"Breaking news, today at 6:30 PM. Announced by the National Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of our compatriot scientists He Xingzhou and Yu Xing, our national battery technology research team has successfully developed the world's first commercially viable metal-air battery with complete independent intellectual property rights. It is reported that this battery represents a new generation of batteries that transcends eras..." the news anchor with a square face reported in standard Mandarin.
Upon hearing the name He Xingzhou, the entire family was momentarily stunned.
"Did he just say He Xingzhou?" He Qiguang, He Xingzhou's uncle, asked in surprise.
"Did I hear that right? Is it him?" He Qihang was also puzzled.
"It seems so, but could it be the same person?" Even Jiang Manrong wasn't sure anymore. To appear on the news broadcast, and to be announced by the Academy of Sciences, leading the world in technology, could an ordinary person have achieved this?
"It's my brother's name!" He Mengyao said, "Brother, someone on the news just now has the same name as you, but that person is a scientist, and he invented some amazing battery technology."
"That's me." He Xingzhou said helplessly, "I've told you before, I work at a research institute, and I developed this technology with my team."
"And there's also the matter of the house and the other bonuses; all arranged by the research institute. Now do you believe me?"
After He Xingzhou spoke, the four people were flabbergasted!
"Is this... really true?" He Qihang was at a loss for words.
"Mom and Dad, look, my brother is even on TV!" He Mengyao pointed at the television, where for a few seconds, a clip showed He Xingzhou and Yu Xing introducing the battery technology.
The person in the footage looked exactly like their relative, He Xingzhou. If it was just the name that was the same, they might still think it was a coincidence, but he looked identical too; they couldn't question it anymore!
"My god, it really is Xingzhou!" Jiang Manrong exclaimed.
"It really is my son!" He Qihang first shouted in amazement, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha, well done, son! You actually developed such an amazing thing. You've made both me and our ancestors proud!"
"Wow, brother, how did you do it? That's so amazing!" He Mengyao's face was full of admiration.
"Of course, it was all down to my own abilities!" He Xingzhou said proudly.
"Don't take all the credit for the team's work, you have to be humble!" Jiang Manrong lectured him, but her face was blooming with joy.
"My goodness, Xingzhou has done something incredible!" He Qiguang stood up and said, "Isn't this adding glory to our He family? Developing technology, gaining honor for our country!"
"No, no! Big brother, this needs to be promoted. I'm going to find an ad agency right now and hang up a banner in the neighborhood. This calls for a celebration!"
He Xingzhou wiped his sweat and said, "Uncle, isn't that a bit too showy?"
"How is this showing off? If you were here, I'd go hire a band and we'd parade down the street with drums and gongs. The whole city needs to know about this!"
He Xingzhou: "..."
He Qihang said, "Forget the drums and gongs, Xingzhou isn't here, and being too showy isn't good. But hanging a banner is fine, we'll throw a dinner party when Xingzhou comes back!"
A matter that brought so much glory was naturally something to be promoted and also satisfied his pride as a father.
He Xingzhou said, "Mom, Dad. Anyway, that's the situation. Move house sooner, and I'll get in touch with my colleagues over there to make arrangements."
"I have something else to take care of, we'll talk more next time."
"Then you go ahead."
After the video call ended, the family was still ecstatic.
It turned out He Xingzhou's words weren't a lie, but reality!
"Incredible, incredible. A great talent has emerged from our He family!" He Qiguang said as he was already posting messages in the "Happy Family" WeChat group.
As the relatives in the group saw the message, they sent congratulatory texts: "Impressive!"
"He Xingzhou really brought honor to our family. We must write this in the ancestral hall!"
"I just finished watching the news, Uncle's son is too amazing! @He Qihang"
"Congratulations! When is Xingzhou coming back? I need to learn from him sometime; my son's grades are in shambles!"
Not just in the group, there were also knocks on the door—the neighbors had come to visit.
He Qihang opened the door to see the neighbor holding a mobile phone, curiously asking, "The He Xingzhou mentioned in the news, is that from your family?"
"Yes, it is." He Qihang was all smiles.
"That's amazing, congratulations!" the neighbor exclaimed.
"Come on in! That's exactly what we were discussing!"
...
After confirming things with his family, He Xingzhou hurried to the next room.
"Sister Lan." In Xu Zhilan's room, she was wearing a tight sports outfit, practicing boxing with a punching bag at home.
"What's up?" Xu Zhilan was panting, beads of sweat rolling down her flushed face.
"I've just spoken with the other Xuanwu Executive Officers." He Xingzhou said, "Our research institute's technology is fully capable of being self-sufficient. The related benefits we gain can be managed by us."
"That's great, licensing out this battery technology should bring in quite a funding!" Xu Zhilan said, "For the business side of things, I'll arrange for someone to handle it; you just focus on your work."
"That's what I mean!" He Xingzhou smiled.
He certainly didn't have the energy to deal with those corporate units. There were still a ton of technologies waiting for him to develop.
He Xingzhou returned to his room to start unlocking the next piece of technology.
"Battery technology is sufficient for now; there's no hurry for nuclear batteries until giant mechas or large military weapons appear." He Xingzhou looked at the technology tree, deciding that the next item he should unlock was "magnetic levitation motors."
This was a type of special motor that operates without contact between the stator and the rotor. It can convert electrical energy into a magnetic field, with types including attraction-based, repulsion-based, and more.
It was also the core of the Electromagnetic Floating Car technology. With the battery and motor, the two most important technological challenges were already conquered.
Other technologies like autonomous driving, the Academy of Sciences already had some reserves; for vehicle body design, engineers were already working on it; wireless charging technology was best to have, but not necessary for the usage of Electromagnetic Floating Cars; magnetic roads were even simpler, just requiring a layer of magnetic material laid on regular roads, not difficult in technical terms but rather a matter of funding.
In the past few days, He Xingzhou had accumulated some more energy and was ready to unlock the small magnetic levitation motors on the technology tree.
Large magnetic levitation motors for ultra-high-speed trains and giant mechas were still not unlockable for the time being.
"Unlock small magnetic levitation motor." He Xingzhou commanded the Quantum Light Computer.
"Small magnetic levitation motor technology, unlocked!" A stream of information flowed into He Xingzhou's brain, containing the related science and technology.
"So that's how it is!" In that moment, He Xingzhou understood many things he had never grasped before.
"As long as I follow this technological approach, I can design the magnetic levitation motor. Time to get to work!" He Xingzhou opened the design software and started the design process.