Chapter 559 - Tomorrow Is a Better Day

Translator:

Henyee Translations

Editor:

Henyee Translations

The early hours of December 31st.

The streets of Washington were still quiet.

Christmas was one of the ten important holidays in the United States, and this holiday lasted until the 5th of January next year.

However, not everyone was in the right mood to enjoy this holiday.

At least, a certain president with an orange haircut didn’t.

Rather, him and the White House bureaucrats didn’t sleep at all last night.

In a few hours, China would conduct a controllable fusion ignition test in Jiangsu, leaving them little time to spare.

After Trump gave a New Year’s Eve speech and posted on Twitter last night, he immediately hosted an overnight meeting with the higher-ups. He also made an appointment to talk with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America.

Around five o’clock in the morning, a black limo parked at the northwestern part of Washington, near the Embassy of China in the United States.

Mr. Trump was accompanied by several of his people. When he entered the embassy, he was accompanied by the embassy reception staff.

“I’ll get straight to the point.” The president made a hand gesture and told Helms to close the door behind him. Trump stared at Ambassador Sun Wenkai and said seriously, “China will conduct a nuclear test in Haizhou in around five hours. Am I correct?”

It was like Ambassador Sun heard a joke; he had a smile on his face.

He didn’t give him a direct answer. Instead, he put down the teacup in his hand.

“Who told you this?”

“That’s not important.” Trump, who thought he had guessed correctly, placed his hands on his kneecaps with a smug smile on his face. He looked at the ambassador aggressively and slowly said, “According to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, all nuclear testing is prohibited. However, according to my intelligence agency, China seems to be violating this international convention.”

Trump was observing the ambassador. He was trying to find a trace of weakness.

Unfortunately, he didn’t see any weakness at all.

He didn’t see any trace of fear that he wanted to see...

Ambassador Sun took a sip of tea and slowly said, “Thinking controllable fusion research is nuclear testing is a very interesting way of interpreting this. If you don’t understand the difference between the two, why not try asking some of the American nuclear experts?”

The president smiled coldly.

He obviously knew the difference between the two.

However, he could still pretend not to know the difference between the two.

“Who can guarantee that you’re telling the truth? I don’t care what kind of secret experiment you guys are scheming at District 900, but the international community needs an explanation. If you’re not doing anything illegal, then why don’t you disclose your experiment to the world?”

“District 900?” Sun Wenkai smiled at this invasive question. He asked, “Is that what you guys are calling it?”

The president said in a serious manner, “Don’t divert the conversation, this is a serious matter.”

Sun Wenkai stopped smiling. “I know you’re curious about what we’re doing there, but there’s no need to drag the international community into this. The experiments that are being conducted there has never been a secret. However, it does involve confidential technology, and we cannot disclose the full information.”

The president said with a blank face, “We have the right to be suspicious.”

“Yes, of course, you have this right.” Sun Wenkai suddenly looked at his watch and said, “Mr. President, it is 5:30 in the morning right now.”

The president frowned and said, “Is there a problem?”

Ambassador Sun slowly said, “Before talking about the matter of District 900 with you, I want to borrow half an hour of your time.”

The president’s eyebrows furrowed, and he leaned back in his chair.

“Oh? Is there an interesting topic you want to discuss?”

“It might not be interesting to you.” Ambassador Sun smiled warmly and reached for the remote control from the coffee table. He said, “But I want to invite you to watch a show together.”

Show?

The president paused for a second.

“What show?”

“China central television news broadcast.”

...

December 31st, 5:50 am North American time.

It was 18:50 in the Beijing time zone.

Right now, in the CTV studio, television host Guo Qiang was reading the program script in his hand. He was nervously doing the final preparations.

Even though there was a teleprompter that reminded him of what to say, as a host, he still had to have a comprehensive understanding of the whole situation.

Especially since it was a special day.

Not only was it the last day of 2019, but a few hours ago, an earth-shattering event happened in Haizhou, Jiangsu.

The STAR-2 demonstration reactor project, led by the famous Nobel Prize laureate Lu Zhou, had finally lived up to its expectations. By cooperating with hundreds of research institutes around the country, they successfully achieved fusion ignition!

Under the demands from the Communist Party of China, in order to ensure that the success of controllable fusion energy could be broadcasted to the whole country, the news-editorial department prepared four sets of plans to ensure this news could be broadcasted smoothly.

If everything went well, this news broadcast today would be recorded in history, along with the success of the controllable nuclear fusion demonstration reactor...

Guo Qiang was the news anchor that had to broadcast this information to the entire country, so he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders.

Guo Qiang, who was sitting in front of the cameras, took a deep breath. He took advantage of these last couple of seconds to try and calm down.

The director was sitting behind the cameras, and he made a gesture to Guo Qiang.

“Guo Qiang, you can start!”

“Okay.” Guo Qiang nodded seriously and looked at the camera, showing a smile that he had practiced countless times in front of a mirror.

“Good evening, everyone. It’s currently the 31st of December, 7 pm at night...”

Just like Guo Qiang’s countless times of rehearsals, he stared at the teleprompter and read the contents of the press release in a clear voice.

Compared to other CTV news anchors who often had a more serious expression on their faces, he preferred to smile more.

In addition to giving off a more calm and welcoming vibe, he was more charismatic than others. This was precisely why the news network chose him as the news anchor for tonight.

According to the director, not only would the country be waiting for this news broadcast, but the whole world was also waiting.

Guo Qiang was one of the country’s spokespersons, so the leadership team wanted him to convey the controllable fusion energy experiment news in a friendly and peaceful manner.

The peaceful rising of China would not be predicated on the sacrifice of other countries’ sovereignty.

“... The STAR-2 demonstration reactor in the Tianwan area of Haizhou city has completed its final fusion ignition experiment, under the leadership of Chief Designer Lu Zhou.”

The broadcast switched to a short clip of the fusion ignition laboratory.

There weren’t any spectacular lights, no earth-shattering sounds. It was just a plain control room. There was a row of blurred screens and consoles, showing the person pressing the button, followed by cheering and celebration.

Even though it was through the TV screens, people could feel their excitement and pride.

Guo Qiang, who was sitting in the broadcast studio, continued to read the script in a clear and loud voice.

“... So far, the reactor operation is stable, and the output of the No.1 generator has reached the expected 1000MW limit.

“According to the plans, the reactor will gradually be connected to the electrical grid next year. The expected power output will gradually reach 50,000MW next year. The controllable demonstration reactor will meet most of the electricity needs of our Jiangsu province...”

The field of controllable fusion was ignited.

Perhaps it wouldn’t take long before the streets were filled with electric cars.

Maybe it wouldn’t take long for the deserts to become fertile oases.

Perhaps it wouldn’t take long before those imaginations gradually became true...

The distant future had never felt so close.

Maybe there would be a day where oil would no longer be used as a fuel, and that it would only be used as a raw material for industrial production.

From the Strait of Hormuz to Malacca, from the Red Sea to the South China Sea, China would no longer be stuck on the energy front. Their road for future development would be as long as the Milky Way.

All of this was possible.

Guo Qiang proudly looked at the excited scholars in the video, and he couldn’t help but tear up.

There was a trace of tremble and excitement in his voice as he tightly grabbed the television script in his hands.

He looked at the country through the camera lens and announced solemnly, “My fellow citizens, the wheel of history is moving forward, and we are ahead of the times.

“The light of controllable fusion is our hope and future.

“History will remember this hard-fought moment. It will remember those great scholars that dedicated their lives to scientific research!

“And all of us will be able to live in a better future!”