Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

The editorial office of *Science* in the United States.

Adam sat in the editorial office chair, yawning as he glanced at the clock on the wall.

It's 5 p.m.

It's time to leave work!

He stretched and dragged the mouse to close the file on the computer desktop.

As a science editor, he reviews a large number of manuscripts submitted from all over the world every day.

Of these submissions from around the world, conservatively estimated, only 10% are truly valuable!

As for the reason... it's very simple.

Science is a top-tier journal worldwide.

Countless researchers hope that it will include and publish their papers.

This is not just an affirmation, but also a symbol of identity!

This has led to a very frustrating situation.

Besides established researchers, many "amateur" researchers also contribute to the journal Science.

These "wild" researchers have a name that belongs to them.

Amateur scientists.

Abbreviated as "folk science".

It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of the emails Adam receives every day come from these amateur scientists.

The conclusions inside are even more outrageous than the last.

Water-powered blades cutting atomic atoms, anti-gravity devices, perpetual motion machines...

It's fair to say that Adam's inbox is overflowing with papers—if you can imagine it, you can find it.

Adam sighed deeply as he dragged a file from his computer into the trash can.

This article is a typical example of a pseudo-scientific paper.

The paper's authors claimed to have solved Goldbach's conjecture.

But when he opened the file and began to examine it closely, he was horrified to discover that the author didn't even understand what Goldbach's Conjecture was!

"God... Michelle, you really should have taken a look at this paper." Adam muttered to himself as he deleted the paper.

As Adam finished speaking, a blonde, blue-eyed female editor sitting next to him smiled slightly and turned to look at him: "What? What bizarre paper have you come across this time?"

Adam stopped what he was doing, spun his chair around, and turned to face Michelle, complaining, "So the author thinks Goldbach's Conjecture is about proving 1+1=2."

Michelle paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"My God... Adam, I really don't understand how you always manage to review these bizarre papers!"

Adam shrugged helplessly. "Who knows?"

"Ding-dong!"

Just as Adam was about to get up and leave his seat, a crisp notification sound rang out from the computer in front of him.

"Damn it... another submission!" Adam glared angrily at the idle Michelle beside him. "This isn't fair!"

"I reviewed fifteen papers today!"

"Of these, fourteen were rejected drafts!"

Michelle smiled, shut down her laptop, and shrugged. "Really? I also feel it's pretty unfair every time I get paid. How about we switch?"

Adam: "..."

"Then let's forget about it..."

He chuckled awkwardly and sat back down in his seat.

The moment he saw the title of the paper, his eyebrows shot up.

"Wow! It's a paper about controlled nuclear fusion!"

"Michelle, let's make a bet. I bet this paper is scrap!"

Hearing Adam's words, Michelle raised her eyebrows and dragged her office chair to sit next to Adam: "What's the bet?"

"A dinner?"

As Adam spoke, he clicked the mouse to open the file.

"If it's Michelin, I'll bet you!" Michelle glanced at the email subject and said after a moment's thought.

Adam paused slightly as he manipulated the mouse.

Michelin...that costs a lot of money!

However, thinking about the experience of having fourteen rejected drafts in a row today, Adam felt a strange sense of confidence.

"Okay! A Michelin-starred restaurant it is!"

"I refuse to believe I'll still be seeing a normal academic paper so close to the end of the workday!"

As they were talking, the file in the email was opened.

Adam quickly dragged the mouse to the author's name section of the paper.

"……hiss!"

The moment Adam saw the signature, he gasped in shock!

"The second author of this paper is actually from the Nuclear Physics Laboratory at Sandaokou University in Xia Country?!"

Adam's lips twitched slightly.

"You owe me a Michelin-starred meal, don't forget!" Michelle's eyes were practically overflowing with laughter.

Adam shook his head helplessly: "Michelin it is... What I'm more concerned about is the first author of this paper."

"I don't think I've heard of Lv Yongchang in the nuclear physics community."

Michelle's expression turned serious.

She frowned and thought carefully for a long time before slowly shaking her head.

"I've never heard of this name before."

"Could it be a newcomer?"

Adam shook his head gravely, jotting down the string of letters in his notebook: "Probably not. Do you think a newcomer could get first authorship on a paper like this?"

"The second author of this paper is from the nuclear physics laboratory at Sandaokou University in China!"

Michelle slowly shook her head: "I don't know either... Let's take a look at the paper first!"

Adam nodded solemnly.

Upon learning that the paper came from Sandaokou University in Xia Country, his expression became much more serious.

"...According to experiments, stellarator devices can effectively extend the duration of controlled nuclear fusion?"

"Thirty-five minutes?!"

"WTF??!"

Adam quickly dragged the mouse to the experimental data section of the paper.

Adam's pupils dilated slightly as he looked at the dense experimental data in the paper.

He muttered to himself, "God...wasn't Xia Kingdom just expelled from ITER?"

He could even imagine how interesting the expressions on the faces of the ITER people would be once the paper was published in the journal Science!

"etc!"

Suddenly, Michelle exclaimed in a low voice, "Adam, did you notice?!"

Adam looked at Michelle sitting next to him with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"

Michelle pointed incredulously to the last page of the paper: "Adam... doesn't the format of this paper look familiar?"

Adam frowned and carefully looked at the last page of the paper.

"As I complete this graduation thesis, the first people I want to thank are..."

Adam's pupils contracted violently!

"This, this is... my undergraduate thesis?!"

……

the next day.

Stanford University, United States.

Professor Collins arrived at his office early as usual.

"Knock knock knock!"

A series of urgent knocks came at the door.

Professor Collins frowned slightly as he put his bottom on the chair.

"Who is it?!"

Professor Collins called out towards the door in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"Professor! It's me!"

A somewhat panicked male voice came from the doorway.

This is the voice of his student, Eden.

Professor Collins frowned and replied in a low voice, "Come in!"

The next moment, the office door was pushed open, and a young man in his thirties rushed into the office looking flustered.

"What's going on?!"

Professor Collins said impatiently, "Eden, I need an explanation!"

Eden walked nervously to Collins and placed a document on the desk in front of him.

"Professor, this is a newly published paper in Science."

"I think...you should take a look."

Collins frowned even more deeply.

He gave Eden a disgruntled look: "Didn't I say not to bother me before nine in the morning?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of urgency flashed in Eden's eyes: "Professor! This time is different! The Xia Kingdom might be close to mastering controlled nuclear fusion technology!"

Collins's expression changed drastically!

"What did you say?!"

He quickly picked up the paper on the table and began to read it carefully.

"Professor... is this true?" Eden asked nervously.

Collins looked rather grim and did not respond to the student's question immediately.

"How is that possible... a stellarator can achieve thirty-five minutes of controlled nuclear fusion?!"

"This, this is impossible!"

It's worth noting that he was the one who initiated the proposal to phase out stellarators in the United States!

Although he was unwilling to admit it, the detailed data in the paper slapped him in the face again and again.