Chapter 107: A Difficult Passage
On the afternoon of the third day, Lin Mo sat in the corridor outside the venue, staring at the clock on the wall.
The second hand ticked second by second, as if stepping on his heart.
The meeting room door was tightly shut, the soundproofing so good that no sound could be heard from inside. Occasionally, staff members would push the door to enter or exit, a few blurred sentences of dialogue leaking through the gap before it quickly closed again.
Chen Xueming sat beside him. The thermos in his hand had long since gone cold, but he didn't notice, only twisting the lid over and over again.
Fang Lin stood at the end of the corridor, her back to them, looking at the sky outside the window.
It had been three days.
The entire three-day Demonstration Meeting had been ten times more difficult than Lin Mo had anticipated.
On the first day, technical details were bombarded in rounds. Experts from various fields, from materials science to plasma physics, from thermal-hydraulics to radiation protection—someone questioned every single link. Some questioned the long-term stability of Room-Temperature Superconductivity, some questioned the engineering feasibility of Tritium Extraction, and some questioned the reliability of the Plasma Control Algorithm.
Lin Mo responded to each point, bringing out every piece of data, literature, and experimental record he could.
On the second day, the debate shifted to resource allocation. Twenty-six billion was no small sum. Some suggested that if this money were invested in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, or biomedicine, would it yield more certain results? Nuclear Fusion was too risky; if it failed, how would they explain it?
Lin Mo stood up again and played that "If we don't do it, we'll never succeed" PPT one more time.
On the morning of the third day, voting began.
Then they came out.
Waiting.
They waited for three hours.
Lin Mo didn't know what was being discussed inside, how the votes were being cast, or when the results would come out.
He only knew that these three days were more exhausting than his past three years combined.
At the end of the corridor, Fang Lin's phone suddenly rang.
She picked up, listened for a few seconds, and then hung up.
She turned around and looked at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo stood up.
Fang Lin walked over, her expression unreadable.
"The results are out."
Chen Xueming also stood up, the thermos in his hand nearly dropping to the floor.
Fang Lin looked at Lin Mo and remained silent for two seconds.
Then she smiled.
"It passed."
Chen Xueming froze for a moment, then slumped back into his chair.
"Damn..." he muttered, "Damn..."
Lin Mo stood where he was, unmoving.
He felt those three words enter his ears and swirl around in his head several times before slowly settling in his heart.
It passed.
Three days. Twenty-six billion. Ten years.
It passed.
Fang Lin walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Lin Mo, congratulations."
Lin Mo opened his mouth to say something, but his throat felt blocked.
He simply nodded.
Fang Lin gave an understanding smile and turned to leave.
Chen Xueming stood up and walked to his side.
"Lin Mo, let's go out for some fresh air."
The two walked out of the building and stood on the steps.
In the evening of Beijing, there was a faint glow of sunset on the horizon. The air was a bit chilly, but very fresh.
Lin Mo took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"Teacher Chen."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"What are you thanking me for? It wasn't me who voted."
Lin Mo shook his head.
"Thank you for sitting here with me for these past three days."
Chen Xueming looked at him and was silent for a few seconds.
Then he reached out and patted Lin Mo's shoulder.
"Let's go, go back and tell Li Xiao and the others. That girl must be worried sick."
Lin Mo nodded.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
He looked down and saw it was Wang Zhenguo.
He answered.
"Lin Mo." Wang Zhenguo's voice came through the phone, a bit raspy, but with a hint of a smile.
"Teacher Wang."
"I just heard, it passed."
Lin Mo was taken aback.
"How did you know?"
Wang Zhenguo chuckled.
"I've been in Beijing for forty years; I can still find out this much news."
Lin Mo didn't say anything.
Wang Zhenguo was silent for a few seconds, then said:
"Lin Mo, I knew you could do it."
Just that one sentence.
No long speech, no earnest instructions, just that one sentence.
Lin Mo gripped his phone, his eyes suddenly feeling a bit warm.
"Teacher Wang..."
"That's enough," Wang Zhenguo interrupted him, "Don't get sentimental. Go back and work hard. If you need anything, call me anytime."
The call ended.
Lin Mo stood there, looking at his phone screen, not moving for a long time.
Chen Xueming watched from the side without saying a word.
After a while, Lin Mo looked up.
"Teacher Chen, let's go."
The two walked down the steps and headed toward the parking lot.
The sunset glow slowly faded on the horizon, and the streetlights came on.
Beijing's heavy traffic flowed in the distance like a glowing river.
Lin Mo suddenly remembered three years ago, when he first obtained the system.
Back then, he was in his dormitory, alone facing the screen, not knowing how far this path could go.
Now, he knew.
It could go very far.
Very far.
By the time they returned to the Gobi Desert, it was already the following afternoon.
As soon as the car came to a steady stop, Li Xiao rushed out.
"Teacher Lin! Teacher Chen! How was it?"
Zhang Zhe followed behind her, looking nervous.
Zhao Gang also stood at the door, still clutching a walkie-talkie in his hand.
Lin Mo looked at them and smiled.
"It passed."
Li Xiao froze for a moment, then let out a scream of joy.
Zhang Zhe jumped straight up, nearly hitting the doorframe.
Zhao Gang grinned and shouted into the walkie-talkie, "It's done! Extra food tonight!"
Inside the "tritium road" Prefabricated Building, Chen Xueming held his thermos and watched the group, his eyes crinkling with laughter.
Lin Mo stood at the door, watching them celebrate.
The setting sun shone on the Gobi Desert, dyeing the apparatus in golden-red.
He remembered Wang Zhenguo's words: I knew you could do it.
It wasn't just that he could do it.
It was that they could do it.
It was this group of people who could do it.