The other researchers in the warehouse who were picking up materials or handling business stopped what they were doing, pricked up their ears, and focused their complicated gazes on Su Xuan.

There was sympathy, there was incomprehension, but more than anything, there was a sense of detachment and subtle rejection as if it were none of their business.

Su Xuan's fingers tightened slightly as he held the material requisition form.

He met Chen Songnian's concerned yet subtly pressured gaze, looked at Li Weiguo's undisguised disdain, and then swept over the scrutinizing eyes around him, whether overt or covert. A strong feeling of isolation welled up inside him.

But he straightened his back, and for the first time, the gentle and easygoing smile disappeared from his handsome mixed-race face, revealing an almost stubborn determination.

"Professor Chen, Comrade Weiguo,"

Su Xuan's voice was clear and steady, and it was particularly clear in the quiet warehouse.

"Thank you for your concern. However, I cannot agree with your views on Comrade Mingzhao."

He paused, his gaze sharpening as he looked directly at Chen Songnian: "Prejudice can blind a person."

You only see her being monitored, only doubt the source of her abilities, but selectively ignore what she has already accomplished. Even something as simple as using a bunch of what you consider 'junk' to power up a broken oscilloscope;

Without the aid of any precision instruments, military-grade precision resistors that meet the requirements were disassembled from a junkyard by hand.

They're challenging the limits of communication technology in ways we can't comprehend!

His voice was not loud, but every word was firm and resonant, carrying the unique logical power of an overseas returnee elite.

"You say the project is risky? Yes, it is! But the real risk doesn't come from Comrade Mingzhao himself, but from our own complacency and timidity! It comes from internal friction like the list being maliciously marked 'out of stock' or the allocation of faulty equipment!"

Li Weiguo's face flushed instantly: "You..."

Chen Songnian's face also darkened completely, and his gaze behind his glasses turned icy.

Su Xuan ignored them, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the warehouse who had their ears perked up, his voice carrying an almost reckless declaration.

"You think it's unwise to get close to her? You think she's dangerous? That's because you've never truly gotten close to her, never tried to understand the vast universe beneath her operating logic!"

Only by truly getting close to her, standing beside her lab bench, watching her challenge the impossible with the simplest tools, and seeing the pure, unadulterated light in her eyes, solely dedicated to solving problems…

You'll then understand that she's not a stain, not a danger!

He took a deep breath, his voice firm and resolute:

"She is a treasure! She is the scientific treasure of this era and this land that should not be buried!"

I'm committed to this project! No matter the outcome, no matter what others think!

At the very least, I want to witness firsthand just how far this light can illuminate!

After saying that, he stopped looking at Chen Songnian and Li Weiguo's extremely ugly faces, and ignored the shocked, complicated, and even slightly mocking gazes around him.

He picked up a pen and signed his name on the material requisition form, his handwriting bold and clear. Then, he picked up the heavy box of key components and materials, sealed with tape.

Straighten his back, he strode through the gaps in the crowd that parted automatically, heading towards Mingzhao's closely monitored laboratory.

His back view was resolute, like a lone hero going against the current.

Chen Songnian stared at Su Xuan's retreating figure as he disappeared at the end of the corridor, his eyes so dark they could drip water, his fingers clenched into fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white.

Li Weiguo was so angry he was panting heavily: "Ungrateful! Absolutely ungrateful! Teacher, look at him..."

"Enough!" Chen Songnian shouted, interrupting Li Weiguo's complaints.

He slowly took off his glasses and gently wiped the lenses with the corner of his shirt, his movements slow and somewhat restrained.

When I put them back on, all that remained in my eyes was a bottomless, icy light.

"He wants to see the light? Fine..."

Chen Songnian's lips curled into a cold smile, and his voice was so low that only Li Weiguo could barely hear it.

"Then let him see it all. Let's see if that beam of light will ultimately illuminate the way forward, or... bring disaster upon himself."

---

A few days later.

The laboratory remained quiet, with only the faint hum of the instruments and the scratching of pens on paper.

Mingzhao sat at the lab bench, rapidly calculating complex formulas on a blank sheet of paper. Her handwriting was delicate yet carried a peculiar mechanical quality.

Zhao Gang and Liu Mei, the two supervising soldiers, stood a little distance away, like two emotionless statues, one on the left and one behind, their eyes like searchlights, constantly watching her every move.

Every drawing and every contact with a component is carried out under their meticulous watchful eyes and in their notebooks.

The door was pushed open, and Su Xuan walked in carrying a heavy box.

His face was still flushed from the earlier conflict, and his breathing was a little rapid, but his eyes were unusually bright and determined.

Avoiding the scrutinizing gazes of Zhao Gang and Liu Mei, he walked straight to the side and behind Ming Zhao's lab bench, to a spot where he could see her working but wouldn't disturb her, and carefully placed the box down.

"I've retrieved the items." Su Xuan's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement and the solemnity of completing a mission.

Mingzhao's pen didn't pause for a moment, as if she hadn't heard. She was immersed in her own world of formulas, her profile focused, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows under her eyes.

Su Xuan didn't mind her coldness.

He silently opened the box and began to carefully organize the components and materials inside, arranging them in the order that Mingzhao might need them.

High-frequency ceramic substrates, special wires, rolls of silver enameled wire, and several key transistors, capacitors, and resistors of various models sealed in anti-static bags...

These were all core materials that were previously marked "not available" on the list, but now that Mingzhao has pointed out alternative sources, Wang Ai had no choice but to grit her teeth and "cooperate" in finding them, no matter how unwilling she was.

Zhao Gang and Liu Mei's gazes were almost tangible, scanning back and forth between Su Xuan's hands as he organized the materials and Ming Zhao's pen as he wrote the formulas, wary of any contact or information transmission that went beyond the scope of "reporting".

Just then, Mingzhao put down his pen. The calculations came to an end.

She finally raised her head, her gaze calmly sweeping over the pile of materials that Su Xuan had organized, and finally landing on the high-frequency, high-power transistors sealed in anti-static bags.

She stretched out her finger and, through the bag, precisely pointed to one of the models.

“This.” Her voice was flat, yet carried a clear instruction.

Su Xuan immediately understood, carefully opened the bag, used anti-static tweezers to pick out two specified model transistors, and handed them to Ming Zhao in a clean anti-static tray.