"Comrade Old Yang, do you have any opinions on what I just told you?" In Yang Yunhe's office, Tong He sat opposite him, smiling and asking. Yang Yunhe's expression kept changing, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
This was because Tong He had just found Yang Yunhe and proposed that the subsequent development of Tong He Alloy would be entirely handled by Yang Yunhe.
"Is this appropriate?" Yang Yunhe was stunned by the request. "Tong He Alloy is your invention. It wouldn't be right for me to take over the subsequent research."
"There's nothing wrong with it; in fact, I'm the one taking advantage of you!" Tong He said frankly. "All of us in scientific research understand that the person who invents something first is always the most celebrated, receiving all the credit and honor."
"As for those who do the subsequent research and development, they remain unknown. No one pays attention to their contributions, nor do they realize that these individuals are the great contributors who make these new inventions accessible to thousands of households!"
"It's like Professor Tu, who won the Huanghe Award a few years ago. Undeniably, she is a great scientist, and her award is well-deserved and commands everyone's respect. However, everyone in our field knows that for artemisinin to truly benefit countless lives, it required extensive subsequent research and development. It was the hundreds of research institutes and thousands of researchers in China who, through day-and-night efforts in subsequent development, mass production, and pharmaceutical formulation of artemisinin, that truly saved countless lives!"
"If we're talking about merit, these subsequent development and research personnel also deserve credit, but history will not remember their names."
"I'm not trying to point out any issues here, because human memory is shallow. People can only remember one or two of the most brilliant names, while other names become supporting cast to that brilliant name."
"That's why I say this task is a disservice to you. No matter how far you develop Tong He Alloy or how many practical inventions you create, history will likely only remember my name as the inventor!"
Tong He's words were very sincere, and he laid everything out clearly, leaving Yang Yunhe unsure of how to respond.
"Actually, at the beginning, I didn't want you to be responsible for this work. You should be inventing more things, not filling in the gaps for me. This is something I feel bad about."
"But after much thought, this work can only be handed over to you!" Tong He sighed. "Firstly, I cannot continue this work myself. I still want to find ways to develop the material 'Hei Jin'. If I get distracted by Tong He Alloy, it won't be good for either side. I must focus on one."
"Secondly, this material is extremely classified. Currently, only a few of us in the entire research center are aware of it. According to the chairman's wishes, this material must be developed in extreme secrecy before its official announcement. The fewer people involved, the better. Especially the person responsible for the research must master all the technology related to this material. One more person means one more risk, so it's better to let someone who already knows this material be responsible for its development, which is you!"
"Thirdly, you possess the capability. In less than a year, you have developed so many astonishing special materials. You are undoubtedly the most outstanding genius I have ever met. This work can only be carried out perfectly by you."
"Finally, there is a bit of my personal motive. As I said, no matter who this job is given to, it's a bit of a raw deal."
"The only person who might not be so disadvantaged is you, after all, Tong He Alloy also has your name on it. You are one of the co-inventors, and history will not forget you. In the future, if you can achieve enough applications, I will voluntarily step aside and give you the primary credit, because you are the one who truly brought it to prominence!"
"Alright, I've said my piece. What do you think? Are you willing to accept this job?" Tong He asked.
"This..." Yang Yunhe hesitated. Deep down, he really didn't want to take on this task. He knew his own limitations; his inventions were actually stolen, not his own. If he accepted the subsequent material development work, there was a high probability of exposing his lack of ability.
Also, this job would grant him access to all the information on Tong He Alloy.
Some might find it strange, but Yang Yunhe's latest mission was precisely to obtain detailed information about Tong He Alloy.
Now, as the head of the entire subsequent research and development project, he would inevitably receive the most complete data on Tong He Alloy, from how to develop it to its manufacturing and various details. All this precious technology would automatically be delivered to Yang Yunhe's hands, completing his mission without him having to lift a finger.
However, precisely because of this, Yang Yunhe felt somewhat unwilling.
Or rather, Yang Yunhe would prefer not to know this technology, so he wouldn't have to deal with Gao Sheng's affairs.
But now that the technology was in front of him, what should Yang Yunhe do? Should he obediently hand over the technology to those Americans?
Yang Yunhe didn't have the answer to this question and didn't know how to decide.
