Chapter 921 - 200: Furious Wind (Part 4)

People say that even with nuclear energy, when it comes to using energy, humans are still essentially boiling water.

This statement is both correct and incorrect. It’s correct because using steam to convert the heat generated by nuclear energy into kinetic energy indeed remains a primary technical method.

However, the incorrect part is that the steam technology used in 2077 is completely different from when steam engines were first invented:

The conventional "steam" technology here is called ultra-supercritical steam cycle technology, where the pressure can reach over 30 MPa and the temperature exceeds 700 degrees Celsius.

Even the steam from the common ultra-supercritical cycle technology is difficult to define as ordinary steam, and the equipment composing these technologies is extremely complex.

Nevertheless, ultra-supercritical steam cycle technology is mostly used by conventional power plants. As an advanced factory situated in the heart of the European Union, located in Berlin, the technology used here is even more complex:

There are many substances composing the cycle technology, performing heat exchange at different temperature and pressure levels, including carbon dioxide and high-density composite molten salt.

[Elliot: Big brother, we need to go in!]

[Munemasa: You better listen carefully to what’s coming next, as I can’t control your body like a Necromancer would.]

Responding to Elliot wasn’t Lille, but Munemasa.

Because although Lille was also very familiar with these power generation technologies, at this moment he had to focus on the dynamics in Cyberspace—

Network Supervision has been fully mobilized. On one hand, he needs to monitor the European Barrier’s movements, on the other, he must help Blais evade reconnaissance, and lastly, prevent the Black Wall from detecting any anomalies.

In the real world, the factory spewing molten salt is like a volcano, and now they are attempting to enter an erupting volcano.

On the volcano’s outskirts, this molten salt slowly seeps out, flowing toward the perimeter like rivers.

[Munemasa: The highest temperature material in the eruption is fluoride-based molten salt, with a working temperature around 800 degrees Celsius; contact with it and your body will catch fire.]

[Munemasa: I can calculate the optimal route for passage, but we’ll still need a large amount of cooling agent. There will be many steam vents along the way, it’s best to have some high-spec protective suits as well.]

"We need cooling agents, lots of cooling agents!"

Elliot shouted at Sevens—the latter’s personal link connected to the vehicle.

[Special Political Committee for Cyber Psychosis: Please cooperate with emergency rescue efforts, all nearby factories. We need your support.]

[Special Political Committee for Cyber Psychosis: We need you to orderly deliver cooling agents in the direction of the factory, paving an emergency relief channel...]

[Special Political Committee for Cyber Psychosis: Repeating...]

With the surrounding fierce wind roaring, the sound of molten salt and steam spewing from the factory and the chaotic streets, Sevens had to shout in response:

"Alright... I’ll use the vehicle to issue allocation orders to the nearest factories; they will cooperate with us... But that might not be fast enough! Can’t we use this!"

The Special Political Committee for Cyber Psychosis is slated for inclusion, and has already been acknowledged by the Graham family, which means the Central Executive Committee also recognizes it.

But issuing administrative orders to allocate nearby resources for disaster relief—these orders not only don’t adhere to procedure, and will the workers and engineers really comply?

Sevens chose without hesitation to directly issue the order, but he also knew the response might not come back. So he pointed to the whale tank on the street—

The liquid inside the tank isn’t cooling liquid, but right now, such a massive quantity of liquid can indeed have a cooling effect!

However, when Elliot turned his gaze, he could also see Carl’s body on the ground—

His mind was filled with images of Carl standing in front of the whale smiling foolishly, like someone who had only been to the sea once and nearly lost his life, and a whale that had also only been to land once—two cross-species brothers!

"No, no, no... It can’t be done! If the liquid dries up, it’ll die!"

"But—"

Shwa!

A fierce gust of wind swept through the air, changing the direction of the spewing molten salt, scattering it far beyond several blocks!

The hallmark of typhoon weather is its unpredictability, and after a gust of wind, the sky seemed like a cracked basin, and torrential rain poured down!

Hiss—

The molten salt flowing on the ground and the factory erupted with intense steam and black smoke!

"Wah—"

Not only that, as rainwater flowed into the whale tank through pieces smashed by Ironhide, the gigantic whale emitted a piercing cry, shaking its body vehemently under Elliot and Sevens’ stunned gaze!

Bam!

The already cracked tank exploded open with a massive breach, and a torrent of maintenance fluid poured wildly onto the street!

The whale’s small eyes tiredly stared at the two—

"He... it can understand?!"

"Seems like it..."

[Munemasa: He indeed understood. The intelligence of whales is not low; marine animals through cyber domestication procedures can fully understand human language and can even use implanted prosthetics to communicate with each other.]

[Munemasa: It is helping us, although it doesn’t understand what the worker’s movement is, nor does it understand the truth.]

[Munemasa: The fascinating biological brain—it realizes that it may be crushed by its own weight, but it did it anyway.]

[Munemasa: The drones are coming, prepare to enter.]

The two looked toward the sky:

Berlin is a world built by drones; through large-scale logistics drones, materials transit between logistics stations, the Old East Germany Industrial Zone, and the New Berlin District.

At this moment, countless drones are taking off from their respective factories; each transport drone is equipped with liquid nitrogen and other cooling agents, flying toward the volcano en masse!

One bottle of liquid nitrogen is a drop in the bucket, and even relative to a nuclear accident, the cooling agents from a single factory can hardly stop the spread of high-temperature residues.

But a torrential rain, ocean water that can sustain an entire whale, and cooling agents from the entire industrial zone, those cannot be underestimated!

The drones from the whole industrial zone operate under the engineers’ control, bottle after bottle of cooling agents loaded onto drones, filling the entire Old East Germany with this disaster!

...

In another factory affiliated with the IEC, countless workers looked up at the black smoke rushing into the sky.

A nuclear accident will disrupt the entire area’s operations, and now they’ve all come out, ready to follow orders to evacuate.

But one message interrupted their evacuation.

"Boss, this is IEC’s asset, if we mobilize rashly, then..."

"Then what, this is a damn terrorist attack! Even those country folks in Bremen can resist wandering AIs; how can we Berliners fall behind?!"

The technician called foreman put his clothes on, waving his hand while shouting encouragement to his comrades on the production line, while issuing rescue commands through the network.

"But this order hasn’t been authorized by the Central Executive Committee..."

The cyber arm powerhouse of the referendum directly lifted the grumbling worker with one hand, their faces almost touched together!

"Get lost, coward, has the Central Executive Committee ever spoken a single word for us over these years?

Every year they talk about welfare, every year they talk about reducing citizen burdens; look at these prices, this working environment, before the Worker’s Union emerged, had anyone spoken for us!"

The young man being yelled at couldn’t tell whether it was rain or spit hitting his face, and the vibrated eardrums whether it was roaring or the sounds of thunder—

"We’re not cowards! Someone bought you cyber components, advanced your wages, and risked their head to speak for you, and you hide behind worrying whether the bosses talk or not?

Get back to your post, if you’re not working then scram! Whether the company opens, I don’t know, but damn if I won’t hammer you first!"

"I understand! I’ll work! I’m not a coward! I’m just—"

"Alright—" The foreman let the young man down, and gave him a push, "Get to work, quickly!"

The foreman said as he headed to his work station, shouting to his fast-walking comrades:

"We liberated Germany, we built this city, we can still protect this city!

We may be dissatisfied with this city, but only we can move every brick and tile here!

Start the machines, begin working!"