Chapter 404 - 395 Metallurgy_1

[In the event "Space Race", the base’s nuclear-powered spacecraft took the lead in completing a manned circumlunar exploration mission, mission duration: 11 days.

This was a significant advancement, as humanity managed to ride a nuclear-powered space apparatus from its home planet to its moon for the first time, and a qualitative leap was achieved in both speed and mass.]

In the Capital, Lin Ju, who had excused himself to the restroom early, did not wait long before the system’s voice appeared in his mind.

It seemed the evaluation was quite high? The reward would certainly be substantial.

[The following rewards are issued: 1500 standard uranium rods with a concentration of 38%, model year ’77; a 10MW plasma mirrored focused laser beam smelting satellite; a 1500-kilovolt high-temperature superconducting electromagnetic acceleration track.

Plasma Mirrored Focused Laser Beam Smelting Satellite:

This was a heat source used for mining ores on celestial bodies without an atmosphere. It was a concept proposed in 2024 by Dutch scientist Chris Lee, originally intended to multiply reflections of the laser inside a plasma oscillating mirror, boosting the peak power of the most powerful laser at that time from 5 petawatts (10^15 watts, i.e., a billion megawatts) to 10^22 watts, providing a tool for microscopic particle (electron) research.

The project began in 2034 and officially ended in 2042. The Royal Physical Society announced that due to the lack of effective control over plasma, the mirror precision was far from meeting the requirements.

However, the research achievement was acquired by the Nuclear Science Institute and through fifteen years of effort, it was finally transformed into the foundation of the space laser smelting device. A smelting satellite with a laser source power of 10MW, when deployed at the Lagrange point, had a smelting efficiency equivalent to a 150MW electric furnace.

It could sustain focus for more than 48 hours, with a maximum heating temperature exceeding 12,000 degrees and featuring easy deployment, transferability, and other characteristics, with an operational mass of about 170 tons;

1500-kilovolt high-temperature superconducting electromagnetic acceleration track: a lunar surface mass launcher used since 2048, with superconducting temperatures not exceeding minus 183 degrees Celsius (90K). When the acceleration track is 5 kilometers long, it can propel 15 tons of matter into lunar orbit or 4.5 tons into near-Earth orbit.]

[Note: It is advised to adjust the equipment mass and cost according to needs]

"..."

There was no nuclear fusion as imagined, but for Lin Ju, these three... two rewards were like sending coal in snowy weather.

When he thought about it, it was fairly easy to understand. The Storm had strong downward transport capabilities, and if the system provided mining equipment as well, it seemed intended to complete an on-site smelting-transportation chain.

The plasma mirror laser smelting satellite was bursting with technical prowess. A 10MW laser power wasn’t much, but the ability to sustain heating for 24 hours was outrageous, a level above the cooling technology of the Thousand-Jin Stick Two.

And the plasma mirror control technology, why did it sound somewhat similar to the control methods described in "Radiation Propulsion Technology"?

The laser smelting satellite greatly solved the problem of large material loss and volume limitations when transporting materials to the lunar surface. Moving the most troublesome power supply and heating source to space made things much easier to handle, and the maintenance difficulty and risk were much lower.

As for the electromagnetic acceleration track... Lin Ju’s expectations were a bit lower for this one. During his time at the Aerospace Development Committee, he had come into contact with many pre-research projects. Building an electromagnetic launch track on the Moon was something that domestic technology could achieve with some effort, but it was the supporting infrastructure that was difficult to settle.

What about the ’77 model nuclear fuel rods? Receiving 1500 rods at once, how many nuclear engines and reactors could be built? Although it would save a lot of money, it could only be used secretly and on a small scale; it wasn’t as good as buying from Huaxia Nuclear, somewhat a white elephant.

But the system seemed to be deliberately guiding him towards mining, and the timing couldn’t be better.

"Yamamoto-kun, you can’t speak carelessly like this anymore."

On June 4th, Yamamoto Ikki was bailed out by his colleague.

The pub incident was ruled as drunken behavior, and Yamamoto Ikki’s punishment was light. After paying the bail, he was released.

Of course, the bigger reason was that the police department didn’t want to escalate the issue. They gave him a stern warning and then decided to downplay the matter. Those "rebellious words" didn’t even appear in the memo, and the other accomplices were just scolded and let go.

Having been detained for several days, Yamamoto Ikki looked a bit haggard, but his eyes were still full of light, which reassured his colleagues.

"Thank you, Mizukami-kun. I’ll pay you back the bail money as soon as possible."

"Ah... Haha, money is a trivial matter, but you’re not young anymore; you should settle down. This kind of thing shouldn’t involve us... I have to go pick up Yuuko from work. Let’s get together when you’re free."

The colleague kindly advised Yamamoto, who was still acting like a young punk, and the latter just listened silently without saying a word, his mind evidently elsewhere.

Yamamoto Ikki walked home alone along the main street, stopping by a convenience store to spontaneously buy a pack of cigarettes and a copy of the latest newspaper.

The Storm’s content was squeezed into the entertainment section, barely noticeable without a careful search. Glancing at the front page... Edo Electric Power Company is going to discharge nuclear wastewater?!

The earthquake in 2011 had caused severe damage to the nuclear power station, and in addition to the closure, dealing with the generated nuclear wastewater had become a serious problem.

Initially, Edo Electric Power Company’s plan was to store this contaminated water in tanks and, after treatment to reduce the pollution to below the hazard standard, release it into the sea. Over the past few years, they had built more than 1,000 tanks, storing approximately 1.23 million tons of wastewater.

Building tanks was relatively simple, but treating the wastewater was a big issue. It wasn’t that it couldn’t be done, but if they were to achieve the promised level of purification, the cost would be prohibitively expensive.

Another problem was the efficiency of the treatment. Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, built near the sea, was still producing wastewater continuously, with about 100 tons daily, and the treatment speed simply couldn’t keep up.

Now, these madmen actually want to dump the untreated... no, according to the newspaper, it’s still gone through one or two rudimentary processes, but what’s the difference between that and no treatment at all? How harmful would this wastewater be to the ocean?

Although Fukushima is not close to Edo, as a narrow island country with many ocean currents, it would probably only take a few days for the nuclear wastewater to drift into the open sea here.

Could we still eat the tuna sashimi then?

At first, Yamamoto Ikki was just angry for his own safety, but then suddenly he thought of something, reread the newspaper, and his gaze stopped on a line in the article that stated "neighboring countries have strongly protested and opposed."

If the wastewater is discharged into the sea, the relationship between the two sides is likely doomed. With that, the manned space cooperation, which already requires a high degree of friendly relations, would naturally be out of the question.

Kishimoto, that scoundrel, is he really willing to go so far just to strike at dissenters?

The more Yamamoto Ikki thought about it, the more it seemed plausible. Why at this specific point in time? It must be deliberate!

In a moment of MAX fury, he stood outside the convenience store, glaring fiercely at nothing for a long while until the sky grew dark. Then he clenched his fists, a determined glint flickering in his eyes.