Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 280: From 300kg to 25 tons

The next morning, by the time Lin Yu Jing was enjoying the fragrant pancake, Li Zheng had already finished a day’s worth of studying.

This time, Li Zheng had learned his lesson.

It was impossible to concentrate on studying with Lin Yu Jing around.

He had to sneak in some IPHO practice while she was still sleeping.

Then he could play with her afterward.

Once they were done playing and she went off to sleep, he could study again.

All things considered, it was a double dose of studying.

Lin Yu Jing, of course, hadn’t noticed any of this and was simply enjoying her breakfast.

"I can’t believe... the pancakes are made so professionally..." Lin Yu Jing took a bite and looked at the hot sauce inside, "Although it doesn’t taste like street food, it’s quite delicious..."

"You’re joking, this is the high-end Lao Gan Ma chili sauce," Li Zheng chuckled, "Plus, I combined the cooking techniques of egg-filled pancakes. Keep eating, there’s lettuce and ham inside, too."

"Um!" Lin Yu Jing wolfed down her pancake with gusto, only to choke and remember to take a gulp of milk. After finishing, she wiped her mouth and said, "Scum Chap could open a food stall."

Li Zheng waved his hand, "That’s quite a stretch; these pancakes are too costly to make, the overhead is too high."

"That’s true..." Lin Yu Jing turned to look out at the balcony, "Rockets need to keep costs under control too."

"Yeah, that’s probably the realm of engineering, which I don’t understand at all," Li Zheng leaned back in his chair, cradling his head in his hands as he too gazed outwards, "I’m thinking, next semester I might intern at Hu Zengwu’s lab for a while, to learn about that kind of stuff."

This time, studying was actually secondary; the main purpose was to complete Task B[Practitioner].

He had seen the project report in the lab before, and Hu Zengwu’s project fit the bill and was planned to be wrapped up by mid-next year, and Hu Zengwu had expressed the need for help.

Frankly, all the conditions were right, and there was no reason not to get the task done.

But Lin Yu Jing’s eyes had narrowed, sensing that things weren’t that simple.

"Who’s Hu Zengwu?"

"Just a Chem Competitions training teacher at Ji University with a photovoltaic lab."

"Then you’ll be hanging out there all the time in the future?" Lin Yu Jing grimaced, gesturing with her hands, "Those professors are super demanding when it comes to labor."

"Haha, no worries, experiencing the work intensity is also fine," Li Zheng laughed, "Besides, I’m just an intern; if he really uses me too much, I’ll just leave. I’m not Shi Yang, who is dead set on following Zhou Yi to create Cheng Huan."

"But chemistry is so boring, there are so many more interesting projects," Lin Yu Jing started gesturing more animatedly and cheerfully, "Isn’t the astronomical observation project at the School of Physics fun? You might even get to control the telescope."

"Hmm... this time I really want to find something related to experiments and engineering."

"There’s that at the School of Physics too, like condensed matter physics," Lin Yu Jing stood up to clear the table, "After the IPHO is over, they’ll be fighting over you."

"That’s also fine, then..."

"That’s more like it, love life, stay away from chemistry!" Lin Yu Jing finally bounced into the kitchen with the bowls and dishes.

Li Zheng was somewhat puzzled by Lin Yu Jing’s retreating figure.

Going to Hu Zengwu’s place had partly been because Senior Sister Shen was also there, and he could take care of her.

Could it be that she even saw through this layer?

...

At 9:40, the two drove to the Wenhai Space Launch Center...

Next to it was the aerospace science and education museum.

For them, science education was naturally unnecessary; they mainly wanted to be closer to the launch center and feel the aerospace vibe.

After entering the parking lot and stopping the car, a small electric cart approached them.

The driver was a crew-cut, large square-faced man in a grey short-sleeved jumpsuit, who at first glance looked like a baggage handler from the airport.

But Li Zheng stood up straighter, showing instant respect.

That was because of the soaring arrow emblem on his left chest, the emblem of China Aerospace.

Seeing the small-eyed, square-faced man get out of the cart, Li Zheng almost felt the urge to salute.

