38: Chapter 38 The Infrastructure Maniac Displays His Might Again
In the Northwest Gobi, the top-secret base codenamed "Xihe Base" has completely transformed into a seething ocean of steel.
If the construction of the previous "Hidden Dragon" base was a silent lurking, then the expansion of "Xihe Base" is a brazen, full-throttle charge fueled by the strength of the entire nation!
Tens of thousands of elite engineering personnel, drawn from major infrastructure units across the country, converged here from all directions like soldiers hearing the charge, riding special trains disguised as ordinary freight trains.
Massive heavy machinery equipment—gantry cranes, tunnel boring machines, giant concrete pump trucks, and modular prefabricated installation robotic arms—roared day and night on the desolate Gobi Desert like steel beasts.
In the core area of the base, a giant circular foundation pit, a hundred meters deep and over three hundred meters in diameter, had already been excavated.
This was not a traditional open-pit mine; its inner walls had been coated with a fast-setting, high-strength material improved based on "Lunar Regolith Solidifier" technology, making it as smooth as a mirror and exceptionally sturdy.
At the bottom of the pit, a crisscrossing giant steel reinforcement skeleton, resembling the veins of the earth, was growing upward at a speed visible to the naked eye; this was the foundation that would support the main body of the "Golden Crow" demonstration reactor in the future.
Even more astonishing was the dome-style steel structure directly above the pit, comparable in scale to a large stadium, which was being modularly assembled by dozens of super-large gantry cranes working in coordination.
These steel components were not welded on-site but were pre-manufactured in secret factories across the country using "lc-1 composite material" and new welding techniques, then transported to the site for high-precision, "building block"-style installation.
The speed was so fast that it looked different almost every day!
Elder Chen stood on the temporarily erected command platform, overlooking the bustling scene, and even he felt his heart surging with emotion.
The strong wind blew through his graying hair, but it could not disperse the burning light in his eyes.
"Report! The pouring of the No. 1 main support column cluster is complete, and the strength test has passed!"
"Report! The shielding layer installation in the main control hall has reached seventy percent!"
"Report! The main pipeline for the peripheral cooling system has begun installation!"
"Report! The special train carrying special steel from Ansteel has arrived at Material Station No. 3!"
Progress reports came in via radio, orderly and with jaw-dropping efficiency.
"Good! Tell the comrades to keep pushing!"
Elder Chen spoke into the microphone in a resonant voice, "The sooner we finish, the sooner the country will be free from the shackles of energy! History will remember every drop of our sweat today!"
He was not just shouting empty slogans.
On the edge of the construction site, rows of brand-new prefabricated houses sprang up, fully equipped with air conditioning and water heaters; a logistics team composed of chefs from the State Guest House ensured that every engineer and worker could eat nutritious, hot meals; the most advanced medical stations were on standby, and psychological counseling teams made rotating visits.
The country was telling all participants through concrete actions: Behind you stands the support of the entire nation!
What was even more astonishing were the "black technologies" visible everywhere on the construction site.
A temporary energy management system derived from the smart grid optimization concepts provided by "Patriot X" ensured the stability and efficiency of the massive construction site's power usage; several experimental "engineering exoskeletons" were assigned to workers responsible for heavy lifting, greatly improving efficiency and safety; drone swarms conducted aerial mapping and security monitoring day and night, with data transmitted back to the command center in real-time.
A senior engineer from Germany (a consultant secretly hired through special channels), looking at the incredible construction speed before him, shook his head repeatedly and exclaimed to his Long Country colleague in broken Chinese: "Miracle... this is simply a miracle! In my country, just completing the foundation survey and design would take a year! And you, from breaking ground to the completion of the main structure, have only used less than two months! This is impossible!"
The Long Country engineer just smiled honestly, pointed to the flag fluttering in the distance, and did not explain further.
Some pride needs no words.
Long Zhantian stood in the shadows, his cold gaze sweeping over every corner of the construction site.
His "S.H.I.E.L.D." was like an invisible web, enveloping the entire "Xihe Base".
All personnel entering and exiting underwent the strictest scrutiny, all supplies passed through multiple security checks, and several sets of air defense and anti-infiltration systems were on the highest alert.
He would never allow any accident to interfere with the birth of this "Sun".
At night, the sky over the Gobi Desert was like a dome, with a brilliant galaxy.
But "Xihe Base" was as bright as day; the arc light of welding torches was like holiday fireworks, and the roar of machinery played a movement of progress unique to this era.
On this once desolate land, a magnificent project carrying Long Country's dream of energy independence, and even concerning the future of human civilization, was rising from the ground at an unprecedented "Long Country speed"!
The infrastructure maniac, on the battlefield concerning the nation's destiny, once again bared its formidable fangs to the world.
And all of this stemmed from that young man hiding in a corner of the city, and the system in his mind that transcended the era.
Far away in Pretty Country, James Craig, even after seeing the massive "industrial complex" that had suddenly appeared on this Gobi Desert through the most advanced reconnaissance satellites, could not possibly connect it to the distant concept of "controlled nuclear fusion."
He could only attribute it to another of Long Country's "crazy infrastructure constructions," adding to his confusion and anxiety.