48: Chapter 48 The Thunderous Declaration of the Dragon Kingdom
Dragon Country, Capital City, National Press Conference Hall.
Time seemed to have been pulled back to the moment when "guanghan palace no. 1" successfully landed on the far side of the moon. But this time, the air was thick not only with anticipation but also with an indescribable tension and premonition from all corners of the globe. Foreign journalists who had received the urgent notification had long since packed the hall to capacity. Cameras and lenses of all sizes were aimed at the podium. Everyone sensed that the news Dragon Country was about to announce would likely be even more earth-shattering than the lunar landing.
Right on time, the spokesperson steadily walked up to the podium. His expression was calm, but his gaze was like an unsheathed sword, sweeping across the entire room. Without any superfluous pleasantries, he directly picked up his speech notes. His voice, amplified by the microphone, filled the venue and clearly reached the ears of everyone watching via the live broadcast.
"Friends from the press, I now solemnly declare to the whole world on behalf of Dragon Country."
That single opening line instantly plunged the entire hall into complete silence.
"Through the unremitting efforts of our nation's scientific researchers, the national major science and technology infrastructure—the 'Golden Crow' Project—has achieved a historic breakthrough!"
The massive screen behind him suddenly lit up. What it displayed was not a photograph, but a processed, dynamic video captured under extreme protective conditions! In the center of a massive ring-shaped device, a stably burning, faint blue-glowing plasma ball, like a tamed sun, rolled slowly under the constraint of an invisible force!
"This is..." A knowledgeable foreign science and technology journalist below the stage instantly lost his voice, nearly jumping out of his seat.
The spokesperson's resonant voice continued, each word exploding like thunder over the conference hall:
"After rigorous verification, the 'Golden Crow' demonstration reactor has today successfully achieved a continuous and stable energy output from controlled nuclear fusion exceeding 1,000 hours! Its energy gain factor, the Q value, has stabilized above 15!"
"BOOM——!!!"
The entire press conference venue completely erupted! Exclamations, sharp intakes of breath, and sounds of disbelief mixed together, almost lifting the roof off! The live stream bullet comments were instantly flooded by a tsunami of "???" and "!!!"
Controlled nuclear fusion! 1,000 hours! Q value greater than 15!
Everyone understood what these terms combined meant! It meant limitless, inexhaustible clean energy! It meant the energy crisis that had plagued humanity for centuries would be definitively brought to an end! It meant... the conclusion of an old era and the dawn of a new one!
Ignoring the chaos on-site, the spokesperson declared in an even more forceful and resonant voice:
"Based on the success and maturity of the 'Golden Crow' technology, Dragon Country's highest decision-making body has officially approved the 'Chasing the Sun Plan'! Effective immediately, we will select sites nationwide for the first batch of construction of ten million-kilowatt-class commercial fusion power stations! The first power plant is expected to be connected to the grid and begin generating electricity within eighteen months!"
"Simultaneously, to ensure the technology benefits all of humanity and to jointly address global energy and climate challenges, Dragon Country proposes the establishment of the 'International Fusion Energy Cooperation Organization' (IFECO). We are willing to cooperate with all peace-loving nations on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect!"
He did not mention any sanctions, nor any blockades. Yet every single word felt like an invisible sledgehammer, striking hard at the hearts of those nations that had once wielded the energy cudgel.
Energy hegemony? From today onward, it ceases to exist!
Technological blockade? In the face of a true artificial sun, it's nothing but a joke!
The press conference descended into chaos. Journalists frantically tried to ask questions, but the spokesperson had completed his mission. With a slight bow, he calmly exited the stage amidst the deafening clamor and countless flashing camera lights.
The news spread across the globe at the speed of light.
Within Dragon Country, the entire nation erupted in jubilation! People on streets and in alleys rushed to share the news, cheering and leaping for joy! Online, terms like "Golden Crow," "artificial sun," and "Dragon Country is awesome" instantly occupied the top spots on all trending lists, nearly crashing the servers! An unprecedented sense of national pride and boundless hope for the future surged in the heart of every Dragon Country citizen.
In stark and brutal contrast was the collective silence and stock market crash of Pretty Country and its allies.
On Wall Street, the stock prices of oil, natural gas, and coal-related companies plummeted off a cliff, directly triggering circuit breakers! The new energy sector was also a scene of devastation; all transitional technologies appeared pale and feeble before the true ultimate energy source! The Dow Jones and Nasdaq indices fell like free-falling objects, a sea of dismal red!
At European Union headquarters, the arguments during the emergency meeting were almost loud enough to lift the ceiling. Formerly steadfast allies now had flickering eyes, their minds already calculating how to quickly establish connections with Dragon Country to obtain that long-cherished fusion technology.
In places like Japan and the Korea Conglomerate, panic and despair set in. Resource-poor, they understood better than anyone what this meant—their lifelines were now firmly in Dragon Country's grip!
At CIA headquarters, James Craig watched the live broadcast with an ashen face, the coffee in his hand long gone cold. The phones in his office rang incessantly; reprimands and interrogations from the White House and The Pentagon threatened to drown him.
"It's over... all over..." he muttered to himself, all light gone from his eyes. It wasn't just his career that was finished. The technological and energy hegemony Pretty Country had maintained for decades also crumbled into a chaotic mess under the glow of Dragon Country's rising "artificial sun."
Dragon Country's thunderous declaration was like a bolt of lightning splitting the night sky of the old era, illuminating an entirely new world order. As for the young man who had brought all this about, he was currently sitting in his rented apartment, calmly watching the system's soaring points and rapidly advancing mission progress. A faint, knowing smile played at the corner of his lips.