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

Lunchtime, staff canteen.

Chen Yuan, Lao Qin, and Xiao Yun were eating and chatting.

"We must make sure our first test and verification of the nuclear battery goes smoothly today. Tomorrow afternoon, Liyao will send someone over for preliminary acceptance. If there are no problems, we will officially sign the contract."

"With Xiao Chen here, there won't be any problems with testing and verification."

"Testing and verification are for discovering problems and then solving them as soon as possible. Although I designed this nuclear battery, I cannot guarantee that it will be problem-free."

"Haha, with you here, even if there are problems, they can be easily solved, right?"

Lao Qin and Xiao Yun had great confidence in Chen Yuan.

"President Zhen."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Zhen."

A greeting came from the side.

Chen Yuan, Lao Qin, and Xiao Yun didn't think much of it.

Although senior management rarely dine in the employee cafeteria, it does happen occasionally, so it's not surprising that Vice President Zhen is here.

Unexpectedly, Vice President Zhen and a middle-aged man from the legal department came to the table where Chen Yuan was having dinner.

As soon as Vice President Zhen arrived, he greeted them with a smile, "Xiao Chen, Lao Qin, Xiao Qin, how was the food today?"

"That's good."

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Zhen."

Chen Yuan, Xiao Yun, and Lao Qin responded.

Vice President Zhen was a middle-aged man in his mid-fifties, but he looked very young, like he was thirty-seven or thirty-eight. Perhaps wealthy people take good care of themselves.

After greeting them, he looked at Lao Qin and Xiao Yun and said, "Lao Qin, Xiao Qin, could you two switch seats? Xiao Chen and I have something to discuss."

Ok?

Need to contact me?

Could it be related to cochlear implant battery technology?

Chen Yuan immediately became alert.

Just a moment ago, Zhao Peng called him over to discuss this matter.

When Vice President Zhen came to our door, it seemed that there was nothing else to discuss besides this matter.

Old Qin and Xiao Yun responded and left with their trays.

Vice President Zhen sat down opposite Chen Yuan.

The legal colleague was standing behind him.

Chen Yuan put down his chopsticks and looked over, wanting to hear what the other person had to say.

Vice President Zhen maintained a smile on his face, appearing very amiable, and said, "Xiao Chen, you have recently made outstanding contributions to the company. First, you helped Lao Qin and others complete the 1175Ah battery cell project, and then you developed a new type of nuclear energy battery, which enabled us to successfully obtain the opportunity to cooperate with a large state-owned enterprise like Liyao. You are really capable."

As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face.

The other party seemed quite friendly, so Chen Yuan naturally wouldn't act arrogantly towards them just because he didn't get along with Zhen Yuhan.

He said humbly, "Mr. Zhen, you flatter me. I've only been able to achieve some success because I've been lucky."

"Hey, don't be so modest. Excessive modesty is the same as arrogance."

Vice President Zhen smiled and looked to the side, "Xiao Zhou, don't you think so?"

Zhou, a colleague from the legal department, said with a fawning expression, "President Zhen, you're right."

Chen Yuan blinked and asked, "Is there something you need from me?"

Vice President Zhen's smile faded, and he said seriously, "There are two things I need to discuss with you."

Chen Yuan said, "Please speak."

Vice President Zhen said, "The first matter concerns the nuclear battery project. During our senior management meeting, Minister Zhao stated that your project team deserves immense credit for our successful cooperation with Liyuan Pharmaceutical. Therefore, he hoped the company could provide additional bonuses. After discussing it with the other board members, we ultimately decided to add another million to your project team's bonus. As a key figure in this project, you should naturally take the lion's share. My personal suggestion is that you take one million for yourself, and the remaining two million originally promised by the company can be distributed among the other team members based on their contributions. What do you think of this proposal?"

Huh?

You come to me for advice on how to allocate bonuses?

Most importantly, I don't get along with your nephew, yet you still suggested to the board of directors that I receive a million-dollar bonus?

Chen Yuan thought to himself that Vice President Zhen was indeed worthy of the title; not only was he magnanimous, but he was also very keen on winning him over.

Indeed, he could tell that Vice President Zhen was trying to win him over in this way.

Chen Yuan wasn't a fool. He wasn't annoyed by the fact that he and Zhen Yuhan didn't get along. He didn't hold any grudges against the goodwill shown by Vice President Zhen.

He said very politely, "I'll do whatever you say, Mr. Zhen."

Vice President Zhen nodded with satisfaction. "Okay, I'll talk to the board of directors later. It's settled then. Now let's talk about the second thing."

Chen Yuan said, "Please speak."

