Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 189：Live-stream Eating Shit

"30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25..."
The countdown echoed through the live stream of the Dragon Country's rocket launch.
At that moment, the imposing Flying Dragon I rocket stood tall on the launch pad, ready to ascend into the heavens at a moment's notice.
The host in the live stream could hardly contain her excitement, her voice rising in sync with the countdown.
As the final ten seconds approached, she stopped shouting and held her breath, her eyes fixed on the rocket, her focus unwavering.
The live stream fell into an unusual silence. The audience from Dragon Country, who had been watching intently, were now all tense.
Each tick of the countdown from the control room sent waves of anxiety through their hearts.
As the countdown reached three seconds, everyone's pulse quickened.
"3, 2, 1."
"Launch!"
With the command from the control room, the world's eyes turned to the screen, waiting to witness Dragon Country's rocket powered by the thousand-ton propulsion system.
But then... one second... two seconds... three seconds passed.
The rocket remained motionless.
A collective sense of unease gripped the people of Dragon Country. Questions flooded their minds.
Especially the senior leaders who were watching the live stream, who were startled by what they saw.
"What's happening? Why hasn't it ignited?"
"Call the launch base, find out what went wrong!"
This moment was meant to showcase Dragon Country's space technology to the world—failure was not an option.
If this failed, Dragon Country would undoubtedly become the laughing stock of the world, ridiculed by the Beautiful Country.
The consequences of this could be disastrous; their credibility on the global stage could be irreparably damaged.
In the Beautiful Country's live stream, Bai Yanlang couldn't suppress his glee upon seeing the failure.
"Just as I predicted, Dragon Country is even worse than I thought. They couldn't even manage to ignite the rocket. Ha ha..."
The host chimed in with her sarcastic remark.
"Professor Bai, as the ancient saying goes in Dragon Country, would this not be a case of 'failure before success'?"
Bai Yanlang: "Indeed, one could say it's over before it even started. Ha ha..."
Bai Yanlang: "As I've always said, Dragon Country's space technology is utterly pathetic. They were never going to succeed in creating a thousand-ton rocket propulsion system."
Dragon Country User 1: "You're the real trash here. It's a network delay, you fool!"
Dragon Country User 2: "Exactly, it's the network delay. Our Flying Dragon I rocket must have already launched, it's just that the network is lagging!"
Dragon Country User 3: "That's right! Bai Yanlang doesn't know what he's talking about, he's just talking nonsense!"
"..."

Bai Yanlang scoffed as he read the comments in the live stream.
"Network delay? Are you people serious? If it were a network delay, then why can we still hear the countdown from the control room?"
Dragon Country User 5: "The sound takes up less bandwidth than the video, you idiot. Get a clue!"
Bai Yanlang was enraged upon reading this comment.
After all, he had developed the 700-ton rocket propulsion system, and he was certain that the problem was a failure to ignite the propulsion system in Dragon Country's rocket.
But as a spokesperson for the Beautiful Country-no, as a representative of the Beautiful Country—he held his temper and refused to argue with this ignorant Dragon Country user.
Dragon Country User 6: "You don't even understand network delays, you traitor! What do you know other than licking the Beautiful Country's boots?"
Dragon Country User 7: "Ha ha, well said! This fool just keeps barking nonsense!"
In order to avoid losing his composure, Bai Yanlang decided to ignore the barrage of comments from Dragon Country users.
But curiosity got the better of him, and despite himself, he glanced at the screen.
To his irritation, the live stream was filled with comments calling him ignorant.
He, a professor who had recently been awarded the titles of "Rocket Star" and "Technological New Star," prided himself on being one of the highest intellects on Blue Planet.
Not on the level of Einstein, perhaps, but close enough.
How could he allow ignorant people to insult him like this? Filled with fury, he said aloud,
"If this is a network delay, I'll eat my words! The truth is, Dragon Country's rocket is incapable of igniting!"
Beautiful Country User 1: "Professor Bai is right! It's obvious that Dragon Country's rocket failed to ignite. Stop blaming the network delay!"
Beautiful Country User 2: "Professor Bai is the new leader in rocket technology in our Beautiful Country. If he says it failed to ignite, it failed to ignite!"
Sakura Nation User 3: "What a joke! Dragon Country is still blaming the network delay, but have you seen the time? It's been several seconds!"
Kimchi Nation User 4: "Despicable! Dragon Country couldn't even manage to ignite the rocket."
At this point, Dragon Country's viewers began to realize something was wrong. The seconds were ticking by, and the rocket still hadn't moved.
Could it really have failed?
...
In Dragon Tech University's Long Lao's laboratory,
Since learning that the thousand-ton rocket propulsion system was developed by Jiang Fan, Xia Xiaoyu and her colleagues were filled with a profound sense of admiration for him.
They couldn't explain why, but being able to watch the live stream with Jiang Fan gave them an inexplicable sense of pride.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"It's been five seconds already, why is the Flying Dragon I still not moving?"
A sense of foreboding suddenly overtook Xia Xiaoyu and her colleagues.
They all turned to Jiang Fan.
Jiang Fan, however, merely smiled calmly.
"It's solid-state fuel, the ignition is a bit slow. No need to worry."