Chapter 186 Press Conference

At 7:00 AM, with the sun just peeking over the horizon in the Gobi Desert, a long line had already formed outside the press conference hall.

Li Xiao poked her head out from the side door and gasped, "My god..."

The dense crowd extended from the entrance all the way to the parking lot a hundred meters away, packed with cameras and microphones, with the buzzing sound of conversations in various languages. She recognized several faces often seen on the news—the chief China correspondent for CNN, the science editor for BBC, as well as Japan's NHK, France's Reuters...

"Senior brother," she retracted her head and looked at Lin Mo, who was adjusting his collar behind her, "There are at least two hundred people outside."

Lin Mo straightened his tie in the mirror, his tone calm: "Normal."

"Normal?" Li Xiao's eyes widened, "In this dump of a place, the last time this many reporters came was—"

"When the base was built?" Chen Xueming chimed in, "That time it was only domestic media, but this time it's the whole world."

Zhao Gang pushed the door open, holding a few sheets of paper: "Dr. Lin, this is the briefing Director Fang just sent over, a list of focus areas and sensitive questions from international media. She wants you to pay special attention to those few—"

"I know." Lin Mo took the list, scanned it quickly, folded it, and put it into his suit pocket, "Let's go."

"Wait!" Li Xiao stopped him, "Senior brother, your tie is crooked."

She stood on tiptoe, reached out to adjust the tie knot for Lin Mo, then stepped back two paces to look, nodding with satisfaction: "There."

Lin Mo looked down at his chest—the tie was indeed neater than before.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Li Xiao smiled, "You're our public face, you have to hold it together."

Chen Xueming coughed slightly from the side: "What about me?"

"You?" Li Xiao looked him up and down, "You're the 'background board' today, just stand straight."

"..."

Zhao Gang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

At 7:30 AM, the doors to the press conference hall opened right on time.

Reporters swarmed in, scrambling for favorable positions. The front-row seats were filled instantly; those who arrived late could only stand in the aisles, and some even set up their cameras directly on the chairs.

Lin Mo walked onto the podium from the side door, followed by Chen Xueming, Li Xiao, and Zhao Gang. As soon as the four of them sat down, flashbulbs began to flicker frantically, blinding them.

"Good morning, fellow reporters." Lin Mo's voice echoed through the hall via the microphone, "Thank you all for traveling from afar to witness the successful ignition of the tokamak-3. Now, please feel free to ask questions."

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of hands went up at once.

Lin Mo scanned the room and pointed to a foreign reporter in the first row: "CNN."

The blonde female reporter stood up, speaking quickly: "Dr. Lin, I am CNN science reporter Jennifer White. First of all, congratulations on your success. My question is: The output power of the tokamak-3 has reached 1.28 times the design value. Does this figure mean that China's Nuclear Fusion technology has completely surpassed its international peers?"

Lin Mo nodded slightly: "Thank you for your congratulations. Regarding your question—we do not view scientific research as a race of 'surpassing' or 'falling behind.' Nuclear Fusion is a challenge facing all of humanity, and every bit of progress made by any country is a treasure for all mankind."

"But the data does show that you are in the lead," the female reporter pressed.

Lin Mo smiled: "Data is just data. What's important is that we are one step closer to commercial fusion energy. As for who is 'in the lead,' that question is not important."

A reporter in the audience raised their hand, and Lin Mo signaled: "Xinhua News Agency."

A middle-aged male reporter wearing glasses stood up: "Dr. Lin, I am Xinhua reporter Zhang Lihua. May I ask what the subsequent plans for the tokamak-3 are? When will grid-connected power generation be achieved?"

Lin Mo turned his head to look at Chen Xueming, who immediately handed over a document.

"According to the plan, the tokamak-3 will operate for 18 months to conduct stability tests under various operating conditions. If everything goes smoothly, at the beginning of 2039, we will start the design and construction of the Tokamak-4. That will be the first demonstration reactor with grid-connected power generation capability."

"2039?" A reporter exclaimed, "So soon?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Nuclear Fusion research has waited for too many years. We don't want to wait any longer."

The press conference continued, with questions becoming increasingly dense.

"UK's 'Nature' magazine: It is said that your Divertor system was independently manufactured by domestic enterprises. Does this mean that China has achieved complete autonomy in core Nuclear Fusion components?"

"Yes. The Southwest Aerospace Precision Machinery Factory completed the processing of the Divertor, and the precision met the design requirements."

"Kyodo News: The International Science and Technology Alliance previously questioned your data. Now that facts have proven you succeeded, what would you like to say to the skeptics?"

Lin Mo was silent for a second.

The whole room went quiet; everyone was waiting for this answer.

"I would like to say—" Lin Mo paused, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, "Facts speak louder than words."

