Chapter Four: Chen Yu

“Hey! Are you blind? Give me a hand.”

The young man squatting before him with numb legs was Chen Yu. He looked fair-skinned and clean, wearing glasses perched on his nose, the picture of a mild-mannered student. When Shang Lu returned in the evening, Chen Yu was crouched in the courtyard, repairing a broken motorcycle. He was peering intently at the small tire’s inner tube, searching for cracks, his hands covered in dirty black grease. Shang Lu reached out to help him up. Chen Yu slowly got to his feet, patted his thighs, and grimaced, “Ouch, ouch, ouch… squatting too long, legs gone numb.”

“I am—”

“I know who you are—technician from the Academy of Sciences, a top student.” Chen Yu clapped his oily hand on Shang Lu’s shoulder. “I’m Chen Yu, a staff officer in the command’s operations department. We’re roommates now, so let’s get acquainted.”

He then unbuttoned his shirt, draped the 07-pattern short-sleeved summer uniform over his shoulders, picked up a plastic basin from the ground, and went to the courtyard sink to fill it with water.

“First day at Unit 151, must be busy, huh?” Chen Yu asked as he stood by the sink, turning to look at him.

“I’ve been touring all day,” Shang Lu replied. “And tonight, I had to join someone for dinner.”

He had been dragged around for visits since early morning, running his legs ragged. Near noon, he was taken to a workshop to meet Old Ji, who gave him a heartfelt lecture, clearly worried he might run off. But at least he got to see the giant mech for the first time, which was somewhat rewarding. In the afternoon, he shadowed Old Ji to get familiar with the work, and in the evening, was taken by him to dine with base leadership.

Old Ji proudly introduced Shang Lu to everyone at the table: “This is my old colleague’s apprentice from the Institute of Automation, a Tsinghua undergrad! A triple academician’s student from the International Astronautical Academy of the Academy of Sciences Engineering Institute! Top talent! Normally, the rear agencies snatch him up as soon as he steps out. I fought hard to keep him here, so please look after him.”

Shang Lu thought Old Ji must be drunk. When did his boss become an academician of the International Astronautical Academy?

But he didn’t dare speak up—the table was full of senior officials.

Old Ji also said that back in the day, Shang Lu’s mentor designed the first-generation giant mech. Shang Lu was the mentor’s student. And Hong Lian, the third generation, was the granddaughter of the first generation’s designer. So, by rank, Hong Lian should call Shang Lu… grandpa.

Shang Lu thought, damn.

“Who did you go eat with?”

“The leadership.”

“The chief engineer took you, right?” Chen Yu shrugged. “He begged the higher-ups for ages, cried and cried, until finally they let you come. Must’ve made him over the moon.”

“Want me to help you push this motorcycle back?” Shang Lu asked.

“Sure, sure, just push it back to the warehouse. Thanks a lot.” Chen Yu wrung out a towel in the basin. “Has the chief engineer assigned your post yet?”

“No specific position mentioned. He said everything I see belongs to me.” Shang Lu gave the motorcycle a hard kick to move it, then swung himself on and turned the key, shifting gears. “One huge giant mech, dozens of meters tall, and they say all of it’s mine? Come on, even a Boeing 747 takes a whole crew to maintain.”

“You’ve seen the giant mech. What do you think?”

“Big.” Shang Lu said. “One finger could crush me like a bug. How on earth can a girl control such a colossal thing?”

“Oh, you met the pilot?” Chen Yu sounded surprised.

“When I got there, their test had just ended. The pilot came out of the giant mech—I even helped her down.” Shang Lu recalled the young woman he encountered in Hong Lian’s maintenance workshop at noon. It was hard to believe such a girl was the pilot of Hong Lian’s mech. Truly incredible.

“You’re lucky. They’re hard to come by.” Chen Yu said. “But since you’re shadowing the chief engineer, you’ll have plenty of chances to meet her.”

“How long can I survive following him?” Shang Lu sighed. Old Ji was fifty-eight, but looked closer to sixty-eight. “Why won’t this motorcycle shift gears?”

“You turned the key the wrong way.” Chen Yu glanced at him from afar. “Isn’t it obvious? The chief engineer is grooming you as his successor. For a long time, he’s worried there’s no one to carry on after him. If something unfortunate happens to him, who’ll take over all these skills? With you here, it’s easier. Sooner or later, you’ll replace him.”

“But it’s only my first day.”

“Believe it or not, he’s already thought about where your future kids will go to school—even before meeting you.”

· · ·

As dusk fell, a hot, muggy evening breeze swept through the mountains. In Chongqing, the sun didn’t set until after seven in August and September. People on duty at the base gradually returned, emerging from all directions in twos and threes, stepping into the courtyard, loosening buttons, greeting Chen Yu.

“Commander Bai!”

“Bai!”

“Bai Bai! Have you eaten?”

“Why do they call you Commander Bai?” Shang Lu asked.

Chen Yu rolled his eyes.

“In Chongqing dialect, yu (fish) is pronounced ‘bai bai,’” someone behind Shang Lu replied loudly.

He turned around and saw a broad-shouldered man, at least 1.85 meters tall, with a buzz cut, emerging from the warehouse. He must have entered unnoticed because Shang Lu hadn’t seen anyone inside when he pushed the motorcycle in. The man wore a yellowed white tank top and 07-pattern camouflage training pants, looked to be in his forties, holding a large wrench in one hand and a dirty, worn bag in the other.

“Business Chief.” Chen Yu called out to him, draping the towel on the basin’s edge, then walked over and introduced them. “Let me introduce you. This is Shang Lu, the Academy of Sciences Institute of Automation’s technical specialist seconded to Unit 151, also acting as the base’s junior chief engineer.”

“Junior chief engineer?” Shang Lu frowned.

On his very first day at the base, he had unknowingly become Hong Lian’s ‘grandpa,’ Old Ji’s successor, and now he had an extra title as junior chief engineer.

Were all these titles just because he got into Tsinghua University through the college entrance exam?

“It’s only a matter of time,” Chen Yu lowered his voice. “When you get promoted to chief engineer, don’t forget to promote me too. If fortune favors us, let’s not forget each other.”

“Unit 151 Support Base Equipment Department, Combat Technology Section Business Chief, Geng Sanqi.” The business chief saluted Shang Lu, then stepped forward to shake his hand. “Hello, Junior Chief Engineer.”

“No… I… just call me Shang Lu.” Shang Lu felt awkward under the strong, warm grip of the man’s hands.

“Business Chief, will you continue experiments tonight?” Chen Yu asked.

“Yes.” The business chief nodded. “In the past two weeks, I’ve overcome several technical challenges. Tests show that increasing the intake diameter by three percent can improve fuel efficiency…”

“Stop, stop, stop, Business Chief. Nobody here cares about your progress. You can report that to the chief engineer. We just ask that you stop experimenting after 10:30 p.m.” Chen Yu interrupted him. “Also, be careful. Don’t blow the warehouse roof off.”

“I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”

Chen Yu pulled Shang Lu away. Curious, Shang Lu asked, “What experiment is he working on?”

“The business chief thinks we lack resources, and fuel will eventually run out, but coal reserves far exceed fuel. So he’s designing a coal-burning airplane engine.” Chen Yu spoke as they walked. “It’s called the coal-pulse aero engine, or something like that.”

“Coal-burning airplane?” Shang Lu was astonished. The people in this courtyard were all extraordinary.

“Give him time. I think one day he’ll even come up with a coal-burning rocket.” Chen Yu said. “Want to see the Seraph? I’ll take you.”

Shang Lu perked up. “Where to see it?”

“At a tree.”