Chapter 154 Deciding to Ignite the Fire

Six in the morning, the first rays of sunlight on the Gobi Desert pierced through the clouds, spilling over the massive frame of tokamak-3.

Lin Mo had been standing in front of the device for a full hour. Clutched in his hand was the final inspection report that had just been printed, its dense rows of data all proving one thing—

All hidden dangers had been eliminated.

All parameters met the standards.

All systems were ready.

He turned around and looked at the crowd gradually gathering behind him. Chen Xueming, Li Xiao, Zhao Gang, Fang Lin, as well as the heads of various subsystems, representatives of the construction teams, and the backbone of logistics support. Dozens of people stood quietly in the morning light, waiting for him to speak.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, his voice not loud, but clear enough for everyone to hear:

"After the final evaluation, I announce—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across every familiar face:

"tokamak-3 will officially ignite in one month, on May 1st."

A second of silence.

Then, earth-shattering cheers erupted.

Zhao Gang was the first to rush forward, grabbing Lin Mo in a hug and slapping his back hard: "Chief Lin! We did it! We really did it!"

Chen Xueming stood where he was, smiling and smiling until he suddenly turned away and wiped the corners of his eyes with his hand. Li Xiao jumped up directly, pulling the technician next to her into a spin. Fang Lin showed a rare smile and gave a light round of applause.

The workers, technicians, and logistics personnel hugged, high-fived, and cheered. Someone threw their hard hat into the air, nearly hitting a nearby crane.

Lin Mo stood in the middle of the crowd, squeezed breathless by Zhao Gang's hug, but his heart felt burning warm.

Once the cheers subsided slightly, he raised his hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.

"Everyone," his voice was a bit raspy, but every word was clear and powerful, "this month will still be hard work for everyone. Go through all the preparations again, and rehearse all the emergency plans once more. On May 1st, we want the whole world to see—"

He pointed to the massive device behind him:

"The Chinese people have lit the Artificial Sun."

Cheers rang out again, even louder than before.

The news spread like it had wings, traveling from the base in all directions.

That morning, the headlines of major domestic media outlets were updated simultaneously:

"Huaxia's Nuclear Fusion Device to Officially Ignite on May 1st"

"Artificial Sun Soon to Light Up the Gobi Desert"

"Humanity's Energy Revolution Enters Countdown"

In the afternoon, phone calls from international media almost blew up the base's communication room. BBC, CNN, Reuters, AFP—journalists from all over the world were asking the same question: Can we go to the site?

Fang Lin oversaw the situation personally, replying one by one:

"On-site spots are limited and will be approved in the order of application."

"All journalists must sign a safety agreement."

"The live broadcast signal will be provided uniformly by our side."

Hanging up the phone, she rubbed her throbbing temples and gave a bitter smile to the assistant beside her: "This is just the beginning."

The assistant asked in a low voice, "Director Fang, can we handle this?"

Fang Lin looked at the press tents already being set up outside the window and said softly:

"Even if we can't, we have to. Lin Mo and the others built the device; the rest is our job."

Inside the base, Zhao Gang was holding a security meeting.

The meeting room was full of people, all heads of various security teams. A huge map hung on the wall, marking every high point, every road, and every possible hiding place within twenty kilometers of the base.

"Starting today," Zhao Gang pointed at the map, "the security perimeter is extended to thirty kilometers. Three defensive lines will be set up on the outskirts, with 24-hour shifts for each. For the core area, anyone entering or leaving must have dual approval from both Chief Lin and me."

Captain Zhou raised his hand: "Captain Zhao, what about those journalists?"

Zhao Gang glanced at him: "Journalists? Let them stay in the reception area. Want to get close to the device? Not a chance."

Another team member asked: "What if someone tries to force their way in?"

Zhao Gang sneered, "Force their way in? My hands just happen to be itching for some action."

A burst of laughter rang out in the meeting room.

