I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

at night.

Outside the window, waves crashed against the bulkhead with a dull roar. The ship was rocking more violently than it had in the previous days.

First Class, Room 107.

Under the dim light of the desk lamp, Jiang Ming sat at his desk, staring blankly at the densely packed electromagnetism formulas on his notebook. Xu Chongwen's words about "parasites" from earlier that day were still swirling in his mind, but he forced himself to suppress the anger and listened attentively to Professor Qian's lecture.

"The propagation of electromagnetic waves can be calculated in an ideal vacuum. But when it comes to signal attenuation in complex terrain and multi-band interference..." Qian Xuesen drew a few wavy lines on the paper with his pen, "current communication equipment struggles to find a balance between portability and signal stability."

Jiang Ming scratched his head.

He understood. The boss meant that current radio stations were too bulky, and if they were made smaller, the signal would be poor and they would be prone to interference.

He knows this question well!

As a severely internet-addicted youth in 2024, I complain about the poor signal from mobile operators every day. The principles of base stations have been explained to death on Baidu Tieba.

"Mr. Qian," Jiang Ming blurted out, "isn't this just like a cell phone... uh!"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Ming bit his tongue hard, swallowing the rest of his words.

Cold sweat broke out instantly. Σ(°△°|||)︴

Oh no! Cell phones didn't exist in 1955! If he's arrested as a spy or a lunatic, even the most powerful magician couldn't save him!

Qian Xuesen put down his pen, looked up, and frowned slightly. "What are you doing?"

"A handheld miniature wireless communication device!" Jiang Ming, in a moment of inspiration, made up a story, "It's like... suppose in the future there's a tiny box that you can hold in your hand, without any wires, and that can make calls anytime, anywhere to people thousands of kilometers away."

Qian Xuesen's brows furrowed even deeper.

In 1955, computers were the size of a room, and radios required long antennas and portable batteries. A tiny box the size of a palm could achieve long-distance communication? It seemed like a fantasy.

"Science needs imagination, but it cannot be divorced from basic logic." Qian Xuesen's tone became serious. "A device the size of a palm has a battery capacity and transmission power that are simply insufficient to support long-distance signal transmission."

When Jiang Ming saw that the big shot was about to deny it, his desire to perform was aroused.

It's just a hypothetical scenario, not something I'm supposed to create!

"Sir, please let me explain... no, please let me explain." Jiang Ming picked up a pencil and drew a few circles on a blank sheet of paper. "If the equipment's transmission power isn't enough, why do we insist on making it transmit thousands of kilometers away?"

Qian Xuesen looked at the circle on the paper and didn't say anything.

"We can build 'relay stations'!" Jiang Ming drew lines connecting the circles. "Like ancient beacon towers. We can build an iron tower every few kilometers, so these miniature devices only communicate with the nearest tower. Then, since the towers are powerful, the signals can be relayed between them!"

Qian Xuesen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"As for the issue of multi-band interference..." Jiang Ming spoke more and more fluently, directly explaining the frequency division multiplexing and time division multiplexing of later generations in plain language, "It's like building a road. If everyone is crowding into one lane, there will definitely be collisions. We divide electromagnetic waves into several lanes, or stipulate that Zhang San transmits on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Li Si transmits on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. As long as the switching speed is fast enough, the human brain simply can't react, and it feels like they are talking simultaneously!"

The cabin suddenly became eerily quiet.

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Jiang Ming's heart pounded as he finished speaking the last sentence. (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

Oh no, isn't this a bit too far-fetched? If we were to talk about this cellular network theory, which only matured decades later, wouldn't the experts think we're talking nonsense?

Qian Xuesen stared intently at the circles and lines on the paper.

A turbulent storm is brewing in those eyes hidden behind those round metal-framed glasses.

This is not knowledge from books.

No existing electromagnetism textbook contains such a grand yet logically rigorous concept of a distributed network. This not only solves the physical limitations of transmission power but also cleverly avoids the bottleneck of single-point hardware.