But the man got excited first.

"Ah, God Zheng, what an honor," the square-faced man strode over and grabbed Li Zheng’s hand without a second thought, "The dual champion of physics and chemistry! I’m TM flabbergasted."

Lin Yu Jing turned her face and scolded, "I didn’t compete in chemistry!"

"Hey, hey, hey, right, right, right." The broad-faced man laughed, "Jingjing is impressive, too, very impressive."

"You’ve lost your degree!" Lin Yujing stamped her foot and started scolding.

"Hahaha." It was then that the broad-faced man introduced himself to Li Zheng while shaking hands, "Nice to meet you, I’m Chen Wei, a Ph.D. student of Teacher Shen."

Chen Wei... Chen Wei...

Li Zheng finally understood how Lin Yujing had come up with that name on the spot.

However, when faced with the real Chen Wei, Li Zheng’s presence couldn’t help but feel somewhat inadequate.

"I am Li Zheng, just... just a high school student..."

"Hahaha, no need to be modest, Double Crown Champion." Chen Wei then led them to an electric cart, heading toward the Science and Technology Museum.

Because of the upcoming launch, the Science and Technology Museum would also be fully closed after noon today, you could say this was the last round of tours before the launch.

As for the launch details, Chen Wei was eager to share but had to keep silent, after all, there were too many secrets.

This was evident from the nearby troops, military transport vehicles, and so on.

Even without Chen Wei’s explanation, Li Zheng knew this was a major project involving cooperation among three parties.

Research and development of the carrier rocket was handled by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

Management of the launch site and coordination among various parties were the responsibility of China Aerospace.

Logistical support, communications, construction of facilities, and heavy transport logistics were tasks undertaken by the military.

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Among them, Shen Tinglan, as the second-in-command of the first party, held the final say over all technical matters.

As for the decision-making power, that was a matter for higher-ups.

Chen Wei naturally refrained from discussing these matters. Upon entering the Science and Technology Center and chatting briefly about past Chem Competitions, he took them to a row of rocket models and began to introduce content that was public knowledge.

"The development of our country’s space industry essentially revolves around the series you see before you."

"There are too many specific models for you to remember them all, but the ones on display here are all milestones."

Chen Wei first pointed to the "shortest" one on the far left.

"This is the Yangtze-1, the first carrier rocket in our country that successfully sent a satellite into orbit."

"It successfully delivered the Dongfanghong-1 satellite to orbit and, while conducting orbit control, it also sent out our voice to the whole world, the entire universe, for the first time."

"This also marked the moment our country became the fifth nation in the world, after the Soviet Union, the U.S., France, and Japan, to independently develop and launch a man-made satellite, and the tune of ’The East is Red’ officially began playing."

"It’s worth mentioning that this whole project was nearly single-handedly started by our first president, Mr. Qian Xuesen."

"The Americans said that Mr. Qian was worth five divisions and wouldn’t let him return."

"If you ask me, he was worth 20 years."

"He alone pushed our country’s aerospace and missile capabilities forward by 20 years."

"Alright, let’s continue, next up is milestone number two... Don’t cry, you two, we’ve barely gotten started..."

There was no helping it.

Mr. Qian was Li Zheng’s ultimate idol, the beacon of his life, the one true god.

This was true light.

Although Lin Yujing had heard it many times before, her eyes were still brimming with tears.

"Li Zheng, do you know what the payload capacity of the Yangtze-1 is?"

"Um... 1 ton?"

"300 kilograms," Chen Wei nodded. "That’s the low Earth orbit capacity, it didn’t have the capability to enter geosynchronous orbit."

"That’s tough..." Li Zheng’s eyes filled with tears, "This... weighs more than a few Zhang Xiaokes."

"Is Zhang Xiaoke the unit of mass for your class?" Chen Wei didn’t seem surprised, but rather comfortably patted his belly, "I understand, I understand. Back in my day, I was also a unit of mass, when they wanted to describe how heavy something was, they’d say it weighed a few Weis."