But Zhao Gang didn't laugh. He stood up, looking at everyone present, his tone becoming solemn:

"Brothers, the whole country is watching this. If anything goes wrong, none of us can take the blame. So, for this month, stay on high alert. Understand?"

"Understood!"

Li Xiao locked herself in the server room, with three monitors set up in front of her.

She was doing one thing—setting up the technical support for the global live broadcast.

At the moment of ignition, countless eyes across the world would be watching. The broadcast signal couldn't cut out, the video couldn't lag, and the data couldn't be wrong. Any technical issue would become a worldwide laughingstock the next day.

"Engineer Li," a technician leaned in, "is our bandwidth enough? There might be hundreds of millions of people watching simultaneously."

Without looking up, Li Xiao said, "It's enough. I've applied for three backup lines, each with independent fiber optics. Even if two lines go down at the same time, there's still one to hold it up."

The technician asked again: "What about data synchronization? Our real-time data needs to be synced to the broadcast screen, and the delay can't exceed one second."

Li Xiao tapped the keyboard a few times, and a set of test data appeared on the screen: "Look, the current delay is 0.3 seconds. On the day of ignition, we should be able to keep it within 0.5 seconds."

The technician gave a thumbs up: "Engineer Li, you're amazing."

Li Xiao finally looked up and smiled: "It's not that I'm amazing, it's what Chief Lin said—if you take preparation to the extreme, nothing will go wrong."

In the evening, Lin Mo received a call from Wang Zhenguo.

"Xiao Lin, I saw the news." Wang Zhenguo's voice sounded a bit stronger than before. "In one month, I will definitely come."

Lin Mo smiled: "Teacher, is your health up to it?"

"It is!" Wang Zhenguo said with full vigor. "I've been exercising every day lately, and I can walk for an hour with a cane. In a month, maybe I'll be able to walk in on my own."

Lin Mo's nose felt a bit prickly: "Teacher, walk slowly, I'll be waiting for you."

After hanging up, he stood by the window, watching the sky gradually darken outside.

Dusk in the Gobi Desert was always particularly beautiful. The setting sun dyed the entire sky golden-red, and the silhouette of tokamak-3 was exceptionally clear against the backlight.

Chen Xueming had walked over at some point and stood beside him.

"Chief Lin, what are you thinking about?"

Lin Mo shook his head: "Nothing much. Just feeling that time really flies."

Chen Xueming nodded: "Yeah. Two years ago, this place was still a wasteland. Now..."

He didn't finish, but they both understood.

Now, a device that was about to change the world stood here.

Chen Xueming suddenly asked: "Chief Lin, do you think you'll cry at the moment of ignition?"

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "I don't know. Maybe."

Chen Xueming also laughed: "Then I'll definitely cry."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

That night, the base's Canteen served a special meal.

Zhao Gang took out the last two bottles from his collection of "fine liquor" and poured a small glass for everyone. Li Xiao didn't drink, but she also raised her beverage to toast with everyone. Chen Xueming took a sip, grimacing from the sting, but took another sip with a smile.

Lin Mo sat in the corner, watching this group of people.

Chen Xueming was arguing about a certain parameter with several technicians, his face flushed with intensity. Li Xiao was being pulled by Zhao Gang to explain the principles of the Digital Twin System until her throat was dry. Fang Lin rarely relaxed, leaning back in her chair and watching the group mess around.

He suddenly remembered seven years ago, the day he first obtained the system.

Back then, he was just an ordinary Ph.D. Student, huddled alone in his dorm, staring at his computer.

Now, he had a team.

A team that could turn the impossible into reality.

Lin Mo raised his glass to everyone:

"Come, a toast to everyone."

The glasses clinked together, making a crisp sound.

Outside, the night in the Gobi Desert was deep, and the sky was full of stars.

And the device that was about to light up the Artificial Sun waited quietly in the moonlight.

Thirty days after, it would wake up.