Han Hai

The clouds had scattered and the rain had cleared; sunlight shone brilliantly across the sky.

The setting sun on the horizon reflected the colors of the clouds, while the deep-blue lake mirrored the outlines of snow-capped mountains.

The waves raised by the ship pulled the tourists out of their immersion in the seamless vista of water and sky, only for them to sink once more into the pleasure of rolling emerald waves and the gentle breeze.

Sunset, clouds, snow mountains, blue waves, breeze, cruise ship.

Though there were no birds to adorn the scene, it was still breathtakingly beautiful. Had there been a poet here, inspiration would surely have struck. Unfortunately, none of the tourists possessed the talent of Li Du, and all that rose from them were cries of "Holy shit!"

Unable to bear watching any longer, Yue Yuan could only recite a line himself to express the feelings in his heart.

"The lone smoke rises straight above the desert; the long river rounds beneath the setting sun."

He had recited the poem, and the scene it described was certainly evocative, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the view before them.

Sure enough, countless startled gazes immediately turned toward him, as if saying, What the hell was that? Not even as good as our "holy shit."

What a buzzkill.

Many men and women on the ship's deck secretly shook their heads. Apparently, no one was thick-skinned enough to step forward and speak to him. After silently looking down on him for a while, they continued admiring the scenery.

After all, most people on a cruise ship were tourists traveling with tour groups. Such a reaction was perfectly normal.

But there were always exceptions. Just as Yue Yuan withdrew his distant gaze and turned to return to the cabin, a voice as melodious as Oriole Song stopped him in his tracks.

"Wonderful poem, wonderful poem. Using Wang Wei's verse to describe the scenery before us may seem strange, but it carries a sense of Borrowing the Past to Reflect on the Past. It seems this handsome gentleman understands history."

Borrowing the Past to Reflect on the Past.

It sounded rather odd, but it struck right at Yue Yuan's feelings. That was exactly what he had meant.

Following the voice, he saw a graceful, lovely-faced woman leaning against the railing at the ship's bow, her eyes meeting his.

"Just a little, just a little." Yue Yuan turned and walked toward her, casually asking, "Traveling with a tour group?"

"No, I came with my classmates. We happened to have a break, and since this Han Hai is famous far and wide, we thought we might as well come see it." The woman showed her pearly teeth and smiled sweetly.

She seemed to have an outgoing personality. Of course, that might also have been because Yue Yuan was handsome.

Seeing this stranger approach, she showed no shyness. Instead, she extended her small hand and waved in greeting before asking, "Are you with a tour group too, handsome?"

"No. I'm heading to the Snow Region, so since I rarely get the chance, I decided to stop by and see Han Hai." Since the woman was so frank, Yue Yuan told her where he was headed, though he did not say what he was going there for.

As he spoke, he naturally walked to the bow and rested both hands on the railing beside the empty space to her right, gazing into the distance. He glanced left and estimated that she was about a head shorter than him, probably around five foot three.

"May I ask your name, miss?"

The woman turned around, placed both hands on the railing as well, and looked at Yue Yuan. Blinking her playful eyes, she said, "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone else?"

"Uh..." Yue Yuan paused. Looking into those mischievous eyes, he pretended to cough. "Yue Yuan. Yue as in mountain, Yuan as in Abyss."

"Xu Yanshi. Xu as in Xu Yanshi, Yan as in Xu Yanshi, Shi as in Xu Yanshi. Haha!"

Xu Yanshi smiled as though she had successfully teased a handsome man. Only then did Yue Yuan notice that she had two shallow dimples in her cheeks.

Xu Yanshi offered no further explanation for her name. She continued gazing into the distance and brought the topic back to Han Hai. "It's truly hard to imagine that this place used to be a desert."

Indeed, this place had once been a desert called the Taklamakan Desert, located in the Tarim Basin. It had once been the largest inland desert.

Han Hai had originally been a term for a desert, but now that it was used for this enormous lake, it seemed equally fitting.

This Great Project had also been named the Han Hai Project.

Fifty years ago, in 2053, when the nation's industrial strength soared once more, the country finally turned its envisioned blueprint into reality. It began implementing a Western Development version of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project: Divert Tibetan Water to Xinjiang.

Water from the Yarlung Tsangpo River was drawn to irrigate the Taklamakan.

