Across the ocean, in the United States.
Inside the president's office in the White House.
A Chinese newspaper lay quietly on the president's desk.
The large red headline stood out vividly against the black-and-white background!
"Great news! The Nuclear Physics Laboratory at Sandao Kou University successfully achieves controlled nuclear fusion ignition!"
Bang!
The sound of a hand slamming onto the desk rang out.
The mahogany presidential desk shook violently.
"Fxxk!"
An overweight, middle-aged man with golden-blond hair sat behind the desk, his face flushed as he roared, "Damn it!"
"Anthony, can you explain this to me?"
Hearing the middle-aged man's angry demand, the man named Anthony stepped forward, shrugged, and said nonchalantly, "Mr. Albert, I don't think there's anything to explain."
"What? Nothing to explain? That's your answer as Secretary of Defense?!" The muscles on either side of the blond man's face twitched, making his golden bangs tremble as well.
"Tell me, Anthony, what did you tell me back then?"
"As long as we kick Xia Country out of the ITER Project, we can maintain our lead in controlled nuclear fusion forever." Albert mimicked Anthony's tone perfectly. "If I remember correctly, those were your exact words, weren't they?"
Anthony watched with a sour expression.
"And now? Anthony, tell me what this newspaper says!"
Albert angrily snatched the newspaper off his desk and hurled it onto the floor in front of Anthony!
The corners of Anthony's mouth twitched.
He lowered his head and examined the newspaper carefully.
Then he said solemnly, "Mr. President, I can't read Chinese!"
Clearly, Anthony's reply caught Albert completely off guard.
Albert's mouth fell slightly open as he stared at Anthony in disbelief. "Anthony, you..."
"Fine! Very good!" Albert was so furious that he actually laughed. "You can't read Chinese? Then let me tell you exactly what it says!"
"The newspaper says Xia Country has successfully conducted a controlled nuclear fusion ignition experiment! Do you understand?"
Anthony nodded lightly, his face expressionless. "Yes."
"And?" Albert sneered. "That's your answer?"
Anthony took a deep breath. "Mr. President, I hope you'll read this report carefully before speaking, rather than immediately complaining to me."
"As one of ITER's member countries, Xia Country naturally possesses some controlled nuclear fusion technology."
"In my view, there's virtually no need to worry about this so-called ignition experiment. They're still a long way from truly mastering controlled nuclear fusion!"
Albert's expression softened somewhat.
Now that he had calmed down, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes, and he asked another question.
"You mean..."
Anthony pointed behind himself. "Mr. President, it would be better to let an expert explain these technical matters to you."
With that, Anthony turned sideways and addressed someone behind him. "Professor Collins, the floor is yours."
An elderly man with graying hair slowly stepped forward, leaning on a cane, and bowed respectfully to Albert. "Hello, Mr. President."
Albert frowned slightly. After considering for a moment, he asked quietly, "If I remember correctly, you're the professor who was sent to lead our team at ITER a few years ago, aren't you?"
Excitement flashed in Professor Collins's eyes. "Yes, Mr. President. I didn't expect you to remember me!"
Albert nodded lightly and said with a somewhat haughty air, "Well? Is there something you want to explain to me?"
Professor Collins nodded hastily, then said with some urgency, "Mr. President, I believe there's absolutely no need for you to worry about this news from Xia Country."
Albert's gaze shifted slightly. He gestured for Collins to continue, then settled into a more comfortable position.
"I've read Xia Country's report. The controlled nuclear fusion apparatus they used this time was a Stellarator, not a conventional Tokamak Device."
At that, Albert's brow furrowed deeply.
He did have some recollection of the Tokamak Device.
After all, the United States had paid for a substantial portion of the Tokamak Device used in the ITER Project.
But this Stellarator thing... what on earth was that?
He looked at Professor Collins in confusion. "Professor, this Stellarator you just mentioned..."
Noticing the confusion in Albert's eyes, Professor Collins realized what was wrong. "Mr. President, you don't need to know what a Stellarator is. You only need to know one thing: the Stellarator is a piece of equipment we've phased out."
"The reason is simple. It's far too expensive and far too difficult to build, which makes fusion failure very likely."
"I can make a pretty good guess about where Sandao Kou University in Xia Country got its Stellarator. It was probably one from D Country that was close to being scrapped a few years ago."
Albert stared at Professor Collins in disbelief. "Are you sure? A scrapped Stellarator can successfully ignite nuclear fusion?!"
Clearly, Albert did not quite believe Professor Collins.
Professor Collins nodded emphatically. "Mr. President, you should know that things made in D Country have always been of good quality."
"I suspect that's why Xia Country was able to succeed."
"But something this outdated is certainly unreliable. That's why, as you can see, Xia Country only sustained controlled nuclear fusion for a mere two minutes."
"You may not be aware of this, but ITER's Tokamak Device can already sustain controlled nuclear fusion for twenty-six minutes!"
Professor Collins's words eased Albert's stiff expression considerably.
"Then... in your opinion, Xia Country's research into controlled nuclear fusion..."
"Impossible! Xia Country absolutely cannot complete its controlled nuclear fusion research using a Stellarator!" Professor Collins declared without the slightest hesitation. "Stellarators have long since been proven to be a path that demands tremendous effort for little reward!"
At those words, a smile finally appeared on Albert's face.
As long as Xia Country could not master controlled nuclear fusion, the United States' position would remain unshaken!
"However... Mr. President, there's something I'd like to discuss with you." A hint of hesitation flashed in Professor Collins's eyes.
"Go ahead!" Perhaps because he had just received good news, Albert nodded lightly, a faint smile lingering on his lips.
"Mr. President, the United States should build its own controlled nuclear fusion apparatus as well," Professor Collins said apprehensively. "We can't keep sharing our experimental results with ITER forever!"
"In its next experiment, ITER plans to extend the duration of controlled nuclear fusion to over thirty minutes. If it succeeds... perhaps the era in which humanity masters controlled nuclear fusion will be upon us. We in the United States should prepare ahead of time."