118: Chapter 38 The Man Who Changed the World 118: Chapter 38 The Man Who Changed the World “Now that we’re all among friends, we can let ourselves go a bit.” Chen Feng motioned for Xiang Shan to sit down and asked, “Kid, what big project are you here to discuss in terms of collaboration?”

“Brain-machine interface,” Xiang Shan said, “and it’s a breakthrough kind.

The kind that can actually be put into practical use.”

“Uh…

although I know you’re a science fiction writer, isn’t this a bit too…” Chen Feng twirled his finger by his head: “far-fetched?”

“Far-fetched?

No, absolutely not,” Xiang Shan said, “I’m quite confident!”

“As far as I know, all the brain-machine interface projects currently…

aren’t very promising.”

“I can’t go into details about the method right now, but I can assure you, it’s completely different from all known approaches.”

Xiang Shan smiled confidently.

“I’ve heard that the ‘Rama Project’ captured the ‘Traveler’ from outer space, but that didn’t seem to involve any high-tech, right?” said Chen Feng.

With the continual declassification of the Rama Project, such information had been disclosed four years prior.

It was more like a deliberate move by the authorities.

In the previous years, they utilized movies, novels, and other works to shape a cultural trend regarding “contact with an alien civilization” and “peaceful development.”

Then they released this news, spurring humanity’s longing for the stars.

An influx of resources and talent poured into the aerospace field, easing the “overproduction crisis” to some extent.

Moreover, with a technological creation from across the stars reaching Earth, humanity’s overall confidence in “technology” had risen a notch.

All sorts of tech companies sprouted like mushrooms after rain, growing robust with the support of various policies.

Various international cooperative aerospace projects, as well as the establishment of different economic communities, further propelled world development.

Just as Jing Hongtu told Xiang Shan eight years ago, the arrival of “Argon” on Earth itself brought a considerable honeymoon period for humanity.

However, Chen Feng, who was at the forefront of the academic world, knew that the “alien Traveler” didn’t bring much technology.

The “Traveler” satellites Earth sent out carried only a gold disc, recording some sounds of Earth’s civilization.

If the Rama Project was researching the “alien Traveler,” then the information it carried should be of that magnitude as well.

At least in the past few years, Chen Feng hadn’t noticed much in emerging technologies.

“To be honest, indeed, there haven’t been any significant breakthroughs in materials science, nor any revolutions in energy systems,” Xiang Shan said with a sly smile.

“But research results that will permanently change the textbooks have already been published.”

“Ah?

Really?” Chen Feng was surprised.

“Especially you, with a background in biology, you couldn’t possibly be unaware, right?

That seismic event a few years ago in the field of life sciences,” Xiang Shan said with a smile.

“Although the results made public so far suggest that the discovery was made by researching Earth’s local biology, I can tell you that it has a very profound connection with the Rama Project.”

Chen Feng asked, “Are you referring to the deciphering of how enzyme systems operate?”

“Right.

Yawgmoth Voigt is one of my partners,” Xiang Shan said.

“He has already been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which is public knowledge.

If the award ceremony goes smoothly, it could be in the next year or two.

Then there’s the unpublished part, where he could bag two more in Physiology or Medicine and one in Chemistry.”

The Nobel Prize—a prestigious award established by Alfred Bernhard Nobel, the famous Swedish chemist and inventor of dynamite.

Aside from the Peace Prize, which the whole world finds rather obscure; the Literature Prize, largely representative of the aesthetic preferences of some professors at the Swedish Academy; and the Economic Sciences Prize, which only seems convincing when mathematicians and psychologists win it; the other three Nobel Prizes are considered the highest honor in their respective fields.

Of course, it’s the “highest honor” rather than the “highest achievement”.

Indeed, some pioneering achievements are beyond the scope of the Nobel Prize.

However, the highest honor and commendation that humanity can bestow on scientists is none other than the Nobel Prize.

Giant figures receive Nobels because there’s no higher honor to accord them.

Chen Feng and Hu Zhengyu did not think Xiang Shan was joking.

“Your senior must have also talked to you before coming,” said Xiang Shan.

“I used to be the director of the United Nations’ Institute for Civilization Studies—well, at first it wasn’t a matter of being ‘entrusted with a heavy responsibility,’ but more about being sent out to take the fall, you know?

Something happened, and they needed someone to clean up the mess.

After a bit of high-level maneuvering, it was decided that our side would take the job, and I was the most suitable, so I took it on.”

“Honestly, it was like being pushed onto the stage unprepared.

