Chapter 170 Smith Arrives

Seven days until ignition countdown.

In the afternoon on the Gobi Desert, the sunlight was blinding, and heat waves twisted and rose from the sandy ground.

A silver-gray private plane landed slowly at a small airport thirty kilometers from the base. The runway was not long and had been temporarily expanded specifically for this observation mission; both sides were lined with armed security personnel.

Lin Mo stood at the edge of the apron, with Chen Xueming and Fang Lin behind him. None of the three spoke, just quietly watching the plane taxi, decelerate, and finally come to a complete stop.

The cabin door opened, and the boarding stairs were slowly lowered.

The first person to walk out was a white-haired old man. He was thin, wearing a dark gray suit with his tie meticulously fastened. The sunlight made him squint, but he immediately looked up at the vast Gobi Desert in the distance.

Smith.

He stood on the stairs for a few seconds and then walked down step by step with a steady pace, showing none of the sluggishness expected of a seventy-three-year-old.

Behind him, other members of the observation mission filed out of the cabin—yellow skin, white skin, black skin, various faces, and various ages, but every one of them had the same name tag on their chest: International Nuclear Fusion Observation Mission.

Lin Mo stepped forward.

Smith also walked toward him.

The distance between the two grew closer—fifty meters, thirty meters, ten meters, five meters, one meter.

Lin Mo reached out his hand.

Smith also reached out his hand.

The moment their hands clasped, the sound of shutters clicking erupted all around.

"Dr. Lin," Smith spoke with a heavy German accent, but his articulation was clear, "I have long looked forward to meeting you."

Lin Mo looked into his eyes. They were gray-blue, deep, sharp, and carried the insight settled from seventy years of life experience. But at this moment, those eyes held no arrogance or hostility, only a complex, indefinable emotion.

"Professor Smith," Lin Mo responded in English, his voice as calm as if he were chatting about the weather, "Welcome to China."

Smith's grip was firm, and he only let go after three seconds. He tilted his head slightly, looking at Chen Xueming behind Lin Mo, then at the vaguely visible massive device in the distance, before looking back at Lin Mo:

"This place is... more desolate than I imagined."

Lin Mo nodded. "That is the Gobi Desert for you. But desolate places are the most suitable for doing great things."

Smith was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

The smile was brief and fleeting, but Lin Mo caught it.

"Dr. Lin," Smith said, "I have read all of your papers. Including that latest preprint on Turbulence Stability."

Lin Mo was not surprised. He knew that with Smith's status, he surely had channels to see unpublished papers in advance.

"What did you think?" he asked.

Smith was silent for a few seconds, then said:

"The data is beautiful. But data is data, and reality is reality. I have seen too many beautiful simulations that ultimately failed due to engineering details."

Lin Mo nodded. "That is why you are here."

Smith looked at him, a flash of appreciation in his eyes:

"Yes, I am here."

The two looked at each other, and neither spoke again.

The surrounding reporters clicked their shutters frantically, capturing this historic moment—two scientists standing at the pinnacle of the Nuclear Fusion field, meeting face-to-face for the first time in the Gobi Desert.

Chen Xueming stepped forward and reached out to Smith:

"Professor Smith, we meet again."

Smith looked at him with a somewhat complex expression. He naturally remembered this man—the one who had refuted him point by point with data at the international verification meeting for Lithium Extraction from Seawater.

"Dr. Chen," Smith shook his hand, "I heard you are in charge of the Divertor?"

Chen Xueming nodded. "Yes."

Smith stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly said:

"That level of precision is not easy."

Chen Xueming smiled. "It is not easy. But we did it."

Smith did not respond, only nodding.

Fang Lin also stepped forward, introducing herself in fluent English:

"Professor Smith, I am Fang Lin, responsible for the reception and security of this observation mission. If you have any needs, feel free to contact me at any time."

Smith nodded politely. "Thank you."

His gaze swept over Fang Lin, lingering on her for a second. This woman's eyes were too calm, too calm for someone in charge of reception. But he said nothing, simply following the guidance toward the waiting motorcade.

The motorcade left the airport, bumping along the Gobi highway.

Smith sat in the back seat of the first car, looking out the window at the endless wasteland. Occasionally, clumps of Alhagi could be seen growing tenaciously in the wind and sand.

"Professor," the assistant sitting next to him asked softly, "do you think... they can really do it?"

Smith did not answer.

He just stared out the window at the increasingly clear, massive silhouette in the distance.

Half an hour later, the motorcade entered the base.

The tokamak-3 was revealed to him up close for the first time—a massive ring structure, a dense network of pipes, and a silver-white outer wall gleaming in the sun. It stood quietly in the Gobi Desert like a sleeping giant beast.

Smith got out of the car, stood before the device, and looked up for a long time.

Lin Mo walked to his side, saying nothing, just standing with him.

After a long time, Smith suddenly spoke:

"It is... larger than I imagined."

Lin Mo nodded. "Yes."

Smith turned his head and looked at him:

"Dr. Lin, let me ask you a question."

Lin Mo looked at him.

Smith asked, "Are you afraid?"

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said:

"Yes. Afraid of failure, afraid of letting people down, afraid of failing those who worked with me."

Smith stared at him, his eyes sharp:

"Then you still dare to ignite it?"

Lin Mo met his gaze, his voice calm:

"Because I'm afraid, I must do everything that can be done. Once everything is done, there is nothing left to fear."

Smith was stunned.

He stared at Lin Mo for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

This time, the laugh was long and complex.

"Dr. Lin," he said, "I am starting to understand why you have made it this far."

That night, the observation mission checked into the base guesthouse.

Chen Xueming personally took Smith to visit the Plasma Control Laboratory. Smith asked many questions, some very tricky, and Chen Xueming answered them one by one. For those he couldn't answer, he simply said, "This cannot be disclosed for the time being."

Smith did not get angry; instead, he nodded:

"Secrecy is correct. Core technology should be kept secret."

As they walked out of the laboratory, he suddenly asked Chen Xueming:

"Dr. Chen, have you ever regretted returning to your country?"

Chen Xueming was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head:

"Never."

Smith looked at him with a complex expression:

"Why?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment and then said:

"Because here, I am not alone."

Smith fell silent.

He naturally understood the meaning of those words.

Abroad, in those top-tier laboratories, everyone was lonely. Competition, pressure, conflicts of interest—everyone was fighting for themselves.

But here, he saw a group of people. A group of people willing to risk their lives for the same goal.

He suddenly felt a bit of envy.

In the middle of the night, Smith stood alone by the window, looking at the massive device outside.

Under the moonlight, it stood quietly like a silent giant.

In two days, it would wake up.

He remembered the sentence Lin Mo said during the day:

"Once everything is done, there is nothing left to fear."

He softly repeated it and then smiled.

This young man was indeed extraordinary.

Outside the window, the night wind of the Gobi blew, stirring up fine sand.

But Smith suddenly felt that something was slowly sprouting in this desolate land.

It was light.