Rubick gave Dino a look. Wax poured from Dino's hands, flew over the long table, and landed behind Lan Zhan and his companions, forming a wall.
An aide stepped forward with a laptop, projector, and screen they had prepared in advance. After setting them up, Liu Zhuozhi played a video.
Rubick had seen the video back on Blue Star. It promoted greening efforts in the northwest. Watching desert turn into grassland left Cobra and the others stunned.
"Our country is second to none when it comes to controlling desertification and greening deserts," Liu Zhuozhi said. "If you're willing to give it several decades, or even a century, we can help you create countless stretches of greenery."
Cobra and the others drew sharp breaths. Liu Zhuozhi continued, "Of course, turning desert green only helps block the wind and hold the sand in place. As for turning it into soil suitable for crops, the time and conditions that would require are beyond what we can manage."
Only then did Cobra and the others recover. The video had been overwhelming, especially the before-and-after comparison of the tree planting.
After a while, Cobra said, "That's a good proposal. Three years without rain damaged many of our oases. We need this technology to protect the ones we still have."
"Excellent," Liu Zhuozhi said. "That's our first project. Next, we have powerful seawater purification plants."
They played another video. Cobra still struggled to follow it, but he remembered one thing: once built and put into operation, the plant could turn seawater into drinkable fresh water.
For Alabasta, that was incredibly important. As a desert country, it had very little drinking water. The Sandora River was its only river, and even securing groundwater was difficult.
"We'll teach you how to build, maintain, and operate the plants," Liu