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

Two or three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past few days, Chen Yuan has spent his time familiarizing himself with the research institute environment and getting to know his new colleagues. He has also spent the rest of his time looking at detailed information about various companies and universities.

He plans to wait until the project is approved before immediately sending out interview invitations to various companies and universities.

Therefore, it is necessary to do this preliminary work now.

In addition, Chen Yuan has moved from a one-bedroom temporary apartment to a luxury apartment rented by the research institute in the past few days.

It was a super luxurious apartment, reportedly designed by a famous architect.

The entire apartment building is constructed with high-end materials and equipped with a smart home system, giving it a very high-end and sophisticated feel.

As for the money he just received from Huahe Nuclear Power, Chen Yuan didn't spend a single penny. He had been getting to know the environment and his colleagues for the past few days and hadn't had time to spend any money.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Special task force office.

Chen Yuan flipped through the information of a familiar company—Xinghe Company.

He paused, instinctively looking up to the side, and asked, "Xiao Chu, this...?"

When he looked up, he found nothing; Chu Yingying wasn't there at all, she had disappeared somewhere.

Chen Yuan picked up his phone and tagged Chu Yingying in the WeChat group, "Xiao Chu, come to my office."

Chu Yingying quickly replied, "Okay, please wait a moment, boss."

Strangely enough, in all the days Chen Yuan had spent with Chu Yingying, she had never shown any fierceness in front of him, but she was far more than fierce to others; in fact, some of her behavior made him feel disgusted.

Perhaps it was because they saw Chen Yuan ask Chu Yingying to go to his office that someone in the WeChat group immediately started teasing her.

Xiao Su: "Xiao Chu, why aren't you staying by Associate Researcher Chen's side waiting for instructions? Where have you wandered off to?"

Chu Yingying said disgustedly, "I'm taking a dump, do you want some? It's hot, I'll bring it to you later."

Seeing this, Chen Yuan: "..."

Why do you have to use such disgusting language when you're just going to the toilet? Can't you be a little more subtle?

As expected, as soon as Chu Yingying finished speaking, the entire work group of the fourth office immediately fell silent, and no one responded.

Chen Yuan first put Xinghe Company's information aside and then continued to look at the information of other companies.

About ten minutes later, Chu Yingying politely knocked on the door. She only entered after receiving a response from Chen Yuan. "Boss, you wanted to see me?"

Chen Yuan looked up and pointed to the company information on the side, "Why is Xinghe Company's information here?"

Chu Yingying immediately replied, "Large-scale energy storage equipment is generally required in nuclear fusion research and development. Considering that Xinghe Company is a leading new energy equipment development company in the Yangtze River Delta, I have compiled the information for you to review. If you have any objections to this company, I will immediately replace it with another company that can provide large-scale energy storage equipment."

Chen Yuan shook his head and explained, "It's not that I have a problem with Xinghe Company, but we worked together before. If I choose Xinghe Company as a partner, some people might think that I'm showing favoritism."

He was telling the truth. With such a large research and development project as controlled nuclear fusion, there must be many people watching it. If he were to choose Galaxy Company, who knows how others would view him?

Chen Yuan actually really wanted to choose Xinghe Company as a partner.

This doesn't mean he has no feelings for Xinghe Company, but rather that the company's large-scale energy storage equipment is indeed top-notch in the country.

Chu Yingying was very clever and seemed to see through Chen Yuan's concerns. "As the saying goes, when recommending someone, one should not avoid relatives. Although you have worked at Xinghe Company, it is currently the largest energy storage equipment supplier that best meets our project requirements. If you choose it, it will not cause others to have any wild thoughts. In addition, if you have difficulty making a decision, you can pass the question to someone else who can make the decision, so you don't have to worry about people gossiping."

You're supposed to be quite worldly-wise and quick-witted, so why do you usually act like this...?

Chen Yuan couldn't quite understand this girl with such a contrasting personality, but he replied, "Well, take this information to the dean later and tell him I can't make a decision and that he should think about it."

Chu Yingying smiled and said, "Okay, shall I deliver it now?"

Chen Yuan waved his hand and said, "No need, the dean just went out. You can send it over this afternoon."

He then fell silent and continued reading the documents.

Chen Yuan had to identify the companies and universities that needed to be invited to interview before the project was approved, which was a very challenging task.

Time passed by, second by second.

Two hours passed quickly.

Perhaps due to looking down at documents for a long time, Chen Yuan's neck and shoulders were a little sore.

He instinctively raised his head and reached out to pinch the back of his neck.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she made this move, Chu Yingying immediately pulled out a neck massager from her bag and said, "Please use this; it will make your neck and shoulders feel more comfortable."

Chen Yuan was taken aback. "You carry a neck massager with you?"

Chu Yingying said considerately, "Well, I thought you'd be looking at a lot of documents lately, and that you might be having neck and shoulder discomfort from looking down for long periods, so I brought your neck massager from home."

Huh?

You're so caring, you don't seem like a tough girl at all. How come you usually act so disgusting?

Chen Yuan was even more confused, and reached out his hand, saying, "Thank you for considering this. I'll give it a try."

