Nietzsche once said that when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.
After hearing Gao Yuan's words, Levi could not help but shudder. The young man before him seemed like a bottomless pool—on one side, youthful vitality and sunshine; on the other, the coldness and resolve of a warrior.
Faced with the temptation offered by The other side of the Pacific, Gao Yuan remained unmoved, calm and composed. The confidence radiating from his bones left Levi deeply unsettled.
Yet after a brief silence, Levi suddenly laughed, and he laughed heartily.
"Young people should live with passion and high spirits." Levi shrugged. "I know that in China, people generally carry a sense of duty toward their country and the world. It has been your tradition for thousands of years. Whenever danger comes, there are always people who step forward to turn the tide."
"Mr. Gao Yuan must be an idealist, well versed in history, constantly learning and growing from China's long history, building a unique set of values."
Then Levi abruptly changed the subject and stared into Gao Yuan's eyes. "Having ideals is a good thing, but you must not forget reality."
"I agree." Gao Yuan chuckled. "The weakness of Huaxia people in reality is that we are too naive and too kind. Even when watching television dramas, we prefer happy endings and rarely judge this world with the utmost malice."
"That habit is bad. It needs to change. We need to learn to abandon illusions, face the bloody truth, and meet the malice of the entire world head-on."
Levi was speechless. He opened his briefcase and handed Gao Yuan a thin sheet of printed paper.
"Take a look at this." Levi said. "What Mr. Gao just spoke of is your ideal, but the paper before you is the real reality."
"This is the latest Global Top 100 Materials Scientists Hall of Fame list released by the Thomson Reuters Group. It is determined by the citation rates of research papers published over the past ten years, so it is quite authoritative."
"A total of fifteen Chinese scientists made the list. But what is even more astonishing is that the top six of the world's hundred strongest materials scientists over the past decade are all Chinese!"
By all reason, so many Chinese materials science elites should have been a source of Honor. Yet for some reason, Gao Yuan's expression turned as cold as frost.
After a pause, Levi continued, "Please look carefully, Mr. Gao. Who do these world-famous materials scientists serve?"
At this point, even Gao Yuan, with his composure far beyond that of his peers, gradually found his face clouding over.
The finest materials scientists of the past decade.
First place, Yang Peidong, serving at the University of California, Berkeley.
Second place, Yin Yadong, serving at the University of California, Riverside.
Third place, Huang Xuanyi, serving at Tsinghua University, Taiwan Province.
Fourth place, Xia Younan, serving at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Fifth place, Sun Yugang, serving at the Nano Physics Research Center of Argonne National Laboratory.
Sixth place, Wu Yiying, serving at Ohio State University.
After a long silence, the corners of Gao Yuan's mouth twitched slightly, as though he wore a bitter smile.
As someone who faced facts, Gao Yuan knew that this was the current reality. It was just that such a reality was far too brutal.
The six great materials scientists were all Huaxia people, but aside from one in the reactionary Taiwan Province, all the rest were in North America, working for the Anglo-Saxons.
Further down the list, Duan Xiangfeng, ranked twentieth, was at the University of California, Los Angeles; Ren Zhifeng, ranked forty-ninth, was at the University of Houston; Bao Zhenan, ranked sixty-second, was at Stanford University; Jiang Yeming, ranked sixty-sixth, was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
Of the fifteen materials scientists on the list, only Wan Meixiang, ranked forty-third, and Meng Xiangmin, ranked ninety-ninth, were currently working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Fifteen people, and only two remained in China. What a brutal reality that was.
Swish~
Gao Yuan set the printed paper on the desk, but after thinking for a moment, he took out a thumbtack and pinned it directly to the most conspicuous spot on the wall! It was as if he intended to use that sheet of paper to remind and inspire himself.
Seeing Gao Yuan's action, Levi was surprised, but also somewhat admiring. He began to truly understand that the young man before him was far from simple.
"Thank you for the reminder," Gao Yuan said. "I had not been especially confident about what came next, but now I understand what I need to do."
Levi smiled faintly. "So you finally understand the gap between reality and ideals? I admit that Mr. Gao Yuan may be an exception. You have no overseas study experience, and you do not intend to serve America. But not everyone in this world thinks as you do."
"Under the current circumstances, even if Mr. Gao can control a small part of the situation, it will not have much impact on the overall battle. After all, the world needs a large number of geniuses to build it, and you are only one of them. One person cannot change the world."
"Since that is the case, why not go with the tide? No matter how good X Fiber is, it still needs to be evaluated by our North American research system. No matter how outstanding you are, the papers you write must still be published in our academic journals."
"There is an idiom: a mantis trying to stop a chariot. I do not want Mr. Gao to become that mantis standing in the path of America's war chariot. You would be crushed to pieces."
Gao Yuan sighed softly. He had to admit that the gap between China and America remained enormous, and it would be difficult to catch up overnight.
But a few seconds later, a curve rose at the corner of Gao Yuan's lips. He said to Levi, "You are right. Catching up with you in industry and technology alone is far from enough. When the world reaches a consensus that learning Chinese is an Honor and working in China is a glory, only then will we have truly achieved rejuvenation."
"The road is long and difficult, but I am willing to give it a try."
"Mr. Levi, thank you for your list. One should return courtesy for courtesy. I have something for you as well."
With that, Gao Yuan opened a drawer, took out a thick stack of papers, and handed them to Levi.
Levi was suspicious, but once he saw the title, excitement immediately appeared on his face. He rapidly flipped through the pages, yet after reading several dozen pages, his expression changed again and his brows furrowed tightly.
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 the look one might give someone intellectually impaired. "Because Chinese is my native language."
Levi looked around. "Where is the English version?"
Gao Yuan shook his head gently. "There is no English version."
Levi looked as if he had suffered a tremendous shock. "Without an English version, how will you publish it in Science or other top journals such as Nature?"
Gao Yuan answered calmly, "I do not intend to publish in Science, nor do I intend to publish in any other journal."
Levi's eyes widened. He could hardly believe his ears. "Have you gone mad!? Science is the most authoritative academic journal on Earth! It plays an irreplaceable role in academic research around the world! Publishing one's research results in Science is the Honor of every researcher!"
Gao Yuan spread his arms, showing that he did not care.
Then he took the paper back from Levi's hands and said with a smile, "You need not worry about that, sir. I do not belong to any academic circle in the first place, and I cannot be bothered dealing with them."
"This paper, along with all subsequent ones, will be posted on my own website. Everyone is welcome to read and discuss them, but if they cannot understand them, that is not my problem."
In a daze, a thoroughly bewildered Levi walked out of Gao Yuan's office.
He had never expected today's outcome to be like this. Gao Yuan was such a strange person. What exactly was he trying to do?
The moment he stepped outside, the cold wind hit him, and Levi immediately shivered as he remembered something extremely important.
"Mr. Gao Yuan, what was the name of that website you mentioned?"
Gao Yuan looked up and smiled at Levi. "Kunlun Asking the Way."
To all esteemed readers, nearly everything involving history, data, people, companies, rankings, and technology in this book is real. On average, I can write five hundred characters per hour. Today, I got up at four thirty, started writing at seven, and finished work at nine twenty in the evening.
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