A low murmur arose from the audience. Some nodded, some whispered to each other, and some scribbled quickly in their notebooks.

"Agence France-Presse: Dr. Lin, how do you view Professor Smith's departure yesterday? Does this mean that the International Science and Technology Alliance will continue to question your results?"

Lin Mo's gaze swept over the crowd, as if looking for something.

"Professor Smith is a respectable scientist," he said, "I personally understand his rigorous attitude toward data. In fact, at 9:00 AM this morning, he will be in the control room to hear our detailed report. Scientific disagreements should be resolved within the scientific community."

The reporters were in an uproar—they didn't know this news.

"You mean Professor Smith accepted your invitation?"

Lin Mo nodded: "Yes."

Flashbulbs flickered frantically again.

"Germany's 'Der Spiegel': Dr. Lin, you mentioned international cooperation, but will China's rapid progress in the field of Nuclear Fusion trigger a new technological Cold War?"

This question caused the scene to quiet down for a moment.

Lin Mo's expression became serious.

"A technological Cold War?" He repeated the term, "I would like to ask everyone present, what did the Cold War bring to humanity? An arms race, opposition and division, waste of resources. Nuclear Fusion is the key to solving energy problems, not a weapon for competing for hegemony."

He paused, his voice steady and powerful:

"China is willing to share experience and conduct cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Because the success of Nuclear Fusion should not belong to just one country. It should belong to all of humanity."

Applause broke out in the audience—at first sparse, then increasingly dense.

That German reporter was taken aback for a moment, then joined in the applause.

"Reuters: Dr. Lin, I am Reuters technology reporter Mark Thompson. I would like to ask a slightly more personal question—how did you celebrate last night?"

Lin Mo was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

This was an unexpected question.

He turned his head to look at the three people beside him—Chen Xueming had a 'don't look at me' expression, Li Xiao was covering her mouth to hide her laughter, and Zhao Gang still had a straight face, but there was a smile in his eyes.

"Last night?" Lin Mo thought for a moment, "We had a good meal at the Canteen, drank some beer, and then—we just slept."

"Just that simple?" Thompson was a bit disappointed.

Lin Mo nodded: "Just that simple. The successful ignition of Nuclear Fusion is not the end; it is the beginning. There is still a lot of work to do today."

"Then what are your personal feelings?" Thompson pressed, "After all, you are only in your early thirties, and you have led a team to accomplish a dream that humanity has had for decades—"

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds.

The whole room went quiet again.

"Feelings..." He said slowly, "It's more about the responsibility."

"Responsibility?"

"Yes. The successful ignition of Nuclear Fusion means we are one step closer to clean energy. But it also means that we need to solve more problems—engineering, commercialization, safety, sustainability. Each of these problems is no easier than the ignition itself."

He looked at the reporters in the audience:

"Therefore, last night's celebration was very simple. Because today, we still have to keep moving forward."

The press conference lasted for a full two hours.

The last question came from a young domestic reporter; her voice trembled as she stood up:

"Dr., Dr. Lin, I am an intern from 'Science and Technology Daily,' my name is Su Xiaoran. I want to ask... I want to ask, do you have anything you would like to say to young scientific researchers?"

Lin Mo looked at her—in her early twenties, wearing a ponytail, her face flushed red, and the notebook in her hand was almost crumpled out of shape.

He remembered Li Xiao from three years ago.

"I want to say," his voice softened, "Scientific research is a very long road. There will be failures, there will be doubts, there will be times when you want to give up. But as long as you truly love it, truly believe in it, just keep going."

He paused:

"One day, you will find that all the persistence is worth it."

Su Xiaoran nodded vigorously, her eyes reddening.

Applause broke out in the audience again.

The press conference ended, and reporters swarmed up wanting to continue asking questions but were blocked by staff. The four of them left through the side door, walked through the corridor, and returned to the area where the control room was located.

"Exhausted," Li Xiao plopped onto a chair, "More tiring than staying up all night watching data."

Chen Xueming also loosened his tie: "Those reporters, each question they asked was trickier than the last."

Zhao Gang handed over a few bottles of water: "Dr. Lin, that last part you said was really good."

Lin Mo took the water and didn't speak.

His gaze fell on the clock hanging on the wall—8:50 AM.

"Chen Xueming," he said, "Get ready, we are receiving Smith at nine o'clock."

Chen Xueming stood up immediately: "Understood."

Li Xiao also stood up: "I'll go prepare the data and presentation materials."

The two left in a hurry. Zhao Gang looked at Lin Mo:

"Are you sure Smith will come?"

Lin Mo nodded.

"Why are you so sure?"

Lin Mo took a sip of water and looked out the window.

Outside the window, a black sedan was slowly driving into the base gate.

"Because he is a true scientist," Lin Mo said.