Chapter 289: Full Bloom

Following the Academician, Jubian and the Mage arrived at the office section of the underground experimental facility.

They saw two middle-aged men standing in the wide corridor, both wearing glasses and visitor passes similar to their own around their necks.

Could they be—

Although their appearance and build were different from in the game, their temperament, demeanor, and actions clearly belonged to old acquaintances!

Jubian recognized them at a glance.

“Black Smoke? Moto!? Why are you two here too!?”

“This is a shipbuilding expert from Jiangnan Shipyard, a hero of the aircraft carrier project, and currently the person on Earth who knows the most about interstellar warships!”

The Academician introduced him to Jubian with a smile.

“The higher-ups established contact with him not long after he logged into the game, of course, just like with you, under strict confidentiality.”

Moto, with his hands behind his back, merely nodded slightly, indicating that it was true.

His attitude was quite arrogant.

“Oh, no wonder! Then what about you, Uncle Black Smoke? How did you get in?”

“I’m Cangyuan’s Chief Engineer! I’ve overseen countless projects in the game!” Black Smoke sounded offended, “Why can’t I be here?”

“But I remember you’re an electrical Engineer in real life. This is, after all, a confidential project not open to the general public…”

Hey!

Black Smoke glared at the questioning Mage.

“Kid, I chose to study electricity back then because the power industry paid well, not because I lacked the brains or exam scores for scientific research. That was an era when making atomic bombs was less profitable than selling tea eggs, unlike your time now!”

The four bantered for a while, and Cangyuan’s four-person STEM group was finally reunited.

“Good! Since everyone is here, let’s go in.”

The Academician led them into a reception room guarded by soldiers.

“Hello, everyone from Cangyuan!”

In the reception room, a man who had been waiting there rose from the sofa and approached them with a kind face.

He looked to be in his early 60s, refined, and wore a cadre jacket.

Anyone who had watched even a little news would absolutely not mistake this face.

A truly big shot.

A big shot who sat in the front row on the stage during major conferences!

“You’ve all worked hard!”

The four were stunned for a few seconds, then their eyes became as clear as elementary school students’.

“No, no, not hard at all!— ”

“Serving the people, you know!— ”

“Mhm!”

The big shot shook hands with the four special talents one by one.

“The first purpose of inviting you here today, I should say, is for me to report to you on the results of transforming the knowledge and experience you’ve provided over the past few months!”

The four exchanged glances.

A national-level big shot reporting to them?

If there were no confidentiality requirements, could they brag about this for a lifetime?

“Are the nuclear fusion reactor and mass driver not all the achievements at this stage?”

Jubian’s intuition told him that the scale of certain things in reality far exceeded his previous imagination.

“Of course not,” the big shot said, “Come, let’s take a look together!”

He didn’t ask anyone else for help; he opened his laptop and a PPT file.

“Our first-generation military space station completed its design finalization a month ago, and at the same time, ground pre-assembly experiments for prefabricated panels began.

“The space worker team has also trained hard for over two months, and now they are just waiting for the launch vehicle to be perfected, then they can be transported to orbit along with the construction materials to begin assembly.

“The design for the Lunar Nitrogen-3 mine was completed two weeks ago. Since we had already completed the exploration of lunar Nitrogen-3 deposits and reserves during previous lunar orbiting and exploration missions, once the nuclear rocket is ready, it will surely be completed quickly and immediately enter production.

“In addition, the airframe design for space fighters has also been advanced. Once the small nuclear reactors and nuclear-powered engines are in place, they can immediately enter service and form combat capability. Optimistically, this will be in about 8 to 9 weeks. Oh, and there’s good news! The manufacturing process for metal hydrogen batteries has matured. Based on this, the first generation of industrial exoskeletons, power armor, as well as new types of humanoid robots, drones, multi-legged robot dogs, etc., have already completed secret bidding, and progress is very smooth.

“Furthermore, the nation’s first 100MW-class large laser and first single-shot 100GJ-class large electromagnetic railgun will both undergo their first firing tests tomorrow!”

A 100GJ-class electromagnetic railgun, with power equivalent to one-fortieth of the “Qinling” main gun, seems much weaker at first glance.

But from an engineering and scientific research perspective, the power is only one order of magnitude different, and technically only one generation apart!

Speaking of these achievements, the big shot rattled them off, becoming more excited with each one.

The four were deeply shaken.

Without a black technology 3D printer, the speed of technological development in the real world was surprisingly not much slower than in the game!

The reason was also very clear.

Because they knew in advance that the research path was viable, research and development efficiency increased by more than ten, or even dozens of times.

There was no longer a need to consume a large amount of resources on continuous trial and error and continuous improvement, no longer a need for bold hypotheses and careful verification, no longer a need to spend years experimenting with thousands of filament materials like Edison.

Nor was it severely constrained by slow-moving basic science.

