Chapter 220: Chapters 216, 217 The Times Have Changed

In the Xuanwu Council Hall, all the Xuanwu Executive Officers had taken their seats.

“Xuanwu, report the situation,” Qin Peng said.

Xuanwu opened the holographic map and said, “According to our detection network, we discovered a massive gathering of the Zerg in the direction of the Sakura Sea and the Pacific Ocean.”

“Their attack directions are unpredictable and possibly threaten all nearby lands. We’ve also detected many in our nearby seas, with numbers estimated to be more than a hundred times those of the Zerg that previously attacked Shanghai.”

The map displayed a massive swarm of insects attacking from all directions, almost covering the entire coastal line!

The pressure to defend was far greater than that of defending a single city back then!

Everyone’s faces turned serious upon seeing the scene.

He Hongwei said, “We have some confidence in defending the coastline. Currently, electromagnetic weapons, laser weapons, and mecha are being produced day and night.”

“Right now, we are the only country in the world capable of maintaining a complete and efficient industrial production capacity! By relying on our Great Steel Wall and the high-speed mobilization capabilities of the super high-speed rail, we can barely hold our defensive line.”

“The premise is that no nuclear-powered giant beasts appear!”

“This is the critical part!” Qin Peng pointed to a spot on the map, which was near the waters of Yizhou.

“The data shows that a large number of Zerg are about to attack Yizhou. With their capabilities, there’s no way they can hold out.”

Kong Qing explained, “We’ve been organizing the construction of the submarine tunnel segment of the Great Steel Wall, but underwater construction is difficult, and there is interference from the Zerg, so the progress is slow.”

“Then let’s have the Xuanwu Army land on Yizhou to defend against the Zerg!” Qin Peng suggested.

Everyone nodded. This matter had dragged on for too long; it was time to reach a conclusion.

“This time, it’s a cross-sea operation, with the main combat units being warships and submarines. So, our primary goal during this period is to enhance the performance and quantity of our ships and submarines.”

He Xingzhou spoke up, “I have been researching nuclear technology recently, so I will lead the team into the nuclear ship research group!”

“It’s great that Dr. He is willing to lead the team!” Kong Qing said.

…

*It is essential to develop high-performance ships before the Zerg attack Yizhou!* He Xingzhou pondered. Currently, shipyards across the country were continuously launching ships, and even aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines had several semi-finished products constructed.

The reason for this was because their technology for compact nuclear reactors was not mature yet. To avoid delaying the schedule, they designed and manufactured the shells first, leaving space for a nuclear reactor to be added later.

Whether it’s a nuclear submarine or a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the smaller the nuclear reactor, the better, and the more stable the performance and the stronger the power, the better!

The power of the nuclear reactor determined the size of the aircraft carrier’s displacement.

Simply reducing its size would result in insufficient power. This problem was a global issue. Bai Ying had also encountered situations where aircraft carriers had low speeds due to insufficient nuclear reactor power.

After Shen Zhou achieved rapid advancements in technology and industrial manufacturing over four to five years, if He Xingzhou could design a nuclear propulsion system that was moderately sized, stable in performance, and sufficient in power, Shen Zhou could immediately launch ten large-tonnage aircraft carriers and ten nuclear submarines!

Additionally, the shipyards were working at full capacity, which could produce a large-tonnage aircraft carrier in forty days!

He Xingzhou activated the Quantum Light Computer to continue upgrading nuclear technology.

Previously, he had unlocked basic nuclear fission technology, and now he proceeded with the upgrades.

“Spend 1.2 million energy units to unlock compact nuclear fission reactor technology.”

“Spend 1.5 million energy units to unlock nuclear propulsion system technology.”

“Spend 1.5 million energy units to unlock basic underwater weaponry data.”

He Xingzhou absorbed this knowledge and then went to the Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group to work with their teams on how to manufacture a higher-performance nuclear propulsion system.

Within the Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Group, a group of experts was researching the issue of miniaturizing nuclear reactors.

“If we want to pursue speed, we’re thinking of following other countries’ lead by directly installing multiple compact nuclear reactors on a single ship to enhance its power,” engineer Qu Lei proposed.

This method was commonly used by many countries. For example, Bai Ying’s large-tonnage aircraft carriers employed multiple nuclear reactor propulsion systems.

In some places where technology was lacking, they simply added more low-power nuclear propulsion systems from submarines to aircraft carriers to propel them.

“Multi-propulsion systems are certainly feasible,” He Xingzhou said, “But in terms of power, we must increase it by at least five times! The energy output power of the nuclear reactor also needs to be raised.”

“Our aircraft carriers are different from previous ones. They are not only the flagship of a fleet, a nuclear weapon launcher, and a fighter jet platform.”

“At the same time, they must also serve as a mecha combat platform, equipped with heavy electromagnetic guns, high-power laser cannons, and other weapons, which demand energy needs at least five times higher than previous aircraft carriers!”

“In terms of power, because we face attacks from underwater Zerg, the combat methods have changed, and the power speed must be increased.”

“So the old nuclear propulsion systems can no longer meet current requirements. They must be comprehensively improved and upgraded; otherwise, such ships would only end up being beaten by the Zerg!”

“The nuclear reactor must separate the energy nuclear reactor for shipborne weapons from the propulsion nuclear reactor to ensure they do not fail simultaneously…”