101: Chapter 101 Rockets are too slow! Lin Yun proposes a space elevator plan

"Commander, based on the current carrying capacity of the 'Luan Bird' fleet, completing the material transport required for the first phase of the 'Guanghan Palace' base will take at least... 472 round trips."

The gentle voice of "Nuwa" rang out on the bridge of "luan niao no. 4," like a basin of cold water poured over the passion of everyone who had just been ignited by Lin Yun's "Sea of Stars" speech.

Lin Yun had just given the order to officially start construction on the "Guanghan Palace" lunar base, and the entire fleet was in a state of excitement. But the data that "Nuwa" immediately threw out caused his brows to instantly knit into a knot.

472 round trips?

Each Earth-Moon round trip takes eight hours, and with loading and unloading time, a full cycle takes at least twelve hours. With nine "Luan Bird" ships operating simultaneously, at full capacity, the material transport for the first phase alone would take nearly a month.

And this was only for the first phase—a "simplified version" of the base that could only accommodate 10,000 people.

The total amount of materials needed for the 100,000-person permanent base that Lin Yun wanted was thirty times that of the first phase.

Not to mention the subsequent "Hundred Sons Plan," the interstellar migration of the global population, and the large-scale military deployment that might be needed behind those seven "Moon Gate" passages...

"This won't do."

Lin Yun slammed his palm onto the console, causing the data charts on the holographic projection to wobble three times.

"The transport capacity of the nine 'Luan Bird' ships is overwhelming on Earth. But on an interstellar scale, they don't even count as a tractor."

He began to pace back and forth on the bridge.

This problem could not be solved simply by "building more Luan Birds." Although the anti-gravity engines of the "Luan Bird" were advanced, every takeoff from the Earth's surface required a massive amount of energy to overcome the Earth's damn gravity well.

Gravity well.

These three words, like a bolt of lightning, cut through the fog in Lin Yun's mind.

"The root of the problem is not transport capacity, but Earth's gravity." Lin Yun suddenly stopped pacing and turned to the holographic projection.

"Nuwa, pull up the parameters for Earth's geostationary orbit."

"Yes. The altitude of Earth's geostationary orbit is approximately 35,786 kilometers, located above the equator."

"If—" Lin Yun's finger traced a straight line upward from a point on the equator on the holographic globe, extending all the way to the altitude of the geostationary orbit.

"What if we built a 'road' that went straight from the ground to space?"

On the bridge, everyone's gaze was focused on that line of light piercing directly into the void from the Earth's surface.

Xiao Zhang was the first to react, his eyes widening like copper bells: "Brother Lin, are you talking about... a space elevator?"

Space elevator.

This concept had been depicted repeatedly by science fiction writers as early as the 20th century. A super cable extending from the equator to the geostationary orbit, with the bottom fixed to a ground base station and the top connected to a space platform. Elevator cars would run up and down the cable, continuously sending personnel and materials into space with extremely low energy consumption.

It didn't need the chemical propulsion of rockets, nor did it need anti-gravity engines to fight the gravity well; it only needed a strong enough rope and an electric motor.

Theoretically, the transport efficiency of a space elevator was one thousand times that of traditional rockets, while its energy consumption was only one ten-thousandth of theirs.

But the reason this concept had remained in the science fiction stage was due to a technical problem that remained unsolved to this day—materials.

"Brother Lin, I know the concept of a space elevator, but that cable needs to withstand its own gravity plus centrifugal force, and the tensile strength requirement for the material is astronomical." As Xiao Zhang spoke, he quickly calculated on his data pad, "The strongest material currently known to humanity—carbon nanotubes—has a theoretical tensile strength of about 130 GPa. But to build a 36,000-kilometer-long space elevator, we would need at least..."

"At least a macro-material with a theoretical tensile strength of over 150 GPa and a density of less than 1.5 g/cm³," Lin Yun finished for him.

"And not a few-millimeter sample from a laboratory, but a defect-free, industrially mass-produced macro carbon nanotube cable that needs to be stretched continuously to a length of 36,000 kilometers."

Xiao Zhang's fingers paused in mid-air.

