Chapter 195

At 8:03 AM, in the Number One Emergency Conference Room.

Wang Hao was the last one to rush in, still clutching half a fried dough stick: "I'm not late, I'm not late! The line in the cafeteria was long..."

Before he could finish, he saw the atmosphere in the conference room and froze.

Everyone was staring at the large screen in the conference room, which was covered in dense formulas and curves.

Zhao Kaiyuan stood in front of the whiteboard, his marker frozen in mid-air, his expression like he had seen a ghost.

"What's going on?" Wang Hao stuffed the dough stick into his mouth and asked inarticulately.

Chen Guang pushed up his glasses, his voice trembling slightly: "We... we may have discovered something that shouldn't exist."

Feng Yan stood up and walked to the screen: "Kaiyuan, tell us the situation from last night in full."

Zhao Kaiyuan took a deep breath and began to recount the erroneous assumption regarding the boundary layer effect.

The corrected heat dissipation model, and the test data of the reactor running stably at 190% power.

He spoke very slowly, reading every piece of data clearly.

When they heard that the actual heat dissipation efficiency was 21.3% higher than the old model predicted, the pen in Li Yang's hand clattered onto the table.

"This is impossible..." he muttered.

"If the heat dissipation model has such a large error, what about the energy balance model?"

"What about the plasma confinement model?"

"The entire..."

"The basic assumptions of the entire theoretical system might be problematic," Chen Guang took over, pulling up a comparison chart.

"This is the theoretical output limit of the fusion reaction recalculated by 'Torch Dragon' using the corrected model."

Two numbers popped up on the screen.

Old theoretical predicted value: 1.0 (standardized baseline)

New model calculated value: 3.7

The conference room was deathly silent.

"3.7 times," Chen Guang said, enunciating every word.

"Theoretically, if we completely correct all formulas derived from that erroneous assumption, the energy output limit of the fusion reactor should be 3.7 times the current theoretical value."

The lid of the thermos cup in Zhao Gong's hand fell onto the table with a "clatter."

"This... this isn't reasonable," Li Yang stood up and walked quickly to the screen.

"If energy output can increase this much, why didn't all previous experimental data show any abnormalities?"

"Because all experiments were designed within the framework of that erroneous assumption," Zhao Kaiyuan said.

"We were like looking at the world through colored glasses, and everything we saw was automatically corrected to fit our expectations."

He pulled up the raw data stream from last night's experiment: "But last night, we accidentally took off the glasses."

"Running at 190% power exceeded the prediction range of the old theory, so the real data started to appear."

Wang Hao suddenly slapped his thigh: "Wait! When I checked the logs last night, I seemed to see that the 'Torch Dragon' system automatically generated an encrypted log, saying something about a suspected new reaction path..."

Chen Guang immediately operated his tablet, and a few seconds later, he pulled up the log marked "Pending Analysis."

"Test No. AL-193-001... Detected unexpected neutron flux fluctuation, waveform characteristics inconsistent with known fusion reactions..."

He scanned the data quickly, his eyes getting brighter: "This waveform... this energy spectrum distribution..."

"What is this?" Feng Yan asked.

"A characteristic peak that theoretically shouldn't appear in deuterium-tritium fusion," Chen Guang's voice was filled with irrepressible excitement.

"Unless... the fusion reaction triggered some kind of secondary process at ultra-high energy density, such as—"

He pulled up another theoretical model: "Such as direct fusion of heavy hydrogen nuclei, or triggering a more efficient combustion mode."

Zhao Kaiyuan turned his head sharply: "Are you saying we might have accidentally ignited 'supercritical fusion'?"

"It needs verification," Chen Guang was already calculating.

"If this guess is correct, then the energy output might not just be 3.7 times, but..."

He pressed the enter key.

The number on the screen refreshed again: 6.4

6.4 times.

This time, even Feng Yan couldn't help but gasp.

"Verify it immediately," he said in a deep voice.

"Use the No. 3 experimental reactor and do another test according to the parameters designed by the new model."

"This time, we won't look at the power percentage, only the absolute energy output."

"The materials won't be able to withstand it," Li Yang reminded him.

"Last night, when we ran at 190% power for just over an hour, cracks appeared on the inner wall of the container. If we really design for six times the energy output..."

"Try my new material."

Zhao Gong suddenly spoke up.

He took that dark gray metal plate out of his canvas bag and placed it on the table.

"I've been researching this thing for three months; it was originally intended for the next generation of mech armor," he tapped the plate.

"'Dragon Scale-Heat Resistant' type, laboratory data shows it can withstand 1,200 degrees long-term and 1,800 degrees short-term."

Li Yang immediately picked up a piece: "What's the coefficient of thermal expansion?"

"Isotropic, error within three-thousandths," Zhao Gong took a few more samples of different shapes out of his bag.

"Combined with this self-healing coating, cracks can automatically repair by sixty percent during the cooling period."

Wang Hao leaned over: "Zhao Gong, can this thing of yours... be mass-produced?"

"Small scale, yes," Zhao Gong lit his pipe and took a puff.

"But to build parts as large as a fusion reactor container, we'd need to open new molds, which would take at least..."

"Ten days," Feng Yan said directly.

"I'll give you authorization to allocate all resources. Can you produce the first full-size container in ten days?"

Zhao Gong was silent for three seconds, then knocked his pipe hard: "Yes."

"Good," Feng Yan turned to the others.

"Chen Guang, Kaiyuan, you are responsible for correcting all theoretical models. I want to see a complete 'New Fusion Theoretical Framework' within forty-eight hours."

"Li Yang, you work with Zhao Gong to redesign the reaction container structure based on the new material."

He finally looked at Wang Hao: "And you?"

Wang Hao puffed out his chest: "I... I'll cheer everyone on?"

"You are responsible for the most practical problem," Feng Yan said.

"If the energy output can really reach more than six times, how should we modify the energy systems of all our equipment?"

"Missiles, lasers, mechs, warships—I want a comprehensive upgrade plan."

"Yes, sir!"

For the next forty-eight hours, the Dragon Chant Research Institute entered a state of frantic work.

The lights in the energy laboratory never went out again.

Chen Guang and Zhao Kaiyuan, along with a dozen mathematics and physics experts, began a systematic reconstruction of fusion theory.

Every time an old formula was overturned, new possibilities were opened up.

The next afternoon, they discovered a second erroneous assumption.

The simplified treatment of the plasma turbulence model failed at ultra-high density.

After correction, the theoretical output limit jumped from 6.4 to 9.8.

In the early hours of the third day, the third error was ferreted out: an estimation bias in magnetic field confinement efficiency.

The number became 14.3.

When all known erroneous assumptions were corrected on the morning of the fourth day, the final theoretical value settled at: 18.6

18.6 times.

Zhao Kaiyuan looked at the number, feeling dazed: "Have we been playing with less than one-twentieth of our theoretical potential for the past three years?"

"Now is not the time for sentimentality," Chen Guang's eyes were bloodshot, but he was highly excited.

"How is the progress on Zhao Gong's side?"

Li Yang rushed in from outside the door, holding a test report:

"The new material container sample just finished 72 hours of high-temperature and high-pressure testing, and there are still zero cracks!"

"The self-healing coating is still effective after three thermal cycles!"

"What about the structural design?"

"Optimization is complete. 'Torch Dragon' simulations show that the new structure's maximum stress is still less than 60% of the material's yield limit when subjected to twenty times the rated heat load," Li Yang paused.

"Of course, this is a theoretical simulation; actual needs..."

"Actual testing starts right now."

Feng Yan's voice came from the doorway.

Behind him were several people in navy uniforms, with stars on their shoulder boards.