Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 123：These Youngsters Are Pretty Powerful

"7-nanometer lithography machine?"
Everyone gazed at Jiang Fan, bewildered.
Jiang Fan smiled faintly and replied,
"I forgot to mention earlier—I am referring to the 7-nanometer lithography machine technology, not the 17-nanometer!"

A 7-nanometer lithography machine?
How... how is that even possible?
The finest lithography technology on Earth is 7-nanometers, and it has been strictly monopolized by the Beautiful Country!
No other country could possibly have mastered it!
Yet Jiang Fan claims that he has developed a 7-nanometer lithography machine.
Everyone felt certain they must be hallucinating.

"What did he just say?"
Many people asked the colleagues sitting next to them.
"He... he seems to have said 7-nanometer lithography machine?"
"7-nanometer lithography machine? Impossible! Our country hasn't even broken through 17-nanometer technology, so how could we leap to 7 nanometers?"
"Yes, I agree. It just doesn't add up!"
"..."

The room buzzed with disbelief as people discussed Jiang Fan's words.
Jiang Fan, noticing the confusion, addressed the crowd once more.
"Any questions? Feel free to ask."

The murmuring stopped, and the room fell silent as everyone turned to look at him.
A researcher, stammering, asked,
"I... I want to ask—are you really saying you've developed 7-nanometer lithography technology, and not... not 17-nanometer?"
Jiang Fan smiled.
"Yes, I've developed the 7-nanometer lithography machine! I expect we'll have it operational within a month."

At this, several researchers couldn't hold back their laughter. They were sure this young man was just boasting.
Doubt filled the air. How could he, a mere youth, claim to have done something they hadn't managed after years of research?
They all knew that even with the design schematics, it would take at least half a year to a year of research to make any meaningful progress.
And this young man claimed he could accomplish it in a month—impossible!
He was too young, lacking in experience.

Old Qiao, seeing the skeptical looks in the room, understood their disbelief.
Even he, when Jiang Fan claimed that the 7-nanometer lithography machine could be completed in a month, had been initially doubtful.
But Old Qiao knew better than anyone that Jiang Fan was no ordinary person.
He remembered how Jiang Fan had, within a month, successfully controlled nuclear fusion for 118 seconds—an achievement that had surpassed the Beautiful Country' record and made China the world leader in the field.
The government had made strategic plans but had kept the breakthrough under wraps, with only a select few in the country privy to the details.
More recently, Jiang Fan had developed the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) power battery in just half a month, improving its performance by three times.
It was these past feats that made Old Qiao confident in Jiang Fan's abilities, even when others doubted.

The researchers in the room, however, still regarded it as impossible, viewing things from a conventional perspective.
Old Qiao stepped up to the podium and addressed the crowd.
"Quiet, please!"

Everyone stopped speaking, and the room fell into silence.
"I know you all have your doubts. But I'm sure you've heard of the lithium iron phosphate battery, haven't you?"

The room stirred. Yes, they had heard of the LFP battery.
But what did that have to do with this young man?
Could it be that he had contributed to that research?

One of the researchers spoke in disbelief.
"Wait a minute, wasn't the developer of the LFP battery also named Jiang Fan? Could it be the same person?"
When the government announced the breakthrough, Jiang Fan had chosen not to reveal his name.
Thus, only a few insiders knew of his involvement.
But most of them only knew his name—what he looked like was another matter entirely.

The researcher who had just spoken had once met Jiang Fan, and had heard his name mentioned in technical exchanges among classmates.
As the realization dawned on them, all eyes turned between Old Qiao and Jiang Fan, their disbelief growing.

"Indeed, the developer of the lithium iron phosphate battery was Jiang Fan—and he completed it in less than half a month!"
"Hiss..."
The room was filled with shocked gasps.
To develop a transformative power battery in less than two weeks—it was almost unimaginable!
If he could accomplish that, then perhaps his claim of developing a 7-nanometer lithography machine in a month was not so far-fetched after all.

Old Qiao, seizing the moment, continued.
"As you can see, we have some new faces in the lithography research department. Let me introduce them to you."

"Come up here, all three of you—don't be shy. From now on, we'll all be working side by side as colleagues!"

Summer Xiaoyu and her companions were suddenly called to the stage. They were startled at first but relaxed slightly when they saw Jiang Fan already on stage.
Under Xu Guangyuan's lead, they stepped forward.

Many in the crowd were puzzled.
"Three interns? Why such a grand introduction?"

Old Qiao, with a grin, continued.
"You might not know, but these three are the very researchers who, together with Jiang Fan, developed the lithium iron phosphate power battery!"

"WHAT?!"
The entire room was stunned again.

The researcher who had earlier graduated from Harvard University felt his face flush with embarrassment.
He had been so haughty just moments ago, and now his face burned with shame.
He had assumed these young people were nothing special, but now it turned out they were the real experts!
Meanwhile, his own only qualification was his degree—he had no significant research achievements.
These "interns" had already developed a game-changing battery, while he was left wondering about his own place in the world.

Was this what young talent looked like now?

From that moment on, no one dared to look down on them.
Old Qiao announced that Jiang Fan would be leading the lithography research department as the Chief Engineer, and would also oversee the team's division.
Jiang Fan then declared that for the next month, the department would enter a closed research phase.

Xiaoyu and her companions stood at the front, smiling as they watched the bewildered faces of the crowd.