84: Chapter 84 H1S Alloy

While Cao Xiao was lost in thought, several thick snakes of lightning struck down from the sky in succession, even more violent than the first. Within a mere minute, the energy surged, reaching over thirty percent. Unsure if the conditions within the clouds would change, he decided not to waste a single drop of energy before the storm moved on. He issued a manufacturing command to the industrial mother machine and simultaneously ordered the intellectual brain to deduce scientific knowledge. The Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace revved up to full power, automatically synthesizing basic materials for the atomic energy reactor using raw materials in the space. These materials were sent to the Manufacturing Space, where they were crafted into components and rapidly assembled. The intellectual brain was also utilizing all its computational resources to deduce cutting-edge knowledge in basic science, generating massive amounts of simulation data every second as theories were constantly being verified. However, the energy consumption was terrifying, draining an average of four percent per minute. Fortunately, the lightning outside provided a continuous supplement; each strike provided no less than five percent, and at its peak, a single bolt could provide over ten percent. The frequency of the strikes wasn't high, though, averaging only about 1.5 times per minute.

Half an hour later, the atomic energy reactor was completed and sent into the energy space. This atomic energy reactor didn't look like a steel furnace or a nuclear reactor; instead, it was a hollow spherical structure nearly sixty meters in diameter, composed of metal spheres five meters in diameter connected from six directions by cylindrical metal tubes. From the outside, it looked like a soccer ball. Each internal sphere was connected to six others, while those on the surface were connected to four. This reactor had no fuel inlet or energy output device. To add fuel, one only needed to place it into the energy space, and the fuel would automatically enter the spheres via spatial abilities, with the resulting energy being automatically absorbed by the industrial mother machine.

By this time, the frequency of lightning strikes above Shenlong Terrace had decreased significantly, occurring only once every few minutes. However, currently only the intellectual brain was consuming energy at a rate of just one percent per minute. The energy levels were now near maximum; if another bolt struck, it wouldn't be able to absorb it all. He had never imagined a day when he would have more energy than he knew what to do with. He was both happy and a bit troubled, unable to think of a way to expend it for the moment. If he wanted to manufacture things, his raw materials—mostly metals—were all ready. Should he just make some cold weapons? But that wouldn't consume much energy at all!

He decided he might as well refine all the metal raw materials in the space into alloys. Thinking of alloys, he almost forgot the Longquan Sword that Wang Zhenglin had given him last time. That sword was forged from mixed metals extracted from a meteorite. He had used the Detection Function to analyze its metallic composition and found that several independent alloy forms were quite peculiar. Their proportions and forms differed from Earth's alloy theories; they weren't just metal combinations, as some were composed entirely of compounds and metals. However, those compound forms were incredibly stable, no worse than the metals themselves.

Cao Xiao extracted one compound to test it and found its melting point was extremely high; even temperatures of several thousand degrees couldn't melt it or break its chemical bonds to trigger a reaction. Time waited for no one, so he acted immediately. He allocated a portion of the intellectual brain's resources to work with the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace to perform a comprehensive characterization analysis of these alloys and compounds. Once he had the results, he conducted multiple sets of experiments, attempting to synthesize those compounds and alloys. At the same time, he used this new alloy theory to conduct synthesis tests with those compounds and other metals or non-metals. Fortunately, the high-power operation of the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace consumed a great deal of energy, stabilizing the energy level at around ninety-five percent.

Ten minutes later, a series of new alloy formulas emerged. Distinct from the X1 series, he named this series of alloys synthesized from compounds and metals the h1 series, meaning 'Compound Alloy' series. In the future, as his technological civilization knowledge advanced, he would develop H2, H3, and other series.

The performance of the h1 series alloys wasn't as balanced as the X1 series, but depending on the compound used, each alloy had unique properties. Some properties didn't even seem like those of an alloy or metal; for instance, one was transparent like glass but had very low electrical resistance, while another had a very high metal ratio but was non-conductive and heat-insulating.

There was another particularly magical one: under a strong electric current, it could be stretched and kneaded like rubber without breaking, possessing incredible ductility. He stretched a piece of the alloy the size of a coin until it was invisible to the naked eye, and it still hadn't reached its limit. Once the current was cut, it became incredibly tough yet soft. A strand as thin as spider silk could bear nearly ten tons without breaking, and ordinary alloy blades couldn't cut through it in one go. This alloy was simply the best material for making body armor; just by adding a layer of fixed cushioning, it would become a piece of super body armor. A thin layer could defend against sword thrusts and bullet impacts. He didn't know if special sniper rounds could penetrate it, but that was only when it was very thin; if the thickness reached one millimeter, Cao Xiao believed even those special armor-piercing rounds wouldn't break its defense. He named this alloy H1S, meaning the 'Super' alloy of the h1 series.

This was a massive windfall. Having this h1s alloy made him more excited than when he had suddenly obtained hundreds of tons of gold. Even though a torrential rain was pouring outside and the wind was howling like a dark doomsday scene, it didn't affect his excellent mood. While the lightning strikes hadn't stopped, he impatiently began producing h1s alloy. The elements for the compounds required for H1S were very common; although the elemental composition was complex, they could be extracted in large quantities from soil. The metal elements were already in his space: titanium, vanadium, iron, gold, silver, and platinum group metals were all needed. Ten minutes later, he had produced over ten tons of h1s alloy, but he had to stop because the lightning was ending. The sky was gradually brightening, and the torrential rain had turned into a moderate drizzle. Lightning strikes only occurred every few minutes, and the energy they carried was only two or three percent.

However, these ten-plus tons were enough for him to use freely. h1s alloy wasn't very heavy; one ton was only 0.8 cubic meters, just slightly heavier than water. If these ten tons were used to make one-millimeter-thick fabric, it would cover over ten thousand square meters. A piece of clothing used at most two square meters, so he could give away thousands of outfits and still have plenty left. To pull it into fine threads, he only needed to apply electricity, which didn't consume much energy. To make it into clothes, he would need to find Mi Fan to come up with some design plans. To make body armor, he also needed to use a high-elasticity alloy for a mesh cushioning layer, but there was no rush; he could just have Mi Fan design the look later. As for the elastic cushioning material, he had already produced enough in his space.

Now he had to prepare some armor and cold weapons for his trip to Africa. Body armor alone wasn't enough; it was worn against the skin, and if the kinetic energy of a bullet or blade was too great, the force would pass through the armor and injure the body, causing internal damage from the impact. Therefore, he needed close-range protective gear. In modern society, using a shield would make one a laughingstock; one doesn't become Captain America just by holding an Adamantium shield. A shield's protective area is too small to provide comprehensive protection against a hail of bullets, so he didn't consider it. Then he thought of the vajra umbrellas used by the legendary tomb raiders of old. However, he would only design the protection in the shape of an umbrella; otherwise, carrying a tomb raider's vajra umbrella all day would definitely lead to being taken in for questioning or even 'settling down' elsewhere. Given the characteristics of the X1 and H1 alloys, a vajra umbrella made to look like a common long-handled umbrella would be the true vajra umbrella. Its appearance would be identical to an ordinary long-handled umbrella, but the seemingly cloth canopy would be two-millimeter-thick H1S super alloy. The handle, ribs, and the surface of the canopy would all be coated with a layer of black X1 series magnetic alloy. It wouldn't be a problem to take it on a plane, and it weighed only about one kilogram. With a length of 1.2 meters and a diameter of two meters when opened, it was enough to protect his entire body from gunfire. When opened and fixed on the ground, it would be an indestructible fortress.