Chapter 291: Too Advanced To Accept
"The world's first commercially viable nuclear fusion reactor, independently developed by our country, will be connected to the grid for power generation tomorrow. This is an epoch-making feat, providing humanity with an inexhaustible supply of clean energy—"
Ye Xing clicked on the news and first saw a video.
In the video, the reactor in the factory building looked exactly like the one on the 'Qinling' class patrol frigates—
Even the power output was similar!
In the comments section below, netizens were excitedly interacting.
Ye Xing wasn't the only one who noticed this; other 'cloud players' who had watched the live stream also figured it out.
"This is exactly like the warship reactor in 'Star Sea.' Could it have been copied?"
"You're really something. Reality copying a game? I'm impressed. This clearly means the game development team consulted industry experts before modeling."
"Indeed! The development team's attitude is as meticulous as ever. Even though players wouldn't complain if the models were just refined enough with some detail, they still went above and beyond!"
"That's not right. How could something so strictly confidential in the early stages be available for the development team to get detailed information just by asking?"
"'Star Sea' is different from other games. You can tell by the scale of the live streams."
"I just want to know, will electricity be free for us to use however we want from now on?"
"Electricity prices will decrease, but it's unlikely to be free. After all, building power plants, maintaining reactors, and refining fuel all cost money."
"At least electricity will be largely free for ordinary people. Haven't you seen this news? Link: 'Anhui Province Implements New Electricity Policy: First 500 kWh per household per month are free.'"
"What the hell!? Is that real—"
"Why is it only limited to Anhui Province?"
"Because the reactor is in Hefei. There's almost no line loss for power transmission within the province. 100GW isn't enough for the whole country, so we'll use it ourselves first."
"Damn it—when will they build a power station here? I'll donate 50!"
"I'll donate 100."
"I'll donate 120."
"Are you even competing over this?"
Alright, alright—
Ye Xing then clicked on another website he frequently visited.
"How do you evaluate Dongda's completion of the world's first nuclear fusion reactor?"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes, first, we won again."
"No need to evaluate, you can keep winning."
"So unexpected, not a single sign. It's like a dream. Now we can say with certainty that the 21st century is our century! The kind where you can't see any other competitors on the track!"
"Let me put it this way: this reactor is merely 'capable of generating electricity,' not 'only for generating electricity.' Within 20 years, we should be able to see our country's interstellar warships."
"Heh heh, give it a rest. Go and honestly do a good job of cost control and reliability control! The entire country's atmosphere is too eager for quick success!"
"Please draft your boasts before spouting them."
"This is clearly news used to attract investment. It feels like every now and then, I see a similar one."
"Yeah, I'm laughing. This only fools those who don't know the industry. Those truly in the industry know what's going on; the technical level is still at least 50 years behind."
"It's already outdated? Many developed Western countries have already abandoned nuclear power."
"Can the two upstairs unify your statements first? Is it 50 years behind, or already outdated?"
"In short, nuclear power is too dangerous and not environmentally friendly at all. If you dare to use electricity generated by nuclear fusion, just wait to get cancer from radiation."
"Can you clean up your language? Can you stick to the facts?"
As usual, the comment section gathered all sorts of "experts."
Some people earnestly copied and pasted detailed information about controlled nuclear fusion experimental devices from other countries.
"...In summary, humanity has actually been able to achieve controlled nuclear fusion for a long time. Many countries can do it, and our technology is just what Russia phased out."
"The key is how long the plasma can be sustained, and whether the output energy is greater than the input. In this regard, our tokamak is far, far behind the Europeans' stellarator. Perhaps the tokamak is a dead end, and we've been doing useless work all along."
"Not useless work. Those scientific research parasites on the project can take their achievements and papers to get promoted, and they're very happy."
"It's said these people only do an experiment once a month. They play games at work and then wait for a sucker to invest."
"It's all relatives and connections inside."
"Isn't this just fraud?! Can it be reported?"
News link: 'Nuclear Fusion Power? Don't Be Ridiculous, the EAST Superconducting Tokamak Can't Even Power a Microwave!'
"Hahahaha, can't even power home appliances, I'm dying of laughter! They've been exposed now~~"
"Don't panic, you can still win from other angles."
"Are the eyes of the people upstairs blind? Can't you see the four big words 'connected to the grid for power generation'? This time it's a commercial reactor! It's not the same thing you're discussing. Can you find the second commercial fusion reactor in the world?!"
"Look, look, the 'win-scholars' are here, sniffing it out."
"How do you prove the electricity in the grid comes from this reactor? What evidence do you have?"
"You're the easiest kind of person to fool. You believe whatever they say."
