Capital City, early October.
A conference room in a state guesthouse, closed to the public.
The carpet was thick, muffling any sound of footsteps. Vents in the ceiling quietly circulated climate-controlled air. In the center of the massive, oval, solid-wood conference table sat several neatly trimmed potted plants.
On either side of the long table, more than a dozen people sat Face to Face.
No one whispered to their neighbor. Even the sound of a water glass being placed on the table was deliberately suppressed. The air hung heavy with a nearly palpable tension.
The German Side’s negotiating team sat on the side of the table away from the light.
At their head sat Mueller, the Senior Vice President of Simen Zi. He was a German man in his fifties with impeccably combed hair. Dressed in a custom-tailored, dark gray suit, he kept his hands clasped on the tabletop. His body was leaned slightly forward, maintaining an air of flawless business etiquette.
Seated next to him was Hoffman, the German Side’s chief expert in fluid dynamics.
Hoffman was operating a laptop, and on the projector screen at the front of the room was an extremely complex 3D aerodynamic model of a train.
"Director Wang, regarding the issue of the tunnel micro-pressure wave, I believe our technical team has already explained things quite clearly."
Mueller looked at the lead negotiator for Huafang across the long table as he spoke. His pace was unhurried, almost deliberate.
The interpreter sitting behind Mueller immediately provided a simultaneous translation in standard Mandarin.
The Huafang representative, Director Wang, was a lean, middle-aged man with black-framed glasses. He said nothing, only nodding slightly as his pen scraped unconsciously across his notepad twice.
Hoffman clicked the mouse, and the image on the screen switched to a dynamic simulation of a pressure waveform.
"Due to the objective differences between Hua Country’s current railway tunnel cross-sectional area standards and those in Europe."
Hoffman picked up the thread, his voice carrying the distinct precision and rigidity of a technician.
"When a train traveling at over 250 kilometers per hour enters a tunnel of this specific cross-sectional area, the air is instantly compressed, forming an extremely strong, non-linear pressure wave in front of the train’s nose. This wave propagates forward through the tunnel at the speed of sound and creates a micro-pressure wave blast at the tunnel exit."
Hoffman used a laser pointer to circle an area on the screen.
"If the aerodynamic shape of the train’s nose hasn’t been optimized through extremely high-precision, three-dimensional, transonic simulations, this blast will not only produce tremendous noise, but its recoil could also shatter the side windows of the carriages or even cause the train to derail."
The interpreter’s voice echoed in the conference room.
Hoffman turned off the laser pointer and placed his hands flat on the table.
"To solve this problem, one must rely on a foundational fluid dynamics algorithm module to perform comprehensive transonic simulation calculations on the full-scale train nose. Unfortunately, as far as we know, Hua Country is still in its infancy in this field, whether we’re talking about basic continuum equation algorithms or the low-level logic for calling upon a supercomputer."
Hoffman looked at the Huafang technical staff across the table, his tone calm as he stated what he believed to be an irrefutable, objective fact.
"With your existing mathematical tools, you cannot handle the massive number of grid nodes in a 3D transonic model. Memory overflow and non-linear term divergence are barriers you currently cannot overcome. It’s just as we said last time: if you try to figure out this set of algorithms on your own, it will take at least ten years."
The conference room fell utterly silent.
No one offered a rebuttal.
Because, according to the Huafang technical team’s previous reports, this was indeed the case. The wind tunnels at the country’s various Jiaoda universities couldn’t generate such extreme data, and their computer simulations were completely bottlenecked by a lack of computing power.
Mueller seized the opportune moment to resume speaking.
"Therefore, Director Wang."
Mueller looked at the Huafang representative.
"We maintain that the two-hundred-million-euro licensing fee for the foundational aerodynamic software is not only reasonable but essential. We are not just selling a set of software code; we are selling the fundamental safety of your country’s future high-speed rail network."
Mueller paused, allowing the interpreter time to translate.
"This foundational code is licensed as a black box. This is a core trade secret of Simen Zi, and we hope Huafang can understand. If we cannot reach a consensus on this clause, it will be very difficult to move forward with the subsequent vehicle procurement and technology transfer contracts."
Having said his piece, Mueller leaned back in his chair.
It was a textbook ultimatum.
They had laid the safety issue on the table, using the technology gap to deliver a crushing blow. They were certain Huafang couldn’t produce their own data. Today was the day they would close the net.
Director Wang sat at the head of the Huafang side.
He simply listened quietly to the interpreter’s relay, then slowly capped the pen in his hand.
Director Wang turned his head and glanced at the person sitting two seats to his left.
Alchemist sat there quietly.
The collar of his white shirt was slightly wrinkled, and his eyes were noticeably bloodshot. On the table in front of him sat a worn black briefcase, while his right hand held a thermos.
From the start of the meeting until now, Alchemist had not said a single word, nor had his posture changed. He would only occasionally unscrew the lid of his thermos to take a sip of tea.
"Dean Fang."
Director Wang spoke, his tone even.
"Regarding the computing power bottleneck for the tunnel micro-pressure wave that Mr. Hoffman just mentioned... I recall that your School of Physics borrowed some time on the supercomputer center’s machines these past couple of days to validate a local algorithm, correct?"

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