit: he justifies the deception as serving the greater good 1154 1230 1342.

After awakening in the future, Li becomes accepting rather than embittered. Although the cancellation of his mission unsettles him, he finds comfort in the prosperity of his former homeland and satisfaction in volunteering, family visits, and the era’s food 1429.

Abilities & Skills

Government–Research Coordination

• Arranges multi-party industrial cooperation through the Science and Industry Bureau 965.
• Offers accelerated patent processing and later uses it for SuperFiber-1 966 1344.
• Presents expert assessments and technical proposals to senior political leadership 801 1306.

Confidentiality and Security Assessment

• Seeks private settings for sensitive discussions and avoids elaborating on carbon-based technology over the telephone 646 963 1187.
• Consults specialists about the cryptographic risks of quantum computing 1180.
• Withholds classified developer information even when directly questioned by a senior academician 1185.

Technical Communication

• Explains the hyperspace experiment to the Grand Elder through simplified physical analogies 1306.
• Relays expert opinions without claiming to possess Lu Zhou’s scientific expertise 801 1309.

Relationships

• Lu Zhou — Long-standing scientific partner and government contact. Li champions his projects, seeks his assistance, and worries about his safety and personal life 649 703 710.
• Wang Peng — Colleague whose security duties can override Li’s requests. In 2125, Li becomes a familiar guide during Wang’s adjustment to life after hibernation 1307 1429.
• Grand Elder / Chief Elder — Senior leader to whom Li reports major scientific developments and presents strategic proposals 801 1306.
• Director Lü — Energy Bureau colleague whom Li informs about the lithium-air battery work 966.
• Academician Yuan Huanmin — Aerospace expert involved in assessing the space-base plans and testing SuperFiber-1 1318 1344.
• Academician Liu Changqing — Accompanies Li through the Virtual IC Workshop and discusses its potential adoption 1177.
• Hou Guang — Aerospace leader whom Li offers institutional support while encouraging greater independence from Lu Zhou 886.
• Descendants — Meet him regularly after his revival; Li maintains a separate household rather than impose on their lives 1429.

Notable Quotes

“You pay, and he does the work. Isn't that the same? This is already the era of the market economy. Stop looking at problems through those old ways of thinking.” 649

“A celebration banquet can be held anytime. Taking care of business comes first!” 1309

“Once you are discharged, let us have a meal together. You know, in this flashy era, the thing that satisfies me most is probably the food.” 1429