Starting as a Wallfacer, his defection to the Three-Body Problem shocked the world.

"you are?"

Yun Tianming looked at Lin Xuan. He was certain that in his more than twenty years of failed life, he had never seen this person before.

He was young and confident, like two sides of the same coin.

Even though it was their first meeting, Yun Tianming could still feel the genuine confidence emanating from Lin Xuan. To put it bluntly, her presence made Yun Tianming, who was somewhat socially awkward, unable to resist exchanging a few more words with her.

"This might be Cheng Xin's favorite type, right?"

Yun Tianming thought to himself.

If Lin Xuan knew what Yun Tianming was thinking, she would definitely roll her eyes like crazy.

No way, you should keep that kind of overly compassionate, saintly woman for yourself.

Lin Xuan reached out and took the backpack from Yun Tianming's back; he hadn't brought much luggage.

Yun Tianming's trip to Shanghai was purely on a whim, and he deeply regretted it after boarding the plane.

"I came here specifically to pick you up."

After returning to China, Lin Xuan originally wanted to fly directly to Eden to see Luo Ji and Taylor, but Zhang Xiang said that if Lin Xuan wanted to go abroad again, she would have to apply to the PDC at least, and even in the fastest case, the procedures would take three days to complete.

So Lin Xuan asked Zhi Zi for Yun Tianming's location, and after roughly estimating the timeline of the original plot, she took a plane and headed to Shanghai ahead of Yun Tianming.

"Ah, it's so convenient to have Tomoko's help."

Lin Xuan has now reached a preliminary consensus with the Three-Body world. Although he still cannot enter the ETO, he is now qualified to use some of the Sophon's permissions.

As Keiko Yamasugi said, it's somewhat absurd that a Wallfacer like him has the authority to manipulate Sophons.

Getting back to the main topic, Lin Xuan was driving a Maybach with Yun Tianming on the streets of Shanghai.

Zhang Xiang originally said he had a modified SUV with a purple meteorite shell, which he asked Lin Xuan to drive away so that even if they were attacked by ETO again, they wouldn't have to worry about the vehicle being penetrated by a passive energy weapon.

Purple meteorite is not a meteorite, but a material recently developed by PDC that is similar to fiber but also between metal. It is named for the faint purple color it emits when exposed to light.

PDC originally intended to use this as the main material for the space elevator, but Ding Yi later calculated that if they were to build a space elevator made entirely of this material, the time for synthesis and mining of raw materials alone would take at least a hundred years.

Add to that the static track laying project for the space elevator, and well, it just so happens to coincide with the arrival of the Trisolaran fleet.

So you're planning to build this space elevator for the Trisolarans, right?

Therefore, PDC abandoned the proposal. However, this material does have high strategic value. In the end, everyone discussed and came up with a compromise: to use it to reinforce the outer shell of ordinary vehicles.

Why not use it in the military field?

Please, given the current situation, humanity has no interest in starting a civil war.

If the G7 didn't need these scrap metals to maintain their status as major powers, they would have even planned to smelt all the antiques left over from World War II into iron or send them to museums.

Of course, the former is more likely. After all, the British Museum incident served as a reminder to the PDC executives that there are always some people who like to create random things to scare them.

It's better to give it to Lin Xuan than to put it in a history museum.

However, in the end, Lin Xuan did not accept Zhang Xiang's offer.

He gave a reason that Zhang Xiang couldn't refute at all.

Back in London, the first vehicle ETO blew up was an SUV.

As the Maybach departed from Hongqiao Airport and entered the highway, it might have attracted attention in other cities, but in Shanghai, a city teeming with luxury cars, a Maybach seemed quite ordinary.

Therefore, Lin Xuan made some modifications to it.

Zhang Xiang watched Lin Xuan's movements while drinking water, using the images transmitted back by the satellite.

When he saw a machine gun slowly rising from the sunroof of Lin Xuan's Maybach, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of water.

"Holy crap, what is this guy doing now? Doesn't he know that guns are prohibited in this country?"

"Security team, quick! Go and calm down the passersby, and also call those passersby who were filming over separately and make them delete the videos!"

Zhang Xiang was truly exhausted. He was starting to miss the days when Shi Qiang was around. At least with him there, Lin Xuan was somewhat more normal.

In that instant, Lin Xuan received shock level notifications from more than a dozen passersby.

The cars that were originally blocking its way automatically moved to the sides, making way for it.

I've seen outrageous things, but I've never seen anything this outrageous. Who would install a machine gun on the roof of their car?

From Yun Tianming's perspective, he couldn't see what was on Lin Xuan's car roof, but judging from the "holy crap" reactions of the passersby on both sides of the car, Yun Tianming felt that the man in front of him must have done something incredible.

