Chapter 89 officially announced
Beijing, the State Council Information Office press conference hall.
At 9:50 AM, the press conference hall was already packed. Cameras were set up in the back, and reporters whispered among themselves, guessing who today's main character would be.
Two days ago, they had received a notification: a press conference regarding a "major breakthrough in new energy," with the specific details kept confidential.
This sense of mystery only fueled the media's curiosity. Reporters tried everything to dig up information, but the Science and Technology Security Bureau was tight-lipped, not letting a single word leak out.
At 9:58 AM, the side door opened.
Fang Lin walked at the front, dressed in a dark suit, her expression calm. Behind her followed two white-haired Academicians, along with relevant officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The flashbulbs instantly lit up the room.
Fang Lin walked to the podium, sat down, and adjusted the microphone.
"Good morning, reporter friends. We have invited you here today to announce a major scientific achievement."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the room.
"Thanks to the arduous efforts of our research team, our country has made a breakthrough in Lithium Extraction from Seawater technology. Currently, the Pilot-scale production unit has been running stably for a month, and the comprehensive extraction cost per ton of lithium carbonate equivalent is controlled within 35,000 yuan."
The room went silent for a second.
Then it exploded.
Reporters raised their hands, cameras pushed forward, and flashbulbs went wild.
"Director Fang! What does this cost mean?"
"Is there an advantage compared to foreign ore-based lithium extraction?"
"When can industrial mass production be realized?"
Fang Lin raised her hand, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
"I know you have many questions. Next, I would like to ask Director Liu from the Ministry of Natural Resources to provide a simple comparison for everyone."
Director Liu cleared his throat and opened the folder in front of him.
"Currently, in the international market, the cost of lithium extraction from spodumene in Australia is about 55,000 yuan per ton, and lithium extraction from salt lakes in South America is about 42,000 yuan. The cost of lithium extraction from lepidolite in our country is generally between 70,000 and 80,000 yuan."
He looked up at the audience.
"The 35,000 yuan for Lithium Extraction from Seawater is more than 20 percent lower than the current lowest cost from South American salt lakes, and less than half the cost of domestic lepidolite."
The room erupted in an uproar again.
A reporter stood up, his voice changed: "Director Liu, does this mean our country will completely get rid of its dependence on imported lithium resources?"
Director Liu smiled slightly: "You could say that. Our country has a long coastline, and the total amount of lithium resources in seawater is enormous. The breakthrough of this technology means that our country's lithium resource supply will achieve fundamental autonomous security."
Another reporter raised a hand: "May I ask, who is the R&D team for this technology? Are they here today?"
Fang Lin took over: "The research team is still working on the project and did not come to the scene today. But I want to represent the nation in expressing our highest respect and most sincere gratitude to them. In the Gobi Desert, amidst the wind and sand, they fought day and night and produced the most solid results in the shortest time."
Applause rose from the corners and quickly spread throughout the room.
At the same time, in the Prefabricated Building in the Gobi Desert.
An old television was broadcasting the press conference live.
Chen Xueming was squatting in front of the TV, still clutching a screwdriver in his hand. Li Xiao sat in a chair nearby, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes. Zhang Zhe was standing, muttering to himself.
Lin Mo leaned against the door, watching the screen.
When Fang Lin said the number "35,000 yuan," a cheer erupted in the Prefabricated Building.
"We did it!" Zhang Zhe jumped up, "We really did it!"
Li Xiao covered her mouth, her eyes red. She turned to look at Chen Xueming, wanting to say something, but found Teacher Chen squatting there motionless, staring at the screen with an extremely complex expression on his face.
"Teacher Chen?" Li Xiao called out softly.
Chen Xueming didn't react.
On TV, Fang Lin was still saying something. Reporters were still asking questions, and flashbulbs were still flashing.
But Chen Xueming's eyes were slowly misting over.
More than twenty years.
For over twenty years, he had published countless papers and won many awards, but what use were those things other than for professional titles?
This time was different.
This time, it was real.
Lithium Extraction from Seawater, 35,000, the country announced it, the whole world knew.
He slowly stood up, put the screwdriver on the table, and turned to walk out.
Li Xiao was stunned: "Teacher Chen, where are you going?"
