I am devoted to scientific research, but you want to trick me into having a love relationship?

Chapter 772 can be summed up in two words: pay up.
After completing the one-hour ignition maintenance, everyone had a good three-day rest before throwing themselves back into their busy work.

In his office, Xu Qingzhou was looking down, working on perfecting the test model for the magnetic confinement system upgrade.

The manuscript was covered with densely packed formulas.

Two hours passed quietly, and it was 3 p.m.

He finally snapped out of his tedious calculations, rubbed his aching temples, and called Wang Sidong in, asking her to deliver the finished model to Ren Nan.

"There are only two months left in 2021. The intelligent control system must be completed by the end of December."

"I have a lot to do. I have to attend a meeting next month."

At the end of October, both he and Song Yao received invitations to the 2020 National Science and Technology Awards Conference. He was a scholar, while Song Yao was a representative of the technology industry.

The National Science and Technology Awards Conference is considered the highest-level national science and technology event in the Xia Kingdom.

Normally, it is held in March or November of the following year. Of course, the time may be postponed due to reasons such as the process. For example, in 2018, it was moved from March to June.

For some reason, it was postponed to December 3rd this year.

Boom~boom~
There was a knock at the door.

"Please come in."

"Professor, they've arrived."

Wang Sidong led four people in.

"Professor Xu, hello. My name is Liu Bin, and I am the head of the security team. Starting today, we will be responsible for your security."

The leading man said.

Xu Qingzhou shook hands with the other party and said with a smile, "Welcome to the research institute. I'll be in your care from now on."

"You're too kind. Protecting the nation's scientific personnel is our job."

Liu Bin shook his head and said.

He had been working in security for over a decade, and this was the first time he had ever seen someone so young to be protected.

However, he did not slack off at all.

The person in front of me is the kind of scientist whose fate is in the hands of the nation.

"This is Yang Xiaolin, the deputy team leader."

"Professor Xu, hello."

"Hello, welcome."

Xu Qingzhou greeted the four members of the security team.

The Qiankun Demonstration Project has been approved.

As the person in charge, Xu Qingzhou's security level was upgraded, and a four-person team was formed to take charge. The team members came from different departments, with "Liu Bin" in front of him serving as the team leader and "Yang Xiaolin," the only woman in the team, serving as the deputy team leader.

Liu Bin, you could tell at a glance that he came from the military. When you shook hands with him, you could clearly feel the calluses on his hands.

In addition to security personnel, the car he was traveling in was also changed to a special bulletproof vehicle.

"Professor Xu, we'll go back to work now."

"it is good."

Liu Bin led his men out, ready to immediately begin work and connect with the institute's original security system.

In fact, under normal circumstances, there won't be any major problems. The security situation in Xia Kingdom is good compared to other parts of the world.

The Xia Kingdom is no longer one of those small countries; no other country dares to openly assassinate any important figure of the Xia Kingdom on its soil.

However, we must guard against certain forces resorting to desperate measures. Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance of being attacked, the country will not gamble.

The importance of a top scientist like Xu Qingzhou to a country is self-evident. Even without foreign assassination attempts, raising security levels can, to some extent, prevent such unforeseen accidents.

Previously, a 40-year-old top AI expert from the military was inexplicably involved in a car accident.

"They've really made something of themselves, even having a security team now."

Xu Qingzhou smiled helplessly and sighed, "Although there will be some inconvenience in traveling, it is much better than it was decades ago."

In the 1960s and 70s, top scientists changed their names and went to the Gobi Desert to establish research institutes, cutting off all communication with anyone, including their families and wives, and physically isolating themselves from everyone.

This is also why Xu Qingzhou greatly admires the older generation of scientists.

Some of these elders lived in anonymity for decades, and their families even thought they had abandoned their families. By the time their identities were revealed, their fathers and elder brothers had already passed away.

The United States acted very quickly.

Just three days after the Institute of Materials Science announced its findings, it held a press conference.

Over the next two years, the U.S. Department of Energy plans to increase its investment budget for controlled nuclear fusion by $1000 billion, reiterating its goal of building commercial nuclear fusion power plants by 2025.

The National Fusion Mission Group was established.

The Secretary of Energy will directly lead and coordinate the work of units such as NIF, DII-D, and NSTX-U, with the goal of achieving hourly combustion by 2022.
The plan is to upgrade the NIF’s existing 192-beam laser system to 300 beams, with a target energy gain Q>10.

In addition to its plans in the field of controlled nuclear fusion, NASA has also launched a joint promotional campaign, claiming that fusion is the cornerstone of Mars colonization and that it will soon announce its future Mars colonization plans.

All the news combined is trying to say: the United States is not lagging behind.

Washington, D.C.

"How's the feedback?"

Ram had just returned to his office after attending an energy conference and went straight to ask Marco.

"The results are excellent. Shares of privately-owned fusion companies such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems and TAE Technologies have surged by over 300% in a single day!"

Marco was somewhat surprised.

This fully demonstrates the resilience of the US economy.

"Oil workers' demonstrations have broken out in Texas and Alaska."

"Instead of doing these meaningless things, I suggest they buy some TAE stock. They'll definitely make more money than drilling for oil in the future."

Ram sneered, paused, and continued, "I have assured the president that we will catch up with Xia's technology in the shortest possible time. More than those workers, I'd like to know about the situation on your end."

"Professor Perkz will launch a 6-minute net energy gain experiment on the 13th."

"Six minutes? Xia has already achieved 60 minutes of continuous ignition. Are you asking me to tell the taxpayers: Hey friends, yesterday's news was all a lie. We've fallen behind. Our current technology is only one-tenth as advanced as Xia's?"

Ram frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the number.

“Mr. Ram, before this, NIF had only achieved a net gain of 45 seconds.”

Marco couldn't help but remind him.

In recent months, the duration of NIF’s net energy gain has been extended from 10 seconds to 45 seconds. Unfortunately, this achievement is worthless in the current field of fusion.

“Marco, listen, I don’t care how difficult the process was, I only care about the result. The fact is, they took our $60 billion in funding, and now they’re telling me that the US is still 10 times behind China.”

“Unfortunately, scientific and technological development cannot be achieved overnight, Mr. Ram. This is a newly launched project by NIF and DIII-D.” Marco handed over the documents in his hand.

Ram flipped through the project details, his brows furrowing again. All the details boiled down to just two words—pay up.

"how much is it?"

"About 20 billion."

(End of this chapter)