148: Chapter 148 Su Xiaowan's Smile: Finally, I've Met You
The office door closed gently after Old Chen left, separating the outside hustle and bustle from the absolute silence of this mountain fortress-1, creating two separate worlds.
Simulated sunlight filtered through the high-resolution landscape window, casting warm spots of light on the floor, while outside the window, a virtual bamboo forest swayed in the breeze, rustling as if it were real.
On the holographic workstation, the data stream regarding the material strength for the first phase of the "north heavenly gate project" flowed quietly like a waterfall, with complex molecular structure diagrams and stress simulation curves flickering and intersecting.
Su Xiaowan stood to one side of the console, her posture straight, her fingers skillfully sliding and tapping on the holographic interface, calling up key data points and highlighted annotations one by one.
Her voice was clear and steady as she reported the preliminary analysis generated by "Fuxi":
"...Based on the composite armor substrate woven from new carbon nanotube-graphene isomers, the theoretical kinetic impact resistance strength has reached 17.3 times that of the most advanced existing materials. For that type of high-energy particle stream analyzed from the 'reaper' probe wreckage, the energy dispersion efficiency is estimated to be over 68%, which has already exceeded our initial expectations. However, "Fuxi" has also marked seventeen potential stress weak points, mainly concentrated at the joints of the large-area curved surfaces..."
Lin Mo sat in his exclusive work chair, his body leaning slightly forward, his gaze closely following every set of data that Su Xiaowan called up. He listened with extreme focus, occasionally pausing on a certain piece of data, his brows slightly furrowed, lost in rapid thought.
"The curvature transition issue," Lin Mo suddenly spoke, interrupting Su Xiaowan's report, but his tone was exploratory. ""Fuxi" uses a standard transition model for its simulations. But is it possible to apply that 'non-Newtonian fluid metal memory effect' data we extracted from the probe wreckage to the buffer layer design of the joints? Even if it's just a simulation of partial characteristics."
Su Xiaowan's eyes lit up, and her fingers immediately operated quickly, pulling up another encrypted wreckage analysis subdirectory. "Are you referring to that anomalous material data codenamed 'memory soft gel'? "Fuxi" did perform cross-simulations, but the priority wasn't high before. I will perform a correlation recalculation immediately..."
Her reaction was extremely fast; in less than ten seconds, a new simulation window popped up, tentatively substituting the characteristic parameters of the 'memory soft gel' into the armor joint model. On the holographic image, the originally red-marked stress concentration points began to show subtle signs of easing.
"It's effective!" Su Xiaowan's voice carried a hint of imperceptible excitement. "Although it can't be completely eliminated, it can at least reduce the peak stress by more than 40%, and it can provide a better energy dissipation channel. Consultant Lin, this idea is brilliant!"
A faint but genuine smile appeared on Lin Mo's face, a natural joy at finding a breakthrough direction for a technical problem. "It's just a preliminary idea; it still needs a large amount of experimental verification. Add this line of thinking and the required verification experiments to the next phase of priority tasks for the "North Heaven Gate" material group."
"Understood, I will record it and generate the task order." Su Xiaowan nodded, her fingers flying as she converted Lin Mo's instructions into clear task items and sent them out via an encrypted link.
After handling this sudden inspiration, the report on the previous formal analysis was also nearing its end. The office quieted down temporarily, with only the barely audible low-frequency hum of equipment running.
Su Xiaowan let out a gentle breath and archived the last piece of data. Only then did she slightly relax her straight shoulders, lift her head, and for the first time, let her gaze fall truly—without the color of a pure work report—onto Lin Mo's face as he sat opposite her.
The young consultant was still immersed in the technical train of thought from just a moment ago, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the armrest, his eyes gazing toward the virtual bamboo forest outside the window, seemingly pondering something deeper. His profile was clear under the simulated light, carrying an air of focus and serenity.
It overlapped somewhat with the image she had imagined during countless encrypted communications, yet it was also somewhat different. More real, more... young. But also heavier; between those slightly furrowed brows, there lay responsibilities unimaginable to ordinary people.
Seemingly sensing her gaze, Lin Mo snapped back to reality, turned his head back, and met Su Xiaowan's eyes exactly.
Su Xiaowan did not hurriedly look away; instead, she naturally curled her lips slightly, revealing a faint and sincere smile. This smile dispelled the sharpness of her demeanor as a capable technical official, adding a touch of softness that belonged to her age.
