Chapter 222: Chapter 222: The Challenges Faced Chapter 222: Chapter 222: The Challenges Faced For humanity, the only advantage was that the enemy’s missiles had to climb the gravity well before they could attack the mother ship. It was just unknown how strong the enemy’s industrial capacity was and how many such super rockets they could manufacture…
“It must be very strenuous. Otherwise, the enemy could easily produce dozens or hundreds of rockets and launch them all at once, leaving humans with no possibility of interception.”
This kind of inference also made sense; rockets hundreds of ters tall could weigh tens of thousands of tons. Such powerful weapons of violence could not possibly be mass-produced in a short period of ti, so there was a good chance that humans could catch their breath for a while.
In various discussions, soone even suggested propelling asteroids to attack the planet and trigger a climate disaster, making a joke of it. If humans could move asteroids over 10 kiloters in diater and weighing trillions of tons, there would be no need to fight at all; it would be more appropriate to have the opponent surrender directly.
Others said to transport a few high explosive bombs with shuttles; even if it wasn’t very useful, it would be good to boost the confidence of the general public.
Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head slightly upon hearing these statents. Soon, these absurd suggestions were rejected because using shuttles had a cost in itself.
Doing such thankless and strenuous work was almost foolish.
Finally, Captain Zhao heavily slamd his hand on the table.
“Alright, everyone please quiet down!”
“Whether we admit it or not, we must acknowledge that, currently, we have no capability to strike back.”
“So, let’s defend… Put maximum effort into defense! First, create so small electromagnetic gun weapons as interception ans. We can’t be passive like this anymore.”
“Once we strike, it must be a thunderous offense!”
…
Having no capability to retaliate, although it was frustrating, everyone quickly distributed their tasks, such as ideological propaganda, warti mobilization, training of soldiers, and so on…
Zhang Yuan was the head of the New Civilization Developnt Departnt and also a nuclear expert responsible for manufacturing nuclear bombs. Don’t forget, he had also published papers on plasma turbulence!
He was in video communication with Engineer Ye Kaifu at the terrestrial industrial base, head bowed.
“Given the current technology, manufacturing an atomic bomb is not difficult, especially the traditional gun-type atomic bomb whose theoretical construct is fairly simple. Making hydrogen bombs is not too difficult either…”
“The biggest obstacle is still our industrial capacity, concentrating uranium… How much uranium ore can you mine in a month?”
Ye Kaifu responded, “Uranium ore is not a problem, but purification is very difficult.”
“Is there a way to speed it up?”
“No, there isn’t,” Ye Kaifu said sowhat speechlessly; industrial developnt progresses steadily and cannot shift according to human will.
Additionally, atomic bombs require high concentrations of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 needing many centrifuges, which also occupy industrial capacity; many production lines need realignnt.
“We also need a lot of electrical energy, that is, to build nuclear power plants… Let’s start by establishing the power plants first.”
After taking on this task, Zhang Yuan was quite troubled; he even doubted whether he could manage to produce an atomic bomb within a year.
That military expert was simply talking nonsense!
…
Earth Era, residential area.
Every person he encountered along the way was in a hurry, as if preoccupied. Everyone’s complexion was not good; since that incident had happened, the normally cheerful and relaxed atmosphere had long since dissipated, replaced by an eerie, oppressive sense.
Although it was already after work hours, the entertainnt venues were scarcely populated, as almost everyone was gathered at Central Square watching today’s news broadcast.
Under these circumstances, several usually bustling mobile repair shops found themselves without any custors.
Wang Junpeng and Xu Jie were sighing in the shop, having made a fair amount of money as the first ones to try thods like “trade in the old for a new one” or “repair old mobiles.”
But a year and a half had passed, and business was becoming increasingly difficult.
This kind of competitive work didn’t have a significant technical content. Seeing them making money, many technicians sward to join the competition.
You can fix mobiles, so can I!
I can even repair various parts that aren’t very damaged, better and more durable than you!
The intense competition was, of course, beneficial for society as a whole. Each shop had to lower profits and engage in a price war to attract custors.
What was most crucial was to improve the quality of their repairs—within this small society, reputation was everything. As long as the skills were outstanding, word would spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and soon everyone would know whose repair capabilities were stronger.
Neither Wang Junpeng nor Xu Jie ca from a professional mobile repair background. They couldn’t compete with real tech experts, so business worsened, and they were barely getting by.
The host of the news broadcast looked very serious, even deliberately replacing the previous female host with a male one, followed by Captain Zhao’s war declaration.
After watching the news broadcast, Wang Junpeng imdiately felt uneasy. “Damn, there are aliens here! What a cliché. We’ve been sending electromagnetic signals for thousands of years. Why no reply?”
Xu Jie looked as if he had just woken up, repeating several tis,
“Are we going to war? With aliens!”
Hearing that several nuclear bombs almost exploded overhead, he suddenly woke up from the dream, his face turning pale.
“That’s a nuclear bomb, damn!” Xu Jie murmured, “Using a Deceleration Umbrella to intercept nuclear bombs? As thrilling as a novel…”
The flash of a nuclear explosion sounded very cool, but when it was just a step away from oneself, it only conjured intense fear.
Moreover, no one knew if more nuclear bombs would be launched afterward.
Perhaps, one might even be blasted into char during sleep!
“Of course we have to fight back, kill them! Mass-produce atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs. I support this ergency policy!” Xu Jie said, throwing punches left and right.
Wang Junpeng retorted sarcastically, “…Produce nuclear weapons? You think it’s as simple as producing sugar? Why the fuss, just from you?”
“What, I can’t? I can donate money!” Xu Jie rolled his eyes and said vehently.
Wang Junpeng coughed, “…Let’s talk about the present. Leaving aside the entire civilization, our mobile repair shop might not even survive.”
“Why?” Xu Jie looked at Old Peng in surprise. Although business was down, it was still enough to scrape by. Why wouldn’t they be able to continue?
“You dummy, didn’t you understand the undertone of the news broadcast? We’re going to war!”
“I know that, but so what?”
Wang Junpeng spoke pompously, “With industrial resources massively diverted, the price of various daily necessities will definitely rise. Our life won’t be as… comfortable as now! By then, who’ll have money to fix their phones!”
Xu Jie was startled, this statent indeed made sense. Compared to life on Earth, their current situation wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it was far better than during the hibernation period.
However, going to war ant sacrificing the quality of life was inevitable. Once prices rose and everyone was out of money, business would naturally suffer.
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