Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

After the demonstration reactor project was approved, Lü Yongchang, the chief engineer, once again felt the long-lost sense of busyness.

The first problem that needs to be solved is the location of the demonstration stack.

Like nuclear fission reactors, the construction environment for nuclear fusion reactors also needs to be carefully considered.

The first point, and the most important point.

There should be abundant water resources nearby.

Whether it's freshwater or seawater.

After all, nuclear fusion reactors generate a lot of heat during the power generation process, and the most economical and practical way to cool them is through nearby water resources.

Secondly, the terrain is flat.

Nuclear fusion reactors require the construction of a large number of supporting facilities!

We can't build all these supporting facilities in some remote mountain valley, can we?

The third point, and also the most troublesome part of the site selection process, is...

The geological conditions are stable!

Nuclear fusion reactors are not as dangerous as nuclear fission reactors, but because they involve deuterium-tritium fusion, there can still be a small amount of radiation hazard if a leak occurs.

For safety reasons, controlled nuclear fusion reactors are best built in locations with stable geological conditions.

In other words, nuclear fusion reactors must never be built near earthquake zones!

After careful selection, Lü Yongchang set his sights on a prime location.

Canghai Bay!

The main reason for not building a nuclear fission power plant in Canghai Bay was its geographical location.

If an accident occurs at the nuclear fission power plant in Canghai Bay, radioactive wastewater will accumulate in Canghai Bay for a long time!

This will pose a huge security threat to the Xia Kingdom!

However, nuclear fusion power plants do not have this risk.

In the event of an accident, the stellarator's magnetic confinement device will stop operating, and the nuclear fusion reaction inside will also quickly cease.

As for the hazards of radioactivity...

This is the biggest difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission!

Nuclear fission, both its raw materials and fission products, possesses extremely high radioactivity.

Even nuclear wastewater contains a large amount of radioactive material.

But nuclear fusion is different.

Even though the fusion method currently used is deuterium-tritium fusion, only tritium atoms in the fusion raw materials and fusion products contain a small amount of radioactivity.

This is entirely within our control!

Moreover... in Lü Yongchang's plan, deuterium-tritium fusion is only temporary; the ultimate goal is still helium-3 fusion, which is touted as a clean energy source!

……

With the reactor site selected, the specific construction plan for the controlled nuclear fusion demonstration reactor was also unveiled.

Construction Plan for a Controlled Nuclear Fusion Demonstration Reactor

A document was quietly uploaded online.

The most significant aspect of the document is the total man-hours required for this construction plan.

Three months!

From site selection to completion of construction, everything was planned to take only three months in Xia Kingdom's schedule!

When this document was unearthed by someone with ulterior motives, the entire Xia Kingdom was in an uproar!

On Weibo's trending topics list, Wang Feng, who was just preparing to hold 16 consecutive concerts, was pushed down from the top spot before he could even settle in.

Total working hours: Three months!

The Infrastructure Giants Are Back!

"Xia Country Speed!"

This series of trending topics not only startled Wang Feng, but also startled netizens who were engrossed in following the gossip on Weibo!

"Huh? Three months? Is there a mistake? It takes three months just to lay the foundation for my house!"

"(Winking and smirking) Hey upstairs, do you really think the country would make a mistake on such an important document?"

"Hahaha! The person above clearly doesn't know China's international reputation! Do they even know what 'infrastructure maniac' means?!"

"The United States: Don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors..."

Thanks to the reposting by some enthusiastic netizens, a huge wave of discussion swept across Twitter a few hours later!

"WTF??? Three months?"

"Jesus! Xia Guotai has gone mad!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Can such a large project be completed in three months? In our country, three months isn't even enough time for workers to mix cement!"

This comment was clearly posted by a Western European netizen who loves to stir up trouble.

After all, compared to Western Europe, where it takes ten years to build a road, China's infrastructure speed is nothing short of a myth!

These comments from Twitter were naturally copied and pasted back to Xia Guo's Weibo.

For a time, Weibo was filled with laughter and joy.

Of course, while countless citizens of Xia were shocked and cheering for it, there were always some 500,000 people who wanted to find fault.

"Impossible! I don't believe it!"

"Seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving. Does that mean whatever the documents say is the truth?"

"They take a quick photo to fool netizens after the three-month deadline, and then slowly build the site. It's not uncommon for this to happen!"

"..."

I have to say, this year's official account is really awesome!

In response to the questions raised by these netizens, the official Xia Guo News account posted a message on Weibo that same day.

"Starting tomorrow, the official Douyin account of Xia Kingdom News will launch a live streaming function."

"The construction site of the Canghai Bay controlled nuclear fusion demonstration reactor will be broadcast live in our live stream!"

"Welcome all netizens to supervise the construction."

The moment the post was published on Weibo, the number of comments exploded!

"666!"

"This official response is good, but he really takes down his haters!"

"That's all for now, everyone. I'm setting my alarm for tomorrow; I have to at least go to the carnival to celebrate!"

"Holy crap, that's awesome!"

"This guy paid me 50 yuan, I haven't eaten for three days!"

……

The next morning at 8:00 AM.

Countless netizens gathered in the official Douyin live stream room of Xia Guo News.

Above the black screen, comments scrolled by rapidly.

"Where is everyone? Open the door! You've got the guts to livestream, but not the guts to open the door?!"

"It's eight o'clock! Open the door! Open the door!"

The next moment, the completely black screen suddenly lit up!

As the lens brightness gradually returned to balance, the scene at the Canghai Bay Fusion Reactor construction site suddenly came into view!

Thousands of excavators are neatly lined up on the left side of the camera!

On the right side of the camera are thousands of construction vehicles responsible for various construction tasks!

In the very center of the camera are several enormous dynamic compaction machines!

After a brief pause, the number of comments in the live stream increased exponentially!

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"Is this the heavy industry of a major power? I love it!"

The next moment, an off-screen voice appeared, a slightly sweet female voice.

"Hello everyone, this is the construction site of the Canghai Bay Fusion Demonstration Reactor."

"Today is the first day of construction. What you see in front of you is the first construction team."

"To ensure the construction speed, there are a total of three construction teams involved in this demonstration reactor construction task."

"Over the next three months, three construction teams will work in shifts, 24 hours a day, to build the Canghai Bay Fusion Demonstration Reactor!"

As the sound faded, the number of comments in the live stream increased dramatically again!

"Three construction teams!"

"Hey girl, show your face! Don't just talk!"

"..."

Under the "supervision" of netizens, the fusion demonstration reactor project's compaction machine struck the first hammer!