Chapter 278 Old Qian's Long Night

Baishui City.

Li Jiajun stretched, looked at the bright sunshine outside the window, and felt that life was so wonderful.

Over the past few days, it was as if he had been playing a game, easily and comfortably overcoming those supposedly insane technical hurdles.

Strength? Done.

High-temperature resistance? Done.

Lightweight? Done.

Even the most troublesome corrosion resistance was finished.

"This is the joy of making serious toys."

Li Jiajun sighed, took a sip of soda, and prepared to arrange the production line.

However.

Just as he was enjoying his peaceful time, somewhere in a national key research institute, the atmosphere was less like a research environment and more like a funeral.

Oppressive.

Heavy.

Suffocating.

This was a massive, confidential meeting room.

Despite having a top-tier ventilation system, the room was still thick with smoke, choking enough to make one's eyes water.

Cigarette butts were piled high like small mountains in the ashtrays, with some even overflowing onto the table.

Sitting around the conference table were over a dozen white-haired elderly men wearing thick glasses.

If an outsider were to see the lineup in this room, they would definitely be terrified to their core.

Because any one of these people, if taken out, was a titan in the fields of domestic materials science, chemistry, and physics.

They were figures who could make the entire academic circle tremble with a single stomp of their feet.

But now, this group of big shots, usually held in high esteem, looked like frosted eggplants—full of fatigue and frustration, with dark circles under their eyes like pandas and eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

Clearly, they had endured one sleepless night after another.

At the head of the conference table sat one of the founders of the national aerospace field, who had been specially invited to preside over the "New Generation Fighter Carbon Fiber Breakthrough Project"—The Director-General, Qian Zhengming, also known as Old Expert Qian.

The table in front of Old Expert Qian was piled high with thick documents.

These were the experimental data reports that had just been produced.

On the blackboard opposite him, complex chemical molecular formulas and mechanical structure diagrams were densely packed, having been written and erased so many times with chalk that they were now a chaotic mess.

"Cough, cough…" Old Expert Qian coughed twice, breaking the suffocating silence in the meeting room.

His voice was a bit hoarse, revealing deep fatigue.

"Let's all speak up," he said.

"How were today's test results?"

Although he already had a premonition, he still asked with a glimmer of hope.

Upon hearing Old Expert Qian's words, the air in the meeting room seemed to grow even more oppressive.

Several Experts looked at each other, none daring to speak first.

Finally, an Old Expert responsible for material strength sighed and stood up tremblingly.

He held a report in his hand, the thin sheets of paper feeling as if they weighed a thousand pounds.

"Old Expert Qian…" The Old Expert took off his glasses, rubbed his dry eyes, and said in a bitter tone,

"We tried a new multi-dimensional weaving method and also adjusted the temperature curve of the carbonization furnace."

"But…" He paused, his mouth twitching helplessly.

"But the latest simulation results show that the strength still cannot break through the 5500 MPa bottleneck."

"Although we have reached 6000 locally, it is extremely unstable; once the stress is uneven, it breaks immediately."

"If we want to reach the 7000 MPa of the T1100 level…"

The Old Expert shook his head and didn't continue, but the meaning was already obvious.

It was an insurmountable chasm.

Hearing the number "5500," Old Expert Qian's eyes dimmed slightly.

This was merely the threshold for the T800 level; it was still far from the skin standard for the next-generation fighter requested by the Air Force.

"What about high-temperature resistance?" Old Expert Qian turned to look at the other side, refusing to give up.

Another chemical Expert responsible for coating technology also stood up, his face full of shame.

"Old Expert Qian, regarding high-temperature resistance, we have tested three new ceramic coating formulas over the past few days."

"We even referenced some foreign public literature."

"But… under continuous high-temperature testing at 200 degrees, all three coatings showed varying degrees of oxidation and peeling."

"The material surface quickly denatured, making it impossible to serve for a long duration."

"We suspect the thermal expansion coefficients of the matrix resin and the coating do not match, but we have never been able to find a perfect point of integration in the micro-structure."

Following the reports from these two Experts, the atmosphere in the conference room plummeted to freezing point.

"There are other issues, also…" Another Expert wanted to report on modulus and toughness, but after glancing at Old Expert Qian's expression, he opened his mouth, then ultimately said nothing.

Because the results were all the same.

Failure.

Failure.

Still failure.

If Li Jiajun could see this scene at this moment, even as laid-back as he was, he would likely be speechless.

Because this group of the country's top scientists, with red eyes and graying hair, having spent countless national funds and working day and night in the laboratory on every single problem… whether it was strength, high-temperature resistance, or stiffness—they happened to be the very things he had solved while drinking soda in his office, watching TV, and stroking his chin over the past few days!

The contrast was simply… incomparable.

But unfortunately, Old Expert Qian didn't know.

The Experts present didn't know either.

They remained trapped in this massive technical maze, unable to find an exit.

Old Expert Qian listened to these failure reports in silence.

He didn't get angry, nor did he cast blame.

Because he knew that everyone had tried their best.

With weak foundations in basic science, attempting to overtake on a curve was inherently an incredibly difficult task.

"Hoo…" Old Expert Qian took off his reading glasses and rubbed his bloodshot eyes with trembling fingers.

He slowly turned around and faced the window.

Outside the window was the sky over the Imperial Capital.

Gloomy and oppressive.

Just like his mood.

"A stalemate…" Old Expert Qian sighed deeply, as if he had exhaled all the pent-up frustration in his chest.

He knew very well in his heart.

This technology was not just a material problem.

It was related to the core competitiveness of the country's next-generation stealth Air Force.

Without this high-strength, high-temperature resistant carbon fiber, the new fighter's wings could not be made thin, the fuselage could not be made light, the maneuverability could not be improved, and the stealth performance would be compromised.

In future air combat, this was the difference between life and death.

The country had entrusted him with such an important burden.

Everyone was looking at him.

Everyone thought that as long as he, Qian Zhengming, took action, there was no difficulty that could not be overcome.

Everyone thought he would lead the team to overcome difficulties just as he had done when developing missiles and satellites, ensuring the future would bear his name.

But.

"I am not a god."

Old Expert Qian looked at the endless darkness outside the window and muttered to himself.

His back looked somewhat hunched and desolate under the light.

At this moment.

This old man who had once created countless miracles felt a deep sense of powerlessness for the first time.

Where was the way forward?

Where was the breakthrough?

Was it really going to be stuck here by this tiny piece of carbon fiber?