Chapter 288: Earth Civilization Ascension Plan
After exiting the high-speed rail station, Jubian and the Mage boarded a special car with a white background and red-lettered license plate, arriving at their final destination in the northwestern suburbs of the city.
The research base, once a vast expanse of idle land, was now a bustling scene of construction sites and cranes everywhere, a vibrant picture of thriving development.
The top decision-making power from the world's leading industrial nation, in a league of its own, fully unleashed its potential in this inland city.
It was said that the higher-ups originally intended to build the nation's first nuclear fusion research base in Modu. However, after comprehensively considering convenience of transportation, talent acquisition, the number of potential foreign spies, and most importantly, strategic defensive depth, they ultimately chose Shuangfei City, which possessed a solid foundation in scientific research.
At the same time, two massive science cities were also being constructed intensively in Modu's Bangdong District and next to the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan.
"How many times have you been here before?"
After getting out of the car, Jubian asked the Mage.
The Mage, with a look of pride, held up four fingers.
"You're quite something, kid—this is my first time here."
Jubian feigned composure on the surface, but his heart was racing.
The reason he hadn't been here before was that the Aerospace Research Institute had no cooperation with this place.
And the reason for no cooperation was that no expert in the entire country, or even the entire world, believed they would witness the combination of "aerospace" and "controlled nuclear fusion" concepts in their lifetime!
But now, the course of human history had been changed by a "game"—
Entering the Institute of Plasma Physics, in a saucer-shaped control hall on the top floor, Jubian and the Mage received a heroic welcome from numerous researchers.
"Two pioneers exploring the universe, we could only watch your live broadcasts before, but today we finally get to meet you in person!"
The Academician of the Engineering Academy responsible for receiving them was particularly excited.
"Let me introduce to my comrades, this is Associate Professor Zheng Mingyu from the Physics Department of Youzhou University, and this is Dr. Li Shen from the First Academy of Aerospace! Welcome!"
Warm applause erupted.
"No, no, no! Everyone is truly too kind!"
After some pleasantries, Jubian looked at a "flame" on the large screen.
"Is that the plasma in the Tokamak reactor chamber?"
"Yes! It's a simulated image from the last experiment."
The Academician looked at it with gentle eyes, as if gazing at his beloved grandson.
"What's the current progress? Long-duration stable discharge? Energy output greater than input?"
The Academician smiled slyly.
Are you looking down on us too much?
"We're about to 'fire a shot' in half an hour. Why don't you go yourselves and witness it firsthand?"
"The people here call an experiment 'firing a shot,'" the Mage explained to Jubian.
"Let's go, let's go!"
The Academician called a few of his favorite disciples and personally led the way for the guests, walking briskly like a young man.
As they walked, the Mage realized this wasn't the path he remembered.
"Aren't we going to EAST? Isn't your experimental device a modified version of the old equipment?"
"It's completely new!"
The Academician turned back, his face filled with unconcealed excitement and joy.
As a military industrialist, Jubian was all too familiar with this expression.
It was the unique demeanor of someone who had achieved a major technological breakthrough but, due to confidentiality regulations, couldn't tell anyone for a long time, and now could finally make it public!
It was a satisfaction that went from the heart to the body!
The group entered an elevator and descended.
"So deep—the current depth must be deeper than the subway, right?"
"More than that, Dr. Li. Our main facilities are all 100 meters underground, and they are not directly beneath the base. This is to prevent hostile nations from becoming enraged and launching nuclear bombs here."
After exiting the elevator, Jubian followed the Academician into a checkpoint built in a tunnel. After a thorough security check, they boarded a subway train with only three carriages.
Along the way, at least 10 armed soldiers saluted them.
The subway traveled for a full ten minutes before stopping.
Stepping out of the station, Jubian passed through another tunnel checkpoint identical to the previous one. Then, following the inspection and observation route, he entered the massive underground factory from a raised second-floor platform.
This space was at least 50 meters high and at least the size of a football field. The walls and ceiling were reinforced with thick steel structures and C200 special concrete, the kind that resists nuclear strikes.
"Look, Mingyu! It's that one!"
Jubian pointed to a piece of equipment on the right side of the venue.
He was all too familiar with that thing; it was a fully superconducting Tokamak-type gas fusion reactor, its appearance nine-tenths similar to the blueprint on the industrial ship in the game.
Surrounding indicator lights showed that it was in operation.
It was built so quickly! "The instantaneous peak power has finally broken through 100GW! The experiment was a success!!!"
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice came from the nearby control platform, followed by cheers and applause from various parts of the factory.
Jubian and the Mage exchanged glances.
"Did I hear that right?"
"100GW, are you sure it's not 100MW!?"
The Academician burst out laughing.
