Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 830: US Office of Science and Technology Development Review; Fang Wen Joins Lawrence's

The arrival of his wife and children warmed Fang Wen's heart.

There's still no news about Lawrence's review, which gives him some precious time to spend with his wife and children and make up for the years he's missed.

Fang Wen temporarily put aside everything else and devoted himself to being with Kuang Mingzhu and their two children.

He shed his battlefield shrewdness and caution, returning to being an ordinary husband and father.

In the early morning, I hold my wife and children's hands and stroll along the Berkeley coastal road, watching the sea breeze rustle through the sycamore branches and listening to the children's clear laughter.

In the afternoon, I played with the children in the hotel courtyard, taught the little boy to identify the flowers and plants by the roadside, and patiently coaxed the timid little girl, watching her gradually let down her guard and take the initiative to tug at my clothes and act coquettishly.

In the afternoon, he suggested that the family go to the nearby market to buy groceries and cook.

Like any ordinary family, the family drove to the market to pick out fresh fruits and vegetables and delicious meats. Kuang Mingzhu held his arm and occasionally reminded him of the tips for choosing vegetables, while the two children watched everything in the market with curiosity and kept asking questions.

Meanwhile, not far away, the men sent by Zhao Jiu and the henchmen of Daniel, the San Francisco Mafia boss, were acting as their bodyguards, secretly protecting them.

Back in the hotel kitchen, Fang Wen was eager to show off his skills and make up for what he had missed over the years.

He rolled up his sleeves and clumsily chopped vegetables, mimicking how the cafeteria cooks cooked in his memory.

Kuang Mingzhu, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You, this isn't like flying a plane. Let me do it. I've improved my cooking skills by taking care of the kids these past two years."

Fang Wen smiled and said, "Then I'll be your assistant."

Kuang Mingzhu put on her apron and moved with practiced ease, chopping vegetables, stir-frying, and seasoning in one smooth motion.

Soon, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen as plates of colorful, fragrant, and delicious home-style dishes were served on the table.

There was braised pork, which Fang Wen loves; steamed egg custard, which the children enjoy; and refreshing seasonal vegetables.

The two children sat obediently at the table, staring longingly at the food. Kuang Mingzhu carefully scooped up some steamed egg custard for the children and put it in their bowls. She also put a piece of braised pork on Fang Wen's plate, her eyes full of tenderness.

Looking at his wife and children eating warm food, Fang Wen felt a surge of warmth in his heart. This was everything he wanted to protect.

If strategic nuclear weapons can be developed ahead of schedule, this war will end sooner, China will rise to prominence sooner, and wives, children, and parents can return to their motherland.

After finishing dinner.

The two children played until 8 o'clock and then got tired.

Fang Wen and his wife each carried one child and placed them on the bed in the suite.

Now that the kids are asleep, the adults finally have time to be intimate together.

Kuang Mingzhu nestled against Fang Wen's chest and told him about her life in Las Vegas over the past two years, about the moment when her children took their first steps and spoke for the first time. There was not a single complaint, only a heart full of joy and satisfaction.

Passion burned within them. Fang Wen leaned down, his wife blushing shyly, "Keep your voice down, don't wake the child."

Two peaceful and heartwarming days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the morning of the third day, Fang Wen was playing with building blocks with the children in the room when the phone in the guest room suddenly rang.

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked over to answer the phone. Lawrence's voice came from the other end: "Mr. Fang, I have good news for you. Our team has discussed and approved your participation. But as you know, this project is now managed by the government's Office of Scientific Research and Development, and all participants must be reviewed by officials sent by them. You need to come over to cooperate with the review."

Fang Wen was overjoyed and replied, "Okay, Professor, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Wen turned to his wife, his face full of smiles: "Mingzhu, it's all settled. I need to go to the school to cooperate with the review. I'll be back soon."

Upon hearing this, Kuang Mingzhu immediately stood up and said gently, "I'll go get you a suit."

As she spoke, she strode into the bedroom and took out a neatly ironed dark suit.

The two children stopped playing and ran to Fang Wen's side. The little boy tugged at his clothes and said in a clear voice, "Go, Dad!" The little girl nodded and whispered, "Dad."

