Chapter 193 - 187: The Mysterious Commander_1

After extensive research and specialized group analysis, they discovered a peculiar point:

All employees of New Yuan, including the doorman and the cleaning staff, were actually holding positions in the internal research institute??

They were, of course, familiar with the research institute model of New Yuan, which involved integrating people from different departments into a unified research institution, hoping to produce results through the collision of ideas.

But the cleaning auntie and the security? That seemed a bit much, right?

Of course, this wasn’t to say it was inexplicable; perhaps they could bring up issues from their experience or daily life? But the thing was, new employees, after their assignment in the research institute, had more passion for learning than before, feeling improvements after each period of time.

This was simply unimaginable, the whole company was like this!

That was thousands of people, almost four thousand now!

Four thousand employees who were passionate about their work and learning, with internal management that was efficient and simplified, and a boss who daringly delegated power—this scenario was probably just a little short of the highest ideal.

If it didn’t make sense, best not to think about it.

This was the directive from the higher-ups; since no specific reason could be found, perhaps it was the effect of multiple factors at play.

Now, the Capital was brewing a systemic reform, and the term "New Yuan model" had already appeared in internal documents.

Learning has always been a strong point of the Chinese people; they wanted to summarize the successful experiences of New Yuan, and then, with minor adjustments according to the actual situation, promote it on a large scale.

This all underscored the importance of Lin Ju—an individual of such caliber could not be allowed to come to harm, as his value was greatest while he was alive.

To ensure Lin Ju’s absolute safety, the superiors had overruled numerous objections to make a heavily controversial personnel appointment.

...

"Left pedal down, good, good, now correct to the right, good, give it a little more throttle... very good, your talent is exceptional, Lin, you are now a fully qualified pilot."

"Don’t flatter me, Captain Li, I know my own weight. I only have 120 hours of flight time on advanced training aircraft, not even close to your record."

Li Wei chuckled and reset the simulation program.

They were currently inside Ulanha Mountain’s H1 simulator, with Lin Ju undergoing landing procedures under emergency conditions.

"Actually, it doesn’t matter, Lin. The deputy commander is Hu Dong, and I’m the commander. Even if both of us were incapacitated, there’s still ground control and the autopilot system. It would never come down to you having to pilot."

Li Wei left his subtext unspoken, but Lin Ju knew what he meant.

If both human pilots were unable to control the craft and ground control was not an option, and even the spaceship’s SC09 piloting system crashed, how terrible would the situation be?

Never mind whether he would still be alive at such a time; even if he were, what good would it be?

So it was better to leave it in the hands of the professionals.

Indeed, the appointed commander by the space agency was none other than the national space hero, Li Wei, who would be going back to space after 13 years, and this time with Lin Ju.

This also highlighted the official importance placed on Lin Ju, having the first man of space aviation accompany him was the absolute guarantee for safety!

Li Wei still remembered it was April when he was undergoing routine training, and he was informed that someone from above had taken away all his recent year’s training records and several recent medical examinations.

A week later, the Manned Space Flight Office suddenly asked him if he was still fit for space.

Li Wei said he could, as he had been on reserve status for thirteen years, always maintaining his physical condition, so he certainly had confidence to go to space.

Then, his unit 507 arranged several high-intensity training sessions for him, and Li Wei, seemingly inspired, passed them all with excellent performance.

After that, there was no more news, just him training as usual.

He watched the launch missions of Unity and Indomitable, saw professional astronauts, payload specialists, and tourists go into space, and also saw the space training program planning to send scientists to space.

On June 22nd, just after his 51st birthday, Li Wei was called to his superiors, where he was informed of a very important mission:

In July, he would accompany Lin Ju on his spaceflight mission, spend 7 to 15 days on the space station, and then return to Earth, ensuring no accidents along the way and the safety of everyone involved.

Li Wei didn’t hesitate to accept because he knew this might be his closest chance to go to space and there wouldn’t be a better opportunity.

The fact that two heavyweights were going into space together was a manifestation of confidence in the mission!

The next day, Lin and Hu Dong, who were at Ulanha Mountain airport waiting for the space bureau’s crew to conduct tacit training, saw their companion.

Lin Ju was extremely shocked at the time; he certainly understood the significance of Li Wei’s appearance, but he didn’t say much, only intensified his training.

24-year-old Lin Ju was in the prime of his physique and, after just one year’s training, was completely qualified physically; there was no need to mention Deng Lei and Li Wei, who, though much older, were even stronger than Lin Ju.

When Lin Ju flew high-altitude trainers, he wouldn’t dare to experience too much overload, unlike Deng Lei who would somersault and roll as if it were a game.

Entering July, Lin Ju began to keep a low profile in public again, and the outside world speculated when Factory Manager Lin would go to space.

The Tiangong Space Station was specially tidied up; they knew two very important guests were due to arrive and had prepared extensively.

For example, the Shenzhou-11, which had been used as a storeroom and power supply room, was now cleared out and restored to a state capable of carrying passengers, in case there was a risk with the space plane and they needed to return on the spacecraft.

Although the Shenzhou Spaceship is expensive, conservative, and not the most advanced technologically, the space agency guaranteed that once the spacecraft entered the atmosphere, there were a hundred ways to ensure a safe landing.

Additionally, Indomitable and Unity were on standby in Qiongzhou, two backup rescue spaceplanes that had taken safety preparations to the utmost level.

The actual launch date was even earlier than people anticipated, on July 6th.

July 6, 2016 AD, the third day of the sixth lunar month, year of Bing Shen, month of Jia Wu, day of Ji Chou (Monkey).

Auspicious for meeting friends and relatives, travelling, cleaning, moving, engagement and marriage, moving to a new house, making alliances, breaking ground, praying for blessings, installing a bed, and setting up machinery.

This date was determined by several knowledgeable departments and submitted to the higher-ups, who then suggested it to Lin Ju.

He, of course, was more than willing and didn’t bother with the metaphysical aspects.

Although he didn’t believe in it either, considering these things could bring much peace of mind, July 6 seemed very auspicious, and he felt that going up on that day would put him in a good mood. More importantly, the date was near!

The three New Yuan-2 rocket-H1 space shuttle assemblies had been ready since half a month ago, and were in fact ready to launch at any time.

The choice of New Yuan-2 was due to its higher redundancy, meaning more opportunities for adjustments, and not because the recovery of the five bodies of New Yuan 5B was too troublesome.

Two days before the launch, the outside world was still none the wiser, only knowing that Factory Manager Lin would go to space in July, thinking it would not happen until mid-month.

On the evening of July 2, Lin Ju officially completed his training, the three of them were in good condition, already meeting the requirements for going to space, and the remaining three days were taken to relax and say goodbye to family and friends.