Chapter 274 A Hundred Times Cheaper!
Inside the US meeting room, the atmosphere was oppressive and filled with a sense of absurdity.
President Biden sat like a wooden statue, staring blankly at the screen, his expression frozen in a state of utter bewilderment, unable to snap out of it for a long while.
He pointed his finger at the screen, his voice trembling from extreme shock as he loudly questioned:
"What does this mean?"
"It's already switched over???"
"In less than a minute, just a few dozen seconds, their power generation facilities went from traditional to Nuclear Fusion?"
"This is just too exaggerated!"
"Fake! It must be fake!"
His words were full of unwillingness and suspicion; he simply could not accept that the Dragon Kingdom had completed such a miraculous energy transition so easily and rapidly.
Dr. Siker, also anxious to save the face he had just lost, hurriedly chimed in:
"Unless the Dragon Kingdom had set up all the equipment in advance, it's impossible for it to be this fast!"
"I am now even more certain that this must be a trick by the Dragon Kingdom to intentionally fool the public!"
"If they're going to lie, they should at least make it look convincing, or at least take more time!"
He spoke with great conviction, trying to use this reasoning to make everyone believe the Dragon Kingdom was faking it, but his clearly lacking confidence betrayed his inner panic and guilt.
The high-ranking officials in Japan were likewise staring at each other with wide eyes, looking at one another, their faces filled with shock and confusion.
Having been hit too hard by the Dragon Kingdom's successive displays of powerful technology, they had already come to believe that the Dragon Kingdom truly possessed Nuclear Fusion Technology!
But after this incident, the speed of the power facility switch was just too fast—so fast that they didn't even have a chance to react—which made them hesitant and start to doubt again.
They pondered inwardly, wondering if perhaps the Dragon Kingdom had optimized the circuits long ago, allowing for such a rapid switch, but this was merely a random guess to provide themselves with an explanation.
The meeting room in Russia was also quite quiet at this moment, but their focus was different from that of the US and Japan.
Rather than questioning the authenticity of the Dragon Kingdom's operation, they were more concerned with what positive impact the Dragon Kingdom's use of Nuclear Fusion to replace traditional energy would have.
After all, a revolution in the energy sector affects the whole body; this not only concerns the development of the Dragon Kingdom itself but could also have profound impacts on the global energy landscape, economic situation, and many other aspects. This was also a question the people of the Dragon Kingdom were concerned about.
In the Su residence, Mother Su asked Father Su with a puzzled look:
"You say our electricity has been switched to that... whatever fusion thing, what use could it have?"
Father Su heard this, frowned, thought about it seriously, and then said with great importance:
"That Nuclear Fusion, it sounds very high-end, maybe electricity will be even more expensive."
His thought was based on past experience, feeling that when new technology comes out, costs might rise, and naturally, electricity bills would follow.
Mother Su immediately became unhappy upon hearing this, pouting and saying:
"Then it would be better not to switch at all. It's already hard enough to afford gas for the car; if electricity gets more expensive, it would be better not to switch!"
"Now that you put it that way, this isn't a good thing at all!"
"Oh my, having Little Chen announce this news—people won't blame him later, will they?"
"It seems being famous isn't all good!"
As she spoke, she kept watching the TV screen with worry, fearing that if things didn't go well, it would be hard for her son.
Father Su thought for a moment, then quickly said:
"Don't worry, I haven't finished yet. It must be a good thing. Maybe electricity will be more durable then!"
"One unit could be worth two or three units from before!"
Mother Su's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing this, a look of anticipation appearing on her face, and she nodded repeatedly, saying:
"That works, that works!"
Su Youwan listened to her father's self-righteous guesses from the side and shook her head helplessly.
Although she didn't know what practical use this Nuclear Fusion power generation would bring, she knew in her heart that it definitely wasn't as simple as her dad said—like one unit being worth two!
However, she didn't say much and just continued watching the TV quietly.
Meanwhile, after seeing the Dragon Kingdom complete the power switch so quickly, viewers from various countries began to feel bored.
"I thought it was some powerful weapon; it turns out it's just something for generating electricity!"
"Can this thing make electricity easier to use?"
"I heard it's clean energy, is that it? I still think the Aerospace Carrier is more interesting!"
"Forget it, I'm not watching anymore. It doesn't feel like there's anything special, and it won't make our lives any better."
Everyone was chattering away, and many were already preparing to turn off their TVs, feeling that this so-called "program easter egg" was nothing special and hadn't brought them the shock they had imagined.
Just then, Su Chen's magnetic and steady voice came out from the screen, instantly capturing everyone's attention again.
"Just as I said earlier, our people are now using clean energy, but clean energy is merely an add-on to the real New Year's gift our country is giving everyone!"
