175: Is Chapter 175 really... false advertising?

The Other Side of the Ocean, it was currently the dead of night.

This was supposed to be the most peaceful time in the city.

But not a single news reporter or intelligence officer could lie peacefully in bed at this hour.

In the buildings of several top news agencies, the lights were ablaze, as bright as day.

The sound of ringing phones, clacking keyboards, and the roaring of editors-in-chief mingled together, turning the entire office area into a noisy wet market.

"Faster! Faster! The first draft must be online within five minutes!"

The editor-in-chief of a long-established news agency slammed his fist on the desk, causing his coffee cup to jump; dark brown liquid splashed over half the keyboard, but he didn't even glance at it.

"Editor-in-chief, the official announcement from Xia Country is only a few dozen characters long. We can't get any details. How are we supposed to write this draft?"

A young editor held up his phone, his face full of distress, his hair messed up into a bird's nest from him pulling at it.

"How to write it? Did your brain get rotted by studying in school?!"

The editor-in-chief loosened his tie, the veins on his forehead throbbing violently.

"Who cares how many characters the news is? Controlled Nuclear Fusion ignition successful—isn't the weight of those few words enough?! Just write the rest as big as possible! Impact, analysis, expert commentary—pile it all on! What I want is traffic, panic, and eyeballs! Understand?!"

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in the editorial departments of dozens of mainstream media outlets.

Soon, articles with sensational wording flooded the homepages of news websites across various countries.

"Xia Country Claims Successful Controlled Nuclear Fusion Ignition, Energy Gain Factor Exceeds 1, Global Energy Landscape May Be Rewritten!"

"From Room-temperature Superconductivity to Fusion Ignition, Xia Country's Tech Breakthrough Speed Has Exceeded Human Understanding!"

"Real Breakthrough or Huge Hoax? Xia Country Announces Two 'Century-Level' Achievements in Weeks, Global Scientific Community Falls Silent!"

"If All This Is True, the Death Knell for the Oil Era Has Already Sounded!"

...

The angles of the reports were varied.

Some were hyping how Controlled Nuclear Fusion would overturn the existing energy landscape and uproot the entire oil industry chain.

Others, from a technical perspective, attempted to link Room-temperature Superconductivity with this ignition to piece together a complete logical chain.

Still others were filled with intense skepticism, expressing deep distrust regarding the speed at which Xia Country had tossed out two 'Century-Level' breakthroughs in just a few short weeks.

"Within Weeks, From Room-temperature Superconductivity to Controlled Nuclear Fusion? This isn't science, it's magic!"

A long-established media outlet known for being "sharp" wrote bluntly at the end of its report:

"Without any third-party independent verification, we have sufficient reason to remain highly vigilant regarding Xia Country's claims. Scientific progress is never achieved through press releases."

This report was widely shared on foreign social media, but the tone in the comment section was far from as one-sided as the author had expected.

"I also want to loudly mock them for faking it, but the time before last, regarding the Photolithography Machine, I said it was fake and got slapped in the face. Last time, regarding Fifth-generation Communication, I said it was fake and got slapped in the face again. My face is already swollen; this time, I choose to keep my mouth shut."

"To be honest, if any other country had issued this announcement, my first reaction would have been to mock it. But the one issuing the announcement is Xia Country, and the person standing behind it is named Lin Yuan... God, I really can't laugh."

"Is there a possibility that we have been using the common sense of the old world to judge the rules of a new world?"

This comment was upvoted to the top of the section, with thousands of replies underneath, arguing incessantly.

Believers, non-believers, and the skeptical held their own views, arguing until it was a complete mess.

Amidst this global storm of public opinion, the nuclear physics circles of various countries reacted the most violently.

Several top nuclear physicists from The Other Side of the Ocean, in late-night emergency connection programs on major television stations, gave almost the same attitude in unison.

"I do not deny that Xia Country's technological progress in recent months is indeed impressive."

An old professor with silver hair who had won countless international awards spoke to the camera, his wording cautious.

"But Controlled Nuclear Fusion ignition success is one of the ultimate challenges in human physics."

"Based solely on an official announcement of less than a hundred characters, with no experimental data, no papers, and no third-party verification, I really cannot believe it."

He emphasized the last sentence heavily.

"I must see the complete experimental records and reproducibility verification with my own eyes to confirm the authenticity of this matter."

Similar statements emerged one after another from dozens of the world's top nuclear physicists within just a few short hours.

