Chapter 91 Team Celebration

As night fell, a bonfire was lit on the Gobi Desert.

Captain Zhou was a man of his word and really had the Cooking Squad slaughter a sheep. A large pot was set over the fire, mutton tumbled in the broth, and the aroma wafted far away. Zhang Zhe brought out two crates of beer from somewhere, cooling them in a way unique to the Gobi Desert—burying them in the sand.

Li Xiao squatted by the fire, poking the charcoal with a stick, her face flushed red by the firelight. From time to time, she looked up at the equipment in the distance; under the moonlight, the outlines of the Reaction Vessel and the Separation Tower looked like a small castle.

Chen Xueming sat on a rock, holding a bowl of liquor, staring blankly at the equipment.

Zhang Zhe leaned in: "Teacher Chen, what are you thinking about?"

Chen Xueming snapped out of it and shook his head: "Nothing, just thinking... this thing really worked."

"Of course it worked!" Zhang Zhe plopped down beside him. "The cost is thirty-five thousand, the state has announced it, and that old man Smith's face turned green—could this be fake?"

Chen Xueming smiled and said nothing.

Lin Mo walked over with a bowl and sat down next to Chen Xueming.

"Teacher Chen, a drink?"

Chen Xueming raised his bowl, clinked it with his, and took a large gulp.

The liquor was ordinary baijiu available on the Gobi Desert; it burned the throat, but drinking it made the chest feel warm.

Captain Zhou came over with a large platter of mutton: "Come, come, fresh out of the pot, eat it while it's hot!"

The soldiers and researchers sat in a circle, each with a piece of mutton, hands covered in grease. Li Xiao ate with grease all over her mouth, not forgetting to take a photo with her phone: "I have to send this to my mom—whole roasted lamb on the Gobi Desert!"

Zhang Zhe leaned over: "Send what? There's no signal here."

Li Xiao then remembered that civilian signals were indeed blocked in the base; only internal communications worked. She put away her phone dejectedly and continued gnawing on the mutton.

Chen Xueming ate a few bites, put down the meat, and picked up the liquor bowl again.

He looked at the group of people around him—Li Xiao gnawing on mutton with grease all over her face, Zhang Zhe and Captain Zhou fighting over the last lamb chop, a few soldiers chatting quietly by the fire, and Lin Mo sitting quietly nearby with his bowl.

The firelight reflected on everyone's faces, warm and cozy.

He suddenly felt that this was more comfortable than any academic conference or award ceremony he had ever attended in his life.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly lively.

Captain Zhou dug out a guitar from somewhere and started playing old songs. Zhang Zhe sang along, terribly out of tune, making Li Xiao laugh uncontrollably.

Chen Xueming drank another bowl.

His alcohol tolerance was actually average, and he rarely drank. But today was different.

Today, he wanted to drink.

Lin Mo saw his face getting redder and smiled: "Teacher Chen, drink slowly, there's work tomorrow."

Chen Xueming waved his hand: "Tomorrow's matters for tomorrow, I'm happy today."

He poured another bowl, stood up with it, and walked to the fire.

Everyone looked at him.

Chen Xueming stood in the firelight, his face flushed by the heat, his eyes reflecting the dancing flames.

"I..." he began, his voice a bit raspy, "I want to say a few words."

Everyone quieted down.

"I've been working with materials for over twenty years," Chen Xueming said. "Over twenty years, I've published many papers and won many awards, but to be honest, I've always felt like a failure."

Li Xiao was stunned.

Zhang Zhe was also stunned.

"Why? Because those papers were done once they were published. Those patents were locked away in a cabinet once applied for. Not a single one truly became a product or was used by ordinary people." Chen Xueming's voice trembled slightly. "I always felt it was because the domestic environment wasn't good enough, support was insufficient, or there were systemic problems. In short, it wasn't my own problem."

He paused and took a large gulp of liquor.

"Until I came here." He looked at Lin Mo. "At first, I was actually quite indignant. Why should I be an assistant to a young man?"

Lin Mo smiled and said nothing.