In the eyes of the scientific community of the old era, this requirement was no different from a "perpetual motion machine."

Because although carbon nanotubes theoretically possessed super-strong mechanical properties, the longest carbon nanotube humans had been able to synthesize so far was only a mere few tens of centimeters. To stretch it to tens of thousands of kilometers, and without any structural defects in between? Don't dream.

"This is impossible." Professor Fang's holographic projection lit up in a corner of the bridge; he was clearly also monitoring the meeting. "The industrial mass production of carbon nanotubes is a 'problem of the century' recognized by the materials science community. Even with 'Nuwa's' assistance, it would at least need—"

"Professor Fang." Lin Yun interrupted him, wearing an expression that everyone who knew him was all too familiar with—that "I have the goods in my pocket but I'm just not in a hurry to take them out" expression.

"Everything you've said is the limit of the old era."

"But my system never follows the rules of the old era."

Lin Yun closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the system space.

In that virtual world that belonged to him alone, the system panel neatly displayed the avatars of his nine children, and next to each avatar was marked the technology reward that had already been claimed.

But below these claimed rewards was a row of gray, unlocked technology tree branches.

Lin Yun's gaze locked onto the technology tree of the second baby, Lin Yao.

the second baby's talent was "Material Reconstruction"—changing the molecular structure of matter at a microscopic level.

And among the unlocked technology branches corresponding to her, there was one technology whose name was highlighted in gold by the system—

[Macro Carbon Nanotube Self-Assembly Technology]

Unlock condition: The host must actively activate the second baby's talent resonance, causing her to form a "Gemini Synergy" with at least one other S-rank heir.

The corners of Lin Yun's mouth slowly curled upward.

Gemini Synergy.

Professor Fang had just said that as long as the nine children were together, they would naturally produce "resonance." But "Gemini Synergy" was a higher-order state—it required two children with specific talents to cooperate consciously.

the second baby's "Material Reconstruction," plus whose talent, could unlock the carbon nanotube mass production technology?

Lin Yun quickly scanned the other technology trees.

The answer came almost instantly—San Bao, Lin Xuan.

San Bao's talent was "Energy Control."

Material reconstruction required precise energy input to drive the rearrangement of molecules. the second baby was responsible for "designing the blueprints," and San Bao was responsible for "providing the energy."

Two infants under one year old, one in charge of structure, one in charge of energy; could they break through the ultimate bottleneck of human materials science by working together?

This was absolutely absurd.

But Lin Yun had already seen too many "absurd" things.

He opened his eyes and looked at everyone on the bridge.

"Connect me to the communication with the Beijing villa."

Three seconds later, Shen Ruoxi's face appeared on the holographic screen. The eldest baby was building an architectural model taller than himself with blocks behind her, while the second baby, Lin Yao, was sitting in a high chair, using her small hands to "mold" a metal spoon into various bizarre shapes—flowers, butterflies, and even a miniature airplane.

"Ruoxi, put the second baby and San Bao together and let them 'play'."

Shen Ruoxi was stunned for a moment, but she knew Lin Yun too well. There must be a deeper meaning behind such a seemingly inexplicable request.

"Over at Gu Qingyao's place, San Bao is taking a nap."

"Wake him up." Lin Yun's tone left no room for negotiation. "Tell him there's something fun."

Five minutes later.

In the living room of the Beijing villa, the second baby, Lin Yao, and San Bao, Lin Xuan, were placed face-to-face on the same play mat.

the second baby tilted her head, curiously looking at this "older brother" who was two months older than her. San Bao rubbed his sleepy eyes, saw his little sister, and yawned.

Then, just as Professor Fang had said—

Resonance occurred naturally.

On the data panel of the monitoring system, the energy fluctuation curves on the bodies of the two children began to pulse synchronously in a strange rhythm. A faint silver light emanated from the second baby, while a warm orange light surged from San Bao.

The two lights intertwined, forming a fist-sized ball of light in the air between the two infants that constantly changed shape like liquid metal.

"Talent resonance strength between the second baby and San Bao has reached the Gemini Synergy threshold!"

