Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 161：Northwest Desert

The vast expanse of the northwest region of Long Country was bathed in hues of blue and yellow—the sky a brilliant blue, the earth a golden yellow. In this barren landscape, the only colors to be seen were these two, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Whirlwinds stirred the desert sands, lifting them high into the air, like great columns of smoke rising from the ground, spinning wildly across the desert. As the evening drew near, the desert before them transformed into a golden sea. Countless ripples of sand and stone formed like frozen waves, stretching all the way to the distant golden horizon.

Jiang Fan had never witnessed such a majestic sight before. Unable to resist, he pulled out his phone and took a picture through the car window, eager to send it to his girlfriend, Chu Ruoxi.

Sitting beside him, Liu Tianhang smiled and said, "You'll see scenes like this quite often from now on."

"Commander Liu, why was the Northwest Base built at the edge of the desert?" Jiang Fan asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"When the base was first established, the desert was still over 100 kilometers away. The area we are passing through now was once lush green grassland," Liu Tianhang explained. "But over the years, the desert has been advancing southward, and now it's less than 20 kilometers from the base. However, thanks to national efforts, much has improved, and desertification has slowed considerably."

Jiang Fan listened to Liu Tianhang's account, gazing at the undulating golden dunes in the distance, marveling at the wonders of nature.

In the front passenger seat, Lei Kun turned to Liu Tianhang and asked, "How much longer until we arrive?"

"About 30 more minutes," Liu Tianhang replied.

After a brief exchange, the car fell into silence, the only sound being the hum of the engine. Jiang Fan kept his gaze fixed on the view outside the window, watching as the golden sun sank, gradually giving way to a grey twilight.

As the driver turned on the headlights, Jiang Fan saw the silhouette of trees ahead.

"Once we pass this small hill, we'll be there," Liu Tianhang said, his voice tinged with excitement. Perhaps this was the moment they had been waiting for—the arrival of Jiang Fan and the blueprint for the thousand-ton rocket engine he had designed.

Liu Tianhang's words became more frequent as they drew closer to their destination, casually chatting with Jiang Fan about various lighthearted topics.

Soon, they arrived at their destination.

The entrance to the Northwest Base was marked by stone pillars, their design ancient, speaking volumes about the base's long history. The two guards, upon recognizing the vehicle's license plate, moved the wire fence blocking the gate and saluted the car as it passed through.

The vehicle rolled into the parking lot, and as Jiang Fan stepped out, a dry, arid breeze met him.

Liu Tianhang, unfazed by the heat, smiled and said, "Jiang Fan, let me take you to dinner first."

They walked to the large canteen, which was bustling with activity. It had many serving windows, resembling a university cafeteria. After a simple meal, Liu Tianhang personally arranged their accommodations.

Jiang Fan glanced at the time—just past nine in the evening, with hours still left before bedtime.

"Commander Liu, would you mind showing me around the research base?"

"Of course," Liu Tianhang replied, and they set off towards the first research warehouse for rocket engines.

From the outside, the warehouse appeared to be of similar size to the Kyoto Rocket Engine Base, and across the entire Northwest Base, there were many such large warehouses.

As they entered the first research warehouse, Jiang Fan noticed experiments were underway. Liu Tianhang then led him to the control room.

Inside the control room, Chief Engineer Ge Zhicheng of the rocket engine division sat at the control panel, his eyes fixed on the main screen.

"Ge, the design for our 700-ton engine isn't fully developed yet. Wouldn't it be too risky to conduct an experiment?" one of the older researchers asked.

Without hesitation, Ge Zhicheng responded, "I'm the chief engineer here, not you. If I say it's ready, then it's ready!"

The older researcher fell silent, knowing better than to argue. The sense of urgency among the team was palpable; after all, they hadn't seen any major breakthroughs in years.

Recently, the Kyoto Rocket Engine Base, which had started later than the Northwest Base, had announced the successful development of a 500-ton rocket engine. This was a significant boost for them.

However, the real blow came when the Beautiful Country announced the successful creation of a 700-ton engine, with a Long Country engineer as the chief designer. Especially infuriating was Bai Yanlang's public disparagement of Long Country's aerospace capabilities.

Fueled by frustration, Ge Zhicheng and other senior engineers had analyzed Long Lao's 500-ton engine design and formulated a plan for a 700-ton engine. After days of research, they were finally ready to conduct a test fire.

Having previously worked on the 300-ton engine, Ge Zhicheng understood that the only way to quickly develop a 700-ton engine was through continuous experimentation, identifying issues, and solving them. This process, repeated until all problems were resolved, would eventually lead to success.

Turning to the research staff at the secondary control panel, Ge Zhicheng ordered, "Report the fuel situation."

"We've filled two fuel tanks with 1000 kg of liquid fuel, and we're ready for the test fire at any moment."

"One minute until ignition," Ge Zhicheng declared.

At that moment, Liu Tianhang entered the room, followed by Jiang Fan. Liu Tianhang, assuming they were still working on the 500-ton engine, didn't stop them.

After all, just a few days earlier, he had handed Ge Zhicheng the design principles for Long Lao's 500-ton engine and explicitly instructed him to study it with all the researchers.

However, Jiang Fan sensed something was amiss.