"Later I realized, it wasn't about why he should, it was that I wasn't good enough." Chen Xueming's voice lowered. "I was arrogant and found fault with everyone. I always felt others were inferior to me and that my own things were the best. But in reality? When others had problems, they crawled into the Reaction Vessel in the middle of the night to find the cause. When others faced difficulties, they thought about how to shoulder them together. When others achieved results, they never claimed the credit was theirs alone."

He took a deep breath, his eyes a bit red.

"I used to think domestic scientific research wasn't good enough; now I know it was me who wasn't good enough."

The whole place was silent for a few seconds.

Then Lin Mo stood up, walked to him, and patted his shoulder.

"Teacher Chen, are you capable now?"

Chen Xueming looked at him and nodded seriously.

"I am."

Just one word, but in that 'I am,' there were over twenty years of grievances, changes from the past six months, trust in the people before him, and a rediscovery of himself.

Li Xiao's nose tingled, and she quickly lowered her head, pretending to gnaw on mutton.

Zhang Zhe blinked hard and turned his head away.

Captain Zhou raised his liquor bowl: "Professor Chen, for those words alone, I toast you!"

Everyone raised their bowls one after another.

Chen Xueming held his bowl, looked at the group of people around him, and finally smiled.

He smiled until his eyes curved and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out.

He tilted his head back and drained the bowl in one gulp.

Then, his body swayed, and he plopped down on the ground.

"Teacher Chen!" Li Xiao quickly went to help him.

Chen Xueming waved his hand: "It's nothing, just... a bit dizzy..."

Lin Mo squatted down with a smile: "Teacher Chen, you've had too much to drink."

Chen Xueming looked up at him, his gaze blurry but very serious.

"Lin Mo, let me tell you, the greatest luck of my life was coming here."

Lin Mo was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Our greatest luck was also that you came here."

Chen Xueming chuckled twice and then lay down on the ground.

"The stars on the Gobi Desert are so beautiful..."

Li Xiao and Zhang Zhe carried him back to the Prefabricated Building. Along the way, Chen Xueming was still muttering: "So beautiful... so many more stars than in the city..."

Having settled Chen Xueming in, Li Xiao walked out and saw Lin Mo still standing by the fire.

"Teacher Lin, aren't you going to sleep?"

Lin Mo shook his head: "I'll sit for a while longer."

Li Xiao sat down beside him, watching the dying bonfire.

"Teacher Lin, those things Teacher Chen said tonight..."

"Hmm?"

"He's really changed," Li Xiao said. "When he first arrived, I saw him wearing a long face every day, as if everyone owed him money. Now, he can smile, joke with us, and admit that he's 'capable'."

Lin Mo nodded.

"That's how a team is," he said. "One person walks fast, but a group walks far."

Li Xiao thought about it and nodded vigorously.

In the distance, the equipment was still running, its humming sound like a low nocturne.

The night wind of the Gobi Desert gradually cooled down, feeling comfortable on the face.

Li Xiao yawned.

"Go to sleep," Lin Mo said. "There's still work to do tomorrow."

Li Xiao stood up, walked a few steps, and then looked back.

"Teacher Lin, are you really not going to sleep?"

Lin Mo shook his head, his gaze falling on the equipment in the distance.

"I'll watch it a bit longer."

Li Xiao nodded and turned back to the Prefabricated Building.

The bonfire gradually went out, leaving only a pile of dark red charcoal.

Lin Mo sat alone on the Gobi Desert, beneath the boundless starry sky, with the equipment that had changed everything before him.

He remembered the line of text from the day the system was activated: From today on, every step you take is creating history.

Now, this step was complete.

But history has only just begun.

The next morning, Chen Xueming came out of the Prefabricated Building rubbing his hungover head and saw Lin Mo standing by the equipment as usual.

He walked over and stood beside Lin Mo.

"Last night... I didn't say anything I shouldn't have, did I?"

Lin Mo glanced at him and smiled.

"You did. You said the stars on the Gobi Desert are beautiful."

Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment, then he also laughed.

"Well, that's true."

The two stood side by side, watching the equipment running in the morning light.

A new day had begun.