What a brilliant idea!

Although the underlying technology still seems like science fiction at present, the mental model itself is extremely inspiring.

"You just said..." Qian Xuesen's voice trembled slightly as he pointed to the circle on the paper, "to divide electromagnetic waves into lanes... and transmit and receive them at different times?"

"Yes, it means the traffic police directing traffic." Jiang Ming swallowed.

Qian Xuesen suddenly stood up.

He paced back and forth in the cramped cabin, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his chin.

Jiang Ming sat in the chair, barely daring to breathe.

A full five minutes passed.

Qian Xuesen suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jiang Ming. His gaze was no longer scrutinizing, but filled with the immense joy of discovering an unknown treasure.

"Good lad." Qian Xuesen let out a long breath. "You're not stupid. You just threw away the bricks of basic courses, but you've already drawn up blueprints for skyscrapers in your mind."

【Ding! 】

The Record of Heavenly Enlightenment suddenly opened in Jiang Ming's mind.

[The change in the level of trust with Qian Xuesen: from trusted to close friend!]

[Hint: The target person highly approves of the host's way of thinking; only the final verification step remains before the nameplate is entered!]

Jiang Ming was overjoyed and almost jumped out of his chair. (✧◡✧)

It's a sure thing! This forced explanation of base station principles not only didn't backfire, but it also made the expert feel like an unconventional genius!

"Sir, I was just thinking nonsense..." Jiang Ming quickly put on an honest and simple appearance.

"Scientific breakthroughs often stem from irrational and wild ideas." Qian Xuesen walked back to his desk and sat down again.

The way he looked at Jiang Ming had completely changed.

During the day, when Xu Chongwen mocked Jiang Ming, Qian Xuesen only thought of him as a student with poor foundations but a positive attitude. But now, he discovered that Jiang Ming's mind possessed a rare ability to make connections across disciplines. Such a person, once they fill in the gaps in their foundation, has limitless potential for future achievements.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a blinding, pale flash of lightning streaked across the window.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening clap of thunder exploded on the sea.

The entire President Cleveland tilted violently. Teacups on the table slipped off and shattered on the deck with a loud crash.

The incandescent light overhead flickered twice and then went out.

The cabin was plunged into darkness.

"What's going on?" Jiang Ming was startled and gripped the edge of the table tightly.

The cruise ship was rocking more and more violently, and the sounds of crew members running and shouting could be heard from the corridor outside.

Even with the occasional flashes of lightning outside the window, Qian Xuesen remained seated steadily in the darkness.

He didn't rush to open the door, but instead, using the last glimpse of the lightning, stared intently at Jiang Ming across from him.

"Jiang Ming." Qian Xuesen's voice traveled through the howling wind and waves outside the window and clearly reached Jiang Ming's ears.

"Your unconventional, associative thinking is quite unique. I've taught so many students, and I've never seen anything like it." Qian Xuesen paused, his tone carrying an undeniable sharpness. "This is definitely not something you can come up with just by reading a few textbooks."

"What exactly did you learn in your American schools? Or rather... who taught you?"

Jiang Ming froze.

In the darkness, he couldn't see Qian Lao's complete expression, but he could feel the oppressive aura that seemed to see right through him.

How do I answer this? Should I say I'm from 2024? Or should I say this was taught to me by someone on Tieba?

Jiang Ming's palms were covered in cold sweat. He could only frantically shake his head, his lips trembling as he struggled to utter a single word.

Qian Xuesen looked at his panicked appearance, nodded thoughtfully, and did not ask any further questions.

But there was a clear layer of deeper inquiry and curiosity in his eyes.

Just then, a loud banging came from outside the door.

"Mr. Qian! Are you alright?!" Qin Lu's anxious voice came through the wind and rain. "There's been an accident in the engine room! The captain requests your immediate presence!"

Jiang Ming suddenly raised his head, a strong sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

An accident in the engine room? In the middle of this stormy Pacific? Is this ship going to sink?! (°Д°)