148: First mission in space: Build a ladder to the universe!

When Lu Chen's ultimate declaration of "Heading to the Universe," filled with "protagonist halo" and "arrogant dominance," clearly echoed in the control room of the Kunlun Mountain Underground Base, the super brain of heavenly craft, composed of infinite data, boiled over once again!

【Yes! Master!】

Her brilliant eyes of wisdom were filled with unparalleled fanaticism and adoration!

She knew that from this day on, she and her master would no longer be "deities" limited to this small, azure planet!

They would become the new masters of that vast and endless starry sea!

The next day.

All the bigwigs, who usually kept their emotions well-hidden, were struck on the crown of their heads as if by a genesis oracle capable of making gods and demons tremble!

They were completely petrified!

A… a space elevator?!

What kind of heaven-defying thing did this kid come up with this time?!

"Is… is this real?" Academician Qin Shan, a white-haired bigwig in charge of the aerospace sector known for his steady demeanor, was trembling!

He looked at the familiar yet glaring terms on the report: carbon nanotubes, graphene, space cables, heavenly ladder to the sky… His heart, long exhausted by the damned first cosmic velocity and the exorbitant cost of rocket launches, was beating wildly against his will at this moment!

He felt like he was suffocating from happiness!

If this report was true, what did that mean?!

It meant that their Xia Nation's aerospace industry, which had always been strangled by high launch costs, would usher in an unprecedented Dimensionality Reduction Strike!

They would no longer need any bulky, expensive, single-use carrier rockets!

They only needed a small elevator! They could send thousands of tons of supplies and personnel into space in a continuous stream in a way that was nearly "zero cost"!

This was no longer just a simple technological breakthrough! This was a terrifying revolution capable of propelling the entire human civilization into the interstellar era!

He roared with a hoarse voice: "I request! Launch the 'Jianmu' project immediately! Use all our resources! At all costs! I, Qin Shan, am willing to sign a military pledge! Within five years! No! Within three years! I want to see our Xia Nation's own heavenly ladder born in the shortest possible time!"

His roar, filled with genuine emotion and tears, instantly ignited all the bigwigs present!

"I agree!"

"I agree too! Damn it! Let's do it! With this thing, what can those bastards from the Western Alliance use to fight us?! We'll build a space station right above their heads! We can watch them take baths with telescopes every day!"

"Hahahaha! Old Zhang, that's a great idea! I second that!"

For a moment, the entire conference room was filled with excitement! All the bigwigs were like young soldiers about to rush to the battlefield, their fighting spirit soaring!

However, right in the midst of this fanatical atmosphere, a discordant voice rang out.

"I object."

The speaker was the bigwig in charge of national finance, and his face, usually known as an "iron abacus," was full of gravity and worry.

"Everyone, aren't we being too impulsive?" He pushed up his reading glasses; his voice was not loud, but it felt like a basin of ice water poured over everyone's heads. "I admit that the concept of a space elevator is great and magnificent. But have you calculated its construction cost?"

"According to the preliminary estimates in the report, just the 'carbon nanotubes' and 'graphene' needed for that 36,000-kilometer-long 'space cable' is an astronomical figure! Not to mention the need to build a huge ground base station on the equator capable of bearing the weight of the entire 'space elevator'!"

"And that giant space station floating in synchronous orbit 360,000 kilometers away!"

"I have roughly estimated the total cost of all this," he took a deep breath and said in a tone of near despair: "At least one hundred trillion!"

"And it's in USD!"

The entire conference room went silent instantly.

One hundred trillion USD?!

Holy crap!

What the hell kind of astronomical number is this?!

Even if they sold Xia Nation, they couldn't scrape together that much money!

This isn't infrastructure construction anymore!

This is clearly burning money!

And it's burning money at a speed that even a nuclear-powered money printer couldn't keep up with!

"Ahem."

Just as the atmosphere was about to fall into an awkward silence, Long Weiguo, who hadn't spoken yet, suddenly stood up.

He looked at the financial bigwig, who had an expression of "you bunch of spendthrifts," and smiled.

"Old Li, your perspective is narrow again."

"…" Old Li's mouth twitched violently.

"Money is not a problem." Long Weiguo patted his chest, looking heroic. "Never mind one hundred trillion, even if it's one quadrillion, we can afford it!"

"You?!" The financial bigwig looked at him like he was an idiot. "Where would you get that much money?! Did you sell the Dragon Shield Bureau?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he pressed the communication button in front of him.

The next second, Lu Chen's calm face appeared in the center of the conference room.

"Lu Chen, kid!" Long Weiguo had an expression of "you finally came." "Quick! Settle the accounts with our 'God of Wealth' who manages the national purse!"

"Let him know just how 'rich' we are now!"

Lu Chen looked at the group of worried-looking bigwigs on the screen and smiled faintly.

"Be-cause"

"We will soon have a super money printer that will make the whole world go crazy."

As soon as he finished speaking, he snapped his fingers at the air.

"heavenly craft."

【Yes, Master.】

The next second! A terrifying report full of "Dimensionality Reduction Strike" and "commercial miracles" was clearly presented in front of all the bigwigs!

【It is expected that within three years, the global users of the "oasis" world will exceed five billion!】

【The annual commercial value it can create will exceed】

【Three hundred trillion USD!】

When seeing that terrifying number, enough to cause any capitalist to have a myocardial infarction on the spot, the financial bigwig's usually shrewd eyes showed dullness for the first time.

He felt that the so-called "economics" he had learned all his life was simply a joke in front of this unreasonable "monster," Lu Chen!

"Now," Lu Chen's voice sounded again, "does anyone still think money is a problem?"

The entire conference room was dead silent.

All the bigwigs looked at the calm teenager on the screen as if looking at a deity.

"Good!"

He slammed the table, his wise eyes filled with unprecedented determination and heroism!

"Since money and technology are not problems!"

"Then this 'Jianmu' project!"

"I approve it!"

"I have only one question!"

"After we possess the power to enter and exit the 'South Heaven Gate' at will,"

"how should we 'manage' those who are still looking up at us from the ground,"

"the mortals?"