Time passed quickly. Before he knew it, it was mid-morning. Xuan Mingliang woke up from his nap to find the lithography machine still just a frame, with numerous parts scattered on the ground. His heart sank, and he immediately called for He Yongwen.
"He Yongwen, what's going on? Why isn't it assembled yet?"
"Chief Engineer Xuan," He Yongwen stammered, "it was disassembled too thoroughly. We can't put it back together."
Fang Haosi heard the commotion and walked over, his brow furrowed. "How can that be? Yongwen, didn't you assemble this yourselves?"
"Mentor," He Yongwen said, feeling wronged, "this is an experimental machine. There were no assembly templates. We assembled it all under Jing Ge's direction. Many of the details were handled by Jing Ge himself, tapped into place with a small hammer."
"A lithography machine has tens of thousands of parts, many of them non-standard special components, and the assembled mechanisms are extremely complex and intricate. I really can't remember it all!"
Seeing He Yongwen on the verge of tears, Fang Haosi couldn't bring himself to scold him further. However, the scattered lithography machine couldn't remain that way. To avoid delaying the research of others, Fang Haosi prepared to ask Jing Mingqiu for help again.
After hearing Fang Haosi's plan, Xuan Mingliang shook his head gently. "We finally managed to extract Jing Mingqiu from the chip project. You, as the dean of the chip research institute, are not in a convenient position to step forward now. Let Old Wei go."
"That's right. I'll call him over right away."
Fang Haosi considered it and realized Xuan Mingliang was right. Nodding, he took out his phone and called Wei Deze.
Wei Deze arrived shortly. After Xuan Mingliang explained the purpose of his visit, he let out a long sigh and added.
"When you get there, help me apologize to Jing Mingqiu. Although I did it to protect his safety, I did suppress the honor that rightfully belonged to him."
"Tell Jing Mingqiu that if he wants it, I'm willing to give him the position of chief engineer for the chip project..."
Fang Haosi's expression changed dramatically, and he quickly interjected, "Chief Engineer Xuan, how can this be done! No matter how talented he is, he's still an eighteen-year-old child. The position of chief engineer isn't one that can be held solely by technical skill."
"You don't need to try to persuade me further," Xuan Mingliang waved his hand. "I will stand behind him. Let's see who dares to touch him!"
Fang Haosi was about to try again when Wei Deze interrupted him. "Old Fang, it's too early to worry about that. What are you so concerned about? I know that kid Jing Mingqiu better than you do. He doesn't want to be confined to a cold laboratory. He's got big ambitions!"
"Alright, no more talk. I'm going."
...
At 9:30 AM, Dashan Appliance Repair Shop.
Under Sun Heng's eager gaze, Jing Mingqiu completed the final adjustments.
"Alright, stop staring," Jing Mingqiu gently punched Sun Heng on the shoulder and pushed the modified drone towards him. "It's done. You can go play with it."
Sun Heng's face lit up with joy. He took the drone and rushed out impatiently.
Behind the repair shop was a vast expanse of farmland. It was currently the off-season for farming, and there was no one in the fields, only green crops, which were perfect for testing the drone.
He pressed the switch and pushed the joystick.
The propeller shuddered, then spun up rapidly, generating a powerful thrust that lifted the drone straight into the sky.
"Wow, the drone Jing Ge modified, even setting aside its endurance, its power output is at least three times better than before! I wonder how the maneuverability has changed. Let's try a spiral climb first..."
Sun Heng shouted excitedly, controlling the drone and testing various high-difficulty maneuvers.
After watching Sun Heng leave, Jing Mingqiu was tidying up his tools in the shop when the old shop door was pushed open. Wei Deze, accompanied by Fang Da Niu, walked in.
Jing Mingqiu blinked in surprise. "Dean Wei, why are you here?"
"Well, Mingqiu, the thing is," Wei Deze gave Fang Da Niu a look, signaling him to guard the entrance to prevent others from intruding, and then, following his prepared speech, explained the entire situation in as much detail as possible, before apologizing sincerely.
"I'm sorry! If you want it, we can at any time..."
"No, no, that's not necessary," Jing Mingqiu waved his hands repeatedly. "I spent three years in high school just to enjoy the freedom of university. If this means I'll have to stay in the laboratory from now on, with people watching my every move, eating and sleeping, that would be too miserable."
"Dean Wei, you said earlier that the lithography machine was disassembled and couldn't be reassembled? That's easy, I'll go over later and help piece it together."
"No, it's too conspicuous for me to go now. Chief Engineer Xuan worked hard to get me out of that situation. How about this, you sit here for a while and rest. I'll draw out the structural diagrams, and then you can have Da Niu and the others assemble it according to the diagrams."
Jing Mingqiu took out a stack of A4 paper from the copier and, leaning over the table, began to write rapidly, guided by the system. Suddenly, Sun Heng, panting, ran in with the drone.
"Jing Ge, Jing Ge, the drone's out of power. I couldn't find the charging port. Did you modify it to be battery-swappable?"
"It's not battery-swappable. Hand it over, I'll handle it."
Jing Mingqiu didn't look up. He reached out, took the drone from Sun Heng, and then tapped the steampunk-style water dispenser nearby. After the indicator light turned purple, he poured a cup of water.
Then, Jing Mingqiu removed the drone's back cover, found a small water tank in the center, and poured the cup of water into it.
"Alright," Jing Mingqiu put the cover back on and waved to Sun Heng. "This is enough for it to fly until it's scrapped."
Seeing this, Sun Heng was completely stunned. He reached out and felt Jing Mingqiu's forehead, muttering, "Jing Ge, you don't have a fever, do you? Why are you talking nonsense?"
"Water to oil has already been proven a scam. And this drone of mine is barely larger than my palm. How could it possibly have a car engine installed?"
"What do you know?" Jing Mingqiu said, a mix of amusement and exasperation. "This is nuclear fusion, a more efficient way of generating power. It's hard to explain in a few words. You'll know when it flies later."
Sun Heng retorted indignantly, "Jing Ge, stop joking with me. Nuclear power plants are huge, how can they be installed on a drone? Besides, if it can fly just by adding water, countries wouldn't be fighting over oil!"
To prove his point, Sun Heng took out the remote control and pressed the switch.
"Vroom vroom!"
Something beyond Sun Heng's imagination happened. Accompanied by the hum of the motor, the drone's propellers spun up rapidly.
Sun Heng stared intently at the drone hovering in the air, and said uncontrollably, "So, water can really be used as fuel?"
"Ordinary water won't work. You need to separate heavy water from it first," Jing Mingqiu explained briefly, and just as he was about to lower his head to continue drawing the blueprints, he suddenly felt an intensely burning gaze.
Immediately, he heard Wei Deze's dry voice in his ear: "Jing Mingqiu, what's on this drone, is that the legendary nuclear fusion?"