Chapter 1570: Yearning for the Future, the Spherical Main Body

"When the Progress Society holds its next discussion meeting, I will also attend. At that time, everyone can discuss it further. The Progress Society is not just my Progress Society; it is everyone's Progress Society."

"Yes."

"I know you have class coming up, so I won't disturb you any further. Contact me at any time."

After saying this, Xia Duo left the Academic Affairs Office, leaving Jibusen alone, stunned in place, subconsciously thinking—

"Could it be that someone has already applied to the President to establish a branch in the Territory?"

"If the President doesn't agree, why come and probe me?"

"No, that's impossible. If the President didn't agree, he would definitely say so directly; there's no need to probe. But the Progress Society establishing a branch in the Territory would dilute the Lord's authority. The President, he—"

"If the President really doesn't agree, then I—"

Jibusen pondered back and forth, his expression shifting uncertainly. He didn't know how much time had passed until the class bell rang, and he finally snapped back to reality, only to find his back drenched in cold sweat.

However, this crisp class bell also reminded him: the President had established ideals for him and determined his life's course. Could it really just be a deception?

If one does not put it into practice, then why Popularize Magic? Why keep expanding recruitment? Even the moral education classes are already infiltrating the Progress Society's ideology into the Territory.

At this moment, Jibusen firmed his conviction. Beyond the various signs that the President had not betrayed his ideals, more importantly, having seen the new future the President had depicted, he never wanted to return to that dark, stifling era of the past where not a glimmer of the future could be seen.

Even if he were to die, he would die on the road toward the future, rather than becoming a meaningless foil, a stepping stone, or even a disposable experimental material for the past era.

Thinking of this, Jibusen immediately contacted other members in the Progress Society who shared his convictions, preparing to submit an application to the President together at the next discussion meeting. They must establish the branch in the Territory!

……

On the other side, Xia Duo had not expected that his simple request for opinions would trigger Jibusen's groundless associations. At this moment, he had already returned to his Study.

Heading to the Blue Crystal Plane in three days, besides installing the Air Manufacturing Factory, there was another purpose: to stake out land, or more accurately—to stake out water.

A Floating City cannot be built in a day. Xia Duo had broken it down into multiple stages. For now, the construction of the main body for the first stage could begin.

So-called "staking out land" or "staking out water" is actually just finding a suitable construction site to build a factory.

Fortunately, one side of the Blue Crystal Plane's waters is almost entirely pure water, which ensures that the stone quality after conversion is more uniform and stable. If it were in an ordinary ocean, salt content and organisms would affect the final conversion quality.

It's not that a large workpiece with a few bubbles or impurities in the middle couldn't be used, but if one has the conditions to do it better, why settle?

To some extent, the Blue Crystal Plane is simply a natural construction base for a Floating City.

Of course, that is on the condition of using Xia Duo's method of conversion construction. If one were to cut off a mountain peak, it would still be more convenient in the Main Plane; the Blue Crystal Plane, let alone mountains, doesn't even have much rock.

There is only Murloc Island, and half of it is loose stone or silt converted from bones after Negative Energy Erosion.

Even if one were to move the island itself out, it would only be enough for one; it wouldn't work later on. Instead, the water-body conversion construction method is better, as such a unique Water Source environment is easily replenished.

……

At the desk, Xia Duo made a final confirmation of the parameters for each part of the Floating City's main body, then converted it into a Magic Image projected above the desk.

This was a perfectly spherical object, azure blue throughout, with a hollow interior.

The color was not artificially rendered or sprayed, but the natural color of the stone after conversion. Previously in Seventon, the Statue he obtained by petrifying that Elf intruder was also azure blue.

But to be honest, he had deliberately calculated this color, even sacrificing a bit of the stone's sturdiness to some extent.

The azure blue could blend into the sky background and looked pleasing to the eye. Even if one didn't like it, the interior could be repainted later.

Xia Duo rotated the sphere to observe from different angles, occasionally zooming in on certain areas, delving into the interior of the sphere to check the reserved pipelines, passages, and even the spatial layout.

Finally, Xia Duo let out a long breath, "There shouldn't be any problems!"

Although it was just a shell and could be adjusted later, there are naturally benefits to an integrated molding.

Afterward, Xia Duo spread his two fingers slightly, and the spherical image hovering over the desk immediately began to expand, continuing to grow even after the sphere exceeded the bounds of the Study.

It was not until a space at the center of the sphere appeared and expanded to half the size of the Study that Xia Duo stopped.

This central space was the Energy Center of the Floating City. In the future, a higher-power Mythallar device would be installed here. The one currently in the Blue Crystal Plane was just a test model and was still lacking for use on a Floating City.

Starting from the Energy Center, there were four other backup energy centers, located in the up, down, left, and right directions of the sphere's center, distributed in roughly central symmetry.

Yes, Xia Duo had never thought of using only one energy center for a Floating City. Even without considering issues like malfunctions or maintenance, the Floating City would become an important hub for living, production, and research in the future, and the demand for energy would only increase, not decrease.

With five Mythallar devices, he even felt it wasn't enough!

Of course, these could all be upgraded through replacement; simply stacking the quantity didn't have much meaning.

……

Soon, Xia Duo converted the construction elements of the first stage into a blueprint to assist with Spellcasting, then summoned the Magic Image of the completed first stage once more.

He began to simulate the effects after other stages. Although they were just concept renderings, Xia Duo made them as realistic as possible. Except for the inability of energy to flow, they could almost be treated as the actual images after multiple future stages were completed, which had significant reference value for the present.

After the main body of the first stage was completed, the next steps would be installing the Mythallar, setting up the Flight Control System, and then arranging the Protection Magic and installing internal facilities.

At this step, Xia Duo stopped, because he had not yet completed the subsequent designs, and he had not even fully determined how the internal facilities would be installed.

Naturally, he couldn't create concept renderings for those.

But from this simulation alone, he still discovered quite a few problems, the most significant of which was the issue of energy transmission lines.

While wireless transmission via the Arcane Energy Field is certainly convenient, it is also easily exploited by enemies in the event of an invasion. Even with a Mythallar for control, it might be easier for the Elves—whom he considered a hypothetical enemy—to exploit loopholes.

There must be a Mythallar, there must be an Arcane Energy Field, and there must still be fixed energy transmission; even features like the elevation upgrades of the Tower of Time could not be missing.

For a strategic facility as important as a Floating City, setting up multiple Redundant Systems is a matter of course. Not only is it a matter of course, it is a necessity.

Otherwise, if it were rendered useless by an enemy after a few strikes, wouldn't all that hard work have been in vain, and one's life lost to boot?