"Tea or coffee?"

Lin Xuan turned to Yun Tianming in the back row and asked him the same question that Wade had asked her when she first met him.

Lin Xuan had previously found the question somewhat puzzling, but now, upon closer reflection, she realized it was quite tricky. It could quickly open up a conversation between the two parties, and it could also allow her to glean some insight into the other party's true thoughts.

In this light, it's clear that Wade truly deserves his reputation as an intelligence expert. Every question he asks is highly purposeful, which explains why he was able to be appointed as the director of the PIA so soon after its establishment.

"Tea."

Yun Tianming answered this question quite decisively.

"I am a lung cancer patient. I read online that drinking tea can relieve some of the pain caused by cancer."

Lin Xuan smiled upon hearing this.

"Don't listen to the nonsense online. I had the flu before, and when I looked it up online, guess what?"

"The mildest form of illness is cancer."

Lin Xuan switched the car to autopilot mode and poured a cup of tea for Yun Tianming.

He then turned around and continued driving.

"where are we going?"

Yun Tianming finally asked the question when the car had driven several kilometers away from the airport.

"Go wherever you want to go."

Lin Xuan continued driving.

At first, Yun Tianming was relatively unfamiliar with the surrounding environment, but as Lin Xuan drove, the scenery around him became more and more familiar.

Yun Tianming also learned the purpose of Lin Xuan's trip.

"Shanghai Aerospace Research Institute!"

Yun Tianming was too familiar with this place, not because he had been here before, but because of the presence of another person.

"Cheng Xin!"

After graduating from the Seven Sons of National Defense, Cheng Xin went to the Eighth Aerospace Research Institute to pursue her postgraduate studies. Yun Tianming's purpose in coming here was actually to find Cheng Xin.

However, he quickly realized a problem: according to the timeline, Cheng Xin should have already graduated with her doctorate by now.

Could it be... that she stayed to work at the Eighth Aerospace Research Institute?

Is she there?

Yun Tianming finally took the initiative to ask his first question after getting into the car. He looked expectantly at Lin Xuan in the driver's seat, just like a student waiting for his college entrance exam results.

However, Lin Xuan's answer extinguished the hope that Yun Tianming had just begun to have.

"No, she graduated with her doctorate a long time ago."

"Then what are we going there for?"

Yun Tianming was puzzled. It seemed that Lin Xuan knew Cheng Xin, and strangely enough, he seemed to know that he would come here today, at this time.

He even drove to pick me up for this.

He had only acted on a whim, and even Dr. Zhang, who was in charge of him, did not know that he was coming to Shanghai.

"To make you give up."

Lin Xuan's words plunged Yun Tianming into another kind of confusion.

"Don't you want to know what Cheng Xin has been through these past few years?"

"I……"

Yun Tianming hesitated for a moment.

He was like a believer standing before forbidden knowledge, while Lin Xuan's voice at this moment sounded like a whisper from the devil.

“I will take you to meet her, but before that, you should learn more about her experiences over the years. This will help you have something to talk about when you meet her.”

As Lin Xuan spoke, he stepped on the gas pedal hard, and the outer ring bridge made him feel like he was driving on the highway. However, the surrounding cars did not dare to complain. After all, what could you say if a Maybach with a machine gun mounted on it was driving behind you?

Soon, the two arrived at the Shanghai Aerospace Research Institute, formerly the Eighth Aerospace Research Institute.

The gatekeeper was an old man who had just received an urgent notice from his superiors, so when he saw Lin Xuan's vehicle approaching, he did not stop it and chose to let it pass directly.

After parking the car, Lin Xuan and Yun Tianming got out together.

Soon, Zhao Kaiming, the director of the Shanghai Aerospace Research Institute, personally received the two.

When Yun Tianming saw the kind-faced old man in front of him, he was slightly taken aback.

"Are you Academician Zhao?"

Although Yun Tianming had never met Zhao Kaiming, he was familiar with the name.

As an undergraduate student of one of the "Seven Sons of National Defense," Yun Tianming often saw his name in the editor-in-chief column of some aerospace-related textbooks.

An academician of aerospace rocket and missile engineering, and one of the first people to promote China's manned space program.

This old man is from the same era as Deng Xiaoping. He is now at least eighty years old, and his position at the Eighth Aerospace Research Institute is basically a retirement job.

Big shots like Zhao Kaiming rarely attend formal events; you might not see someone like him even after several years here.

Yun Tianming never expected that their arrival would attract the personal attention of a national hero of such caliber.

But he quickly realized that the other party definitely didn't come because of him, but because of the man in front of him!

"Who is he?"

Shock level from Yun Tianming +15.