Did the world end today?

Chapter 116 Wipe it for me
June 1, 2025, 5 PM.

Jinling.

Inside the general manager's office at the headquarters of Sky Dome Technology.

Ren Jian sat behind his desk, his brows furrowed.

Holding his phone, he spoke vehemently to the person on the other end:
"I've said it countless times, I don't need any additional investment here!"

"Please stop calling me, okay?!"

"If you need MX46 or PEEK-RTM materials, you can contact our marketing department directly."

"But if you don't want these two documents, whatever your purpose, don't call."

"The reason I didn't block your numbers is out of respect for you."

"If you keep harassing me like this, I'll have no choice but to take drastic measures."

"Okay, that's it!"

With a bang, Ren Jian slammed the phone onto the table.

Then, he looked up, slightly apologetically at Lin Xu who had just entered the office, and said:
"Sorry, sorry, I just received a call."

"Sit down, please sit down."

"Let me pour you some tea first."

As he spoke, Ren Jian stood up.

Lin Xu shook his head and replied:
"No need, I'm very busy here, I won't have any tea for now."

"I'm looking for you about the materials used in the Star Travel One's hull."

"The coordination team told me that this part of the work should still be done by Sky Dome Technology. I want to know the specific progress so that I can have a general plan."

"understand."

Ren Jian walked to the tea table. Although Lin Xu said it wasn't necessary, he still politely brewed some tea and pushed it in front of Lin Xu.

He wasn't just putting on an act.

In a sense, he was genuinely grateful to Lin Xu.

After all, it was this very man who, in an unbelievable way, led me down this path.

It was this man in front of him who enabled him to connect with the authorities and achieve a goal that might have taken him twenty or thirty years to accomplish.

Therefore, it's impossible not to be grateful.

Besides gratitude, he also felt a deep sense of admiration for this young man.

What kind of person could achieve this at such a young age?
Just over two months ago, he was merely an ordinary flight control programmer under his supervision.

Two months later, however, he had become his "de facto" superior.
-

No, it's one level higher than the superior.

Ren Jian could vaguely sense that this young man held a rather unusual position in the so-called "coordination group."

Often, he doesn't handle much of the execution work.

Instead, it gives them a detached, superior command.

Gee.
If it were simply a second generation, it would be impossible to reach this level.

He must have some extraordinary ability, and this ability is so secret that I am not even qualified to inquire about it.

Thinking of this, Ren Jian couldn't help but sit up a little straighter.

Only after seeing Lin Xu pick up his teacup and take a sip of tea did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and speak:
"We are currently carrying out our work strictly in accordance with the requirements of the coordination group."

"The plan is proceeding according to schedule, and the production of all the shells is expected to be completed by early July."

"All materials are in place. In addition to the materials produced by Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant, we have also purchased a batch of imported materials of the same type as a supplement."

"There's no way around it, production capacity can't keep up for the time being, and it's not easy to open up authorization and expand production capacity."

“When the scale is not too large, ad-hoc procurement is actually the most cost-effective option.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xu nodded.

"No problem. Business matters are still up to you to decide—this is also one of the considerations for the coordination group and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission to agree to your continued service as general manager."

Upon hearing Lin Xu's words, Ren Jian couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

what is this?
This is recognition of my work ability!

Gaining recognition is often the first step to climbing higher.

I am very close to achieving true success.

Maybe one day I'll actually be able to wear a red hat.
Ren Jian coughed, about to say something modest, but Lin Xu continued speaking.

"However, there is a problem now."

“I checked the progress of each module and found that even if you set it to be completed in early July, it would still be behind schedule.”

"I still hope to go even faster—if possible, by the end of June?"

"no problem."

Ren Jian nodded decisively, and then said:

"However, if we want to accelerate, we must increase costs and investment."

"The funding process for this project is relatively complicated. My suggestion is that I communicate with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission to temporarily use our own funds as a temporary measure?"

"of course can."

Lin Xu wanted this answer. He nodded to Ren Jian with satisfaction and then wrote the updated information into his notebook.

Several dates had already been marked there.

[Shell construction completed: June 30]

[Life support system testing completed: June 10]

[Flight control system testing completed: July 1st]

[Tele-controlled electrical system: June 30]

Engine test run: June 2nd

According to the records, the most complex engine was actually the first to enter the testing phase.

To be frank, this thing was originally an improvement on an engine with a mature design, so there's a reason why it's fast.

reasonable.

