Chapter Twenty-Seven: The First Acquisition

“So this is the proton storage ring?” Staring at the massive circular structure, it looked like an enlarged pancake, hollow in the middle.

“Yes, this is the pancake!” One of the escorting staff approached, joking.

“Hello, our delivery has arrived.”

Zhang Mingyang hurriedly handed over the logistics form. The escort glanced at it—everything was in order—they could move on.

Gazing at the storage ring, Zhang Mingyang still couldn’t understand how they managed to build such a colossal mobile magnetic field trap to contain protons.

The escort, overhearing his confusion, explained, “It’s basically a giant power bank. You’ve seen batteries before, right? The energy ring at the back works on the same principle. It allows protons to remain in a vacuum, spinning non-stop inside the storage unit.”

Zhang Mingyang pursed his lips in amazement. “Human ingenuity really is remarkable.”

After handing over the shipment, five heavy transport trucks arrived. Cranes slowly hoisted the five storage units onto the trucks, which then drove into the tunnel.

Watching the convoy disappear, Zhang Mingyang said goodbye to Liu Ming and headed off toward the laboratory.

At the tunnel’s elevator, the five transport trucks lined up. The elevator, capable of bearing 1,500 tons, carried the cargo fifty meters underground under the operators’ direction.

“Professor, the cargo has arrived,” Zhang Mingyang reported to Lin Guangming over the communicator.

A warning buzzer sounded as the elevator reached the underground lab. The transport trucks rolled out at a depth of fifty meters.

“Mingyang, have you completed the handover?” Lin Guangming approached.

“It’s done,” Zhang Mingyang said, patting the side of a truck. “Everything’s inside.”

It was Lin Guangming’s first time seeing the proton storage ring as well—he was captivated by its enormous size and strange design. “To take part in research like this in my lifetime, to witness such advanced technology... I have no regrets.”

The truck driver came over, asking Lin Guangming where to unload the equipment.

Lin Guangming called over a researcher to guide the trucks to the proton injector.

“Mingyang, in three days, we’ll begin the first launch of the collider. You and your team need to make the most of the time.”

“Three days!” Zhang Mingyang was shocked. “Isn’t that too soon? Weren’t we given a week? It’s only been a few days, and our team hasn’t even grasped a third of the system.”

Lin Guangming put a hand on his shoulder, speaking earnestly, “It’s not that it’s soon—time is simply too tight. Just getting this project off the ground took long enough. The higher-ups can’t wait any longer—they want us to start ahead of schedule.”

“But…” Zhang Mingyang was anxious. “Most of us are barely familiar with the machines. Rushing in blindly—won’t that cause problems?”

Lin Guangming had already considered this, but his hands were tied. “I’ve spoken to the base leadership. Their answer: other departments can take their time, but not the Energy Division. The ship’s energy supply is critical. We must ensure both quality and quantity.”

“That’s easy for them to say when they’re not the ones doing the work!”

Lin Guangming could only shrug helplessly. The orders came from above—there was nothing more to be done.

“All right, I need to go supervise at the proton injector. You should get back to your team and let them know the collider launches in three days. Make sure everyone’s getting up to speed.”

Zhang Mingyang nodded, saw his mentor off, and hurried to join his group.

Once there, Lin Guangming relayed the leadership’s instructions and the new timeline, and they all worked to accelerate their training.

For the next three days, Zhang Mingyang’s team barely managed one meal a day, working until the early hours before catching a few hours’ rest. By then, they’d only just grasped the general design and principles of the collider—full mastery was still a long way off.

That morning, everyone in the Energy Division was up early.

Today was crucial—the collider’s first activation, the first attempt to collect antimatter, a milestone for the entire project.

Deep in the tunnel, Zhang Mingyang assigned tasks, conducting the final checks before startup.

“Engineer Lin, take two people and recheck the tunnel’s magnetic field and the liquid helium cooling system.”

“Understood.”

“Engineer Liu, take two people and inspect the four collision points again.”

“Got it.”

“Senior Wang, could I trouble you to check the injector? That’s the heart of the experiment.”

“No problem.”

“All right, everyone has their tasks. Make your inspections quickly—the collider starts at seven. Once you’re done, gather in the central control room.”

“Understood!”

With that, everyone dispersed to their duties. Zhang Mingyang alone headed toward the experiment’s most critical area: the antimatter storage.

Along the way, people hurried busily past, all striving for the success of this first antimatter extraction.

When he entered the storage and distribution control room, his mentor Lin Guangming, Wang Bowen, and several base leaders were already present.

“Shh!” Lin Guangming motioned for silence, pulling him aside.

“Professor, all the leadership is here.”

Lin Guangming nodded. “The machine hasn’t operated in nearly twenty years. This is the first chance to produce dark matter again—of course the leaders are here.”

He checked his watch—half an hour to go. He whispered to Zhang Mingyang to stay out of the way and remain quiet.

Zhang Mingyang nodded, found a corner, and waited for the machine to start, gazing through the reinforced glass at the storage unit.

Twenty minutes later, the operators began the final equipment checks. On the big screen, the control staff reported their findings:

“Magnetic field, normal.”

“Coolant at negative 273 degrees Celsius, normal.”

“Accelerator, normal.”

“Injector, normal.”

“Distribution data, normal.”

One by one, the systems checked out. The chief engineer gave the launch order.

“I hereby announce: the Large Hadron Collider’s first startup begins.”

With the command, protons were injected into the system. In two separate pipelines, opposing clusters of protons began to accelerate.

“Energy at 30 tera-electronvolts. Proton bunches accelerated to 89 microseconds.”

“Continue.”

Zhang Mingyang watched anxiously. The only sounds in the hall were the operators’ keystrokes. Everyone held their breath.

“Now at 13 microseconds, energy at 90 tera-electronvolts.”

“Proton synchrotron has increased energy to 1.4 giga-electronvolts.”

“Proton synchrotron ring now at 26 giga-electronvolts.”

“Continue to increase input.”

“We’ve reached the target,” a control operator called.

“Inject into the main accelerator ring.”

After being accelerated by the two counter-rotating rings, the proton clusters successfully entered the main ring.

“Activate the antimatter decelerator,” commanded the chief engineer.

“Antimatter decelerator is online. Deceleration to 2 giga-electronvolts achieved.”

As time ticked by, the tension in the room mounted. The collider was about to enter its most critical phase.