Chu Yingying handed over the neck massager, saying, "You're welcome."

Chen Yuan put the neck massager on the back of his neck and started it up while wondering, "Xiao Chu, there's something I don't know if I should ask."

Chu Yingying opened her eyes wide and said, "Please speak."

This is a pulse massager. As soon as Chen Yuan turned it on, he immediately felt the microcurrent stimulating his muscles to contract and relax, and his sore neck felt much better.

He enjoyed the feeling and casually asked, "You seem quite quiet usually, so why are you talking in the WeChat group...?"

Chu Yingying smiled and said, "Of course, things are different online and in real life. Didn't you see my online name is 'Spear Sticking Shit, Whoever Gets Stabbed is a Scoundrel'?"

Chen Yuan hadn't really noticed before. When he heard that the other person's screen name was like this, he said with a wry smile, "You seem to have a deep obsession with poop. I've seen you mention poop many times in the WeChat group these past few days."

For example, yesterday morning, when no one was speaking in the WeChat group, Chu Yingying sent a message saying that her poop was actually shaped like a bow and arrow.

Chen Yuan was eating breakfast at the time and almost vomited from feeling nauseous.

He's met girls with personality before, but he's never seen one this individualistic.

Chu Yingying blinked and said, "No, it was just something I felt like saying."

Helpless, Chen Yuan could only say, "If you feel something, then you feel something. But in the future, can you please not bring up these things during mealtimes? I was eating breakfast yesterday morning when I saw that message you sent, and I really lost my appetite."

Chu Yingying smiled gently, a stark contrast to her online image, and said, "Okay, I'll try my best not to disgust people during mealtimes in the future."

Chen Yuan was amused. "So you know what a disgusting person is? I thought you didn't."

As we were talking, the landline on the table started ringing.

Chen Yuan picked up the microphone and put it to his ear. "Hello, this is Chen Yuan."

Yu Xu's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Xiao Chen, we're preparing to submit the project approval application form today. Is there anything else you'd like to remind me of?"

Chen Yuan was about to say no, but then he suddenly remembered something and said, "Teacher Yu, could you read the application form to me?"

"Can."

Yu Xu read the application form once.

After listening, Chen Yuan frowned and said, "Change 'experimental reactor' to 'demonstration reactor' on the application form."

"A demonstration stack?" Yu Xu asked in surprise, "This doesn't follow the proper procedures."

Chen Yuan said firmly, "I know it doesn't follow the procedure, but you just keep applying. Don't we have to go through a round of review and defense before the project can be approved? I believe the higher-ups will take this into account, so they won't reject the demonstration stack immediately, but will see what technology I bring out before making a decision."

Yu Xu seemed to understand something. "Okay, I know what to do. But I have to tell you in advance that directly applying for approval of the demonstration stack is very likely to be rejected."

Chen Yuan said, "I know what I'm doing. If the demonstration reactor application is rejected, we'll reapply for the experimental reactor."

Yu Xu said, "Okay."

The two chatted for a few more minutes about the details before hanging up.

Experimental reactors and demonstration reactors are different.

A typical nuclear fusion project requires three steps.

These are the experimental reactor, the demonstration reactor, and the commercial reactor.

The main goal of the experimental reactor is to verify the physical principles of nuclear fusion and break through key scientific problems.

Chen Yuan wants to achieve controlled nuclear fusion, so according to the procedure, he must first apply for an experimental reactor.

For example, EAST and FX300 are both experimental reactors.

Once the experimental reactor is built and has undergone a series of technical improvements to ensure there are no problems, then an application for a demonstration reactor can be submitted.

The demonstration stack is also known as the engineering stack or prototype stack.

The goal is to verify the engineering feasibility of fusion technology, achieve a net energy gain, and demonstrate fusion power generation.

In short, experimental reactors address the question of "can it be done?", while demonstration reactors address the question of "can it be used?" and "how well can it be used?".

Once the demonstration reactor passes all the tests, the application for the ultimate goal of a "commercial reactor" can be submitted.

Once commercial-grade power plants are built, they can supply power to the grid stably and economically, completely changing the way energy is obtained.

Logically speaking, Chen Yuan had mastered controlled nuclear fusion technology and could have directly built a "commercial reactor" without any problem. However, others did not know this and thought that he wanted to use the "hydrogen bomb Dyson sphere" to develop real controlled nuclear fusion technology, so he could only apply for an experimental reactor.

He wants 50 billion yuan in research and development funds, not to build an experimental reactor.

Whether or not Chen Yuan can do it, he knows best.

What he needs to do is create a demonstration stack so that everyone can test whether it works and how well it works.

However, there is a necessary condition for applying for a demonstration reactor: it must be based on the successful verification of the experimental reactor.

It seems impossible for him to directly apply for a demonstration reactor without presenting experimental reactor results, as it would not comply with the procedures.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Yuan realized that he needed to demonstrate some real skill to have any hope of bypassing the experimental reactor and instead applying to build a demonstration reactor.

Row!

Then show us your true skills!

Chen Yuan had made up his mind: he was determined to use his technology to convince his superiors to let him directly build a demonstration reactor, and even... a commercial reactor!