Chapter 7: Building a Space Shuttle?
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Such a decisive answer? Lin Xu was dumbfounded.
He wasn’t sure whether Jiang Xingye was joking or not. Honestly, with her mouth, it would be normal to throw out a casual joke in this kind of situation.
But precisely, the expression on Jiang Xingye’s face carried a natural, candid sincerity.
Who could tell what was true or false?
He cleared his throat and asked, “Why? You answered without even thinking?”
“What’s there to think about? Since you asked, I had to give you some face,” Jiang Xingye said, putting down her skewer, speaking seriously.
“Sis is going to give you a little lesson in workplace politics today.”
“Look, you threw a choice at me, so the choice itself is the most important.”
“Forget about the apocalypse or all those messy conditions; none of that matters.”
“The only thing that matters is: who do I choose?”
“At this moment, no matter who I pick, I’d be exposing the real parts of my interpersonal relationships, and obviously, that’s not what I want.”
“So if I say I choose you, then there won’t be any problem.”
“If you keep asking why I chose you, I’ll just flatter you a bit, laugh it off, and it’s done.”
“Handling it this way is way better than having my true thoughts blown up, right?”
“...Right.”
Lin Xu sighed.
That’s what she said, but the problem was, in that world, she really did choose me.
When he received Jiang Xingye’s message, only 15 seconds remained before the apocalypse arrived. That meant she didn’t have much time to detect the signs and react.
In such a short span, she had to locate her position and mobilize so many devices to send herself that message. Theoretically, he couldn’t have been the “last to be notified.”
Logically, he must have been the only one, for it to make sense.
But why exactly?
Maybe Jiang Xingye didn’t know for sure yet, or maybe she didn’t want to say.
Clearly, he wasn’t going to get an answer from her.
Lin Xu didn’t press it either. After a quick late-night snack with Jiang Xingye, he headed back home.
As they entered the elevator and were about to part ways, Jiang Xingye suddenly asked:
“So, you really just called me out only to ask me that one question?”
“Uh...” How was he supposed to answer that?
Lin Xu scratched his head and said, “Actually, there were other questions, but now it seems there’s no need to ask them anymore.”
“Oh? Someone asked you that question and you didn’t know how to answer, so you came to me for answers?”
Wow, her imagination really was something else.
Lin Xu cleared his throat, “Pretty much.”
“A girl, huh?” Jiang Xingye continued.
“...Yeah.”
For a moment, a spark of gossip gleamed in Jiang Xingye’s eyes.
“So in the end, you treat me like your military advisor? You have no other female friends? Honestly, whoever asked you that question must be deeply attached to you.”
“How you answer will determine how your relationship goes from now on, so think carefully before you reply.”
“My approach works in the workplace, but it doesn’t apply here.”
“So how should I answer?”
Lin Xu simply went along with Jiang Xingye’s line of thought; as long as he could smooth things over, this matter would be closed.
“How you answer isn’t really important... In this situation, you should think about what she hopes to hear.”
“If she wants to keep things going, then answer accordingly.”
“If not... then don’t give her hope.”
“Got it. Then I’ll just copy your script word for word.”
Lin Xu said seriously, but Jiang Xingye rolled her eyes at him.
“You’re dumb!”
“The girl who asked wants to hear only one answer: ‘I’ll save you.’”
“So as long as you give that answer, any explanation afterward doesn’t matter.”
“If you’re not interested in her, you better not say you’ll save her.”
“Like that...”
Lin Xu nodded thoughtfully.
But then he felt something was off.
Didn’t I just ask you the same question earlier?
By that logic, why did you answer the way you did?
Tsk, working at a job where I don’t even have basic rights anymore—I’m not even treated like a normal opposite sex...
The elevator arrived at the sixth floor; Jiang Xingye waved goodbye.
“Get to the office early tomorrow! I’m going to report you now, there’s an early meeting.”
“Okay, okay...” Lin Xu replied perfunctorily, then looked down and realized he was still holding the cup.
“Hey, you forgot your cup...”
The elevator doors slowly closed.