Fang Wen squatted down, gently patted the tops of the two children's heads, and whispered, "When I come back, I'll take you to play again."

He then changed into a suit, and with his wife and children watching him leave the hotel, heading towards the University of California, Berkeley.

Following Lawrence's instructions over the phone, Fang Wen arrived at a temporary office arranged within the school. Inside sat a middle-aged man with a serious expression, wearing the badge of the Office of Scientific Research and Development on his chest. He was the review officer sent by OSRD.

Upon seeing Fang Wen, the man did not stand up. He simply pointed to the chair opposite him and said in a calm tone, "Sit down. I am an examiner sent by OSRD to review your qualifications to join the Lawrence team. Now, I need you to answer my questions truthfully."

Fang Wen sat down calmly, his expression serene: "Okay."

The reviewer took out a notebook and asked questions one by one: "What is your name, nationality, occupation, and your real motivation for wanting to join the Lawrence team? Do you have any relevant research experience? Have you published any relevant academic papers?"

Fang Wen answered truthfully. When he mentioned that he was the owner of Taishan Airlines and also controlled multiple industries in the United States, such as Taishan International, a hint of surprise flashed in the examiner's eyes.

The reviewer put down his pen and re-examined Fang Wen: "You're the founder of Taishan Airlines? I've heard of that airline; it's been developing very quickly. But you need to understand that Professor Lawrence's project is a top-secret national project, concerning national security. You're neither a US citizen nor a well-known scientist from Europe or America, and you don't have any publicly available research results related to nuclear physics. I find it hard to believe that you have the ability to help Professor Lawrence achieve a breakthrough in the electromagnetic separation method project."

The skepticism in his tone was undisguised. In the eyes of the reviewer, Fang Wen, an Eastern businessman, no matter how rich and powerful, could not possibly have made any achievements in the field of top nuclear physics. He was probably just curious or wanted to make a profit from it, which is why he wanted to join the team.

Fang Wen had anticipated this, and without anger, he calmly looked at the reviewer: "I understand your concerns, and I know that words alone are not enough. Please tell me directly how to prove that everything I say is credible and that I have the ability to help the project."

The reviewer was taken aback, clearly not expecting Fang Wen to be so decisive. After a moment's thought, he made a request that he believed Fang Wen absolutely could not fulfill: "Given your foreign status and lack of any verifiable research capabilities, to join the Lawrence team, you must have an influential person or organization in the United States vouch for you. These guarantors need to have sufficient prestige and strength to vouch for your character, motives, and abilities; otherwise, the review will not be approved."

He had thought that this request would deter Fang Wen, as it was almost impossible for an Eastern businessman to find an influential person in the United States to vouch for him in a short period of time.

To his utter surprise, Fang Wen readily replied, "Okay, I agree. Give me some time, and I'll find the guarantee you need."

A hint of surprise flashed in the reviewer's eyes: "I'll give you three days. If you don't have proof of guarantee after three days, it will be considered an automatic waiver." Fang Wen got up to say goodbye and left the office.

He left the school and went straight back to the hotel, where he immediately used Taishan International's channels in the United States to submit research guarantee requests to the three major conglomerates.

In addition, he contacted relevant companies that Taishan International was cooperating with in the United States, as well as military personnel he had met during the last military purchase, explaining the situation one by one, indicating that he was only interested in electromagnetic separation technology and had the ability to help the team overcome the current technical bottlenecks.

After the news spread, various forces within the United States called Fang Wen to inquire about the details.

Fang Wen told the truth.

The results came even faster than Fang Wen had anticipated; within just two days, replies from all sides began to arrive.

Although the three major financial groups did not publicly guarantee Fang Wen in the name of the financial groups, they each appointed several people with great power and prestige in the United States to issue guarantee letters in their personal names, clearly stating that they were willing to guarantee Fang Wen's character and ability.

Among Taishan International's partner companies, Alcoa has expressed its willingness to provide support.

The military has not commented.

Another force, Steve, the president of the Holy Light Gospel Church, also publicly supported Fang Wen and called on believers to sign a joint letter of support.

Three days later, Fang Wen returned to the school's review office with a thick letter of guarantee and a letter of support.

