15: Unparalleled Hero

He Ming closed the notebook, his gaze sweeping over the open office area.

The hall was bustling with people; the basic staff had mostly been hired, but most of the high-level management offices were still empty.

He clicked the phantom icon and dialed Jiang Zhonghua's number.

"President Jiang, how is the company operating?"

Jiang Zhonghua, upon receiving the call, felt a jolt in his heart and immediately responded respectfully.

"Boss, there are serious vacancies in middle and high-level management positions. Top talent is unwilling to risk joining a startup."

"Right now, a lot of work is falling on me, and progress is slow."

"Understood. I will handle the talent issue. If you have difficulties in the future, tell me directly."

He hung up the phone.

He Ming drafted an email and sent it to the address labeled Academician Chen Guoyuan.

Having finished all this, he rested his chin in his hand and fell into deep thought.

He knew nothing about business management, but he understood President Jiang's meaning.

Top talent values the company's background, as well as their personal development and future achievements, more highly.

Originally, he had planned to wait until the company was truly on track before playing his trump card—recruiting Chen Guoyuan to the company—to show more sincerity.

Currently, it seemed he could not wait any longer.

For Xinghai Material to set sail, it seemed he would have to leverage Academician Chen Guoyuan, this unparalleled national scholar.

After completing this, He Ming sent another email to Jiang Zhonghua, instructing him to immediately register another company—Xinghai Material Technology.

A certain high-end villa community.

Chen Guoyuan, wearing a pair of reading glasses, was flipping through the latest academic journal in his study, hoping to find some inspiration.

Five years into retirement, Chen Guoyuan had never truly left the research battlefield to which he had dedicated his life.

The basement of the villa had been converted into his laboratory.

Research on carbon nanotube t-4, like an unfinished mission, constantly lingered in his mind.

If successful, Dragon Country's technology would see explosive development.

Because the expansion of any technological field cannot be separated from material support.

In the living room, the newly graduated Chen Wanwan was practicing elocution in front of a mirror.

She was a top student in broadcasting and hosting, dreaming of one day sitting in a studio, delivering the latest technological advances and national achievements to thousands of households.

Just then, the notebook computer on the desk sounded an alert.

Chen Guoyuan glanced casually, but when he saw the email subject line, his eyes suddenly widened.

[carbon nanotube t-4 Research Log, Progress 99%]

Chen Guoyuan frowned deeply, thinking this must be a prank.

Yet, driven by curiosity, his hand clicked open the email.

[Hello, Academician Chen Guoyuan]

[Xinghai Material formally invites you to serve as Chief Scientist of the R&D Department]

[Xinghai Material formally invites Ms. Chen Wanwan to serve as CEO]

[Please do not rush to refuse; kindly review the attachment before making your decision]

Chen Guoyuan's brow was already furrowed into a deep frown.

He casually clicked open the attachment.

This was an extremely detailed research log; the precision of the data and the strangeness of the concepts made it impossible for Chen Guoyuan to look away after just one glance.

His breathing gradually became heavy, and the hand holding the mouse trembled slightly due to excessive excitement.

What was recorded here was precisely the project he had spent years on, yet remained stuck on the last few critical problems.

The contents of the email not only perfectly solved the bottlenecks that had troubled him for so long but also pushed the entire research process to an astonishing ninety-nine percent completion.

Only one step remained!

Chen Wanwan entered the study holding a glass of water. When she saw her grandfather's expression, she immediately felt confused; she had not seen him this excited in many years.

Chen Guoyuan took a deep breath and turned the screen toward Chen Wanwan.

"Wanwan, come look at this."

Chen Wanwan leaned closer to the screen and immediately felt overwhelmed; she couldn't understand any of it.

Chen Guoyuan closed the attachment and opened the initial email interface.

Chen Wanwan saw the email information and couldn't help but lean in closer.

"Xinghai Material, wants me to be CEO?"

"Grandpa, I just graduated! Isn't this a joke?"

Chen Guoyuan grabbed the notebook and jogged toward the basement laboratory.

"I must verify this immediately! Wanwan, don't let anyone disturb me!"

Chen Guoyuan instantly seemed to return to the vigor of his youth, throwing himself wholeheartedly into verifying the email data.

A day and a night passed.

Chen Wanwan came to the door several times, filled with worry, but ultimately only quietly left the meals that had been warmed and cooled again.

For three whole days, Chen Guoyuan worked forgetting sleep and food, only snatching a brief nap on a chair beside the laboratory bench when exhaustion became overwhelming.

Countless calculations, deductions, and simulated experiments were conducted in the confined space.

The results shocked him.

The information in the email was completely correct.

Every data point and every derived formula was perfectly consistent and impeccable.

This email, approaching the problem from an angle that completely subverted existing scientific cognition, perfectly solved all the difficulties that had plagued him.

As for the final hurdle, after Chen Guoyuan repeatedly verified the calculations, a clear solution had already formed in his mind.

However, the email was not complete; several extremely important key nodes were missing.

Chen Guoyuan slowly sat down on the sofa, took off his reading glasses, and vigorously rubbed his tired eyes.

He already knew.

This was an invitation he could not refuse.

The sender had accurately grasped all his weaknesses.

carbon nanotube t-4, once successful, would enable Dragon Country to achieve leaps in fields such as controllable nuclear fusion, military industry, and heavy industry.

This was Chen Guoyuan's lifelong pursuit, a dream he was willing to sacrifice everything for.

To see the dawn of personally achieving it in the twilight of his life—this temptation was enough to drive any scientist mad.

Thinking of his granddaughter, Chen Wanwan, Chen Guoyuan felt a surge of infinite tenderness and a hint of bitterness in his heart.

Five years ago, his son and daughter-in-law perished in a plane crash... He was already in his declining years, and the child he worried about most was her.

She had just entered society, and her future was long.

If she could have a good future, then he could rest easy.

Chen Guoyuan could foresee that, relying on carbon nanotube t-4, the rise of Xinghai Material would be unstoppable; a trillion-yuan market value was merely the starting point, and in the future, it might even become a ten-trillion-yuan behemoth.

His granddaughter would have an unshakable status and security in the future, living a life free of worries.

Chen Guoyuan could also guess the sender's goal.

This was an attempt to use his reputation and influence to gain credibility and attention for the obscure Xinghai Material, breaking the predicament of a startup being ignored.

What he would gain was posthumous fame, the future of the nation, and his granddaughter's lifelong stability.

This was an open scheme, but also a fair trade; Chen Guoyuan even felt that he was the one who benefited.

After a long time, Chen Guoyuan let out a deep sigh.

He picked up the internal phone nearby and dialed the house extension.

"Wanwan."

"Grandpa, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to be CEO."

"..."