Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 109：Final Version

After Jiang Fan waited for Zhang Shaohua to regain some composure, he slowly spoke.

"Professor Zhang, you must have heard of the Klein bottle, a bottle with a hole at the bottom, extending its neck, twisting it into the bottle, and then connecting with the hole at the base...

Many have strived to design such a Klein bottle to prove the existence of four-dimensional space, enabling interstellar travel and time reversal, among other possibilities.

However, after all these years, no one has managed to research the Klein bottle. Do you know why?"

Jiang Fan turned to Zhang Shaohua and asked.

Zhang Shaohua was momentarily stunned by Jiang Fan's unexpected question, and then instinctively replied, "Because our Blue Planet exists in three-dimensional space."

"Correct. Everyone believes that because we live in three-dimensional space, we cannot possibly research the Klein bottle of four-dimensional space. But this is merely our perception. To some higher civilizations, we might be confined to a one-dimensional space or even a lower-dimensional realm!"

"A one-dimensional space?"

"A lower-dimensional realm?"

Zhang Shaohua and Wang Deshun were perplexed by Jiang Fan's words.

"You may find it unbelievable. A one-dimensional space is simply a point, a two-dimensional space is a plane, and three-dimensional space is a three-dimensional world, just like our Blue Planet. Surely, we are in a three-dimensional world. But who can prove that we are not simply a three-dimensional existence within a one-dimensional space?"

"Our entire universe might just be a grain of sand, a single cell, or perhaps even a program in a game of an advanced civilization..."

After Jiang Fan finished speaking, Zhang Shaohua and Wang Deshun were left staring in stunned silence, clearly shaken by Jiang Fan's revolutionary ideas, lost in their own thoughts.

Indeed, these thoughts were ones neither Zhang Shaohua nor Wang Deshun had ever entertained. They had always focused on tackling academic problems from a technical standpoint, never considering problems from a higher perspective.

Listening to Jiang Fan's words, it felt as though they had broken free from the shackles of conventional thinking, elevating their intellectual horizons to an entirely new level. It was as if a monk had just experienced a sudden moment of enlightenment.

It took them a while to regain their senses. Zhang Shaohua, overwhelmed with excitement, grabbed Jiang Fan's hand again and, in a flurry of words, said:

"Editor-in-Chief Jiang, no... no, Teacher Jiang, hearing your words is like reading a hundred years of books in one sitting. After living half my life, I suddenly feel as though I've wasted it all..."

"Teacher Jiang, I implore you, accept me as your disciple! I wish to be your student and learn from you..."

Wang Deshun, standing by, understood exactly why his friend Zhang Shaohua was so moved. Ever since school, Zhang had been an academic fanatic.

"This..."

Just as Jiang Fan hesitated, not knowing how to refuse, Long Lao walked over. Seeing a middle-aged man pulling Jiang Fan, he quickly approached and reprimanded Zhang Shaohua and Wang Deshun.

"What are you two doing?"

Zhang Shaohua and Wang Deshun were startled, then they recognized the person in front of them and were filled with awe. It was the esteemed Long Academician, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Long Country.

"Professor, you've misunderstood. They..."

Jiang Fan quickly explained the situation.

Long Lao then addressed Zhang Shaohua directly:

"Xiao Zhang, as someone engaged in academic research, you should understand what Jiang Fan's extraordinary talent means for our country. His time and energy are far too precious to be spent teaching students. Please, understand!"

Zhang Shaohua immediately realized that, given Jiang Fan's demonstrated brilliance, the young scholar needed to focus entirely on his research, not disperse his energies by taking on disciples.

"Apologies, Academician Long. I was too hasty earlier."

"However, if you have any academic questions, you can discuss them with many of the experts at Long University. I can help introduce you."

Long Lao reassured Zhang Shaohua.

After more conversation, Wang Deshun suddenly proposed a new idea:

"Editor-in-Chief Jiang, to elevate the overall academic level of Long Country, we cannot rely on just a few individuals. It's only when the level of all scholars in Long Country rises that we can surpass the Western nations academically."

Jiang Fan fell into thought. Indeed, with the system's rewards in mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry, writing top-tier SCI papers was no challenge. But his primary focus would be on technological research, not continually writing SCI papers.

If "Long Journal" were to lose his involvement, and the quality of its papers dropped, it would not be a sustainable publication. This was never the purpose of founding "Long Journal."

Seeing the others pondering the matter, Wang Deshun grinned and said, "I have an idea!"

"What idea?" Jiang Fan inquired.

"We could start an academic lecture series online. You could dedicate two hours a week to share academic insights with these scholars..."

Jiang Fan thought for a moment and agreed, "That's a great idea!"

"Teacher, this idea works perfectly!"

"Jiang Fan, will you have time for this?" Long Lao asked.

"I can spare two hours a week," Jiang Fan replied.

After further discussions, Jiang Fan's personal academic lecture series was officially established. Wang Deshun would be responsible for the specific arrangements, and Jiang Fan would only need to deliver the lectures.

Three days later, the first issue of "Long Journal" was finalized, with four SCI papers, including two of Jiang Fan's.

The original plan was to publish ten SCI papers in the first issue, but Jiang Fan had struggled to find enough suitable ones that met the journal's high standards.

His philosophy was: "Better to have fewer, but of higher quality."

After the finalization, Long Country announced that the first issue of "Long Journal" would be released in two days.

Foreign scholars, however, began ridiculing the publication, eagerly anticipating the moment they could mock Long Country's efforts.

During this time, Jiang Fan received a call from Zhou Huaide, who informed him that their IERT magnetic materials had been successfully developed, with performance five times stronger than the best materials from the United States.

Jiang Fan was elated. Long Country had been humiliated when purchasing IERT materials from the United States, but now they had developed their own superior materials. It was a moment of triumph!

With the IERT material issue solved, the controlled nuclear fusion project could proceed as planned!

Just as Jiang Fan celebrated, Long Lao shared more good news with him:

Professor Holt, who had previously stolen Jiang Fan's paper by hacking into his email and deleting the data, had been traced. Long Country had successfully retrieved the evidence showing that Holt had infiltrated Jiang Fan's email, securing screenshots of the paper submissions that had been deleted.