Chapter 144 Divertor Completed

Two months later in the Southwest, the weather had turned cool.

Chen Xueming stood at the entrance of the workshop, watching the last batch of parts being removed from the machine tool. His work clothes had been washed until they were faded, the cuffs were frayed, and his face bore the fatigue of long-term sleep deprivation, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

"Teacher Chen, this is the last batch." The operator, Old Li, wiped his sweat, his tone filled with excitement. "According to your precision requirements, all of them are within ±0.015 millimeters."

Chen Xueming nodded and crouched down to carefully inspect the parts.

The dark red luster unique to the tungsten-copper alloy shimmered with a metallic chill under the light. The openings of the cooling channels were smooth and uniform; running a hand over them, one could barely feel any burrs. He used a caliper to randomly check a few dimensions—0.8 millimeters, exactly right.

"Old Li," he stood up, "call Factory Director Liu, prepare for assembly."

Two hours later, a crowd had gathered in the assembly workshop.

Liu Jianguo personally got to work, assembling the hundreds of tungsten-copper modules one by one. There was less than 0.02 millimeters of clearance between each module, requiring them to be clamped tight with special tooling fixtures before being fixed by laser welding. The entire process could not tolerate the slightest error.

Chen Xueming stood to the side, clutching the inspection report, watching without blinking.

One.

Five.

Twenty.

Fifty.

For three full hours, no one spoke; there was only the slight sizzling sound of the welding equipment.

When the last module was installed, Liu Jianguo's hands were trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, steadied the position, and pressed the welding button.

The sizzling sound stopped.

The workshop was silent for three seconds.

Then, Liu Jianguo straightened his back, looking at the behemoth over two meters in diameter before him, his voice raspy:

"Teacher Chen, it's done."

Chen Xueming walked over and touched the neatly arranged cooling channels. The metal felt ice-cold, but his heart was burning as if it were on fire.

"Test," he said, "full process test."

The testing took another four hours.

The coordinate measuring machine scanned point by point—the position of every cooling channel, the flatness of every module, the strength of every welding point—everything was checked.

At nine in the evening, the inspection report came out.

Liu Jianguo held the paper, his hands trembling.

"Teacher Chen," his voice was choked with emotion, "everything meets the standards. The worst data point is ±0.017 millimeters. The best is ±0.008 millimeters."

Chen Xueming took it and read it word by word.

Divertor overall dimensional error: ±0.015 millimeters.

Cooling channel position accuracy: ±0.012 millimeters.

Welding strength: 1.3 times the design requirement.

Thermal load simulation: Passed.

He finished reading the last word and looked up.

Everyone in the workshop was looking at him.

Those workers who had accompanied him through two months of night shifts, those technicians he had urged to change tools, those veteran masters who had been full of confidence from the beginning. Everyone's face carried anticipation, and a little bit of nervousness.

Chen Xueming held up the inspection report, his voice not loud, but everyone heard it clearly:

"Comrades, the Divertor is qualified."

There was a silence for one second.

Then, the workshop erupted in thunderous cheers.

Old Li grabbed the coworker next to him, and the two laughed and jumped. Liu Jianguo turned his back and secretly wiped the corners of his eyes. Several young workers threw their hard hats into the air, almost hitting the ceiling lamp.

Chen Xueming stood in the middle of the crowd, watching this scene, and suddenly felt that the hardships of these two months were worth it.

Liu Jianguo walked over and patted his shoulder hard: "Teacher Chen, you've lost a lot of weight."

Chen Xueming looked down at himself—indeed, his pants were loose, and he had to tighten his belt so they wouldn't fall off.

"It's fine," he said with a smile, "I'm tough."

Liu Jianguo shook his head: "This isn't being tough, this is risking your life. In these two months, you slept even less than our workers and watched even more closely than the technicians. I, Liu Jianguo, have worked for thirty years and have never seen a scientist like you."

Chen Xueming looked at him and said earnestly: "Factory Director Liu, the Divertor is something I designed. If there is a problem with it, the whole device won't be able to ignite. I wouldn't be able to sleep."

Liu Jianguo was silent for a few seconds, then gripped his hand:

"Teacher Chen, if you have any work in the future, just say the word. Our factory is at your disposal at any time."

Early the next morning, the Divertor was loaded into a specially made transport box.

The box was custom-made, containing shock-absorbing pads, a constant temperature device, and a tilt alarm. Liu Jianguo personally supervised the packing, checking every detail three times.

