Translator:
_Min_
Editor:
Caron_
Kwai returned home without her soul. She didnât recall how she left the Yoshihara Club, nor was she aware of the expression she had when she walked into the 50-square-meter apartment.
She took a shower and collapsed onto her bed. When she woke up the next day at noon, she realized that the pillow was soaked.
Whenever she thought about what happened yesterday, her body shivered uncontrollably.
She picked up the phone on her nightstand, and her fingers unconsciously rubbed the screen as she didnât know who to call. The buzz of an incoming e-mail suddenly shocked her. After seeing the sender, she was relieved. It was a work email.
As expected, the search warrant she applied for the day before was immediately rejected. Her plan wasnât to catch up with the changes. She originally planned on investigating Jiang Chen first and find evidence of his connection with the Yoto Suburbs virus incident then obtain a search warrant to become a legend in the Yoto police community....
It now appeared that her plan was just a joke.
Tears dripped down involuntarily, washing away her self-esteem.
She wanted to call the police, but she felt that her thoughts were ridiculous. She was part of the Yoto Police Department â who would she report to? She suddenly regretted her decision the day before. If she hadnât acted on impulse, she wouldnât have beenâŠ
She wanted to call her boyfriend, but she didnât know how to seek comfort from him. It was impossible to talk about what happened last night.
The most ridiculous thing, however, was that the figure who scared her lingered in her mind like a devil.
âŠ
âSpace elevator? Youâre asking the right person; no one is more familiar with that thing than us.â Wu Yue suddenly laughed. âBefore the war, one of White Beluga Submarine Observation Stationâs tasks was to investigate the geological environment near the space elevator base No. 3 to detect geological disasters and assist with maintenance.â
âWhatâs the situation like there?â Jiang Chen asked immediately.
âDestroyed thoroughly.â Wu Yue reluctantly shrugged. âI still remember the day. At the beginning of the war, the tracks that streaked into the clouds were hit by several missiles, and 30,000 kilometers of graphene cables collapsed into the sea. An entire island was cut into two pieces by a graphene cable... so I advise you not to count on it.â
[Donât count on it?] He wasnât foolish; Jiang Chen had been counting on the space elevator. NAC had no way of getting to sea or else he wouldâve already sent people to explore the whereabouts of pre-war space elevators. Rebuilding a space elevator was nearly impossible in the apocalypse, where there were few people and resources and no production capacity for technology, but it could be done in the modern world!
âI think I can still count on it... Do you have any way of moving the wreckage of the space elevator into shallow water?â Jiang Chen asked.
Wu Yue looked at Jiang Chen as if he was a madman, and he facepalmed.
âDo you know how heavy the base station for the space elevator is?â
âHow heavy is it?â
âWith a displacement of 10 million tons, no power system is capable. After being anchored, it has to rely on special transport equipment to redeploy. Not to mention that itâs still sinking at the bottom of the sea. Not to mention shallow sea â itâs not easy to bring to the surface to begin with.â
âI see...â Jiang Chen frowned.
âWhat do you want to do with a space elevator? It can only be deployed at the equator,â Wu Yue wondered.
Wu Yue had another thought he failed to verbalize. Now that outer space was filled with space debris and looked like an asteroid belt from afar, there was no way to develop in outer space.
âYou donât have to worry about what Iâm using it for.â Jiang Chen waved. After contemplating for a moment, he continued, âWell, you can escort our construction ships. Weâll be responsible for the shipment. We can discuss the price again?â
âI will convey your proposal to my superiors and give you a reply tomorrow at the latest.â Wu Yue nodded.
âThen you can take your leave now,â said Jiang Chen.
It wasnât impossible to build a space elevator from scratch. The Graphene Research Institute in the modern world developed a graphene cable that could be used to construct a space elevator. Although an elevator of 22nd-century standards couldnât be achieved, a primary stage space elevator could still be built.
However, unlike Penglai, even if the production capacity of the New Malaysia Special District was completely directed to the space elevator project, it would take at least five years to complete the entire project.
In other words, when the space elevator would be completed, it would be 2023.
But if the wreckage of the space elevator from the apocalypse could be transported into the modern world, it would make things much easier.
It wouldnât be impossible for the project to be completed within one year.
Wu Yue didnât disappoint Jiang Chenâs expectations. The White Beluga Submarine Observation Station quickly agreed with Jiang Chenâs proposal. After some bargaining, the two sides finally reached a preliminary cooperation agreement.
NAC set up a port on Hengsha Island, north of Wanghai City, where the merchants from Sixth Street would trade necessities with the station. Items traded would include food, raw materials, some household goods, industrial products, and a limited number of arms.
The settlement currency was limited to NACâs credit, and the tariffs were tentatively set at 10%.
The space elevatorâs transportation agreement was written in another agreement.
White Beluga Submarine Observation Station would dissemble, repair space elevator bases, and recover the wreckage of space elevators from outer space. The NAC was responsible for dispatching transport vessels.
Because the sunken space elevator was far from Wanghai, and the depth of the sea near Wanghai was relatively shallow, it wasnât convenient to place a space elevator base there. After discussion with the Observation Station, Jiang Chen decided to use Taipei as a transit point.
For Jiang Chen, it didnât matter where he shipped these parts to the modern world. If it wasnât for the fact that he was unfamiliar with the station, he wouldâve rushed directly to the targeted sea area to transport it from there and save time.
After signing an agreement with the Observation Station, the expeditionary forces of NAC also finished mobilizing.
The AS Order steel airship could take off and fly along the coastline toward the island of Yizhou. It was expected to arrive in Taipei within eight hours. Accompanied by the Zhao Corporationâs trade fleets, their main task was to act as guides and communicate with survivors on the island of Yizhou.
Zhao Corporation was familiar with the situation in Taipei. The rocket engines and aviation equipment acquired by NAC were all obtained from the launch site in Taipei.
Jiang Chenâs instructions to the captain, Li Wang, were simple â they were to establish an outpost in Taipei with 200 Marines along with radar stations and lighthouses. They were to establish positive relationships with local survivors as permitted by the?circumstances and, if possible, integrate those survivors under the NAC banner.
For this second NAC crusade, Jiang Chen gave Li Wang a high degree of autonomy. During the Hongcheng expedition, the ex-guard captain had proved his abilities.
Jiang Chen also believed the captain he personally promoted would definitely live up to his expectations.