Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yi proposed and oversaw construction of the smaller UOmini device to test whether the UO fusion structure was feasible, while his teaching made him a nationwide student sensation. Nearly five months later, UOmini was ready for its first ignition, with Chu Lansheng arriving to witness the verification as Xiao Yi ordered the final inspections.

• Xiao Yi showed Li Jiangan and Zhao Zhanyou his completed plans for a smaller UO verification device, and the team named it UOmini and began construction.
• Xiao Yi taught Real Analysis to the sophomore Hua Loo-Keng Class, and students across the country credited his lectures and image with helping them study and pass exams.
• Xiao Yi advised his three graduate students on possible research topics as they prepared for their second year.
• After nearly five months, Xiao Yi received reports that UOmini's components, heating equipment, superconducting coils, fuel injection pipeline, and MHD generator had passed inspection.
• Zhao Zhanyou told Xiao Yi that Chu Lansheng and researchers from the Southwest Institute of Physics had arrived to see UOmini, and Xiao Yi welcomed them.
• Chu Lansheng questioned whether the UO structure could help fusion progress, and Xiao Yi ordered one final inspection before the device's first ignition.

Xiao Yi ignited the UOmini fusion device and raised its plasma to 150 million degrees, where it sustained the reaction with exceptionally low impurity levels. He stopped external heating before the 300-second target was reached, and Chu Lansheng recognized that the fusion had achieved the Lawson Criterion.

• Xiao Yi confirmed that every system was ready, evacuated personnel, and started the UOmini ignition countdown.
• The UO chamber reached 100 million degrees with heating efficiency equivalent to 130% of EAST's, and Xiao Yi ordered it raised to 150 million degrees for 300 seconds.
• Cao Xu warned that the high temperature could damage the device, while Chu Lansheng urged him to watch and revealed that he knew about the wall material.
• The plasma held at 150 million degrees for over 200 seconds without any increase in impurity concentration.
• With 60 seconds left on the timer, Xiao Yi ordered the Heating Group to stop heating, but the temperature remained stable.
• Chu Lansheng announced that the reaction had reached the Lawson Criterion, and the researchers celebrated as Cao Xu struggled to understand the result.

Xiao Yi’s UO fusion device completed a successful ignition test, reaching the Lawson Criterion and generating 30 MW through an MHD generator. After Chu Lansheng asked to inspect the new material and agreed to follow Xiao Yi’s instructions, news of the device’s achievements spread through the physics community and society.

• Xiao Yi declined to extend the test to 1,000 seconds and ordered the team to verify power generation using the MHD generator.
• The team switched to Mode B, and the MHD generator produced up to 30 MW as the plasma entered the U-shaped tube.
• Xiao Yi ended the test after 370 seconds of operation and announced that the device had reached the Lawson Criterion; he gave the team three days off.
• Chu Lansheng questioned how the MHD generator channel would withstand plasma exposure, then pleaded with Xiao Yi to let him inspect the new material.
• Chu Lansheng announced that fusion researchers should follow Xiao Yi’s instructions, and news of the device’s results spread across China and the world.

China’s UOmini fusion device achieved a major experimental breakthrough, prompting excitement and skepticism among the public and scientific community. As the news reached the White House, the president ordered efforts to obtain more information, declaring that the breakthrough must not be allowed to happen.

• Chinese media reported that the UOmini Device sustained 150 million degrees for 370 seconds, reached the Lawson Criterion, and generated 30 MW of power for 50 seconds.
• Netizens celebrated the breakthrough and debated whether fusion could provide abundant energy and freshwater, while skeptics argued that materials problems still made practical fusion distant.
• Researchers at the Physics Research Institute discussed how the device could have endured the experiment, while Luo Mingya wondered whether Xiao Yi had made progress on the material technology connected to their bet.
• The news spread overseas and reached the White House, where the secretary of state briefed the president on China’s possible progress toward controlled nuclear fusion.
• The president ordered the secretary of state to seek information through ITER after the CIA failed to uncover details, then said they could not let the breakthrough happen.

