112. Nuclear Fusion Generator
Under the name of Changbai Technology’s Hong Kong Laboratory, Wei Hua procured a vast quantity of metals and minerals from around the world. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, these materials were all sent to the residence known as Qiyuan. Although the butler, David Scorsese, found his employer’s orders somewhat peculiar, he faithfully carried out each instruction, delivering the metals and minerals to a small building adjacent to the main villa. Wei Hua converted the basement of this small building into his workshop for forging instruments. Once the materials arrived, he began attempting to refine the basic components required to manufacture a nuclear fusion engine, starting with the simplest materials.
The refining process was far from smooth; failures were frequent. However, Wei Hua gleaned much from these setbacks. He gradually progressed from forging alloys with two elements to those containing six or seven. Each batch of material was inspected via his communicator; qualified materials were kept, while those that failed were reprocessed. Obsessed with refining materials, Wei Hua paid little attention even when He Xiaoya informed him that Lin Jihan, Yu Xiaomeng, Jiang Hua, and others had returned to Indonesia. He merely gave a brief acknowledgment, leaving He Xiaoya uncertain about how to proceed. Fortunately, Wei Hua soon realized his lapse and made a perfunctory remark to cover it up.
With the materials issue resolved, Wei Hua sought to forge these into individual components. However, he quickly realized that producing qualified mechanical parts was no simple task. The forging techniques from the memories of the Immortal Emperor Xuan Yi lacked the concept of assembly; all magical instruments were created whole in a single process and could be absorbed into the body, allowing their size to vary. Mechanical parts, by contrast, had fixed dimensions and structures—any deviation, too large or too small, was unacceptable. This demanded extraordinarily precise control. After numerous failures, Wei Hua managed to control the processing accuracy of his self-forged parts to within microns. Yet, he struggled to produce several precision parts essential for the control cores. It was only after Sofia’s reminder that, by controlling his divine consciousness through the communicator, he succeeded in forging these delicate components.
After half a year, Wei Hua finally produced hundreds of parts, large and small. Sofia provided a child’s auxiliary device to serve as the control unit for the nuclear fusion engine, enabling intelligent operation. Within a day, Wei Hua assembled the engine. Upon passing inspection via the communicator, he injected liquid deuterium refined at the New York laboratory into the fusion chamber. Pressing the button, the auxiliary device displayed that the world’s first nuclear fusion engine was ready to operate. Overjoyed, Wei Hua realized that with this engine, he could absorb vast amounts of electricity, allowing Sofia’s planetary fortress to be swiftly repaired and accelerating his own cultivation.
Yet, Wei Hua had no intention of revealing the nuclear fusion engine to the public. Such a device was beyond current technological capabilities, and he could not explain its origins.
When the initial excitement of success subsided, it was already late October 1982. The Falklands War between Britain and Argentina had long ended. Wei Hua had initially planned to seize the opportunity for some profit in the UK but had forgotten amidst his work on the fusion engine. He packed the engine into a box and had it carried to his bedroom to deal with later. As he was about to return, butler David Scorsese brought him an invitation. Wei Hua took it and saw it was from Rong Zhijian, his closest friend in Hong Kong, who had not appeared for quite some time. Deciding to make an appearance, Wei Hua accepted.
On the third evening, Wei Hua arrived at the Rong family residence, driven by Ding Peng and accompanied by He Xiaoya. He soon spotted the host, Rong Zhijian, who was engaged in discussion with a group of wealthy businessmen. After greetings, Rong Zhijian asked:
“What’s your take on this issue?”
“What issue?” Wei Hua asked, puzzled.
“We’ve been discussing last month’s meeting between the British Prime Minister and Mrs. Thatcher regarding Hong Kong’s sovereignty. The question remains unresolved, and we’re debating whether Britain will return Hong Kong and what impact that might have on us. You must understand, Britain’s system is very different from ours!” Rong Zhijian explained.
“Oh, that issue! It’s simple. Britain will definitely return Hong Kong in 1997; the British government cannot refuse. Although Britain recently won the Falklands War against Argentina, China is not Argentina. Britain can defeat Argentina but will never defeat China. Especially in Hong Kong, which borders directly on China, the British military cannot overcome the Chinese forces, even with carrier support. Military force cannot maintain Britain’s claim over Hong Kong. The only option is negotiation, but China’s stance on reclaiming sovereignty will not change. So, the return of Hong Kong is inevitable. Britain will negotiate for face-saving reasons, and talks will not end quickly; I estimate it will take at least a year or two.”
“As for the impact on Hong Kong, I don’t think it will be significant. Didn’t China propose the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ concept last August? That will likely guide future negotiations. Under this premise, Hong Kong will continue its free-market economy after the return, so the impact on us won’t be major,” Wei Hua asserted confidently.
“But we worry that after China reclaims Hong Kong, policies might change! A few months ago, China issued a decision on cracking down on serious economic crimes, including a charge called ‘speculation and profiteering.’ What kind of crime is that? Merchants have always bought low and sold high—who would do business if it wasn’t profitable? I fear that the government might issue another decree that could ruin us,” one tycoon interjected.
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