Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 32：Doubt

"18 people?"
Zhou Huaide sat on the chair, muttering helplessly.
The northern base had a total of 102 research personnel, and after his brief trip to Kyoto, 84 had been reassigned.
The reason for their reassignment was something he could not contest.
Recalling the humiliating World Military Competition from ten years ago, a deep sense of pain gripped his heart.
The primary reason he had accepted the position of chief commander for the controlled nuclear fusion project was his desire to contribute to the nation's military strength. He believed that, by researching controlled nuclear fusion, he could help Longguo leap ahead in technology and become a world military power.
Yet, the research into controlled nuclear fusion had not been as easy as he had hoped. After ten years of collective effort from over a hundred researchers and an expenditure of over three hundred billion yuan, there had been no major breakthrough.
While Zhou Huaide was lost in his thoughts about the past decade, a commotion erupted outside.
"Who are you? Who gave you permission to tamper with our Tokamak device?"
"Come quickly, stop him!"
"This is the culmination of ten years of our work!"
"..." Zhou Huaide rushed out of his office to see what was happening.
Outside, he found more than a dozen researchers, all dressed in white lab coats, surrounding Jiang Fan.
He hurried forward, raising his voice, "Stop! Everyone, stop!"
Upon seeing the chief commander, the researchers felt a sense of reassurance and turned to him.
"Chief Commander, this kid just appeared out of nowhere and started messing with our Tokamak device!"
"Luckily, I caught him in time. If he had damaged it, all our efforts over the last ten years would have been in vain!"
"He must be punished!"
Zhou Huaide quickly stepped in to explain.
"Everyone, please calm down. Let me introduce him. This is Jiang Fan, the expert in controlled nuclear fusion I brought back from Kyoto."
The researchers exchanged confused glances. They had heard that Zhou Huaide had discovered an expert in controlled nuclear fusion, but they had imagined someone who was either an old professor returning from abroad or an expert with years of experience in fusion research.
Instead, the young man before them looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, and certainly not someone they would consider an expert.
"Chief Commander, you didn't get swindled, did you? He looks far too young!"
"Yes! You can't achieve anything in controlled nuclear fusion without over a decade of research!"
"..." Zhou Huaide was not angered by their doubts. He, too, had initially questioned Jiang Fan's qualifications when they first met. But after talking to him, he had come to realize that Jiang Fan's understanding of controlled nuclear fusion surpassed all of theirs combined.
"Everyone, please listen. I understand your doubts. Let Jiang Fan take a look at our base and the state of our fusion research. I'm sure he will surprise you all."
Reluctantly, the researchers stepped aside, allowing Jiang Fan to continue his work on the Tokamak device.
Jiang Fan, seeing them step back, did not hesitate. He walked up to the device and began his research.
He only had a month. He had promised Zhou Huaide that he would stabilize the fusion process for at least 100 seconds.
Furthermore, if he wanted to explore space technology in the future, controlled nuclear fusion was an essential energy source.
Time was of the essence, and he could not afford to waste a single moment.
After studying the Tokamak device for a while, he turned to one of the researchers nearby.
"Please get me the data for the Tokamak device."
The researcher hesitated for a moment before glancing at Zhou Huaide.
Zhou Huaide nodded, and the researcher went to the data room, returning shortly with a large schematic.
Jiang Fan took the schematic, which labeled each component, and began studying it intently. He occasionally jotted down notes.
The surrounding researchers watched in confusion.
"Do you think this young man really knows what he's doing?"
"Exactly! Controlled nuclear fusion isn't something you can solve easily."
"Looks like he's just pretending. If it were that simple to fix the Tokamak device, we wouldn't have spent ten years on it, ha ha..."
"Maybe Chief Commander is desperate and grabbed anyone to try and save the project..."
The murmurs continued, but Zhou Huaide did not respond.
As Jiang Fan continued his work, Zhou Huaide turned to Zhang Wenxian.
"Please give me the list of the remaining research personnel."
"Of course."
Zhang Wenxian quickly wrote down the names and handed the list to Zhou Huaide.
Looking at the names, Zhou Huaide realized that most of these researchers had been with him for eight or nine years, and two had been with him since the establishment of the northern base.
He knew they were deeply attached to the base, which was why they had stayed behind despite the orders to transfer.
He harbored no ill will toward those who left; after all, the orders had come from higher-ups, and the researchers were now contributing to the fighter jet project for the World Military Competition.
What shamed him was that, after ten years of working on controlled nuclear fusion, he had failed to achieve success before this year's competition.
He could not contribute to Longguo's efforts in the competition.
Jiang Fan spent more than three hours analyzing the Tokamak device. By the end, he had figured out all of the issues.
His conclusion was clear: the Tokamak device would never succeed, no matter how much time and effort was invested.
The materials used for the device were fundamentally flawed. The plasma generated by the fusion process produced temperatures far too high for the materials to withstand.
Jiang Fan walked up to Zhou Huaide, holding the schematic of the Tokamak device.
"Uncle Zhou, I've looked into the state of our controlled nuclear fusion project."
"How is it? Can we modify it within a month?" Zhou Huaide asked anxiously.
"It should be possible, but I'll need time to work out the detailed modification plan."
"Alright. But there's some bad news. Our northern base now only has 18 researchers left. The rest have been reassigned." Zhou Huaide said apologetically.
"18 people is a bit few, but it should be enough."
Jiang Fan thought for a moment before responding. Although there were many issues with the Tokamak device, the overall framework was still sound.
As long as he adjusted the details, the fusion process should be stable for 100 seconds without any major issues.
"By the way, Uncle Zhou, gather all the remaining researchers. I'll explain the current issues and my modification plan to everyone."