103: Chapter 103 Mars Infrastructure Construction (Part Two)

Plains on the Blue Star account for only twenty-five percent of the total land area, and the proportion of plains in Xia Country is even lower, at only twelve percent.

Aside from the proportion of plains, the distribution of continents on Mars is also more rational.

Mars has three connected continents. One runs longitudinally from south to north, traversing the entire planet like one of the panels of a basketball; Su Fan named it the Tianzong Continent.

Another is on the other side of Mars. This continent is relatively small, with most of its area near the equator; Su Fan named it the Tianchi Continent.

The final continent connects the other two. Most of it lies in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, distributed in a ring around those areas; Su Fan named it the Tianheng Continent.

In terms of topographical distribution, the Tianzong Continent has the richest terrain, featuring mountains, rivers, canyons, and plains.

The Tianheng Continent has the largest area; the other two continents combined are roughly equal to it in size.

This continent has the most plains and will be the primary area for future Xia Country migrants.

As for the smallest continent, the Tianchi Continent located at the equator, it has fewer plains and consists mostly of mountains and canyons.

A tropical environment may not necessarily suit the people of Xia Country, so this will be the area with the fewest migrants. However, it can serve as a nature reserve or a tourist destination.

(Click to view the Mars continent distribution map)

...

"Mars infrastructure construction, start now!"

At Su Fan's command, the grand era of Mars infrastructure construction began. A massive influx of machinery, equipment, and professional talent poured into Mars to build roads, bridges, and lay down basic utility networks.

"Su Fan, roughly how long will the construction take?" Zhou Xiaoxiao asked beside him.

"About two months or so; that's the Red Queen's estimate," Su Fan said with a smile.

Two months later.

Across the three continents of Mars, hard and level roads extending in all directions had been paved, along with numerous bridges spanning great rivers and a dense, interwoven underground utility network.

It is worth mentioning that the newly paved roads were extremely hard and slip-resistant; there was no worry about plants pushing through the pavement, nor about cars skidding on rainy days.

The bridges were also constructed from new materials, so there was no fear of collapse.

As for the underground networks, Su Fan placed great importance on the sewers and drainage systems. Although the Weather Beacon meant they didn't have to worry about floods, if the pipes were built too small, daily sewage could still cause blockages.

Therefore, the new underground sewage pipes could no longer be called pipes; they had become underground sewage and drainage channels—extremely wide!

With the basic infrastructure complete, the next step was to build housing as well as living, entertainment, and commercial facilities.

Mars was a virgin land, vast and uninhabited.

In such a large place, it was impossible to build high-rise buildings for the people to live in; that would be a disservice to them.

Su Fan planned to build all residential housing on Mars as detached villas.

Each villa would occupy 1,000 square meters, with three floors above ground, two floors underground, and an independent courtyard.

In the future, the era where everyone lives in a large detached villa was about to arrive!

Since the plan was to build detached villas, they certainly wouldn't use traditional construction methods, as that would be too slow.

Thus, Su Fan exchanged for and manufactured many pieces of black technology specifically for house construction and supporting facilities.

The first was the Multifunctional House Construction Machine.

This was a machine for rapid house construction; it could quickly excavate the ground and use nearby rocks and soil to rapidly build a house.

The second was the Household Water Generator.

On the future Mars, water pipes would no longer be laid. The Household Water Generator could communicate with the Weather Beacon to produce large amounts of domestic water by absorbing moisture from the air, and it featured a built-in water purifier filter so the output was directly drinkable.

The third was the Household Cold Nuclear Fusion Battery.

This was a battery similar to the Cold Nuclear Fusion batteries used in mechs, only smaller, with a single unit holding a massive amount of electrical energy.

Although there was a cable network beneath Mars, it was only for backup. In the future, independent power systems based on the household unit would become the mainstream.

As for safety, the Household Cold Nuclear Fusion Battery was even safer than lead-acid batteries; explosions were simply impossible.

Unless the Household Cold Nuclear Fusion Battery was thrown into the center of a nuclear explosion, only temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees could detonate it.

The fourth was the Household Waste Processor.

Speaking of household waste, many people might not care much, thinking it's just a bit of trash and wondering if a specialized Household Waste Processor was really necessary.

In fact, in modern society, each person in Xia Country produces an average of about 300 kilograms of waste per year. With 1.4 billion people, that's 420 billion kilograms of household waste annually.

And that is just household waste!

This waste comes in all varieties and is difficult to classify, let alone process harmlessly.

Therefore, whether in Xia Country or other nations, the methods for waste disposal are very crude.

They simply set aside a piece of land and bury the waste deep underground!

While technical processing exists, it works for small amounts; for such massive quantities of waste, the processing costs are astronomical.

The Household Waste Processor solves this problem at the source, as it can directly process waste harmlessly, making it very convenient.

...

On November 3rd, the grand construction of Mars began once more, this time focusing on housing, living, entertainment, and commercial facilities.

This phase of construction took longer because the quantity was greater and the design plans were more complex.

Su Fan mobilized a large number of professional technical personnel from the Blue Star and deployed a vast array of new mechanical equipment and industrial robots, only just managing to complete everything several months later.

By then, the year was 2029.

Su Fan was already 33 years old, at the age of standing firm.

On the evening of February 14th, the second day of the Lunar New Year, at Su Fan's home in the Nanshan Base.

Zhou Xiaoxiao, like a wife advising her husband before he leaves home, was personally tying Su Fan's tie.

Su Fan stood quietly in the living room, letting Zhou Xiaoxiao fuss over him; he was trying on new clothes she had personally bought for him.

"Su Fan, you're holding a big conference on Mars tomorrow, and you're going in person. You must be careful," Zhou Xiaoxiao urged.

"It's fine. It's not the first time I've been to Mars. What could happen?" Su Fan didn't care much.

"Before it was always an Android, but now it's the real person appearing," Zhou Xiaoxiao said, not quite at ease.

"This is the Migration Launch Conference. If I went as an Android, how could I convince those people who are preparing to migrate to Mars?" Su Fan said with a smile.

"Regardless, I'm just worried!" Zhou Xiaoxiao pouted.

"No, you have to comfort me!"

"How should I comfort you?" Su Fan asked helplessly.

"Comfort me like that." Zhou Xiaoxiao's face was flushed; she had drunk a little wine during dinner, and since she could not hold her liquor well, she was currently a bit tipsy.

The corners of Su Fan's mouth turned up slightly. "How exactly? Be more specific."

Zhou Xiaoxiao tilted her small head and thought for a moment.

"Give me a hundred yuan."

"Buy me another cake."

"I also want to eat chocolate."

"A movie just came out; take me to see it."

"Yesterday I found a newly opened Bengrou Ganfan place; take me to eat there."

"I've set my eyes on a few outfits; pay for them for me."

"It's been too busy lately; accompany me for a walk in a bit."

"Last night, I discovered a secret."

"Su Fan, marry me!"

Su Fan froze as countless images of the two of them together flashed through his mind like lightning.

This time, he did not reject Zhou Xiaoxiao, but proved his feelings with his actions...

Tonight I see Xiaoxiao as in years past, her cheeks flushed with the glow of wine.

Beyond the half-rolled curtain and the dim lamp, dew glistens as smoke curls in the cool breeze.

Hairpins and buns cast in disarray, she nestles close and won't rise, shedding tears while singing a new song.

...