10: Chapter 10: The Young Girl as Chief Consultant
The next day, three of the country's top engineering bureaus, numbering over ten thousand people, along with hundreds of experts from various fields, swarmed into the "Pangu Base."
Upon arriving, everyone was stunned.
This didn't look like a construction site at all; it was a complete military fortress.
There were guards every three steps and sentries every five; soldiers with live ammunition surrounded the entire complex like an iron barrel.
There were helicopters in the sky and armored vehicles on the ground.
For people and vehicles to enter, they had to pass through at least three security checks, searched so thoroughly they were practically stripped down to their underwear.
Everyone who entered signed a non-disclosure agreement, the strictest kind.
The final clause was written clearly: anyone who dared to leak a single word would be prosecuted for treason.
With this level of security, never mind building a factory; it was enough to dig a nuclear missile silo.
"Old Zhang, what on earth is this for? I've spent my whole life building subways, and I've never seen such a terrifying construction site." A dark-skinned foreman leaned over to an engineer wearing a hard hat nearby and asked in a low voice.
The engineer called Old Zhang was a Deputy Chief Engineer at the National Special Grade-1 Engineering Institute, and several of the projects he had handled were world-class.
He pushed up his glasses and said in a hushed tone, "Don't ask what you shouldn't, and don't say what you shouldn't. The higher-ups have given the order; we have only one task: unconditionally listen to the Chief Consultant and do whatever she says."
"The Chief Consultant? Which big leader? Did an academician of Old Qian's level come personally?" The foreman was even more curious.
Old Zhang shook his head and lifted his chin toward a spot not far away, where someone was surrounded by a group of people: "No, it's her."
The foreman looked in that direction and was instantly stunned.
It was a young girl wearing a blue vest and a hard hat, looking only in her early twenties, her face still fresh and youthful.
She was holding a walkie-talkie, gesturing and directing a group of elderly experts with gray hair in front of her.
"This... the Chief Consultant? Are you kidding me?" The foreman's eyes widened, "Isn't she just a fresh college graduate? What the hell does she know about engineering?"
It wasn't just him; everyone who had just arrived was muttering to themselves.
To have a young girl command them, a group of people who had built cross-sea bridges and dug the world's longest tunnels? Wasn't this just messing around?
But when Jiang Ning's first batch of orders was transmitted to each construction team via the command system, all the muttering and dissatisfaction turned into bewildered shock.
"First team, clear the chemical waste in Zone A immediately. Put the sulfur-containing ones in one pile and the mercury-containing ones in another... The classification must be accurate; use the mass spectrometer to test it for me on-site!"
"Second team, go dismantle the steel frames of the smelting plant in Zone C. Steel with a carbon content between 0.4 and 0.6 percent goes to Furnace No. 1. Anything below 0.2 percent goes to Furnace No. 2. Do not mix them up!"
"Foundation team, dig the pit for the central tower exactly 53.7 meters deep, not a centimeter more, not a centimeter less. Do not pour concrete at the bottom of the pit; use the mixture. Listen to the formula: 45 percent special cement, 12 percent iron powder, 9 percent quartz sand, and also... go to the waste battery factory in Zone B, scrape all the graphite powder inside, and mix it in!"
Each order was terrifyingly precise.
In the conference room, a group of the country's top engineers and material scientists were arguing around a large screen. On the screen was the drawing Jiang Ning had casually sketched the day before.
The drawing had been scanned in high definition, and a 3D model had been built by a supercomputer. But as soon as the model appeared, everyone exploded.
"Chief Engineer Wang, look here..." A young PhD pointed to a strange circle on the model, his hand trembling, "Inside this circle, there is no support, it's purely suspended! This... this doesn't follow the laws of physics!"
Chief Engineer Wang was the one who had voiced his opinion in the command center earlier, named Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, and he had the final say on the project's engineering technology.
At this moment, his face was as dark as ink.
