Chapter 190 Victory Celebration Banquet

At 7:00 PM, the Canteen at the base was brightly decorated.

Master Liu had started preparing three days ago and had revised the menu eight times. The final selection: braised pork belly, sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed sea bass, braised prawns, garlic sautéed greens, and stir-fried tomato with eggs—all home-style dishes, but every single one was what this group talked about wanting to eat the most.

"Master Liu," Li Xiao leaned over to the serving window, "where is that bottle of Moutai you've been cellaring for five years?"

Master Liu's hand shook: "How did you know I had Moutai?"

"You said it yourself when you got drunk last year!"

Master Liu: "..."

Five minutes later, three bottles of Moutai, two cases of red wine, and four cases of beer were neatly stacked in the corner.

"Is that enough?" Master Liu looked at his stock with a pained expression.

"Enough, enough!" Li Xiao's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, "Master Liu, you're the best!"

"Don't try that with me," Master Liu waved his ladle to shoo her away, "Go on, go on, wait for the food to be served!"

At 7:30, most people had arrived.

Over thirty people were seated at the large table formed by pushing long tables together, from the core members of the Nuclear Fusion project team, to the Divertor development team, to the Tritium Cycle team, the control system group, and the backbone of the security team—everyone who could come had come.

Lin Mo was ushered into the head seat, with Chen Xueming on his left, Li Xiao on his right, and Zhao Gang opposite him.

"The first toast," Chen Xueming stood up, raising his glass, "is to Lin Mo."

"To Lin Mo!" everyone shouted in unison.

Lin Mo stood up with his glass: "Don't toast me. Today there are no leaders, no chief engineers, we are all our own people. A toast to everyone, a toast to every single day of these past three years."

"Cheers!"

Over thirty glasses clinked together, splashing wine foam everywhere.

Li Xiao took a sip of Moutai, grimacing from the heat: "My god, how do people drink this stuff?"

"Drink slowly," Lin Mo smiled, "no one is going to snatch it from you."

Li Xiao took another small sip, her brows furrowing into a knot: "I think beer tastes better."

"Then drink beer." Chen Xueming handed her a bottle.

Li Xiao took it, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp, exhaling deeply: "Refreshing!"

After a few rounds, the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.

Zhao Gang's face was already red to the roots of his neck, and he slapped the table, starting to brag:

"Back in the day, the first time I saw Dr. Lin, do you know what I was thinking?"

Everyone pricked up their ears.

"I thought—these bookworms, what kind of trouble could they possibly make?" Zhao Gang waved his large hand, "And what was the result? The first time we escorted samples, we encountered an attack on the road. Dr. Lin was so calm, I was impressed!"

"And then?" someone egged him on.

"And then?" Zhao Gang widened his eyes, "Then I thought, these people need to be well protected. Later, I realized, I didn't need to protect them at all; they could protect themselves perfectly fine."

"Then what do you do?"

Zhao Gang paused, scratching his head: "I... I stand guard for them?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Li Xiao laughed so hard she slapped the table: "Brother Zhao, you're too cute!"

"I'm not cute," Zhao Gang kept a straight face, but his mouth couldn't help but curl upward, "I'm serious."

"Yes, yes, yes, you're serious!" Li Xiao laughed even louder.

Zhao Gang raised his glass and gestured to Lin Mo: "Dr. Lin, in my life, I haven't admired many people. You are one of them."

Lin Mo raised his glass and clinked it with his: "Brother Zhao, these past three years, thank you for your hard work."

"It wasn't hard work," Zhao Gang downed his drink in one go, "It was worth it!"

After a few more rounds, Chen Xueming started acting strange.

He kept his head down, staring blankly at his glass, muttering something, though no one knew what he was saying.

"Xueming?" Li Xiao poked him, "Are you okay?"

Chen Xueming raised his head, his eyes red.

"Old Lin," he suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, "I want to tell you something."

Lin Mo put down his chopsticks: "Speak."

Chen Xueming opened his mouth but couldn't get the words out, so he picked up his glass and downed it again.

"Drink slowly," Lin Mo stopped him, "if you have something to say, say it slowly."

Chen Xueming put down his glass, suddenly stood up, walked around the table, and went to stand in front of Lin Mo.

Then, with a "thud," he knelt down.

The room went quiet.

Everyone was stunned.

"Xueming!" Lin Mo quickly stood up to pull him up, "What are you doing—"

"Don't pull me," Chen Xueming pushed his hand away, kneeling on the ground, looking up at him, "Old Lin, let me finish."

Lin Mo froze in place.

Tears finally streamed down Chen Xueming's face.