"Haha." Li Zheng, wiping away tears, followed Chen Wei to the second rocket.

Compared to the slender Yangtze-1, this rocket looked much more robust.

Chen Wei continued to speak.

"33 years after the successful launch of Dongfanghong-1, in 2003, the Tianzhou-5 manned spacecraft was successfully launched."

"The rocket made 14 revolutions in orbit, lasting 21 hours and 23 minutes."

"Our astronauts personally unfurled the red flag in space."

"This signified that, following the Soviet Union, our country became the third to successfully send humans into space."

Next, the trio came to a tall rocket.

"Yuegong-1 lunar survey satellite was sent into space by the Yangtze-3A rocket."

"Utilizing solar energy technology, it successfully orbited the moon for 17 months, exceeding the expectations of the lunar survey mission."

"It also marked the starting point for our country’s deep-space exploration."

The rockets and satellites displayed further on were all ones that Li Zheng had seen in the news.

As the presentation came to an end, Chen Wei himself was filled with emotion.

"You could say that the rocket and satellite are like mother and child."

"A mother always yearns to nurture her child more, to send them higher and farther."

"That’s precisely the role our rockets play, that of the mother."

"And here…" Chen Wei pointed to the vacant spot at the far right, "is reserved for Yellow River-2."

"Ten years ago, under the leadership of Teacher Shen, the youngest team in the institute was formed, aiming to triple our launch capacity. That is a milestone, as well as the foundation stone for the next milestone."

"Once successful, launching space telescopes, astronomical satellites, and landing on the moon will all become possible."

"This launch capability is a hurdle we must overcome."

"Tomorrow night at eight, we’ll witness history together…" Chen Wei said, suddenly widening his eyes and hastily covering his mouth, "Oh shoot… that’s not something I can reveal…"

"It’s fine, it’s fine, everyone knows already," Lin Yujing laughed, "Everyone in our community already knows it."

"That wasn’t leaked by me," Chen Wei said with a smile, then asked, "You also know about Dongjian Ridge, right? About five kilometers northwest of here, taking the back mountain road, there’s an iron gate at the entrance, but it’s not locked. Remember to wear long sleeves and pants, and spray some mosquito repellent. If you encounter Big Brother Soldier, just say you’re a student of Teacher Shen, they won’t make it hard on you."

"Got it, got it," Lin Yujing surveyed her surroundings, "Is there anything else fun around here? Is there an astronaut experience chamber, the kind with weightlessness?"

"We don’t have that… there’s a simulation experience chamber, but it’s already been closed ahead of schedule," Chen Wei said, scratching his head, "There’s not much else, can you see Mr. Qian’s photo over there?"

"I see!" Li Zheng already perked up and headed over.

Since many people worship at the Confucius Temple.

Paying homage to Mr. Qian was also appropriate for him.

Chen Wei and Lin Yujing had no choice but to follow.

Yet Li Zheng’s reverence was not about kneeling or kowtowing.

Rather, he looked at Mr. Qian’s kindly face and silently sent his respects.

If we calculate according to low Earth orbit capabilities.

Our launch capacity has risen from 300 kilograms to 25 tons.

Manned missions, lunar exploration, navigation, experimentation…

After you, we have sent up 191 satellites.

But your first one, forever and always, shines the brightest.

Watching Li Zheng moved, Chen Wei was very puzzled: "What’s God Zheng doing…"

"He’s probably conveying a message to the professor, something about redoubling his efforts," Lin Yujing remarked offhand.

"You know that?" Chen Wei looked at the two meaningfully, "Teacher Shen didn’t misjudge you."

"What’s it got to do with her? If Li Zheng could come, he was basking in my light, my glow!"

"Alright, alright, it’s yours, it’s yours."

"Um…" Lin Yujing glanced around again, making sure no one was nearby before slyly asking, "Can you sneak us in a bit closer, perhaps?"

"That’s definitely not possible," Chen Wei said sternly, "Aerospace affairs are absolutely serious. If I let you in, you, I, and Teacher Shen would all go to prison together."

