Chapter 111 Impressions of the Gobi Desert
Lin Mo woke up before dawn.
He stepped out of the tent and stood on the patch of land they had chosen yesterday. The wind had stopped, and the early morning in the Gobi Desert was as quiet as a painting. The distant snow-capped mountains had just been tinged a pale pink by the morning light, and the sky transitioned from deep blue to light gray, slowly revealing an orange-red glow.
He took a deep breath; the air was dry and cold, carrying the scent of gravel and sand.
It was very desolate.
It was also very beautiful.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Zhao Gang walked over and stood beside him.
"Professor Lin, up so early?"
Lin Mo nodded.
"Can't sleep. I wanted to take another look."
Zhao Gang didn't speak, watching the horizon gradually brighten along with him.
The sun rose from the horizon, dyeing the entire Gobi Desert in golden-red. The gravel that had looked dull yesterday now shimmered with a warm light, as if it had been set ablaze.
"It's truly beautiful," Zhao Gang said.
Lin Mo hummed in response.
The two stood in silence, watching the sun rise bit by bit and the light and shadows shift.
After a long while, Lin Mo suddenly spoke.
"Captain Zhao, look over there."
He pointed to a flat area in the distance.
"That place will be the site of the Reactor in the future."
Zhao Gang looked in the direction he was pointing.
"How big?"
"About three hundred meters in diameter," Lin Mo said. "The device itself isn't that large, but we need to leave enough space—Diagnostic systems, Heating systems, Tritium Breeding Blankets, Radiation shielding, auxiliary facilities..."
He paused.
"And the Control center is over there. The Laboratory building is there. The living quarters are a bit further away."
Zhao Gang listened, as if he could truly see those buildings.
"Professor Lin, you've already thought it all through?"
Lin Mo shook his head.
"It's just a rough outline. Designing it for real will be a hundred times more complex than this."
Zhao Gang nodded and looked into the distance again.
"The living quarters over there," he pointed to the spot Lin Mo had just mentioned, "I'll keep a personal eye on it. The perimeter walls, guard posts, monitoring systems, and patrol routes—everything will be designed to the highest standards."
He turned his head and looked at Lin Mo.
"I guarantee it will be impregnable."
Lin Mo looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he reached out and patted Zhao Gang's shoulder.
"I know."
At breakfast, Li Xiao came over holding her bowl.
"Teacher Lin, Captain Zhao, where did you two go so early?"
Zhao Gang glanced at her.
"Patrolling."
Li Xiao pouted. "Liar, I saw you two standing over there staring blankly."
Chen Xueming laughed nearby.
"Girl, that's not staring blankly; that's called planning."
Li Xiao blinked. "Planning what?"
Chen Xueming pointed to the distant Gobi Desert.
"That area—what it will become in the future. Where the houses will be built, where the roads will be laid, where the devices will be placed. It all has to be thought out."
Li Xiao looked at the desolate land, trying to imagine its future appearance.
But she couldn't imagine it.
"How big would that have to be..." she murmured.
Chen Xueming laughed.
"Big. Very big."
After breakfast, Lin Mo walked a bit further into the depths of the Gobi Desert.
Zhao Gang followed him, keeping a distance of a few steps—not disturbing him, but always present.
The wind picked up again; it wasn't strong, but it made the corners of his clothes flapped loudly. The gravel crunched underfoot, and occasionally a few Camel thorns poked their heads out of the sand, stubbornly clinging to life.
Lin Mo stopped and looked at the Camel thorns.
They were green, tiny, and inconspicuous, but on this barren land, they were the only signs of life.
He crouched down and reached out to touch the tiny leaves.
They were hard and prickly.
"These things can live for decades," Zhao Gang said beside him. "If the wind and sand bury them, they grow back. If there's a drought, they go dormant. When there's water, they come back to life."
Lin Mo nodded.
"Just like us."
Zhao Gang was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"Yes, just like us."
Lin Mo stood up and looked into the distance.
"Captain Zhao, tell me, what will this place look like in ten years?"
Zhao Gang thought for a moment.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But I know it will definitely be livelier than it is now."
Lin Mo smiled.
"Yes, definitely livelier than now."
They started walking back.
Back to the camp, back to the off-road vehicles, back to the people who were packing up.
Li Xiao was loading equipment onto the vehicle, Chen Xueming was standing nearby directing, and Captain Zhou was leading the soldiers in striking the tents.
Everything was orderly, like a well-trained team.
Looking at them, a sense of steadiness welled up in Lin Mo's heart.
This was his team.
This was his home.
He walked to the car, opened the door, and looked back at the land.
The wind kicked up a cloud of yellow sand, blurring the distant snow-capped mountains.
But he knew they would always be there.
Waiting for them to return.
Waiting for them to build that light that would illuminate the future.