32: Incredible construction speed

Wu Suo Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead with a rough towel and looked up at the steel giant wall that was 'growing' every day.

Three days ago, there was only a foundation framework here, but now it has risen nearly twenty meters high.

What shocked him even more were the never-before-seen giant machines.

These 'CMC-6000' steel giants could easily lift steel beams weighing tens of tons with their arms, and the blue electric arcs they emitted during welding resembled lightning in the night.

"Old Wu, look over there!" a young worker named Yan Tu, from the same team, pointed to the base of the wall, where a group of silver 'ants' were crawling on the wall's surface.

Wherever these 'ants' went, the metal surface immediately became smooth as a mirror, reflecting a cold light in the morning sun.

"What... is that?" Wu Suo Wen squinted his eyes.

"The foreman said it's a new type of coating," Yan Tu whispered, "I'm telling you, this company is definitely a big international enterprise; we've really hit the jackpot."

Not far away, a Titan technician noticed their gaze and quickly walked over: "Do not approach the construction restricted area; today's work is to complete the concrete pouring for Zone B."

His tone was unquestionable, and no one noticed the glowing bracelet on the technician's wrist suddenly flash blue, and those silver 'ants' immediately changed their direction.

A teahouse in Mandala city center was livelier than usual today.

"Have you heard? Titan is going to build a hospital and schools in their planned New City District, and the wages are even higher than Jinta Port!" The teahouse owner wiped cups while pointing to a rendering posted on the wall.

That poster displayed an international first-tier city: glass-curtained skyscrapers, uniquely designed shopping centers, rows of commercial buildings, and children playing in tree-lined squares.

Retired teacher Du Qin Wu pushed up his reading glasses: "You're lying, right? When has Emerald Principality ever had a place like this?"

"Absolutely true!" Ang Min, a young man who had just returned from the construction site, interjected, "My cousin is a truck driver for Titan, and he said that a shopping center has already been built inside the outer construction site, and the air conditioning is like an ice cellar!" He mysteriously lowered his voice, "And... they build buildings with magic.

Yesterday it was an empty lot, and this morning three floors suddenly appeared!"

"What magic? It's just modular construction," Du Qin Wu calmly picked up his teacup, "This company has some real strength."

In the corner of the teahouse, two foreigners in casual clothes exchanged glances.

One of them secretly took a photo of the rendering and sent it out.

On the rooftop of an office building not far from the teahouse, an architectural team from Europa was looking at Titan's construction site through telescopes, their faces filled with disbelief.

"This doesn't conform to material mechanics..." Chief Engineer Hope stared at the data on the laser rangefinder, "A wall of this height would take at least three months to complete stress testing; they're actually building and using it at the same time? And this speed? If I remember correctly, it was only about 10 meters two days ago, and today it's at least 40 meters!"

His assistant suddenly exclaimed: "My God! Look over there!"

Everyone turned their heads, only to see a thirty-meter-long curved wall section at the corner of the wall's top closing at a visible speed.

Swarms of nanobots flowed like mercury, leaving perfect metal seams in their wake.

Even more chilling was that a malfunctioning SCV exoskeleton, after being swallowed by the silver tide, was 'digested' and reassembled into new building components within ten minutes.

"This isn't construction technology," Hope's voice trembled, "This... this is definitely nanobots! Quick, we need to get to the Titan construction site; I need to find their person in charge! This company definitely has a powerful background!"

On the day the perimeter wall and outer areas were completed, Chen Hao (Mu Yan) personally visited the site.

After all, bigger is better, and this base was much more imposing than his one in Hangzhou.

The 50-meter-high steel giant wall gleamed with a cold luster in the sunlight, its surface smooth as a mirror, with faint nanometer-level patterns visible.

Emerald stood beside him, reporting: "The outer project has passed government inspection, and they are very satisfied with the prototype of the 'International Standard Industrial Park'."

Chen Hao looked at the 600-meter headquarters building framework taking shape inside the wall and asked: "What about the core area?"

"The 3D printing array is in place," Topaz interjected, "Nanobots are assembling the fusion reactor, and the energy system is expected to go online in 48 hours."

Aventurine whistled: "Is it time to show our hand now?"

Chen Hao smiled slightly: "Not yet, let the 'guests' come and see first.

After all, Titan has signed a contract with them, so we have to let them see the benefits of being compliant."

A month later, at the Mandalay International Airport VIP lounge.

Minister Miao Tunwu had just disembarked from the plane when he was awestruck by the neatly lined black motorcade on the tarmac.

