111: The controversy surrounding the selection of a "home" site and "feng shui".

The grand blueprint for the 'Homeland' project, once proposed, was like a complex and massive machine whose start button had been pressed, rapidly entering a high-speed preparation phase.

Countless specialized groups were formed, covering dozens of fields such as planning, construction, security, logistics, medical care, education, and scientific research. The starting point and cornerstone of all this work was to find a perfect place for this future 'Homeland' to settle.

Site selection became the primary and crucial task facing Wang Jianguo and the entire team.

Wang Jianguo knew well that this site selection would be no easy feat. It not only had to meet the security and functional requirements of a top-tier scientific research base but also needed to consider the growing teenager's desire for nature, sunlight, and a normal life, while also accounting for the physical and mental health of long-term residents and the flexibility for future development.

He personally drafted a nearly harsh list of site selection criteria, requiring the expert group to strictly follow:

Beautiful Environment and Ecological Health: The location must have beautiful natural scenery, superior air quality, be far from industrial pollution and densely populated areas, possess a good ecological environment, and be able to provide conditions for soothing the body and mind and getting close to nature, which is conducive to Excellence's psychological rehabilitation and emotional development.

High Concealment and Relative Convenience: The location must be sufficiently hidden, not easily detected or interfered with by external forces, but transportation cannot be completely cut off; it must ensure that support can be quickly obtained in an emergency, and daily material supplies and expert travel must not be too difficult.

Geological Stability and Safety: The regional geological conditions must be stable, avoiding earthquake-prone zones, landslides, mudslides, and other high-incidence areas for natural disasters, to ensure the safety and stability of underground facilities.

Pure Electromagnetic and Environmental Background: The surrounding electromagnetic environment should be as 'clean' as possible, avoiding strong interference sources to meet the requirements of high-precision scientific research equipment, while also considering whether the natural background radiation is within a safe range.

Sufficient Space and Scalability: Not only must there be enough surface area for building residential areas and simulating a social environment, but it would be best to have natural usable space underground or inside the mountain (such as limestone caves) to facilitate the construction of hidden core research areas and emergency shelters, while leaving room for possible future expansions.

Easy to Deploy Top-Tier Security: The terrain and landforms should be conducive to building a multi-layered, seamlessly integrated physical and electronic security system, capable of achieving effective monitoring of the periphery and precise protection of the interior.

Every item on this list felt like a high-difficulty threshold.

Wang Jianguo stated clearly: 'The 'Homeland' is where Excellence may live for ten or twenty years, and it is our most important strategic project. The site selection work must be foolproof; we would rather spend more time than cut corners.'

In the following months, multiple exploration teams composed of geologists, environmental experts, security consultants, and architects went to remote areas across the country that met the initial screening criteria under the names of 'National Geological Survey' or 'Ecological Protection Zone Planning' for field investigations.

After layers of screening and fierce debate, three locations finally stood out and entered the final shortlist. Each location had unique characteristics, with equally distinct pros and cons, bringing the expert group's arguments to a fever pitch.

Location A: Southwest Deep Mountain Valley

Advantages: Located deep within the rolling mountains of a certain southwestern province, in a quiet valley covered by primeval forests. It is shrouded in clouds and mist, the air is as fresh as if it had been washed, and biodiversity is extremely rich. The biggest highlight is the discovery of a large-scale, complex natural cave system beneath the valley. The space inside the cave is open, with crisscrossing passages, and it is of an ancient geological age, very stable, making it an excellent natural barrier for building underground facilities with unparalleled concealment.

Disadvantages: This area is located on the edge of a relatively active geological zone, and there are records of small-scale earthquakes in history; during the rainy season, the risk of flash floods requires high vigilance; the biggest challenge lies in its remote geographical location, far from major research centers and material distribution hubs, with inconvenient transportation. The cost and cycle for future expert travel, equipment transportation, and living supplies are high, and the rapid response capability to emergencies is limited.

Location B: Jiangnan Classical Garden Relics

Advantages: Located in the picturesque Jiangnan water towns, its predecessor was a large classical garden-style building complex built in the last century, once used for the recuperation of high-ranking officials and later abandoned due to institutional adjustments. The pavilions, small bridges, flowing water, rockeries, and corridors are well-preserved, with deep cultural heritage, and can be occupied with minor repairs, making it easy to disguise as a private manor or a high-end cultural research center. It is located on the edge of an economically developed area, making material supply and expert deployment extremely convenient.

