Chapter 711 - 689_2

And their leader is Zhang Shoucheng, who only returned to the country last year but had already subtly become one of the top leaders in the domestic physics community.

Zhang Shoucheng, who is just over 50 this year, was a proud protégé of Mills Yang and had stayed in America. Last year, during the most intense period between September and October when the TEPA accelerator was causing a stir, he returned to his homeland along with other domestic and foreign scholars attending the physics conference. He was then retained as a visiting professor at the Academy of Sciences.

In the original world line, Zhang Shoucheng had multiple collaborations with domestic telecommunication companies but unfortunately passed away in America at the end of 2018 due to depression.

Zhang Shoucheng had been in the country for a short time, but because of his outstanding abilities, he quickly gained trust,

Wu Yunfeng was a year younger than him, but according to his own judgment, Zhang Shoucheng was very likely an S-level scientist that New Yuan had never seen before. Unfortunately, the man was being watched too closely, so New Yuan had to delay any plans to approach him.

"Lao Wu, you have had more contact with them. Have you noticed anything in the past?"

From a distance, Zhang Shoucheng didn’t look as old as his actual age; at first glance, he looked more in his thirties or just over forty. His hair was incredibly lush, eliciting envy from others.

"I am just a consultant there for appearances; how could I say that I understand them? If you really want to know, you should ask Director Zhong and the already retired Academician She, who can almost be considered New Yuan’s own people."

Wu Yunfeng’s answer was watertight, and Li Shi next to him coordinated very tacitly:

"Before, we only felt that New Yuan’s R&D capabilities were a bit magical, but we really didn’t expect..."

Zhang Shoucheng nodded as if to acknowledge their answers. His only interest in New Yuan previously was their abnormal nuclear engine technology, about which he knew not much.

He only asked this simple question and did not speak further but continued to peruse technical materials extracted from the briefcase, looking like someone engrossed in serious work.

Wu Yunfeng and Li Shi could hardly conceal the surprise in their eyes. In fact, Zhang Shoucheng’s performance last night was the most exceptional of all.

After listening to the entire process and reviewing the materials in the briefcase, he showed surprise for only a moment before regaining his composure and seriously reviewing the technical data.

Even after the existence of an alien civilization had been confirmed, he only said:

"As expected."

This was not an affectation; at the time, Zhang Shoucheng was even somewhat excited and displayed genuine enthusiasm from the bottom of his heart.

For someone who had long been engaged in the most abstract, cutting-edge, and difficult scientific research, this was one of the few things that could arouse his interest; furthermore, the data already contained a large amount of unverified scientific achievements, greatly satisfying his thirst for knowledge.

In the field of condensed matter physics, physicists are always uncovering the unknown, and every theory is so abstract as to be difficult to comprehend. True top scholars are lonely, and only a few people in the world can engage in free-flowing communication. It is incredibly hard to achieve academic success.

No matter what the alien civilization might bring, these advanced theories could ensure that he wouldn’t have to waste time for a long while into the future but could immerse himself in meaningful work instead.

Zhang Shoucheng could be considered a ’semi’ universal physicist, having achieved quite high accomplishments in nearly all frontiers of science, only slightly behind Lev Landau, who is known as ’the last universal physicist in the world’, and lacking only in breakthrough results, earning him the title of the Chinese scientist closest to the Nobel Prize by the outside world.

The data in the briefcase, however, was invaluable, far surpassing the Nobel Prize and beyond any estimation.

What Zhang Shoucheng really wanted to do now was to build one laboratory after another, to verify all these theories and then turn them into results; the existence of an alien civilization was not his first priority.

It was also for this reason that he might be one of the few among these people who actually hoped for the real existence of an alien civilization.

...

"What, are you surprised?"

Zhong Cheng blinked, thinking Lin Ju was surprised by his haggard appearance.

"Surprised, but not by that. I’ve been waiting for armed helicopters and special forces. They’re in the back?"

Lin Ju stretched his neck to look up at the sky but didn’t see any suspicious little black dots.

Actually, before Zhong Cheng and the others arrived, the base was still tranquil, and even the nearby garrison troops hadn’t made a move, as if nothing had happened.

"People will indeed come, but there’s no need to rush."

Zhong Cheng explained with a wry smile:

"It’s been decades; a little while longer won’t make a difference. Besides, I don’t think tanks and artillery would be of any use here. Even if they came, they would only stand guard. You can’t exactly fight a battle against stones.

Moreover, this matter is highly confidential for the time being. Even on the outside, it has to be kept secret, otherwise, who knows what kind of mess it would create.

Well, that thing at Livingston..."

"That was our doing. We still have some people in America.

For now, only Livingston Observatory has detected a weak signal; it hasn’t been found anywhere else, so we can’t guarantee it’s foolproof."

Lin Ju admitted straightforwardly, as this incident was now too conspicuous under the domestic intelligence network. If America also noticed the anomaly of GW180509, they would easily detect the unusual nature.

"Full of holes!"

Zhong Cheng glared at him intentionally, but Lin Ju replied:

"This can also be seen as a probe. If America didn’t notice GW180509, it would naturally pass; if they did notice something unusual, they would surely know others had too, prompting them to reach out to us.

No matter what, we won’t be at a loss. Under normal circumstances, the CIA wouldn’t go nuts trying to investigate the actual cause of death of an ordinary employee."