31: Chapter 31 The real show is about to begin!

Chief Technical Engineer?

When these three words left Chen Jingshan's mouth, the massive conference room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The gazes of dozens of people froze in mid-air, and even the rhythm of their breathing faltered for a moment...

It wasn't that they hadn't expected Lin Yuan to be given a position of importance.

After all, the order of names on the special task force's official document had already released an extremely strong signal in advance.

But being given importance and being appointed as the "Chief Technical Engineer" of the special task force were concepts on two completely different dimensions.

What did the title of Chief Technical Engineer mean?

It meant that the three major technical routes—the Light Source, the Objective Lens, and the Dual-Workpiece Stage—all had to be finalized by him alone.

It meant that once the research directions of the various institutes diverged, the final power of arbitration lay in his hands.

It meant that on the technical level of the entire Lithography Machine Special Task Force, he was the ceiling.

Among those present, there were titans who had worked in precision optics for forty years, giants whose words carried the weight of law in the field of automation, and industry benchmarks who had published countless heavyweight papers in top international journals.

And now, a single transfer order from above was putting a twenty-year-old youth, who hadn't even graduated from his undergraduate studies, in technical charge of all of them?

This appointment was no less than a thunderclap exploding in the center of the conference room, shocking everyone's thoughts into a blank slate.

The brief silence in the conference room felt more oppressive than any clamor.

The reaction from the Third Research Institute was relatively stable.

It wasn't that they weren't shocked, but rather that they had already been "desensitized" in advance by Lin Yuan's performance in the laboratory.

Over the past few days, the reservoir of knowledge Lin Yuan had displayed regarding Light Source theory had already left everyone in the Third Research Institute, from top to bottom—even the most prickly researchers—thoroughly impressed.

Complex models that seemed to require repeated deductions to clarify were explained clearly by Lin Yuan in just a few sentences.

If the title of Chief Technical Engineer were placed on anyone else, they would have to weigh it carefully.

But placed on Lin Yuan...

If he isn't the Chief Technical Engineer, then who the hell else could be?!

Wei Jiancheng even tilted his head slightly, glanced at Lin Yuan, and took a tactical sip of water from his thermos, suppressing the corners of his mouth that were about to grin to his ears, showing an expression of secret delight.

This is exactly how it should be!

In passing, he also used a gaze tinged with a bit of pity to sweep over the group of dumbfounded old colleagues from the other institutes opposite him.

But the composure of the Third Research Institute was in the minority within the conference room.

The expressions on the faces of people from the other research institutes were much more colorful.

Someone's Adam's apple bobbed as they forced themselves to swallow the questions that had reached their lips.

The fountain pen spinning in someone's hand fell onto the table with a 'clack,' abrupt and piercing.

More people were exchanging glances, confirming the same thing from the pupils of their peers—

Did we hear that wrong?

However, to everyone's surprise, during this half-minute of silence, not a single person stood up to raise a substantive objection.

It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they simply couldn't find a justifiable excuse.

In the end, who had proposed the subversive theoretical routes for these three major components?

It was Lin Yuan.

And the position of Chief Technical Engineer was in charge of technology.

If you're not convinced, then come up with a more mature and impressive plan yourself!

If you can't produce real technical results, then you just have to suck it up.

Furthermore, no one present was a political novice.

From the speed of the document approval to the order of the list, and then to Chen Jingshan calling on Lin Yuan to report first in today's meeting...

When all the details were pieced together, the signal released was as clear as it could possibly be.

The higher-ups were dead set on pushing this young man to the forefront.

Standing up to object at this time wasn't just making things difficult for Lin Yuan; it was making things difficult for the entire decision-making chain.

This was no longer a technical issue, but a question of stance.

Of course, that wasn't the most critical point.

The most critical point was that no one present was a fool.

After all, the position of Chief Technical Engineer relied on genuine talent and learning.

If one's ability couldn't support such a heavy responsibility, it would only end in self-humiliation.

There was plenty of time; why tear off the mask of politeness at this first meeting?

Let the bullet fly for a while.

Wait until they got those theoretical materials, look them over, do the math, and then it wouldn't be too late to draw a conclusion.

These seniors, who had been immersed in the field of scientific research for decades, were all outstanding individuals in terms of shrewdness and insight.

The current silence was not agreement, let alone acceptance.

It was a kind of seasoned restraint.

It was a posture of "I won't speak first, I'll wait to see your hand."

Lin Yuan sat in his seat, his back straight, hands folded on the table, not moving from beginning to end.

He took in the entire surrounding atmosphere.

He saw all the undercurrents and calculations in the room, but he saw through them without speaking.

He didn't need to respond.

He only needed to use his results to shut everyone's mouth.

On the rostrum, Chen Jingshan's sharp gaze swept across the room.

After waiting for a full minute and seeing that no one raised an objection, he nodded decisively, settling the matter.

"Since there are no objections, then this matter is settled."

With one sentence, he briskly turned the page, leaving no room for anyone to regret.

Immediately after, Chen Jingshan opened the folder in front of him and began to announce the basic regulations of the special task force.

"Regarding the core points of the special task force, I will briefly emphasize three."

"First, the special task force will begin centralized work starting today. The Academy has already vacated Research Building No. 7, and all core members of each institute will move in tomorrow."

"Second, internally, we will be divided into three major research groups: Light Source, Objective Lens, and Dual-Workpiece Stage. The group leaders will be the heads of the corresponding research institutes, and technical milestones will be reported to Chief Engineer Lin Yuan."

"Third, resource guarantees will be given a full green light. Equipment procurement, personnel additions, and cross-departmental coordination will follow the special task force's independent channel; no stage is allowed to be blocked."

After stating the three core points, Chen Jingshan closed the folder and placed it gently on the table.

"The specific division of labor and timeline are all in the materials to be distributed later, so I won't go into detail."

"Anyway, looking at the eyes of everyone here, instead of listening to me ramble, you probably want to see those theoretical materials sooner."

These words were blunt, and the sitting postures of several old-timers shifted slightly, their thoughts having been hit spot on.

Chen Jingshan saw this and smiled.

"In that case, it's time to let everyone see the real deal!"

Chen Jingshan gave a large wave of his hand.

The side door of the conference room opened in response, and several high-level security personnel from the Academy Office pushed small carts in one after another.

Neatly stacked on the carts were kraft paper bags, each with a bright red seal at the closure.

The paper bags were delivered to each attendee one by one, according to the head count.

Lin Yuan sat next to the main seat, a carbon pen held between his right index and middle fingers, idly spinning a beautiful pen flourish.

The curve at the corner of his mouth finally widened uncontrollably.

The show was finally entering its climax.

The sound of rapid tearing soon filled the conference room.

"Riiip—"

The security strips were violently torn open.

The second everyone received their document bags, they pulled out the hundred-page-thick copies of the theoretical deductions with the utmost speed and began to browse them seriously.

Soon, several minutes passed.

"Hiss—"

An uncontrollable sound of drawing in a cold breath abruptly broke the silence.

Then came a second, a third...

In the massive conference room, only dozens of heavy gasps could be heard echoing.

In the next moment, as if pulled by some unified mysterious magnetic field.

"Swish—"

Dozens of gazes moved away from their respective documents in unison.

Those gazes crossed the conference table, passed the teacups and nameplates, and all converged fixedly on that young man.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair.

Meeting those complex gazes filled with shock and horror, he nodded slightly.