22: Chapter 22 is about to bring something big!

Wei Jiancheng's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"Are you... really Old Chen?"

He asked this with utter seriousness, without a hint of joking.

"Who else would I be?"

Chen Jingshan picked up his teacup and blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface, his demeanor relaxed.

"Or are you saying, Old Wei, that you oppose the formation of the Special Task Force?"

"How could I!"

Wei Jiancheng waved his hands repeatedly, like a rattle drum.

Oppose it?

He wasn't an idiot.

He knew better than anyone what forming a Lithography Machine Special Task Force meant.

It was a full-scale assault formation; they would get whoever they needed and whatever resources they required, concentrating the strength of the entire academy on the breakthrough.

This scale was countless orders of magnitude larger than the small amount of resources he had originally planned to fight for.

Once the Lithography Machine Special Task Force was officially established, his Light Source Prototype construction would merely be one sub-project within it.

Equipment, funding, personnel...

These things he used to have to beg for until his tongue was raw would suddenly be within easy reach.

More importantly—

The ultimate goal of the Special Task Force was to create a complete, top-tier domestic Photolithography Machine.

If this thing could really be developed...

Wei Jiancheng's throat bobbed as he forcibly swallowed the thought that had been surging in his mind countless times.

He didn't dare to think it, nor could he think too far ahead.

Wei Jiancheng had lived for most of his life, and he dreamed of seeing this day with his own eyes.

Except...

Wei Jiancheng turned his head, glanced at Lin Yuan, and then at Chen Jingshan.

He just didn't like social niceties, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

When he came in just now, he had mentioned resource allocation.

How did Chen Jingshan react?

He made tea, asked about the time, and pointed out the shortcomings of the other two major components; bucket after bucket of cold water was poured down, turning his enthusiasm lukewarm.

Yet, as soon as Lin Yuan mentioned the Special Task Force, Chen Jingshan said just one word—

"Good."

No follow-up questions, no doubts, not even an extra pause.

Comparing the two, Wei Jiancheng truly realized the weight of the phrase "resources tilting heavily toward Lin Yuan personally."

This kind of treatment... had he not personally handled the materials Lin Yuan provided and verified the rigor and advancement of every formula...

Had he not seen Lin Yuan in the lab today, casually pointing things out to a group of postdocs and senior research-level backbones, every word hitting the mark as easily as a university professor instructing elementary students...

He would have suspected—

Whether this kid was a direct descendant of some big shot from above.

Or simply Old Chen's long-lost illegitimate son.

But even adding up everything Lin Yuan had shown today, to receive this level of treatment still gave Wei Jiancheng a sense of unreality that went down to his bones.

This wasn't just slightly over the limit.

It was so far beyond the standard that even a veteran who had worked in the Xia Academy of Sciences system for thirty years couldn't fathom its depth.

Behind this, there had to be things he couldn't reach.

However, Wei Jiancheng was too lazy to obsess over these twists and turns.

He only recognized one principle in his life—

Technology.

If the technology was real, the route was viable, and the resources were in place, that was enough.

As for everything else, let others fuss over it.

Lin Yuan sat to the side, taking in the complex emotions that shifted through several rounds on Wei Jiancheng's face.

Almost every thought of this old director was written on his face.

First was wild joy, then doubt, followed by relief.

Finally, it settled into an open-mindedness of "whatever, as long as the technology is there."

This pure faith in technology was exactly what was most useful.

Because it meant that as long as Lin Yuan continued to output high-quality results, Wei Jiancheng would unconditionally stand by his side, acting as his solid shield on the front lines of scientific research, as well as his sharpest spear.

No need for wining and dining, no need for schemes.

The technology itself was the best bargaining chip.

Chen Jingshan set down his teacup, his gaze circling between the two before finally resting on the thick verification report on the coffee table.

He reached out, picked up the report, and gave it a light toss to weigh it.

"I'll keep this material with me for now."

"Later, I will organize several Core Committee Members within the academy to study it."

He placed the report on his desk, separate from the documents waiting to be reviewed, setting it alone in the most prominent position on the right side.

"At the same time, I will organize the plan for the Special Task Force into a formal report as soon as possible and submit it to the higher-ups."

Submit it to the higher-ups.

