Ling Zichen sat at the long table near the door, holding a data board in her hand. After Mo Yuan finished speaking, she stood up and projected the overall design of the Floating Island onto the soul guidance Monitor in the side hall.
The Monitor was roughly divided into three sections: the left side showed the overall structure, the middle showed the energy system, and the right side showed the defense array and the weapon system she had been longing for.
"Hello everyone, today I'll be introducing this project, starting with the location." Ling Zichen pointed to the center of the overall structural plan with a laser pointer. "It's roughly over the sea about 200 kilometers east of Eastsea City. That airspace is far from shipping lanes, and the wind conditions are stable. The basic structure of the Floating Island is hexagonal, with each side measuring about 10,000 meters, and a total area of approximately 260 square kilometers. The main structure uses a special lightweight composite alloy frame, and it will be further developed into an archipelago-type aerial building complex."
The representative in charge of logistics glanced at the materials list in his hand and immediately gasped. It wasn't that he opposed the plan, but the amount of materials was enormous. The main point was that even if the alloy was light, it would require an unimaginable amount of energy and terrifying technology to make such a large metal island float in the sky.
This is really...
As expected of the Parliament Speaker, he makes such a grand gesture right away.
"As for the energy system," Ling Zichen switched to the Monitor in the center, "The main energy source of the Floating Island is two sets of ultra-large-scale parallel Source Loop Reaction Array..."
What follows is a long string of incomprehensible quotients; most people's first reaction is simply, "Wow, that's a huge number!"
"Defense system." She switched to the right side of the Monitor, her expression noticeably more serious than before. "The original design for the Floating Island's weapon system included twelve Level-Nine Soul Guidance Cannon, twenty-four level -Level-Eight Soul Guidance Cannon, and a Linked Soul Guidance Shield Array covering the entire island. The Level-Nine Cannon were arranged with six main cannons facing outwards and six secondary cannons facing inwards, balancing external defense with suppression capabilities against targets within the island."
"Internal suppression?" Yu Guanzhi raised his head slightly. " The Floating Island still needs internal suppression?"
"This module was in the original design," Ling Zichen said. " The Floating Island has research areas, residential areas, and storage areas. In case of enemy infiltration, the inward-facing artillery positions can provide suppressive fire. However, Mo Yuan cut this part."
Yu Guanzhi glanced at Mo Yuan. Mo Yuan said, "The inner artillery positions pose a safety hazard. The Floating Island is our own facility, and the chance of problems occurring inside is far lower than outside. Cut the inner artillery positions, and transfer the saved weight and energy quota to the shield array."
"Then what about internal defense?" Yu Guanzhi asked.
"Rely on security personnel and internal defense nodes," Mo Yuan said. " The Floating Island isn't a fortress; we don't need to fill every inch of its interior with cannons. If an enemy does infiltrate, relying on manpower is better than suppressing them with artillery."
Yu Guanzhi thought for a moment and didn't object anymore. The head of the Academy of Sciences ' communications division then interjected, " The Floating Island will be used as a relay node in the Satellite Communication Network. Will the installation location of the communication modules conflict with the defense array?"
"No." Ling Zichen switched back to the overall structural diagram and circled a location on it. "The communication module is located at the center of the island's top, away from the electromagnetic interference zone of the gun emplacements and reaction array. The relay antennas are positioned at the four corners of the Floating Island, staggered from the shield array nodes, so they do not interfere with each other."
The head of the communications division nodded after confirming the location.
Fu Moxin remained silent throughout, only turning to the budget page at this point. "The budget is 20% higher than the initial estimate."
"The extra space is for the shield array," Mo Yuan said. "In Ling Zichen's original design, the weapon system took up the majority of the budget. After cutting some of the cannon positions, I transferred the saved budget to the shields. The main threat to the Floating Island comes from the outside, and the shields are more effective than the cannons."
"What about the redundancy of the shield?" Fu Moxin asked.
" The Linked Shield Array is designed to cover the entire island surface. When any node is destroyed, adjacent nodes will automatically take over the defense of that area. The number of shield generators is 40% more than the theoretical minimum requirement, so the failure of a few will not affect the overall defense."
Fu Moxin closed the file. "Okay, budget is fine."
Yu Guanzhi flipped to the last few pages of the plan and glanced at the construction schedule. "Can it be completed in four months?"
