Chapter 152 Undercurrents

The night in the Gobi Desert was so quiet that one could hear their own heartbeat.

Lin Mo stood alone before the tokamak-3, looking up at the massive device. The moonlight, like water, spilled over the dense network of pipes and coils, casting a cold metallic luster. In the distance, the sand dunes lay quietly like a group of sleeping giant beasts.

The wind brushed past his ears, carrying the faint sound of fine sand.

There were thirty days left until ignition.

He reached out and gently touched the nearest pipe. The metal felt ice-cold, but in his heart, this device was burning hot. Two years—from blueprints to the physical object, from theory to practice, and from one person to a whole team.

It was finally standing here.

Lin Mo recalled the day he first encountered the system. Back then, he was still a Ph.D. Student, staring blankly at his computer in his dorm, feeling lost about the future. Who would have thought that seven years later, he would be standing in the Gobi Desert, guarding a device about to light up an Artificial Sun?

He thought of Wang Zhenguo. His teacher had called again this afternoon, saying his leg was much better and he could walk for half an hour with a cane. He also said he would definitely come on ignition day, even if he had to crawl to the Gobi Desert. Over the phone, his teacher's voice sounded much older, but that inner drive was still there.

He thought of Chen Xueming. The rival who once stood in opposition to him had now become his most reliable partner. During those two months working on the Divertor, he had lost a significant amount of weight, looking like he had shed a layer of skin upon his return, but his eyes were incredibly bright. He had said, "General Manager Lin, I'm waiting for you to ignite it."

He thought of Li Xiao. The young girl who initially only ran errands and did odd jobs could now independently manage the Digital Twin System. When she stayed up late monitoring data, the dark circles under her eyes made her look like a panda, yet she never complained. She had said, "General Manager Lin, I want to see it light up with my own eyes."

He thought of Zhao Gang. The tough guy who went from prejudice to trust, from a soldier to a commander. He had said that not even a fly would get in. He was a man of his word. For the past two months, he had led his men on patrols across the Gobi Desert, braving the elements and never getting a full night's sleep.

He thought of Fang Lin. The woman who was always calm and always standing behind him. The intelligence she brought was sometimes good and sometimes bad, but she never hid anything. She had said, "You just focus on the ignition; I'll handle everything outside."

There was also Factory Director Liu, Academician Zhou, and those workers and technicians whose names he couldn't recall.

So many people, so much effort—all concentrated within this device.

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

What he didn't know was that a thousand miles away, a storm was brewing.

At that same moment, somewhere on the southwest border.

The night was so thick it wouldn't disperse, and even the moonlight couldn't penetrate it. An off-road vehicle without license plates drove slowly along a rugged mountain road, its headlights off, like a prowling night beast.

Three people sat inside the vehicle.

In the driver's seat was a middle-aged man with an ordinary face but exceptionally sharp eyes. He stared at the road ahead without saying a word.

In the back seat, a young woman was fiddling with a tablet in her hands. On the screen was a satellite map marked with dense red dots.

"How much further?" she asked.

"Thirty kilometers," the driver replied. "Once we pass the checkpoint ahead, we enter the no-man's land. We'll be over that mountain before dawn."

The woman nodded and continued to stare at the screen.

In the passenger seat, a bald man turned around, grinned, and revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth:

"Xiao Qi, do you think we can pull it off this time?"

The woman didn't look up: "Yes."

"So certain?"

The woman finally looked up and glanced at him. Her eyes were beautiful, but her gaze was as cold as ice:

"'Ghost' was caught, but they think that's the end of it. How naive. We've been preparing for three years, waiting for this very day."

The bald man shrank his neck, not daring to ask further.

The car continued forward, disappearing into the night.

Three days later, somewhere in the provincial capital.

Fang Lin sat in her office, staring at a piece of intelligence she had just received on her computer screen. Her brow furrowed tighter and tighter as she looked at it.

"Old Han," she picked up the phone, "come in for a moment."

Old Han quickly pushed the door open and entered. Seeing Fang Lin's expression, his heart sank. "Director Fang, has something happened?"

Fang Lin turned the screen toward him. "Take a look at this."

Old Han leaned in and read line by line. By the time he reached the end, his expression had changed as well.

"Is... is this for real?"

Fang Lin nodded. "The channel is reliable. Although Ghost was caught, he wasn't alone. He has an accomplice codenamed 'Shadow.' A female, twenty-eight years old, whose skills are not inferior to Ghost's. She entered the country three months ago and has been lying low."

Old Han sucked in a breath of cold air. "What is she here for?"

Fang Lin stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the city.

"What else could it be? There are only thirty days left until ignition; they can't sit still anymore."

She turned around and looked at Old Han:

"Notify Zhao Gang to raise the alert level by another notch. Re-vet all personnel entering the base. Especially the newcomers—no matter their background, investigate them thoroughly."

Old Han nodded and walked out quickly.

Fang Lin looked out the window again.

In the distance, the setting sun was sinking, dyeing the entire city blood-red.

She whispered softly:

"Come then. I'm waiting for you."

On the Gobi Desert, Lin Mo was completely unaware.

He was in the control room, checking the final batch of data with Chen Xueming and Li Xiao. On the screen, every subsystem of the tokamak-3 was running virtually, the curves as steady as a lullaby.

"General Manager Lin," Li Xiao suddenly spoke up, "what do you think ignition day will be like?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment and smiled:

"It will be very bright."

Li Xiao smiled too. "Well, obviously."

Chen Xueming chimed in from the side: "Not just bright, it'll be very loud. The moment the plasma impacts, there will be a massive roar."

Li Xiao's eyes widened. "Really?"

Chen Xueming nodded. "Really. I heard it once on a device abroad. Although it didn't ignite that time, the sound was already terrifying enough."

Li Xiao shrank her neck. "Then I'll have to cover my ears."

All three of them laughed.

After laughing, Lin Mo stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep, and the construction site was brightly lit.

Thirty days from now, this place would witness history.

What he didn't know was that in the shadows where the lights couldn't reach, someone was quietly approaching.

But they weren't afraid.

Because they had the light.