Forget it, I’ll bring one for her at the company tomorrow.
Back home, Lin Xu lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.
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This time, he didn’t enter the ring world to take any risks.
...
The next day.
In the company’s conference room.
Amidst heated discussion, Lin Xu, a low-level grunt, boredly typed code on his computer.
The project finance officer next to him, who didn’t understand code, probably thought he was working, but he was actually writing a snake game.
The other new members of the project team chatted about prospects, plans, and ideas; Lin Xu half-listened, distracted by thoughts about the ring.
Could this thing be an advanced holographic game console?
One that senses real-world information and generates game content in real time?
Thinking about it, the technology might not be impossible.
After all, even phones can listen to conversations and push targeted ads. If you think boldly, real-time calculations shouldn’t be hard...
Maybe I should dismantle it sometime?
Better not...
Lin Xu’s thoughts drifted away, when suddenly he heard someone call his name.
“Lin Xu, come share your thoughts.”
He looked up; it was Chen Yan, the new project leader.
Chen Yan looked at him expectantly.
“I heard you proposed the space tourism idea, and the boss really liked it.”
“So, do you have any more concrete ideas?”
Lin Xu shrugged.
“...I do have some, but I honestly don’t know where to start explaining.”
He was telling the truth. He had read the documents for Star Voyage One and had a rough concept in mind.
But turning that concept into something concrete enough to discuss wasn’t easy.
“No worries. Today’s just a project brainstorming meeting, not a formal kickoff. You can say anything.”
“For example, about the spacecraft design mentioned earlier, any good ideas?”
“Um...” Lin Xu pondered.
“I’d say, simply applying a vertical takeoff and landing cargo rocket design to a commercial manned spacecraft won’t work.”
“If we’re doing space tourism, we need to prioritize user experience.”
“A rocket-style spacecraft offers the worst user experience.”
“Compared to that, a space shuttle concept is more suitable.”
“Space shuttle?”
As soon as Lin Xu spoke, the conference room erupted.
“How can we use a space shuttle design? Forget the cost, the technical difficulty alone is beyond us.”
“Millions of parts, complex launch systems, extremely high maintenance... The space shuttle has been proven obsolete by history!”
“Yeah! Look at the Russians—they struggled to build the Buran but only flew one unmanned test before scrapping it.”
“Even the official stance is that space shuttles are dead tech. Bringing it up now is just wishful thinking.”
“Agreed... I don’t support this idea.”
Like a stone thrown into water, Lin Xu instantly became the unanimous target of opposition.
Even Jiang Xingye, usually on his side, looked at him with some doubt.
Lin Xu understood their reactions completely.
Space shuttles? What ancient relic is that?
It’s 2025, and if you’re still talking about space shuttles, either you’re an outdated expert or just a space opera fan.
But since Lin Xu brought it up, it wasn’t just idle talk.
His argument was simple.
Star Voyage One is essentially a space shuttle.
Clearing his throat, he said:
“In fact, most of the shuttle’s disadvantages were due to historical limitations.”
“Take the 2.5 million parts—exaggerated? Fifty years ago, sure, but now metal 3D printing is mature. Unless it’s a critical load-bearing part, manufacturing via 3D printing is straightforward.”
“Also, high cost is a false problem. The original American shuttle’s cost was high due to technical complexity and manufacturing difficulties, but mainly due to rampant corruption caused by layers of subcontracting—that’s no secret, right?”
“Nowadays, we can have most parts manufactured through competitive bidding...”
“That’s impossible.”
Before Lin Xu finished, Chen Yan interrupted.
“There aren’t many domestic manufacturers capable of aerospace-grade parts. How can we have competitive bidding?”
“Who says there aren’t many?”
Lin Xu shrugged.
“If you insist on using aerospace-grade components, then yes, there aren’t many.”
“But what if you use industrial-grade parts? That’s exactly what SpaceX is doing.”
“Aerospace-grade components cost 140 million for a control system and 5 million for a single chip; Dragon capsule uses Intel’s x86 processors, and the entire control system costs less than $4,000. Doesn’t that say a lot?”
