66: The rth hope?

Renfang Technology's Plant No. 2 was permeated with a distinct smell of rubber, machine oil, and high-temperature baking.

The massive hydraulic test rig emitted a dull hum, like the panting of a weary beast.

Wearing deep blue coveralls stained with oil, Deng Renfang squatted by the test rig, his eyes fixed intently on the pressure gauge.

"Pressurize! More!"

He roared at the operator, his voice raspy with a hint of subtle anxiety.

The operator pushed the control lever.

The pressure gauge needle jumped upward!

120 MPa... 150 MPa... 180 MPa!

"Creeeak—!"

The jarring sound of metal deforming suddenly rang out!

Followed immediately by a muffled "thud"!

On the test rig, the black sealing ring—just pressed from the latest Stardust-III formula—tore and flew apart like squeezed mud under pressure far exceeding its design limit!

Scalding sealing medium mixed with rubber debris sprayed out, leaving a mess on the test rig's protective shield.

"Stop! Stop now!"

Deng Renfang stood up abruptly, his face ashen.

The operator hurriedly pulled back the control lever.

The humming stopped, leaving only the noise of cooling fans and the suppressed breathing of everyone in the plant.

Another failure.

This was the seventh critical test failure this month.

Every failure meant tens or even hundreds of thousands in raw materials, processing fees, and precious R&D time down the drain.

Looking at the shapeless rubber remains inside the shield, Deng Renfang felt as if his heart had been ruthlessly squeezed.

He bent down and picked up a large fragment; the rubber was still hot to the touch.

He squeezed it hard, and the fragment easily deformed and crumbled between his calloused fingers, which were covered in tiny cracks.

Too brittle.

The goal of maintaining elasticity at low temperatures seemed to have been met, but the strength under high temperature and pressure... remained an insurmountable chasm.

"CEO Deng..."

Engineer Liu, a middle-aged man with thick glasses in charge of material R&D, walked over with a face full of guilt.

"The rigidity of the molecular chain is still insufficient... the creep issue at high temperatures..."

Deng Renfang waved his hand, cutting him off.

He didn't want to hear complex terminology; behind those terms were burned cash and the increasingly impatient faces of shareholders.

"Record the data, analyze the cause, adjust the formula, and try again."

His voice was weary and dry, like sandpaper rubbing together.

"But CEO Deng, the batch of special additives we ordered last time is gone, and the supplier..."

Engineer Liu hesitated.

"I know."

Deng Renfang threw the rubber fragment into a nearby scrap bin with a dull thud.

"I'll find a way regarding the money," he squeezed the words out through his teeth.

The mortgage loan on his house was almost due, the final payment to the supplier had been delayed for nearly a month, and the finance department told him yesterday that the money in the account was only enough to pay next month's basic wages.

He took off his dirty gloves and wiped his face haphazardly, trying to brush away the exhaustion, only to leave behind deeper streaks of oil.

His phone vibrated in his pocket; it was a WeChat message from his wife, Lin Jing.

"Old Deng, Niuniu asked when Daddy can come home to have a meal with her? She says she misses you."

Below was a selfie of his daughter pouting.

Deng Renfang felt a pang in his heart and quickly typed a reply.

"Soon, soon. I'll be back as soon as I'm done with this stretch. Tell Niuniu that Daddy misses her too."

After sending it, he stared at the screen for a few seconds before stuffing the phone back into his pocket.

Home? He was currently sleeping on a stiff folding bed in the factory office.

Go home? With what face could he return? Tell them that Daddy might soon lose even their home?

Noon, factory canteen.

The food was bland and tasteless; Deng Renfang picked at it without appetite.

The workers around him spoke in low voices, the atmosphere somewhat oppressive.

Everyone had more or less caught wind of the company's situation.

Having barely finished eating, he was preparing to return to his office to deal with the mountain of emails and collection letters when Researcher Zhang Wei knocked on his door.

Zhang Wei was a doctor whom CEO Deng had poached from a university with a high salary, and he was one of the main people in charge of the Stardust project.

Now, the focus and confidence he usually wore were gone, replaced by a mix of embarrassment, guilt, and resolve, with an envelope gripped tightly in his hand.

Deng Renfang's heart sank abruptly.

He was all too familiar with this expression.

"Dr. Zhang? Sit."

Deng Renfang pointed to the chair opposite him, trying to keep his voice steady.

Zhang Wei didn't sit; he just placed the envelope gently on Deng Renfang's desk and pushed it forward.

On the envelope were three glaring printed words: Resignation Letter.

"CEO Deng... I'm sorry."

Zhang Wei's voice was very low, not daring to look Deng Renfang in the eye.

"I... I'm here to resign."

The office suddenly became deathly quiet, leaving only the faint sound of machinery from the factory grounds outside.

Deng Renfang felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his fingers curling unconsciously.

He suppressed his surging emotions and forced a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Dr. Zhang, why... why is this? Is there something the company didn't do well? Compensation? Environment? Or is the R&D hitting a bottleneck and the pressure is too much?

