10: Chapter 10, Project Prism Tower

[Hmm, indeed. If I remember correctly, your so-called aircraft carriers still emit smoke, right? Or are they nuclear-powered? Isn't it still bearings driving impeller propulsion? How fast can they go? 50 knots? That's the absolute limit!]

"Uh, it seems so. Let me see yours."

Aerospace Aircraft Carrier subsystems: electromagnetic guns, phase cannons, Star-Killer Reactor system, laser systems, anti-gravity systems, warp engines...

"Looking at it this way, 1 trillion isn't that expensive, huh?!"

[...]

"Wait, so you're saying my 10,000 honor points can be exchanged for one trillion huaxia currency?"

[Yes. Does the host wish to exchange them? System upgrades do not consume honor points; your current 10,000 points are still there! Most importantly, no taxes are deducted!]

"I love you! Not for now, let's just keep them there!"

Chu Ge danced with joy, thinking that since this was all he had, he couldn't just go all-in at once.

Besides, getting an aerospace carrier right off the bat doesn't seem very useful.

Floating in the sky every day and charging admission?

A powerful Interstellar Fleet requires a complete set of auxiliary support departments: command, navigation, combat, logistics...

Chu Ge's scalp tingled.

He thought about Huaxia's international environment.

"I've got it! First, build a defense system to wrap all of Huaxia without any blind spots. Develop in secret—I'll be the only one who can hit you, while you can't touch me! Hahaha, that would be so exciting."

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools. As for the "tool," what Chu Ge pursued first was defense. Great Huaxia never bullied the weak, but if any petty scoundrels dared to provoke them...

They'd come with their lives, but they wouldn't leave with them!

"The rest will be left to time. Start from the basics: materials, electrical power, and auxiliary support development. Then form an Interstellar Fleet and... build greenhouses on Mars?"

"Hahaha, perfect! What do you think, System Big Brother?"

[You have no money!]

"I... fine, you win!"

"I'll just handle the research and leave the rest of the mess to them. How could I have forgotten that?"

"Hehehe, I'm so smart!"

Chu Ge followed through on his words. Putting aside those complicated thoughts, he focused on researching the laser towers within the defense system.

"This thing is a bit like the Prism Tower from red alert! With an interception range of 5,000 kilometers in high altitude, it's more than enough to take out satellites. Of course, the main targets are those intercontinental ballistic missiles."

"A nuclear fusion reactor, energy shield, sensor components... all integrated into a tower 200 meters high with a 50-meter radius."

"Combined with the aerospace carrier's 1,000-kilometer effective defense radius, it should be enough to keep enemies outside our borders. This is the one!"

"Exchange price: 1,000 honor points."

"1,000 honor points, 100 billion huaxia currency. Holy crap, that's not cheap either! Luckily it's a one-time buyout. If it were charged per unit, I'd seriously want to uninstall you, Big Brother!"

"..."

System Big Brother was catching strays even while lying down!!!

After some agonizing, Chu Ge decisively made the exchange. There was no time to hesitate; if he kept dawdling, his dream of building greenhouses on Mars would truly follow him to the grave.

"The Prism Tower Project"

This was the flashy name Chu Ge gave it. While the name was fancy, he wasn't careless at all with the series of data, including progress reports, sub-component structures, and theoretical data.

If even a single mistake occurred and the construction ended up as a failure, it wouldn't just be a matter of embarrassment—he could lose his head.

A few days later...

A stubble-faced Chu Ge emerged from seclusion. No one had disturbed him in the interim; once Academician Chen learned Chu Ge was researching a new system, he ordered that no one was to approach the dormitory.

Captain Gong led his team right outside the door, providing close protection.

Even Wang Yun wasn't allowed in; she could only deliver meals.

A thick stack of documents was handed to Academician Chen. Old Chen looked at the words "The Prism Tower Project," then glanced at Chu Ge, whose face was haggard and whose eyes were bloodshot.

"Little Chu, did you write a science fiction novel?"

"Something like that. I have to go back and catch up on sleep! You guys look into it."

He patted his pants and left! He was too exhausted!

Although System Big Brother provided the info, the complexity of the system exceeded his imagination. His head throbbed from searching the technology tree!

"Oh, right, Old Chen." Chu Ge, who had been walking out, turned back.

"Leave the sensor system for the final experiments and research; it can be applied to other fields. As for the Prism Tower, existing radar detection technology is sufficient. We just need to make it compatible and provide target designation."

"As for the power section, using controllable nuclear fusion isn't very difficult. The most important part is the emitter unit—the energy shield portion. Prioritize feasibility analysis on that and test it separately."

"This will greatly improve efficiency. Once the energy shield experiment succeeds, immediately arrange for survey and construction teams to move in. Set up a comprehensive layout with no blind spots according to its coverage area. You guys are the professionals at that."

"Once the energy shield experiment succeeds, the military's missile defense system can be retired. Compared to the Prism Tower, it's just a little brother; it would fold under a single wave of saturated attacks."

"The Prism Tower—hehe—as long as the energy keeps flowing, we'll wear them down until they cough up blood!"

Chu Ge whistled, hands in his pockets, and walked away arrogantly again.

Behind him, Academician Chen remained silent the entire time. Some things were already beyond his scope of understanding...

"Is he even human?"

"By the way, System Big Brother, since I've stripped down some parts of the Prism Tower, can you refund me some honor points? You're such a profiteer, and you don't even allow bargaining!"

He was shamelessly acting like a rogue!

[Take a guess.]

"!!!"

The decision to strip down the data was made by Chu Ge based on merging the Prism Tower's performance with current technology. The effect wasn't compromised, and the efficiency was improved by more than just a little.

Speed is of the essence! Now that the core part is out, with Huaxia's incredible capability as an infrastructure maniac...

Building dozens of Prism Towers would be a piece of cake!

Academician Chen's side was about to get very busy.

After a few days of data verification proved sound, the Ordnance Research Institute was in an uproar.

Tactical-level laser systems currently commonly use chemical laser sources. The reason they haven't been used on a strategic scale is due to their obvious drawbacks:

Either the laser's energy density is insufficient...

...or the energy attenuates under the influence of Earth's environment, atmosphere, rain, and snow, resulting in a limited range and an inability to operate in all weather conditions.

...or they are limited by electrical energy storage, which is difficult to miniaturize, making them impractical for heavy use!

So, while small-scale tactical use is fine, scaling up to a strategic level is quite difficult.

However, the energy beam emitted by the energy shield provided by Chu Ge had the monochromaticity of a laser without its other drawbacks. It was practically perfect!

It's just a pity this thing can't turn like a missile. Otherwise, if you placed it by the coast, whatever these "chains" or those bases were—if they didn't behave, you could just blast them!!!

Blasting them 24 hours a day without stopping, even Java would be blasted into oblivion!

With the Ordnance Research Institute reaching a conclusion, the next step was a tripartite meeting between the defense department, the science and technology department, and the Research Institute.

Three days later, the meeting concluded.

The project was launched. Priority level: Highest Priority!!!