Chapter 109 Cherish the Opportunity
The car had long since vanished at the edge of the Gobi Desert, yet Lin Mo remained standing in place.
The wind rose again, swirling yellow sand against his face with a slight sting. But he didn't move; he just stood there, gazing in that direction.
Chen Xueming accompanied him for a while before finally unable to resist speaking up.
"Lin Mo, let's go inside. The wind is strong."
Lin Mo nodded and turned to walk back.
When he reached the door of the "tritium road" Prefabricated Building, he paused.
A new note was stuck to the door in Li Xiao's handwriting: "Teacher Lin, has Grandpa Wang left? We've stewed some mutton; let's eat together tonight. — All of tritium road."
Lin Mo looked at the note, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
He pushed the door open.
Inside, Chen Xueming had already sat down and was holding a thermos while looking over data. Li Xiao was hunched over her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Zhang Zhe was squatting on the floor tinkering with an equipment part, not even looking up.
Everything was as usual.
And yet, it seemed different.
Lin Mo walked to his spot, sat down, and looked at the blueprints and data sheets covering the wall.
The one at the very top was the original design for Room-Temperature Superconductivity. The paper had yellowed slightly, its corners curled, and it was densely covered with various parameters and revision marks.
That was the first drawing he had made three years ago, right when he first obtained the system.
Below it was the process flow for the Lithium-Sulfur Battery. Further down was the structural diagram for the Lithium Extraction from Seawater device. At the very bottom was the optimization plan for Tritium Extraction, the latest version, with the ink not yet fully dry.
One by one, from three years ago to now, from Room-Temperature Superconductivity to Nuclear Fusion.
Looking at them, a strange sensation welled up in Lin Mo's heart.
It wasn't pride, nor was it satisfaction.
It was something heavy.
He thought of what Wang Zhenguo had said last night.
"Back then, I thought that perhaps in this lifetime, I would never see the day Heavy Ion Beams were put to use."
"Twenty years. How many patients can't afford to wait twenty years?"
Lin Mo closed his eyes.
He seemed to see a thirty-four-year-old Wang Zhenguo standing in a crude laboratory, facing a pile of equipment about to be mothballed, unable to sleep all night.
Back then, was Wang Zhenguo just like he was now, looking at those blueprints on the wall with unwillingness and regret surfacing in his heart?
Had he also thought that if he just had a little more time, a little more support, those things could have been accomplished?
Lin Mo opened his eyes.
He suddenly understood why Wang Zhenguo had come.
It wasn't to see him, nor was it to see the device.
It was to hand over those unfinished dreams to him.
"Teacher Lin?"
Li Xiao's voice pulled him back from his contemplation.
Lin Mo turned his head and saw Li Xiao standing beside him with a cup of hot water, looking worried.
"Are you alright? You don't look very well."
Lin Mo shook his head and took the cup.
"I'm fine. I was just... thinking about some things."
Li Xiao nodded and didn't ask further, returning to her computer.
Chen Xueming looked up, glanced at him, but said nothing.
The room fell quiet, save for the clicking of the keyboard and the low hum of the operating equipment.
Sipping his water, Lin Mo continued to look at the blueprints on the wall.
Room-Temperature Superconductivity was a success.
The Lithium-Sulfur Battery was a success.
Lithium Extraction from Seawater was a success.
Tritium Extraction was becoming a success.
Nuclear Fusion had just begun.
Every step bore the shadow of Wang Zhenguo.
The young man who had sat in the laboratory all night back then was now a white-haired old man. The dreams he hadn't been able to finish, Lin Mo was now continuing.
Lin Mo suddenly felt that the burden on his shoulders was heavier than he had imagined.
It wasn't just his own dreams.
It was also those of his mentor's generation.
And even earlier ones—those who hadn't even left their names behind.
They had walked this path, stumbled, been told to stop, and had left with regrets.
Now, he stood on the road they had paved, continuing forward.
"Lin Mo."
Chen Xueming's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Lin Mo looked up.
Chen Xueming looked at him, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said:
"I heard the gist of what Old Wang told you."
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment.
Chen Xueming continued, "Our generation has all had those times. Projects cut, funding stopped—years of work gone in an instant. It's not that we didn't work hard; the time just wasn't right."
He stood up and walked to the window.
"But you are different. You've caught the right time."
He turned around and looked at Lin Mo.
"So, don't waste it."
Lin Mo looked at him and nodded.
"I know."
Chen Xueming nodded, sat back down, and continued looking at the data.
Lin Mo stood up, walked to the wall, and reached out to touch that yellowed Room-Temperature Superconductivity blueprint.
Three years ago, when he first got the system, he just wanted to achieve Room-Temperature Superconductivity and publish a few papers to prove himself.
Now, he was no longer thinking about himself.
He was thinking of this team, of Nuclear Fusion, of the country, and of the dreams of his mentor's generation.
He turned around and looked at the busy people in the room.
Chen Xueming stared at the screen, his brow slightly furrowed, thinking of who knows what.
Li Xiao's fingers were rapid, data jumping across the screen.
Zhang Zhe finally finished installing that part and stood up to stretch.
Zhao Gang pushed the door open, carrying a large bag of things.
"The mutton is stewed! The Mess Hall said they added extra radishes today; it smells amazing!"
The room immediately became lively.
Lin Mo watched them, the corners of his mouth slowly rising.
He walked to the table and sat down.
He took the bowl Zhao Gang handed him and took a sip of the soup.
The hot soup warmed him from his throat down to his stomach.
Outside the window in the Gobi Desert, the wind was still blowing.
But inside, it was as warm as home.
Lin Mo knew that from today on, every step he took wouldn't just be for himself.
It was for this home.
For his mentor's generation.
For those unfinished dreams.
He would cherish it.
He would definitely cherish it.