So young?

"Reporting, sir! Nuclear fusion has now remained stable for six seconds!" the technician replied.

"Six seconds?"

The meeting fell silent again.

Nuclear fusion had actually remained stable for six seconds. This was a technological breakthrough the Northern Base had never achieved before!

They were only four seconds behind Beautiful Country, the world leader in nuclear fusion technology!

No, they could not call it four seconds behind, because stable nuclear fusion at Zhou Huaide's base had not ended yet!

The chief was incredibly excited. He stared fixedly at the footage, inwardly cheering Zhou Huaide and his team on. If they could hold on for just four more seconds, they could break Beautiful Country's record!

He raised his watch before him and watched the second hand advance one second with a tick, while the artificial sun inside the tokamak on the screen remained dazzling and radiant.

Seven seconds. Hold on.

The chief silently cheered them on!

Tick!

The second hand on his watch moved again, and the footage of the tokamak still showed no change!

Wonderful! Eight seconds! Just two more seconds until we reach Beautiful Country's technological level!

Now the chief's heart clenched, too, as he poured all his energy into cheering on the Northern Base!

Everyone else in the conference room also stared wide-eyed. Not a single person spoke, afraid that one word might disturb the stable nuclear fusion inside the tokamak!

Tick!

Another second passed!

Nine seconds! Just one second left! Just one second! Come on, come on, Xiao Zhou! I know you can do it!

The chief kept shouting inwardly, his heart practically in his throat!

He did not even dare blink, afraid he might miss something!

Hurry up! Damn it, why is time passing so slowly right now?!

The chief could not help cursing inwardly. Never had he burned with such impatience.

Tick!

The second hand of his watch gave a crisp, pleasing sound!

"Ten seconds! Ten seconds! Ha ha... We've matched Beautiful Country's time! Ha ha..."

The chief's shouts rang throughout the conference hall, a world apart from his usual unflappable manner!

Then everyone else jumped up excitedly, too. As people of Dragon Country, they were genuinely happy and excited for their country to have a major scientific research project become number one in the world!

Tick!

Eleven seconds had elapsed.

"Wonderful! Our Dragon Country's controlled nuclear fusion technology is now number one in the world! We've surpassed Beautiful Country! Ha ha..."

"Incredible!"

"Commander Zhou actually stabilized nuclear fusion for eleven seconds in just one month!"

"..."

The chief's heart finally settled, and he burst into hearty laughter!

He had never felt as exhilarated as he did today!

"Ha ha! You've really done it, Zhou Huaide!"

The people in the General Administration of Scientific Research's conference room were not the only ones brimming with excitement!

In the control room in northern Dragon Country, some researchers hugged one another, some danced and leaped for joy, and some could not help wiping away tears. Everything they did came from the excitement and elation in their hearts!

Eleven seconds!

This had already broken the world record. He felt like a hero at that moment, able to create a miracle for Dragon Country. Everyone's heart brimmed with an immense sense of accomplishment!

Although they had been exhausted every day throughout the past month, seeing the results they had achieved now, every one of them felt that it had all been more than worth it.

Zhou Huaide could not suppress the smile spreading across his face, either.

Ten years! The pressure, torment, and pain in his heart were finally released at this moment. At last, he had something to show his country!

He could also tell his wife and child with pride that he, too, was a worthy son of Dragon Country and had not brought them shame!

Of course, for all of this, Zhou Huaide had one person to thank: Jiang Fan!

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan remained seated at the main control console, motionless, his gaze fixed on the changes in the various readings on the screen!

Plasma temperature: 500 million degrees Celsius

Fusion output power: 18 megawatts

Magnetic ring material temperature: 890 degrees Celsius

Seeing that the magnetic ring material's temperature had risen by twenty degrees Celsius compared with earlier, Jiang Fan felt somewhat worried.

Although the magnetic ring material was heat-resistant, its properties would change when it reached 2,000 degrees Celsius!

The controlled nuclear fusion construction plan provided by the system differed from the current one. Because time had been tight, Jiang Fan had omitted many complicated procedures.

But this also meant that some materials could not operate for extended periods!

Through calculations using the data, Jiang Fan had initially determined that by the time high temperatures affected the normal operation of certain materials, nuclear fusion should have remained stable for 123 seconds!

Although that was twenty-three seconds longer than the chief had requested, Jiang Fan was still somewhat worried.

After all, a controlled nuclear fusion device was extraordinarily complex. Even a tiny problem would directly cause instability in nuclear fusion!

Time passed, second by second, and in the blink of an eye, it reached fifty seconds.

Everyone went from cheering excitedly to being struck speechless once again by the sight before them.

Fifty seconds?

Fifty whole seconds?

This was already an unimaginable duration. None of them had expected the tokamak they had developed to keep nuclear fusion stably controlled for an astonishing fifty seconds!

In the General Administration of Science and Technology's conference room!

To watch more closely, the chief walked up to the projection screen!

Everyone else stood beside him, too!

"Sir, it's... it's already been fifty seconds! This... this can't be real, can it?!"

"I feel like I'm dreaming!"

"..."

The chief was now too shocked for words.

Fifty seconds!

With a duration like that, once the technology matured, it could already be put to use in certain fields!

For instance, if a fighter jet carried a small controlled nuclear fusion device like this, it could absolutely serve as a secret weapon at a crucial moment while pursuing an enemy aircraft!

Moreover, the World Military Competition would begin in just six months. It could definitely serve as a trump card then, sweeping away all opposition!

When he thought of how Dragon Country could finally hold its head high before the nations of the world!

The chief could not help laughing excitedly.

"What?"

"It's already reached seventy seconds!"

The chief took a closer look. He could not help trembling all over.

Could the tokamak developed this time really reach one hundred seconds?

Back then, he had only said it offhand, looking for an impossible excuse to stop Zhou Huaide from pestering him!

Never mind that nuclear fusion had now remained stable for seventy seconds-even if it had only remained stable for ten seconds, the chief would have strongly supported research into Zhou Huaide's controlled nuclear fusion project!

He had never expected Zhou Huaide to give him such an enormous surprise this time!

Just then, the chief suddenly remembered Zhou Huaide mentioning earlier that he had found a genius in controlled nuclear fusion. Could he have developed this tokamak?

"Technician, enlarge the footage of the Northern Base's control room for me!"

The technician then switched the control room footage to the main screen!

At a glance, the chief spotted Jiang Fan sitting calmly at the main control console!

"So young?"