She took a small step forward and extended her right hand, her voice softer than it had been during the report, yet exceptionally clear:
"Mr. "Patriot X"," she paused, her smile deepening, "or rather, Consultant Lin Mo. Let me formally introduce myself: I am Su Xiaowan, your chief liaison officer and technical assistant."
She looked into his eyes, enunciating every word, and said softly:
"Finally, I get to see you."
This sentence contained too many things. It held the curiosity and mystery of long-term one-way contact and guessing the identity of the person behind the scenes; the admiration of witnessing him turn the tide time and again and contributing astonishing technologies; the tension and trust during coordinated operations and countering hunts within "Weaving Net"; and also the slight emotion of this moment, with the dust settled and the real person right before her eyes.
Lin Mo was clearly taken aback, seemingly not expecting her to suddenly offer such a formal, yet clearly personally emotional, "greeting." He looked at the fair, slender, yet equally strong hand before him, and then looked at Su Xiaowan's eyes, which were filled with a smile and a glint of light.
A moment later, he also smiled, a smile that diluted the heaviness between his brows, appearing genuine and gentle. He stood up, extended his hand, and shook Su Xiaowan's hand lightly.
Her hand was slightly cool, but the grip was firm.
"Engineer Su," Lin Mo's voice also relaxed a bit, "or rather, Comrade Xiao Wan. I am also very happy that I can finally discuss problems with you face-to-face, without being separated by an encrypted channel. Regarding the previous "Weaving Net" operations, and this data compilation, thank you for your hard work; you did an excellent job."
His recognition was direct and sincere. Su Xiaowan felt her fingertips heat up slightly, but her smile remained unchanged as she naturally withdrew her hand.
"It is my honor to be able to participate in this." Her tone was solemn, then immediately carried a touch of lighthearted teasing, "At least now, when I send you messages, I don't have to rack my brains designing those encrypted metaphors and physics formula 'jokes' that only you can understand."
Lin Mo recalled how, in the encrypted channels before, the two of them would occasionally use discipline-specific memes or formula snippets that only insiders would understand to confirm identities or pass implied information, and he couldn't help but smile: "The difficulty of deciphering those 'jokes' also left a deep impression on me at one time."
The atmosphere became relaxed and harmonious. A kind of tacit understanding and trust, built upon long-term "spiritual connection" and shared experiences, quickly took root and sprouted during their real-life meeting.
"Oh, right," Su Xiaowan remembered something and pulled up a short schedule from the encrypted tablet she carried with her, "Director Long has confirmed that at 3:00 PM, all members of the 'Torch Dragon' team will meet with you at the base's second training ground. Additionally, Old Chen asked me to remind you that there is a remote video briefing for the GDC Preparatory Committee tomorrow morning. You need to attend for about ten minutes, mainly to establish the tone. You can arrange your research freely during other times."
"Okay, I understand." Lin Mo nodded, took the schedule, and quickly scanned it.
"Then... Consultant Lin, if you have no other instructions, I will go handle the new task distribution for the "North Heaven Gate" material group and coordinate computing resources with the "Fuxi" center." Su Xiaowan returned to her work state and requested instructions.
"Go ahead." Lin Mo nodded, "Communicate with me whenever there is progress."
Su Xiaowan neatly packed up her things, smiled and nodded at Lin Mo once more, and turned to walk toward the door. When her hand rested on the doorknob, she paused slightly, turned back, and said:
"Although this place is underground, the simulated environment is quite good. If you feel stuffy, you can ask the life assistant to change the landscape outside the window at any time, or apply to have short-term activities in the absolutely secure internal courtyard. Your health is the capital of the revolution."
After finishing, she finally pulled the door open, and her figure disappeared lightly outside the door.
The office returned to silence.
Lin Mo sat back in his chair, his gaze once again cast toward the data flowing on the workstation, but the gentle smile at the corner of his mouth lingered for a moment.
He was not a dull person. He clearly felt Su Xiaowan's kindness, which transcended a pure working relationship and carried admiration and care. In this highly secure yet isolated fortress-1, on this journey destined to be full of challenges and loneliness, such sincere friendship from an excellent companion appeared especially precious.
He gently exhaled, suppressing his slightly rippling emotions, and his gaze became sharp and focused once more, cast upon the even more vast and complex overview map of the "North Heaven Gate" project.