Chapter 45

After finishing his work in the kitchen, Chen Fei carried a fragrant bag of baguettes, a bag of roasted lamb chops, and a serving of mixed salad. This was the benefit of working in the kitchen, at least saving on food expenses. It wasn't a particularly lucrative job, but it was a pleasant one.

He returned to the dormitory, left half of the baguettes, roasted lamb chops, and mixed salad, and packed the other half into a basket. He then carried it to the northwest corner of the air base, where his destination was located.

This place was now surrounded by layers of standard containers, making it feel like a maze as he walked through.

Arriving at a steel-framed shed, he couldn't find a doorbell, so Chen Fei shouted.

"Grandpa Barut, are you there?"

"Who is it? Oh, it's Xiao Chen, come in, the door isn't locked!"

A few coughs came from inside, followed by a hoarse voice.

The cold-hearted but warm-hearted mechanic had already greeted the Neanderthal old man Barut, who was in charge of the Target Low-Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower. Now that Chen Fei had found his way here, the people inside had been waiting for a long time.

Chen Fei pushed the door open and was immediately greeted by a massive cylindrical structure nearly four meters tall, almost touching the shed's ceiling, which dominated his field of vision.

This was the Target Low-Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower, which provided ample power to the entire 911 air base.

This high-efficiency energy technology from the Third Epoch civilization used deuterium (heavy hydrogen) and tritium (super-heavy hydrogen) as fuel, with no radioactivity, no vibration, and extremely high safety and stability, making it very reliable.

Even while in operation, it was extremely quiet, with no sound at all.

Apart from the flashing indicator lights and the display screen showing real-time output power curves and other data, it was almost impossible to tell that it was undergoing ultra-low-temperature fusion, continuously converting energy.

"Ultra-low-temperature" does not refer to a specific degree below zero; it is merely a relative term. The actual reaction temperature is still above zero degrees Celsius. It can't melt steel, but it can certainly ignite paper.

This seemingly paradoxical temperature naming is not unique. For example, the "high temperature" in high-temperature superconductors is not truly high, still below zero degrees Celsius, and much colder than a household freezer.

It wasn't until the advent of room-temperature superconducting materials that temperature naming returned to normal.

On the steel-framed shed's roof, there was a circular vent, like a large hat, slowly rotating to dissipate the excess heat from the energy tower below.

However, some heat still lingered inside the shed, making the room temperature about five to six degrees Celsius higher than outside.

The Hindukush mountain area has a significant temperature difference between day and night, with daytime temperatures reaching over twenty degrees Celsius and nighttime temperatures dropping below zero.

After nightfall, if the roof vent is closed, the residual heat from the Target Low-Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower is enough to keep the entire shed warm, even making it too warm to wear a coat.

After收回视线 from the Target Low-Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower, Chen Fei was immediately stunned by the various green plants almost filling the entire shed.

It was like a small garden, a greenhouse, with bright lights like a small sun, illuminating the shed as if it were daylight.

The air was filled with the smell of ammonia mixed with the fragrance of plants, which was not too unpleasant.

A warm and cozy feeling enveloped him. Chen Fei noticed a mechanical hygrometer hanging nearby, showing a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 62%. Compared to the dry and cold outside, the lush environment here was like an Eden.

"Chirp!~"

The little bird, which had been dozing in Chen Fei's collar, suddenly darted out, fluffed its feathers, and curiously looked around, examining the place. It suddenly took flight, landing among the flowers and plants, excitedly pecking here and there, chirping occasionally, clearly treating this place as its playground.

"Chirp, don't fly around, come back!"

Chen Fei quickly shouted, afraid that the little bird might disturb the owner.

The little bird, hearing his voice, immediately flew back but didn't land on his shoulder as usual. Instead, it hopped around on the nearby plant branches, seemingly enjoying itself.

"It's fine, birds are free. You can take off your coat and hang it on the rack."

The Neanderthal old man Barut, wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, was watering the plants. Hearing the bird's chirping, he smiled.

The little bird's arrival brought an unexpected surprise to him. The previously quiet shed suddenly came to life with the bird's chirping.

Barut's work here was more like a retired old man's daily routine, spending most of his time tending to the plants while guarding the energy tower.

"Sorry for the disturbance."

Chen Fei obediently took off his thick work clothes and hung them on the rack, then lifted the basket to indicate.

"Grandpa Barut, I brought some snacks to go with the drinks."

After drinking together last time, Chen Fei naturally knew what kind of gift to bring when visiting this Neanderthal elder.

The bread, lamb chops, and salad were more than enough to go with the drinks.

"Oh, you're thoughtful. Wait a moment, I'll get the wine."

Seeing the full basket, the Neanderthal old man smiled, put down the watering can, and walked to a corner of the shed.

When he returned, he was holding things in both hands: a glass wine bottle and two wine glasses in one hand, and a thick book in the other.

Leading Chen Fei to a round table, Barut placed the wine bottle, glasses, and book down, saying, "This is homemade blueberry wine. Try it. And this, I think you'll need it."

He tapped the cover of the book and then pulled out the cork, pouring the wine, which looked like purple gemstones, into the two glasses.

Chen Fei picked up the book and glanced at the cover. It was a technical manual about the Target Low-Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower, including design principles, operating procedures, and troubleshooting.

The book was brand new, almost untouched.

The low-temperature nuclear fusion technology originally came from the Neanderthal civilization of the Third Epoch. Barut was very familiar with it, able to understand every button and component of the energy tower with his eyes closed, even more so than the manufacturers on Blue Star. He didn't need the technical manual at all.

The 911 air base hired this Neanderthal old man to guard the energy tower not just because he was cheap.

After pouring the wine, Barut broke a pair of disposable bamboo chopsticks, picked up a piece of roasted lamb chop, and chewed it with a crunch, even swallowing the bones. He mumbled, "This job isn't difficult, very simple. Just run a self-check program every day, monitor the output power curve periodically, and you don't need to watch it all the time. If there's a problem, it will alert you and generate a fault report. You don't need to fix it yourself; just call for repairs and send the fault report. The energy tower won't explode; at most, it will automatically stop the fusion reaction. Once it stops, mechanical parts will reset the reaction module, and the fusion fuel won't leak."

One couldn't help but admire the old man's strong teeth, able to chew meat without spitting out the bones.

"Chirp!~"

Seemingly attracted by the aroma of the blueberry wine, Chen Fei's little bird flapped its wings and flew over, landing on the rim of the wine glass in front of him, curiously examining the purple liquid inside.

"Go away, you can't drink!"

Chen Fei, remembering the strange chirping after the little bird stole coffee last time, was unsure of the potential negative effects and wouldn't let it drink something it shouldn't.

He waved his hand to shoo the little bird away from the wine glass and continued flipping through the Target Low-Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower technical manual.

Before this, he knew nothing about the low-temperature nuclear fusion energy tower.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

The little bird flapped its wings and landed on the table, hopping around, not giving up easily.

Barut looked at the small black bird and was surprised, "It's a Pure Light Sparrow!"

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