Chapter 183

Chen Mu didn't find it strange that Du Jia Jia could make rice balls.

Although a tiny amount of water cannot cook normal rice, now that we have shrunken rice, the difficulty of cooking has greatly increased.

Of course, the old cooking method still doesn't work.

Cooking the rice and making it into rice are two concepts; to achieve a soft, chewy texture, the simmering time still needs to reach a certain limit.

It's still very difficult to do that now.

But Du Jia Jia has invented her own cooking method.

Simply put, it's to bake the rice until cooked, then soak it in warm water.

Although the rice cooked this way is still worlds apart in texture from before, it can barely count as a substitute; for those who have been eating rice cakes for too long, it's already exceptionally satisfying.

"This green color, could it be tea leaves?" Chen Mu poked the rice ball with his chopsticks.

"Smart."

"Nonsense, we only have a few things total right now."

"Hehe, actually it's just soaking the rice in tea water, to fit the occasion, everyone just make do."

"That's already pretty good."

Dong Junwei nodded: "Jia Jia's cooking skills are getting better and better; the tomato potato radish rice she made last time was also quite good."

"That depends on you, class monitor; if you can control the temperature a bit more precisely, I can make rice just like before."

"I'll do my best, I'll do my best..."

Dong Junwei rarely being scolded, she was especially humble and cautious.

However, to be frank, the Chief Decision Officer usually spends most of his energy on team building, and his control over abilities isn't particularly outstanding; his mental strength is probably only a bit stronger than Zhao Xiao Yan and the others, which is why Du Jia Jia criticizes him.

Although this zongzi has no bamboo leaves and no glutinous rice, it's merely tea-soaked rice; yet as the saying goes, "if you have the beach in your heart, everywhere is Sanya," the people of Qiming ate it with great enthusiasm.

Chen Mu somewhat understood Tang Jing and He Ying's insistence on ritual.

For example, this simple meal that isn't really a zongzi makes everyone feel as if they've returned to the past, their mood especially relaxed; in terms of psychological adjustment, it indeed has a great comforting effect.

……

The construction progress of the emplacement is far faster than imagined, because Chen Mu found something that can perfectly replace scaffolding: foam plastic.

Those two pieces of foam used to pad inside the cardboard box are now the lowest-density solid Chen Mu can find; by calculation, for the same mass, the volume he can control is 780 times that of stainless steel, and after Lu Shanshan's weight reduction, the overall effect is extremely exaggerated.

The temporary staircase built from foam plastic can directly reach the height of the first-level watchtower and can be moved at any time, which greatly reduces construction difficulty.

July 4.

Lunar May 14.

Auspicious for raising the beam.

After twelve days of arduous struggle, with the joint efforts of all members of Qiming Architectural Design Co., Ltd. and many external personnel, the final crossbeam of the high emplacement was installed.

Thus, the entire project is now complete.

The design of the high emplacement, whether in practicality or precision, far surpasses that of the original watchtower.

Two elevators, passing through three transition platforms, reach the highest point of the wooden door; a 16-square-centimeter lifting platform can accommodate over a dozen people at once—although the high emplacement is normally used only by Cao Zishan, this elevator also serves the three intermediate watchtowers.

After trial runs, the emplacement reaching two meters from the ground can achieve a maximum speed of fifteen seconds, which is already quite remarkable for today's humanity; for this, the spring mechanism equipped, whether in volume or technicality, has consumed much effort from Tang Jing and Chen Mu, the speed regulator alone having required a great deal of work.

Chen Mu and He Ying personally conducted several trial runs, ensuring no safety issues before allowing Cao Zishan to try it.

The first time, Chen Mu accompanied him up.

Cao Zishan was initially extremely excited, but once actually on the platform, past more than half the height, his legs also felt a bit weak.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?"

Chen Mu was a bit worried, lest this guy end up like Wei Dalei, in which case the emplacement would be wasted.

"No, no, it's just my first time at this height, I'm a little unaccustomed," Cao Zishan hastily explained.

"Then that's good; try a few more times, get used to it. Also, the safety operating rules for using the elevator and emplacement must be strictly followed, especially the safety rope, which must be worn at all times—remember that."

"Mm-hmm, senior, rest assured, I cherish my own little life as well."

"Then that's fine."

At a height of two meters, even if the injury from a fall is minimized, it's likely to be serious, and under current medical conditions, it's not far from death.

Therefore, in the design, there are two safety measures.

The first is a safety rope made of cotton thread; if worn strictly according to regulations, there will basically be no problem.

The second is, at the first level, that is, the watchtower at 80 centimeters high, a buffer platform designed with foam plastic extending outward 10 centimeters; as long as one isn't deliberately jumping to their death, it can guarantee catching someone who falls accidentally.

After Cao Zishan and others arrived at the emplacement, looking out through the huge floor-to-ceiling glass, they were momentarily stunned.

This height is already somewhat close to the former eye level of humans; outdoor buildings, greenery, roads, aside from the weakened field of vision due to miniaturization, everything is so familiar.

In the middle of the glass, a sliding window that can move left and right was opened, though its width is much larger than an ordinary window; from this window, Cao Zishan can launch projectiles.

"Your future task is to detect enemy movements as early as possible and conduct long-range strikes; of course, this requires long-term training, and for now, the most urgent is to practice throwing accuracy; Dong Junwei will make you a dedicated large grenade."

Because of air resistance, at this height, the grenades normally used by Chen Mu and others are hard to guarantee throwing progress; sometimes a gust of wind blows them and we don't know where they go.

Therefore, the dedicated grenade prepared for Cao Zishan has a volume a bit larger than a head, truly resembling a shell; moreover, with many steel balls placed inside by Chen Mu, its density is far greater than ordinary stone, greatly increasing throwing accuracy.

Of course, its power is even more extraordinary.

After all, Cao Zishan's high emplacement faces not a small group of enemies, but a defense against invasions like Qingbei, where hundreds pour out en masse.

The completion of the emplacement gives Qiming another layer of security.

Of course, if possible, Chen Mu would prefer never to have to use it.