Translator:
Henyee Translations
Editor:
Henyee Translations
After the incident spread across the country, there was an uproar.
It had been three days since the fusion ignition of the demonstration reactor.
However, they only knew now that Chief Designer Lu of the STAR-2 demonstration reactor had collapsed.
Actually, because there was no celebration party at the demonstration reactor site, nor was there any commendation conference, a lot of people had started to connect the dots.
However, most of them were just speculating on whether or not the STAR-2 demonstration reactor was really successful or not. They didnât think that it was about Lu Zhouâs health.
And now that this news broke out, everyone was muddled.
Actually, the higher-ups didnât plan on keeping Lu Zhouâs condition a secret forever. They even prepared a press release speech.
It was just that no one expected him to be in a coma for this long. It had been days, and there was no sign of him waking up.
Since the public opinion was shifting anyway, there wasnât any point keeping this a secret.
China finally confirmed this news.
Everyone Daily was the first to report on this.
That press release speech was modified and was presented on the front page of the newspaper.
[Professor Lu, chief designer of Chinaâs controllable nuclear fusion project, Nobel Prize laureate, and Fields medalist. After the successful fusion ignition of the demonstration reactor, due to his work overload and fatigue, has collapsed on the worksite...
[According to his colleagues, during his most difficult periods of research, he stayed at the office for weeks at a time. He often even skipped lunch.
[He is the torch of the younger generation. He illuminated the path toward a great nation. He is a candle, burning for the cause of scientific research...
[We pray for his recovery.]
The picture in the newspaper was a candle.
It was very rare for Everyone Daily to highlight an individualâs safety.
The editors and readers were all in tears.
The controllable fusion ignition was successful.
This was originally supposed to be a moment worthy of celebration.
In this celebration-worthy day, Lu Zhou was supposed to be sitting with his family, sharing the joy of his success. However, he was burned out.
Maybe he couldnât handle it anymore.
However, he still stood there, persisting until the end, until the moment fusion ignition was achieved...
Surprisingly, there werenât any haters regarding this incident.
Even when the STAR-2 demonstration reactor was successful, there were a lot of people that were using conspiracy theories to hate on their success.
But at this moment, anyone with an ounce of intelligence knew not to hate on a sensitive topic like this.
Official Weibo account of Everyone Daily...
Comment section.
There were hundreds of thousands of candle emojis...
[(candle) (candle)...]
[I wish him a speedy recovery! (candle)]
[I hope he wakes up as soon as possible. (candle)]
[...]
...
At the same time, the international community was also debating.
American representative: âProfessor Lu Zhou is mankindâs asset. His health isnât only Chinaâs responsibility. If China does not have the ability to cure him, I suggest to send him to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. He will receive the best treatment there.â
The French representative said, âThe Saint-Joseph Hospital has world-leading experts in neurosurgery. We are willing to pay for all of Professor Luâs medical expenses, and we will ensure he will receive the best treatment!â
The British representative interrupted the French representative and said, âSaint-Joseph Hospital? Where is that? Are you joking? The Royal London Hospital is a million times better than that.â
The conference table was having a furious discussion.
Finally, the Chinese representative stood up and interrupted the discussion.
âDue to our concern for Professor Luâs safety, unless he personally agrees to such a proposal, we will not agree.â
The American representative said, âI hope you guys are doing a good job taking care of Lu Zhou.â
Chinese representative: âWe would be doing a bad job if we were to send him to you.â
American representative: âWhat do you mean?â
Chinese representative: âYou heard me.â
It wasnât just the various governments, even the World Health Organization expressed their willingness to send a medical team to Beijing for free and provide medical help for this outstanding scholar.
Finally, China decided to take a step back on this issue.
After all, out of all of the countries, China was probably the one who wanted him to wake up the most.
Since the domestic experts couldnât solve this problem, it was a good idea to consult the foreign experts.
The World Health Organization team of experts was undoubtedly a better choice than a team of experts from a single country.
Even though the possibility of espionage couldnât be ruled out, it was still relatively easy to control.
Just like that, a team of medical experts set off from Geneva and traveled to China.
However, surprisingly, the international experts werenât able to come up with a better conclusion. Even the most respected neurosurgeons couldnât diagnose Lu Zhouâs condition.
Academician Castin from the UK expressed his opinion.
âI personally think this is a very interesting medical phenomenon. It can even be used as a future textbook example.â
Academician Zhao Zhongji said, âOh yeah?â
Academician Castin nodded with excitement. âYeah, his body is normal. Itâs like heâs just fallen asleep, but he canât wake up. If we can figure out how he fell asleep, this might be a discovery worthy of the Nobel Prize.â
Before he came to China, he only regarded this mission as a political task to earn some goodwill from China. After all, the England Royal Society promised him a considerable amount of research funding.
However, he was now completely fascinated and intrigued by this situation.
Academician Zhao Zhongji was also curious about what this Nobel Prize-level discovery could be. But he was more concerned about Lu Zhouâs health.
Even ten Nobel Prizes couldnât compare to the life of a scholar.
âIf you dare to do any kind of experiment on him, I swear to God youâll never do an experiment again.â
Academician Castin smiled awkwardly and tried to diffuse the tension.
âDonât get angry... I was just kidding.â
However, Castin didnât look like he was kidding.
...
The multi-national medical expert team didnât have any good ideas. China didnât really trust them, and Lu Zhouâs treatment had become more and more complicated.
Fortunately, his âconditionâ did not worsen.
But many people were still worried about him.
The only person that wasnât worried was Lu Zhou himself.
January 20th, snow was blowing outside the window, leaving a crystal white layer on the windows.
Chinese New Yearâs Eve was in four days.
Lu Zhou was still lying on a hospital bed with a medical ventilator. He looked as calm as ever, and one could even hear him breathing.
Yan Yan was sitting next to the bed, and her eyes were full of tears. She thought back to a few days ago when she faced her angry father, who slammed the door in her face.
And what her father said to her.
âF*ck off!
âYouâre not my daughter!â
His father was in the army. He was old when he had her and was now retired.
For a man who had devoted his entire life to his country, there was nothing more important to him than the interests of the country.
Not even his own daughter.
She knew why her father was this furious, itâs just that she hasnât been treated like this before.
Yan Yan took a deep breath and began to tear up.
After all, she was only in her twenties.
She originally thought she was mature, but now, it seemed like that wasnât the case.
Maybe because her life was too perfect or her military achievements made her too arrogant... She always had an illusion that she could handle anything life threw her way...
When she accepted this mission, she never even thought about the possibility of failure.
Her arms rested on her thighs, and she buried her face into her hands.
However, while she was in a pool of self-pity and blame, she heard a cough.
After that, a reassuring voice could be heard.
âWhere... Where is my phone?â