28: Chapter 28 The Energy Attack of the Singapore Consortium
The top-secret information regarding the successful ignition of "Candle Dragon" was like a massive boulder thrown into a deep pool. Even with the highest level of blockade measures, the resulting ripples somehow spread to specific levels of the international intelligence community. While the true technical details might remain unknown, the highly generalized assessment that "the Dragon Kingdom has achieved a fundamental breakthrough in the field of small, compact fusion," combined with the recent public disclosure of "bedrock-1" high-temperature interface superconducting materials and a series of overt or covert advancements in high-performance computing, quantum information, and photonic integration, was enough to make certain keen-scented powers feel like they had thorns in their backs.
Inside the "Sky Dome" base, Lin Shen had just finished reviewing the first deep data package sent by the "Candle Dragon" engineering team through the newly established limited communication channel. The data package had been strictly filtered and desensitized, but it still contained high-time-resolution records of key physical quantities such as plasma current evolution, magnetic field configuration changes, and neutron yield spatial-temporal distribution. He was currently engaged in an asynchronous discussion with "Tide" and "Stardust" from the "Deep Blue" group, attempting to analyze certain subtle fluctuation patterns in the "Candle Dragon" plasma confinement process from the perspectives of dynamical systems and non-equilibrium physics to see if they could establish even the most conceptual link with certain parameters in their "interface-driven" theoretical model.
Just then, a red encrypted briefing from the "Jiuzhang Special Project" command headquarters, labeled "Urgent Foreign Intelligence," inserted itself into his workflow.
The content of the briefing was not about technological progress, but rather the latest anomalies in the global economy and energy markets.
The briefing pointed out that within forty-eight hours of the potential leak of the "Candle Dragon" ignition success, several international hedge funds and industrial capital giants, led by "Star Continent United Energy Capital," had suddenly joined forces to launch a long-premeditated, multi-dimensional "energy financial sniper attack" across multiple key markets, including crude oil futures, natural gas, and the stocks of major global power companies.
Their operational methods were extremely sharp and targeted:
Crude oil futures market: Utilizing the foundation of oil prices already pushed high by geopolitical tensions and supply issues, they suddenly concentrated the release of massive amounts of short-term put options and short-selling contracts, creating technical breakdowns and panic selling. Simultaneously, they spread bearish news of dubious authenticity, such as "major consuming countries are about to release massive strategic reserves" and "a secret negotiation might reach a production increase agreement." After peaking at a historical extreme of $168/barrel, international oil prices plummeted in response, with a single-day drop exceeding 15%, triggering a market stampede.
Natural gas market: Simultaneously, they conducted large-scale short selling in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) forward contract markets in Europe and Asia, and mobilized the media to play up narratives like "expectations of a warm winter in the Northern Hemisphere" and "accelerated replacement by new energy" to dampen market confidence.
Stock market: They concentrated on shorting the stock prices of several international energy giants and shipping companies closely linked to the Dragon Kingdom's energy imports and infrastructure cooperation, as well as several leading domestic listed companies in the Dragon Kingdom that were advancing major energy transition projects (particularly those involving power grid upgrades and new energy storage).
Public opinion coordination: Major Western financial media suddenly published a barrage of analytical articles questioning the "sustainability" and "return on investment" of the Dragon Kingdom's push for large-scale energy transition and technological investment against the backdrop of "increasing downward economic pressure and tightening external technological blockades," hinting at the dual risks of "capital chain rupture" and "technical route failure."
The purpose of this sniper attack was very clear: to use the leverage and panic of the financial markets to significantly raise the short-term cost and risk for the Dragon Kingdom to obtain external energy in the shortest possible time, while simultaneously striking the financing capabilities and market confidence of its domestic energy transition-related industries. This was intended to create pressure at the capital level, interfering with or even blocking the Dragon Kingdom's long-term strategic investment in the energy and technology sectors.