Six deeply modified Mercedes S600 armored sedans were quietly parked, the 'Titan' emblem on their streamlined bodies gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Most striking was that these vehicles were completely silent, with even the engine's vibration barely perceptible.

"Minister, welcome to Titan Industrial City." Emerald, dressed in a form-fitting uniform, bowed slightly, her jade pendant on her earlobe swaying gently with her movement, "Please allow me to show you the future of your country."

As the motorcade approached the wall, Miao Tunwu's adjutant suddenly found that his military-grade encrypted walkie-talkie had lost signal.

Even more unsettling was that the Titan driver's earpiece was unaffected and continued to exchange information with the car in front.

"This is our active defense system." Emerald seemed to see through his unease, smiling as she handed him a specially designed tablet, "Ordinary electronic devices will experience interference.

This terminal has passed security certification."

The tablet displayed real-time construction scenes inside the wall: hundreds of avant-garde engineering machines were working in coordination, their level of automation far exceeding that of modern construction sites.

Most striking was a huge hemispherical building in the distance, appearing larger than a major stadium.

Its exterior was made of unprecedented composite materials, reflecting a unique metallic luster in the sunlight.

"That is...?"

"Just a new logistics center." Emerald casually brushed over the topic, her fingertip lightly swiping on the tablet to bring up a set of renderings, "The Minister might be more interested in this: a planned ecological urban area designed to accommodate two hundred thousand people, equipped with world-leading seawater desalination systems and a clean energy network."

The buildings Miao Tunwu saw in the tablet all featured revolutionary seismic structures and energy designs.

He didn't understand the technology, but he understood one principle: for industrial products, aesthetics were also a form of combat power.

He had been to the Imperial Capital, and also to New Village and Fog City.

The renderings before him were no worse than these international cities.

Although there would be a gap between renderings and reality, he didn't think a company that could make the entire Emerald Principality government bow would play games with him on such an irrelevant matter.

His Adam's apple unconsciously bobbed, and he suddenly realized he was witnessing the dawn of a new era.

Either become a part of it, or be ruthlessly eliminated.

Chen Hao stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the two starkly different worlds inside and outside the wall.

Outside was a dusty, traditional construction site, with tens of thousands of local workers bustling like ants; inside was a city of the future, flowing with silver light, where nanobot construction arrays operated with the precision of an orchestra.

"Public opinion monitoring shows that 93% of Mandala citizens support us." Bronya's projection floated nearby, data streams flickering in her eyes, "The remaining 7% are mainly comprador classes supported by Western forces in Emerald Principality."

Aventurine leaned back on the sofa, tossing and catching a chip he'd 'borrowed' from Aocheng: "Should we deal with them?"

"Not to that extent yet." Chen Hao shook his head, "Have Emerald release news that the first batch of residences in the New City District will be allocated to construction worker families via a lottery."

He tapped the glass; outside, several children were peering through the distant wire fence, mesmerized by the occasional glimpses of mechs within the wall.

Aventurine suddenly caught the falling chip and looked at Chen Hao with an indescribably complex gaze, "Boss, I didn't expect you to have such a benevolent heart."

Chen Hao tilted his head back, giving Aventurine a puzzled look.

"After all, your previous preferences in the Northern Mountains were simply the true 'Company style'." Aventurine spread his hands, tilted his head, and closed his eyes, "I really didn't expect you to give such an order just now.

I have to admit, I'm starting to admire you."

Chen Hao was momentarily stunned, then looked back out the window.

"Don't misunderstand, the Company wants to establish itself on Blue Star as quickly as possible, and it needs public support, that's all.

Just like I requested in Senluo Town before, I have no interest in benefiting the world."

Aventurine said nothing after hearing this, simply resuming his tossing and catching of the chip.

"Yes, yes, my boss."

However, Chen Hao didn't see the slight curve of Aventurine's lips, nor could he hear Aventurine's inner thoughts, 'What an insincere boss, your tone isn't as firm as you imagine.'

Topaz crossed her arms, watching Aventurine 'tease' the founder of Interstellar Peace of this universe, completely unable to control the doting smile on her face.

Suddenly, Bronya's reminder came through Chen Hao's earpiece: "Master, SIA just hacked into our recruitment system."

"As planned, show them what they want to see." Chen Hao smiled, "Remember to modify the fusion reactor in the 'leaked' blueprints and label it as 'a new type of nuclear power plant built with aid from the Northern Steel Federation'."

As night fully descended, the pulse indicator lights on the wall lit up in sequence, outlining a glowing matrix on the desolate plain.

Further afield, countless people, whether in the slums of Mandala or the city center, were looking at this steel high wall, dreaming of the New City District.