Chapter 8: The Chairman of the Council

"The Chairman of the Council?!"

Jiang Yongxing gasped in shock.

"How… how did this escalate to Chairman Li?"

Fang Xu's expression was grave as he spoke softly. "There's something you might not be aware of yet."

"Something seems to have happened with ITER… involving our country."

Jiang Yongxing's face instantly turned pale.

"What?! Something happened with ITER?!"

ITER, short for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, is a superconducting tokamak device capable of producing large-scale nuclear fusion reactions.

As one of its member nations, China could use this device to obtain valuable data on controlled nuclear fusion.

As for why China didn't build its own…

The reason was simple.

It was expensive and complicated!

The entire ITER project took thirteen years and cost five billion US dollars!

Although China had been developing well in recent years, spending so much money on an experimental machine was still considered too extravagant!

After all, whether the tokamak device could sustain controlled nuclear fusion was still an unknown!

If the money and time were spent, only to end up with a useless giant machine, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

…

Within the first ring of Beijing.

A location not found on any map.

Hong Qiming stood at the door of an office, his expression solemn as he knocked.

"Come in!"

An elderly voice came from inside.

Hong Qiming slowly pushed the door open and entered.

A gray-haired old man sat behind the desk, quietly observing him.

The old man's eyes were filled with wisdom and confidence, as if he held the entire world in his grasp!

"Chairman Li!"

Hong Qiming greeted the old man respectfully.

The old man set down his pen and spoke slowly. "Minister Hong, I heard you have something important to report?"

Hong Qiming quickly nodded and relayed the details of the report from Sandao University.

Chairman Li's expression grew increasingly serious.

"Is this true?"

Hong Qiming hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "It should be true. You remember Academician Fang Xu, right?"

Chairman Li nodded. "Of course. He led the team that achieved our latest breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion, didn't he?"

"Does this matter… involve him?"

Hong Qiming nodded again. "Fang Xu and the professors at Sandao University conducted a preliminary evaluation of the proposal. He has great confidence in it!"

Chairman Li fell silent for a moment.

He reached into a stack of documents beside him, pulled out a file, and handed it to Hong Qiming. "Before we discuss that, take a look at this."

Hong Qiming, puzzled, took the file. The moment he saw the title, his eyes visibly filled with anger!

"This! This can't be!"

"Our scientists would never do something so despicable!"

Chairman Li sighed deeply, a hint of worry in his eyes.

He slowly shook his head. "Whether it's possible or not… that's not for us to decide."

"The ITER project has been looking for an excuse to kick us out. So, whether our scientists did this or not, it doesn't matter."

Hong Qiming wanted to say more but stopped himself. "But…"

"But this is a terrible blow to our reputation!"

Hong Qiming clenched his teeth and looked back at the document in his hands.

The document detailed allegations that Chinese scientists working on the ITER project had stolen important experimental data.

"Then… what should we do?"

"Are we just going to sit back and let ITER slander us?!"

Chairman Li spoke calmly. "In addition to slandering us, they've also demanded that we voluntarily withdraw from the ITER project."

"This news will likely be officially released tomorrow."

Boom!

Hong Qiming felt as if the blood vessels in his brain had exploded!

"This… this is outrageous!"

"This is simply… simply too much!"

Chairman Li spoke slowly. "I showed you this document not for any other reason, but to tell you one thing."

"From now on, China's research on controlled nuclear fusion will have to rely solely on ourselves."

"So, you should understand what needs to be done, right?"

Facing Chairman Li's meaningful gaze, Hong Qiming's expression grew serious.

"Understood!"

"Please rest assured, Chairman Li. I will head to Sandao University immediately!"

…

In the evening, after wandering around campus all day, Lü Yongchang returned to his dorm.

"Whoa! Brother Lü, you're finally back!"

As soon as he pushed open the dorm room door, his roommate Wu Qi's voice greeted him.

"Brother Lü, what on earth were you thinking during physics class today?"

Faced with his roommate's curious question, Lü Yongchang chuckled awkwardly, unsure how to explain.

Should he tell him he was reborn?

After a moment of thought, a plausible excuse came to mind.

"Ahem! I've been working on something in my spare time recently. During class, I had a sudden impulse and went up to write it down."

Wu Qi's curiosity grew. "Research? What did you research?"

"By the way, what did Professor Guan want with you? He didn't expel you, did he?"

Lü Yongchang: "…???"

Expel him?

Why would he be expelled?

Forget expulsion—he was probably about to be "promoted" soon!

Of course, he couldn't say that to Wu Qi.

"Uh… Professor Guan thought my research was valuable and gave me some positive feedback. Then… he let me go."

Wu Qi: "???"

"That's it?!"

Wu Qi stared at Lü Yongchang in disbelief. "Don't mess with me. Everyone says Professor Guan is super strict!"

Lü Yongchang quickly changed the subject. "Did what happened in physics class this morning spread?"

Wu Qi shook his head, his expression turning slightly serious.

"Don't worry. Aside from the students in class, I doubt anyone else knows."

Lü Yongchang's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Wu Qi in shock. "Are you serious?!"

In this era of rampant gossip, he had already prepared himself for instant fame!

Wu Qi didn't respond. Instead, he turned and pulled out a sheet of A4 paper, handing it to Lü Yongchang.

Confidentiality Agreement

Seeing the bold black letters on the paper, Lü Yongchang shook his head with a wry smile.

He hadn't expected Professor Guan to be so thorough, making all the students sign confidentiality agreements!

But… this was for the best.

For now, the sun hadn't begun to change.

If China wanted to become the leader of the Earth Federation, this was the last chance to overtake the competition!

As a native of China, Lü Yongchang naturally hoped that all Chinese people could survive the coming disaster!

As for how to survive…

He had already figured it out!

Since the sun's destruction was inevitable, he had to lead China—and humanity—away from Earth within twenty years!

Only the boundless stars above could offer a path to survival!

____

ITER is an international collaborative project for the development of nuclear fusion involving scientists and engineers from Canada, Europe, Japan, and Russia. ITER's mission is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful purposes.

*Update January 2025: Participating countries in ITER include the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as China, India, Japan, Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States.