Chapter 233: Oh Heavens! I'm So Poor!

The approval of the Quantum Computing Array upgrade and the Cultural Center project, like two clear commands, made the massive machine of "New Era" accelerate once again. Resource allocation, personnel dispatch, engineering planning... all preliminary preparations unfolded with astonishing efficiency.

However, when the detailed budgets of these two plans—especially the Quantum Computing Array upgrade, which consumed an especially enormous amount of capital—were compiled and sent to Su Wenqian for final resource coordination, even she, who was long accustomed to "New Era"'s lavish investments, looked at the long string of dizzying numbers on the light screen and could not help but draw in a sharp breath.

This was not merely a number. Behind it lay vast quantities of rare minerals, cutting-edge composite materials, precision instruments, and incalculable energy consumption. Many of these resources could not be fully produced by "New Era" itself, requiring the mobilization of massive reserves or "Strategic Procurement" through covert channels from the outside world.

Su Wenqian pulled up "New Era"'s current resource overview, comparing the budget figures against inventory and projected income. The bar chart representing resource reserves visibly shrank before the massive budget, and several key items even lit up yellow, signaling "Warning."

And this was only for the array upgrade alone! Adding the Cultural Center and several other medium-sized projects advancing in parallel, "New Era"'s once seemingly bottomless resource reserves actually showed the first signs of being "stretched thin"!

Su Wenqian rubbed her brow, feeling an unprecedented pressure. She had always been in charge of "New Era"'s internal affairs and resource coordination, and knew well that every plan the Master pushed forward was a gold-devouring beast. In the past, she had always been able to allocate and satisfy them through various means, but this time, the consumption of upgrading the Quantum Array was simply too enormous, nearly touching the bottom line of current reserves.

She had to ensure the Master's plans were not affected, but also maintain "New Era"'s normal operation and necessary strategic reserves. The balance between these required extremely precise calculation and decisive trade-offs.

She immediately summoned the heads of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Resources, and the major Project Teams to hold an emergency resource coordination meeting.

The atmosphere in the meeting was heavy.

The Minister of Finance pointed at the constantly jumping data, his face bitter: "Assistant Su, it's not that we don't support it, it's just... this array upgrade has drained too much liquid capital in one go! The activity of several of our secret accounts has already attracted the attention of some external financial monitoring agencies. Any more large abnormal flows, and we'll likely be exposed."

The Minister of Resources also furrowed his brow tightly: "For several special rare earths and isotopes used to manufacture Quantum Bits, our strategic reserves can only meet seventy percent of this upgrade's demand. The remaining portion, according to the Master's 'covert' principle, is very difficult to procure on the international market, and the prices have already been driven sky-high by several oligarchs."

The representative of the Deep Space Mothership Project Team was even more anxious: "Assistant Su, the array upgrade cannot affect the Mothership's construction progress! Many structural components and engine parts are waiting for the latest computational results to optimize!"

Though the people from the Cultural Center project did not dare speak loudly, they looked at Su Wenqian with eager, pleading eyes, afraid that the just-approved project would be cut.

Su Wenqian sat in the main seat, her face dark as water, listening to the difficulties and demands of all sides, her mind racing, weighing the chain reactions each decision might bring.

She first stabilized the Mothership Project Team, promising to prioritize its core computing power needs. Then, she instructed the Minister of Finance to mobilize several more covert, long-dormant financial channels, breaking the whole into parts and injecting funds in batches, to ensure the array upgrade's funding without fail.

Next, she looked at the Minister of Resources: "List the specific gaps and alternative plans for those scarce resources. Contact our several 'Cooperation Points' in Africa and South America, see if they can urgently provide a portion. Additionally, activate the backup plan—have the Material Laboratory evaluate whether we can use that 'Obsidian Type-C' crystal we previously discovered on the seabed, through artificial doping and structural modulation, to partially replace the function of those rare isotopes? Even if it can only replace a small portion, it will greatly relieve the pressure."

The Minister of Resources' eyes lit up: "Yes! I'll get on it immediately!"

Finally, she looked at the Cultural Center project representative, her tone brooking no argument: "The project launches as planned, but Phase One will first complete the main structure and the Library portion. The Cinema, Concert Hall, and other entertainment facilities will have their budgets cut by thirty percent, and the construction period appropriately delayed. Tell the Management Committee this is the Master's intent—resources must be used where they matter most, but what should be there will not be lacking."

A series of swift and decisive arrangements, like a masterful chess player placing pieces on a complex board, temporarily stabilized the situation.

But Su Wenqian knew this was only a stopgap measure. "New Era"'s operations were growing ever larger, and the demand for resources would only increase with each passing day. The existing resource acquisition model was already struggling to keep pace with the speed of development.

After the meeting ended, everyone departed having received their orders, and only Su Wenqian remained alone in the conference room.

She leaned wearily back in her chair, once again pulling up that heart-pounding resource overview, looking at those still glaring yellow warning markers, and an unprecedented sense of "poverty" welled up in her heart.

This kind of "poverty" was not a lack of personal wealth, but the immense pressure brought by a rising civilization's thirst for basic resources when facing a grand blueprint.

She thought of the Master's eternally calm eyes, as if everything were under his control, and of how he casually approved those projects that routinely consumed astronomical resources...

She could not help but raise a hand to her forehead and let out a sigh that was half helplessness, half self-mockery. This sigh was utterly unlike her usual calm and capable image, full of the earthy realism of everyday life:

"Oh heavens! I'm so poor!"

She, who managed "New Era"'s internal affairs and dispatched its massive resources, now truly understood what it meant to say "even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice."

This lament was not a complaint, but an awareness of how severe the problem was.

She had to find a way to open up more, more stable, and more covert resource channels for "New Era."

Otherwise, the Master's Star Sea Dream might be weighed down by the most basic "firewood, rice, oil, and salt."

Thinking of this, Su Wenqian sat up straight again, her gaze restored to its sharpness and resolve.

It seemed it was time to activate those long-laid "Special Acquisition" plans targeting certain specific mineral and energy companies around the globe.

For the Master's blueprint, even if she had to become a "star pirate" for once, she would fill this "poverty"!