Chapter 7: High Ambitions

How could there be a chance to achieve great results? Naturally, it was because her mother possessed the powerful protective strength that ensured the country’s eternal stability and the people’s peace.

In her previous life, she studied aerospace, focusing on the design and development of fighter aircraft. In this life, she enrolled in the predecessor of her alma mater before it split—a top military-industrial university of the era, the Huining Military-Industrial University, now known as Huining Engineering. There, her major was naval engineering, covering warships and maritime aviation equipment, all within her scope of study.

With memories from two lives merging, her knowledge base was vast, and she remained confident in making significant achievements!

Back then, in the early 1970s, the motherland was still in a tough pioneering phase, fraught with difficulties. The navy and air force were almost blank slates, and with no access to foreign imports, there was an urgent need for self-reform, to enter an era of independent development and possess homegrown naval and aerial equipment!

Only by forging one’s own strength could anyone dare to challenge them.

In her previous life, she had only read a few documentary reports, but being immersed in this era, she felt deeply that mere written accounts could never express the hardship of those times.

At present, aerial warhawks were still in their infancy. During the National Day parade, the scarce seventeen planes available couldn’t even form a proper squadron. When planes were insufficient, they flew twice over—a bitter reality, piloting outdated fighters that were on the verge of retirement, risking their lives without hesitation...

No surface warship exceeded 2,000 tons; only thirteen frigates above 1,000 tons existed. The main combatants were a 400-ton vessel and a 100-ton one, even relying on fishing boats to assist patrols.

Even those few warships had been imported—discarded destroyers from a neighboring nation. Yet, they still took what they could get, because having something was better than nothing.

The era of the future, when the skies would be fiercely defended by powerful aerial warhawks and ten-thousand-ton warships would patrol the seas, was still far away. Having witnessed the future’s grandeur, she now felt even more tender-hearted toward the motherland in its present plight.

With vast territorial waters, every inch was precious and must not be lost. They urgently needed to deploy effective defense forces!

Domestic independent development was just beginning. From imitation to self-reliant innovation, they were still in the darkest hour before dawn, exploring and learning. There was no solid technical reserve yet, no capability to produce combat-level fighter jets or medium-to-large warships.

She was fortunate to be reborn in this era, able to devote herself to national construction. Such a rare opportunity could not be wasted; it was time to roll up her sleeves and work hard!

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In her past life, with the most ordinary resources, she had squeezed through hordes of competitors to enter the National Defense University. Among top students and prodigies, she maintained excellent grades, enjoying a fully state-supported academic life, and smoothly completed her doctoral studies.

Besides not being truly dull-witted, it was her relentless effort and proactive spirit—always believing that thought without action was useless, so she simply worked hard!

What she hadn’t accomplished before, she would continue in this new life! Whether building integrated aerospace systems or pursuing dreams of the deep blue sea, she would be a brick laid wherever needed!

When the nation called, the mission must be fulfilled. Forge the sharp sword of the sea and sky, guard the vast and magnificent China—this was the highest ideal of a youth in the new era!

“Dignity lies only at the sword’s edge; truth resides only within the cannon’s range.” This was her favorite saying.

No matter how great one’s ambition, it must start from the fundamentals. The first task was to integrate all the knowledge from her past and present lives.

Reviewing the old to learn the new—though the memories of her past life were hers, like unused machinery that rusts, knowledge once learned but not revisited could never be as fluent or instantly accessible.

Most importantly, she needed to fully merge these memories with what she was learning now, building a coherent research logic system—a towering building must rise from a solid foundation. Without a harmonious base, it would collapse easily!

Perhaps because her new brain had developed and exercised earlier, it was more efficient than before. Her memory, comprehension, and analytical skills were all simultaneously enhanced...

Her consciousness extended, touching the nebulae overhead, as Jiang Jingzhu read through her newly unlocked memories.

Was it the accumulated foundation of two lifetimes? Her mind seemed more agile.

As she delved deeper into the changes in her conscious sea, she discovered the cause of her seven-day coma: that collision triggered the unsealing of her past life’s memories, and the storm of merging two lifetimes’ memories overwhelmed her brain’s self-protection, sealing off her awareness.

After seven days of evolution, her previous memory palace had collapsed into what now resembled an endless starry ocean. Since that collision, her already sharp mind had opened further, showing remarkable improvement!

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Combining both lives, her brain felt unprecedentedly agile. Many knowledge points that once puzzled her now deepened in understanding in an instant. Difficult problems, after reading the question, would immediately reveal answers in her heart...

She felt that, given a pen and some paper, she could craft revolutionary scientific achievements at any moment... Was this a huge windfall?

Heh... Such arrogance! Jiang Jingzhu chuckled. One must never be arrogant in research! Whether her mind had been unlocked or cracked open still needed verification.

Even in the future, with supercomputers reading data, time was still required. Jiang Jingzhu, with a scholar’s patience, carefully reviewed her sealed memories, knowing it would take time.

Patience is key; she wasn’t greedy to devour everything at once. Following the plan, from basics to advanced, step by step, she relearned.

Of course, now that her consciousness could freely connect inside and outside her mind, she kept a thread of awareness to remind herself not to immerse completely—she would occasionally wake to check on her family and speak with them, calming their hearts. No matter how anxious she was, she could not frighten her loved ones!

Tong Shufen was an experienced medical worker. Her skills were basic but practical—administering injections, dispensing medicine, emergency care, bleeding control, sutures, along with some family herbal remedies and massage techniques.

Taking care of patients was her old forte. While Jiang Jingzhu was unconscious, she massaged her limbs and muscles daily. Even after waking, the massage therapy continued.

Jiang Jingzhu’s coma was brief, and with her family’s meticulous care and active restorative treatment, her recovery was swift. By that afternoon, the fatigue from lying down had vanished, and full control of her body was restored.

If her family hadn’t urged caution, allowing gradual progress, just raising her body step by step with pillows and slowly sitting up, she believed she could have walked immediately...