Xiao Yi planned the enormous Sun-Making Reactor while Liu Cong reported that the Americans and ITER were pressing China to share fusion data, a request China refused. After UOmini’s success cleared research and political obstacles, construction began, prompting foreign intelligence agencies to investigate the project.

• Xiao Yi showed Liu Cong his liquid lithium piping layout for the Sun-Making Reactor and explained that UOmini could someday become a museum exhibit.
• Liu Cong told Xiao Yi that ITER had requested data on the first-wall material and that China had refused to share it.
• Xiao Yi calculated that the 40 GW Sun-Making Reactor could supply Fei City and nearby cities, with enough capacity for rising electricity demand.
• Foreign scientists argued over how UOmini had operated for 370 seconds, while Xiao Yi’s ambiguous result kept them uncertain about China’s progress.
• After UOmini’s success, the institute and Chu Lansheng backed Xiao Yi’s plans, and construction of the Sun-Making Reactor began with a projected fifteen-month schedule.
• Foreign intelligence agencies investigated the huge construction site, trying to determine what China was building.

At an ITER meeting, Japan and several other members accused China of concealing nuclear fusion research, but Zong Chengping dismissed their claims as speculation. Months later, Xiao Yi’s Sun-Making Reactor site was ready for assembly, and construction began openly as China’s foreign observers continued to doubt it could achieve controlled fusion.

• At ITER’s weekly meeting, Yamamoto Shigeru accused China of hiding UOmini research and demanded it share its findings, while representatives from the United States and South Korea supported him.
• Zong Chengping rejected the accusations as unsupported speculation, explained that the large construction site would house a research institute, and criticized South Korea’s unpaid fees and limited technology sharing.
• The meeting ended with the South Korean director backing away from the expulsion proposal and Yamamoto Shigeru apologizing; afterward, foreign media and internet users speculated about China’s fusion project as lithium-sulfur batteries gained a large market share.
• More than half a year later, Xiao Yi and the Sun-Making Plan’s senior members inspected the completed research institute and prepared to begin assembling the reactor.
• Xiao Yi ordered the factories to transport the reactor’s major components, and construction of the Sun-Making Reactor’s main structure officially began the next day.

Xiao Yi resolved a mix-up involving four unidentified cooling pipes at the fusion reactor site and rallied the workers by emphasizing safety and the project’s national importance. The pipes were installed correctly, and the installation work continued with renewed confidence and efficiency.

• Zhao Zhanyou told Xiao Yi that the labels identifying several cooling pipes had gone missing, so the workers could not determine where to install them.
• Xiao Yi reassured the workers that mistakes could be corrected, stressed that safety came first, and encouraged them to complete the nationally significant project together.
• Xiao Yi inspected four nearly identical pipes and identified them as vacuum chamber cooling pipes B13-37 through B13-40.
• The workers installed the pipes in Zone B13, confirming Xiao Yi’s identification, and continued the installation with greater confidence.

As China completed the Sun-Making Reactor, foreign ITER members accused it of secretly achieving fusion power, while Zong Chengping remained unsure what the project involved. Xiao Yi ordered final inspections and scheduled an ignition test, and the Sun-Making Plan’s ignition day arrived on January 31, 2027.

• At an ITER Council meeting, Yamamoto Shigeru and other representatives accused China of concealing fusion progress and called for its expulsion, while Zong Chengping denied that the equipment proved anything.
• After returning to China, Zong Chengping asked officials whether fusion power had been achieved but received the same evasive answer as before.
• Xiao Yi showed Li Jiangan and others the completed Sun-Making Reactor, its underground UO Device, and its extensive generator facilities.
• Xiao Yi ordered a month of final inspections and scheduled the ignition test for the end of the following month.
• On January 30, 2027, the EAST-S Plan was publicly renamed the Sun-Making Plan, and the ignition day arrived on January 31.