Just that because of some issues, colleagues from other countries didn’t oppose me as director, so I held the position for a few years—I didn’t accomplish anything big.

But I did meet some of the world’s most formidable scholars.”

“Let’s not begin with Yawgmoth Voigt.

There’s also Anatoly Kosolov, the Fields Medal laureate from ten years ago, a mathematical genius of the fighting nation.

Undoubtedly, the mathematics of the fighting nation is the best.

And there’s the super genius linguist, a top-notch former NASA engineer,” said Xiang Shan.

“I’ve put together the biggest waaaagh…

cough, cough, I mean, I have a very ‘wow’ big plan.

A plan unprecedented.

However, the project is too vast, so big that it can’t be tackled by one person or a small group, which is why we need even more collaborators.”

“Just the fact that ‘Yawgmoth Voigt is willing to settle down here’ fetched him billions from above for his setup.

And that’s excluding so many other top talents…”

Chen Feng’s throat bobbed.

Frankly speaking, he was indeed tempted, “You already have such substantial resources, why come to me?

I don’t believe it’s just for personal relations.”

“Well, let me be honest with you.

The Rama Project initially had one or two experts in cognitive science.

However, once it was confirmed that ‘Traveler’ had no living creatures aboard, those experts all went their separate ways.

Thus, in the Rama Project and the subsequently restructured Institute for Civilization Studies, I never had the chance to work with scholars in that field,” Xiang Shan said.

“Besides, the plan I mentioned just now is indeed too enormous.

It’s not possible for the country to invest all its resources in it at once.

Even with all the talent I have, I can only ask for some initial funding.”

“Only by breaking this mega project down into countless smaller projects, continuously delivering phased results, and then establishing a complete industry-research integrated system to gather resources extensively from all over the world, is there hope of realizing it.”

“It will be a while before others can come over, but I still hope to quickly set up a framework.”

Speaking of which, Xiang Shan paused slightly, “If this plan truly succeeds, then our research institute would essentially be a wholesale distributor of Nobel Prizes, can you imagine?

At least for a decade, we would monopolize the Nobel Prizes in Biology and Medicine for ten consecutive years.”

Chen Feng smiled, “So this means you want us to make a contribution, right?”

“To be completely honest, bro.

Before seeing your lab, I just considered you as one of the many potential collaborators,” Xiang Shan said.

“I have a few more stops to make later.

But after the site visit, I believe that you are the best partner.”

“Why?” Chen Feng asked curiously.

“I didn’t show off any world-class technology just now, did I?”

“No, not technology, but laboratory management,” Xiang Shan said with a smiling, bright-eyed look.

“What we need most are people who are determined to change the world.”

……………………………………

“Not bad at all.

So, in 2036, I’m involved in pyramid selling again,” Xiang Shan muttered as he woke up from sleep and gently unplugged the hard drive connected to his wrist.

He slept for a while…

To be honest, he had been a bit too lax in his vigilance.

Especially since he had taken in two unfamiliar Martial Artists.

Even though the system could awaken him instantly, his reaction was inherently slower than when he was fully alert.

If Huang Ouguang was fifteen times stronger than she appeared, Xiang Shan would have found himself at a significant disadvantage.

“Too naive, far too naive,” Xiang Shan shook his head, feeling that he couldn’t continue to immerse himself in memories from the past.

But he couldn’t entirely blame himself.

He had just read the memories of four imperial hounds in a row—before taking action against those four, he indeed made an effort to scour their memories.

And after deciding to turn back to kill, to acquire detailed information about Pine Eagle City, he read through their memories again.

He felt tainted inside.

He urgently needed the invigorating memories of his younger days to balance it out.

To be honest, those guys weren’t involved in anything significant.

They were merely killing certain unprotected individuals for the sake of the city’s stability.

They were simply “persuading” the unprotected to volunteer for certain projects.

They were upholding justice, maintaining local peace, and exploring the unknown.

But the more he recalled the past, the more the present seemed like a nightmare.

“If cyberization technology is perfected, we really could wholesale Nobel Prizes…

I must have several, don’t I?” Xiang Shan shook his head, “But the 28-year-old me could only be considered ordinary talent…”

As he thought this, he wrote “2036, recruiting people, Chen Feng” on a memo pad.

This was his way of sorting through his past memories, to see what else they might trigger, and to organize the timeline.

Although the information provided by the Demon Sect was fragmented and lacked substantive content, Xiang Shan could fill in the gaps with the “knowledge” in his mind.