You said you failed your college entrance exam and are now crowdfunding to build a university?

Qi Limin then led the data team into the adjacent shielded observation room, where they began to record and analyze the various data from this historic experiment in earnest.

Wei Yingze went to the command center, turned on the dedicated computer, and updated the research plan progress again.

Not long after, a new announcement shocked the entire internet.

On the official website of Haichuan University, the research progress has been updated again: "Through the team's continuous efforts, our university's controlled nuclear fusion project has successfully overcome many key technical integration difficulties."

"Based on the 'Shanhe Ring', we have successfully completed the assembly and first integrated ignition test of the first 'artificial sun' experimental device. This device can generate an extremely strong confinement magnetic field, and has initially realized the controllable fusion reaction of deuterium-tritium plasma."

Below the announcement was a photo: at the center of a high-tech experimental device, a stable, blazing fireball was burning, and the surrounding space appeared slightly distorted due to the high temperature.

"Holy crap?! Another update?! Last time it was 'Mountains and Rivers Ring,' and this time it's 'Artificial Sun'?"

"Really? It's only been a few days!"

"That fireball doesn't look like a special effect."

"Is there anyone knowledgeable enough to say that this is even possible?"

Netizens were in an uproar again, and some enthusiastic people tried to explain the science: In fact, many teams around the world have built controlled nuclear fusion experimental devices. The difficulty has always been how to achieve and maintain the high temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees required for ignition (i.e., "ignition").

If Haichuan University has truly solved the "mountain and river ring" (high temperature) problem, then it seems not entirely impossible, in theory, to integrate a fusion device that can operate for a short period of time.

But the speed of this progress is still incredibly fast.

However, given the previous experience of the "mountain and river ring" being questioned by many experts, netizens were much more cautious this time, and skepticism remained the mainstream view.

"Although I really want to believe it, this is progressing at a rocket speed."

"An artificial sun? Isn't that a bit too ambitious a name?"

"Waiting for an authoritative institution or expert to debunk it."

"@Professor XX, please provide your assessment!"

Yenching University, President's Office.

"Haichuan University, is this a case of giving up entirely, or have they gone mad?" Yu Tianzhou looked at the trending topic on the screen, his lips twitching, his expression extremely strange.

The actions taken by Haichuan University during this period have completely exceeded his comprehension.

He could understand the motives behind buying academic papers to boost one's reputation or announcing breakthroughs in world-class problems to grab attention.

But these successive and increasingly exaggerated "progress reports" are like something out of a science fiction novel.

He shook his head, closed the webpage, and felt that there was no need for him to do anything more. This "castle in the air" that Haichuan University had built itself was not far from collapsing.

Yenching University, President's Office.

Yu Tianzhou's lips twitched as he watched the trending topics on the screen surge again.

He really couldn't understand Haichuan University's actions anymore.

First they claimed to have created a "mountain and river ring", now they say they have created an "artificial sun", and they even talk about 800,000 times the Earth's magnetic field. The boasts they make are getting more and more outrageous.

"If they update the progress a few more times like this, are they going to announce that they've mastered controlled nuclear fusion and start selling electricity?"

He shook his head and chuckled. There are already quite a few netizens online who are questioning the authenticity of this progress update.

Haichuan University has taken too big a step; sooner or later they'll run into trouble. Once the three-month period is up, that's when they'll probably reveal their true colors.

"We need to give them a push." ​​Yu Tianzhou picked up his phone and dialed the Nuclear Energy Research Institute.

"Old Liu, your department should send a few qualified and influential professors to directly address the questions raised by netizens. They should provide an objective analysis of the progress of Haichuan University's 'artificial sun' project from a professional perspective."

After hanging up the phone, he contacted the heads of the 44 universities he had previously visited.

Soon, a lengthy "technical questioning statement" jointly signed by 45 universities went viral online.

Jinling, a nuclear energy research institute.

"Director, Senior Brother Qi and his team at Haichuan University have updated their research progress again." Researcher Xiao Li swallowed hard and handed his phone to an elderly man over seventy years old.

The old man took the phone, squinted and looked at it carefully. As he looked, his hands began to tremble slightly, his breathing became rapid, and his face turned red.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" He couldn't help but slam his hand on the table. "Does Haichuan University treat serious scientific research like a joke? They keep issuing these absurd announcements time and time again!"

Last time I said I created a "mountain and river ring" that can maintain a temperature of 100 million degrees for five minutes.

This time it's even more outrageous, claiming that they created a super magnetic field equivalent to 800,000 times the Earth's magnetic field, successfully triggering a nuclear fusion reaction!

It's important to understand that even the most advanced publicly available magnetic field technology only reaches a scale of about 400,000 times. 800,000 times? He couldn't even imagine that number.

"Still can't get through to Qi Limin on the phone?" The old man turned around, his voice sounding tired.

"I can't get through, the phone is always off." Xiao Li shook his head.

The old man sighed. It seemed that Qi Limin had completely "gone into seclusion" and was fully immersed in that project.

With these two outrageous announcements, any remaining goodwill he had for Haichuan University has been completely exhausted.

"Once the project is over, I'll bring him back no matter what! I can't let him ruin his future in such an unreliable place," the old man secretly resolved.

Xiao Li, standing nearby, blinked and asked curiously, "Director, if—and I mean if—we could really create a magnetic field 800,000 times stronger, would it really be possible to guide plasma to move at ultra-high speeds and achieve fusion?"

The old man paused for a moment, then nodded: "Theoretically speaking, yes. A sufficiently strong magnetic field can confine high-temperature plasma, causing it to move at high speed, increasing the probability of collisions, and thus promoting deuterium-tritium fusion. But the key issue lies in 'if'."

He paused, his tone heavy, "To generate and maintain such an extreme magnetic field requires groundbreaking superconducting materials, extremely precise engineering design, and astronomical energy input. The possibility that Haichuan University has demonstrated so far is extremely slim."

This is also the core difficulty that has plagued humanity for decades in achieving controlled nuclear fusion. Haichuan University's casual claim in its announcement that it has "solved" the problem is, in the eyes of experts, nothing short of wishful thinking.

Not long after, the 10,000-word statement jointly issued by 45 universities stirred up a huge wave, like a boulder thrown into a lake.

The statement cited numerous sources and drew upon expertise from fields such as nuclear energy, materials science, magnetohydrodynamics, and high-temperature physics to meticulously identify at least seven world-class technological barriers to the "artificial sun device."