Lü Yongchang said nothing, merely casting a puzzled glance at the Holographic Simulation Avatar beside him.
"There isn't enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."
Zero delivered the report succinctly.
Although he had considered countless possible scenarios,
Lü Yongchang still sank into thought when he heard Zero say those words.
Not enough carbon dioxide?
What the hell?
"Have the steelworks shut down?" Lü Yongchang asked instinctively.
Under the torrential rains brought by Nero, vast quantities of hematite powder had been washed into river channels and estuaries, making things much easier for humanity.
As early as a year and a half ago, when Atmosphere Terraformer One was deployed, construction of steelworks had begun on a massive scale across Dawn Star.
Built by robots, towering smokestacks soon rose one after another across Dawn Star.
To accelerate construction and smelting, every steelworks had an exceedingly rough, utilitarian design.
Vast quantities of hematite powder were fed into them.
At high temperatures, the hematite reacted with carbon, producing large amounts of elemental iron and carbon dioxide.
According to the initial calculations, Dawn Star's hematite deposits were sufficient to provide all the carbon dioxide needed for the Atmosphere Terraforming Plan.
"No," Zero promptly denied it. "All the steelworks are operating normally, and their carbon dioxide production rates are as expected."
"Then why..." The puzzlement in Lü Yongchang's eyes deepened.
"The problem lies with Atmosphere Terraformer One."
Footsteps sounded behind him, followed by Mao Zhengzhi's voice.
"Atmosphere Terraformer One?"
"Yes." Mao Zhengzhi walked unhurriedly over to Lü Yongchang and looked up at the slowly rotating satellite image of Dawn Star in the Holographic Projection before them.
"Perhaps it's the effect of the high-gravity environment."
"Or perhaps it's the high concentration of nitrogen."
"Or perhaps it's something else entirely..."
"We're still investigating the exact cause."
Mao Zhengzhi shrugged and