Chapter 583: Arrogance

Li Mingyuan nodded; this was entirely within his expectations. "Continue executing the plan. Ensure *Cangjie* flows into the hands of more Western research institutions and media outlets through 'unofficial channels'."

Minister Zhang frowned from the side: "Lao Li, they are mocking us like this; aren't you angry at all?"

Li Mingyuan turned his head, a flash of unfathomable light in his eyes: "Minister Zhang, have you ever heard such a story—when Columbus said the Earth was round, almost everyone mocked him. But in the end, who had the last laugh?"

Star-Spangled Country, New York, *Science* magazine editorial department.

Editor-in-chief John Wilson held a copy of *Cangjie* in his hand, his expression caught between amusement and disdain. This journal had been brought back yesterday by a reporter returning from Long Country and had become the editorial department's "laughingstock" of the day.

"Everyone, look at this," Wilson held up the journal, "The Long Country people's 'top international scientific journal.' They claim to have achieved controllable nuclear fusion, with a Q-value reaching 1.2."

A burst of laughter erupted in the editorial office.

"A Q-value of 1.2? Do they know what that means?" one editor laughed until they were doubled over, "Even the Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton has only just achieved a Q-value of 0.65!"

"Don't forget, this is Long Country," another editor remarked sarcastically, "The same country that once claimed it would 'surpass Britain and catch up to America,' and even held a 'Great Steel Smelting' campaign, where farmers smelted steel in backyard earthen furnaces. Now they've upgraded from steel smelting to nuclear fusion?"

Wilson opened the journal and pointed at the dense, square characters: "Look at this, it's all Chinese! They don't even bother to use English to publish this kind of 'epoch-making' discovery. This isn't a scientific journal; this is a political propaganda pamphlet!"

"Those photos look too crude," the photo editor said, frowning, "They are very likely faked. Look at this so-called 'Flame Dragon' device; it doesn't conform to the standard design of a Tokamak at all."

Wilson tossed the journal onto the table: "Alright, everyone, don't waste time on this kind of thing. However..." he paused, a flash of cunning in his eyes, "we can write an editorial discussing the 'boundary between science and political propaganda,' and mention this ridiculous *Cangjie* in passing."

The editors nodded one after another, discussing the angle and wording of the editorial with great interest. No one noticed that a young science editor quietly picked up the *Cangjie* that had been abandoned on the table, staring at the photo of the blue-white plasma with a furrowed brow, lost in thought.

London, Royal Society.

"This is simply a desecration of science!" Physics professor Albert Hawkins slammed *Cangjie* onto the table in anger, "They claim they have solved the plasma instability problem and achieved a nuclear fusion reaction with a Q-value greater than 1? This is a fantasy!"

"Calm down, Albert," Sir James the president smiled slightly, "The Long Country people have always liked to exaggerate. Remember a few years ago when they claimed they had invented some 'Life Energy'? It later proved to be complete nonsense."

"But this time is different," Professor Hawkins said through gritted teeth, "They actually dare to challenge the fundamental principles of nuclear physics! And that so-called 'Longxin-III,' they claim its computing speed exceeds our most advanced Computer by ten times? Absurd!"

"What's more absurd is this method of publication," another professor interjected, "The full text is in Chinese, no English abstract, no international peer review. Where is this a scientific journal? It is clearly an internal propaganda piece!"

Sir James picked up *Cangjie* and flipped through it casually: "We don't need to take this too seriously. However, out of scientific rigor, perhaps we should find someone to translate it and see what kind of nonsense they are actually talking about."

"I have already contacted several scholars from the Department of Oriental Languages," Hawkins said, "They agreed to help translate, but warned that it might take some time because there are too many technical terms in it that they are unfamiliar with."

"No rush," Sir James said dismissively, "The pace of science will not change because of a propaganda pamphlet."

A few days later, mainstream Western media began to report on the *Cangjie* incident extensively, with headlines that exhausted every possibility of mockery:

*The New York Times*: "Long Country's 'Scientific Miracle': Writing the Fusion Myth with a Calligraphy Brush?"

*The Times*: "Cangjie? Or a Desperate Borrowing? A New Chapter in the Far Eastern Scientific Farce."

*Scientific American*: "When Political Propaganda Dons a Scientific Cloak: Analyzing Long Country's 'Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough'."

Various satirical cartoons also began to appear, one of which depicted a bespectacled Long Country scientist holding a calligraphy brush, drawing a crooked "nuclear fusion reactor" on paper, with the caption "Eastern Magic: Fusion Drawn by Hand."

The entire Western academic and media circle seemed to have entered a "fact-checking" carnival, with people competing to publish comments, mocking Long Country's "scientific delusion" and "technological arrogance."

Li Mingyuan received summaries and translations of these reports every day, but his reaction was unexpectedly calm, sometimes even laughing heartily at certain particularly absurd comments.

"Lao Li, how can you still laugh?" Minister Zhang looked at those glaring headlines, feeling uneasy in his heart.

"Minister Zhang," Li Mingyuan put down the report, "Do you know, these reactions prove precisely that our strategy is correct. The more intense their mockery, the more it shows they have no confidence in their hearts."

"No confidence? They are clearly mocking us with full confidence!"

Li Mingyuan shook his head: "On the surface, that is the case. But think, if the content in *Cangjie* were truly absurd to the extreme, would they spend such great effort to 'debunk' it? Would they mobilize collectively, using all media resources to ridicule a 'propaganda pamphlet' in their eyes?"

Minister Zhang was lost in thought: "You mean..."

"I mean, they are afraid." A sharp light flashed in Li Mingyuan's eyes, "They dare not believe it, yet they cannot help but worry whether Long Country has truly achieved these breakthroughs. And now, they are desperately trying to convince themselves and the public that all of this is fake."

He walked to the window and looked at the distant sky: "Let them mock. The truth will surface very soon."

Princeton University, Plasma Physics Laboratory.

A heavy atmosphere permeated Doctor Robert Stein's office. As the top nuclear fusion expert in the Star-Spangled Country, he had just spent three days, together with several graduate students who understood Chinese, trying to translate the paper on the "Flame Dragon" project in *Cangjie*.

This process was much more difficult than he had anticipated.