Chapter 279 - 214: Pillar of the Nation

Chapter 279: Chapter 214: Pillar of the Nation

In the conference room, all eyes were focused on him.

On the other side of the screen, in the conference room at the National Defense Science and Technology University, Chief Li Weiguo and a group of experts and professors also held their breath.

They had all seen the video of Chen Lin at the mathematics conference and knew this young mathematical genius had a habit—

he liked to use pen and paper before solving a problem.

Under the influence of Little Mathematician, the steps to the solution began to appear in Chen Lin’s mind.

Countless mathematical tools and algorithmic frameworks flickered, collided, and reassembled like stars.

Symplectic geometry algorithms... adaptive mesh refinement... multigrid methods... immersed boundary methods...

All sorts of profound algorithms flashed through his mind at high speed.

A few seconds later, he snapped his eyes open.

He picked up the pen and, without the slightest hesitation, wrote the first line of a formula on the first sheet of A4 paper.

SWISH SWISH SWISH—

In the silent, classified conference room, the only sound was the crisp, rhythmic friction of the pen tip against the paper.

Time passed, one minute, one second at a time.

Half an hour...

An hour...

The A4 paper in front of Chen Lin was now on its third sheet.

He was completely immersed in the world of mathematics, as if the outside world had nothing to do with him.

Finally, after writing the last symbol, he stopped his pen.

PHEW—

Chen Lin let out a long breath, feeling waves of fatigue and dizziness wash over his brain, though it wasn’t so bad that he was about to pass out.

He organized the three draft sheets and handed them to Ma Jian, who was beside him.

"Comrade Ma, please scan these and send them to Dr. Zhai Feng."

His voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was calm.

"The core derivation process and algorithmic framework are all here."

Chen Lin paused, then added, "What I’ve provided is a brand-new hybrid algorithm, ’Adaptive Spacetime Meshing + High-Order Symplectic Geometric Integration.’ In theory, it can control the computational error to within 1%. All that’s left is the actual programming and implementation."

On the other side of the screen, Dr. Zhai Feng’s inbox soon received the high-definition scans sent by Ma Jian.

He opened the file with a nearly trembling hand.

The moment he saw the elegant and exquisite formulas on the first page, his pupils contracted sharply.

"My God..."

He couldn’t help but let out a low cry.

As a Ph.D. from the National Defense Science and Technology University, his mathematical foundation was already extremely deep. With just one glance, he understood the essence of Chen Lin’s algorithm!

’Adaptive meshing can dynamically adjust the density of the computational grid based on the movement of the ablation boundary, concentrating computing resources in the most critical areas!’

’And the high-order symplectic geometric algorithm can structurally guarantee energy conservation over long integration times, fundamentally suppressing the accumulation of errors!’

’Taken separately, both of these are top-tier algorithms in their respective fields.’

’And Chen Lin... he actually managed to fuse them together so perfectly!’

’This... This is simply the design of a genius!’

"Zhai! How is it?" Chief Li Weiguo asked urgently.

"Chief Engineer!" Zhai Feng’s voice trembled with excitement. "Theoretically... theoretically, it’s completely viable! This algorithm... it’s practically tailor-made for our problem!"

"Assemble a team immediately! Code it! Verify it!" Chief Li Weiguo slammed the table and issued the order, his voice filled with unquestionable resolve. "Everyone! No one sleeps tonight! I want to see the verification results before dawn tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir!"

On the screen, the conference room at the National Defense Science and Technology University instantly burst into activity. All the researchers threw themselves into their work at high speed, like wind-up machines.

Watching this scene, Chen Lin quietly stood up and said to Academician Liang and Principal Chang, "Academician Liang, Principal Chang, I’ll be heading back then."

"Yes, yes, of course. Go get some rest. You’ve worked hard today," Academician Liang said hurriedly, his eyes filled with relief and admiration as he looked at Chen Lin.

Principal Chang was so excited he was at a loss for words, simply patting Chen Lin’s shoulder repeatedly. "Good kid, you’re a good kid!"

...

「Six o’clock the next morning.」

Before the sky had lightened, Chen Lin’s phone began to ring frantically.

He groggily fumbled for his phone and glanced at the caller ID—Liang Tianshi.

"Hello, Academician Liang..." Chen Lin’s voice was still raspy with sleep.

"Chen Lin! It’s out! The results are out!"

On the other end of the line came Academician Liang Tianshi’s voice, so excited it was almost a different pitch!

"The error... the error is only 0.8%! Even lower than your 1% estimate!"

Academician Liang’s voice even held a hint of a tremor.

"Li Weiguo just called me personally. He was crying on the phone... He said his entire project team had been fighting for over three months, working sleeplessly on a problem they couldn’t solve, and you cracked it in an hour..."

"Chen Lin... you... you’ve rendered a great service to the country this time!"

...

「Imperial Capital. North of Chang’an Street.」

Inside a two-story building that looked simple and elegant on the outside but was, in fact, heavily guarded.

An old man with salt-and-pepper hair, who was nevertheless full of vigor with eyes that were still sharp, had just finished watching the complete recording of last night’s classified video conference.

He leaned back in his chair in silence and didn’t speak for a long time.

After a moment, he took a letter out of a sandalwood box on the desk.

The calligraphy on the envelope was vigorous and powerful.

He opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

The letter was handwritten, the brushstrokes sharp and firm, their force seemingly penetrating the paper.

At the end of the letter, the signatory’s name was—

Xiang Wentian.

The old man read the letter again, and the last sentence seemed to echo in his ears:

"...A talent vital to the nation is a pillar of the state. He should be treated as such, employed wisely, and protected carefully."

The old man put down the letter and once again fell into a long silence.

After a long while, he finally raised his head and looked at the solemn, resolute-faced middle-aged man who had been standing quietly by his side.

"From this day forward," the old man’s voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority, "raise Chen Lin’s security protection level by two tiers. Your people are not to make direct contact with him for now."

"Report any of his significant future movements to me immediately."

"Yes, sir!" The middle-aged man snapped to attention and saluted, his voice firm and resonant.

...

「Yunnan Province. Yuxi. A sanatorium by Fuxian Lake.」

Xiang Wentian had just recovered from a dangerous emergency medical intervention.

He lay weakly on the hospital bed, his face as pale as paper.

His assistant of over ten years, Hang, was keeping vigil by the bed with red-rimmed eyes, carefully wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Elder Xiang," Hang’s voice was choked with sobs, "how are you feeling?"

Xiang Wentian didn’t answer. He just turned his head slightly and asked in a nearly inaudible voice:

"Chen Lin... over there... is there any news?"

Hang froze for a moment, then remembered something. He quickly took out his phone, opened a recently received encrypted message, and leaned close to Xiang Wentian’s ear to read it to him, word by word.

"...Major breakthrough achieved in the hypersonic vehicle thermal protection project... Core mathematical bottleneck was perfectly resolved yesterday afternoon by Professor Chen Lin of Yannan University, taking one hour..."

As he listened, a heartfelt and immensely gratified smile slowly spread across Xiang Wentian’s bloodless, pale face.

His eyes, which had begun to lose focus, gazed out the window at Fuxian Lake, shimmering in the morning light. His lips moved slightly, as if he were saying something.

Hang leaned closer, only then making out the three words.

"Good... ah, good..."

After speaking, Xiang Wentian slowly closed his eyes, his breathing becoming even and deep.

He had fallen asleep.

He slept, completely at peace.