"Star Continent Consortium..." Lin Shen whispered the name. This was not an unfamiliar opponent. It was not a simple investment institution, but a massive capital-political complex deeply rooted in the Star Continent with tentacles reaching across global energy, minerals, finance, and technology. Its style of operation had always been known for being precise, ruthless, and adept at using and creating rules, and it was considered one of the important executors of certain Western strategic intentions at the financial and market levels.
The ignition of "Candle Dragon" might have been the final straw that stimulated them to launch this sniper attack early. They likely judged that the Dragon Kingdom's continuous breakthroughs in energy technology would eventually weaken their control and pricing power over traditional energy (oil and gas). They had to strike hard on the financial battlefield while the Dragon Kingdom had not yet formed an overwhelming advantage, to disrupt its rhythm, consume its resources, and even trigger internal economic and social problems.
The briefing included a preliminary assessment from the national financial and energy security departments: the sniper attack was aggressive and well-prepared, with a huge short-term market impact. The stock prices and bonds of some domestic enterprises were already under significant pressure, and a short-term increase in the cost of energy imports was certain. However, national foreign exchange reserves were sufficient, the construction of diversified key energy supply channels had been effective in recent years, strategic petroleum reserves were full, and the fundamentals of the real economy were solid. There was confidence in stabilizing the situation and taking counter-measures. Nevertheless, financial market sentiment and expectation management faced severe challenges, and there was a need to be alert to the opponent's possible subsequent combination of other means (such as upgraded technical supply cutoffs or escalating geopolitical friction).
The briefing required the heads of various strategic technology projects to be aware of the situation and prepare for possible short-term interference caused by tight cash flows, hindered international cooperation, or renewed supply chain fluctuations, and to assess whether their project progress might be affected as a result.
Lin Shen put down the briefing, his brow furrowed. The branches and leaves of the technology tree could guide the direction, but the real-world gambit went far beyond laboratories and equations. Finance, the lifeblood and nerves of the modern economy, was now being used as a weapon by the opponent against his motherland, and indirectly against everything he was working on.
He immediately contacted Sun Qiming and Shen Hong through an independent link.
Sun Qiming's voice sounded a bit tired, but still steady: "Engineer Lin, I'm aware of the situation. The annual budgets for 'Chasing Light' and 'Xuance Group' have already been approved, so funding is currently sufficient and won't be affected in the short term. However, the procurement cycles and prices for some imported special consumables and equipment components may become uncertain. We are compiling a list and looking for domestic alternatives or backup channels. Additionally, for the exchange seminar on quantum error correction coding with a certain institute in Europa originally scheduled for next month, they just notified us of an 'indefinite postponement due to force majeure,' which is likely also due to external pressure."
Shen Hong's feedback was more direct: "On the side of the fusion material alternative solutions, the stock prices of two partner companies have been affected, and their financing plans may be hindered, but they stated that core R&D investment will not be cut. As for Professor Wu Qingquan's team, a certain special substrate material they use is from a supplier located in an ally of the Federation; they were just notified that a 'final user audit' must be re-conducted, so delivery may be delayed. However, they have already activated backup samples. Overall, the R&D pace will face some interference, but it can still be maintained."
Lin Shen felt slightly relieved, but the pressure did not diminish. The opponent's intention was clear: to create an atmosphere of being "besieged on all sides" and "high costs" to shake the Dragon Kingdom's determination to persist in strategic technology investment, both psychologically and practically.
He had to do something, not just respond passively.
He organized the core content of the "Star Continent Consortium Energy Sniper Attack" briefing and the preliminary assessment from the national departments into a highly summarized explanation and sent it to all members of the "Deep Blue" virtual theory group through an encrypted channel. He didn't ask them to do anything; he simply stated the facts and attached a sentence:
"Everyone, this is not a simple market fluctuation, but an extension of the struggle for technological hegemony in the financial dimension. If the theoretical breakthroughs we seek can manifest in reality one day sooner, we may sooner forge a cornerstone that such financial 'magic' cannot shake. Please continue to focus on the work at hand and let the light of thought pierce through the mist of capital."