When those words came out of Chen Jingshan's mouth, Wei Jiancheng's heart skipped a beat.

He knew all too well what "submitting it to the higher-ups" meant.

The fact that Chen Jingshan was passing this matter upward proved—

He truly approved of it.

It wasn't a polite gesture or perfunctory; he was genuinely going to push for this to happen.

Wei Jiancheng's throat bobbed as he forced down the excitement welling up.

"Good!"

He said only that one word.

"Mm, you two can just wait for news."

Chen Jingshan nodded, then glanced at Wei Jiancheng's barely suppressed state and added a sentence.

"Before the Special Task Force is approved, Old Wei, don't stop the work in your institute."

"Start on whatever preliminary preparations you can for the Light Source Prototype."

"Schematic designs, material lists, equipment selection—start building the framework for the things that don't need to wait for approval."

Chen Jingshan raised a finger and tapped the air.

"Once the approval from above comes down, we'll get straight to work without wasting a single day."

Wei Jiancheng gave a heavy nod, the exhaustion all over his body long since burned away by excitement.

"Understood!"

He stood up with a start, his drive as a technical fanatic surfacing again; he wished he could fly back to the lab right now to start drawing blueprints.

Seeing this, Chen Jingshan shook his head with a laugh and made a "don't rush" gesture toward him.

"There's one more thing."

Wei Jiancheng paused.

Chen Jingshan turned his gaze toward Lin Yuan, his eyes holding a hint of appraisal.

"Comrade Lin Yuan, you mentioned earlier that you also have some research results regarding the Objective Lens and the Workpiece Stage."

"I'm not in a hurry for you to bring them out right now."

"But before the Special Task Force is officially established, I hope you can do a preliminary sorting and classification of the materials you have on hand."

"That will make it easier for us to do an overall technical assessment when the time comes."

Lin Yuan stood up and gave a slight nod.

"No problem, Dean."

The response was concise and direct, without any lingering.

Chen Jingshan nodded in satisfaction and gestured toward the door.

"Go on, you two."

"Especially you, Old Wei."

He added, with a rare bit of teasing.

"Go back and wash your face first; your eyes are as red as a rabbit's."

Wei Jiancheng gave a huff, but the curve of his lips betrayed him.

He strode out of the office, his steps like the wind.

Lin Yuan followed behind, stopping for a moment at the door to look back at Chen Jingshan.

Their eyes met for just an instant.

Lin Yuan nodded slightly, turned to leave, and gently closed the door behind him.

"Click."

The crisp sound of the latch entering the slot was exceptionally clear in the quiet office.

In the large room, Chen Jingshan was once again alone.

Outside the window, the sky had already darkened.

The red light of the setting sun passed through the floor-to-ceiling window, stretching a long patch of light across the desk, moving slowly and silently.

Chen Jingshan did not move.

He just sat there on the sofa, his right hand resting on the armrest, his fingers tapping the leather surface lightly and rhythmically.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The frequency was slow, the intervals even.

This was his habitual movement when thinking.

In forty years of professional life, countless major decisions had been preceded by this subtle and continuous tapping.

He was thinking about Lin Yuan.

No, more accurately, he was thinking about where the storm Lin Yuan had stirred up would ultimately lead the Xia Nation.

The verification of the light source theory was only the first step.

The materials for the Objective Lens and Workpiece Stage were about to be released; that was the second step.

And forming the Special Task Force and reporting to the higher-ups was moving the board of this chess game from the desk of the Xia Academy of Sciences to another, much larger table.

The finger tapping stopped.

Chen Jingshan slowly stood up and sat down behind his desk.

He picked up the verification report and flipped to the last page.

On it was the conclusion signed by Wei Jiancheng in his own hand—

"The theoretical model is fully established; it is recommended to enter the engineering conversion phase immediately."

Chen Jingshan stared at that line of text for a long time.

Then, he closed the report and placed it neatly on the right side of the desk.

His hand moved toward the red telephone on the desk.

He picked up the red receiver and held it in his hand for a moment.

Only the sound of the clock's ticking on the wall remained in the office, fine and even.

The next second, Chen Jingshan dialed a string of numbers.

The waiting tone before the call connected rang out one by one in the empty room.

Beep—

Beep—

Beep—