Chen Xueming didn't answer and pushed the door open to leave.
Lin Mo followed him.
In the Gobi Desert, the sun was scorching. Chen Xueming walked to the side of the reactor, stopped, and reached out to touch the silver-white pipe.
The metal was scorching hot from the sun.
He just touched it like that, motionless.
Lin Mo stood behind him, not saying a word.
After a long time, Chen Xueming finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Lin Mo, you know, the year I graduated with my doctorate, my supervisor told me something. He said, Xueming, for those of us who work in materials, if we can make one truly useful thing in our lifetime, then we haven't lived in vain."
Lin Mo nodded.
Chen Xueming turned to look at him, his eyes very red.
"Today, I did it."
Lin Mo looked at him and nodded earnestly.
"Yes, Teacher Chen, you did it."
Chen Xueming took a deep breath, looked up, and stared at the blinding sun in the sky.
Tears flowed down his cheeks, but he didn't wipe them away.
"No, it was we who did it." He lowered his head and looked at Lin Mo, "Without you, without Li Xiao, without Zhang Zhe, without Zhao Gang, without this group of people, I couldn't have done it."
Lin Mo smiled and patted his shoulder.
"So the team did it."
Chen Xueming nodded vigorously.
In the distance, Li Xiao, Zhang Zhe, Captain Zhou, and several soldiers ran over. They stood not far away, looking at Chen Xueming with smiles on their faces.
Captain Zhou shouted: "Professor Chen, extra meal tonight! I'll have the kitchen staff slaughter a sheep!"
Zhang Zhe chimed in: "That's right, let's celebrate!"
Chen Xueming looked at this group of people and finally smiled.
He smiled like a child.
In the international market, the moment the news spread, lithium prices began a cliff-like drop.
On the London Metal Exchange, lithium carbonate futures prices plummeted from $70,000 per ton. In less than two hours, it fell to $50,000. The next day, $40,000. The third day, $35,000.
In a certain country's think tank, a newly printed "Lithium Resource Blockade Plan" was thrown into the shredder.
That production reduction agreement, which had been carefully planned for three months, involved three major lithium-producing countries, and was scheduled to be officially announced next week, had become waste paper before it was even released.
Because everyone knew that when China could extract lithium from seawater, and the cost was even lower than from ore, any blockade was a joke.
You want to reduce production? You want to limit supply? You want to raise prices?
It doesn't matter, we will do it ourselves.
George stood in front of the window of a hotel in Hong Kong, looking at the night view of Victoria Harbour, the whiskey in his hand untouched for a long time.
Behind him, a subordinate whispered: "Boss, what's our next step..."
George didn't turn back, just shook his head slightly.
He thought of the device running day and night in the Gobi Desert, thought of Zhang Jianguo whom he had turned, and thought of the data he had tried so hard to get but hadn't managed to send out.
Everything was useless.
The news was public, the technology had broken through, and the blockade had gone bankrupt.
He had lost.
But he knew, this was just the end of one game of chess.
The next game would begin soon.
On the Gobi Desert, night fell.
The kitchen staff really slaughtered a sheep, set up a big pot, and stewed a whole pot of hand-grabbed mutton. Captain Zhou brought over two cases of beer, and Zhang Zhe found a speaker from somewhere, playing old songs.
Chen Xueming sat in the middle of the crowd, holding a bowl of wine, a smile on his face the whole time.
Li Xiao leaned into his ear: "Teacher Chen, you cried today, I saw it."
Chen Xueming glared at her: "Who cried? The wind and sand were heavy, it got in my eyes."
Li Xiao giggled.
Lin Mo sat a little further away, watching this group of people, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
His phone vibrated; it was a message from Fang Lin: "The press conference was very successful. The higher-ups asked me to pass this on to you: Thank you for your hard work, the motherland thanks you."
Lin Mo looked at the line of text, was silent for a few seconds, then replied:
"It's what I should do."
He looked up at the night sky over the Gobi Desert.
The stars were dense, brighter than ever before.
In the distance, that set of devices running day and night was still humming, and the photovoltaic panels were shining with a faint blue light in the moonlight.
He knew this was just the beginning.
The next step was the floating offshore platform.
The next step was the sea of stars.