193: Chapter 193 Opening a New Chapter in Civilization

Early the next morning.

The test hall of the Institute of Atomic Energy.

As Lin Yuan pushed open the metal doors and stepped into the hall, he was met with dozens of intense gazes that seemed capable of igniting the very air.

The researchers in the hall were already in position. No one was whispering, but every face was filled with irrepressible excitement, and bloodshot eyes revealed that none of them had slept much last night.

"Academician Lin!"

"Academician Lin is here!"

Someone shouted first, and instantly, everyone turned their heads in unison, their gazes converging on him.

Greetings rose and fell, overlapping one another, weaving into a wave of fervent sound across the cavernous hall.

Lin Yuan nodded in response to each of them, his pace unhurried, a gentle smile on his face.

Soon, his gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the silver-white fusion device in the center of the hall.

The outer shell had been fine-tuned and reinforced after the last ignition test, and the pipeline interfaces were denser than before.

Just then, He Mingde walked over quickly from behind the main control console, his strides long, the wrinkles on his old face smoothing out from excitement.

"You've finally arrived."

"Dean He."

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded at him.

After saying this, he surveyed the hall, his tone light.

"Seniors, everyone has worked hard."

"The finishing work of this past half-month is finally coming to an end."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the device:

"Now is the time to truly open a new chapter for the civilization of the Xia Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, He Mingde suppressed the curve of his mouth and waved his hands vigorously:

"Hey, the final verification hasn't been done yet, don't speak so soon."

He said this, but his eyes, shining with brilliance, and his slightly trembling hands had already betrayed his inner feelings.

Lin Yuan saw it but didn't expose him, simply smiling and nodding.

The atmosphere in the hall was relaxed yet carried the extreme pressure of a storm about to break.

Just then, several steady footsteps were heard from the direction of the hall entrance.

Zhang Lao walked in the front.

He was still wearing his dark Zhongshan suit, his expression solemn, his footsteps as steady as a mountain.

Zhou Ping and Chen Jingshan flanked him on both sides, following him into the hall.

Seeing the new arrivals, everyone in the hall reflexively straightened their backs, the sound wave vanished instantly, and even their breathing was deliberately suppressed.

Zhang Lao stood still.

He didn't speak much; after entering, his gaze slowly swept across the entire hall, finally landing steadily on Lin Yuan.

"Are you ready?"

The tone was neither light nor heavy, without extra embellishment.

Lin Yuan met that gaze, his back straight, and nodded gently.

"Yes, ready."

Zhang Lao looked at him, a deep expectation flashing in the depths of his eyes, and he nodded heavily.

"Then let's begin."

As Zhang Lao's words fell, the air in the hall tightened to the extreme.

He Mingde turned abruptly, facing the console, his chest heaving violently, his voice raised to the highest pitch.

"Attention everyone! The final self-sustaining ignition test, officially starting!"

"Magnetic confinement system, power on!"

With the experience from last time and the frantic deductions of the past half-month, all operators were familiar with the process, their fingers turning into blurs on the keyboards.

"Magnetic confinement power-on complete! Superconducting magnet current stable!"

"Heating system preheating synchronized and complete!"

"Deuterium-tritium fuel injection complete!"

"Plasma formation initiated!"

Following the reports, the red curve representing temperature on the large projection screen began to rise rapidly, like a wild dragon waking up!

The confinement parameters and heating strategies optimized over the past half-month pushed the heating efficiency to a brand-new height.

"Electron temperature has broken through 100 million degrees!"

"Ion temperature following synchronously!"

"150 million degrees! Dual temperature stable!"

The red number finally stopped dead at the high mark of 150 million degrees, holding steady without any wavering.

It was a significant jump higher than the peak temperature of the last time!

Immediately after, the fast neutron signal arrived on schedule.

"14.1 MeV fast neutron signal confirmed! Neutron flux far exceeding the previous peak!"

"Fusion reaction rate climbing rapidly! Energy output power curve rising!"

In the center of the large screen, the [Real-time Q-value reading] window popped up again.

Last time, this number had trembled and crawled past 1.25 under everyone's gaze.

And this time, the speed at which the numbers jumped was so fast that people couldn't even react.

1.0...

3.7...

8.2...

"It broke 10!!"

The operator's voice was filled with intense excitement.

But the number showed no sign of stopping; it was like a wild horse off its leash, racing all the way!

12.0...

15.6...

18.3...

20.1!

The red number jumped violently at this position for a few moments, then held steady!

"Whoosh—"

Inside the hall, stifled gasps erupted everywhere.

Dozens of people clenched their fists tightly; some had their fingernails digging into the flesh of their palms, yet they were completely unaware.

20.1!

The energy output was twenty times the energy input.

This number had completely crossed the threshold line for engineering applications.

This meant it was no longer a toy in a laboratory, but an infinite energy source that could truly light up thousands of households!

But Lin Yuan knew that the good show had only just begun.

He moved his gaze away from the Q-value and landed precisely on the right side of the large screen.

There, a green curve representing "alpha particle self-heating effect" was rising significantly, visible to the naked eye.

The helium nuclei produced by the fusion reaction were feeding their massive kinetic energy back into the plasma without reservation.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes, his voice suddenly sounding out in the noisy hall, suppressing all the clamor:

"External heating system, reduce input power by 30%."

As soon as these words were out, the operator's fingers trembled violently, but he followed the instruction, quickly dragging the control slider.

"Neutral beam injection and microwave heating power, reduced by 30%!"

Inside the hall, everyone's heart jumped to their throats.

Dozens of eyes were glued to the 150-million-degree temperature defense line.

On the screen, the red temperature line fluctuated extremely slightly.

Then, the green curve representing alpha particle self-heating surged forward.

The 150-million-degree high-temperature defense line was held up firmly!

Not only did it not drop, but there was even a faint rise in the two decimal places!

"It's stable! The temperature didn't drop!"

An old expert clenched his fists, breathing heavily.

Lin Yuan's expression didn't change, his lips curled up, and then he issued the second instruction.

"Continue to lower, reduce to 50%!"

The operator in front of the main control console gritted his teeth, sweat beads the size of beans seeping from his forehead, and he pulled the lever down.

"External input power, reduced to 50%!"

The massive supply of external energy was forcibly cut in half.

In the test hall, even the humming of the equipment became quieter.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the screen.

They saw the 150-million-degree temperature line, still as steady as Mount Tai.

The energy output curve was straight upward, without the slightest sign of weakness.

Looking at the limit data that was stable as usual, Lin Yuan smiled.

He slowly raised his hand, then dropped it heavily, uttering a sentence that made the whole room's scalp tingle:

"External heating system, shut down completely!"

Following the instruction, the operator's finger hovered above the red cut-off button, pausing for half a second.

He looked up at Lin Yuan, then his finger dropped heavily.

"Click."

A crisp mechanical circuit-breaking sound echoed through the hall.

Neutral beam injection system, shut down.

Electron cyclotron heating system, shut down.

All external energy supply, in this second, returned to zero.

The hall was quiet to the extreme.

Dozens of people, not one made any sound. Even breathing was deliberately held.

Everyone's gaze was pinned to the temperature curve on the large projection screen, and to the silver-white fusion device that was roaring silently.

Three seconds.

Ten seconds.

Thirty seconds.

One minute...

The external energy input had completely returned to zero.

But in the center of the screen, the red curve representing plasma temperature was still firmly at the high mark of 150 million degrees. Unmoving.

The deuterium-tritium fuel inside the reactor was relying on the energy generated by its own fusion to perfectly maintain the high-temperature combustion of over 100 million degrees.

Self-sustaining ignition...

Success!