"When you get older, remember to come to me to buy health products."
"The officials are just lying, aren't they? It's not the first time. They ruined their credibility by spreading false rumors themselves. Who can they blame now?"
Ye Xing left a comment and reluctantly closed the post.
"It feels like certain spineless creatures are even more active than before. They've completely lost their temper."
In any case, continuing to read wouldn't yield any useful "inside information."
The internet comment sections have long become an emotional outlet, with 99% of the voices coming from the 1% of professional agitators most skilled at manufacturing public sentiment.
Reasoning with these people is useless. The weapon of criticism still cannot replace the criticism of weapons.
Perhaps for them, the news of a single nuclear fusion reactor connecting to the grid isn't exciting enough, not aggressive enough, not "desperate" enough.
Then they can just keep waiting.
Ye Xing clicked on other posts that had slightly lower popularity but were still being followed by many people.
"No—everyone, look at what this is!? It's too sci-fi, I accidentally photographed it on the highway. image.jpeg"
A military vehicle's cargo bed had its rain tarp slightly lifted, revealing an exquisitely crafted mechanical arm inside.
"Could it be a prop from 'The Wandering Earth 3'?"
"This texture—doesn't look like a movie prop!"
This is a Barbarian Exoskeleton!?
Ye Xing knew he couldn't be mistaken; he had worn and used this thing!
Although the photo wasn't very clear, the object in the picture was exactly the same as Cangyuan's first-generation military exoskeleton in the game!
Was this also because they consulted a professional military advisor before modeling?
No!
More than half a year of Investigator experience in the game told him that things were definitely not that simple!
Quickly, to the next post.
"I took this from a plane yesterday. What are all these things?"
From an aerial view, large cylindrical metal components were lined up on the ground.
"Goodness—where was this taken? Submarine sections?"
"You dare to post this randomly? Be careful, you might get silver handcuffs."
"Doesn't look like submarine sections, not that thick."
"And the diameter is too large. Compared to the factories next to them, it's at least twenty meters, while the thickest nuclear submarine is only thirteen or fourteen meters."
"Feels like they're for building carrier rockets—"
"Don't be silly, where on Earth are there rockets that big? And there are too many of them. Are they going to fight aliens or something?"
Netizens didn't know that as secrecy levels quietly dropped, posts that used to be deleted instantly or couldn't pass review were now simply overlooked by officials.
In fact, some people were posting "by imperial decree."
"Whose new drone is this? So big! So fast! And why does it have mechanical arms?"
"Is this real? Damn it, I just got my car! News link: 'New Battery About to Go Into Production, Home Electric Car Range Expected to Increase to 15,000 Kilometers.'"
Aren't these industrial drones and metal-hydrogen batteries? They're all from the game!
Ye Xing felt a tingling sensation in his limbs.
What's going on? The technologies from the game are being realized one by one. Could it all be true?!
He tried his best to calm down and thought deeply for a long time.
That's right! The facts are there. The blueprints in the game 'Star Sea' are all achievable!
Not only will near-future concepts like fusion reactors and exoskeletons truly appear before the public, but even interstellar warships, I'm afraid, will also...—
After eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remains, no matter how contrary to common sense, can only be the truth!
Ye Xing reached a conclusion he believed was unassailable:
The game 'Star Sea' has a strong official background, and it's not just a game, but a teaching and training software developed by the state with heavy investment!
The blueprint settings within it all come from the cutting-edge technologies that this country is developing or is about to develop.
And the players invited into the game must have been carefully selected, a group of people with the most promise for future interstellar exploration.
The purpose of the game is to cultivate talent for the country's interstellar development!
Yes, it must be this way.
This explains why 'Star Sea's' technical prowess is ridiculously high.
Why its development seems to disregard costs, striving for perfection.
Why it must be played in a fully immersive simulation.
It's all to select enough talented and skilled people, and then intensely train them. So, if my performance in the game is outstanding enough, will I also be selected for humanity's first interstellar exploration team in the real world?
To become a true astronaut, a space hero, representing humanity in a great expedition?
That's pretty awesome...
Damn, no!
From now on, I have to do tasks twice as hard! I must maintain my position as the highest-level player!
After completing his self-conviction, Ye Xing logged into the player community and found that many players shared his thoughts.
Everyone felt that the game was preparation for real-world cosmic voyages. From now on, they would treat it as a career more important than work and strive hard!
You guys play well, and in the future, you'll definitely be able to change your fate against all odds!
No longer having to be humble beasts of burden! Haha!
In response, Lu Yuan, in front of his screen, simply smiled faintly.
Then let the competition truly begin. I have no objections.