Xiao Yi led the Sun-Making Reactor through its first successful sustained deuterium-tritium fusion burn, achieving self-sufficient tritium production and generating up to 15 GW of power. The team began connecting the reactor to the grid after confirming the breakthrough.

• Researchers completed their final inspections, and the teams trusted Xiao Yi to lead the ignition attempt.
• Liu Cong relayed the senior leader’s call, and Xiao Yi said he was ninety percent certain the reactor would succeed.
• Xiao Yi confirmed that the site was evacuated and that vacuum, superconducting coils, and cooling systems were ready.
• Xiao Yi ordered fuel injection and ignition; the plasma exceeded 100 million degrees Celsius, reached the Lawson Criterion, and entered steady-state burn.
• The team injected liquid lithium and raised the tritium self-sufficiency rate to 1.0, then began generating electricity with the MHD generator and turbines.
• The reactor’s output rose to 15 GW, and Xiao Yi ordered the team to connect it to the grid.

Xiao Yi and the research team achieved stable 15 GW controllable nuclear fusion with the Sun-Making Reactor, and Xiao Yi’s study ability advanced to lv7. The announcement was planned for the evening before Lunar New Year's Eve as the team prepared to transmit the reactor’s full output to the power grid.

• The researchers celebrated the reactor’s success as Xiao Yi confirmed that it had sustained plasma above 100 million degrees for over 1,000 seconds without damage to the first-wall material.
• Xiao Yi’s Ruthless Continuous Study effect advanced to lv7, boosting his learning efficiency and allowing Material Mastery and Perfect Engineering to be used together.
• Xiao Yi told the old leader that the team had lit the sun and recommended waiting several days to verify stable operation before announcing the breakthrough.
• The old leader agreed to announce the news on the evening before Lunar New Year's Eve, while Xiao Yi and the power grid engineers planned how to transmit the reactor’s 15 GW output.
• The Sun-Making Reactor continued operating at 15 GW while the team worked on the grid connection, as the public and foreign intelligence agencies remained unaware of the breakthrough.

China announced that it had built the world's first controlled nuclear fusion demonstration reactor, producing 15 gigawatts with a peak capacity of 40 gigawatts. Zong Chengping withdrew China from ITER as the news spread worldwide, leaving the other countries stunned and the public celebrating the Sun-Making Plan.

• Xinwen Lianbo reported that China had achieved controlled nuclear fusion at a reactor in Fei City, Hui Province, and begun generating 15-gigawatt-class power.
• Liu Cong told Zong Chengping that China would temporarily withdraw from ITER and instructed him to return home for the New Year.
• Zong Chengping announced China's withdrawal at an ITER meeting, removed his badge, and left with the Chinese delegation.
• The foreign directors learned that China's reactor could generate far more power than ITER's designed thermal output and understood why China had withdrawn.
• News of the fusion breakthrough spread around the world, while Chinese social media celebrated the Sun-Making Plan and Xiao Yi's role in it.

Foreign governments and the public reacted to China’s announcement that Xiao Yi had achieved controllable nuclear fusion, while the United States debated how to respond and Russia weighed the consequences. Countries sent congratulations and made competing demands for cooperation or free access, setting up a new round of negotiations.

• Foreign netizens argued over China’s nuclear fusion breakthrough, and Musk praised Xiao Yi while describing how his lithium-sulfur solid-state battery patent could threaten Tesla.
• The American president blamed the FBI, CIA, and DHS for failing to discover China’s fusion power station and ordered their leaders to face investigation.
• American officials discussed pressuring China through tariffs and sanctions, negotiating as a last resort, or using covert methods to obtain the technology.
• The Russian president acknowledged the historic importance of China’s breakthrough and said Russia’s ally would know how to protect its oil interests.
• Countries congratulated China, friendly nations sought cooperation, and the United States and its allies demanded that China share the technology for free.

