Building a Sci-Fi Empire: Starting with Cold Nuclear Fusion

Around 7:30 a.m.

Chen Yuan arrived at the company half an hour early.

There was no one else in the office area except him.

Chen Yuan sat there, deep in thought.

Things related to the two nuclear fusion technologies.

He had indeed figured out how to protect himself and obtain funds, but now there were several important issues to consider.

First, how can we legitimately and openly transfer the technology to the state?

Chen Yuan could directly provide the technology and then donate it to the country through Zhang Shulin or the powerful figures behind him.

However, doing so would involve his second concern.

His second concern was how to prevent others from taking credit for his work.

Chen Yuan had every reason to believe that if he rashly handed over the technology, it would inevitably attract covetousness, or even lead to his death.

When the time comes, the technology he develops will be renamed to someone else.

This is no joke. Some people in academia are willing to do anything, no matter how despicable or dirty, to achieve results.

Moreover, if he were to publicly declare that he has mastered controlled nuclear fusion technology, he would not only face the academic community, but also the ill-intentioned gazes of some enemy countries, as well as some energy capitalists who might do extreme things.

Chen Yuan wasn't just making wild guesses; these events had actually happened.

Finally, and most importantly.

Chen Yuan had pondered this question before: how does one become a project leader?

If he is not the project leader, even if he hands over the technology, his reputation will be indirectly stolen in the future.

He won't get any benefits in the end, and he probably won't be able to raise much funding even if he starts his own business.

These are all issues that Chen Yuan needs to consider right now.

In addition, he had one more small question to think about.

Chen Yuan had only been working at Xinghe Company for a short time, less than a month. Logically speaking, their relationship wasn't very deep, so resigning wouldn't have been a big problem.

However, he has just produced two significant research and development achievements, demonstrating his value to the company. Therefore, if he resigns at this point, the company is unlikely to let him go.

If he insists on leaving, he will have to pay a large sum of money in breach of contract. Moreover, because the R&D personnel have signed a non-compete agreement, even if he leaves Xinghe Company, he will not be able to engage in any industry related to energy R&D for the next two years unless he pays another hefty penalty.

The penalty for breach of contract upon resignation is reasonable.

Even calculated at twice the standard economic compensation, it would only amount to a maximum of ten or twenty thousand yuan.

The penalty for breaching a non-compete agreement can be extremely high.

Although the most valuable standard for breach of non-compete agreement penalties in judicial practice is no more than five times the total compensation, this is not a legal provision.

In fact, no upper limit is set in the legal provisions.

For this reason, Xinghe Company sets the non-compete penalty at two million yuan when signing contracts with senior technical personnel in its R&D department.

Chen Yuan just bought a car, and even without considering the monthly car loan payments, he still has over ten thousand yuan on hand.

He can only afford the penalty for breach of contract if he sells the house.

He definitely wouldn't sell the house; it was a wedding home his parents bought for him.

correct.

Professor Zhang previously said that Huazhong Nuclear Power Group was very interested in carbon-14 nuclear battery technology and would send people to discuss cooperation with them. Why is there still no news about it?

Chen Yuan thought to himself, if Huahe really cooperated with him, and the initial basic fee was more than five million, wouldn't he be able to afford the breach of contract penalty?

Of course, this was his worst-case scenario.

In fact, as long as you do not engage in new energy research and development within two years after leaving your job, you will not be in violation of the non-compete agreement.

Nuclear fusion is not part of the company's business, so even if he did engage in it, he would not be prosecuted for it.

Chen Yuan's reasoning was entirely based on the worst-case scenario.

"Xiao Chen, you're at the company so early?"

Zhao Peng's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Chen Yuan looked up and saw Zhao Peng, dressed in a sharp suit and carrying a briefcase, stepping into the office area.

He stood up and replied with a smile, "Good morning, Minister. I got up a little early today, so I thought I'd come to the company early. Why are you here so early too?"

As Zhao Peng approached, he casually remarked, "There's a very important meeting for the company's senior and middle management today, and I might have to give a speech, so I'm here in advance to prepare."

At this point, he winked and revealed, "The meeting is closely related to the nuclear battery technology you are developing, and I will definitely try to secure a more generous bonus for you and the project team."

Chen Yuan quickly replied, "Thank you, Minister."

Zhao Peng placed his briefcase on Chen Yuan's desk, his expression serious. He spoke frankly, "Xiao Chen, you don't need to be so polite with me. To be honest, in the entire department, I've never thought so highly of anyone. You're the one I want to groom as my successor. I've been doing the work of the company's R&D vice president, but that position is vacant. I might be officially appointed as the R&D vice president by the board of directors soon. Then, who will fill the position of R&D department head? I didn't have a clear idea before, but since you came along, I roughly know who should take the seat. But now there's a problem. You haven't been with the company long, and while your performance is excellent, your seniority is relatively low. Even if I recommend you, others might not accept it. So I've been thinking about how to help you grow to the point where everyone is convinced, so that one day you can take over my position."

He spoke with utmost sincerity, without a trace of hypocrisy, as if it were not merely an attempt to win people over.

Chen Yuan could sense the sincerity in Zhao Peng's words.

This touched him deeply, but at the same time, it put him under a lot of pressure.

Chen Yuan was originally thinking about how to resign, and was even prepared to pay the penalty for breach of contract, but Zhao Peng's performance made him feel a sense of trust in him as a trusted confidant.

How disappointed would Zhao Peng be if he really resigned rashly?

He is a sentimental person, which is why he would consider such a question.

Chen Yuan had something on his mind, but he smiled and said, "Minister, you have too high expectations of me. I've only been with the company for a short time, how could I dare to covet your position?"

As the saying goes, "Ambition knows no age; a hundred years is wasted without ambition."

