57: Chapter 57 The Southern Heavenly Gate Project Exposed: Twenty-Five Years of Sword Forging for One Person!

Su Che's fingers touched the thin layer of sealing wax.

He tore open the seal.

Inside, there were no dense data reports as he had imagined.

Instead, there were sheets of slightly yellowed, hand-drawn conceptual designs in pencil.

The first image.

It was an aerospace carrier, hovering above the clouds, as massive as a mountain.

Next to it were two small, handwritten characters.

"luan bird".

The second image.

It was a sci-fi looking aerospace fighter with foldable, morphing wings.

"White Emperor".

The third image.

It was a swarm of unmanned fighter jets, like a beehive.

"Xuan Nu".

Page after page.

From Anti-gravity takeoff and landing platforms to space-based laser weapons, and then to a global strategic defense system...

A future sci-fi blueprint for the Dragon Kingdom, grand beyond imagination, was laid bare before Su Che.

Su Che's breathing quickened; for the first time, he was in such direct contact with the Nantianmen Project, and he was completely stunned.

"This project began over twenty years ago."

Lieutenant General Peng's voice was distant and heavy.

"Starting with the 'Kunlun' project, a group of top scientists led by your grandfather, Su Changshan, hid their names and identities to forge a sharp sword for the Dragon Kingdom that could pierce the heavens."

President Liu Qianghua stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky outside.

"It's been twenty-five years."

"At the beginning, it only took us ten years to develop the 'Kunlun' Anti-gravity material. This was our greatest breakthrough, but also our greatest shackle."

President Liu Qianghua turned around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Su Che.

"We were like people who had invented an engine but couldn't build the wheels, couldn't build the chassis, and didn't even have a steering wheel."

"We were guarding a mountain of gold but couldn't even dig out a single piece of copper."

"The application of Anti-gravity material requires supporting energy technology, material technology, propulsion technology, control technology... each one is at least fifty years ahead of our current era!"

"We have the strongest spear in the world, but we don't have the arm to wield it!"

President Liu Qianghua slammed his fist on the table, making a dull sound.

"Do you know how 'Longmai' has survived these past fifteen years?"

"A generation has turned their hair white and exhausted their life's work, only to receive, perhaps, a few lines of data declaring failure."

"Many people, until the moment they closed their eyes, never saw a single steel plate of the 'luan bird' being manufactured."

Dean Liu finished speaking, clutching his chest, silent for a long time.

Su Che's hand tightened around the design drawing of the "luan bird".

In the bottom right corner of the drawing, there was a signature he was incredibly familiar with.

—— Su Changshan.

"My grandfather..."

Su Che's voice was a bit hoarse.

"Is he... is he okay?"

Lieutenant General Peng looked at him, his gaze complex.

"He is not just a part of this project."

"He is the cornerstone of this project."

"The 'Kunlun' Anti-gravity material was developed by a team he led. But after that, in order to overcome the application challenges, he locked himself in the underground base of 'Longmai' for fifteen whole years and hasn't come out since."

Fifteen years.

Childhood memories flooded into Su Che's mind.

He remembered fifteen years ago, the last time his grandfather came home for the New Year, and those eyes, filled with exhaustion yet still bright.

So, after that farewell, there had been fifteen years of isolation.

"I want to see him."

Su Che stood up, looking at Lieutenant General Peng and President Liu Qianghua, saying each word clearly.

"I want to join 'Longmai'."

President Liu Qianghua's eyes lit up instantly.

A look of relief also appeared on Lieutenant General Peng's face.

"We have been waiting for those words from you."

Lieutenant General Peng said.

"Your appearance, and the technologies you possess, are the 'arm' we have been missing!"

"We couldn't ask for more than your joining us."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"However, the security clearance level for the 'Longmai' unit is the highest in the Dragon Kingdom."

"Your application to join needs to be jointly signed by me, Dean Liu, as well as the Military Science Commission and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and reported to the highest level of leadership."

"The final approval requires the personal nod of Number One."

"I understand."

Su Che nodded.

"Then please, both of you, make the arrangements as soon as possible."

...

In the afternoon.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences Quantum Information Technology Application Seminar.

Su Che followed President Liu Qianghua and sat next to the main seat in the conference room.

Below, dozens of top domestic experts and academicians in the field of quantum physics were seated.

Outside, any one of these people would be a titan in the field.

At this moment, however, the way they looked at Su Che was like elementary school students looking at their teacher, full of awe and curiosity.

The content of the meeting revolved around the Quantum Information Technology previously provided by Su Che.

From civilian to military, from communication to computing.

One after another, problems that had plagued Dragon Kingdom scientists for over a decade were easily solved by Su Che in a way that felt like a dimensionality-reduction attack.

"...Regarding the issue of long-distance fidelity in quantum entanglement, we can actually change our approach."

"We don't necessarily have to ensure the particle itself doesn't lose fidelity; we can create an encrypted 'backup' of its 'state information'..."

Su Che spoke eloquently.

The academicians below wrote furiously, afraid of missing a single word.

The meeting lasted until evening.

President Liu Qianghua personally escorted Su Che back to the Expert Apartment of the Military Science Commission.

"Engineer Su, thank you for your hard work today."

"It's my duty."

After seeing President Liu Qianghua off, Su Che returned to his room and threw himself onto the soft, large bed.

He was very tired.

But his mind was incredibly excited.

Southern Gate.

Longmai.

Grandfather.

He felt that he had finally found the way home.

He took out his phone, wanting to call Lin Waner.

Just at this moment.

The phone suddenly started vibrating with a "buzz".

It was an unfamiliar number from the capital.

Su Che frowned and answered the phone.

On the other end of the line, it was completely silent.

He could only hear a faint sound of breathing, as if it had been filtered by some device.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Su Che asked.

On the other end of the line, there was still silence.

Su Che was getting a bit impatient and was about to hang up.

An old, hoarse voice, one that was familiar yet slightly strange to him, struggled to come through the receiver.

"Che'er..."

"...It's me."