Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 60 The Illuminated Sun

September 13, 2*30.

Countdown: Two days.

The weather is overcast.

Although society as a whole is in an increasingly tense state, today is still a day to celebrate for people in the East.

In Guangzhou, Guangdong, a large screen in a square is displaying footage from thousands of miles away.

People busy with various tasks briefly paused their work and gathered here, all looking up at the sky. Some clutched their small red flags tightly, while others had already unfurled long banners with a line of large, square characters printed on the bright red ribbons—

Warmest congratulations on the complete success of the EAST super toroidal ignition and continuous steady-state operation experiment!

Yes, what everyone is waiting for is the news of victory for this cutting-edge technology that signifies a new stage for humanity.

When it comes to controlled nuclear fusion, some people have said since the last century that it would be completed in fifty years. But decade after decade has passed, and the goal of fifty years seems to have remained unchanged.

Until recently, ASEAN suddenly announced a major breakthrough in the field of room-temperature superconductivity, and with the technological innovations it has triggered, it has also begun to modify several fusion devices in the country.

The EAST C100 located in Luzhou is the fastest and most reliable one among them. Its reconstruction work has not been kept completely secret, and many news has been released step by step. Today, the time has finally come for the results of this emergency reconstruction.

Based on the information and data released by the East, many people already know how far this technology will go, which undoubtedly gives everyone a boost of confidence in the days leading up to this great catastrophe.

It is no exaggeration to say that the entire history of humankind will be divided in two from this point on.

Hundreds of millions of people in the East, and even countless people on Earth, are all paying attention to this momentous event that could change the world.

They either waited quietly with their phones in hand, or watched on TV or computer with their families.

In places with large squares nearby, tens of thousands of people will spontaneously come to celebrate this exciting moment with their fellow countrymen, whether they are familiar or unfamiliar.

This square in Huacheng is just like that. At this moment, Sun Long and his crew have changed into their standard military uniforms as they wished. They are both maintaining order here and participating in the upcoming grand celebration.

I don't know how many people came here. In short, it was very noisy at first, with crowds of people and a cacophony of noise. The weather was actually a bit muggy, but no one cared. There was a thick sense of anticipation in the air.

When the scene on the screen reached a crucial point, most people fell silent.

The scene in the command center appeared on the live broadcast. Sitting in the front row were several elderly people with full heads of white hair. People who don't pay much attention to cutting-edge technology might not recognize who they were, but those in the know already showed a look of respect.

The First Academy of Sciences' Institute of Physics, Academician Chen Jun, Academician Zhao Min, and Academician Wu Mingli from the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, as well as Zhuo Pingguang, the chief commander in charge of the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Toroidal Equipment) upgrade project.

Each of them has published numerous works and is a leading figure in their respective fields, truly an evergreen and enduring force in ASEAN academia.

At the same time, two images appeared next to the big screen: one was still dimly lit, and the other showed the exterior of the fusion device.

That was the EAST device, which was eleven meters high, eight meters in diameter, and weighed over four hundred tons. A month had passed, and its appearance was already different from when Su Xun first saw it.

The parts that were originally disassembled have now been reassembled. The main unit, which was already extremely 'compact' among similar devices, has now shrunk even further. Its originally complex and dense pipelines and control equipment are now covered by a shell, making it look more complete and simpler.

A flagpole stands at the top, with the tail of a red flag hanging from a high-altitude vehicle, stretched out flat.

As for the dimly lit one, that is the scene inside the core vacuum chamber.

Yes, the nuclear fusion core region can be observed. Because the ion density inside the main vacuum chamber of the Tokamak device is very low and the high-temperature plasma is confined to the middle of the container by a strong magnetic field, the temperature of the container wall is not unacceptably high.

Through a periscope-like light guide structure, the control room can directly observe the entire process of the artificial star's birth via a small observation window.

In the command center, a reporter from CCTV had already briefed the audience on the situation. Soon, the camera focused on a close-up of the commander-in-chief, Zhuo Pingguang. Without any further instructions, the relevant procedures had already been arranged. The commander-in-chief simply pulled the microphone and proceeded with the countdown in an orderly manner.

"Three minutes to prepare."

"One minute to prepare."

"Fifty seconds...forty seconds..."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." On the screen, in the control hall, the countdown voice uttered by the commander-in-chief was steady and calm, neither too fast nor too slow. However, outside the screen, countless people were already counting down with him.

Alone, he silently counted while looking at the screen on his phone.

Countless people in the square spontaneously counted down in unison.

"five!"

"Four!"

"three!"

"two!"

"one!!!"

As the final command rang out, seemingly sensing the anticipation and fervent emotions of millions of people, the commander-in-chief, Zhuo Pingguang, raised his voice and issued the order: "Ignite!"

Instantly, a beam of pinkish-purple light suddenly shone in a ring-shaped cavity at the center of the device!

The light was not explosive, but rather like a miniature stellar core that had been forcibly compressed and tamed, rotating and pulsating steadily within an invisible magnetic field cage.

In the lower right corner of the screen, the value of the plasma center temperature was displayed, which was rising rapidly at an unprecedented rate before stabilizing.

There was only a brief round of applause in the control room. In fact, they had already successfully conducted an ignition test before the live broadcast started, and they had expected the current result.

The general public is already excited and eager, for the first step towards victory is already in sight.

Cheers erupted at this moment, but a certain emotion was still suppressed, and a certain expectation remained.

After a round of celebration, countless people held their breath once again, their excitement mingling with the data that continued to constrain the time.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

When the ten-minute mark was reached, people everywhere could hardly contain their excitement, and the staff in the control room cheered as they watched the energy efficiency and temperature curves that were running smoothly and steadily. Amid the enthusiastic applause, countless people were moved to tears.

"It's done!!!"

In the square, before the host could even announce it, people who were close to the screen and familiar with the relevant information shouted it out with all their might, their voices hoarse.

That sound was like a dam bursting open! The long-suppressed joy erupted!
Suddenly, firecrackers went off, countless people waved red flags, and countless people shouted joyfully. People hugged each other tightly, whether they knew them or not, and patted each other's backs. At this moment, the emotions that had been increasingly suppressed and tense by the great catastrophe for the past month were suddenly relaxed.

Who can truly understand the emotions contained within this?
In short, the entire planet Earth now knows that on the eve of this impending catastrophe, the people standing in the East have already ushered in a new era, bringing forth a dazzling dawn in the impending boundless darkness.

(End of this chapter)