Time ticked by, second after second.
In the blink of an eye, the hour hand on the wall clock pointed to eleven.
With dark circles under his eyes, Zhao Zijie had switched on the living room television early.
He picked up the remote from the sofa and tuned the television to Xia Country News.
As he watched the endless commercials, anxiety flickered in Zhao Zijie's eyes.
Why hadn't the live broadcast of the controlled nuclear fusion ignition started yet...?
Zhao Zijie kept glancing at the clock in the living room.
It was already eleven!
They'd said the Fusion Reactor would start up at noon. There was only an hour left, so why hadn't the broadcast begun?!
Zhao Zijie instinctively pulled out his phone and opened the Penguin Group.
"What's going on? Where's the broadcast they promised?"
"No idea. Has anyone seen it?"
Seeing that everyone had reacted the same way, Zhao Zijie's tightly furrowed brow relaxed a little.
His fingers moved lightly as he typed a message on his phone.
"Tell me about it. I've been waiting since last night. If the broadcast doesn't start soon, I feel like I'm going to drop dead!"
A second later, several replies appeared before his eyes.
"Hahahaha! Come on, Zhao, don't tell me you actually stayed up all night?"
"Honestly, he might have! That's exactly the kind of guy Zhao is!"
A wry smile showed in Zhao Zijie's eyes.
Just as he was about to reply again, a highlighted, pinned message appeared in the Penguin Group!
"Stop spamming the chat! Turn on your TVs! The broadcast has started!"
The lively Penguin Group fell silent in an instant.
Zhao Zijie hurriedly put down his phone and looked at the television in front of him.
The imposing exterior of the Pangu One Demonstration Reactor had appeared on the screen.
Confusion flickered in Zhao Zijie's eyes as he muttered, "They're only showing the outside...? What's the point of that?"
As he spoke, disappointment visibly spread across his face.
Although he understood why Xia Country News would do this, watching nothing but an unchanging exterior shot... honestly, it was impossible not to feel disappointed.
Zhao Zijie grabbed the remote and switched off the television.
He sighed deeply and listlessly tapped his phone screen, sending a sighing emoji through his Penguin Account.
"Let's call it a day. Looks like they're only showing the outside... what the hell can we learn from that...?"
"...Zhao, how about taking another look? The TV feed has already switched."
The moment he saw that message, Zhao Zijie's pupils contracted. He snatched up the remote and turned the television back on.
Sure enough!
The Central Control Room appeared before Zhao Zijie's eyes!
A young man in his twenties, dressed in a white lab coat, stood solemnly at the central command station.
That... must be Lü Yongchang, the Chief Engineer of the controlled nuclear fusion project, right?
But a moment later, a figure behind the command station caught Zhao Zijie's attention.
That was... the Head Councillor!
Because of the camera angle, the Head Councillor stood at the very edge of the frame.
Zhao Zijie rubbed his eyes hard. After checking several times, he picked up his phone and sent a message to the Penguin Group with trembling hands.
"Everyone, look at the bottom-right corner of the TV! The Head Councillor is there too!"
Zhao Zijie's message clearly shocked all the lurking group members into speaking up!
"Holy shit, holy shit! It's true! I saw him!"
"Where? Why can't I find him?!"
"Hahaha, classic StarCraft-player blindness. If you don't need your eyes, donate them to someone who does!"
Inside the Pangu One Demonstration Reactor.
Lü Yongchang solemnly watched the large screen displaying the various readings before him.
The hour hand on the wall clock slowly approached twelve.
He drew a deep breath, his solemn gaze slowly sweeping over everyone around him.
Then he said quietly, "Everyone, it's an honor to witness this moment with you."
"Every one of us has poured countless hours of effort into Pangu One."
"Whether we succeed or fail, I believe our names will forever remain in human history!"
As he spoke, Lü Yongchang reached out and pressed the ignition button on the console before him.
A familiar hum rang out!
In an extremely short time, the deuterium-tritium plasma was heated to over a hundred million degrees Celsius!
An endless torrent of energy erupted inside Pangu One's Reactor!
At that very moment!
Within the Pangu One Demonstration Reactor, the most powerful form of energy in a star system came into being!
Excitement appeared on every face as they watched the readings on the Neutron Dose Detector soar.
Yet not a single person cheered.
This was only the beginning!
"Cooling system operating normally!"
"Fusion reaction intensity normal!"
"Magnetohydrodynamic Generator coming online!"
"Current output is thirty-five percent of rated power!"
Report after report came in, but Lü Yongchang did not dare relax for a moment.
The next step was crucial!
"Prepare to connect to the grid!"
Only when the electricity generated through magnetohydrodynamics entered the Xia Country Power Grid could this Fusion Reactor truly be considered a success!
A few minutes later, a researcher shouted excitedly, "Grid connection successful!"
"Current generating output: two hundred thousand megawatts."
A flicker of excitement crossed Lü Yongchang's eyes.
At this point, it was fair to say that the Pangu One Fusion Reactor had achieved ninety percent of its goal.
What came next...
"Keep adding fuel! Bring the output to maximum!"
At Lü Yongchang's order, every researcher immediately became solemn.
This meant that the Pangu One Fusion Reactor was about to enter full-load operation!
Over the next few minutes, every researcher stared fixedly at the large screen in the Central Control Room, afraid that something might go wrong.
80%!
90%!
99%!
As deuterium-tritium fuel was gradually added, the fusion reaction inside the reactor grew increasingly intense!
Even in the control room, everyone could feel a faint tremor beneath their feet!
"Professor Lü! The generator's current output is four hundred thousand megawatts!"
"No abnormalities in the Reactor. The generating units are operating normally!"
"..."
A faint smile gradually formed at the corners of Lü Yongchang's mouth.
For a moment, he looked dazed. Then he said in a deep voice, "Everyone."
"We... succeeded!"
A thunderous wave of applause erupted a second later!
Every researcher rose from their chair and gazed reverently at the young man at the command station!
They knew that the person most responsible for Pangu One's success was this young man, only twenty-one years old!
"We succeeded!"
At the voice coming from the television, Zhao Zijie's eyes suddenly reddened.
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed his phone, opened the Penguin Group, and excitedly typed a sentence.
"The light of fusion shines across Xia Country!"
A moment later, everyone in the Penguin Group spontaneously began posting the same message.
Looking at the screen filled with repeated messages, Zhao Zijie took a deep breath.
At last!
At last, Xia Country had taken its place at the very forefront of the world!
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