Zhao Peng said seriously, "If you have the ability, you should sit in the corresponding position. Age and length of service with the company are secondary. Don't underestimate yourself and think that seniority is the only factor. Rest assured, if you perform well in the future, when I promote someone, I will definitely strongly request the board of directors to let you succeed me. Remember, I said strongly request, not suggest. I think you understand what I mean?"

Chen Yuan naturally understood that as long as the board of directors wasn't determined to oppose Zhao Peng, he wouldn't be able to lose his position as head of the R&D department, provided that his performance remained stable.

This put him under even more pressure, as if his desire to resign would destroy some kind of trust.

……

About three days later.

Today is Thursday.

In the morning, Chen Yuan was busy with the nuclear battery project in the laboratory.

Suddenly, Xiaoyun walked in from outside and said that a reporter wanted to interview Chen Yuan. She heard that the reporter was from the official TV station Channel 1, which had come all the way from Beijing.

When the company's senior management learned of this, they all took it very seriously and invited the reporter to the VIP room.

Chen Yuan initially thought that the nuclear battery project had attracted attention, which was why it had drawn the attention of a reporter from CCTV-1.

After all, this innovative nuclear battery technology is bound to cause a great stir in the industry.

So he put down what he was doing and immediately went over to be interviewed.

When Chen Yuan arrived at the VIP room and met the reporter, he learned that the interview had nothing to do with nuclear batteries; the reporter was brought in by Conno Company.

Or perhaps, Connolly doesn't have the power to hire a reporter from the official CCTV channel.

The reason the other party came to him was because they knew that Chen Yuan was a person of high moral character who would rather give up an annual income of hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan than do his best to help people with hearing impairments to resume a normal life.

The TV station was moved by this spirit, so they sent a reporter to interview them.

Chen Yuan originally wanted to call on more people to participate in caring for people with hearing impairments, so he naturally did not refuse the interview.

There were no problems with the interview.

Chen Yuan chatted with the reporter for about an hour before ending the interview.

The problem arose after the interview.

It was a little before eleven o'clock at the time.

Chen Yuan had just stepped out of the administration building and was about to return to the laboratory when he was stopped by Zhao Peng's assistant, Xiao Ke, who asked him to go to the minister's office.

He had to go when the minister invited him, since he was still working under him.

Moreover, there are certain special bonds between Chen Yuan and Zhao Peng.

Even if the other party invites him outside of work hours, he will probably still go.

We arrived at the door of the minister's office.

Chen Yuan reached out and knocked on the door. "Minister."

Zhao Peng's voice came from inside, "Xiao Chen, please come in."

Chen Yuan pushed open the door and went in. He saw Zhao Peng sitting upright and greeted him, "Sister Xiao Ke said you were looking for me?"

He closed the door behind him.

Zhao Peng pointed to the chair in front of his desk and said, "Sit down, sit down and let's talk."

Chen Yuan said "thank you" and then went over and sat down.

Zhao Peng stared into Chen Yuan's eyes and said, "I heard that you secretly developed a new type of cochlear implant for Zhejiang Kangnuo Company?"

The reporters have already come to interview us, and the entire senior management of the company knows roughly what happened. It's not surprising that Zhao Peng, as one of the senior managers, knows about it.

Chen Yuan readily admitted, "To be precise, I developed a new type of cochlear implant and then collaborated with Conno Company. Minister, is there a problem? I remember that cochlear implants are unrelated to our company's business. I haven't violated my non-compete agreement, have I?"

Zhao Peng said slowly, "Cochlear implants are unrelated to our company's business. On the surface, you haven't violated your non-compete agreement. However, cochlear implants require batteries, and you... you know what I'm going to say, right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

Indeed, cochlear implants require battery power, and the second of the two cochlear implants we designed uses carbon-14 nuclear battery technology, which is outside the company's business scope, so there is no major problem.

However, the first cochlear implant was different; its removable lithium battery fell within the company's business scope.

Most importantly, the removable lithium battery he developed represents a novel technology.

Therefore, according to the terms of the non-compete agreement, Chen Yuan did indeed breach the contract.

Chen Yuan frowned immediately. "Minister, what do you mean?"

Zhao Peng said in a stern tone, "Your taking on private work has little to do with the company. Many of my colleagues in the R&D department take on extra work that is unrelated to the company's business to earn extra money. This is very common. I did it when I was young. But you have to understand some things. There are some things that cannot be violated, otherwise the consequences will be enormous."

Chen Yuan didn't know how to answer, so he simply remained silent.

Zhao Peng toned down his accusatory tone and instead offered advice: "Some people on the board only care about money, not people. If they find out you've violated your non-compete agreement, they might do something drastic. You might be in breach of contract now, which will cause a lot of trouble. But if you can guarantee you won't breach the agreement, then nothing will happen, right?"

Ok?

Chen Yuan suddenly realized what was going on and roughly knew what to do.

He looked grateful. "Thank you for the reminder, Minister."

Zhao Peng then smiled. "Be more careful in the future, and don't be so careless. This time I knew about it in advance and was able to remind you in time. What about next time? I know you are capable and must have great ambitions. That's precisely why you need to be even more cautious before you grow up. This applies not only to our company but also to any other company you go to in the future. I hope you can remember these principles and think things through carefully before you act."

Chen Yuan quickly replied, "Thank you for your guidance, Minister."

He spoke sincerely, and what Zhao Peng said were valuable experiences.

If you can remember it, you can avoid a lot of trouble.

Chen Yuan realized how much Zhao Peng valued him, and his resolve wavered even further.

Should I resign and devote myself entirely to nuclear fusion?

I can't fully dedicate myself to this without resigning, but if I do resign, Zhao Peng has been so good to me...

Chen Yuan became very conflicted.

He was a little undecided for a moment.