Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 158：It's Over

Kyoto Military District General Hospital
Long Lao's Hospital Room

Bang!
A phone was shattered into pieces, its motherboard stubbornly hopping across the floor a few times before twisting and coming to rest in the corner near the wall.

Long Lao sat on his hospital bed, his eyes bloodshot with rage, his lips trembling.
"Shameless!" he growled through gritted teeth.

Beside him, the young woman, Chu Ruoxi, was so frightened that her face turned pale. She dared not speak. It was she who had come to visit Long Lao in place of Jiang Fan, as he had gone to the research institute.

Earlier, the two of them had been chatting cheerfully, but out of nowhere, someone had sent Long Lao a link to a live stream—a broadcast from the Beautiful Country featuring the launch of their "Mighty God" rocket.

The screen then switched to the Beautiful Country awarding a Dragon Country citizen, followed by an interview with him.

Upon hearing Bai Yanlang's remarks, Chu Ruoxi became furious. But before she could say anything, Long Lao, enraged, had hurled the phone to the floor.

At first, Chu Ruoxi didn't know the connection between Long Lao and Bai Yanlang. She thought it was just the man's words that had upset him.

Seeing Long Lao panting with fury, she was at a loss for how to comfort him.

Hearing the commotion, the doctors outside rushed in. They found the shattered phone and the visibly shaken Chu Ruoxi, unsure of what had happened.

It was only after hearing from Chu Ruoxi that they realized Long Lao's fury had been ignited by a video.

"Academician Dragon, you're still weak. Your emotions cannot fluctuate too greatly, or it will hinder your recovery!" one of the doctors gently advised.

Chu Ruoxi added, "Yes, Grandfather Dragon, don't let this man's words harm your health!"

Long Lao took a deep breath, his gaze falling on the broken phone. Realizing his outburst was too extreme, he sighed deeply and tried to calm himself.

"Xiao Xi, I'm sorry. I got too emotional just now. I must have frightened you," Long Lao said with a tone of apology, aware that Chu Ruoxi had traveled a long way from school to visit him, and he shouldn't have lost his temper in front of her.

"Grandfather Dragon, it's not your fault! It's that bad guy's words that were so infuriating!" Chu Ruoxi huffed angrily.

Sighing, Long Lao explained, "He was a student of mine many years ago."

"Your student?"

Chu Ruoxi was startled, quickly understanding the source of Long Lao's anger. It was no wonder that he had become so upset. The very student he had nurtured had spoken such treasonous words.

Long Lao then told Chu Ruoxi about Bai Yanlang and their past, a story that he had kept buried for years, never mentioning it to anyone. But after sharing it with the young girl, he felt somewhat relieved.

"Don't worry, Grandfather Dragon. When the time comes, I'll have Jiang Fan teach him a lesson and vent your frustration!" Chu Ruoxi said, puffing her cheeks out, her expression serious.

Long Lao, seeing her adorable appearance, couldn't help but chuckle.

Kyoto Rocket Propulsion Research Base

Jiang Fan handed over the design blueprint for the 1,000-ton rocket engine to Liu Tianhang, the commander of the Western Base.

Liu Tianhang studied the blueprint with great excitement, as though he had discovered a new world. While he couldn't immediately determine its feasibility, his years of experience in rocket propulsion research told him that the materials and fuels used in the design were definitely worth investigating.

Rather than giving an immediate response, he took the blueprint and headed to the Dragon Country Space Headquarters.

"Give me two days," Liu Tianhang said. Jiang Fan nodded in agreement.

With nothing else to do in the meantime, Jiang Fan followed Professor Li's instructions and started an internship with an experienced researcher, Wu Da.

Since Jiang Fan already had the system-provided blueprint for the 1,000-ton engine, he was familiar with the propulsion mechanism and internal structure. Within half a day of studying under Wu Da, he grasped the design principles of the 500-ton engine.

Professor Li had specifically asked Wu Da to mentor Jiang Fan carefully. After the first day of work, Professor Li summoned Wu Da to his office for a debrief.

"How did Jiang Fan do today?" Professor Li asked.

Wu Da sighed, clearly frustrated.

"Jiang Fan is too impatient. When I started explaining the materials for the engine, he interrupted after just a few sentences, saying he understood, then immediately asked about the rocket's fuel!"

"I tried to move on to the fuel, but after a brief introduction, he started asking about high-temperature resistant coatings for the engine."

"How can I teach someone so restless?"

Seeing Wu Da's complaints, Professor Li tried to reassure him, "Wu, you'll have to be patient. After all, he's Long Lao's student."

Wu Da grumbled, "Professor Li, maybe you should find someone else to mentor him. With his attitude, it'll take me ten years to teach him anything!"

"Come on, Wu, Long Lao has always shared his knowledge with us. Now that he's sick and asked us to help his student, we can't just turn our backs on him."

Reluctantly, Wu Da agreed, knowing that Long Lao had always been kind to them.

The next morning, Wu Da planned to give Jiang Fan a lesson on improving his attitude before proceeding with the technical aspects.

However, after receiving a phone call, Jiang Fan hurriedly left.

"Brother Wu, thank you for teaching me. I have an urgent matter, so I must leave now. Please let Professor Li know for me," Jiang Fan said, grabbing his backpack and rushing out.

Wu Da was infuriated. He went to Professor Li and explained what had happened.

Professor Li sighed in frustration. He was certain that Jiang Fan was doomed.

"Arrogant, impractical, impatient, disorganized, undisciplined, and quitters—what can such a researcher hope to accomplish in the future?"