"I was a jerk before," he said, his voice trembling, "really a jerk. When I first came, I wasn't convinced. I thought you were just lucky. I went against you, I questioned your decisions, I badmouthed you behind your back—I know it all, I remember it all."

Lin Mo didn't speak.

Chen Xueming continued: "But you never held it against me. You gave me the Lithium Extraction from Seawater project and let me be in charge; you gave me the Tritium Extraction task and let me lead the team to tackle it; when I was stationed at the Divertor factory, you said, 'I trust you to go'—Old Lin, do you know what I was thinking then?"

Lin Mo squatted down to look him in the eye: "What were you thinking?"

"I thought," Chen Xueming wiped away his tears, "in my life, this is the first time someone has trusted me like this."

His voice grew more choked:

"I used to be at the research institute, my technical skills were okay, but my social skills were bad, and no one wanted to work with me. I always felt it was everyone else's problem, that they were jealous of me. After coming here, I realized—it was my problem. I took myself too seriously, I looked down on others, and I deserved to be isolated."

Li Xiao's eyes turned red.

Zhao Gang turned his head away and blinked hard.

"But you guys didn't isolate me," Chen Xueming cried, "you accepted me, trusted me, and let me do big things. When I was stationed at the Divertor factory, Factory Director Liu told me, 'Engineer Chen, General Manager Lin called personally and said your affairs are our affairs.' Do you know? That night, I was alone in the guest house, crying for half the night."

Lin Mo patted his shoulder.

Chen Xueming grabbed his arm and squeezed hard:

"Old Lin, I almost missed you guys. Really, almost. If I had kept acting like a fool, if you had given up on me, if—I would have never known that a group of people could come together and accomplish such great things."

He let go, lowered his head, and his shoulders shook.

"Thank you, Old Lin. Thank you for not giving up on me."

The Canteen was extremely quiet, with only the sound of Chen Xueming's stifled sobs.

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds, then reached out and helped him up.

"Alright," he said, "get up and talk."

Chen Xueming stood up, his face covered in tears, looking as disheveled as a child.

Lin Mo looked at him and suddenly smiled:

"Chen Xueming, do you know why I didn't give up on you?"

Chen Xueming shook his head.

"Because you have talent," Lin Mo said, "and also, you aren't bad, you're just stupid."

Chen Xueming was stunned.

Li Xiao let out a "pfft" of laughter and quickly covered her mouth.

"Stupid?" Chen Xueming repeated foolishly.

"Yes, stupid," Lin Mo said, "a truly bad person wouldn't come to me to admit their mistakes after failing; a truly bad person wouldn't lose fifteen pounds while stationed at the factory and still grit their teeth to persevere; a truly bad person wouldn't send a message at 3:00 AM saying 'I might have messed up.' You were just too proud, too competitive, and didn't know how to get along with people—but that can be learned."

He patted Chen Xueming's shoulder:

"Didn't you learn?"

Chen Xueming looked at him blankly, tears welling up again.

"Alright, alright," Li Xiao handed him a tissue, "how many times have you cried today? If you keep crying, the Canteen is going to flood."

Chen Xueming took the tissue and wiped his face vigorously, his voice muffled: "I'm not crying, I'm just... just the alcohol kicking in."

"Yes, yes, yes, the alcohol is kicking in," Li Xiao held back her laughter, "Can you sit down now? Kneeling is a bit scary."

Chen Xueming only then realized he was still standing, so he quickly sat back down, head lowered, not daring to look at anyone.

But everyone saw it—at the corner of his mouth, there was a curve he couldn't suppress.

After this scene with Chen Xueming, the atmosphere became even warmer.

"Come, come, keep drinking!" someone egged them on, "Engineer Chen has already knelt, we can't refuse this toast!"

"Right! Drink!"

Chen Xueming was fed three full glasses, his face red as Guan Gong's, but his eyes were getting brighter.

He raised his glass and walked over to Li Xiao:

"Xiaoer, I have to thank you too."

Li Xiao was startled: "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for not looking down on me back then," Chen Xueming said earnestly, "When I first arrived, I was indifferent to you, but you didn't get angry. You gave me the data when I needed it, and helped me debug when I needed it. You're a good girl."

Li Xiao blushed: "You, you're drunk, aren't you?"

"I'm not drunk," Chen Xueming shook his head, "I'm sober. I just wanted to say, in these three years, meeting you all is the greatest luck of my life."

Li Xiao paused for two seconds, then smiled:

"Alright, alright, I know. Sit down quickly, don't fall."

Chen Xueming nodded, swayed back to his seat, and as soon as he sat down, he slumped onto the table.

"Is he asleep?" someone leaned over to check.