Disadvantages: With the urbanization process, the population density of surrounding towns has increased in recent years. Although it is still quiet at present, its long-term concealment is questionable; the humid and rainy climate of the Jiangnan region poses a severe challenge to the long-term maintenance and moisture/corrosion prevention of precision instruments and electronic equipment; the layout of the garden is fixed, and the development of underground space is limited, making the construction and expansion of large-scale hidden facilities difficult.

Location C: Northwest Plateau Adjacent to an Observatory

Advantages: Located on the Northwest Plateau, adjacent to a large national astronomical observatory and a vast ecological protection area. This place has a high altitude, thin and dry air, little dust, and an extremely pure electromagnetic environment with almost no interference, making it an ideal place for astronomical observation and high-precision physical experiments. The open terrain is convenient for deploying an all-around monitoring system, and the existence of the observatory can serve as an excellent cover for identity. The dry climate is conducive to equipment preservation.

Disadvantages: The problem of thin oxygen caused by high altitude may pose potential health risks to Excellence, who is still in the recovery period and needs a good oxygen supply, so his long-term adaptability needs to be assessed; the plateau has long and cold winters, and the living environment is relatively harsh; although the field of vision is open, the terrain lacks natural barriers, and concealment relies more on technical means, and the available natural underground space in the surrounding area is limited.

Three locations represented three completely different development directions: Location A wins on absolute concealment and natural protection; Location B wins on living convenience and cultural atmosphere; Location C is strong in scientific research conditions and environmental purity. Supporters held their own opinions and argued endlessly. The security department strongly supported Location A, logistics and humanities experts favored Location B, while the research team tended towards Location C. Inside the conference room, the sounds of debate rose and fell, and they remained deadlocked.

Just as the decision-making reached an impasse, a flash of inspiration hit Wang Jianguo, and he proposed a suggestion that surprised everyone: 'Let Excellence come and look at the materials for these places, and listen to his 'thoughts'.'

His official reason was 'respecting the wishes of the future resident,' but deep down, he truly held a sliver of expectation: would this teenager who had repeatedly shown extraordinary intuition give some unexpected 'gibberish' that might contain some deep insight when facing such a major environmental choice?

Thus, a detailed information package about the three candidate locations, which had been carefully desensitized (sensitive information such as specific geographical coordinates and administrative divisions was hidden), was produced. It contained high-definition aerial photos, 360-degree VR panoramic videos, geological survey briefs, climate data summaries, and even local flora and fauna guides, made into exquisite electronic picture books and immersive experience videos.

When Su Mu and Evelyn brought this special 'task' to Excellence, he showed great interest. On the sofa in the rehabilitation room, he put on VR glasses, held the controller, and accompanied by Su Mu and Evelyn, began a unique 'cloud trip'.

He was completely immersed in it, occasionally making exclamations and comments full of childlike innocence:

Facing the VR images of the caves in Location A, he danced with excitement: 'Wow! This cave is so big and deep! It's like a secret base in a movie! Class monitor, can we build a super underground observatory in the deepest part? The rocks there might be able to shield all interference, and we could receive signals from the edge of the universe or... aliens!'

Switching to the garden scenery of Location B, he was attracted by the exquisite small bridges, flowing water, and pavilions: 'This place is so beautiful! Sister Evelyn, look at that pavilion in the middle of the lake. Can we drink tea there, watch the fish swim, and discuss whether Quantum Entanglement spreads like water ripples?'

When the magnificent plateau starry sky and the huge observatory dome of Location C appeared before his eyes, he was so excited he almost jumped up: 'So many stars! So clear! It feels like I can grab them if I reach out! Watching the ripples of the cosmic microwave background here must be especially clear! Just like... just like looking at the fingerprints of the universe!'

His focus completely jumped out of the realistic scope of security, transportation, and climate that the experts were arguing about, and instead, from the perspective of a 'super player' full of curiosity and imagination, he imagined interesting explorations that could be carried out in each place. The serious site selection meeting turned into a brainstorming session about future adventure plans for him.

