Elder Wang

Biodata

Background

Elder Wang is one of Xia Nation’s most respected senior scientists. He and Elder Hua made major breakthroughs in mechanical intelligence and are described as pillars of the Zhonghai Military Industry Research Base. Both also participated in developing the K-Series Fighter Jets 2 30.

His eldest and second sons became businessmen. His youngest son enlisted at his encouragement, distinguished himself in service, and was killed during an operation against Somaji pirates. This loss later makes the proposal to recruit Wang Yixue especially painful for him 21.

At the time of his seventieth birthday, Elder Wang’s research team is still in the first phase of exoskeleton armor development. News that the Northern Theater Command has already reached testing concerns him because competing research results will influence future funding and resource allocations 2.

Appearance

• Clothing: Wears a Zhongshan suit and arrives at his birthday celebration in a bulletproof vehicle with an armed escort 2.
• Features: Has clouded eyes, a beard, and a deeply lined face 2 15 26.
• Bearing: Initially walks with steady steps; during the nuclear-alert crisis, he stands ramrod straight despite his anxiety 2 13.

Personality

Elder Wang dislikes extravagance and is deeply attached to his family. He complains about the scale of his birthday celebration and calls Wang Tianhao’s fifty-million-yuan ginseng gift wasteful, though he recognizes the affection behind it. His two granddaughters matter to him more than anything apart from scientific research; when Yixue hesitates to reveal her present, he assures her that he will like any gift from her 2 3.

His patriotism repeatedly overrides personal comfort. Despite losing his youngest son in service, he approves Yixue’s enlistment because she is the most suitable available mecha pilot. He later spends his once-in-a-lifetime Nation-Protecting Medal authorization on Xu Fan’s research access and protection 21 42.

He is skeptical of claims that exceed established science, but willing to investigate them. He tests Xu Fan’s knowledge before accepting that the young man independently built Crimson Sky No. 1, then becomes emotional when Xu freely shares its alloy formulas. Alongside Elder Hua, he repeatedly mistakes Xu’s commercially motivated offers for disguised acts of selfless national service 26 39 40 41.

Abilities & Skills

Scientific Research

A veteran researcher with experience in mechanical intelligence, exoskeleton armor, and fighter development 2 30.

• Recognizes that the mecha’s mechanical sounds resemble systems used in exoskeleton research 4.
• Interprets flight telemetry and identifies fuel reserves as a critical concern during Yixue’s orbital flight 6 9.
• Recognizes that failed material measurements indicate performance beyond the analyzer’s detection range 15.
• Assesses Xu Fan’s handwritten synthesis notes and recognizes their scientific value 26.
• Cannot fully follow Xu Fan’s advanced railgun explanation, despite his own extensive experience 26.

Research Leadership

Directs researchers, coordinates testing, and negotiates technological cooperation 13 19 41.

• Orders materials analysis of Crimson Sky No. 1 and arranges its weapons demonstrations 13 19.
• Commissions a second mecha with completed laser weapons and a Dragoon System 31.
• Gives Xu Fan access to military research procurement channels 32.
• Proposes cooperation with the base and an application for a national-level research academician title 41.

Nation-Protecting Medal Authority

His medal grants a top-level authorization usable only once in his lifetime. Relevant departments must cooperate provided the request does not oppose the nation’s will or disrupt social harmony 42.

• Uses it to raise Xu Fan’s scientific research clearance to level ten 42.
• Grants Xu access to all resources in Zhonghai, with unconditional departmental cooperation 42.
• Places Xu’s information under red top-secret protection 42.

Story Role / Major Arcs

The Birthday Mecha

Elder Wang’s seventieth birthday brings together his family and Elder Hua at Cloud Summit Manor. Wang Ning gives him an imported exoskeleton armor model that he hopes may offer research inspiration. Yixue’s gift, however, proves to be a five-meter mecha rather than the small model she intended to commission 2 3 14.

When Crimson Sky No. 1 begins preparing for takeoff with Yixue inside, Elder Wang tries to contact her through its phone interface, orders the manor evacuated, and seals off Yunlai Mountain. After its supersonic ascent breaks their connection, he and Elder Hua rush to the base to restore communications 5 6 7.

He fears that the cockpit’s temperature has killed his granddaughter. Reconnecting with her brings him to tears, only for her reports of a comfortable cockpit and enormous remaining energy reserves to overwhelm him. He faints after learning that the mecha also carries a fifty-bar reserve supply 7 8 9.