Tell me, we can talk! Salary... I can still find a way to adjust the salary!"

His voice carried a hint of subtle urgency.

Zhang Wei looked up at Deng Renfang with a complex gaze, then quickly looked down again.

"CEO Deng, it's not the company's fault. You've treated me very well, and the compensation is decent for the industry. It's... it's for personal reasons."

He paused, as if he had made up his mind.

"A... foreign firm contacted me. They have... a more mature R&D platform, a larger project budget, a more... international team. And,"

His voice dropped even lower.

"The salary and benefits they promised are nearly double what I have now... and... they are willing to pay the penalty for my non-compete agreement."

Every word was like a dull knife, ruthlessly carving into Deng Renfang's heart.

A foreign firm... a more mature platform... double the salary... even the penalty covered... He opened his mouth to say something but found his throat blocked.

What could he say? Accuse Zhang Wei of being unpatriotic? Accuse him of being after money? But Zhang Wei had a family to support, a mortgage to pay, and wanted to go further in his profession.

His Renfang Technology, this small temple swaying in the storm, couldn't give the man the future he wanted.

A massive sense of powerlessness and deep disappointment instantly overwhelmed Deng Renfang.

He felt like a broken bag with all its strength drained, finding it difficult even to sit upright.

He took a deep breath, struggling to maintain a final shred of dignity, but that forced smile could no longer hold, leaving only deep exhaustion and desolation.

"Alright then..."

Deng Renfang's voice was dry and raspy; he picked up a pen, his fingers trembling slightly as he signed his name on the resignation letter.

"Dr. Zhang, I wish you... a bright future."

The pen tip glided across the paper, making a rustling sound that seemed to write the sound of a dream shattering.

"Thank you, CEO Deng... I'm sorry..."

Zhang Wei took the signed letter, gave a deep bow, and almost fled the office.

The door closed softly.

Deng Renfang was left alone in the office.

Massive confusion and helplessness, like a cold tide, instantly submerged him completely.

He slumped against the back of his chair, looking up at the mottled marks on the ceiling.

What now? Core talent poached! R&D is going from bad to worse!

Shareholders are closing in! Money! Money! Money! It's like a bottomless pit that can never be filled!

Sell more shares? He only has 51% left; if he sells more, the company won't be his anymore!

Give up? Package the company and sell it to those capitalists who only want low-end capacity and customer channels?

Then what were these ten-plus years, and these three years of betting everything, for? A joke?

Outside, the afternoon sun shone in at an angle, casting the shadow of the window frame onto the dusty floor.

That shadow was like a giant net, trapping him firmly.

He saw no way out, only a desperate gloom before him.

Driven by some unknown impulse, Deng Renfang reached for the remote on the desk and turned on the TV hanging in the corner.

This old TV had been bought when the company first started to pick up; he hadn't turned it on in a long time.

Once, he loved watching the news channel, looking for direction and opportunities in national policy interpretations and industrial development trends.

It was a line from the news years ago—"industrialization is imperative"—that ignited his entrepreneurial passion.

The TV screen lit up, and the familiar face of a news anchor appeared.

Deng Renfang looked on with hollow eyes; the host's clear, resonant voice seemed to come through a curtain of water, blurry and indistinct.

He was expressionless, like a puppet that had lost its soul.

"...The National Development and Reform Commission stated recently that it will deeply promote the high-quality development of manufacturing, focusing on breaking through key core technology bottlenecks..."

"...Industrial upgrading faces growing pains, requiring all parties to work together to overcome difficulties..."

"...Scientific and technological innovation is the primary driving force leading development..."

These words, which once could have set his blood boiling, now felt like scratching an itch through a boot, unable to reach the coldness deep in his heart.

Just then, the scene switched.

The host smiled, their tone seemingly a bit more invigorated than before:

"Latest news from this station.

It is reported that the Qiming Industrial AI Platform, jointly built by several core national research institutions, has recently completed all preparations and is officially open for service to qualified industrial enterprises.

This platform brings together China's top achievements in the field of Artificial Intelligence, possessing powerful data processing, simulation, and intelligent optimization capabilities. It is expected to provide a powerful intelligent engine for industrial upgrading in fields such as high-end equipment design, new material R&D, and complex process flow optimization..."

"Qiming Industrial AI Platform..."

"Powerful data processing and simulation capabilities..."

"New material R&D..."

These keywords, like several faint electrical currents, instantly pierced through the chaos and despair in Deng Renfang's mind!

His hollow eyes suddenly focused, and his body sprang up from the back of the chair, staring intently at the TV screen!

The host was still introducing the platform's advantages and application prospects, but Deng Renfang could no longer hear them.

Only one thought echoed frantically in his mind:

New material R&D! Powerful data processing and simulation capabilities!

This... isn't this exactly what he had dreamed of but couldn't obtain?!

He was like a man grabbing onto a life-saving straw, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.