They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 321 Changes in a World of One's Own
In the southwest of China, inside a vast research institute buried deep underground.

The air was filled with the unique smell of ozone mixed with metallic coolant, and the cold incandescent lights illuminated every inch of the space with perfect detail, yet they could not dispel the stagnant tension.

Dozens of researchers in white lab coats, young and old, held their breath, their eyes fixed on the steel behemoth below, which was wrapped in countless thick cables and intricate pipes.

Its name is "Suiren".

Professor Wang Zhenguo adjusted his reading glasses, his eyes behind the lenses reflecting the outline of the reactor.

His fingers unconsciously traced the cold metal edge of the control panel, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

As an old man who has spent his whole life dealing with nuclear physics, he has witnessed countless births of theories and failures of experiments. His life is built on data, formulas and blueprints.

Therefore, when the young man named Zhuge Qing said he wanted to build a reactor, he was quite dismissive.

Even if this kid solves the Navier-Stokes equations, theory is theory, and engineering is engineering.

There's a huge gap between a perfect formula on paper and a fusion reactor that can operate stably.

But what happened next shocked Wang Zhenguo.

Zhuge Qing not only presented the theory, but also directly provided a complete set of engineering and technical solutions.

Based on his decades of experience, Wang Zhenguo meticulously reviewed the proposal word by word, trying to find even the slightest oversight, but to no avail.

The sophistication and thoroughness of the plan even gave him an absurd illusion, as if the other party was not designing, but rather directly "scraping" the entire set of blueprints and processes from a future fusion reactor that had already been built.

Of course, he knew that was impossible.

There is currently no controlled nuclear fusion reactor in the world that can be truly put into commercial use.

What truly shocked him was the way this young man solved core technological problems.

Fusion reactions require temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees and unimaginable ultra-high pressure environments to occur.

No known solid material can withstand the direct impact of plasma in this state for an extended period of time.

How to constrain, maintain, and control this artificial "sun" is the ultimate problem that has troubled scientists all over the world.

But... Zhuge Qing's answer was "metaphysics".

On the outer wall of the reactor's main body, which gleams with a metallic sheen, and on the most critical restraint components, intricate Bagua (Eight Trigrams) runes are densely etched.

Using this thing to control the high-temperature plasma in a reactor is just nonsense.

This kid, does he really think this is Laozi's alchemy furnace?!
He raised questions in internal meetings more than once, but they were all rejected by the people on the mountain, who also told him to assist Zhuge Qing in his work.

What frustrated him even more was that the so-called "weapon refiners" who were invited to help actually used methods he couldn't understand to control the flames.

"Light it."

A clear and calm voice broke the deathly silence in the control room.

Zhuge Qing stood in front of the control panel, ignoring the expectant, questioning, and nervous gazes around him, and calmly issued the instructions.

The command was issued, and the massive system began to operate.

"Om-"

A deep rumble came from deep underground as fuel was precisely injected into the reactor core.

The next moment, the Bagua runes covering the "Suiren" body and the ground seemed to be infused with a soul, lighting up one by one, shimmering with light and making this cold scientific fortress look like an ancient altar.

"Superconducting magnet inspection complete! Liquid helium injection in progress..."

"Liquid helium injection complete. Temperature confirmed to have reached critical value. Power on!"

"The current has reached the critical value..."

A series of calm and rapid reports echoed in the control room, and every parameter arrived at the preset node accurately.

Then, the sun was ignited.

The moment the thermometer reading skyrocketed and broke through the 100 million degree Celsius threshold, everyone lost the ability to think.

A light that cannot be described in words was born at the core of the reactor.

It wasn't simply white, but a pure, all-encompassing light that seemed to devour all other colors. The light shone through the thick, specialized observation windows, yet it wasn't dazzling; instead, it carried a sacred majesty, illuminating the entire underground space and bathing everyone's face in a glow. Endless energy, like an ancient beast breaking free from its shackles of billions of years, roared silently, surging forth from the shattered, almost invisible atomic nuclei.

"This... it's a success?"

Someone was muttering to themselves in a dreamlike tone.

Professor Wang Zhenguo opened his mouth, feeling his throat dry and painful.

He stared intently at the incredibly stable energy output curve on the screen, his mind completely blank.

It actually succeeded?

"It really is... Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace..."

Another old weapon refiner, with white hair and beard, stroked his long beard, also somewhat shocked.

Both groups present, scientists and weapon refiners, wore the same unreal expression on their faces.

Scientists cannot understand why a few runes can restrain plasma that is capable of melting everything.

The weapon refiners were equally puzzled. According to the blueprints given by Zhuge Qing, they only made some magical artifact parts with effects such as "fire control" and "strengthening essence". In the end, they actually made a reactor.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Zhuge Qing smiled.

The methods of extraordinary individuals are essentially a way of utilizing the energy of heaven and earth, and are incredibly mysterious.

But its biggest limitation lies in the limits of the human body.

Even the most powerful superhuman has a limited capacity for "Qi" within their body, and their output power naturally has an upper limit.

That's why the sorcerer school came into being; they borrowed the vast power of heaven and earth to leverage forces far beyond their own.

Or perhaps it is the highest pursuit of Taoist practitioners, to cultivate themselves into primordial Qi, the fundamental purpose of which is to borrow the power of heaven and earth.

His reason for pushing forward this project, combining magic and technology to create the unprecedented "Suiren," was simple: to enhance the value and irreplaceability of the "Outcast" group.

Just then, the alarm sounded softly.

After the reactor operated smoothly for a full minute, the various parameters began to fluctuate slightly. Finally, under the automatic control of the system, the light slowly dimmed and the reaction subsided.

Inside the control room, the researchers looked at each other, their sense of unreality growing stronger.

One minute.

The first ignition alone has already left all existing world records far behind.

Professor Wang Zhenguo swayed, and his assistant quickly supported him.

He waved his hand, but his gaze remained fixed on the now-dimmed reactor.

This time... things are really going to change.

This one minute proved that what they considered "metaphysics" was actually effective.

Today, the boundaries of science have been expanded far beyond our understanding in the most brutal and unreasonable way.

As expected... the core computing power is still insufficient...

Zhuge Qing understood.

To control such a massive amount of "primordial energy" with high precision over a long period of time, relying solely on a human-made computing core is still far too difficult.

However, he happened to know where there was a more powerful "computing unit" that could meet his needs.

But before that, there was another, more important matter that he needed to handle personally.

Thinking this, Zhuge Qing took out an old-fashioned envelope from the inner pocket of his coat.

He opened the envelope and pulled out a beautifully crafted invitation.

"Longhu Mountain warmly welcomes all fellow practitioners from all over the world to join us in the grand Taoist ritual in Luotian..."

(End of this chapter)