Nuclear Alert and Materials Testing

After recovering, Elder Wang proposes that the apparent intercontinental missile approaching Zhonghai is actually Yixue returning in the mecha. When the Heaven-Burying nuclear retaliation system enters its activation sequence, he urges an immediate report to the higher authorities before authorization is completed. The crisis ends without a nuclear launch 12 13.

Once Yixue lands safely, he orders materials testing. The alloy exceeds the first analyzer’s limits; subsequent testing gives it a mechanical properties rating of 389, compared with 12 for titanium alloys. He and Elder Hua explain that it could withstand an explosion like Hiroshima’s with little damage 13 15 16.

Military Adoption

Elder Wang helps introduce Crimson Sky No. 1 to Li Guozhong and arranges tests of its particle blade and shoulder-mounted railgun. He explicitly credits Xu Fan rather than the research center with developing the machine 18 19 20.

Li then asks to recruit Yixue through special enlistment. Although the request recalls his youngest son’s death, Elder Wang agrees: the military exercise is approaching, Yixue already knows the controls, and her connection to the creator will simplify communication. He warns Li not to mistreat her 20 21.

Meeting Xu Fan and the Lunar Flight

Elder Wang meets Xu Fan at Champs-Élysées No. 2 and later questions him about the mecha’s construction. Xu’s explanations of carbyne alloy and the railgun convince him of the young man’s expertise. When Xu supplies the alloy’s synthesis process and chemical equations for free, Elder Wang becomes tearful 25 26.

At Elder Wang’s request, Xu demonstrates the mecha with Yixue aboard. Readings of Mach 10.8 and later Mach 45 leave the elderly scientist needing oxygen and medication. Despite his excitement, he advises delaying a report of the lunar landing to protect Xu and the mecha 28 30.

After their return, he commissions another mecha for ten million yuan, including the previously unmounted laser weapons and Dragoon System 31.

Industrial Cooperation and Protection

Visiting Xu Fan’s warehouse, Elder Wang initially doubts that such a dilapidated site could have produced the mechas. The integrated workbench inside dispels those doubts. He and Elder Hua are then stunned by Xu’s offer to sell carbyne alloy for 498 yuan per jin 38 39.

He agrees to buy the remaining alloys and proposes long-term cooperation. Xu offers an integrated mecha production line and technical drawings in exchange for the base covering production expenses and paying him three percent of each mecha’s profits 40 41.

After the project is approved, Elder Wang invokes his medal authority to support and protect Xu. He also persuades Yixue and Tong Yao to help with Xu’s family and work when available 42 43.

Apparent Nuclear Explosion

When Tong Yao’s miniature missile produces a mushroom cloud near Li Guozhong’s division headquarters, Elder Wang immediately calls Li and rushes to the site with Elder Hua and radiation detectors. Their scan finds no radiation 50.

Relationships

• Wang Yixue — Beloved granddaughter. He supports her military service despite his fears and asks Xu Fan to teach her piloting 21 31.
• Wang Ning — Granddaughter. He warmly praises her exoskeleton model gift and considers its possible research value 2.
• Wang Tianhao — Second son and Yixue’s father. Elder Wang criticizes his extravagant birthday gift without doubting his filial affection 2.
• Youngest son — Deceased serviceman whose death shapes Elder Wang’s response to Yixue’s enlistment 21.
• Elder Hua — Longtime friend and scientific colleague. They coordinate research, manage emergencies, and jointly support Xu Fan 2 7 13 41.
• Xu Fan — Technological collaborator whom he comes to regard as an exceptional national asset. Xu, in turn, deeply respects him; Xu’s late father had hoped to research under the two elders 25 31 42.
• Li Guozhong — Military commander whose forces receive mecha support. Elder Wang tests his resolve before revealing the secret weapon and entrusts Yixue to his command 18 21.
• Tong Yao — Technical colleague who handles communications and investigations, records his authorization order, and repeatedly assists during his medical episodes 8 9 28 42.

Notable Quotes

“Little Yixue, Grandpa will like any gift as long as it's from you. Uncover it!” 3

“After thinking it over, she's the most suitable choice. But Li Guozhong, let me make this clear first: if you let my precious granddaughter suffer even the slightest mistreatment, I'll beat you with a broom!” 21

“I invoke the authority of the Nation-Protecting Medal!” 42