"Can I have a night to consider it?" Yang Yunhe finally said. Tong He readily agreed, seeing no issue with it, as it was a very important decision concerning Yang Yunhe's future, and he should indeed make it cautiously.
Yang Yunhe himself, however, was caught in an unprecedented dilemma.
His personal inclination was not to accept the job, but Gao Sheng's mission was pushing him to accept it, and he couldn't make the right decision.
Therefore, even when it was time to leave the office after work, Yang Yunhe did not leave. He just stared at the computer screen until it automatically turned off and entered screensaver mode. Even as the night outside deepened and the clock passed midnight, Yang Yunhe remained in his initial posture, still unable to make a decision.
"Forget it, since I can't decide, let fate decide!" Yang Yunhe sighed. He had intended to find a coin to flip for heads or tails to help him decide.
But to his surprise, he couldn't find a coin in his office.
Then Yang Yunhe looked at his computer screen, which had entered screensaver mode. A thought struck him, and he muttered to himself, "Let time decide then. I'll turn on the screen in a moment and look at the current time. If the minutes are odd, I'll accept the job. If the minutes are even, I'll refuse it!"
Well, Yang Yunhe didn't know the exact time at this moment either, so this was a relatively random choice.
Once he had made a decision, Yang Yunhe's spirits lifted. After a brief prayer, he quickly moved the mouse on the mousepad, and the computer screen lit up.
The first thing Yang Yunhe looked at was the time. It clearly stated: 01:11.
"Oh heavens, even you want me to be a traitor?" Yang Yunhe sighed deeply but could only accept fate's decision.
The next day, upon hearing the news from Yang Yunhe, Tong He was overjoyed and immediately handed over the entire project to him. Yang Yunhe's relevant permissions were also granted, and all the data on Tong He Alloy was easily placed before him.
"So, another important compound of Tong He Alloy is a product of Hei Jin being forged at high temperatures, then ground into powder, and then mixed with over a dozen other compounds!" Yang Yunhe immediately saw the manufacturing technology for Tong He Alloy. It was very comprehensive data, covering all aspects of Tong He Alloy.
"What? Hei Jin is actually an allotrope of carbon. Initially, Hei Jin was obtained by tearing it off graphite with tape!" Perhaps because Tong He wanted Yang Yunhe to take over the entire research and development work without any obstacles, Yang Yunhe even found the preparation process of Hei Jin in this data.
From the initial method of Tong He obtaining Hei Jin by tearing tape, to the subsequent discovery of dozens of different mass preparation methods for Hei Jin, all of it was included in this data.
Yang Yunhe never imagined that not only would he get the data for Tong He Alloy, but he would also get the data for Hei Jin.
This way, Yang Yunhe's entire mission of infiltrating the Jiangnan Research Center was completed in an instant. All Yang Yunhe had to do now was to take this data with him, find a way to leave the research center, escape to the United States, and then he could enjoy the rest of his life in America.
After all, Yang Yunhe now had money, achievements, and the patronage and promises of Gao Sheng Group, even the chance of a Nobel Prize. Everything seemed so wonderful.
However, Yang Yunhe found that he couldn't be happy at all.
He felt too distressed.
Over the next few days, Yang Yunhe was busy packing and preparing. Tong He gave Yang Yunhe a week to wrap up his original projects.
However, the researchers under Yang Yunhe found their section chief to be absent-minded and, for the first time, made many mistakes. Within a single day, he almost caused two accidents, making the entire research lab uneasy.
"Forget it, this is fate!" After making another serious mistake and slightly burning his right thumb with sulfuric acid, the intense pain actually made Yang Yunhe feel much more at ease. He decided to continue going with the flow.
Because Yang Yunhe suddenly realized that even though he had obtained all the technology, and fate had made a decision for him, if he couldn't leave the research center, let alone China, he still couldn't hand over the technology.
After all, if he handed over the technology to the Americans now, what if Gao Sheng's people reneged on their promises? What if they left him in China and ignored him completely?
Therefore, Yang Yunhe told himself that unless he could safely leave China and go to another country, he would keep this technology hidden; it was his greatest trump card.
Then, Yang Yunhe received a call from Tong He.
"Yunhe, I'm very sorry, but the handover will have to be postponed a bit. You might have to go to Europe for a while first!" Tong He said apologetically on the phone.