Capital City.
Inside an utterly unremarkable little single-story house.
Deng Haochu sat on a slightly shabby sofa, his expression somewhat grim.
This was the studio for a minor television show.
The show was so obscure that it could only be found on a handful of little-watched channels.
But it was his only means of fighting back at the moment.
Click!
The studio lights came on.
Deng Haochu looked around, the corners of his mouth twitching twice.
To be fair, this studio really was rather crude.
Aside from a green screen behind him, there were only two slightly shabby sofas.
Directly ahead stood a camera.
Around him sat a group of extras on little stools, serving as the audience.
Looking at their expressionless faces, Deng Haochu let out a deep sigh.
His only consolation was that the pretty hostess was easy on the eyes.
"Mr. Deng, the show is about to start. This is a live broadcast, so... please be careful about what you say."
The hostess gave him a sweet smile and spoke softly.
Deng Haochu nodded repeatedly, but a trace of contempt appeared deep in his eyes.
A live broadcast? In a studio like this?
What a joke!
What television station would let a show like this go live?
Naturally, the hostess noticed the contempt in Deng Haochu's eyes.
A flicker of displeasure crossed her own.
Wasn't he just some big-name influencer on Zhihu?
We were already doing him a favor by inviting him onto this show!
And he had the nerve to look down on the production team?
Hmph...
The hostess sneered inwardly. She wanted to see what earth-shattering revelations this so-called influencer could offer!
Even as those thoughts crossed her mind, her smile grew sweeter.
Then she turned toward the camera. When its red light came on, she spoke brightly and clearly. "Hello, everyone."
"I'm your host, Yiyi. Today's topic is the controlled nuclear fusion program that has recently become the talk of the town."
"We've invited an expert in nuclear fusion, Mr. Deng Haochu, to join us."
"Mr. Deng, could you tell us a little about controlled nuclear fusion?"
As she spoke, Yiyi turned toward Deng Haochu.
Perhaps because this was his first television appearance, Deng Haochu's expression was stiff, and he greeted the camera with obvious awkwardness.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Deng Haochu."
"A few days ago, Xia Country announced its withdrawal from the ITER Project. That news came as a huge shock to me."
"So... what exactly is the ITER Project?" Yiyi asked at just the right moment.
Deng Haochu hurriedly explained what the ITER Project involved, then continued, "I believe withdrawing from the ITER Project will deal a tremendous blow to Xia Country's controlled nuclear fusion program. Unless something unexpected happens, we'll fall behind the Western Great Powers once again."
Yiyi looked at Deng Haochu in surprise. "But... just recently, Sandao Kou University announced that the Controlled Nuclear Fusion Project had achieved its first successful ignition. How would you explain that?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Deng Haochu's eyes.
Here it was.
This was exactly the question he wanted to hear!
The corners of Deng Haochu's mouth shifted, and a sneer appeared on his somewhat stiff face.
"As a professional who has spent years researching controlled nuclear fusion, I can give you a very clear answer."
"Sandao Kou University's claim of successful fusion ignition is grossly exaggerated!"
"First, the controlled nuclear fusion device Sandao Kou University uses is a stellarator discarded by D Country. All the major Western powers have already abandoned this type of device."
"Second, Sandao Kou University only sustained controlled nuclear fusion for a mere two minutes!"
Yiyi nodded thoughtfully. "You mean..."
"Heh... what good is controlled nuclear fusion that lasts two minutes?" Mockery flashed in Deng Haochu's eyes. "Even Ultraman needs three minutes to fight monsters, doesn't he?"
The moment he finished speaking, laughter erupted from the audience around him.
Seeing that the extras were no longer as lifeless as before, Deng Haochu felt his spirits lift!
"Let me give everyone another figure. ITER has already sustained controlled nuclear fusion for twenty-six minutes!"
"The difference between the two is like night and day!"
Yiyi interrupted Deng Haochu again. "So, Mr. Deng, are you saying that Sandao Kou University absolutely cannot sustain controlled nuclear fusion longer than ITER's current record?"
Annoyed by the repeated interruptions, Deng Haochu glanced at the hostess.
No wonder she was still hosting some tiny show after all this time!
Remembering that they were still filming, Deng Haochu could only suppress his frustration.
"Exactly!"
"If I remember correctly, Sandao Kou University will conduct its second controlled nuclear fusion experiment today."
"Unless something unexpected happens, this experiment will teach them just how troublesome a stellarator can be."
Deng Haochu gave the hostess a meaningful look as he spoke.
"Oh? Mr. Deng, do you mean... that the stellarator's design has a fatal flaw?"
At her question, Deng Haochu smiled knowingly and nodded.
"Of course!"
"Controlled nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures!"
"The plasma inside a fusion reactor reaches temperatures of at least a hundred million degrees Celsius!"
"And the biggest problem with the stellarator is its complex structure. If anything goes wrong, plasma at over a hundred million degrees will come into direct contact with its inner chamber... tsk, tsk. What a lovely sight that would be!"
As he spoke, Deng Haochu's expression grew increasingly unrestrained.
"I can also share a little inside information with everyone."
"Using that old, dilapidated stellarator, Sandao Kou University secured a billion in research funding from the Xia Kingdom Parliament!"
"In my opinion, this is absolutely outrageous!"
"How is that scientific research? It's nothing but a money grab!"
An uproar erupted!
In an instant, a wave of discussion swept through the audience!
Seeing the "eager" looks the audience directed at him, Deng Haochu felt immensely satisfied!
Beside him, however, the hostess's expression grew rather strange.
"Ahem... Mr. Deng, this show is live. Please watch what you say."
Seemingly carried away by his excitement, Deng Haochu completely ignored her warning and continued loudly, "What? So what if it's live?"
"A while ago, I exposed Sandao Kou University's dirty secrets on Zhihu, and my post was blocked. That alone shows how much shady business Sandao Kou University has been conducting behind the scenes!"
"Today, in front of all these viewers, I'm going to expose Sandao Kou University..."
Watching Deng Haochu rant like a madman, Yiyi had no idea what to do.
After all, she was only the host of a small show. She had no idea how to handle an emergency like this.
Just as the stage descended into chaos, a staff member suddenly ran up, leaned down, and whispered a few words into Yiyi's ear.
"What?!"
Yiyi stared at the staff member in shock. "Is what you said true?!"
When the staff member nodded, Yiyi instinctively glanced at Deng Haochu beside her, a hint of resolve flashing in her eyes.