Chapter 163 Restoration and Reflection

On the third morning after the crisis was resolved, Lin Mo stood at the entrance of the cooling system's main control room.

The door was open, and from within came the sizzling sound of electric welding and the low-pitched chatter of workers. For three days, this place had been operating twenty-four hours a day with dozens of people working in shifts, doing only one thing—digging out that damned chip, repairing the damaged lines, and thoroughly checking the entire cooling system.

Chen Xueming walked out, his face covered in grease and his overalls soaked with sweat, but there was a light in his eyes.

"President Lin, it's almost done." He handed over a test report. "The new motherboard has been installed, all the lines have been rerun, and we've completed six rounds of pressure testing. Everything passed."

Lin Mo took the report and flipped through the pages. Those dense rows of data all told him the same fact—the system was restored.

He looked up at Chen Xueming.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Xueming shook his head. "It was nothing. It's the fact that it almost succeeded that's truly terrifying."

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Meeting in the conference room at 3:00 PM. Everyone."

At 2:55 PM, the conference room was packed.

Chen Xueming, Li Xiao, Zhao Gang, Fang Lin, as well as the heads of various subsystems, security backbones, and technical leads were all there. Each face bore the exhaustion of three sleepless nights, yet their gazes were focused.

A whiteboard hung on the wall with a few words written on it:

"Cooling System Incident Review"

Lin Mo stood before the whiteboard, and once everyone had arrived, he lightly tapped the table.

"Everyone," he began, his voice calm, though everyone could hear the underlying weight, "three nights ago, we experienced a crisis. The cooling system collapsed twice, nearly leading to the destruction of the entire device."

The conference room was so quiet that the sound of the wind outside could be heard.

Lin Mo's gaze swept across every face.

"Today, we aren't talking about merits or hard work; we are only talking about lessons."

He wrote the first word on the whiteboard: "Vulnerabilities."

"The first lesson: physical security." He turned around and looked at everyone. "That chip was implanted three years ago. Three years ago, someone entered the base under the guise of after-sales maintenance and soldered something onto the cooling system's motherboard. Our security checks failed to detect it."

Zhao Gang's expression turned very grim.

Lin Mo continued, "I'm not blaming anyone. Three years ago, this project was still in its infancy, and security wasn't as strict, which is understandable. But understanding does not mean forgiveness. From now on—"

He emphasized his tone:

"Every motherboard, chip, and circuit in our core systems will be replaced with domestic versions. No external equipment may be connected to the system without a thorough inspection. Physical isolation will be added between critical systems to ensure they do not rely on network communication."

Li Xiao raised her hand. "President Lin, by physical isolation, you mean..."

"It means," Lin Mo looked at her, "that the cooling system's control will no longer be transmitted via the network. During ignition, it will be operated manually on-site."

A soft stir went through the conference room.

Chen Xueming frowned. "Manual operation? President Lin, the cooling system requires real-time response. Can human hands keep up?"

Lin Mo nodded. "Maybe not perfectly, but there will be a backup. The automated system will be primary, with manual as a supplement. If the automated system shows any abnormality, manual control will take over immediately. Two lines running in parallel—if one has a problem, the other steps in."

He paused, adding emphasis:

"This incident taught us that no matter how advanced a system is, someone can find a loophole. But as long as people stay vigilant, those loopholes won't be exploited."

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Understood."

Lin Mo wrote the second word on the whiteboard: "Contingency Plans."

"The second lesson: emergency preparedness," he said. "Three nights ago, the backup pump wouldn't start, the manual valve was stuck, and Line 2 was rusted shut—how many emergency plans did we have? Every single one of them failed."

He looked at everyone present.

"It's not that the plans were bad; it's that we never truly rehearsed them. Was the backup pump tested regularly? No. Was the manual valve maintained regularly? No. Did anyone even remember Line 2? No."

Li Xiao lowered her head.

Chen Xueming also lowered his head.

Lin Mo's voice softened slightly.

"This isn't any one person's fault. The project is too big, there's too much to do, and we were so focused on the ignition that we forgot about the things we don't usually use. But a lesson is a lesson—from now on, all backup systems will be tested once a week. All manual equipment will be maintained once a month. All emergency contingency plans will be rehearsed once a quarter."

He wrote the third word: "People."

"The third lesson, and the most important one." He turned to look at Zhao Gang. "Brother Zhao, you tell them."

Zhao Gang was stunned for a moment, then stood up, his face grim.

"It's my fault. There was a loophole in security that allowed that chip to get through."

Lin Mo shook his head. "Brother Zhao, I asked you to speak, not to admit fault."

He walked over to Zhao Gang and looked him in the eye.

"Three years ago, when this base was first built, you and a few others guarded this wasteland before there were even walls. What could you have done back then? Could you have stopped every single person who entered?"

Zhao Gang opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.

Lin Mo patted his shoulder.

"You've already done a great job. In three years, there hasn't been a single safety incident or a single leak. This incident wasn't security's fault; it was a limitation of the conditions at that time."

He turned back to the room.

"What I want to say is—people are our greatest strength. Three nights ago, if Teacher Chen hadn't led his team to desperately open Line 2, if Brother Zhao's soldiers hadn't rushed in to help, if Li Xiao hadn't kept her eyes glued to the data in the control room, this device would be gone."

The conference room was deathly quiet.

Lin Mo's voice was a bit raspy.

"So, this review isn't about assigning blame; it's about remembering—what we didn't do well enough and what we can do better. Then, in the next fourteen days, we will fix every single one of those shortcomings."

He returned to the whiteboard and wrote the final word: "Ignition."

"In fourteen days, on May 8th, we ignite." He looked at everyone. "This time, there will be no more surprises."

After the meeting, Zhao Gang stood outside alone.

Lin Mo walked out, saw him, and went to stand beside him.

"Brother Zhao, still thinking about that?"

Zhao Gang nodded without speaking.

Lin Mo was also silent for a few seconds before saying:

"Brother Zhao, you know, when I first took over this project, I felt like I could do everything myself. Later, I realized there's very little one person can do alone."

He pointed at the distant tokamak-3.

"That thing wasn't built by me alone. It was Teacher Chen, Li Xiao, Factory Director Liu, those workers, and you—you all built it together."

He looked at Zhao Gang.

"You guarded it for three years. In those three years, you didn't let anyone harm it. That's enough."

Zhao Gang turned to look at him, his eyes slightly red.

"President Lin..."

Lin Mo patted his shoulder.

"Alright, enough with the sentimentality. Go back and rest. Starting tomorrow, we have fourteen days to endure."

Zhao Gang nodded vigorously and turned to leave.

Lin Mo stood where he was, watching the massive device in the distance.

The setting sun was sinking, dyeing it a golden red.

Fourteen days later.

May 8th.

Ignition.