When the reviewer saw the names of the guarantors, his expression changed completely. He never expected that Fang Wen could actually find so many influential people to vouch for him in such a short time.

Faced with this support, the reviewer no longer had the arrogance of before, nor any reason to refuse. He could only follow the procedure, end the review, and officially agree to Fang Wen joining Lawrence's research team.

However, the reviewer still produced a thick confidentiality agreement and said seriously, "Mr. Fang, although the review has been approved, you must sign this confidentiality agreement. The agreement clearly stipulates that during your participation in the research and after the research is completed, no matter what results the research achieves, you may not take away any related research materials, experimental data and equipment, nor may you disclose any information about the project to any third party. Otherwise, you will bear corresponding legal responsibility and may even be held accountable by the military."

Fang Wen took the confidentiality agreement and glanced through it.

He was not afraid of the confidentiality agreement; his powerful mental strength allowed him to record all the research data without needing to take any paper documents with him.

Once it was used for nuclear research at Mount Tai, the United States could no longer interfere.

Therefore, Fang Wen did not hesitate at all, picked up the pen, and signed his name on the agreement.

After signing the confidentiality agreement, the reviewer put the agreement away and officially notified Fang Wen that he could officially join Lawrence's research team effective immediately.

Fang Wen thanked the examiner and immediately went to the physics department's laboratory building to find Lawrence.

Lawrence was already waiting at the entrance of the laboratory building. When he saw Fang Wen coming over, he smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Mr. Fang, congratulations, you've passed the review. Come on, I'll take you to the laboratory to meet the rest of the team and then introduce you to the project's details and key equipment."

Fang Wen nodded and followed Lawrence into the laboratory building.

Inside the laboratory on the second floor.

Several researchers in white lab coats were busy around the experimental equipment; some were recording data, while others were adjusting the instruments, which were constantly making noise.

Lawrence clapped his hands, signaling everyone to stop what they were doing, and began to introduce, "Everyone, let me introduce a new member, Mr. Fang Wen. He will be joining our team to assist us in advancing our research on electromagnetic separation methods. Mr. Fang has unique abilities in electromagnetic control, and I believe he can help us break through our current technical bottlenecks."

The researchers present all looked up, their eyes fixed on Fang Wen, filled with curiosity and doubt.

Most of them were top physicists. When Lawrence mentioned Fang Wen's abilities, they were initially skeptical. If Lawrence hadn't insisted, they wouldn't have agreed to let Fang Wen join and give it a try.

Fang Wen saw this and understood that only by proving himself with facts could he truly gain everyone's recognition.

Lawrence then led Fang Wen to the core area of ​​the laboratory, where there was a huge piece of equipment.

Lawrence pointed to the equipment and explained in detail: "This is our 60-inch cyclotron, which is also the core equipment for our research on electromagnetic separation. It mainly consists of three parts: ion source, magnetic field system, and vacuum and collection system. The biggest problem we are currently facing is the instability of the ion beam and the insufficient precision of the magnetic field control, which makes it impossible to improve the separation purity and efficiency."

As he spoke, he pointed to various parts of the equipment, explaining in detail the function of each system, its current operating status, and existing problems. He also took out a thick experimental report and handed it to Fang Wen: "This is our current experimental data. You can familiarize yourself with it first and see if you can find a solution to the problem."

Fang Wen took the lab report, but the densely packed experimental data was difficult for him to understand.

This needs to be done step by step.

The first thing to do is to have a sufficient understanding of this cyclotron particle accelerator.

But this is also the core secret of Lawrence's team.

Fang Wen understood that it was currently impossible to extract this information from the other party.

But he has other methods. As long as the equipment is turned on and running, he can use his mechanical perception ability to deconstruct the cyclotron through contact with the equipment.

Therefore, he asked, "When will you turn it on for testing? I want to see how it performs first."

Lawrence replied, "This afternoon, we are preparing to conduct a heavy element isotope separation experiment, and you can observe."

Fang Wen was very excited to see the equipment in operation today.

Because of the afternoon experiment, Fang Wen did not return to the hotel. Instead, he sent a bodyguard sent by Zhao Jiu to inform his wife that he would not be returning at noon.

He remained in the lab to learn what he needed to do to participate in the experiments. (End of Chapter)