Su Chen spoke unhurriedly, a mysterious smile on his face, intentionally leaving them in suspense.
And his suspense was perfectly timed!
Those viewers who had lost interest and were about to press the power-off button on their remote controls paused their actions, a spark of curiosity arising in their hearts. Wondering what big surprise the Dragon Kingdom had in store, they turned their gaze back to the screen.
Then, they saw Su Chen continue, holding up one finger!
He raised his voice, his tone full of excitement and pride:
"The real New Year's gift is..."
"One cent!"
"From now on, one unit of electricity will only cost one cent!"
"Whether it's commercial electricity or industrial electricity, whether you are using electricity for mining or anything else..."
"One cent! Every unit of electricity will only cost one cent!"
Hearing this, the whole world seemed to hit a pause button and fell into silence once again.
Everyone was like they had been hit by a freezing spell, standing there blankly, their minds buzzing from this sudden news.
After a few seconds, like a heavy bomb dropped into a calm lake, the world erupted once again!!!
In the Su residence, Father Su and Mother Su's faces were overflowing with uncontrollable joy and excitement.
The two embraced tightly again, as excited as if they had won a huge lottery.
"Father of my child, did you hear what Little Chen said?"
"One cent, from now on, one unit of electricity only costs one cent!"
"How is this any different from being free!"
Mother Su's voice was slightly distorted with excitement, tears of joy glistening in her eyes!
She had never expected the news her son brought would be so shocking.
"Mother of my child, from now on we don't have to save electricity anymore!"
"We can keep the air conditioner on as long as we want."
"It's a good thing we didn't buy a car for Little Chen yet. Gas prices are so expensive; we'll just go straight for a new energy vehicle, and it will be cheaper to drive from now on!"
"How about we switch our gas stove to an electric flame stove too!"
"I was still worrying about how expensive gas and electricity were and what we would do in the future!"
"Now it's fine, no more worries, no more worries at all!"
Father Su was also flushed with excitement, feeling inexplicably moved.
The corporate slaves working hard in some of the Dragon Kingdom's big cities were filled with mixed emotions upon hearing this news, and many wept with joy.
"Does it really only cost one cent?"
"Doesn't this mean we can save a lot of money every month!"
"No more sneaking into the office to charge devices, and no more running to the mall just to mooch off their air conditioning!"
"Thank you to the country for this New Year's gift!"
"Mom and Dad finally don't have to save on electricity anymore!"
Some young people working away from home wiped away their tears while excitedly calling their families to share this good news!
The fatigue and anxiety generated by the pressure of living costs for so long were diluted a lot by this happy news in this moment.
It was clearly evident that the people of the Dragon Kingdom loved this gift very much!
They flooded the live stream chat with comments, the barrage of messages scrolling by as densely as snowflakes!
Almost all of them were asking when such a good policy would be implemented.
At this moment, the host also noticed these questions. Knowing the urgent feelings of the people, he immediately asked Su Chen:
"May I ask, Student Su, when will our 'gift' be delivered to the viewers?"
But after saying this, the host felt a bit panicked. He realized that using such slightly cryptic wording in this situation didn't seem appropriate.
If Su Chen couldn't understand what he meant, wouldn't that be a joke? And even if Su Chen understood, how could Su Chen, just a college student, possibly know the specific policy details?
He secretly blamed himself for being a bit reckless.
However, he soon realized he had underestimated this young man.
Su Chen didn't hesitate in the slightest, speaking with a composed expression:
"This policy is already in effect starting from now!"
"After all, it's a New Year's gift; if it arrives tomorrow, would it still be a New Year's gift?"
Su Chen's witty, humorous, and straightforward answer instantly delighted the Dragon Kingdom audience!
The live stream was filled with emojis of likes and laughter.
But while some were happy, others were worried. Over in the US, President Biden's expression was somewhat dull; he was still immersed in the massive shock brought by this astonishing move from the Dragon Kingdom, finding it hard to accept for a moment.
He looked at his subordinates and asked with a puzzled face: "One cent for one unit of electricity... is that very cheap?"
"If I remember correctly, our electricity is only ten-something cents! It's not that much cheaper!"
In his impression, the electricity price in the Dragon Kingdom didn't seem to be cheap to an exaggerated degree!
So he hadn't fully grasped the impact of this news yet.
At this moment, a high-ranking official recovered from the shock. Looking at President Biden's ignorant appearance, he felt that the President was a bit senile at this moment.
He cleared his throat and patiently explained to President Biden:
"Mr. President, you have to consider the exchange rate."
"According to the exchange rate between us, one unit of electricity in the Dragon Kingdom is currently equivalent to..."
He slowly said a number: "0.1 cents!"
"In other words, the current electricity price in the Dragon Kingdom is one hundred times cheaper than ours!!!!!"