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

Chen Yuan was busy until very late yesterday, and he didn't get up until noon to wash up before heading to the research institute.

The car had just entered the gate and hadn't even had a chance to go to the parking lot yet.

He saw Xu Gang standing there looking around, as if he was waiting for someone.

The car stopped.

Chen Yuan rolled down the car window and greeted, "Good afternoon, Dean Xu."

Xu Gang then noticed that it was Chen Yuan's car. He smiled and opened the passenger door, getting in. "Mr. Chen, I need to talk to you about something."

Chen Yuan continued driving towards the parking lot. "Just call me Xiao Chen. Mr. Chen sounds awkward."

"Okay." Xu Gang didn't stand on ceremony. "Xiao Chen, the dean is away on a business trip. He asked me to tell you some good news."

Chen Yuan turned his head, blinked, and asked, "The R&D funding is in place?"

"Haha, you guessed right!" Xu Gang said happily, "The dean just said on the phone that as soon as the super stellarator model was sent over, the higher-ups told us to submit the project application as soon as possible. Once the project is approved, the 50 billion yuan research and development funding will not be reduced by a single penny."

Chen Yuan was not surprised by this, as he had brought out a genuine science fiction product.

To put it bluntly, if he didn't have the quantum realm, humanity might never have been able to develop a gravity-confined nuclear fusion device, even until the day it perishes.

Although he only showed the higher-ups a conceptual model, he believed that by combining it with the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere," the higher-ups would choose to believe that he had the potential to develop controlled nuclear fusion technology, which was why they were willing to give him money.

Xu Gang smiled broadly and said, "It has to be you. Old Yu talked himself hoarse but it was no use. As soon as you stepped in, the funding problem was solved immediately. Indeed, capable people are different."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Don't praise me like that, or I'll get carried away."

"Haha." Xu Gang said in a good mood, "It's okay to drift a little. What's wrong with young people being a little more adventurous? If I had your ability when I was young, I would have drifted off the planet long ago."

We arrived at the parking lot.

Chen Yuan was amused.

Just as he was about to speak, Xu Gang pointed to the empty parking space in front and said, "Park over there. This spot was originally the dean's private parking space. He said he doesn't need it since he's often away on business trips, so it's yours from now on."

Ok?

The dean's parking space is mine?

Chen Yuan understood immediately; the research institute was demonstrating its importance through concrete actions.

Or perhaps, the research institute is using this method to tell others that his status is equal to that of the director himself.

Chen Yuan reversed the car into the parking space. "Please thank the dean for me."

"It's alright," Xu Gang said warmly. "Xiao Chen, I'm worried about you driving alone. How about this, we promised to provide a car, right? We can also find you an experienced driver while we're at it?"

Chen Yuan parked the car, looking both amused and exasperated, and said, "I'm not a leader, why would I need a driver?"

"That's not how it works," Xu Gang said seriously. "You should know that when someone becomes important, safety becomes the top priority. You don't take it seriously, but we can't. Let me put it this way: assigning you a driver isn't just our idea; it's also the higher-ups' intention. This driver will not only drive for you but also take on security responsibilities. Your life... is very precious!"

Since the other party had said that, Chen Yuan certainly couldn't refuse anymore. "Okay, bring the person over later. Shall we get out of the car now, or continue talking in the car?"

Xu Gang got out of the car, "Let's talk as we drive."

Chen Yuan got out of the car, locked it, and said, "Okay."

Xu Gang pointed to the administration building corridor: "The dean asked me to vacate the special office for you to work in from now on. Also, I've assigned you an assistant; she's in the office. Shall I take you to meet her?"

Yu Xu had promised to have an assistant when she signed the contract.

Chen Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, but I'm usually in the research lab and don't go to the project office much."

"It's okay, you can work wherever you want," Xu Gang said half-jokingly. "Even if you work on the floor, we'll stay with you."

Chen Yuan found Xu Gang to be a really interesting person and said with a laugh, "That won't do, I'm afraid of the cold."

Xu Gang, seemingly warm-hearted to the point of making one shiver, said, "Afraid of the cold? I'll warm you up."

Chen Yuan: "..."

Can you please stop talking?

He quickly changed the subject, "What's your assistant's name?"

Xu Gang said with a strange expression, "Chu Yingying looks like a quiet girl, but you'd better not be deceived by her appearance. In reality... I don't know how to describe it, but she is very capable. Otherwise, the dean wouldn't have assigned her to be your assistant. Well, besides being capable, I don't want to say anything else."

Chen Yuan couldn't help but feel curious. What kind of girl would Xu Gang dislike so much?

Before long, we arrived at the administration building.

Third floor, east side special office.

As soon as Chen Yuan walked in, he immediately noticed that there used to be many people working here, as there were many desks, but now there was no one there, probably to make way for his upcoming project.

In addition to the office area, there are also offices for several leadership positions.

Xu Gang took Chen Yuan to the office of the former director of the special project office.

