Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 155：Design Blueprint

The next morning, Jiang Fan, carrying his backpack, arrived at the agreed-upon location to meet Professor Li.

Before long, a military off-road vehicle approached.

Upon getting into the vehicle, Jiang Fan noticed a man sitting in the backseat wearing a baseball cap.

The man, upon seeing Jiang Fan, extended his right hand and smiled.

"Hello, long time no see."

It was only then that Jiang Fan realized the man looked somewhat familiar.

After a brief pause, Jiang Fan suddenly remembered—it was Lei Kun, the man who had protected him during the World Mathematics Summit.

"Lei Kun, it's been a while!" Jiang Fan quickly shook his hand.

"I was ordered by the commander to ensure your safety," Lei Kun replied.

In truth, Lei Kun didn't know much about Jiang Fan. They had only spent two days together during the summit in F-country. However, from their brief interaction, it was evident that Jiang Fan was a patriotic young man. This small detail was enough for him to rush over immediately when he received orders from his superior.

"Thank you for your efforts, Lei Kun," Jiang Fan said. As for the bodyguard, he had received a call from Commander One about it. Initially, he had refused. His usual places were fixed—either the laboratory or his residence. As for the kidnapping incident, it had been an accident. But the Commander insisted, stressing that Jiang Fan was now the future of Dragon Country and could not afford any risks. Reluctantly, Jiang Fan agreed.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two fell silent.

Jiang Fan was deep in thought, considering the matter of the thousand-ton rocket engine.

Before setting off, Commander One had briefed Lei Kun. Jiang Fan was a state secret, and Lei Kun's primary task was to ensure his safety. Anything beyond that was not his concern—he was not to ask, listen, or speak about anything unrelated. He had even signed a confidentiality agreement regarding Jiang Fan's personal information and schedule. As long as Jiang Fan didn't speak, Lei Kun remained silent.

The military vehicle soon left the city, heading into winding mountain roads. After a bumpy stretch of dirt paths, they finally arrived at the rocket engine development base.

After getting out of the vehicle, Lei Kun spoke to the driver.

"Tell your captain there's a blind spot 500 meters to the northeast at nine o'clock. It needs a guard post; otherwise, anyone with some skill could scale the rocks ahead and sneak in."

The driver, dressed in military uniform, was taken aback. How did Lei Kun know there were no hidden sentries in that area? Could he have spotted all the hidden posts? Normally, if they were placed very close together, they wouldn't be detectable. Yet, sitting in the vehicle, Lei Kun had already pinpointed a vulnerability in their setup.

This person was certainly no ordinary man.

After Jiang Fan and Lei Kun entered the base, the driver quickly reported the situation to his captain.

Inside the rocket engine base, the entire lab was filled with researchers in lab coats, all bustling with activity. Yet, there was a collective smile on everyone's face, as they had successfully completed the 500-ton rocket engine the day before.

Jiang Fan found Professor Li, the assistant to Long Lao. Long Lao wasn't present at the base, and all the technical guidance was being handled by Professor Li.

When Professor Li saw Jiang Fan, he was taken aback by his youth. He knew that anyone who could become Long Lao's student must have exceptional talent in some field. But how could a young man who appeared no older than eighteen or nineteen understand anything about research?

"Jiang Fan, what year are you in?"

"I'm a freshman, Professor Li," Jiang Fan replied.

"Then you must have scored exceptionally well on the college entrance exam," Professor Li surmised. He assumed that Jiang Fan's outstanding exam results must have been the reason Long Lao had taken him under his wing.

Jiang Fan wasn't sure how to respond to this. He certainly couldn't tell him that his exam score had been a mere 300 points—such an admission would embarrass Long Lao! After thinking for a moment, Jiang Fan said, "My entrance exam score was average. I was admitted because of my invention of the solar photovoltaic panel."

Professor Li thought that for a young man of eighteen to invent such a groundbreaking technology was already quite impressive, and it was no wonder Long Lao had taken an interest in him.

"Such a young age, yet already with a scientific breakthrough. Very impressive!" Professor Li praised.

What he didn't know, however, was that Jiang Fan had not actually invented the solar photovoltaic panel. That was merely an excuse fabricated by the state. What he had truly discovered was controlled nuclear fusion.

If Professor Li knew this, his jaw would likely have dropped in shock.

"Jiang Fan, I'll find a senior engineer to guide you. You can start learning, and feel free to ask me anything you don't understand."

"Professor Li, I've designed a blueprint for a rocket engine. Could you take a look at it?" Jiang Fan wasn't here for an internship; his real goal was to develop the thousand-ton rocket engine.

Professor Li was stunned. He hadn't expected Jiang Fan to have such a bold idea! If it had been any other intern, claiming to have designed a rocket engine, Professor Li would have simply dismissed it and lectured him on the difficulties involved. Rocket engines required extremely high-level technology; if it were that easy to design a blueprint, Dragon Country's rocket engines would have already been world leaders.

However, since Jiang Fan was Long Lao's student, Professor Li felt he couldn't dismiss him outright. Reluctantly, he accepted the blueprint. He planned to glance through it casually, thinking that anyone who had never worked on rocket engines wouldn't be able to produce a decent design.

He opened the blueprint, and the title read: Thousand-Ton Rocket Engine Design Blueprint