After the New Year, Xiao Yi discussed the next steps for controlled nuclear fusion with Li Jiangan and Director Liu, agreeing to advise on reactor expansion while rejecting the role of chief designer for every project. The state later announced plans to prepare fusion power stations across major economic zones and high-consumption provinces, with Xiao Yi named Lifetime General Consultant and Chief Scientist for the new energy institutions.

• On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Xiao Yi returned to the institute and discussed his future research and possible academician status with Li Jiangan.
• Director Liu asked Xiao Yi about expanding fusion power and requested that he lead more than ten new reactor projects.
• Xiao Yi agreed to serve as a consultant and proposed that Li Jiangan and Sun-Making Plan researchers guide the new projects.
• Xiao Yi told Director Liu that near-term upgrades were unnecessary, miniaturized fusion would be much harder, and lithium supplies would become increasingly important.
• After the Lantern Festival, the state announced preparations for fusion power stations in three economic zones and five high-electricity-consuming provinces, and established the National Energy Administration and National Fusion Company.
• The state named Xiao Yi Lifetime General Consultant and Chief Scientist for both new institutions.

At USTC, Xiao Yi discussed his graduate students’ thesis deadlines with Liang Qiushi, then revealed he was choosing a mathematical problem to research after solving controlled nuclear fusion. Liang Qiushi suggested the Hailstone Conjecture, and Xiao Yi decided it would be a good problem to tackle.

• Liang Qiushi returned to school early, and Xiao Yi reminded him to finish his thesis before June or risk delaying graduation and losing a recommendation letter.
• Xiao Yi told Liang Qiushi he was considering a mathematical problem to research for relaxation, and Liang Qiushi asked to share the remark with Chen Muhua and Sun Yuan.
• Liang Qiushi asked whether Xiao Yi had become the lifetime chief advisor and chief scientist of the newly established National Energy Administration and Fusion Company, and Xiao Yi confirmed the public announcement.
• Xiao Yi considered possible mathematical problems, and Liang Qiushi suggested the Hailstone Conjecture.
• Xiao Yi accepted the suggestion and decided to consider researching the Hailstone Conjecture, leaving Liang Qiushi wondering whether he could profit by betting on Xiao Yi’s next breakthrough.

Xiao Yi studied the proof of the Geometric Langlands Conjecture to find a new approach to the Hailstone Conjecture. He identified a possible link through Representation Theory and began defining what he called the Hailstone Group.

• Xiao Yi devoted himself to the Hailstone Conjecture and considered how dynamical systems and other mathematical fields might help explain its 4-2-1 cycle.
• Xiao Yi decided to investigate whether the Geometric Langlands Conjecture could connect the Hailstone Conjecture to Representation Theory, then read the proof paper over the following week.
• Xiao Yi balanced his research with duties advising nuclear fusion projects while engineers trained new specialists and international groups announced plans to pursue fusion power.
• Xiao Yi finished reading the Geometric Langlands paper at the Science Island Laboratory and formed a plan to study hailstone transformations through a group and its representations.
• Xiao Yi defined generators for odd and even hailstone transformations, found a multiplication operation for them, and tentatively named the resulting structure the Hailstone Group.

After fusion power lowered electricity prices around Fei City and attracted investment, the United States formed JNEO to pursue its own controllable fusion reactor. The President appointed Steven Cowley to lead the effort, and construction began in Utah with China offering engineering help.

• Electricity prices around Fei City fell, drawing new factories and investment while other regions sought to preserve their cost advantage.
• The President visited PPPL and asked Steven Cowley why the United States had not adopted the UO Device; Cowley explained that materials technology, not device design, was the key obstacle.
• The President urged PPPL researchers to join JNEO and demanded that it achieve controllable fusion within three years, while Cowley and Kendy Weil doubted the goal and hoped Cowley would not be put in charge.
• The President visited other American fusion laboratories and recruited researchers for JNEO, but none volunteered to lead it, so he appointed Steven Cowley.
• JNEO began construction in Green River, Utah, and the President declared it would bring humanity the fire of Apollo; China offered engineering contractors if the project needed them.