To accomplish this, the nation employed engineering technology at the absolute pinnacle of the world. A dam was built on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, then, through segmented excavation from south to north over more than thirty years, an ultra-long tunnel running all the way through was opened.

The tunnel stretched over a thousand kilometers long and thirty meters wide, cutting through from south to north.

Thus, Tibetan water was diverted to Xinjiang.

The project had cost more than one hundred trillion yuan—over a thousand times the cost of the Three Gorges Project in the previous century, and four hundred times that of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Once the supporting facilities, resident relocation, and the conversion of roads in the former desert into underwater tunnels were included, the cost rose even higher. Yet the benefits it brought were obvious.

The Taklamakan Desert lay within the Tarim Basin. To its north, west, and south stood the Tianshan Mountain Range, Kunlun Mountain Range, and Altyn-Tagh Mountain Range respectively, with the terrain sloping from high in the west to low in the east.

Thus, after the Taklamakan became Han Hai, the towering mountain ranges along its northern, western, and southern sides blocked moisture and provided meltwater. Over the years, a C-shaped Oasis gradually formed where those three sides met Han Hai.

To the east, the northwesterly winds that prevailed year-round blew water vapor eastward. Part of it was blocked by the Qilian Mountain Range, increasing precipitation in the Hexi Corridor and restoring it to the lush, fertile Hexi Corridor of history that had nourished the people of the Pre-Qin era.

The moisture that crossed the Qilian Mountain Range continued eastward, only to be blocked again by the Yin Mountains and Helan Mountains, while the Altai Mountains blocked it to the north. As a result, the region received abundant rainfall. The climates of the Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert, located there, underwent tremendous changes, and over time a vast oasis took shape.

Some of the excess moisture also nourished the Loess Plateau, increasing the flow of the Yellow River.

What was more, because the waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo River had been effectively controlled, southwestern Bengal and other places were spared flooding during the rainy season from then on. The Ganges River no longer ravaged Third Brother either. The completion of such a Great Project was simply the Light of Humanity.

Naturally, it had also turned the former desert into a tourist destination, giving Yue Yuan the chance to experience what it felt like to sail through a desert.

"This is a great era," Yue Yuan replied to Xu Yanshi's sentiment.

Xu Yanshi's eyes were filled with longing. "Yes. After I graduate, I'm coming here to work."

"As a tour guide?"

"Of course not. I'm a graduate student studying Biodiversity Research. I'm going to begin my great undertaking here!"

As the climate changed and the world transformed, living things changed with it. This truly was an excellent place to study biodiversity and climate issues.

"I was joking. Then I wish you success." Yue Yuan offered his blessing, then turned and said, "Night has fallen, and the evening breeze is a little cool. It's time to return to the cabin and rest. It was a pleasure meeting the beautiful Miss Xu on this enjoyable journey. Well then, until we meet again."

Before they knew it, the sky had completely darkened. The long hair draped over her shoulders, stirring in the breeze, gradually blurred from view, while a few neon lights flickered on across the ship's deck.

"Uh... see you. Until we meet again." Xu Yanshi awkwardly echoed the old-fashioned farewell.

They had met by chance. Though their conversation had been quite pleasant, there was no reason for them to form any deeper connection so quickly.

Yue Yuan had not entertained any excessive thoughts either. He sincerely wished that this young woman would accomplish her great undertaking someday.

Besides, Biodiversity Research was indeed a great undertaking. Or rather, any research useful to society was a great undertaking.

Yue Yuan returned to his own room in the cabin. He did not hurry to change or wash up. Instead, he lay sprawled on the soft bed, quietly closing his eyes to rest.

It was now 2108. Through the diligence and wisdom of the Zhonghua Family people, Han Hai had become an Engineering Miracle. With the completion of this project, Infrastructure Demon had become a name known to women and children across the globe.

Born in such a nation, Yue Yuan was immensely proud.

The Han Hai trip was the first stop on his return journey after going back to the capital. His final destination, which he did not casually reveal, was Callisto.

That was where he worked, and what he had encountered there before was the primary reason he was now on Earth.

It was also the place that had changed his fate.

Although humanity still had not mastered Controlled Nuclear Fusion, it had made enormous breakthroughs in fission technology. Fission Rocket propulsion had fully matured, allowing humanity to begin leaving its footprints across the Solar System.

The Zhonghua Family's taikonauts had therefore finally earned the long-awaited title of astronauts.