He believed these top minds could understand the deep meaning. Sometimes, the most powerful counter-attack is not to struggle on the battlefield preset by the opponent, but to unswervingly move faster and further on the path of one's own choosing.
After doing this, Lin Shen turned his attention back to the "Candle Dragon" data and the theoretical deductions of "Deep Blue." The iron curtain of reality was tightening, but the sky of thought within the "Sky Dome" base could still expand infinitely.
He noticed that "Stardust," in the latest discussion, had proposed an extremely bold conjecture: "Looking at the data of the 'Candle Dragon' plasma confinement time and magnetic field configuration evolution, its instability seems related to the formation and merging process of certain 'magnetic islands.' This is essentially a dynamic change in topological structure. I'm thinking, if... if the 'interface-induced superconducting' material we designed has a superconducting order parameter that itself possesses some non-trivial topological texture (for example, vortex arrays, domain walls), then when a current passes through, will there be some kind of non-linear, 'self-organizing'-like interaction between these topological textures and the current/magnetic field? Could this interaction, in principle, inspire us to design a brand-new active stabilization or heating scheme for plasma based on 'topological matter'?"
This conjecture linked the seemingly unrelated microscopic electronic states of "interface topological superconductivity" with the macroscopic magnetohydrodynamic stability of "fusion plasma" through the two abstract concepts of "topology" and "non-linear interaction"!
Lin Shen's spirits were greatly lifted! Although this sounded like a conversation between two different universes, the wonder of science often lies in such profound analogies and unity across scales. If this connection could be established theoretically, even if only conceptually, it might provide a never-before-heard "plug-in" idea for the future upgrade of "Candle Dragon" based on new materials and new physical principles!
He immediately replied to "Stardust" and copied "Tide" and "Topologist": "The conjecture is extremely inspiring! Please formalize it further. We might be able to construct an extremely simplified effective model of 'topological order parameter and electromagnetic field coupling' and try numerical simulations to see if it can produce signs of effects like 'self-consistent stability' or 'resonant heating.' This might require the 'heart of deep blue' to open a new calculation branch."
The theoretical exploration of the "Deep Blue" group thus took on a more urgent and practical color. They were not only pursuing the phantom of an energy holy grail, but were also attempting to forge a theoretical "new weapon" that could affect the outcome of a real-world technology-finance war.
A few days later, another encrypted communication from Director Zhao brought news of counter-measures at the national level.
The Dragon Kingdom's central bank announced a targeted package of "financial market stability and industrial development support" plans, including the establishment of a special stability fund to provide liquidity support for key industries affected by the sniper attack; accelerating the application of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in energy transactions; and high-profilely announcing the early start of construction for several national-level major science and technology infrastructure projects (unnamed, but outsiders speculated they included a new generation of particle accelerators, space science satellites, and... a certain "energy frontier exploration device") to offset pessimistic market expectations with clear government investment signals.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic and commercial departments also took action, strengthening communication with major energy-producing countries and signing new long-term supply agreements; and actively promoting cooperation with emerging market countries in fields such as new energy technology and mineral development to broaden the "circle of friends" for the supply chain and market.
A silent financial and strategic hedging operation unfolded on a global scale.
Although the "Star Continent Consortium's" sniper attack caused initial market shocks and some losses, it did not penetrate the Dragon Kingdom's line of defense as intended. Instead, it exposed their strategic intentions and prompted the Dragon Kingdom to accelerate its pace of internal integration and external breakthroughs.
The wind on the plateau was still biting. But inside the "Sky Dome" base, Lin Shen felt a more solid strength. That came not only from the powerful resilience of the state machine but also from thinkers like those in the "Deep Blue" group, who, after learning of the external storms, became even more calm and focused on their calculations, digging into the deepest parts of their respective fields.
The holy grail of energy had not yet been found, and the smoke of finance had not yet dissipated.
But the road was already beneath their feet, in the chips where computing power surged, and in the minds where formulas flowed, extending toward that future that must be illuminated.
No matter where the sniper attack came from, no matter how thick the mist, the footsteps of exploration would never stop.