Building a Sci-Fi Empire: Starting with Cold Nuclear Fusion

The look in everyone's eyes changed.

Initially, people believed that Chen Yuan enjoyed the treatment of an associate senior official because of his connections, so they were dissatisfied.

They didn't have a problem with Chen Yuan, but rather with the injustice.

However, at this moment, they knew very well that Chen Yuan did not enjoy the treatment of an associate senior official because of his background.

Although Chen Yuan didn't show much, it was enough to demonstrate that he possessed genuine talent and learning.

It is impossible for someone who has not conducted in-depth research on nuclear fusion to propose the concept of a "super stellarator," a gravitational confinement nuclear fusion device.

Jiang Guowei felt secretly ashamed.

Xiao Su, Ma Weixing, Lü Yunming, and others secretly rejoiced.

They were initially very dissatisfied with the "injustice".

Some people even wanted to retaliate when Chen Yuan was being "outrageous".

In the end, they realized they had misunderstood the other person.

Thank goodness I didn't overreact just now, otherwise I would have felt really bad for Xiao Chen.

The dozens of staff members in the research lab now acknowledged and accepted Chen Yuan as a person.

Even Zhou Shangqin, the director, who had been keeping a straight face, now had a happy smile on his face.

How could he not be happy to have such a capable subordinate?

Yu Xu, Shen Yun, Zhang Qian, and the others knew that Chen Yuan was capable, but they really didn't expect that he was capable enough to have already started to think about developing controlled nuclear fusion.

Seeing that Chen Yuanyue was quite satisfied, Shen Yunyue asked with a smile, "Mr. Chen, may I ask why you took out the concept drawings of the super stellarator to make a model?"

Chen Yuan blinked and said, "Isn't there someone who isn't giving us enough R&D funding? Once the super stellarator model is made, show it to him and explain the concepts I just mentioned in detail. I believe that after he understands it, he will definitely give us enough funding."

He brought up the concept of a super stellarator not to get the approval or disapproval of these researchers.

He didn't care what these people thought of him at all; he just wanted to use this thing to get research and development funding.

Yes, the super stellarator is very sci-fi, and it seems unrealistic to ask for money for something that is just a concept. But what if we combine it with the semi-controlled nuclear fusion technology that we have previously demonstrated?

Those in power will surely think that they are no longer satisfied with building a semi-controlled nuclear fusion reactor, but are thinking about developing real controlled nuclear fusion technology. And because they have semi-controlled nuclear fusion technology as a foundation, most people will think that it is possible for them to develop controlled nuclear fusion.

Is it worthwhile to allocate 50 billion yuan in research and development funds if there is a possibility of developing controlled nuclear fusion?

Anyone would know it's definitely worth giving!

"What kind of funding?"

"I don't know, does anyone know the situation?"

Ma Weixing, Jiang Guowei, Lü Yunming, and others were completely unaware that a new large-scale project was about to begin, and were somewhat bewildered upon hearing this.

Not to mention them, even Zhou Shangqin, the director of the fourth office, knew nothing about it.

Yu Xu's eyes lit up and he said, "Hey, once the concept model of the super stellarator is completed, it might actually allow us to get a large amount of research and development funding."

Zhou Shangqin, puzzled, asked, "Research and development funding?"

Xu Gang rarely spoke up, saying, "Oh, Mr. Chen was specially invited back to oversee the development of a major project. This project may involve several tens of billions of yuan. It's not convenient to disclose the specifics of the project at the moment. I will inform you in detail after you sign the confidentiality agreement."

what?

Chen Yuan was specially invited back to lead the development of major projects?

Zhou Shangqin's eyes flickered.

Xiao Su and Ma Weixing looked at each other in bewilderment.

Jiang Guowei and the remaining dozens of researchers vaguely understood something.

If they are not mistaken, although Mr. Chen is not well-known, he has actually already demonstrated remarkable abilities; otherwise, he would not have been specially invited back by the research institute to lead the development of major projects.

They even believe that this major project was most likely brought by Chen Yuan himself, and the research institute was just benefiting from it.

Upon learning this information, the way everyone looked at Chen Yuan didn't change; instead, it was filled with a sense of respect.

The person who leads them on major projects is not just a benefactor, but someone who has the potential to make them famous and successful. Who wouldn't respect that?