After it was packed, he held Chen Xueming's hand, giving repeated instructions:

"Teacher Chen, be careful on the road. This thing is delicate; it cannot be jolted, bumped, and the tilt cannot exceed fifteen degrees. I've arranged for two people on the escort vehicle to take turns watching it. If there are any problems, call anytime."

Chen Xueming nodded: "Factory Director Liu, rest assured. Once I arrive at the Gobi Desert, I will report back to you."

Liu Jianguo's eyes were a bit red; he waved his hand: "Go, don't waste time."

The escort vehicle slowly drove out of the factory gate. Chen Xueming leaned out of the car window and saw Liu Jianguo still standing at the entrance, waving continuously, until the car turned around the foot of the mountain and he could no longer be seen.

Two days later, Gobi Desert.

Zhao Gang, with a team of people, had already been waiting at the base entrance for three hours.

In the distance, a heavy truck appeared on the horizon, kicking up a trail of yellow sand. Two off-road vehicles followed behind; those were the escort team's cars.

"It's here." Zhao Gang picked up the walkie-talkie, "Attention everyone, the target is approaching. Position One, Position Two, secure the perimeter. Position Three, prepare to receive the vehicle."

The truck slowly approached and stopped at the base entrance.

The car door opened, and Chen Xueming jumped down. He was wearing wrinkled work clothes, his hair was messy, his eyes were dark, but his face carried a smile.

Zhao Gang rushed up and hugged him: "Teacher Chen! You've lost weight!"

Chen Xueming was squeezed until he couldn't breathe, laughing and patting his back: "Let go, let go, my bones are going to break!"

Zhao Gang released him, looking him up and down: "Haven't seen you in two months, you've gotten as thin as a monkey. Did Factory Director Liu not feed you?"

Chen Xueming couldn't help but laugh: "I ate, I ate every day. I just couldn't sleep."

Zhao Gang shook his head and turned to shout at the people behind: "Come, drive the car in. Drive slowly, keep it steady."

The truck slowly drove into the base and headed toward the installation workshop. Chen Xueming followed behind, his eyes fixed on the transport box.

Zhao Gang walked beside him and suddenly asked: "Teacher Chen, is it really qualified?"

Chen Xueming nodded: "It's qualified. Even better than the design requirements."

Zhao Gang was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Teacher Chen, you are the best."

He gave a thumbs up.

Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

In the installation workshop, Lin Mo was already waiting at the entrance.

Seeing Chen Xueming walk over, he went up to meet him, said nothing, and first shook hands firmly.

Chen Xueming felt his hand trembling slightly.

"Teacher Chen," Lin Mo finally spoke, his voice a bit raspy, "thank you for your hard work."

Chen Xueming shook his head: "It's not hard work. The item has arrived, now it's your turn."

Lin Mo nodded and looked at the truck that was reversing.

The transport box was slowly unloaded, and four workers carefully carried it into the workshop. The box was covered in labels like "Precision Instrument," "Do Not Tilt," and "Constant Temperature Storage."

Li Xiao ran out of the workshop, saw Chen Xueming, and was stunned: "Teacher Chen, why have you lost so much weight?"

Chen Xueming touched his face: "Is there?"

Li Xiao nodded vigorously: "Yes. You need to nourish yourself well."

Chen Xueming smiled: "Alright, I'll let you treat me later."

The Divertor was placed in the constant temperature and humidity storage room, waiting for formal installation in a week.

Chen Xueming could finally get a good night's sleep.

But he didn't sleep.

He stood outside the storage room, looking through the glass at the huge component, and didn't leave for a long time.

Lin Mo walked over and stood beside him.

"Teacher Chen, go to sleep. It's all qualified, no problems."

Chen Xueming shook his head: "Let me look a little longer."

He paused, then suddenly said: "General Manager Lin, you know, in those years abroad, I worked on many projects, but never one like this..."

He didn't finish.

Lin Mo continued: "Like what?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment and said: "Like my own child."

Lin Mo was silent.

The two stood side by side in front of the glass window, looking at the Divertor inside, which condensed the efforts of countless people.

Two months.

A factory.

Dozens of workers.

A scientist who had lost a lot of weight.

In exchange for this key component that was about to light up the Artificial Sun.

Chen Xueming suddenly smiled.

"General Manager Lin, on the day of ignition, I want to stand at the very front."

Lin Mo also smiled:

"Alright, I'll let you stand at the very front."