"And this!" Another structural expert nearly roared, "The center of gravity of the main tower is off by more than thirty degrees! Never mind building it, whoever drew this blueprint should be shot! A gust of wind would knock it over!"
"The most bizarre thing is this energy system!" The leader of the power group pointed at the dense lines on the screen, looking as if he had seen a ghost, "I led my team to calculate it for a whole day, and I am 100 percent certain that as soon as this thing is powered on, it will short-circuit and burn out in 0.01 seconds, and it might even explode!"
The entire conference room was in chaos.
"Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense!"
"This is an insult to science!"
"I've been in engineering for forty years, and I've never seen such a ridiculous design! This is murder! It's a waste of national resources!"
Director Zhao Lixin sat in the main seat, listening to the roars of these experts, and his head throbbed.
He could understand these people. They were all top figures in their respective fields, having believed in science and data their whole lives. Now, having something that could not be explained by science suddenly appear and being told to follow it was more painful than killing them.
"Quiet!" Director Zhao Lixin slammed the table, and the room instantly fell silent.
He stood up and scanned the experts who were holding back their anger.
"I know what you are thinking," he said in a low voice, "I don't understand this drawing either. But let me ask you, a few days ago, at the small construction site in the western suburbs, a structure made of a pile of trash and scrap metal reduced the PM2.5 within one kilometer from over three hundred to a single digit in just a few minutes. Who among you can explain that?"
No one made a sound.
They had all seen that test report; the data was real, but no one could figure out the process.
"Let me mention another thing," Director Zhao Lixin's tone became heavier, "Chief Consultant Jiang, she used her bare hands and a rock to hammer an ordinary piece of rebar into a material stronger than our top-tier special alloys. Who among the material experts present can explain that?"
Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, not a single word came out.
Using physical means to change the microstructure of metal at room temperature? Such a thing had only been heard of in myths.
"Everyone, what we are encountering is a brand-new field, a set of knowledge we completely do not understand." Director Zhao Lixin said, enunciating every word, "I don't care if it's called immortal arts or magic; I only know that it works!"
"So, put away your doubts and that set of old experiences!" He pointed at the strange drawing and issued a strict order, "From now on, this drawing is an 'imperial decree'! Every word from Chief Consultant Jiang is the highest directive! Your task is not to understand, not to question, but to execute it at 200 percent!"
"What we need to do is to build this unscientific thing exactly as it is! Anyone who has an objection can leave now. But whoever stays and acts disobediently, or takes it upon themselves to change a single detail, will be dealt with by military law!"
Director Zhao Lixin's words were like a basin of ice water poured over everyone's heads.
The conference room was deathly quiet.
After a long time, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, the most senior Chief Engineer, slowly stood up. He looked at Director Zhao Lixin, then at the drawing on the screen, and let out a long sigh.
"I... I can't do it." He took off his glasses, his voice a bit hoarse, "I've believed in science and data all my life. Asking me to build something that even I consider to be shoddy construction, I can't get past that. Director Zhao, I request to withdraw."
Director Zhao Lixin looked at him with a complex expression. He knew this wasn't about shirking responsibility; this was the integrity of an old scientist.
Just then, the door to the conference room opened.
Chief Consultant Jiang walked in.
She scanned the atmosphere in the room, then looked at Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo and asked directly, "You, are you in charge of materials?"
Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "I am Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, in charge of engineering materials."
"Fine." Chief Consultant Jiang walked up to him, pulled a black, lump-like piece of iron from her pocket, and tossed it onto the table, making a dull "thud" sound.
"This is what I refined last night using the scrap iron from Furnace No. 2." She pointed at the iron lump and said to Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo, "Take it and test its performance. After you've tested it, if you still think my design is nonsense, then you can leave."
Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo looked down at the unremarkable lump of iron, which looked like a piece of burnt coal. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out, picked it up, and turned to walk out of the conference room.
He was going to the laboratory; he was going to use data to prove whether this young girl was just playing tricks or if she really had heaven-defying abilities.