"Of course you heard correctly. This one reactor is equivalent to five Three Gorges power stations, and unlike hydropower, which is affected by seasonal hydrological conditions, it can generate at least 800 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, accounting for 8% of the current national electricity generation, easily meeting the living and production electricity needs of the entire province and surrounding areas."
That's a bit impressive! Jubian hadn't expected the progress of nuclear fusion in reality to be so fast!
A 100GW reactor was not far behind the 200GW-class reactor used on the "Qinling" and could be considered a product of the same generation!
"This power generation capacity means—we have completely overcome room temperature, and even high-temperature superconductivity?"
"The breakthrough was completed two months ago, but it wasn't us who achieved it; it was other brother institutes. They said that the ready-made technology was handed to them, and the necessary materials are not unavailable for mining in this country. If they still couldn't produce it, they would be ashamed of the nation, their alma mater, and their ancestors!"
The Academician sighed with infinite emotion,
"Whether it's them or us, many people haven't really gone home in these past few months; they've all been sleeping on cots in the laboratory! Unaware of what year it is in the heavenly palace! The vast starry sky is now finally within reach!"
Good!
Everyone is working so hard!
The intelligence and diligence of the Chinese people never disappoint!
Jubian, somewhat choked up, looked down at the experimental site below, where miracles had been created. His gaze was drawn to a device in the corner that was slightly smaller in diameter but taller in structure and cylindrical in shape.
"Wait, wait, that couldn't be—"
"Yes! It's exactly what you're thinking of, a magnetic mirror-type nuclear fusion reactor for nuclear-powered rockets! With a power of 120GW!"
At this moment, the Academician was like a child king constantly showing off expensive toys.
"Dr. Li! I've already solved the heat source problem for you. Next, it's up to your First Academy to develop a fusion direct-injection engine based on it, to lead us into the interstellar era at a run!"
"Definitely—definitely!!"
Looking at these epoch-making reactors, the Mage fell into deep thought.
"What I want to ask is, where did all the electricity just generated go?"
"There are complete power distribution facilities underground," the Academician replied, "but it hasn't been connected to the grid yet. The electricity generated from the experiment just now has all been charged into the local superconducting capacitor array. Gentlemen, please come this way, I have a big treasure to show you!"
Good heavens, you're still hiding things!
The two followed the Academician to a laptop, where the latter opened an engineering blueprint.
"What's on this map—it's the subway line we took to get here, but what's this parallel track next to it? How does it extend all the way into the nearby reservoir?"
"That's an electromagnetic acceleration track with a total length of 15 kilometers. Its starting point is buried nearly 400 meters deep, the burial depth gradually decreases in the middle section, and the end section is an arc, finally pointing to the sky at a 30-degree angle.
"It's not fully completed yet. In the future, the end will emerge from under the reservoir, with its highest point 1050 meters above the ground, maintained by a large number of steel cables and guy wires. It's a super project.
"The underground pipeline section is vacuum-sealed to reduce resistance, with an air density of only one-thousandth of that at sea level. It's not under my jurisdiction; it's an asset of the Rocket Force, and even the entire nation..."
The Academician stared into their eyes, deliberately not finishing his sentence, as if eagerly anticipating their reaction.
This is...
"This is a, a, a, a—" a giant mass driver!?"
Jubian and the Mage were completely stunned.
"Hmm! Congratulations, you got it right! Ever since you developed heavy electromagnetic cannons on the other side, the military decided to imitate your achievements and open up a different technological path for large-capacity space transportation, in addition to the existing giant nuclear rocket plan."
The Academician explained.
Simply put, the nation secretly built a super-large caliber electromagnetic cannon underground near the nuclear fusion power plant, capable of launching cargo containers into space!
"Can it accelerate cargo beyond the first cosmic velocity?"
"Of course, otherwise why build it? Once completed, each launch can send 30 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit, or 20 tons of cargo into geostationary orbit, or 9 tons of cargo to the Moon. It can launch at least twice an hour."
Holy cow—
That's a thousand tons of cargo per day at minimum! High-load launches for a month would be enough to send all the construction materials needed for a large military space station into orbit!
After the technological feedback from "Star Sea," this was the first time Jubian personally felt the "counter-feedback" from Earth.
This thing could not only be used on Earth, but a dozen or twenty could also be built in the Desert of Li Star to transport various goods and cargo produced on the ground to synchronous orbit in advance, or even to more distant places.
If interstellar merchant fleets could load and unload cargo in zero gravity in space, each trade run would save at least 3 days!
Jubian looked at the Academician.
"What else are you hiding here? Just bring it all out at once!"
"Hahahahaha! Nothing else, nothing else!"
"However, there is indeed a mysterious visitor waiting for you today, and strictly speaking, a private chat with this mysterious guest is the most important reason why you were called here. Follow me!"