Chapter 115 Return to Base
By the time they returned to Kunlun Base, it was already the evening of the next day.
As soon as the vehicle came to a steady halt, Zhang Zhe rushed out.
"Teacher Lin! Teacher Chen! How did it go? How did it go?"
Chen Xueming jumped down from the vehicle and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's approved. Three thousand seven hundred square kilometers."
Zhang Zhe froze for a moment, then let out a howl that startled the nearby patrolling soldiers.
Li Xiao got out of the vehicle with a smile, still cradling the rock she had brought back from the site—she insisted on keeping it as a souvenir.
Lin Mo didn't linger and walked straight toward his Prefabricated Building.
Pushing the door open, everything was exactly as he had left it. Tritium Extraction data was spread across the desk, blueprints for Lithium Extraction from Seawater hung on the wall, and thick stacks of printed materials were piled in the corner.
He sat down in his chair and closed his eyes.
With a thought, the system interface lit up in the darkness.
A blue light curtain floated before his eyes, with familiar text flickering upon it:
「Controlled Nuclear Fusion 'tokamak-3' Project」
「Status: Project Approved」
「Current research points: 8730」
「Redeemable Content: Complete Blueprints (Requires 5000 points) / Core Component Blueprints (Optional)」
Lin Mo selected "Core Component Blueprints."
The light curtain flashed, and a row of options emerged:
「Magnet System Design Blueprints — 1200 points」
「Vacuum Chamber Structural Diagrams — 800 points」
「First Wall Material Process Package — 1500 points」
「Tritium Breeding Blanket Design — 1000 points」
「Plasma Control System — 800 points」
「Divertor Structural Diagrams — 600 points」
「Heating System Proposal — 900 points」
There were over a dozen items packed closely together.
Each item was marked with the required research points, and each represented a massive technical hurdle.
Lin Mo looked at those numbers and fell silent for a few seconds.
He currently had 8730 research points, enough to redeem the complete blueprints with over three thousand left over. However, the complete blueprints were too vast, like a boundless ocean; throwing them all out at once would leave him not knowing where to start.
It was better to take it step by step, tackling the toughest nuts first.
After thinking it over, he reached out and tapped three options in the void:
「First Wall Material Process Package — 1500 points」
「Tritium Breeding Blanket Design — 1000 points」
「Magnet System Design Blueprints — 1200 points」
A total of 3700 points.
The light curtain flickered, and the three sets of blueprints unfolded before him in sequence.
The first set: First Wall Material.
Dense parameters and formulas—substrate materials, coating processes, irradiation test data, thermal fatigue life curves... every page looked like a cryptic tome, yet it was terrifyingly clear.
The second set: Tritium Breeding Blanket.
This was the key link for extracting tritium from lithium, directly related to the Tritium Extraction technology they were currently working on. The blueprints marked the ratios for breeding materials, the structure of the neutron multiplier layer, the design of the heat exchange system...
The third set: Magnet System.
Magnet design based on Room-Temperature Superconductivity, with magnetic field strengths reaching up to 8 Tesla. The coil winding methods, the layout of cooling channels, electromagnetic stress calculations... every item required a professional engineering team to digest.
Lin Mo flipped through page by page, his mind quickly organizing his thoughts.
For the First Wall Material, he could seek cooperation from the Institute of Materials. Wang Zhenguo knew people there.
For the Tritium Breeding Blanket, Chen Xueming could tackle it with his team. They had experience with Tritium Extraction, so they would get the hang of it quickly.
The Magnet System was the most difficult and the most critical. Without sufficient magnetic field strength, the plasma couldn't be confined. He would have to oversee this himself, taking it one step at a time.
Just as he was thinking, there was a knock on the door.
"Lin Mo?" It was Chen Xueming's voice.
"Come in."
Chen Xueming pushed the door open, carrying two cups of hot tea. He placed one on Lin Mo's desk and sat down with the other.
"Pulling an all-nighter again?"
Lin Mo shook his head.
"Just looking at some blueprints."
Chen Xueming's eyes lit up.
"From the system?"
Lin Mo nodded.
Chen Xueming leaned in, looking at the dense blueprints on the screen.
First Wall Material, Tritium Breeding Blanket, Magnet System.
He looked for a long time, then slowly raised his head.
"Lin Mo, these things..."
"Yeah?"
"They are far more complex than I thought," Chen Xueming said honestly. "Just for the First Wall Material, we'd need to do hundreds of irradiation tests; it wouldn't be finished in less than three years."
Lin Mo nodded.
"I know. That's why we have to take it step by step."
Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then smiled.
"Alright. Step by step." He took a sip of tea. "Anyway, we have ten years."
Lin Mo also smiled.
"Right, ten years."
The two sat for a while, neither speaking.
Outside, the night in the Gobi Desert was silent, save for the distant low hum of the device in operation.
Chen Xueming suddenly asked, "Lin Mo, that system of yours, can it be used forever?"
Lin Mo thought about it.
"I don't know. But what it has given us is enough to last us a very long time."
Chen Xueming nodded and didn't ask further.
He stood up and patted Lin Mo on the shoulder.
"Get some sleep early. Starting tomorrow, we'll be busy again."
Lin Mo nodded.
Chen Xueming pushed the door and left.
Lin Mo sat there alone, looking at the blueprints on the screen.
First Wall Material. Tritium Breeding Blanket. Magnet System.
Each item would require countless days and nights, countless failures, and countless restarts.
But each one was a necessary path toward that artificial sun.
He turned off the system, stood up, and walked to the window.
Outside, the lights of the base were like scattered stars. The light was still on in Chen Xueming's Prefabricated Building, Li Xiao's window was also lit, and Zhao Gang was likely on patrol, his flashlight beam swaying back and forth.
He looked at those lights, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
Then he turned around and lay down on the bed.
Before closing his eyes, he took one last look out the window.
Tomorrow, it begins again.