"Not asleep," Chen Xueming's muffled voice came from his arms, "I'm just... resting for a bit."

Zhao Gang was also high on alcohol.

He grabbed Lin Mo, insisting on talking about his time in the army:

"Dr. Lin, do you know what my nickname was when I was in the army?"

"What was it?"

"It was 'Zhao the Cannon'!" Zhao Gang slapped the table, "Because I had a loud voice, a fiery temper, and I didn't submit to anyone!"

Lin Mo nodded: "And now?"

"Now?" Zhao Gang paused, "Now... now they call me Commander Zhao."

"You don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it," Zhao Gang shook his head, "It's just that I feel like I've changed in these three years. I used to think that protecting you all was enough. Now I think that just protecting isn't enough; I have to understand what you're doing, know what you need, and have to—have to stand with you."

He looked at Lin Mo, his gaze earnest:

"Dr. Lin, I'm not a bookworm, but now I think bookworms are quite cute."

Lin Mo smiled: "If you say that in front of Li Xiao, she'll be happy."

"I said it," Zhao Gang said earnestly, "Just now she said I was cute, and I didn't refute it."

Li Xiao heard this from the side and laughed until she couldn't straighten up: "Brother Zhao! That wasn't a compliment!"

"If it wasn't a compliment, what was it?"

"That was... that was saying you're fun!"

Zhao Gang frowned: "Fun? I'm not fun, I'm serious."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Li Xiao was busy taking photos of everyone.

She held up her phone, snapping from one end to the other, from the ugly photo of Chen Xueming slumped on the table, to the heroic shot of Zhao Gang slapping the table, to the rare smile on Lin Mo's face—she didn't miss a single one.

"Xiaoer, stop taking pictures, come have a drink!" someone shouted.

"Coming, coming!" she responded, and pressed the shutter again.

In the frame, Lin Mo was holding a glass, talking to Chen Xueming. Chen Xueming had climbed up from the table, his face red, nodding vigorously. Zhao Gang was interrupting from the side, ignored by both of them, looking indignant.

Li Xiao pressed the shutter, freezing this moment.

She looked at the photo on her phone and suddenly felt like crying.

These people were strangers three years ago. Now, they felt like they had known each other for a lifetime.

"Xiaoer!" someone shouted again, "Hurry up, it's your turn to drink!"

"Coming!" she put away her phone and ran over.

At 1:00 AM, the Canteen finally quieted down.

Most people were slumped over, and the few who could still sit were dazed. Master Liu quietly cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, afraid of waking the sleeping people.

Lin Mo was still awake, leaning back in his chair, looking at his colleagues sprawled all over the room.

Chen Xueming was lying on the table, snoring evenly. Zhao Gang was leaning against the wall, eyes closed, but his brows were still furrowed, wondering if he was setting up security tasks in his dreams. Li Xiao was curled up in her chair, phone still in her hand, the screen displaying the latest photo taken—Lin Mo smiling.

Lin Mo gently took the phone, placed it on the table, and took off his own coat to cover her.

Outside the window, the wind on the Gobi Desert had stopped.

On the horizon, there was a faint glimmer of dawn.

Lin Mo looked at that light, remembering what Wang Zhenguo had said:

"After reaching the summit, there will be a feeling of emptiness."

He felt it now.

It wasn't a sense of loss, but a strange kind of peace. Just like reaching the destination after a long journey, sitting down, looking at the road traveled, not wanting to do anything, not wanting to think about anything.

But after daybreak, he would have to keep moving forward.

Because Nuclear Fusion was just the beginning.

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from Wang Zhenguo: "Not asleep yet?"

Lin Mo replied: "Can't sleep. How about you, Teacher?"

"Looking at the photos of your celebration banquet, the ones Li Xiao sent. That Chen Xueming, the one kneeling and crying, did you take that?"

Lin Mo glanced at Chen Xueming snoring on the table, his mouth curling slightly: "No, someone else took it."

"That kid, he used to be quite arrogant, but he's changed a lot now."

"He has changed a lot."

"You led them," Wang Zhenguo said, "Lin Mo, this group of people you've led will be the nation's treasures in the future."

Lin Mo was silent for a while, then replied:

"Teacher, they are treasures, but they aren't mine. They belong to the country, and to themselves."

Wang Zhenguo replied after a long time:

"Well said. Sleep now, it's almost dawn."

"You rest early too."

Lin Mo put down his phone and took one last look at everyone in the room.

Then he closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and listening to the rising and falling snoring, slowly fell asleep.

Outside the window, the first ray of sunlight on the Gobi Desert was quietly climbing over the horizon.