89: Chapter 89 Zhang Weijie's Angry

Chen Youhua had just picked up his pen again, trying to find that thread of thought in the turbulence of the equations, when the door was pushed open again.

Li Wei squeezed in, wobbling under the weight of a large stack of folders that were piled so high they almost blocked her view.

"Oh my goodness..."

She struggled to place the small mountain of files onto the only empty corner of Chen Youhua's desk with a thud, causing the calculation papers on the table to jump.

Chen Youhua rubbed his throbbing temples in resignation, feeling as if the work was endless, one pile after another.

Li Wei brushed the dust off her hands, not rushing to discuss the files, but instead leaning in a little, her eyes sparkling with intense, gossipy curiosity.

"Youhua, who was that person at the door just now? What did he want with you?

I saw his face was stiff, harder than a block of ice, and he was exuding a 'don't mess with me' vibe from head to toe.

Tsk tsk, when he was talking to us earlier, his chin was almost pointing to the sky, and he insisted that we call you out."

Chen Youhua glanced at her speechlessly.

Li Wei was usually quite capable, so why had she picked up such a habit?

"I don't know him,"

he said in a flat tone.

"Never seen him before, who knows where he popped out from, acting like someone owes him millions."

"Pfft,"

Li Wei laughed.

"Alright, alright, my bad for being nosy."

She pointed to the stack of files.

"Here, the summary and analysis reports of the experimental data from the past few days are all here.

The progress is faster than I expected; at this rate, it shouldn't be a problem to achieve the first-stage goal within a month or two."

"Hmm,"

Chen Youhua nodded, not showing much excitement.

"It's within expectations. Most of what we did in the early stages was based on verifying and perfecting the work of our predecessors.

We are just pursuing richer and more ambitious goals."

He changed the subject, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the pile of files.

"Don't be too happy too soon; the real hard nuts to crack are still ahead.

How many neurons are in a human body? Even if we really crack the hard nut of neural conduction materials.

How do we connect them? Surgery? Doctors are human, not machines; the precision requirements are at the molecular level?

Even if we had that technology, connecting them one by one would take forever. Is that realistic?"

His tone was calm, as if stating an objective fact, but it was like a bucket of cold water that extinguished the small sense of pride Li Wei had just felt.

The smile on Li Wei's face faded, and her expression became serious.

Indeed, the first stage was just an appetizer; it was for team building and familiarizing with the workflow.

The real challenge was the huge gap between engineering and practical application.

Chen Youhua had clearly seen further ahead for a long time.

"Understood,"

she nodded.

"Then these materials..."

"Leave them here,"

Chen Youhua didn't wait for her to finish, waving his hand directly, with an attitude of 'don't bother me'.

"In the future, you and Wang Zhe can discuss and handle such summaries and analyses.

If you can't handle it, go find enlightenment; it processes data faster than people.

I am only responsible for controlling the general direction and solving the problems you cannot solve."

He paused, picked up the stack of draft paper on his desk covered in cryptic symbols, and waved it.

"Besides, I'm quite busy here too; I'm currently researching a world-class problem."

Li Wei's gaze was drawn to the pile of complex mathematical symbols, and her curiosity was piqued again.

"What are you researching? So mysterious."

Chen Youhua waved his hand again, this time more like shooing away a buzzing fly.

"Don't worry about it, go do your work."

Li Wei pursed her lips, knowing she wouldn't get anything out of him, and turned to leave.

...

Zhang Weijie practically rushed back to his cramped single dormitory.

The door slammed shut behind him with a "bang," cutting off all sound from outside.

The room was dimly lit, with only a desk lamp on, casting a pale, sickly light onto the desk.

A thick stack of printed paper was placed neatly there.

He stood in front of the desk, his chest heaving violently, his eyes behind his glasses fixed intently on that stack of paper.

On it, every cold word was the result of his sleepless nights, a collection of all the irrationalities and hidden dangers he could find regarding Chen Youhua's project.

Black and white on paper, like a sharpened dagger.

Chen Youhua's young, cold face, with its genius-like arrogance, appeared clearly before his eyes once again.

"I originally wanted to give you a chance..."

Zhang Weijie was filled with the humiliation of being slighted.

"Why are you… so ungrateful?"

"You're just a lucky bastard who got lucky! Why? Why is everything good piled up in front of you?!"

He slammed his fist onto the desk, making the desk lamp wobble.

"A kid who hasn't even grown his hair out yet… I've been struggling in the research institute for over a decade, I've seen more storms than you've eaten salt! My qualifications, my experience…"

"I kindly reminded you, giving you a way out… and you dared to treat me like that? In front of so many people, ignoring me and insulting me?!"

Chen Youhua's light remark of "bizarre," pricked his nerves repeatedly like a poisonous needle at this moment.

"I gave you a chance..."

Zhang Weijie's voice lowered, carrying a sense of self-persuading determination, his fingers pressing hard on the stack of whistleblower reports.

"I really did give you a chance… It was you who chose this path. Later… don't blame me."

A cold, desperate, and decisive ruthlessness surged up from the soles of his feet, overwhelming all hesitation and any remaining, faint conscience.

He grabbed the heavy stack of materials like a weapon and turned to open the dormitory door.

Outside, the sky hadn't completely darkened yet, but the city's neon lights were already eagerly lighting up.

Zhang Weijie, clutching the materials, walked heavily out of the dormitory building and crossed the familiar campus path.

Youthful students walked past him in twos and threes, their laughter sounding muffled, as if separated by a thick layer of frosted glass.

He walked past the traffic lights and merged into the crowd of people getting off work.

The huge glass-curtain-wall buildings reflected the sunset's afterglow and the newly lit neon lights, shimmering with color, while the traffic wove golden ribbons of light on the wide roads.

Everything highlighted the prosperity and vitality of this city.

When passing a street-side cafe, a familiar figure inside the bright floor-to-ceiling windows made him pause subconsciously.

A young man wearing a casual T-shirt was chatting happily with the girl opposite him, a relaxed smile on his face without any shadows.

"Zhou… Xinyu?"

Zhang Weijie searched his memory for the name of this distant relative.

"The one opposite him… is his girlfriend? The last time I saw him, it seemed to be when he just got into college, he was so green…"

"His parents seemed to have asked me… to look after him in the institute? I refused… What did he study later? Computer science?"

It was just a fleeting thought.

That young, hopeful face formed a stark contrast with the gloom and determination currently filling his heart.

"What does that have to do with me…"

Zhang Weijie quickly looked away, as if scalded by that bright smile, and the hostility in his heart surged up even more heavily.

He tightened his grip on the cold files under his arm, like holding a block of ice, and walked more firmly toward his destination—the whistleblower center building that symbolized rules and authority.