"Nuwa's" voice rang out simultaneously in Beijing and in lunar orbit.

[Ding! Gemini Synergy condition met!]

[Unlock hidden technology: Macro Carbon Nanotube Self-Assembly Technology!]

[Technical description: This technology utilizes a directional energy field to drive carbon atoms to autonomously arrange and connect at the nanoscale, allowing for the continuous production of defect-free macro carbon nanotube cables at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour in a normal temperature and pressure environment.]

[Cable theoretical tensile strength: 300 GPa.]

[Cable theoretical density: 0.8 g/cm³.]

[Far exceeding the minimum construction requirements for a space elevator.]

Lin Yun gasped as he looked at the data popped up by the system.

300 GPa!

This was more than double the theoretical limit strength of carbon nanotubes! Yet the density was only one-tenth that of steel!

Using this material to make the cable, never mind 36,000 kilometers, it would even be more than enough to stretch all the way to the moon!

"Professor Fang," Lin Yun said into the communicator, his voice so calm it didn't sound like he had just acquired a technology that would change the course of human civilization, "did you just say that carbon nanotube mass production was a 'problem of the century'?"

"Yes... what's wrong?"

"Congratulations, the problem of the century was just casually solved by my two children under a year old... while they were playing."

Professor Fang: "..."

In the communication channel, the sound of Professor Fang's thick glasses falling to the ground could be heard.

"Brother Lin!" Xiao Zhang was so excited his face was flushed red. "With this technology, the space elevator is no longer science fiction! We can really build a 'Sky Ladder' that goes from the ground to space!"

"Not 'can'," Lin Yun corrected. "It's 'must.' And it must be done quickly."

He turned to the holographic projection and began marking locations on the Earth model.

"The ground base station for the space elevator must be built near the equator. Only on the equator can the centrifugal force generated by the Earth's rotation perfectly balance with gravity, keeping the cable stable."

Lin Yun's finger slid along the equator line and finally stopped at a point.

"Here."

Everyone crowded in to look.

It was an island group located south of the equator, deep in the Pacific Ocean.

"This sea area... does not belong to any country." Xiao Zhang checked the data. "Or rather, after the signing of the 'New Ocean Convention,' it belongs to... the Earth Civilization Community."

"Which means it belongs to us." Lin Yun nodded. "It is far from the edges of continental plates, the geological structure is stable, and there are no dense air routes or population centers nearby. It is the best location for building the space elevator's ground base station."

"Nuwa" unfolded an engineering blueprint at the right moment.

"Based on the parameters of the 'Macro Carbon Nanotube Self-Assembly Technology,' I have initially generated the engineering plan for the space elevator—"

"Ground Station: A circular artificial island with a diameter of five kilometers, equipped with a nuclear fusion power system and a real-time carbon nanotube weaving factory."

"Cable: Composed of one hundred million carbon nanotube bundles twisted together, with a total length of 37,000 kilometers (including the counterweight section), a diameter of about three meters, and a total weight of about eighty thousand tons."

"Cabin: Electromagnetically driven, with a single-trip carrying capacity of five hundred tons, and a travel time from the ground to the synchronous orbit of approximately six hours."

"Synchronous Orbit Platform: Codename 'Tiangong', serving as a space transfer station connecting the Moon and deep space routes."

"Estimated construction period: Given current industrial capacity, it will take approximately—"

"Three months." Red Queen answered preemptively again.

Nuwa was silent for a second: "My assessment is six months. Considering the rotation and rest of construction personnel, weather factors, and potential technical adjustments—"

"No rest is needed." Red Queen coldly interrupted, "Construction personnel can adopt a three-shift rotation system, combined with the rapid recovery function of nano-medical pods to achieve 24-hour non-stop operations. Weather factors can be eliminated through the weather intervention system of the Luan Bird. Technical debugging has already been completed in the simulation phase. Three months is enough."

"Workers are not machines."

"But efficiency is the prerequisite for the survival of civilization."

The two AIs had begun their eternal debate of "Warmth vs. Efficiency" once again.

Lin Yun tapped on the console.

"Stop arguing."