The implication was clear:

You say you achieved ignition, fine, bring out the data for the whole world to see.

Otherwise, we can only "reserve our opinion."

However, the Xia Country side remained quiet.

Not a single extra parameter was given.

...

Meanwhile.

The Other Side of the Ocean, at a top-tier intelligence analysis center.

The conference room was full of people, and the ashtrays were piled with cigarette butts like small mountains.

The head of the center sat at the head of the long table, clutching a rapid assessment report that had just been sent over from the analysis team; it was a thin three-page document that he read over twice.

"Bam!"

He slapped the report onto the table and scanned the room.

"Speak."

"Regarding Xia Country's Controlled Nuclear Fusion, how much first-hand intelligence have you actually gathered?"

On both sides of the long table, there was silence for three seconds.

A middle-aged analyst wearing black-rimmed glasses spoke up, biting the bullet, his voice sounding weak.

"Sir, the information control Xia Country has on its fusion project is the highest level I have seen in my many years in the industry..."

"We have been trying to infiltrate, but their project team list, progress, and experimental data all go through internal encrypted channels; there is no way for the outside to cut in."

"Several of our deepest-planted assets have even been compromised because of this; not one of them could even get near the edge of it."

The person in charge tapped his fingers heavily on the table, not saying a word, but his expression was hideous to the extreme.

"The most important thing is... the time is too short."

The analyst made a bitter face, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and added.

"From the day they announced the launch of the project until today, it has only been a few weeks in total."

Upon hearing this, the person in charge scanned from the left end of the long table to the right.

A dozen or so intelligence chiefs, who claimed to be the world's elite, all kept their heads down at this moment, with not a second one daring to speak up.

"In other words."

The person in charge's voice was very low.

"Regarding the matter that the higher-ups are about to inquire about, we have zero effective information in our hands? Are you planning to have me report with empty air?!"

The air in the conference room suddenly turned cold.

Just then, the deputy sitting on the person in charge's right side pushed up his glasses, a flash of insight in his eyes, and spoke.

"Sir, I have an idea, though I don't know if I should say it."

"Speak."

"Sir, I have been in the industry for twenty-three years, and I have never encountered a situation where the intelligence window was sealed so tightly."

He licked his chapped lips, paused for a beat, and said with a firm tone.

"Thinking about it in reverse, if they really achieved a breakthrough, why is this their reaction?"

"They could completely release partial data to intimidate us and slap us hard in the face; why are they afraid to even release a single piece of data?"

"This is too clean, so clean that... it's as if this so-called breakthrough simply does not exist."

The person in charge stared at him, brows slightly furrowed, not interrupting.

The deputy cleared his throat and continued his deduction.

"I also just consulted with several top nuclear physics experts, and every single one gave the same answer."

"This progress is not realistic."

The person in charge didn't rush to express his stance, leaning back in his chair with his hands folded over his abdomen.

"You mean to say that Xia Country is bluffing?"

The deputy shook his head.

"I am not drawing a conclusion. I am only stating a fact."

"No experimental data, no published papers, no third-party verification, no invitations for international observation, and even our most elite intelligence forces have gained nothing."

As his voice fell, the room fell silent again for a few seconds.

The person in charge placed his pen on the table and leaned back against the chair.

"I agree with everything you've said."

"But you missed the biggest variable."

The person in charge tapped the table, his eyes full of wariness.

"This matter is being pushed by Lin Yuan."

"That young man... is an anomaly."

The deputy opened his mouth, remained silent for two seconds, and then continued.

"I admit that Lin Yuan is an extremely special variable."

"Photolithography Machine, Fifth-generation Communication, Artificial Intelligence—each of these achievements, taken individually, is enough to be legendary."

"But sir, precisely because of that, we must be even calmer."

He leaned forward half an inch.

"One person continuously overcoming four century-level technical barriers in three months? This is already beyond the scope of what 'genius' can explain."

"We in intelligence analysis should believe in evidence."

The deputy paused here and scanned the silent colleagues around the table.

"My judgment is that we cannot rule out the possibility that Xia Country is conducting a meticulously planned strategic deception."

"Bombarding global public opinion with continuous, high-density 'major breakthrough' news to create panic about technological crushing, forcing us to make misjudgments at the negotiating table and in resource allocation."

This sentence landed in the conference room; the dozen or so people present looked at each other, and not a single person spoke up.

The person in charge sat motionless in the main seat, his hands folded on the table.

It was quiet for a long time.

Was it... really false advertising?