Chapter 27: The Aerospace Mogul’s Invitation!

In He Yu’s live stream, the viewer count had solidified into a staggering figure—3.32 million—and was still climbing slowly but steadily.

Under the high-definition lens of the drone, the entire "Valley of Hope" had transformed into a massive forest of steel. Dozens of tower cranes swung like giant arms, while thousands of workers, acting like a precise colony of ants, busied themselves methodically at their posts. The skeletal framework of steel was being filled with concrete, flesh-like, as the prototype of a university of the future rose from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye. This tapestry of infrastructure, woven by several major state-run enterprises, possessed an industrial aesthetic that was nothing short of breathtaking.

The live stream’s chat box was already submerged in a sea of awe.

["Watching the construction site every day, I feel like the hundred yuan I donated has become white-hot!"]

["This is the speed of China! So inspiring! I declare that the Longhai University construction team is my new favorite digital snack!"]

["Watching this valley change day by day gives me more of a sense of accomplishment than my own career—what is going on?"]

He Yu watched the fervent comments scrolling across the screen, a faint, calm smile playing on his lips. He was just about to switch the drone’s perspective to showcase the latest progress on the ecological dome when it happened.

A brilliant golden banner ripped across the top of the screen without warning. The golden light carried an indisputable air of official authority, instantly suppressing all other chat messages. A line of bold, gilded Song-typeface characters appeared clearly before the eyes of nearly ten million viewers.

["China National Space Administration" official account has requested a video call with you...]

A moment of dead silence. It was as if someone had pressed a pause button; the chat, which had been surging like a tide moments before, experienced a bizarre 0.1-second stagnation. Then, it erupted like a volcanic explosion.

["Holy crap?!!!!"]

["Am I seeing things? Am I hallucinating? The Space Administration?! The Space Administration we wouldn't even dare to dream of?"]

["This is crazy! This world has gone completely insane! What kind of divine being is the President? First he sends off the Chief Engineer of Environmental Protection and the New Energy Academician, and now the national aerospace strategy department is knocking on his door personally?!"]

["This isn't just about 'having influence' anymore—this is smashing through the ceiling! I feel like I'm witnessing history!"]

The popularity of the live stream soared at this moment in a steep curve that defied all data logic. Nine million... ten million... The server emitted a sharp, overwhelmed warning alarm.

Under the focus of ten million gazes, He Yu’s expression remained unchanged. His young, calm face stood in stark contrast to the mountainous, tsunami-like fanaticism in the chat. He simply extended a finger and tapped the "Accept" option, which was flashing with golden light on the screen.

Without a moment of hesitation.

***

The next second, the live stream feed split in two. On the left was He Yu, with the magnificent Valley of Hope construction site as his backdrop. In the connection window on the right appeared a face imprinted in the minds of all Chinese people.

His graying hair was meticulously combed, and his face was etched with the lines of wisdom, yet his eyes were as sharp as if they could pierce the screen and discern all things. It was Academician Sun Jianguo, a titan of the aerospace field often seen on the nation’s highest news broadcasts and revered as a "peerless national treasure."

Academician Sun’s appearance was an anchor for the viewers. He offered no pleasantries, no small talk, not even a social smile. For this man who had dedicated his life to the stars and the sea, time was measured in seconds. His gaze was fixed on He Yu. The moment he began to speak, a massive virtual light screen automatically appeared behind him, displaying cascading data and complex structural models.

"President He, hello." His voice was steady and powerful, carrying the penetrative force of someone accustomed to giving commands. "I read your signed paper on the 'Sustainable Ecological Cycle System for Extraterrestrial Survival Bases' in the latest issue of *Chinese Science*, and I found it deeply inspiring."

Academician Sun gestured to the virtual screen behind him. "The 'closed-loop atmospheric regeneration' technology mentioned in the paper—through the coupling of plasma catalysis and solid-state oxygen electrolysis—can it really stabilize the oxygen conversion closed-loop rate at the theoretical limit of 98.7%?"

His question was precise and lethal, striking at the core of the technology. "And the 'multi-source intelligent power grid' concept you proposed—in the extreme low-temperature environment of the lunar surface where the day-night temperature difference exceeds 300 degrees Celsius, how does the energy scheduling algorithm between the isotope thermoelectric generators and the thin-film solar arrays guarantee stability and redundancy?"

It was a completely lopsided dialogue. On one side, the chief designer of the national aerospace project, a strategic scientist of national treasure status. On the other, the young president of a university that hadn't even been completed yet. This high-level, high-spec academic discussion, which could even be said to involve the nation's top-secret intelligence, unfolded abruptly in a public live stream before the eyes of tens of millions of bewildered and shocked viewers.

Everyone held their breath for He Yu.

However, He Yu’s reaction exceeded everyone's expectations once again. He showed not the slightest bit of tension; instead, it was as if he had met a worthy opponent, and a hint of faint appreciation flickered in his eyes.

"Academician Sun, both questions you asked hit the nail on the head." His response was fluent, his voice clear and steady. "The 98.7% conversion rate is not the theoretical limit, but the optimal solution in engineering. The key lies in the lattice structure of the catalyst coating. Traditional schemes cannot solve the decay problem under high-energy particle bombardment. My scheme introduces a self-healing amorphous metal glass coating. Due to confidentiality principles, the details of this part were not elaborated upon in the published paper."

He paused, then turned his attention to the second question.

"As for the stability of the lunar surface power grid, the scheduling algorithm you mentioned is only the first layer of insurance. The true core is the 'quantum error-correction redundancy' that I briefly touched upon in the paper. It is not a traditional backup system, but a real-time error-correction mechanism based on quantum entanglement states. It allows other nodes to take over computing power and energy with zero latency the instant any single node fails."

He Yu not only answered all of Academician Sun’s questions perfectly but went a step further, pointing out several technical bottlenecks that even Sun’s team was struggling to break through, and casually offering mind-boggling optimization schemes.

The ten million viewers in the live stream were collectively struck dumb. They didn't understand. Not a single word. But they could clearly see that in the connection window, the expression on the face of the national treasure-level academician, known for his seriousness and composure, was undergoing a drastic change. From the initial scrutiny, to surprise, then to unbelievable shock, it finally transformed into an unconcealable, rapturous excitement.

His gaze toward He Yu was no longer the appraisal of a senior toward a junior, but the fiery look of someone who had discovered a rare, priceless treasure.

The connection was coming to an end. Academician Sun took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and stood tall. His face was filled with unprecedented appreciation and solemnity. Before the eyes of ten million viewers, he issued an invitation to He Yu and Longhai University that would go down in history:

"President He, I now, on behalf of the China National Space Administration, formally extend an invitation to Longhai University!"

His voice traveled through the airwaves and across the entire network.

"We sincerely invite Longhai University to become the core technical partner for our country's next-generation 'Manned Lunar Base Life Support System' project!"

"Personally, I also hope with all my heart to have the opportunity to visit Longhai University in person to discuss the stars and the sea that belong to our Chinese nation with you, Academician Qian Liqun, and Dean Li Weimin!"

Once these words were spoken, it was as if a nuclear bomb had detonated in the nation's public discourse!

Longhai University. A university that hadn't even finished a single teaching building. At this moment, its name was tightly bound to words representing the nation’s highest level of technology, such as "Manned Lunar Base" and "National Aerospace Strategy." Its status was elevated infinitely by this invitation from the highest temple of science, rising directly to the level of national strategy.