If all the work goes smoothly, the spacecraft is expected to enter the formal test flight phase in mid-July.

60 days. The speed has already reached its limit.
-

Of course, at such a high speed, there's no need to consider safety issues.

Its value lies in only two aspects.

One is technology verification.

One is node-driven.

As long as these two goals can be achieved, it will be worthwhile.

Lin Xu let out a soft breath, casually took out a pen and circled the date June 2nd, then closed the notebook and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

It was at that very moment that he suddenly felt something.

Then, he looked up at Ren Jian and said with a smile:

"I remember the first time I came to your office, I also downed a cup of tea in one gulp."

"Indeed, hahahaha."

Ren Jian echoed Lin Xu with his standard old-fashioned laugh, and then said:

"It's still so vivid in my mind."

"When you said you wanted to develop a manned spacecraft, I thought it was a bit far-fetched."

"But after seeing your design proposal, I realized that this was actually planned a long time ago."

"Luckily, I didn't make the wrong choice back then, otherwise..."

Ren Jian only said half of what he meant, but Lin Xu already understood what he meant.

He smiled, stood up, and then said:

"In short, although our time working together was relatively short, it was still very pleasant."

"I hope there will be more opportunities for cooperation in the future."

"of course."

Ren Jian also got up and saw Lin Xu to the door.

Lin Xu waved goodbye to Ren Jian, but a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

This could perhaps be considered a less formal farewell.

Once the national machinery starts operating at full speed, there will be fewer and fewer private enterprises like Tianqiong Technology that can participate in large-scale projects.

Even Sky Dome Technology may gradually fade out of the mainstream.

Ren Jian really caught the last ship.

His luck is good.

Of course, from another perspective, it was precisely because of his decisiveness that Lin Xu was able to quickly gain influence with the authorities through two documents and one project.

The current outcome is what he deserves.
After leaving Ren Jian's office, Lin Xu met up with Qin Feng, who was waiting at the door, and headed towards the coordination team's office.

On the way, Lin Xu casually asked:

"Is there any progress in the interrogation of Zhou Yue yet?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Feng shook his head and replied:

"There hasn't been much progress yet."

"But you don't need to rush. The interrogation of this kind of person usually takes more than a month."

"We need to break through all his psychological defenses step by step in order to obtain enough and reliable information at once."

"It's better to be steady than to rush. We still have time, right?"

That's true.

Lin Xu nodded and asked no more questions. They returned to the coordination group's office building, where they bumped into Jiang Xingye, who had just come out of a meeting in the aerospace technology support office on the third floor.

The latter looked somewhat tired. Upon seeing Lin Xu, she paused for a moment, then spoke in a tone that clearly carried a hint of coquetry:
"I'm exhausted."

Jiang Xingye grabbed Lin Xu's arm and pressed his entire weight onto him.

Qin Feng, who was standing to the side, tactfully turned away, while Lin Xu asked:
"How could you be so tired?"

"Isn't your flight control system progressing smoothly? What, is there a problem?"

"no problem."

Jiang Xingye released Lin Xu, stood up straight, and said:

"The test model has passed the acceptance test, and subsequent iterations will be much simpler."

"Is it expected that the entire flight control system can be completed one or two days ahead of schedule?"

"Now we don't even measure time in hours, we measure it in minutes."

"Lin Xu, I really can't take it anymore."

"Only Bai Mo and Xu Jin, one unhappy and the other clueless, seem to be tireless all day long."

Lin Xu listened silently to Jiang Xingye's complaints, then glanced at her heavy dark circles and instantly realized that she was really close to her limit.

During this period, she was involved in the flight control design of Star Travel No. 1 almost entirely.

In just over ten days, she went from the periphery to the core and began to have a say in key design issues. God knows how much she sacrificed.

If it weren't for her strong technical skills, she would probably have been completely drained by now.

It's time to take a break.

Lin Xu reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of tissues, handed it to Jiang Xingye, and then said:

"Wipe your sweat—then you should rest for a day, or even just half a day."

"The test stand at the launch site is ready."

"The engine needs to be test-run tomorrow. Shall I take you to see it?"

"it is good!"

Jiang Xingye chuckled and nodded, then pulled out a tissue and handed it to Lin Xu.

Lin Xu took it, bewildered, and asked in confusion:
"what?"

Jiang Xingye raised his face.

"Wipe it off for me!"

(End of this chapter)