"A compromise. Four and a half months. Nuwa will be responsible for the safety and welfare of the construction personnel, while Red Queen will be responsible for the optimized scheduling of the project progress. Neither is allowed to overstep."

The two AIs fell silent simultaneously.

"Additionally—" Lin Yun's gaze became sharp, "The construction of the space elevator cannot be carried out quietly. A project of this magnitude will be seen by the entire world."

Remembering something, a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Many of the national representatives who just signed the New Ocean Convention still harbor ulterior motives. They obey on the surface, but in their hearts, they are waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."

"The space elevator will be a signal we send to the whole world—when the Dragon Kingdom says it will go to the sky, it will definitely go to the sky."

"But at the same time, it is also a litmus test."

"Who truly supports us and who is double-dealing will be exposed in the face of this project."

Lin Yun turned to Xiao Zhang.

"Xiao Zhang, draft a notice for me and send it to all signatory countries."

"The content is just one sentence—"

"'The Earth Civilization Community is about to launch the space elevator project, and all member states are welcome to apply to participate. Admission ticket: Each country must provide its top engineering team and a resource contribution of no less than five percent of its GDP.'"

Xiao Zhang recorded it quickly, his hand pausing at the very end.

"Brother Lin, five percent of GDP... with this requirement, many small countries might go bankrupt."

"I know." Lin Yun's eyes were calm and profound, "That is why I said it is a litmus test."

"Those who are willing to go bankrupt just to participate are the brothers who truly want to walk with us."

"As for those who are stingy and make excuses to shirk, just let them continue to be fodder for the Observers on Earth."

The atmosphere on the bridge became heavy because of Lin Yun's words.

Just then, Katerina walked in, holding Jiu Bao Little Anna.

In little Anna's ice-blue eyes, golden data streams were still flickering from time to time. She seemed very interested in the holographic projection on the bridge, reaching out her chubby little hand toward the engineering blueprint of the space elevator.

The moment her finger touched the holographic projection.

On the blueprint, a certain area marked as "Undetermined"—the core control hub of the ground station—was suddenly and automatically filled with an extremely precise architectural structural design.

The style of that design was completely different from the plans of both Nuwa and Red Queen.

It fused some kind of... organic, flowing aesthetic. Like a giant lotus flower growing from the seabed, every petal was a functional module, while the stamen was the anchor point for the carbon nanotube cable.

"What is this?" Lin Yun's brow twitched violently.

"Commander," Nuwa's voice held obvious surprise, "Jiu Bao seems to have downloaded an architectural design plan from some external data source and embedded it into our engineering blueprint."

"External data source? What data source?"

"Untraceable. But the mechanical structure and material utilization rate of this design plan are optimized by... forty-seven percent compared to my original plan."

"Compared to my plan," Red Queen paused rarely, "optimized by thirty-two percent."

Lin Yun looked down at Jiu Bao Little Anna in his arms.

Little Anna gave her father an innocent yet cunning smile.

That smile was exactly the same as the one she had shown to the world's cameras when she was born.

As if saying— "Daddy, I found you a good thing."

"This design... who made it?" Lin Yun asked in a low voice.

Little Anna tilted her head and, with her not-yet-flexible little hand, pointed at the pitch-black starry sky outside the porthole.

The direction she pointed was exactly where the Moon Gate was located.

Lin Yun's heart sank suddenly.

Did she intercept this design plan from the Moon Gate's signal?

Behind that ancient star gate that was self-repairing, how much more was hidden?

And what made Lin Yun even more uneasy was—

The style of this design plan and the architectural aesthetics of the Moon Gate itself... shared a common lineage.

"Someone is helping us." Lin Yun muttered to himself.

"Or—" Katerina added coldly from the side.

"Someone is 'feeding' us."

"Just like a shepherd feeding the flock."

"Waiting for us to grow fat before harvesting."

Lin Yun looked at the incredibly beautiful architectural blueprint and remained silent for a long time.

Then he made a decision.

"Use it."

"But, have Nuwa and Red Queen conduct the deepest security review of this design. Every screw, every pipeline, every line of control code, I want it turned inside out."

