Chapter 151 Countdown to Ignition

On the early morning of April 2nd, Lin Mo once again called his team for a meeting.

This time, the conference room was packed. Besides Chen Xueming, Li Xiao, Zhao Gang, and Fang Lin, there were heads of various subsystems, representatives from the construction teams, and key personnel from logistics. The progress chart hanging on the wall was filled with red checkmarks, with only one empty space remaining.

Lin Mo stood before the whiteboard, a pen in hand.

"Everyone," he began, his voice calm, but everyone could hear the weight beneath that composure, "after a comprehensive evaluation, the ignition date has been officially set for—May 1st."

The conference room fell silent for a second, followed by a wave of irrepressible commotion.

Some clenched their fists in excitement, some let out a long breath, and some secretly wiped the corners of their eyes.

Chen Xueming stood up: "President Lin, we still have one month of preparation time. What should we do?"

Lin Mo looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly:

"What to do? Think through every conceivable problem one more time. Check every possible area one more time. Optimize every possible link one more time."

He wrote four large characters on the whiteboard:

The Final Sprint

"Starting today, everyone enters countdown mode." He turned around, looking at everyone present. "This isn't about tension; it's about responsibility. It took us two years to reach this step. In this final month, there can be no mistakes."

Zhao Gang was the first to stand: "President Lin, rest assured regarding security. I'll stake my military pledge—before ignition, not even a fly will get in."

Chen Xueming also stood up: "I will personally inspect the Divertor and the First Wall every day."

Li Xiao followed: "The Digital Twin System will monitor twenty-four hours a day. Any abnormal data will be reported immediately."

The heads of the various subsystems voiced their commitment one after another. The atmosphere in the conference room was like a pot of water about to boil, steaming with intensity.

Lin Mo raised his hand, signaling for silence.

"Good. Since everyone understands—let's get to work."

In the days that followed, the entire base operated like a precision-tuned machine.

Every morning at six, shifts were handed over punctually. Every night at ten, Lin Mo called a briefing to summarize the day's progress and problems. The meetings usually lasted only fifteen minutes, but the content of everyone's reports was precise to two decimal places.

Chen Xueming moved his bedding next to the Divertor workshop. Every day, the first thing he did upon waking was crawl into that massive component, using a flashlight to inspect the cooling channels inch by inch. The workers called him 'Madman Chen,' but their tone was full of respect.

"Teacher Chen," a young technician couldn't help but ask once, "how many times have you checked it? Is it really necessary to be this meticulous?"

Chen Xueming poked his head out from the Divertor, his face covered in grease, but his eyes were startlingly bright:

"Young man, do you know what the consequences would be if something goes wrong with this thing?"

The technician shook his head.

"The consequence is that these past two years of work will have been for nothing." Chen Xueming climbed out and patted the dust off himself. "So, never mind checking a hundred times; checking a thousand times is worth it."

Li Xiao locked herself in the server room.

The Digital Twin System ran a hundred thousand sets of simulations every day, testing every single failure mode that could possibly occur during the ignition process. Her eyes were glued to the screen for over a dozen hours at a time, her dark circles making her look like a panda.

One night, Lin Mo passed by the server room at midnight and saw the lights were still on. Pushing the door open, he saw Li Xiao fallen asleep at the desk, a cup of cold coffee by her hand.

He didn't wake her, but gently draped a coat over her and then quietly retreated.

The next day, he issued an order: everyone must ensure six hours of sleep daily; violators will be fined.

Li Xiao was indignant: "President Lin, what about yourself?"

Lin Mo replied righteously: "I don't need to. I'm the leader."

Li Xiao stomped her foot in frustration, but there was nothing she could do.

Zhao Gang expanded the security perimeter to twenty kilometers.

Every day, he led the patrol team driving across the Gobi Desert, screening every possible hiding spot. Once, they actually caught two suspicious-looking people and interrogated them for the whole afternoon, only to find out they were lost geological prospectors.

"Captain Zhao," Captain Zhou couldn't help but ask once, "do you really think someone will come to cause trouble?"

Zhao Gang looked at the distant horizon and remained silent for a few seconds:

"I don't know. But even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we have to guard against it."

He paused and then added, "The people of the whole country are watching this thing. We can't afford any accidents."

Captain Zhou nodded and stopped asking.

Fang Lin came to the base once every three days.

The news she brought was sometimes good and sometimes bad. When it was good, it was about the high level of international attention on the ignition; when it was bad, it was about certain countries making small moves behind the scenes again.

Once, she brought intelligence: a certain country was planning to unite several others to issue a statement after the successful ignition, questioning the authenticity of the results.

After hearing this, Chen Xueming slammed the table in anger: "Questioning? On what grounds? Just because they can't achieve ignition themselves, they're going to question those who can?"

Fang Lin shook her head: "Politics doesn't need reasons."

Lin Mo was silent for a long time, then said: "Let them question. Once the fire is lit and the whole world sees it, their questioning will only become a joke."

Fang Lin looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Lin Mo, you've really changed."

The nights in the Gobi were becoming increasingly lively.

As the ignition date approached, dozens of tents were set up outside the base. These belonged to media reporters from all over the country, as well as scientists and observers who had flown in from around the world.

Every evening, they could be seen carrying various equipment, wandering around the perimeter of the base, trying to find a good camera angle.

Zhao Gang sent a team specifically to 'receive' them—which actually meant keeping an eye on them to prevent anyone from sneaking in.

One night, a foreign reporter tried to climb over the fence and was caught on the spot by the patrol. The reporter argued self-righteously: "I have the right to report! I want to witness history!"

Zhao Gang went over personally and stared at him for three seconds:

"Witnessing history is fine, but breaking the rules is not. If you want to see the ignition, go to the reception center tomorrow and apply. Climb it again, and you'll be sent away immediately."

The reporter left dejectedly.

In April, the weather in the Gobi gradually grew hotter.

By day, heat waves rolled over the construction site, and workers were drenched in sweat. By night, the temperature plummeted, and the wind was bone-chilling. But no one complained.

Lin Mo went around the site every day, chatting with the workers and asking about their living conditions. Once, he noticed a worker's glove was torn and immediately had someone get a new pair.

"President Lin," the worker said, a bit embarrassed, "it's just a pair of gloves, no need to be so meticulous."

Lin Mo shook his head: "Your hands are for working. Protecting your hands is protecting the device."

The worker was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

On April 28th, all preparation work was completed ahead of schedule.

That night, Lin Mo stood before tokamak-3, looking up at the massive device. Moonlight spilled over it, giving it a cold metallic sheen.

Chen Xueming walked over and stood beside him.

"President Lin, three days left."

Lin Mo nodded: "Three days."

Chen Xueming suddenly asked: "What do you think it will feel like at the moment of ignition?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment and shook his head: "I don't know. But I think it should be very bright."

Chen Xueming laughed: "Nonsense, of course it'll be very bright."

The two stood side by side, looking at the device that was about to light up humanity's energy dreams.

In the distance, the base's lights were brightly lit, like stars scattered across the Gobi.

Within those lights were Li Xiao, Zhao Gang, Fang Lin, and countless others who were busy working.

They were all waiting.

Waiting for that day.

Waiting for that moment.

Lin Mo took a deep breath and turned to walk back.

"Teacher Chen, there's another meeting tomorrow. Get some sleep early."

Chen Xueming caught up with him, and the two walked into the night side by side.

Behind them, tokamak-3 stood silently in the moonlight, like a giant waiting to be awakened.