197: Chapter 197 An Unprecedented Grand Carnival

The broadcaster's voice was clear and articulate as it flowed from the speakers and into thousands of households.

At first, many people didn't react.

But immediately afterward, countless people across Xia who were eating, chatting, or scrolling through their phones stopped their movements in unison.

"Wait..."

A middle-aged man holding a rice bowl frowned, a piece of braised pork suspended in mid-air between his chopsticks.

"Final self-sustaining ignition test?"

He chewed on those words, feeling like something wasn't quite right.

How long had it been since the last News Broadcast report on the first successful ignition of Controlled Nuclear Fusion?

Not even a month, right?

And now it's already at the "final" stage?

Even a donkey on a production team wouldn't be driven at this pace!

At the same time, the sound of sharp gasps and exclamations rang out from countless family dinner tables, noisy night market stalls, and even the brightly lit cubicles of big tech companies.

"What does 'final' mean? Does it mean... it's completely finished?"

"No way. For something like Controlled Nuclear Fusion, didn't God Lin say before that it would take six months? Is it wrapping up already?"

"Keep it down, don't rush, let's finish listening first..."

The news clearly didn't intend to leave the people much time to be dazed.

The broadcaster's image flashed and cut directly to a video from the testing site.

In the center of the screen, a silver-white behemoth stood quietly in a vast experimental hall.

Its dense network of pipes and its imposing alloy shell were filled with an indescribable aesthetic of industrial violence.

In the core area of the device, an extremely restrained deep blue light was pulsing steadily.

The narrator's voice chimed in at the right moment.

"Following the previous round of Controlled Nuclear Fusion ignition that achieved net fusion energy output, the research team has worked tirelessly to optimize the system. The reactor's Energy Gain Factor has successfully surpassed 20."

The moment this number came out, the sounds of clattering and thudding echoed across the country.

In countless living rooms, the sounds of dropped chopsticks and water glasses hitting tables rang out simultaneously.

The Energy Gain Factor of the last ignition was 1.25.

That value—just by breaking 1—had already caused the entire internet to hail the 'New Era of Human Energy' and brought tears to the eyes of many physics giants.

How long had passed since then?

It went directly from 1.25 to 20?!

After the 'national science baptism' from the previous news report, many people in Xia already understood the meaning of the Energy Gain Factor.

An Energy Gain Factor over 20!

This was by no means a laboratory toy that stayed on a PPT; this was real, commercializable infinite energy that could light up thousands of homes!

However, the narrator gave no one a chance to catch their breath, dropping one bombshell after another.

"Currently, the reactor has completely moved away from external power supply and has achieved a self-sustaining state, relying entirely on its own fusion reaction to maintain combustion."

"This signifies that our country's independently developed Controlled Nuclear Fusion technology has completely crossed the chasm between theory and experiment, completing the final step from experimental verification to engineering implementation!"

As these two sentences landed, who knows how many people across the nation jumped straight off their sofas.

In living rooms, restaurants, and in front of giant screens in streets and alleys...

Countless Xia citizens widened their eyes and stared fixedly at the screens. The sound of sharp gasps rose and fell, merging into one.

During the last ignition, everyone felt excited, but they still maintained a degree of rational restraint in their hearts.

After all, ignition was one thing, but actually using it was still a long way off.

But now...

Just as the nation's scalps were tingling and their minds were blank, the camera angle shifted once more.

It cut to an extremely simple office with a solemn national emblem hanging on the background wall.

A middle-aged man in his fifties or sixties, wearing a dark blue jacket, sat before the camera.

Anyone who frequently watched the news recognized him at a glance—it was Zhou Ping, the man in charge of Xia's entire industrial system and strategic resource allocation.

On the screen, Zhou Ping had his hands folded on his desk.

Facing the camera, his gaze was deep and sharp, exuding steadiness and authority.

"The success of the final self-sustaining ignition of Controlled Nuclear Fusion is not only the crystallization of the day-and-night struggle and painstaking efforts of our country's scientific researchers."

"It is, more importantly, the sign that our Xia has officially kicked open the door to the era of infinite energy."

Zhou Ping's voice wasn't loud; it was even somewhat restrained.

But that bone-deep, powerful confidence smashed directly into the heart of every Xia citizen through millions of screens.

"The old era, constrained by fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, is about to come to a complete end in our hands."

Hearing these words, the spines of countless Xia people straightened unconsciously.

An indescribable sense of pride seeped out from their very bones, surging and roaring in their chests like scalding magma.

Zhou Ping paused for a second.

He looked straight ahead, as if he were looking through the lens at the 1.4 billion Xia citizens, and as if he were staring at the hostile forces The Other Side of the Ocean that were trying to blockade Xia.

Then, his eyes sharpened, and he dropped a bombshell that made everyone's scalp tingle.

"In order to let this epoch-making achievement benefit all citizens as soon as possible, the state will concentrate all forces to fully accelerate the integration of Controlled Nuclear Fusion reactors with the National Power Grid!"

"It is expected that within one month..."

"Full grid integration and implementation will be completed!"

The moment these words came out of the speakers.

Across the country, the brains of hundreds of millions of Xia people collectively stalled.

One month?

Grid integration?

Full implementation?

Someone's remote control slipped from their hand and hit the floor with a thud.

Someone who was drinking water sprayed it all over the coffee table in front of them, completely losing their composure.

Someone jumped up from the sofa in excitement and slammed their knee hard against the corner of the table; they winced in pain, but their eyes remained glued to the TV screen, not even bothering to rub the bruise.

"One month?! Did he say one month?!"

"I'm not hallucinating, am I? Controlled Nuclear Fusion, grid-connected in one month?!"

"Wait... doesn't that mean in a month at most, the electricity we use will be generated by nuclear fusion?!"

"Holy crap! Is the price of electricity going to become dirt cheap that quickly? Does that mean I don't have to worry about the bill when I leave the AC on in the summer anymore!"

After the brief mental freeze, overwhelming ecstasy swept through every corner like a tsunami.

People were trembling as they scrambled to take out their phones, wanting to rush online to share this incredible news.

But the internet was already a massive red storm!

Without even waiting for News Broadcast to finish, all of Xia's top verified official media outlets pushed pop-up reports to all channels within just a few minutes!

《Gain Breaks 20! Our Country's Controlled Nuclear Fusion Completes Final Self-Sustaining Ignition!》

《A New Era for Humanity: Full Grid Integration Within One Month!》

《The End of the Old Era: Xia is About to Lead the Era of Infinite Energy!》

Those uniform, bold red titles were like a pre-planned artillery barrage, completely blowing up the homepages of every major social platform.

Following that, major portals, tech media, and even entertainment marketing accounts all seemed to go crazy, staying up all night to frantically repost and push the news.

The entirety of Xia was completely immersed in an unprecedented grand carnival to welcome the arrival of the new era!