Talent Drain and Kunlun Asking the Way

Nietzsche once said, "When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

After hearing Gao Yuan's words, Levi couldn't help but shiver. This young man in front of him seemed like a bottomless pool. On one side was the vitality and sunshine of youth, and on the other was a coldness and determination like that of a warrior.

Faced with the temptations offered by the other side of the Pacific, Gao Yuan remained unmoved, calm and composed. This self-confidence that emanated from his very core made Levi feel deeply uneasy.

However, after a moment of silence, Levi suddenly burst into laughter, a very hearty laugh.

"Young people should be about swift revenge and soaring spirits," Levi said, shrugging his shoulders. "I know that in Huaxia, people mostly have a sense of responsibility for their country and the world. This is your tradition of thousands of years. Whenever danger strikes, there are always those who will step forward and turn the tide."

"Mr. Gao Yuan must be an idealist, well-read in history, and has continuously learned and grown from Huaxia's long history to establish a unique set of values."

His tone suddenly changed, and Levi stared into Gao Yuan's eyes. "It's good to have ideals, but you can't forget reality."

"I agree," Gao Yuan chuckled. "The weakness of Huaxia people in reality is being too naive, too kind. They even like happy endings when watching TV dramas, rarely suspecting the world with the greatest malice."

"This habit is very bad. It needs to be changed. You need to learn to give up illusions, learn to face the dripping blood, and welcome the malice of the whole world."

Levi was speechless. He opened his briefcase and handed Gao Yuan a thin piece of printed paper.

"Take a look at this," Levi said. "What Mr. Gao just said is your ideal, but this piece of paper in front of you is the real reality."

"This is the latest list of the top 100 materials scientists in the world released by the Thomson Reuters Group, determined by the citation rate of research papers published in the past ten years. It can be said to be quite authoritative."

"A total of fifteen Chinese scientists have been selected for the list. However, what is even more unbelievable is that the top six materials scientists in the past decade have all been Chinese!"

Logically speaking, it should be an honor to have so many elite materials scientists among the Chinese. But for some reason, Gao Yuan's expression turned as cold as frost.

After a pause, Levi continued, "Please, Mr. Gao, look carefully. Who do these world-renowned materials scientists serve?"

At this point, even with Gao Yuan's composure far exceeding his peers, his face gradually became overcast.

Top materials scientists of the past decade.

First place, Yang Peidong, serving the University of California, Berkeley.

Second place, Yin Yadong, serving the University of California, Riverside.

Third place, Huang Xuanyi, serving Tsinghua University, Taiwan Province.

Fourth place, Xia Younan, serving the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Fifth place, Sun Yugang, serving Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Nanoscale Materials.

Sixth place, Wu Yiying, serving Ohio State University.

After a long silence, the corners of Gao Yuan's mouth twitched slightly, as if with a wry smile.

As a realist, Gao Yuan knew this was the current reality. But this reality was too brutal.

The top six materials scientists were all Chinese, but except for one in the rebellious Taiwan Province, all the others were in North America, working for the Anglo-Saxons.

Continuing down the list, Duan Xiangfeng, ranked twentieth, is at the University of California, Los Angeles; Ren Zhifeng, ranked forty-ninth, is at the University of Houston; Bao Zhenan, ranked sixty-second, is at Stanford University; Jiang Yeming, ranked sixty-sixth, is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

A total of fifteen materials scientists on the list, only Wan Meixiang, ranked forty-third, and Meng Xiangmin, ranked ninety-ninth, are currently working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Fifteen people, only two staying in the country. What a brutal reality this is.

Swish~

Gao Yuan placed the printed paper on the table. But after thinking for a moment, he took out a thumbtack and directly pinned it to the most conspicuous spot on the wall! As if to use this paper to remind himself, to motivate himself.

Seeing Gao Yuan's action, Levi was surprised and a little impressed. He began to truly understand that this young man in front of him was not so simple.

"Thank you for your reminder," Gao Yuan said. "I didn't have particularly firm confidence about the future before, but now I understand what I need to do."

Levi smiled slightly. "So, you finally understand the gap between reality and ideals? I admit, Mr. Gao Yuan might be an anomaly, without overseas study experience, and not planning to serve America. But in this world, not everyone thinks that way."

"In the current situation, even if Mr. Gao Yuan can control a part, he cannot have much impact on the overall situation. After all, the world needs a large number of geniuses to build it, and you are just one of them. One person cannot change the world."

"Since that's the case, why not go with the flow? No matter how good X Fiber is, it still needs to be rated by our North American research system. No matter how excellent Mr. Gao Yuan is, the papers he writes still need to be published in our academic journals."

"There's an idiom, 'a mantis trying to stop a chariot.' I don't want Mr. Gao Yuan to be the mantis that obstructs the chariot of America's progress. Doing so would lead to utter destruction."

Gao Yuan sighed softly. He had to admit that the gap between China and the United States was still very large, and it was difficult to catch up in a short period.

But a few seconds later, the corners of Gao Yuan's mouth curved again, and he said to Levi, "You are absolutely right. Merely catching up to you in industry and technology is far from enough. When the world forms a consensus that learning Chinese is an honor, and working in China is a glory, only then can we truly consider ourselves revived."

"The road is long and difficult, but I am willing to try."

"Mr. Levi, thank you for the list. It's impolite not to reciprocate. I have something for you too."

With that, Gao Yuan pulled open a drawer, took out a thick stack of papers, and handed them to Levi.

Levi was suspicious, but when he saw the title, he immediately showed an excited expression and quickly flipped through the pages. However, after flipping through about dozens of pages, his expression changed again, and his brows furrowed deeply.

Levi swallowed. "This is your paper on X Fiber?"

Gao Yuan nodded slightly. "That's right."

Levi asked in confusion, "Why is it in Chinese?"

Gao Yuan gave him a look of pity for the intellectually challenged. "Because my native language is Chinese."

Levi looked around. "Where is the English version?"

Gao Yuan shook his head gently. "There is no English version."

Levi seemed greatly shocked. "How can it be published in top journals like Science and Nature without an English version?"

Gao Yuan said calmly, "I don't plan to publish in Science, nor in any other journal."

Levi's eyes widened, he could hardly believe his ears, "Are you crazy!? Science is the most authoritative academic journal on Earth! It plays an irreplaceable role in the global academic research community! Being able to publish one's research findings in Science is the honor of all researchers!"

Gao Yuan spread his arms, indicating his indifference.

Then he took the paper back from Levi and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry about this, sir. I don't belong to any academic circles, and I'm too lazy to deal with them."

"This paper and all subsequent ones will be posted on my own website. Everyone is welcome to read and discuss it, but if you can't understand it, that's not my problem."

Lost and utterly confused, Levi walked out of Gao Yuan's office.

He never expected that today would end like this. This Gao Yuan is so strange, what exactly is he trying to do?

As soon as he stepped outside and was hit by the cold wind, Levi shivered and remembered a very important question.

"Mr. Gao Yuan, what is the name of the website you just mentioned?"

Gao Yuan looked up and smiled at Levi, "Kunlun Asking the Way."

To all my esteemed readers, the history, data, people, companies, rankings, and technology involved in this book are almost all real. I can write about 500 words per hour on average. Today, I woke up at 4:30 AM and started writing at 7:00 AM, finishing work at 9:20 PM.

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