76: Chapter 76 Power Engine

Chu Ge paused and looked into the distance. The crimson glow of the evening sunset now filled the entire sky, radiant and colorful.

The universe follows its cycle; the sun sets, and dawn will soon come rushing in. Chu Ge suddenly remembered a poem by Shelley,

"Once the strange morning light rises, it will dissolve the clouds above your head. Hell and heaven will vanish, leaving you with only the eternal universe."

Life is finite, but the universe is infinite. Is exploring the infinite universe with a finite life not a magnificent feat?

Thinking of this, a smile gradually appeared on Chu Ge's face. He seemed to suddenly understand the meaning of the poem. He took one last look at the sunset, turned around, and walked back with firm steps.

By the time Chu Ge arrived at the Research Institute cafeteria, it was already crowded.

"Academician Chu, over here. I've already gotten your meal for you."

Yan Tianhao had been watching the cafeteria entrance and hurriedly called out as soon as he saw Chu Ge enter.

"Alright, thank you."

"You're welcome. I thought you weren't coming to the cafeteria again, and I was preparing to pack some food to bring back to your dormitory."

Yan Tianhao, Li Gang, and Wang Yun were all there.

"Hmm, where is that guy Zheng Jun?"

Chu Ge scanned the area and noticed Zheng Jun was missing from the table.

"He—he's incredibly busy right now. He said Quantum Communication has reached a critical moment, and everyone in the group is basically eating and sleeping in the lab. Look, the food is already prepared for them."

Li Gang said, pointing to a nearby table. Only then did Chu Ge notice even more meal boxes there.

"Wang Yun, tell them tomorrow that they should come to the cafeteria when it's time to eat. By the time they get back, the food will be cold. It's fine once or twice, but over time, their stomachs won't be able to take it."

"Understood, Academician Chu."

Wang Yun replied hurriedly. She was now filling the role Chu Ge previously held, a "firefighter." She needed to coordinate work between various groups and between the groups and Chu Ge, as well as provide feedback on issues. After a few days, she looked a bit listless.

"Hmm."

"Oh, and Tianhao, come to my office first thing tomorrow morning. Starting tomorrow, you will be in the same group as Academician Huang at the Research Institute. He is in the Controlled Nuclear Fusion Application Research Group."

Although Chu Ge hadn't fully replicated the entire blueprint for the aerospace carrier, he had laid out plans for several important subsystems in advance, such as Quantum Communication.

The command system of the aerospace carrier was built on the foundation of Quantum Communication. Quantum Communication was the key; once it was successfully developed, everything else would just be supporting facilities. Once it was connected to the current shipyards, they could just follow the blueprints.

Then there were the Quantum Computer and large-scale shipboard data storage devices; these kinds of things were the brain of the aerospace carrier. They had already entered the R&D stage. When the time came, they could start building the hull directly, and these modular subsystems would just need to be fitted onto the ship.

This was also the current construction model for naval warships: sectional construction, followed by final assembly and outfitting.

The efficiency was very high. Given China's shipbuilding capabilities, Chu Ge believed that once these key subsystems were all finalized, the subsequent construction speed would be terrifyingly fast.

Chu Ge reviewed the data blueprints from System Big Brother. After careful consideration,

there were still several key subsystems of the aerospace carrier that hadn't been initiated: the aerospace carrier's engine power module, energy module, and armament module.

Among these, the engine module was relatively complex. First of all, the engine system from System Big Brother was a completely new concept: Nuclear Fusion Engine and anti-gravity warp drive.

It was completely different from what was currently used on ships. Furthermore, China's technological reserves in certain engine areas were still relatively weak. Although there had been significant progress in recent years in shipboard AIP electric propulsion and gas turbine combined cycles, placing them in the first tier,

Chu Ge found that the aerospace carrier's engine was more similar to aerospace engine technology and didn't have much correlation with those on warships. This aerospace engine technology happened to be the very area where China was still relatively weak.

After considering everything, Chu Ge decided to start the actual R&D of the engine in the next two days. Without this thing, everything else would be futile.

"Tianhao, after such a long period of technical accumulation, Academician Huang's controlled nuclear fusion technology is already very mature. Whether it's in terms of energy or the physical conversion of energy, he has a considerable amount of theoretical and practical data. You will learn a lot by following him, and you might be quite interested in the work that follows!"

Chu Ge left a bit of suspense and didn't continue, bowing his head to start eating.

"Alright, Academician Chu, I will follow your arrangements. I will definitely humbly seek guidance from Academician Huang..."

"Alright, you're even talking about work while eating. I've discovered that you all are lunatics. Are all scientists like this?"

Beside them, Wang Yun gave Yan Tianhao a look. She saw that Chu Ge had been talking non-stop, and the food had gone cold. It was hard enough to see Chu Ge finally pick up his chopsticks, so she signaled for Yan Tianhao to stop talking.

Yan Tianhao understood immediately and didn't continue. The few of them started eating quietly and didn't speak again.

In ten minutes, Chu Ge had finished the dinner in front of him and immediately stood up.

"Alright, I'm done. I'm heading back. I still have some work to finish, so I'll be going first. You two take your time eating."

"Alright, Academician Chu, take care."

Wang Yun replied hurriedly. Watching Chu Ge's figure hurrying away, she suddenly remembered something.

"In the future, try not to discuss work with him while he's eating. It's rare enough that he comes to the cafeteria for a hot meal; most of the time, I see our Academician Chu just making do in his office or dormitory."

"I understand, Sister Wang."

On Chu Ge's end, after returning to his dormitory, he didn't stop. He directly pulled up the technology tree blueprint for the aerospace carrier and began sorting through the data.

aerospace carrier, length: 2100 meters, width: 260 meters, height: 145 meters.

Total weight of the warship: 1,960,000 tons.

Personnel configuration on board: 4 captains; 3060 crew members.

...

Subsequently, Chu Ge scrolled directly to the configuration interface for its engine power system.

Power system:

Main thrusters: 9 units of Model HQL-EA11 Nuclear Fusion Engine.

Maximum speed: 25% the speed of light.

Auxiliary thrusters: 12 units of Model HQL-EA12 rotatable Nuclear Fusion Engine.

Maximum speed: 12% the speed of light.

Anti-gravity warp drive: 2 units, specifically numbered Model HQL-SSA01 and HQL-SSA02 jump engines.

Jump speed: 2.5 AU/s.

Jump distance: 5.2 light-years.

...

These were basically the fundamental data for the aerospace carrier's engines. The rest were the manufacturing technology blueprints for the various engines.

Regarding the Nuclear Fusion Engine, Chu Ge skipped over it directly; there was nothing to see there. He believed that based on his blueprints, Academician Huang would have no problems.

So, an impatient Chu Ge jumped straight to the anti-gravity warp drive. This engine was awesome; it was standard equipment for starships. If you wanted to go to other galaxies, it would be exhausting without a jump engine.

Chu Ge looked down through the data and manufacturing blueprints. When he saw the special material list for the jump engine, his originally happy face instantly darkened. Damn it, was he being scammed again?!

"System Big Brother, you are such a scammer!!!"