Jiang Guowei's tone changed immediately, and he said with a beaming smile, "Mr. Chen, the concept art for the super stellarator is out. What do you need us to do next in making the model?"

He initially called Chen Yuan "Little Chen," but now he calls him "Mr. Chen," which shows the change in his mind.

Ma Weixing laughed and said, "We'll just do whatever Mr. Chen tells us to do. Do we even need to ask?"

"right."

"Mr. Chen, please feel free to give your instructions."

"Don't be so polite with us, just tell us what's on your mind."

Xiao Su, Lü Yunming, and the others immediately expressed their willingness to obey all of Chen Yuan's arrangements.

From initial dissatisfaction to now expressing compliance.

It must be said that the change in the attitude of this group of people is quite significant.

Chen Yuan said, "Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony with everyone. I'll say thank you in advance, and let's get to work now."

……

The following morning.

Beijing, in an office.

Mr. Lu just returned from the morning meeting.

Suddenly, the secretary came in from outside. "Boss, the Institute of Plasma Physics called while you were in the meeting."

Mr. Lu, who had just sat down and hadn't even had a sip of tea, frowned and asked, "You want money?"

The secretary shook her head and said, "No, they sent an urgent airmail shipment, asking you to take a look."

Mr. Lu didn't seem to care and casually said, "It's not just about the money. Take the email and put it aside. I have some urgent business to attend to."

"Okay, I'll have someone bring it over right away." The secretary responded, adding, "The Institute of Plasma Physics asked me to inform them that the contents of this aerospace component were made by Chen Yuan working overtime yesterday."

After saying that, he was about to leave.

Mr. Lu's eyes widened slightly as he called out, "Little Huang."

The secretary turned around and said, "Sir, what are your instructions?"

Mr. Lu changed his tune and said, "Bring the things over here, and while you're at it, contact two nuclear energy experts in Beijing and have them come to my office."

The secretary tentatively asked, "Academician Xin and Professor Zhang Shulin from Huazhong Nuclear Power Group are both nuclear energy experts. They just returned to Beijing last night. Should I invite them over?"

After a moment's thought, Mr. Lu nodded and said, "Okay, those two will do."

He knew everything about Huahe and Chen Yuan's situation, so why did he invite Xin Long and Zhang Shulin, who might be uncomfortable with him, to come over?

The reason is simple: Mr. Lu knew that what Chen Yuan sent must be a high-tech product related to nuclear fusion or something else, and the purpose of all this was most likely to get money.

Why doesn't he find someone who can find fault to reduce the R&D funding, or is he going to find someone with good relations with the Institute of Plasma Physics?

Mr. Lu didn't mean he didn't want to pay; it's just that 50 billion was too much.

Even if he wanted to approve it, he would have to go through a lot of procedures, which is too troublesome.

Besides, how could he possibly give so much money before seeing the results?

What if the project fails?

Let's start by giving them a few billion to test the waters.

If the project has a real chance of success, it's not too late to add more funding.

This is Mr. Lu's truest thought from the bottom of his heart; he has considered many things.

Before long, Secretary Huang had someone bring in a wooden box that was bigger than a table and then unpack it.

A very strange device model appeared before my eyes.

Mr. Lu was taken aback. "What is this?"

Secretary Huang asked, puzzled, "I don't know either, but we'll wait for the particle physics research team to say that this is a super stellarator."

"A super stellarator?"

Mr. Lu knew what a stellarator was, but he really didn't know what the difference was when the word "super" was added.

He suppressed his curiosity and waited for Xin Long and Zhang Shulin to arrive.

More than half an hour later, Xin Long and Zhang Shulin were led in.

"Mr. Lu."

"You're looking for us?"

Xin Long and Zhang Shulin greeted each other respectfully as soon as they entered.

Mr. Lu sat in his office chair, pointed to the wall on his left and said, "Help me see what kind of device model this is."

"Okay." Xin Long looked in the direction Mr. Lu was pointing. "I think..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly exclaimed, "Eh!"

Zhang Shulin, who was also looking over, showed great interest on his face.

The two quickly walked to the super stellarator model and squatted down to examine it carefully.

"That's very interesting."

"Yes, it's a very bold idea."

"Although it has a strong science fiction flavor, I have to admire its imagination."

"If such a device can be made, controlled nuclear fusion should be easy to achieve."

Xin Long and Zhang Shulin exclaimed in amazement as they watched, both captivated by the imagination of the super star simulator.