Chen Yan was speechless.
He felt something was off about Lin Xu’s logic, but he couldn’t refute it.
Ridiculous.
Are the new generation really so strong now?
You’re a flight control engineer, yet you know so much about overall system design?
Chen Yan cleared his throat and asked:
“You know about these things?”
Lin Xu smiled.
“A little.”
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“...A little, huh.”
Chen Yan clapped his hands.
“Since you brought it up, why not have Lin Xu take charge of this part?”
“Talking about it is too abstract. If we’re really going to build a space shuttle, we need a preliminary technical plan, right?”
“Lin Xu, want to give it a shot?”
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room looked at Lin Xu with a hint of schadenfreude.
Anyone could see Chen Yan was setting a trap.
What did I do to you?
Weren’t you the one who asked me to speak?
Lin Xu’s anger flared up, ready to snap, when Jiang Xingye, sitting nearby, suddenly spoke up.
“Boss Chen, this job isn’t suitable for Lin Xu.”
“He specializes in flight control; overall system design shouldn’t fall on him.”
“He already has an FTE of 1.5, averaging 12 hours a day. Are you going to pile more work on him?”
“That 1.5 FTE was from the last project... This is a new project.”
“Young people need experience, it’s fine. Besides, we’re not seriously designing the plan, just organizing ideas into a document.”
“That can’t be free labor, right?”
Jiang Xingye cut Chen Yan off, leaving him dumbfounded.
In front of everyone, his face fell; his gaze toward Jiang Xingye changed.
But Jiang Xingye wasn’t intimidated. Though Chen Yan outranked her by two levels, her flight control team leader position was under the group platform, not Chen Yan’s project team.
Getting into his project was already a favor from the group. Now he wants to control her? No way!
“You really protect your people,” Chen Yan said helplessly, throwing up his hands.
“Alright, I promise: once the plan is done, I’ll lock in the bonuses and report it.”
Chen Yan spoke confidently because he knew Lin Xu wouldn’t dare take the task.
Obviously, a newcomer just over a year out of school wouldn’t volunteer.
Just do flight control and shut up; don’t contradict me in front of everyone.
If you fight back, you get the short end.
He smiled at Lin Xu, hiding his dagger behind his smile.
Jiang Xingye frowned, about to argue more, but Lin Xu answered without hesitation:
“Alright, I’ll challenge myself and give it a try.”
“I won’t let you down, Boss Chen.”
His words struck the room; everyone was stunned.
Wait, you’re really going to do it?
“Excellent! A fearless rookie with guts!”
Chen Yan applauded.
“Then it’s Lin Xu’s responsibility. Good luck and work hard!”
All eyes turned to Lin Xu. He remained calm, sitting down as a message from Jiang Xingye popped up on his screen.
Jiang Xingye003876:
[Are you out of your mind? Jumping into a pit like this??]
Lin Xu004267:
[Don’t worry, I have a plan.]
Jiang Xingye003876:
[Plan? Do you think designing the whole plan is that easy?]
[It’s not like playing a game where you just press a button and it builds itself.]
[If you were that capable, you’d be chief engineer, not just flight control.]
Jiang Xingye was obviously anxious. She had directly confronted Chen Yan to protect Lin Xu from this trap, but now Lin Xu had just dived right in on his own.
What the hell?
But Lin Xu remained completely unfazed.
He typed slowly:
[The mountain man has a trick up his sleeve. Thanks for the escort. When the bonus comes, I’ll share 10,000 with you.]
Jiang Xingye003876:
[No way, what’s your plan? Are you going to hack NASA and steal their stuff?]
Lin Xu004267:
[No, I just happen to know a few foreign friends working at NASA...]
After sending the message, Lin Xu ignored Jiang Xingye.
He gently touched the inconspicuous ring on his hand.
I can’t get NASA’s info.
But SkyTech?
That’s transparent.
Ha.
I don’t know what this apocalypse business is about, and I can’t solve it yet.
But designing a plan?
Even if I can’t take anything out of that ring, I can memorize it well enough to get it almost right.
Want it?
Here you go!