198: Leave the rest to me.

After listening to He Rendong, Tian Ming fell silent. No matter what, He Rendong’s consideration was not wrong. Yes, he couldn’t possibly guard a nuclear power plant forever; that would be no different from drawing a circle on the ground and confining himself within it.

Everything Tian Ming had done was to allow the Shelter to enter a virtuous cycle of development. But if a technology brought too great a risk, even affecting Tian Ming’s freedom, then there was no question, he certainly wouldn't use it.

But Tian Ming was still a bit unwilling; no one could refuse the allure of nuclear energy. After a long while, Tian Ming looked up at He Rendong and asked, “If we don’t do fission reactors, what about fusion reactors?”

He Rendong’s face lit up, and he said, “That’s fine, Boss. There’s a commercial fusion reactor in Shallow Bay. If we can get the relevant technical management data, my experts should be able to make it work.”

“One sentence: I’ll get all the relevant data and equipment. How long will it take for you to fully grasp it?” Tian Ming asked.

He Rendong truly didn’t dare to make a guarantee. This wasn’t something you could master just by reading a book or copying it exactly.

“This… Boss, if you can participate in the construction, then we only need to master the entire management process. The principle isn’t difficult, but if we have to build it ourselves, it would probably be very difficult to meet the engineering acceptance standards.”

“Alright, I can build it, no problem. I can bring you a complete set for your research. I’ll get you the bicycle; you need to learn how to ride it in the shortest possible time.”

Hearing Tian Ming’s reply, a hint of joy flashed in He Rendong’s eyes. He immediately replied, “Boss, as long as you can transport the entire set of equipment here, I will personally lead and organize the technical department to tackle it. I guarantee we’ll achieve it within a month.”

Tian Ming nodded, “Report this matter. Have Meng Xian and Ji Ruping arrange to designate an area north of the Shelter to first build an experimental reactor for a pilot project. I’ll give you half a month. I’ll get the relevant data and equipment. Personnel organization and preliminary preparatory work must be carried out in advance.”

He Rendong nodded and said, “Don’t worry, Boss. I guarantee we’ll complete the preliminary preparatory tasks.”

“Alright, go. Report the progress of the preparations to me at any time. Just report the progress on the Shelter’s local area network; I can see it.”

Tian Ming waved his hand, and He Rendong immediately understood and nodded. He quickly left the conference room and headed straight to the technical department. He knew that his workload would be very heavy, but if this matter could be handled well, he would gain the Boss’s appreciation, and then all of this would be worth it.

It looks like I’ll be busy again. Tian Ming smiled faintly and leaned back in his chair. A flash of light appeared in front, and Xin Xin materialized. As soon as she appeared, she looked at Tian Ming with a face full of teasing.

“Why did you come out? Is it uncomfortable living in my ear?” Tian Ming asked indifferently.

Xin Xin plopped down on Tian Ming’s desk and said with a smile, “You want to build a fusion reactor, right? You want to solve the Shelter’s energy problem?”

Tian Ming nodded slightly and said, “I wonder what insights Xin Xin has?”

“Insights are out of the question. I’ve experienced many civilizations, and their technology trees are bizarre. It’s truly the first time I’ve seen you so persistently focused on boiling water,” Xin Xin’s words carried a hint of sarcasm.

Tian Ming naturally heard the sarcasm: “What’s wrong with our technology tree? There are so many types of energy, but the most convenient is still electricity. To generate electricity, boiling water is more efficient and more reliable. We’ve also tried other conversion methods, such as solar power generation, temperature differences, and also wind and hydropower. In the end, boiling water is still more efficient.”

“When I was still an individual, I learned about your Blue Star’s technology. You’re quite good at boiling water. High-end thermal power technology, supercritical power generation efficiency can reach over 90%. However, with your ability to manipulate matter, you can synthesize superheavy spontaneously fissioning elements or isotopes. If these are made into batteries, they could be used for hundreds of years, right? Your Blue Star’s isotope batteries are quite good, with electrical power reaching several kilowatts.”

“Are you giving me advice?” Tian Ming retorted.

He knew what Xin Xin was saying, but he wasn’t clear about the design principles and structure of such batteries. Even if the electrical power increased tenfold after optimizing the structural design, it would still require a huge quantity. Once this thing broke, it would be a radiation source, with the same limitations as a nuclear power plant.

Xin Xin smiled faintly, “Forget it. Even if you knew how to make it, you wouldn’t fill the entire Shelter with nuclear batteries. Your human bodies are too weak to withstand radiation. This might also be one of the reasons restricting you.”

Tian Ming asked with interest, “So, those civilizations you’ve seen before, weren’t they carbon-based life forms?”

“Some were carbon-based life forms initially, but later, they achieved mechanical ascension. Some civilizations had advanced computing technology, creating large things similar to your artificial intelligence. Later, the biological civilizations became extinct, and their successors became a pile of artificial intelligences. There were also some silicon-based life forms; they were very close to their parent star, with surface temperatures of thousands of degrees, but this civilization was later destroyed by the star’s expansion.”

Tian Ming smiled faintly, “It seems you’ve seen many aliens. I haven’t. What I’m familiar with is just our Blue Star’s affairs. I haven’t seen the world like you have.”

Xin Xin shook her head and said, “Our novelty has passed. Living too long, our consciousness is filled with things. This makes us very painful. Our God chose to sleep because his consciousness is filled with even more things. We were born with the rules of the universe and will only disappear at the end of the universe.”

Tian Ming naturally couldn’t understand Xin Xin’s pain, so he couldn’t empathize. How many years had he lived? Just over twenty years, he couldn’t possibly understand an old monster who had lived for hundreds of millions of years. And the Yuanchu God sleeping within him had probably lived for tens of billions of years.

Tian Ming couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Logically, you have no desires, so what pain is there? Isn’t it good to just live like this? Also, your Yuanchu God, why do you insist on waking him up? What benefit do you gain from his awakening?”

“Secret!” Xin Xin said.

Tian Ming frowned; he hated that word the most.

But Xin Xin didn’t want to answer, and he said helplessly, “If you don’t want to say it, then don’t. I don’t care to know.”

Tian Ming looked at the clock on the wall, stood up, and said, “Alright, I’m off work. You go do whatever you need to do. Don’t follow me!”

“No way. It’s hard to find a little fun in this long life. How could I let it go?” Xin Xin shook her head without hesitation.

“Then you can follow along. I’m going to eat. You don’t get to eat, hahaha!”