Vice President Zhen looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "A reporter from CCTV-1 came to interview you today, saying you designed a new type of cochlear implant for Zhejiang Jiangkangnuo Company?"

So that's exactly what they came for.

Chen Yuan was already mentally prepared and wasn't surprised at all.

He readily admitted, "Yes."

Vice President Zhen blinked and said, "Cochlear implants require high-end micro lithium batteries, and Connoisseur is the largest cochlear implant manufacturer in China. Xiao Chen, do you think if our company could become Connoisseur's battery supplier, we could earn more money every year, and then we could give your R&D staff more bonuses and benefits?"

Chen Yuan understood immediately and asked, "Do you want me to introduce you to someone from Kangnuo Company to discuss battery cooperation?"

He didn't object to that point, after all, it doesn't matter who supplies the batteries.

Unexpectedly, Vice President Zhen waved his hand and said, "If this is the kind of cooperation, I don't need to come to you. I can just send someone to talk to Kangnuo Company directly."

Chen Yuan asked, somewhat confused, "So you mean...?"

Vice President Zhen glanced at Xiao Zhou beside him, then turned his gaze to Chen Yuan's face, and said very seriously, "As I just said, you are a capable person. You are able to develop a technological product like a cochlear implant that involves multiple disciplines, which is truly impressive. Therefore, I have sufficient reason to believe that the battery technology used in the cochlear implant you designed for Kangnuo must also be innovative. I've been thinking, if our company can master such innovative battery technology, how much money could we make from the cochlear implant market in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan involuntarily frowned.

His initial motivation for developing the new cochlear implant was to prevent Ah Yu and other hearing-impaired people from being discriminated against. So even when he was discussing cooperation with Connolly, he turned down the hundreds of millions or even billions he could have earned each year, just to use the money to give hearing-impaired people a chance to resume a normal life.

Although this amount of money may be just a drop in the bucket for people with hearing impairments around the world, it is the only thing Chen Yuan can do for them right now.

Therefore, he didn't really want to make any money from cochlear implants.

If you think about it, why would Chen Yuan give up a share of at least several hundred million every year?

When Vice President Zhen says this, it's clear he's referring to the technology of a new type of removable lithium battery for cochlear implants, and then using this innovative battery technology to reap huge profits from the cochlear implant market.

This directly contradicted Chen Yuan's original intention.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath and said firmly, "President Zhen, I may not be able to help much with this matter, because the new cochlear implant power supply device I designed for Conno doesn't have any innovative battery technology. If you want to discuss cooperation with Conno, I can help introduce you, but as for other aspects... I'm really sorry."

Vice President Zhen wasn't angry at all; a smile returned to his face. "Xiao Chen, don't you really want the company to seize the market share of cochlear implant battery supply?"

Chen Yuan said bluntly, "It's not that I don't want to, but I can't help much."

"Okay, I understand." Vice President Zhen didn't waste any more words. As his smile faded, he slowly stood up and said, "Although you said you couldn't be of much help, I still hope you can carefully consider what I just said."

Chen Yuan firmly stated, "No need to consider it, I really can't help you."

Vice President Zhen nodded and said, "Okay, then you can continue with your meal. Xiao Zhou and I are going to eat too."

After saying that, he didn't give Chen Yuan a chance to speak again, and led Xiao Zhou towards the restaurant reserved for senior executives.

Chen Yuan watched Vice President Zhen and Xiao Zhou's retreating figures, knowing that he had offended them badly this time and might face repercussions.

This is perfectly normal. If the company needs your skills and you keep dodging the issue, it's no wonder the company will make trouble for you!

Are you messing with me?

So what if you mess with me?

Chen Yuan is usually easy to talk to. If it were other technologies, the company would provide them if needed. After all, he did violate the non-compete agreement regarding the cochlear implant power supply device. However, he would never hand over the new detachable lithium battery technology for this cochlear implant power supply device, simply because he hopes to help hearing-impaired people like A Yu in this way.

I refuse to pay!

Even if you kill me, you can never make me bow down!

Yes, Chen Yuan is just that determined!

His previous hesitation about whether to resign was entirely due to Zhao Peng's kindness to him and the fact that he didn't have much money, which made him indecisive.

Now that this has happened, Chen Yuan's hesitant heart has suddenly become firm.

resignation.

He must resign.

Chen Yuan knew that if he continued to stay at the company, similar incidents might happen many more times in the future.

He didn't want to cause trouble for himself, so the best solution was to address the root cause, which meant resigning as soon as possible.

Therefore, instead of wasting time here, we should focus on achieving cold fusion sooner rather than later.