Finally, when Wang Jianguo personally asked him which location he preferred via video link, Excellence put down the VR glasses, tilted his head, showed a rare expression of serious thought, and his fingers moved unconsciously in the air. After a moment of silence, he raised his head and said something that stunned all the adults present in a tone mixed with uncertainty and some inexplicable conviction:

'Well... if I have to say how it feels... The shapes of the mountains in Location A, layer upon layer, surrounding each other, look like... a big giant sleeping, very stable. The 'energy field' (he used this term) there should be quite stable and not easily disturbed. The water in the lake at Location B is alive, flowing all the time, carrying 'Qi' (he used this word again) as it goes, which is a good thing, but the small bridge at the entrance, the curvature is a bit too sharp, it feels... a bit 'evil'? (He seemed to be struggling to find the right word) It might make the good 'Qi' run away or get blocked. As for Location C, the sky is impeccable, high and clean, the geomagnetic lines must be very 'smooth', but... I always feel like there's a huge 'opening' in the sky, everything goes in, and it's easy to 'leak wind', not gathered enough...'

Once these words were spoken, the scene fell silent. Su Mu was the first to react, holding her forehead, laughing and crying: 'Excellence! We are choosing the address for a construction base, we have to use scientific evidence, not... not reading Feng Shui!'

However, Evelyn, standing on the side, showed a thoughtful expression. She recalled that when she was at The Foundation, she had come into contact with some non-mainstream, fringe research that attempted to link concepts such as 'energy field' and 'earth veins' in ancient Oriental geomancy with modern environmental physics, geomagnetic fields, and radiation field measurements. Although these studies were regarded as metaphysics in mainstream scientific circles, at this moment, Excellence's 'gibberish' faintly echoed in a strange way with those vague theories in her memory. She dared not conclude that there was a scientific connection, but Excellence's almost instinctive description of 'feeling' the environment had been proven many times not to be groundless.

After listening to the complete report, including this 'Feng Shui commentary' by Excellence, Wang Jianguo was also left between laughter and tears. But calming down, he upheld the attitude of 'listening to both sides leads to enlightenment' and did not simply dismiss Excellence's words as a child's babble. He gave a new instruction: 'Let our geologists and environmental physicists re-evaluate these three locations for a more in-depth 'comprehensive environmental field'. Not only should we look at conventional data, but also add more detailed indicators such as geomagnetic field strength and gradient distribution, fine measurement of environmental radioactive background, groundwater vein flow direction and trace element analysis, and even local climate micro-circulation and biological population distribution. We must use the most scientific means to verify whether Excellence's 'feeling' makes sense.'

This supplementary investigation took extra time, but the results were surprising. Detailed scientific data showed that although Location A was located on the edge of a geologically active zone, the bedrock of the valley where it was located was exceptionally solid, and historical earthquake records showed minimal impact; the cave system structure was stable, with good ventilation and hydrological conditions; more importantly, the geomagnetic field in the area was very stable, and the environmental radiation level was extremely low, forming a relatively independent and stable 'environmental bubble.' Location B indeed had issues with local hydrological disturbances and complex microclimates, while Location C confirmed the existence of strong high-altitude wind fields and slightly higher cosmic ray background values.

To some extent, the scientific data indirectly supported Excellence's seemingly absurd 'Feng Shui' comments! Although it could not be explained by terms like 'energy field' or 'evil spirit,' Excellence's vague Perception of environmental 'stability' and 'cohesion' seemed to have some correlation with the objective measurement results.

Finally, after comprehensively considering absolute concealment (Location A is best), natural physical protection (Location A's cave system is irreplaceable), environmental stability under scientific assessment (Location A's data performance is excellent), and... Excellence's undeniable, positively inclined 'intuition', the expert group voted again, and Location A—the deep valley in the southwest mountains—won by a narrow margin.

A respected old geology professor said half-jokingly and half-seriously when summarizing: 'Since our 'seed' feels that the 'energy field' there is good, and there is a destined connection in the dark, let's trust him once! Maybe, in that spiritual land, we can really get some fairy spirit and make our 'Homeland' project go smoothly?'

Thus, in the southwest mountains filled with mist and mystery, the detailed blueprint of the 'Homeland' began to be outlined. This decision was not only based on cold data and rigorous analysis but also mixed with a touch of respect and expectation for unknown intuition. The future Homeland would break ground in this deep valley considered to have a 'stable energy field'.