If such a device can be made, controlled nuclear fusion will be very easy to achieve.

Mr. Lu's heart skipped a beat, and he realized what kind of device this was.

Xin Long stared intently at the model and said, "Mr. Lu, this should be a model of the core device for nuclear fusion. It looks like a conceptual model."

Mr. Lu asked, "What type of nuclear fusion model is it?"

Xin Long glanced at the model one last time with lingering reluctance before turning around and answering, "Currently, there are two mainstream nuclear fusion technologies globally: magnetic confinement and inertial confinement. The information displayed by this device model indicates that it does not belong to either of these two types, but rather resembles natural gravitational confinement nuclear fusion of stars."

Zhang Shulin added, "Although it's a model of a gravitational confinement fusion device, the mode is somewhat different from that of a star. It's equipped with gravitational lenses and space-bending devices that are only found in science fiction. If this model can be realized, then the device can simulate a miniature black hole environment and distort spacetime to cause changes in gravity, thereby achieving the effect of locking the nuclear fusion reaction in a double gravitational trap. It's ingenious. This device is both bold and ingenious. I really don't know which nuclear fusion technology expert came up with this concept. It's truly ingenious."

Ok?

Simulating a miniature black hole environment?

Distorting spacetime to alter gravity?

How can a dual gravitational trap be used to lock in a nuclear fusion reaction?

Mr. Lu roughly understood why Chen Yuan had sent this device model over.

As expected, Chen Yuan was using this method to inform people that he had already ventured into the research and development of truly controllable nuclear fusion.

The involvement in the research and development of truly controllable nuclear fusion signifies that the previous semi-controllable nuclear fusion "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" technology is nearing completion.

Why was Mr. Lu unwilling to provide sufficient funds before?

Ultimately, isn't it just that they're afraid the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" project won't be completed?

After all, Chen Yuan has never demonstrated the core technology of the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" so far, and Mr. Lu does not know how far the other party can go.

Seeing this super stellarator model, Mr. Lu was certain that Chen Yuan had indeed perfected all the technologies of the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" device!

The fact that all the technologies have been perfected means that the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" can definitely be built; otherwise, Chen Yuan would be playing a trick on people.

Mr. Lu didn't believe that Chen Yuan, a recent graduate, would have the audacity to play tricks on him.

After all, anyone would know how terrible the consequences of such a joke could be.

In short, Chen Yuan's delivery of the super stellarator model signifies his commitment to building a semi-controllable nuclear fusion reactor!

Since a pledge has been made, is this money worth paying?

Mr. Lu's mind has changed.

He calmly followed Zhang Shulin's words and said, "This is a model made by Chen Yuan."

"Made by Chen Yuan?"

"I was wondering why ordinary people would have such bold ideas."

Xin Long and Zhang Shulin suddenly realized.

As they said this, their faces were filled with a mixture of admiration and regret.

Needless to say, Xin Long and Zhang Shulin knew Chen Yuan's abilities. Their regret was that such a talented person should have been able to become their colleague, but because they didn't have the patience to listen at the time, they missed the opportunity to work with such a once-in-a-millennium genius. How could they not regret it?

Mr. Lu tentatively asked, "Can you find any drawbacks in this model?"

Xin Long analyzed seriously, "Aside from being too futuristic and impossible to build with current technology, I can't find any fault with it."

Zhang Shulin nodded and said, "The various devices in the model are all science fiction to us, but Xiao Chen has a precedent of creating science fiction products. I think that since he can produce such a model, given enough time, he might actually be able to develop it."

Xin Long chimed in, "That's right, Xiao Chen is a genius. If someone else had made this model, I might have doubted whether it could be realized in the future. But with his model, I can only say that with semi-controlled nuclear fusion technology as a foundation, it's still possible for him to achieve gravitational confinement fusion!"

The two men spoke highly of Chen Yuan.

Although they regretted missing the opportunity to work with Chen Yuan, they genuinely admired his abilities and did not deliberately nitpick.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Lu remained silent for about half a minute before speaking, "Alright, I understand. Thank you for making this trip for me today. Please go back now, I have some things to take care of."

Indeed, his thoughts completely changed after he learned about the function of the super stellarator.

Five hundred billion yuan in R&D funding?

Mr. Lu thought to himself, "As long as you focus your research in this direction, I'd fight tooth and nail to get you 50 billion, let alone 50 billion!"