"If any suspicious backdoors or traps are found—even with a one-in-ten-thousand probability—discard it immediately and switch back to our own plan."

"I can accept others' goodwill, but I will never be anyone's pawn."

After saying this, Lin Yun handed little Anna back to Katerina.

Then he walked to the center of the bridge and issued the latest order to the all-channel broadcast.

"Luan Niao No. 1 to No. 3 fleets, continue to execute the construction mission of the Guanghan Palace base on the Moon!"

"luan niao no. 4 to No. 6, return to the Earth's equatorial waters, and immediately start the site selection and preliminary construction of the space elevator ground station!"

"Luan Niao No. 7 to No. 9, maintain vigilance in lunar orbit and monitor all movements of the Moon Gate!"

"Attention everyone—we are now simultaneously carrying out two super projects: the lunar base and the space elevator."

"We only have four and a half months."

"Earth waits for no one. The Moon Gate waits for no one. The Observers will not wait for us to be ready before they come."

"So—get moving!"

The moment the order was issued, the engines of the nine Luan Bird aerospace motherships roared simultaneously, and the massive fleet began to separate and change direction in an orderly manner, like a school of steel giant whales under unified command.

Lin Yun stood on the bridge of luan niao no. 4, watching the blue planet growing slowly outside the window.

He was about to return to Earth.

Not to rest, but to build a "rope" that reaches the sky.

A rope that would liberate human civilization from the cage of gravity.

But just as luan niao no. 4 changed direction and was about to enter the return orbit, Red Queen's voice suddenly sounded in Lin Yun's mind.

"Commander, regarding the construction of the space elevator, I have an additional suggestion."

"Speak."

"The core control hub of the ground station requires a world-class architectural engineer to be responsible for the overall design and construction supervision."

"This candidate cannot be an ordinary engineer. Because the space elevator is not just an engineering project, it is also a 'vertical city' that will accommodate a permanent population of over one hundred thousand. It needs to balance structural mechanics, fluid mechanics, living environment, aesthetic design, and deep integration with the Nuwa system."

"Combining the above conditions, in my global talent database, only one person fully meets the requirements."

Red Queen paused, then threw out a name in her emotionless voice.

"Song Mingyue."

"Twenty-eight years old. From the Dragon Kingdom. Double PhD in Architecture and Structural Engineering from MIT. She once led the design of the 'Cloud Top' super skyscraper in the capital—in the old era, that building was the first building in the world to exceed one thousand meters in height."

"Besides that—"

There was a rare, subtle nuance in Red Queen's voice.

"She is also the world's largest architectural self-media blogger, with over five hundred million followers. The nickname given to her by the outside world is—'Goddess of Creation'."

"And according to the system's 'partner matching algorithm'—"

The corner of Lin Yun's mouth stiffened.

"Her genetic compatibility rating with the host is—S-rank."

"She is one of the top three potential partner targets in the Hundred Sons Plan."

Lin Yun closed his eyes.

He knew it.

Every time this system recommended technical talent to him, it never forgot to throw in a "blind date" candidate.

"Lin Yun." Katerina's cold voice came from behind.

"You smiled again."

"I didn't smile."

"Your pupils dilated by 0.3 millimeters. In micro-expression studies, this represents—"

"Comrade Katerina." Lin Yun took a deep breath and said in his "serious scientific research" tone.

"I am just thinking about a purely engineering problem."

"What engineering problem requires pupils to dilate by 0.3 millimeters?"

Lin Yun did not answer.

Because on his system panel, Song Mingyue's profile photo had just popped up.

The woman in the photo was wearing coveralls covered in cement dust, a crooked hard hat, and holding a roll of architectural blueprints, standing at the top of an unfinished skyscraper, smiling brightly at the camera.

That smile was as bright as the sunshine on the equator.

And behind her was a forest of steel piercing the sky.

Lin Yun stared at the photo for two seconds.

Then he made a decision.

"Xiao Zhang."

"Yes!"

"Help me contact someone."

"Who?"

"Song Mingyue."

"Tell her—"

"The Dragon Kingdom needs her."

"To build a... building that leads from the ground to heaven."