"Isn’t there some room for compromise…," Lin Yujing mumbled, "Not too deep. Is there somewhere you get detained for like 15 days?"

"You really are going all out," Chen Wei laughed, "If you’re that keen, you might consider applying to become an intern at the institute in the future. We also accept physics majors, but that’s after graduate studies."

"Oh?" Li Zheng perked up like a fly smelling something fishy, suddenly rubbing his hands and turning around, "Can’t we do anything before graduate studies?"

"It should be... no, that won’t do... We are mainly aiming to enrich our talent pool... A postgraduate degree is the minimum requirement."

"What if my mom could help? Could an exception be made?" Lin Yujing asked persistently.

"That... wouldn’t be very convenient either. If Teacher Shen weren’t your mother, it might be easier," Chen Wei waved his hand, "and these intern recruitment programs have exams, too. They take the cream of the crop from the master’s and Ph.D. students. You both would need to study for a few more years to stand a chance."

With that, he patted Li Zheng and laughed, "So, God Zheng, even with good grades you can’t do whatever you want."

Li Zheng’s eyes widened.

Looking at Chen Wei’s big face gave him a feeling of being challenged.

How he wanted to say, "With good grades, you can do whatever you want."

How he wanted to say, "Go wherever you want to go."

But this time, he ultimately hung his head.

No choice.

Doing whatever you want also has its ceiling.

"What a pity," Li Zheng sighed.

"What’s there to pity? Getting close to the core isn’t necessarily a good thing, with so many restrictions," Chen Wei gestured, "First is going abroad, you need special approval, can’t even go on a honeymoon trip."

"Honeymoon? Isn’t it nice here?" Li Zheng looked around, "With mountains, seas, and rockets, is there any place better than this in the world?"

"Hmm..." Chen Wei grimaced, "God Zheng, not every girl likes rockets."

Li Zheng said awkwardly, "Eh? The girls I know all seem to like rockets quite a bit."

"Damn it." Chen Wei cursed.

...

Leaving the Science Center, the two took a stroll through the town, enjoyed some local delicacies, and then headed back home to search in harmony for information on Yellow River-2.

Based on the available parameters, they analyzed the rocket launch process with great interest, drawing its trajectory on the map, simulating the launch in advance.

In his spare time, Li Zheng secretly searched for China Aerospace and its Research Institute of Rocket Technology internship recruitment. Just as Chen Wei had said, their recruitment target was next year’s master’s and doctoral graduates. For high school students to try to sneak in was downright laughable.

It seemed there was no way to complete the [Practitioner] task through these exciting projects.

...

Filled with anticipation, the two were bursting with enthusiasm in everything they did, whether studying, gaming, or playing house.

The next day, well before six o’clock, they clandestinely drove up the mountain following Chen Wei’s directions.

Upon reaching the summit... they indeed encountered Big Brother Soldier.

To be precise, about 20 meters below the peak, on a flat platform.

Going further up meant entering the military-controlled signal station, which was strictly forbidden.

The soldiers lining up inside the station noticed the two from a distance but only reminded them not to go any further, without coming out to question them.

On the contrary, Big Brother Soldier seemed quite happy seeing them, and kindly pointed to the direction of the launch site, suggesting the best view angle.

Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief and parked the car at the recommended spot.

As soon as they got out of the car, they were greeted by an expanse of flat terrain.

Three kilometers away, the first launch tower was already dazzling like a blazing sun.

Yellow River-2 had been fully assembled, ready for action.

Even the national flag on the rocket body was distinctly visible.

It was far too close, unrealistically so.

"Awesome..." Li Zheng said with a trembling voice, "The data mentions environmentally friendly fuel, right..."

Lin Yujing, however, seemed not to have heard, staring unblinkingly at the rocket.

"It has to be a success..." She grabbed Li Zheng’s sleeve unconsciously, teeth clenched as she said, "It just has to succeed..."

"Why the panic? Our country’s launch success rate is as high as 95%," Li Zheng just smiled and turned to open the trunk.

"Rocket camping! Begins!"