"Yes," Ling Zichen said. "The preliminary preparations are complete. The site selection, materials list, and equipment debugging have all passed inspection. The construction team is the engineering robots from Anti-Entropy, and the technical personnel are drawn from both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Anti-Entropy. Four months is a conservative estimate; if the weather cooperates, it may be earlier."
What about airspace control during construction?
" The Eastsea Legion is in charge," Mo Yuan said. "I've already spoken to Zhu Ming. During the construction of the Floating Island, that airspace will be designated as a temporary control zone, and civilian aircraft and fishing boats will have to detour. Zhu Ming is already working on the specific airspace coordination plan; I'll send a copy of the file to the Military Department headquarters later."
Yu Guanzhi signed the proposal and pushed the file to Fu Moxin. After Fu Moxin signed it, she handed it to the supervisory committee members next to her. Several committee members took turns flipping through it, and no one raised any new questions.
"That's settled then." Mo Yuan signed the ballot. "The plan is approved. Ling Zichen will be responsible for its implementation, and the project progress will be reported to the Parliament every two weeks."
Everyone got up and left one after another. Ling Zichen put away the information board and was about to leave when Mo Yuan called her back.
You didn't say much at the meeting.
"I've said everything I needed to say," Ling Zichen said.
"Regarding your original design, the part with the inward-facing gun emplacements, I didn't ask you to go into detail at the meeting," Mo Yuan said. "Just keep it in mind."
Ling Zichen's expression changed slightly, then quickly returned to normal. "I know, the Floating Island is a civilian facility, and an internal suppression system is indeed unsuitable. I considered the worst-case scenario when I designed it, but you're right, if it really comes to that, relying on manpower is better than relying on artillery positions."
"It's good that you understand," Mo Yuan said. "I'll make a copy of the original blueprint for you; you can keep it yourself. The modified version belongs to Anti-Entropy, the original is yours. Use it however you like."
Ling Zichen was taken aback. "What do you mean by making a copy for me?"
"Your design and my revised version will be accounted for separately. The original version is yours, and the revised version belongs to Anti-Entropy."
Ling Zichen thought for a moment, her expression improving considerably, but she didn't budge. "Alright then, at least you still have some conscience."
After she left, Mo Yuan sat in the side hall for a while and opened the compressed file that Amber had sent him. He had flipped through the health information inside last night, but he couldn't continue reading after getting halfway through. The prescriptions written in those ancient books were all over the place, from herbal ratios to meridian massage, but nine out of ten were folk remedies, without even a proper clinical trial record.
" Amber."
"Exist."
Where did you find these things?
"The archives of the Federation Library, the public collections of various families, and the medical section of the Academy of Sciences. Most of the materials have clear sources, while some come from folk remedies that have not been scientifically verified."
"Select the recipes that have a clear source, author, and have been cited in multiple publications; set the others aside for now."
"Recorded."
Mo Yuan stood up, closed the compressed file, and walked towards his office. Halfway there, his phone rang; it was Ling Zichen calling.
"Boss, I forgot something."
"Explain."
"Old Zang said he has a few unpublished prescriptions, supposedly passed down within the Tang Sect, and are much more reliable than those outside. He asked if you wanted them."
"How did he know I was looking for these things?"
"I did say that," Ling Zichen said innocently. "I said, boss, you haven't been feeling well lately, you need to take some supplements."
Mo Yuan was silent for two seconds. "What were your exact words to him?"
I said, 'Boss, you've been feeling a bit weak lately. Do you know anything good to help you recover?'
Ling Zichen.
"Um?"
"You'll go to the Floating Island construction site tomorrow to report on the entire process."
"Ah? Boss, I was wrong! I didn't mean to! Old Zang won't say anything! Hey--"
Mo Yuan hung up the phone, put it back in his pocket, and continued walking towards his office. When he reached the office door, he paused, glanced back at the end of the corridor, and saw that Ling Zichen hadn't followed him.
He pushed open the office door, sat down in a chair, picked up his phone, and sent a message to Zang Xin: "Send me a copy of the prescription, but don't tell anyone else."
Zang Xin replied quickly, "Don't worry, only Ling Zichen and I know."
Mo Yuan looked at the reply and felt that the statement "only Ling Zichen and I know" was problematic, but he didn't pursue it further. He tossed his phone onto the table and opened the file.