He pushed open the door. "You'll be working here from now on."

"it is good."

Chen Yuan looked inside.

The office isn't big, probably eight or nine square meters.

It meets the standards for office use by the director of the office of a public institution.

There was a desk, a filing cabinet, a small sofa, and a water dispenser inside; that was all.

Oh, there's one more person.

A girl in her mid-twenties, wearing a white T-shirt and black trousers, who looked very quiet.

The girl was quite pretty, slightly less so than Ah Yu, but definitely a great beauty.

Chen Yuan knew without guessing that the girl was probably his assistant, Chu Yingying.

Sure enough, Xu Gang greeted him, "Xiao Chu, this is Chen Yuan, he'll be your 'boss' from now on."

Chu Yingying smiled sweetly and bowed politely, saying, "Hello, leader. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take good care of me."

This looks pretty good, so why is Xu Gang so disgusted by it?

Chen Yuan, puzzled, smiled and said, "Hello, I'll be troubling you a lot in the future."

Chu Yingying maintained her smile and said, "You're too kind. Shall I make you a cup of tea?"

Chen Yuan was a little thirsty, so he nodded and said, "Thank you."

"You're too kind."

Chu Yingying walked out of the room, seemingly to find tea leaves, since there was a water dispenser in the office.

Chen Yuan looked to the side, puzzled. "Dean Xu, Xiao Chu was doing fine, so why did you just now...?"

Xu Gang shook his head and said, "Don't be fooled by her appearance. You'll see soon enough. By the way, you haven't joined the work group yet, have you?"

Chen Yuan said, "They didn't go in."

Xu Gang said, "I'll pull you in and add you on WeChat while I'm at it."

Chen Yuan took out his phone and found an unread text message.

I don't have time to watch it right now.

He opened WeChat and tapped the QR code.

Xu Gang scanned the QR code and added the friend.

Once the verification was successful, he added Chen Yuan to the fourth office's work group.

As soon as Chen Yuan entered, he saw someone talking in the group.

The nicknames used in the group are all based on real names.

Ma Weixing posted a horrified emoji with the caption: "How did you end up in our fourth office's work group?"

Chen Yuan thought the other person was talking to him and was about to type a reply.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, a message popped up from an account nicknamed "Chu Yingying," with a very aggressive tone: "What? Can't I join your fourth office's work group? Shut your mouth, or I'll tear it apart!"

Chen Yuan: "..."

This is such a stark contrast to her quiet and gentle appearance just now!

He couldn't believe for a moment that these words would come from such a quiet girl.

At that moment, Chen Yuan vaguely understood why Xu Gang disliked Chu Yingying so much.

This made him realize more clearly that the other party was very likely to have exceptional work abilities.

Otherwise, given how much importance the research institute places on itself, it would be impossible for them to assign such a fierce girl as their assistant.

Xu Gang also saw the message, turned his head and said helplessly, "Now you know why, right?"

Chen Yuan smiled and shook his head, saying, "I know, that's pretty tough."

Xu Gang sighed, "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

Chen Yuan: "…………"

Even just the tip of the iceberg is this formidable?

If this were to be shown in its entirety, just how fierce would it be?

Xu Gang didn't continue talking about Chu Yingying, but instead asked, "You haven't been very comfortable staying in the temporary dormitory these past two days, have you?"

Chen Yuan didn't think so. "It's nice, a one-bedroom apartment, small but cozy."

Xu Gang said, "You joined the company in a rather rushed manner, and we didn't have time to arrange accommodation, so we had to let you share an apartment with everyone. However, we rented a luxury apartment for you yesterday. Since we're free this afternoon, when the driver arrives, you can ask him and Xiao Chu to help you move in."

Chen Yuan said, "I'm not picky about where I live. The one-bedroom apartment I'm living in now is fine, I don't need to move."

Xu Gang insisted, "Hey, the driver will be living and eating with you, and he'll be protecting you 24/7. How can you fit in a one-bedroom apartment? Don't think it's too much trouble, just move some things. If it weren't for the fact that you don't have much stuff, I would have arranged for more people. But you didn't bring many things with you, so the driver and Xiao Chu can help you."

Chen Yuan thought about it carefully and agreed. "Okay, I'll go to the lab first, then skip work to move."

As he spoke, he looked at his phone screen to see the content of the unread text message.

It's a bank newsletter.

Chen Yuan was puzzled. It wasn't payday at Xinghe Company yet, and he hadn't spent any money today, so why was he receiving a bank text message?

He clicked on it and saw that Huahe had transferred five million Chinese yuan to his account.

Needless to say, it's the initial basic cost of 6.25 million for the nuclear battery licensing cooperation.

This type of licensing income is subject to taxation, but it is not personal income tax; rather, it is royalty income, which is 20%.

After paying taxes, it will be exactly five million, right?

Five million has arrived?

This was the first time Chen Yuan had ever possessed such a large sum of money, and he felt like he was in a dream.

With this money, I'm a rich man now!