114: Chapter 114 The Hull of the Space Carrier

In Academician Chen's office at the Research Institute, Chu Ge sat on the sofa for a long time without uttering a single word.

"Little Chu, you've been sitting here for quite a while. Are you facing any difficulties? Just speak up. Your Grandpa Chen has been tempered by you this past year to be immune to all poisons, haha."

Academician Chen thought Chu Ge was troubled by funding or personnel issues again, so he took the initiative to console him.

"No, Elder Chen. Personnel and special appropriations are being handled by Engineer Xu and his team. Right now, I'm focusing solely on the blueprint planning for the aerospace carrier."

Chu Ge replied. Seeing Academician Chen's kind face, he immediately lost his nerve and was trying to figure out how to start.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. I finally don't have to listen to you nag about those annoying things every day anymore. Why does it feel less interesting than being chased by you for people and money?"

Academician Chen said, shaking his head.

"Elder Chen, do you remember when I asked you to find some colleagues in biotechnology to help me synthesize a new substance?"

Chu Ge finally spoke up.

"Yes, I remember. I've forgotten exactly what it was for, though. Is there a problem? Did the materials they sent not meet your requirements? Did they not reach your standards?"

"No, Elder Chen. I discovered that this new compound has the potential to alter human genes, and it causes mutations in a positive direction."

Chu Ge got straight to the point. He felt that if he let Elder Chen keep guessing, the old man would probably call someone up for a scolding; he was quite protective of his own.

"Genetic mutation? And in a positive direction? Little Chu, this is no joking matter. Do you know how sought-after this kind of biotechnology is right now?"

Academician Chen turned serious, put on his reading glasses, and looked at Chu Ge.

"I'm not joking. I've already tested it on myself. See, I'm perfectly fine and full of energy. I discovered it by chance while researching the limits of the human body in space environments. I unexpectedly found that this compound can change the tolerance of human cells, correct some genetic mutations caused by long-term radiation exposure, and moderately improve physical performance data."

"I think this might be helpful for our future space exploration. Although the aerospace carrier has a radiation-shielding ionization net on its exterior, it still can't 100% block all cosmic rays. Besides, we can't just stay inside the aerospace carrier forever."

Chu Ge stopped and didn't continue, waiting for Academician Chen's feedback.

"You mean you tested it on yourself? That's absolute nonsense! This is a drug, and all medicine has some level of toxicity. Little Chu, who do you think you are, Li Shizhen?"

Uh-oh, it seemed Elder Chen's reaction wasn't what Chu Ge expected; it was full of hostility.

"Haha, no, I know the basics. There's no problem, and I haven't crashed or anything, haha."

Chu Ge could only laugh it off; this was his trump card whenever Academician Chen got angry.

"You're not allowed to do this again. That's an order. If you want to run tests, we have plenty of experts. Just leave it to them. Send me the report on that compound later, and I'll pass it on to the experts in the Biotechnology and Environment section of the Project Department."

"Hmm? There's such an expert group?"

Chu Ge had been working behind closed doors in his office. He didn't know that after the "kunpeng" project team was established, it was quickly subdivided into several research groups, with details like biotechnology and environmental simulation being taken into account.

"Exactly. It's still being subdivided further. Did you think such a massive project could be built just by you and the Military-Industrial Research Institute? To put it bluntly, the entire Huaxia has been mobilized. All the latest and most cutting-edge applied technologies will be used on our aerospace carrier."

As Chu Ge listened to Academician Chen talk, he suddenly realized a problem. The living and research areas of the aerospace carrier seemed to be blank. Lately, he had been so focused on developing the main system and important subsystems that he hadn't looked closely at the full blueprint of the aerospace carrier at all.

Chu Ge didn't even bother replying to Academician Chen; he pulled up the data and started working right then and there.

Sure enough, the living and activity areas for nearly 20 floors' worth of staff, shipboard engineering personnel, research experts, and security personnel were blank. The system only marked the specific spatial layout data and used phantom images as placeholders. This section needed professionals to plan it.

"System Big Brother, isn't this blueprint a bit too crude? You just left the living area as a blank space and called it a day?"

[What else? Do you want me to mark the location of the toilets for you too? The Military-Industrial System isn't a butler; did you expect it to cover every single detail for you?]

The retort left Chu Ge speechless. The system's tongue was getting sharper.

"Little Chu? Little Chu, are you okay?"

Chu Ge looked at Academician Chen blankly and finally snapped out of it. He coughed twice—not because of Elder Chen, but because he was choked up by System Big Brother's words.

"Elder Chen, what you said just now reminded me of something. I haven't designed the living areas or the scientific experiment zones of the aerospace carrier. I was so focused on developing the main system earlier that I forgot about this."

"Haha, that's simple. Just extract the living area and those functional zones from your blueprint plan. There will be specialized people to design them, and I guarantee they'll be top-notch."

Academician Chen smiled mysteriously after saying that. Chu Ge knew the old man wasn't lying. Huaxia's architectural design and construction industries were advancing by leaps and bounds. More and more famous buildings in the world were the work of Huaxia's top designers—they were not only stylish but also highly technological and practical.

Looking at it this way, designing a complex and fully functional zone for the aerospace carrier shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Alright, I'll give you the data later. As long as their design follows the data on the blueprint, it'll be fine. When the modules are assembled later, they'll be combined and joined bit by bit from the bottom up, so matching them with the living area won't be difficult."

While browsing the full blueprint just now, Chu Ge caught a glimpse: the entire hull of the aerospace carrier was a frame-core tube structure. The areas and modules weren't closed off from each other but were tube structures with many openings.

The main area core tubes were supported by additional keels and partitions according to the functional zones they housed. Every core tube and the outer armor surface of the aerospace carrier were also covered with keel supports, with the armor system then paved around the exterior.

It was similar to the watertight compartment design of modern ships, except this was dynamic rather than fixed.

"This way, I can save myself a lot of trouble and focus on getting the main system done."

Chu Ge felt a sense of relief.

"Little Chu, don't shoulder all the pressure yourself. You just need to control the main direction and leave the details to them. This isn't like stacking building blocks."

"Okay, Elder Chen. Oh, by the way, I almost forgot the main reason I came here today. This is the report on the chemical formula for that new compound. Please pass it on to the relevant departments later so they can organize a team to verify it. I expect this will take quite a while, with clinical trials and all."

"Alright then, Elder Chen, I'll head back now. I'll come see you again when I have time."

As Chu Ge spoke, he was already walking out. Elder Chen shook his head with a smile and then looked at the genetic reagent report on his desk.

A piece of high-tech biotechnology data with immense potential to change the direction of human genetic mutation was just casually left there by Chu Ge.

Its emergence was far too casual; any boss of a high-tech biotech company would probably spit in frustration at such a reckless waste of a godsend.