Chapter Seventeen: The Four-Ring Mountain Base

In less than ten minutes, Zhang Mingyang emerged from the restroom, invigorated and impeccably dressed, as if transformed into a different person.

“Let’s go,” said Wang Bowen.

He led Zhang Mingyang to the restaurant on the ninth floor, where they ordered a simple meal and began to eat.

“Grandpa Wang, does your project have a name?” Zhang Mingyang asked.

Wang Bowen shook his head and replied quietly, “Not yet.”

“How many people have you recruited so far?”

After considering for a moment, Wang Bowen said, “Including you, almost a hundred. All were secretly selected from major universities and research institutions across the country.”

Zhang Mingyang nodded. “That’s quite a number.”

“Ah, why ask so much? Hurry and eat; I’ll take you to the base this afternoon,” Wang Bowen urged.

“Alright,” Zhang Mingyang replied.

After their meal, Wang Bowen and Zhang Mingyang boarded a helicopter and flew to a nearby military airfield.

On the flight, Zhang Mingyang discussed details with Wang Bowen through his headset. “Grandpa Wang, where is the American ship now?”

“We’ve analyzed the data,” Wang Bowen responded. “Given the current situation of the ‘Ocean Voyager,’ the ‘Explorer’ will arrive nearly two years ahead of us. Time is short. We must build a ship that travels at ten or even twenty times the speed of light within a year to reach the Northern River Three ahead of the Americans!”

“A year? And twenty times the speed?” Zhang Mingyang teased, “I doubt even Wang Huairen, the designer of the ‘Ocean Voyager,’ could manage that!”

Wang Bowen nodded. “‘Ocean Voyager’ only achieves 78% of light speed. Increasing it ten or twenty times within a year sounds impossible, but I believe in you all. You can surpass Wang Huairen.”

Zhang Mingyang didn’t reply. He knew in his heart that even recreating the ‘Ocean Voyager’ would secure him a place in history, let alone surpassing it.

“Academician Wang, we’ve arrived,” the pilot notified Wang Bowen.

Looking down, Zhang Mingyang saw a modest airfield with more than a dozen of the nation’s latest stealth drones parked—clearly a military installation.

The helicopter landed slowly, and the two jumped out.

A soldier approached, saluted Wang Bowen, and shook his hand. “Academician Wang, the plane is ready and can take off at any time.”

“Good.”

Wang Bowen pushed Zhang Mingyang forward and spoke to the officer, “Commander Liu, this is Zhang Mingyang, our base’s energy engineer. Please take care of him.”

Seeing Zhang Mingyang’s youth, Liu Ming was surprised. He had received many researchers at the base, but Zhang Mingyang was by far the youngest.

“Liu Ming, just call me by my code name, ‘Flea,’” Liu Ming said, saluting.

“‘Flea?’” Zhang Mingyang asked, puzzled.

“Oh! Mingyang, I forgot to tell you,” Wang Bowen explained. “This airport is dedicated to our Four Rings Mountain Base. For confidentiality, no one uses their real names, only code names. Mine is ‘Cancer.’ You can call me by it in the base.”

Zhang Mingyang nodded in understanding. “Do I get a code name?”

Wang Bowen had someone bring a watch and fastened it to Zhang Mingyang’s wrist, reminding him, “Mingyang, this watch is the lifeline for everyone at Four Rings Mountain Base. Never lose it. It contains your code name and DNA verification needed to access any area. It can track your location and enable video calls. It’s very important.”

Zhang Mingyang tapped the watch. The words ‘Gemini’ appeared in bold.

“So my code name is Gemini?”

Wang Bowen glanced at it and laughed. “That’s your code name. If you don’t like it, you can change it, but only once!”

“In that case, I’ll think about it,” Zhang Mingyang replied.

After chatting for a while and ensuring all supplies were loaded, Zhang Mingyang and Wang Bowen boarded the military plane, leaving the airport under Flea’s watchful gaze.

During the flight, Wang Bowen explained the base rules to Zhang Mingyang.

“Grandpa Wang, why is the base called ‘Four Rings Mountain’? It sounds so rustic,” Zhang Mingyang joked.

Wang Bowen nearly coughed up blood—he had named the base himself.

“Look down,” he said.

The aircraft had arrived above the base. Zhang Mingyang peered below.

“See the buildings? Four mountains encircle the base, which sits in the middle. What else would you call it?” Wang Bowen continued.

Seeing the layout, Zhang Mingyang realized Wang Bowen was right.

Wang Bowen explained further, “Four Rings Mountain is deep in the Qinling Range, surrounded by dense forests, with no roads. No one lives within dozens of kilometers, except for the airport to the north. Troops guard the area for miles around. Outsiders can’t get in.”

Listening to Wang Bowen and spotting scattered military vehicles below, Zhang Mingyang felt the security was indeed airtight.

“Not only is the perimeter secure,” Wang Bowen added, “the internal systems are even tighter. All communications use ‘quantum transmission,’ making interception impossible. Personnel identification is done via DNA detection on the watches—no outsiders can fake it.”

“Quantum transmission?” Zhang Mingyang asked. It was the first time he’d heard of it.

“That was Wang Huairen’s design as well. The base keeps some of his paper records; all electronic files disappeared with him. You can visit the archive room when you have time.”

With so much advanced technology, Zhang Mingyang grew increasingly interested in Wang Huairen. He seemed like the Einstein of the twenty-first century—what kind of person was he, really?

Amid their conversation, the unmanned transport plane landed smoothly at the airport.

The hatch opened, and several staff members rolled over a stairway. The two disembarked.

“Cancer, you’re here!”

“How is it you?” Zhang Mingyang exclaimed.

“You two have met, I see,” Wang Bowen said, introducing them. “Bai Muqing, our base’s logistics director, code name ‘White Fox.’ If you need anything, talk to her.”

Bai Muqing looked at Zhang Mingyang with undisguised disdain. “Cancer, why is he here too?”

Seeing Bai Muqing’s expression, Wang Bowen sensed the tension. “Zhang Mingyang, code name ‘Gemini,’ is our energy engineer,” he explained.

“Him? An energy engineer?” Bai Muqing scoffed.

“Why not? I’m a bona fide student from a top university, specializing in energy!” Zhang Mingyang retorted, meeting Bai Muqing’s gaze.

“You—” Bai Muqing started to reply, but Wang Bowen cut them off.

“All right, if you two have issues, settle them privately. I’ll take ‘Gemini’ to see the base first.”

Wang Bowen’s words carried the weight of command—Bai Muqing could not argue.