411: Chapter 861 Returning Home in Glory

Zhao Yang glanced at the screenshots Terence Tao forwarded to him regarding the online trends, then put his phone down without any reason to respond.

Just as the netizens said, with people like this, the moment you pay them any attention, you've already lost.

They were merely clowns, not worth wasting time on.

His attention was entirely focused on the Superalloy.

The atomic structure of this material was vastly different from that of any currently known metal; the atoms did not seem to be held together by conventional metallic bonding forces, but rather by a specific three-dimensional arrangement that interlocked the interatomic gravitational forces in an extremely efficient manner.

This formed a structure that macroscopically possessed both extremely high hardness and excellent toughness.

The deeper Zhao Yang looked, the more he felt this was not just a material science issue; it was an extension of the fundamental theories of Physics itself.

He had Shin-chan run several sets of interatomic force simulations for him, then imported the simulation data into a mathematical model he had written himself, attempting to use variational methods and density functional theory to explain the minimum energy conditions of this special bonding structure.

The computational load was immense, and it took a very long time for the existing supercomputing cluster to run a single complete three-dimensional simulation.

Shin-chan was running several simulation tasks with different parameter combinations in the background simultaneously, and the first thing Zhao Yang did every day upon entering the underground laboratory was to check the latest convergence data.

The iterative curves of atomic coordinates on the screen were densely packed together, and every time an atomic configuration converged and stabilized, it was automatically saved by the system to be compared with the actual atomic arrangement seen under the electron microscope.

Zhao Yang soon discovered that this special crystallization method possessed an inherent "elasticity"; when external compression or tension was applied, the local atomic layers would first slide, but upon reaching a certain critical point, they would be forced to lock due to symmetry constraints, thereby preventing further deformation.

If this property could be partially replicated, even just one-tenth of it, it would be enough for the Dragon Country to take a giant leap forward in the field of high-end materials.

Over the next half year, Zhao Yang spent most of his time on material science research, while also sparing some energy to help Professor Xue Qikun's team with theoretical analysis and mathematical modeling for superconducting materials.

The remaining time was almost entirely spent on mentoring students.

The ten students under his guidance were gradually getting on the right track. In the mathematics track, the literature review phase for Waring's Problem was basically finished; Wang Hong and Fiers had begun their respective independent derivation paths, and He Changyan was responsible for organizing the interim results into a systematic framework.

As for the Biology track, Zhou Ting and a few master's students were already able to independently run the entire process from cell culture to Western blotting, and were beginning to transition toward more complex gene editing.

Zhao Yang held two group meetings for them each week, one for mathematics and one for Biology. The rest of the time, the students spent in the laboratory or office, and would come to knock on his door if they encountered any problems.

Regarding the trip to Seoul next year to attend the International Congress of Mathematicians, Zhao Yang had already officially notified the IMU and the Peking University Foreign Affairs Office.

Furthermore, General Li had also received the news simultaneously, and the coordination work for the security plan had already started even before Zhao Yang notified the IMU.

Zhao Yang wasn't quite sure exactly how many people would be accompanying him to Seoul, nor had he asked about the details of the security plan; he simply confirmed the schedule with General Li once and then didn't inquire about it again.

Meanwhile, in Changcheng, Liang Mengsong had been pushing forward with the technical breakthroughs for the lithography factory.

This highly automated chip production model involved the seamless connection of photolithography, etching, thin-film deposition, ion implantation, and inspection processes, placing extremely high demands on the precision of the entire automated production line integration, with data calibration and process optimization at every intermediate node requiring numerous engineers to make repeated adjustments.

Fortunately, Xinghuo Semiconductor had invested a huge amount of capital into this, and Zhao Yang's only requirement for Liang Mengsong was not to worry about the budget.

Relying on the connections he had accumulated over decades at TSMC and Samsung, Liang Mengsong had successively poached quite a few experienced engineers from ASML.

Although the Wassenaar Arrangement and non-compete clauses had set up significant obstacles to poaching talent, in the face of sufficiently high compensation and an attractive enough technological vision, obstacles could always be bypassed.

Around the time of the Chinese New Year in early 2014, Zhao Yang and Wang Ming boarded a flight back to Changcheng together.

There weren't many people in first class. As soon as Wang Ming sat down, he adjusted his seat to a comfortable angle, then pulled a report out of his briefcase and handed it to Zhao Yang.

"Brother Yang, this is the summary for the entire past year. The expansion of our offline stores this year was faster than I expected, and the revenue from flagship stores in several first-tier cities has already surpassed our online channels. Our total annual revenue last year more than doubled compared to the previous year, and our brand premium is slowly starting to build up. Fenglan International now ranks in the top five in market share for the domestic women's clothing category. We are also actively developing international channels and investing resources in promotion; currently, the results have been very good!"

His tone was steady and confident when he said this; he was completely different from the anxious high school student sitting on the train a few years ago.

Over these years, Wang Ming had really grown a lot!

Zhao Yang felt a bit sentimental. He casually took the report, flipped through it, and asked a few questions about the supply chain.

Wang Ming answered them one by one.

"We have already signed long-term agreements with fabric suppliers. The fabrics for several core styles are exclusively customized, so others can't even copy them. Also, regarding overseas, we have already established collaborations with several internationally renowned design studios."

Wang Ming said with a smile, looking at Zhao Yang.

"Just handle it as you see fit."

Zhao Yang returned the report to him, then suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, what about that, who was it again, that returnee designer you mentioned before? How is she doing now?"

Wang Ming was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

"You mean Su Min? She is our design director now. I told you about her before, but you seemed busy with the turbofan project at that time, so you might not have been listening closely. We plan to get married next year."

After saying this, he added another sentence.

"What about you, Brother Yang? When will you settle down?"

Zhao Yang turned his head to look out the porthole. Clouds spread out below like a grayish-white sea, and the plane was losing altitude; Changcheng was right below. He didn't answer the question, and Wang Ming didn't press him.

The plane passed through the clouds and began to descend. When the landing gear was lowered, the entire cabin shuddered slightly. Zhao Yang watched the ground getting closer and closer outside the window, suddenly feeling that at the end of the year, only these few days of the Chinese New Year allowed him to truly relax.

When they got off the plane.

At the exit, several officials of various ranks from Changcheng were gathered around Father Zhao and Mother Zhao, standing at the exit waiting for Zhao Yang.

Seeing such a grand scene, Wang Ming's expression was slightly strange, and he subconsciously glanced at Zhao Yang beside him.