Chapter 101: Boomerang
“Hiss”
The cigarette had burned out at some point, and the high-temperature cigarette butt caused Mark to cry out in pain involuntarily.
“Space elevator, you mean space elevator?”
Mark completely ignored his scalded finger, turned around, and looked at Fan Ren in shock.
“Yes, the kind you understand, the one that can ‘whoosh’ through the electromagnetic rail, sending dozens or hundreds of tons of materials into space.”
Fan Ren smiled and pointed toward the distant construction site.
“After the foundation construction here is completed and all relevant data is collected, we will also prepare to build a space elevator on the Moon, though due to funding issues, the pace there might be temporarily slowed.”
Seeing how casually he said it, Mark didn’t know how to respond.
His Mars Project Phases One and Two combined had a publicly announced investment budget of only 60 billion, and although listed companies typically inflate budgets over time, it wouldn’t exceed 100 billion no matter what.
But now, this young president was bluntly announcing an investment of 500 billion to build a space elevator.
Not only that, if financial resources allowed, he would even build a space elevator on the Moon simultaneously.
“Mark, the era has changed. We have controlled nuclear fusion technology to provide nearly cost-free low-cost electricity for the space elevator, tri-titanium alloy super-strong metal refined from materials collected on the Moon as building materials, and carbon nanotubes for the rail construction to ensure absolute safety.
When all this is completed, relying on low-cost material transportation, Phase Two will expand the space elevator to a height of 100,000 kilometers.
At that time, spaceships docked at this height will gain second cosmic velocity from Earth’s rotation once they depart, allowing them to reach any planet in the solar system without consuming any fuel.
Do you think, at that point, the Mars Project will still have any reason to exist apart from us at Xinghai?”
Fan Ren mischievously patted the now dazed Mark and walked toward the sofa, leaning back into the soft sofa.
Mars Project?
In front of Xinghai, it was just a joke.
After the space elevator Phase Two is completed, not only will the round-trip costs between Earth and Moon plummet, but even between Earth and Mars, the excessive distance gap caused by their orbits will no longer mean nearly half the time is unsuitable for navigation.
Of course, with second cosmic velocity, Mars can definitely be reached, but if nuclear fusion engines are added on top of that, it is foreseeable that the time required for this ultra-long-distance navigation will be greatly reduced.
At that time, using quantum communication technology to replace radio communication will eliminate delays between Earth and Mars.
Only then will Mars truly have development value.
The request Fan Ren proposed was merely to prepare in advance, so that in the future, they wouldn’t have to waste extra manpower, material resources, and financial resources for these basic mapping data.
“Xinghai has always maintained a cooperative attitude toward our company, right?”
Mark’s voice was a bit hoarse as he stared intently at Fan Ren, trying to discern from his response whether Fan Ren had any intention of deceiving him.
“From the founding of Xinghai, it has always upheld the concept of win-win cooperation, though you must know what happened later.
I’m not one to repay grudge with kindness. Instead, I believe that a certain degree of restraint can provide a foundational guarantee for better cooperation between both sides.
What do you think, President Mark?”
Fan Ren’s expression showed no change, still maintaining that calm demeanor, revealing no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.
“I hope so. It seems I have no choice.”
The next day, Spitz Company issued an announcement.
Spitz Company will provide Xinghai with Mars mapping and other data. In return, Xinghai Technology will provide 5 sets of small nuclear fusion reactors to offer energy support services for Spitz Company’s Mars space station and Mars Base.
At the same time, Xinghai Technology also issued an announcement.
Xinghai will provide nuclear fusion reactors to global aerospace projects at a price of 20 billion per set.
The electricity provided by this small nuclear fusion reactor is more than twice that of a United States aircraft carrier.
One set can meet the daily energy consumption of tens of thousands of people.
Moon, Guanghan Palace Base.
Against the pitch-black cosmic background, a Xingyun series spaceship was slowly descending toward the landing field not far from the base.
Li Jian looked out the window toward it, a helpless smile involuntarily forming on his lips.
The rocket landed, and the cabin door opened.
This scene had already occurred hundreds of times at this landing field.
At this time, in the more distant mining site, the astronauts operating the automatic mining equipment were long accustomed to this and didn’t even bother to look up.
In Li Jian’s view, the rocket cabin door opened, followed by a figure who jumped out first.
That’s right, he came out with a ‘hop,’ leaping out in one bound.
As expected.
Li Jian covered his eyes with his hand. In this low-gravity environment, people without prolonged weightlessness training need a period of adaptation.
The figure began tumbling sideways in the air, then landed lightly but not too gently on the smooth landing field.
“Boss, Boss, if you hear me please respond. I have landed successfully, status good. Over.”
Li Jian couldn’t bear to watch; it was too embarrassing.
Immediately after, another figure emerged from the cabin door.
This time, it was much steadier.
This figure walked down the ladder, lightly bounced on his toes, stood in place stunned for a moment, then stepped forward and pulled up the embarrassing guy who was lying flat on the ground spread-eagled.
“Report to Base Commander, Batch 278 of materials has arrived safely at Guanghan Palace. Please send someone to receive them.”
Hearing Second Brother’s voice come over the loudspeaker, Li Jian breathed a sigh of relief.
Good thing he was still somewhat normal.
“Received. Personnel have been dispatched to receive. You can follow the road signs to enter the base.”
After saying that, he got up and walked toward the base entrance.
After months without seeing them, he hadn’t expected these two brothers to come in person.
Fan Ren amusingly pulled up Liu Jun. It had to be said that even he felt eager to try in this novel environment.
No wonder that astronaut who first set foot on the Moon with the boss kept hopping around endlessly during the live broadcast.
It even caused a huge stir online afterward.
After a series of expansions, Guanghan Palace Base now covers nearly 1,000 square meters.
Moreover, with nuclear fusion reactors as the energy source, the base’s life support facilities are nearly perfect.
The work area occupies 70% of the space, with the rest divided into recreation area, canteen, and rest area.
Because the subsequent expansion building materials used tri-titanium alloy, Guanghan Palace now gleams with silver light under the sunlight, very dazzling from the outside.
The base is located at the lowest central depression of Aiken Basin. Looking into the distance now, dozens of large automatic mining machines can be seen in view, operated by astronauts amid rising smoke and dust, a spectacular sight.
Fan Ren observed his surroundings. Although he was the initiator of these projects, he only had an impression of this base from the design phase.
This visit was also for on-site investigation to see where further improvements could be made in preparation for future expansions.
At the same time, it was to conduct space elevator site selection work on the Moon.