A top student solving a problem that an ordinary person could never solve in a lifetime might need to ponder for a week, a month, or even a year.

But copying the answer and solution Ideas for a difficult problem, and integrating the knowledge points, might only take a day!

And the motherland is precisely the top student in the global village, with one of the best talents and a dramatically leading level of effort. “This speed is truly incredible!” Black Smoke exclaimed.

The big shot smiled slightly at him.

“This is incredible? Do you have some misunderstanding about our full-industry chain industrial capability?”

Why put so much effort into infrastructure?

Why insist on a full-industry chain, enduring accusations of overcapacity from many hostile forces?

Opportunity only favors the prepared; it’s all about waiting for the right time, to rise in an instant and soar to the sky!

We once missed the sea; now we will not only not miss the stars again, but we will also be the leader!

“No! How dare I!”

Black Smoke quickly waved his hand.

“What I mean is, with so many big projects and big moves, there’s not a single whisper in society!”

“Yes,” the Mage also found it incredible, “Before, things like aircraft carriers and sixth-generation fighters were quickly photographed by passersby, weren’t they?”

The big shot just smiled.

“Let’s put it this way: any ‘confidential content’ that appears in the public eye is something that has reached a stage where it can be disclosed, something we want everyone to see, and so it’s intentionally released; if we truly want to keep it secret and not reveal any information to society, it’s actually very easy.”

He pointed above his head.

“The only thing that probably can’t be hidden is the spy satellites of foreign intelligence agencies. All kinds of large-scale construction, all kinds of material allocation and transportation,

will definitely leave traces on the ground.

“I think, across the ocean, they should be able to deduce what we are doing from these traces. Haven’t you noticed that they’ve been particularly quiet for the past three months?”

The four nodded frequently.

Indeed!

Next, the big shot carefully solicited the opinions of the four experts on each item of progress.

Secretaries and assistants recorded everything on video and audio, meticulously documenting every detail.

For a group of grown men, gathering together to discuss their beloved careers and envision a glorious future was a particularly exciting thing.

Several hours flew by.

The four went to the cafeteria with the big shot and the Academician for dinner. At the dinner table, the big shot brought up a very important matter.

“Our overall economy, and even our civilization’s form, will undergo a fundamental transformation in the coming months. Currently, I have a hundred percent confidence in the comrades on all fronts, but there is only one problem that, if not solved, will prevent us from truly engaging in interstellar travel and exploration.”

“Are you referring to the zero element?”

Jubian understood immediately.

The big shot nodded.

“To what extent have you learned about the exploration methods for this crucial strategic resource?”

“Some progress has been made!” Black Smoke swallowed a mouthful of rice, his neck stiff.

“We already have a biological extraction process for the zero element, and later obtained mineral refining technology for the zero element through patent purchase. However, zero element exploration technology is firmly held by Paradise Island and the Human Exploration Federation, prohibited from being sold. Currently, we only know that it applies a principle similar to ‘resonance’ of the zero element field.”

“But the Executive Officer will soon send a spy to Paradise Island,” Jubian added, “As long as we can scan their exploration equipment there, I believe all problems will be solved easily.”

“Mhm—”

The big shot nodded in satisfaction.

“Hearing you say that, I’m relieved. And now, for the last matter we need to discuss today.”

At this point, he paused.

“Azrael. This secret organization in the game that you recently uncovered, we here also have some thoughts on it.”

Jubian understood what he meant.

“You mean, this is the first time we’ve discovered something in the game that we know exists on our side?”

“Yes.”

The big shot’s expression became much more serious.

“Azrael is a specific symbol, a product of religion and culture. Its appearance in the other world cannot be a coincidence resulting from the random arrangement and combination of factors, but rather suggests that everything we are currently experiencing and have already experienced is very likely the true history of the other side.

“The timelines of the two worlds are probably overlapping, merely separated by 1175 years in the flow of time. They are in a state of co-axial parallel universes.

“This means that those ‘great enemies’ who almost annihilated the golden age humanity on your side are now also surrounding us, lurking in the deep space that humanity temporarily cannot observe or explore.”

The four were silent.

This was indeed a very reasonable inference.

It also brought a heavy, cruel, and even dark reality.

In the real universe, humanity and the “great enemies” are also destined for a battle.

However, the good news is that due to the intervention of the “Star Sea” parallel universe, the future of the “real” universe, which is positioned earlier in the timeline, has changed, gaining more time and psychological preparation to face the natural disaster.

At least several centuries have been added, which can be used to develop military technology.

At the same time, they can find ways to delay the point in time when the “great enemies” are disturbed, trying to postpone the natural disaster event by a few years.

The big shot looked up at the four “Star Sea” pro players, an elusive light flickering in his eyes. Clearly, he had not finished speaking.

“Moreover, since in the ‘Star Sea’ worldview, all history after 2025 is the future we need to experience according to the original timeline, this leads to another even more realistic, more urgent, and more unsettling question.”