Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

As the news from Xia Kingdom was broadcast, the Weibo trending topics list was updated rapidly!

Shocking! A sophomore at Sandaokou University actually…

Controlled nuclear fusion experiment a complete success; and the chief engineer was none other than him!

Around 8 or 9 p.m. is the time when most ordinary people surf the internet.

Such an eye-catching headline naturally attracted the attention of many people.

Within minutes of the news being released, the comment section was completely flooded with comments!

"Wait a minute? Am I seeing things? A sophomore, the chief engineer of a controlled nuclear fusion project? Is today April Fool's Day?"

"Upstairs, this is from the news in Xia Country, it should be true!"

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! What the hell?!"

"Unfortunately, I'm uncultured; all I can say is 'Holy crap!'"

"Look at other people's sophomores, then look at my sophomore year.JPG"

"Holy crap! Isn't that my classmate?!"

"?! Hey upstairs, tell us your story!"

"..."

……

At this moment.

The Sandaokou Nuclear Physics Laboratory was brightly lit.

Inside the office, Lü Yongchang put down his phone, a complex expression on his face.

He had just finished a phone call with his parents.

Thinking of his mother's last words of advice, he felt a strange mix of emotions.

Although his parents lived well under the protection of Xia Guo and the Human Alliance in his previous life, as the chief scientist, he was destined not to have time to spend with them.

How about... I take some time to go back and visit them?

A thought slowly surfaced deep within his mind.

But the next moment, he shook his head and dismissed the thought.

The sword of Damocles still hangs over the heads of all mankind; he cannot stop his progress!

"Knock knock knock!"

A rhythmic knocking interrupted his thoughts.

Lu Yongchang straightened his expression and said softly, "Come in, the door isn't locked."

The office door slowly opened, and Fang Xu appeared in the doorway.

His face was beaming: "Congratulations, Chief Engineer Lü, on your instant fame!"

Lu Yongchang rolled his eyes in annoyance and capped his pen. "Brother Xu, you wouldn't be like those ordinary people, coming to me for something so trivial, would you?"

Fang Xu quickly shook his head, denying it: "Of course not!"

"Dean Jiang asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Hmm? Dean Jiang?" Lü Yongchang immediately became interested. "What does Dean Jiang want to see me about?"

Fang Xu looked at Lü Yongchang with a strange expression and said softly, "Dean Jiang is asking you... when you plan to graduate?"

Lü Yongchang: "...???"

"Huh? Graduation?"

Lü Yongchang's expression gradually became strange.

Now that he heard that, he remembered that he was still a sophomore undergraduate!

"Um...will I be able to graduate? Come to think of it, I haven't even written my graduation thesis yet!"

Lu Yongchang reached out and touched the tip of his nose, feeling a little guilty.

Forget about his graduation thesis, he hasn't even been to class in ages!

I bet the professors in my field have almost forgotten about me.

Fang Xu also looked at Lü Yongchang with a strange expression.

To be honest, this was the most bizarre undergraduate student he had ever met.

Despite not even having completed his undergraduate thesis, he was able to lead academicians in the research and development of controlled nuclear fusion.

Fang Xu frowned instantly and muttered to himself, "Dean Jiang didn't mention this either..."

Lu Yongchang, sweating profusely, looked at Fang Xu and asked, "What do we do now?"

"Do I have to go back to class now? Can I make up for this GPA?"

Fang Xu shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, that won't do!"

Go back to class?

joke!

Controlled nuclear fusion is just one step away from being achieved, but the chief engineer has gone back to university to take a sophomore course.

Listen to this for yourself, is this even reasonable?!

Fang Xu pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "I have an idea!"

"You don't need to worry about your GPA. I believe the department leaders won't hold you back from graduation because of this."

"The focus now is on my graduation thesis."

After saying that, Fang Xu's eyes showed a hint of unease.

He felt that the college leaders wouldn't, and wouldn't, obstruct Lü Yongchang's graduation procedures because of his graduation thesis.

This is the chief engineer of the controlled nuclear fusion project!

If word got out that a scientist at the academician level hadn’t even graduated from university… I bet the leaders in the institute wouldn’t look good either!

However... Fang Xu also considered one more issue.

The absence of a formal graduation thesis is ultimately a stain on one's resume.

"How about... you compile our lab's data and publish it in *Science*?"

"Consider this your graduation thesis!"

What do you think?

Lu Yongchang's lips twitched slightly, and he nodded helplessly: "Then... that's the only way."

Ok!

If an undergraduate thesis is published in "Science", then when he's nominated for academician, he'll have to submit papers to aliens!

Lü Yongchang thought to himself.

"Shall I start organizing the data now?"

Fang Xu shook his head repeatedly: "No rush, no rush!"

"This kind of simple work doesn't need you to do it. How about this, I'll have one of my PhD students finish this paper for you!"

"Just continue with your work."

Lu Yongchang's lips twitched again.

Good guy!

He asked a PhD student to help him complete his undergraduate thesis.

Isn't this a bit of a waste of talent?

"Oh, right."

Fang Xu said casually, "Minister Hong might come looking for you in a couple of days."

Lu Yongchang's expression hardened slightly, and he immediately forgot about his graduation thesis.

"Minister Hong? What's wrong?"

Fang Xu pondered for a moment, then continued, "I reckon it's to take you to see Councilor Lee."

"After all, controlled nuclear fusion has already been achieved in the laboratory for extended periods. Shouldn't Xia Kingdom start preparing to build a demonstration reactor by now?"

Lu Yongchang's heart stirred slightly.

Demonstration stack!

This is nothing like those small stellarators in the laboratory!

That's a large piece of equipment that's going to be used by the Xia Kingdom's power grid!

However, this raises a question.

A demonstration reactor is not just about igniting nuclear fusion!

At the very least, he needs electricity, right?

We can't spend a lot of money to build something that can't generate electricity and can only ignite nuclear fusion, can we?

"So, shouldn't we reconsider our choice of generator?"

Upon hearing Lü Yongchang's question, Fang Xu was slightly taken aback and subconsciously asked in return, "Generator?"

"Besides boiling water, what other options are there?"

Lü Yongchang shook his head with a wry smile.

That's definitely true.

Throughout human history, from the steam age to the information age, it seems that we have never been able to escape the fate of boiling water.

Even the most advanced controlled nuclear fission power plants currently available generate electricity by boiling water!

Even in the previous life, all nuclear fusion power plants on Earth used the simple and crude method of boiling water.

As he was feeling sentimental, his eyes flickered slightly, and a fragment of memory flashed through his mind.

Perhaps we could try a magnetohydrodynamic generator?