Xiao Yi continued his work on the Hailstone Conjecture and helped Liang Qiushi find a path through a difficult problem in his thesis. Liang Qiushi left with a paper to study, while Xiao Yi realized that Diophantine methods might help him construct invariant vectors.

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs mocked the United States' fusion project, while U.S. officials remained frustrated by the prospect of building it without China's help.
• Xiao Yi reviewed his progress on Hailstone Group representations and wondered how to generate invariant vectors uniformly across representation spaces.
• Liang Qiushi asked Xiao Yi for help proving that a friendly measure μ was non-uniformly strongly extremal and extending the result to the inhomogeneous Baker-Sprindzuk Conjecture.
• Xiao Yi used Liang Qiushi's earlier transference result to point him toward a solution and sent him a 2007 paper to study.
• After Liang Qiushi left, Xiao Yi connected his invariant-vector problem to Diophantine equations and began developing the idea as a possible constructive method.

Xiao Yi devised a unified method for generating invariant vectors and used it to build a recursive classification tree for Hailstone periodic orbits, bringing the conjecture to what he believed was its final proof step. Before he could continue, Liu Cong brought H-20 researchers to ask for his help improving materials for the bomber’s engine, and Xiao Yi agreed to begin immediately.

• Xiao Yi used Diophantine approximation to develop a unified invariant-vector method and applied it to classify Hailstone periodic orbits in a recursive tree.
• Xiao Yi concluded that proving the classification tree finite would complete the proof of the Hailstone Conjecture, then returned to the problem after considering the Riemann Hypothesis.
• Liu Cong summoned Xiao Yi to Science Island Laboratory, where he met H-20 Chief Designer Wang Changhong, Professor Li Zhenhai, and Luo Mingya.
• Liu Cong explained that the Central Military Commission wanted to strengthen strategic-bomber deterrence and that the H-20 engine’s materials and performance remained inadequate.
• Wang Changhong and Li Zhenhai asked Xiao Yi to help with the H-20 materials research, and Xiao Yi agreed to start at any time.

Xiao Yi traveled to a classified research institute near Jinling to investigate compatibility problems with the H-20’s new turbine blade material. After Luo Mingya explained the material’s thermal expansion and creep issues, Xiao Yi arrived at the institute and was told to register his iris before entering the core area.

• Xiao Yi decided to visit the institute near Jinling to learn about its materials research and compatibility problems.
• Xiao Yi rode with Luo Mingya, who explained her work on Project H-20 and their old bet as they talked during the drive.
• Luo Mingya described how the new titanium-aluminum alloy blades expanded too much in the engine and had high-temperature creep compatibility problems.
• Xiao Yi and the others reached the classified institute near Purple Mountain and passed its security checks to enter.
• Wang Changhong told someone to take Xiao Yi to register his iris for access to the core area.

Xiao Yi studied TA1203 and simulated Project H-20’s engine, discovering how the alloy’s thermal expansion could cause catastrophic blade friction. He proposed two ways to solve the problem, and Wang Changhong chose the more ambitious approach of producing the alloy with a modified precision magnetic-levitation fluid control furnace.

• Wang Changhong explained that TA1203’s thermal expansion and high-temperature creep caused compatibility problems in Project H-20’s engine.
• Xiao Yi examined the alloy and Project H-20 data, then used Material Mastery and Perfect Engineering to simulate the engine.
• Xiao Yi’s simulation showed the expanding blades rubbing against the casing until the engine cracked and exploded.
• Xiao Yi proposed modifying the blades and surrounding materials to accommodate expansion, or using a precision magnetic-levitation fluid control furnace to produce a stronger, more stable TA1203.
• Wang Changhong chose the furnace method despite the modifications and complex programming it would require.