Chapter 379: Full March into The Universe

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The stream of time flowed by ever so quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was 20X5, the federal fifth year. Within that time, many momentous events had occurred on Earth.

First, life-prolonging medical technology had become remarkably successful. since the technology’s invention, Xing Hai Hospital had completed the treatment of 5 million elderly individuals. It was possible that the average life expectancy of human beings in the future could reach 150 years and above.

Since Xing Hai Hospital was the only one that had mastery over the life-prolonging technology, the elderly from all over the world flocked to the Life Cities in the Z nation’s Desert Transformation Zone to receive the treatment. Including these patients, their family members, and visiting tourists, there was an estimated influx of more than 30 million visitors to the Desert Transformation Zone annually.

This massive flow of visitors combined with the economic consumption of the elderly whose lives had been extended brought about an astonishing amount of economic benefit that would continue for years to come.

People that had once mocked Xing Hai Technologies for being stupid were all left with their jaws on the floor.

“Those things that we deemed ‘stupid’ back then are now bringing Xing Hai benefits far from what we imbeciles could ever imagine,” they said to themselves.

They even commented about this on the internet, discussing the ever-increasing success of Xing Hai Technologies.

Xing Hai makes big things happen by thinking five or even ten steps ahead. The rest of us will have to settle for seeing only half a step ahead.

We need to stop trying to prove that we are smarter than Xing Hai Technologies. In the future, no matter what Xing Hai does, we should just think about how we can tag along for the ride. That will be the best shortcut towards success.

Every opportunity seized by Xing Hai Technologies will become a huge success. I know that this company has always been the most profitable in the world, but their achievements can never be replicated. No company could ever compete with them.

They’re the invincible demon lord.

Perhaps Xing Hai Technologies will be the ones to lead the future of this world. I wonder if this will be a good thing or a bad thing?

The second momentous event that had occurred was the intensifying of the universal development efforts that had set off a trending wave of space resource mining. The resources on the moon, in particular, had become the spotlight.

After Xing Hai Technologies’ unmanned transport spacecraft brought a batch of high-grade, rare dirt back from the moon, revenue gained after deducting all interrelated costs seemed profitable and the whole Earth went into a frenzy. Aerospace superpowers across the globe began developing mining plans for lunar minerals. They invested enormous sums of money in their plans to mine the mineral resources on the moon.

Private space companies emerged in abundance. Immense amounts of capital and hot money were poured into this new opportunity. The people’s faces were full of anticipation as they shouted and yelled out all kinds of fanatic slogans:

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“The era of interstellar voyaging has arrived!”

“The rare opportunities that are presented before us now are unprecedented.”

“This is the best era to live in. The air we breathe is full of excitement. The opportunities we have are as numerous as the droplets in a rainstorm. As long as you don’t cower under the roof, you will get to embrace wealth and success!”

The fever for outer space excavation created an atmosphere of impetuousness throughout the globe. However, amidst this turbulent environment, Xing Hai Technologies, who had taken the lead in the space mining industry and had already gained something out of it, did not announce their subsequent plans. On the contrary, they went silent. It just seemed that they were already satisfied with the dozens of tons of rare dirt and minerals that would be mined from the moon every day. They just sat around and watched while other private space companies took the limelight.

Consequently, many investors who had close ties with Xing Hai Technologies became anxious and made inquiry calls one after another.

“Mr. Chen, why hasn’t your company’s ‘Moon Immigration Plan’ been announced?” they asked constantly. “What about the ‘Mars Development Plan’ and the exploration plans towards the other galaxies?”

“Mr. Chen, whatever you’re holding back, please just let it all out, we can’t wait any longer.”

Chen Jin, however, was in no hurry. He was definitely holding something back, but the timing just wasn’t right yet, and he certainly wasn’t interested in bragging or creating unnecessary hype. Xing Hai Technologies wasn’t a company that ran on dreams and feelings. When the timing had fully matured, smart investors would naturally know which companies would be the more reliable ones.

...

August, Federal Fifth Year

An exciting piece of news came from Xing Hai Technologies’ New Energy Research Center: The High Energy 3 battery had been successfully developed.

In a remote video conference, Zhao Chiang, who was in charge of the project, explained it passionately.

“Mr. Chen, Mr. Ling, leaders of the company, the High Energy 3 battery project has wrapped up successfully. We have accomplished something that theoretically couldn’t be done. The battery has an energy density of 10000Wh/kg, which is 2.5 times that of the High Energy 2 batteries with 4000Wh/kg of energy density. We are just a hair shy of the 12000Wh/kg of gasoline.”

Zhao Chiang’s face was glowing with pride.

“Previously, we have repeatedly stressed the fact that the energy efficiency of batteries will generally be above 80%. By using high-temperature superconducting materials, the energy utilization rate can even exceed 95% while only affected by a small amount of mechanical friction resistance. As opposed to gasoline, batteries are spared from the process of converting chemical energy into heat energy and then into kinetic energy. In actual performance, a kilo of High Energy 3 batteries is equivalent to two kilograms of gasoline and perhaps even exceeds that of liquid hydrogen and oxygen of the same quantity.”

He continued to explain his team’s creation with great excitement.

“If we incorporate High Energy 3 batteries into a space shuttle and further equip the vessel with our company’s ion thrusters, which generate thrust force by accelerating ionized particles, according to our calculations, the space shuttle can be accelerated to the pinnacle of spaceships in the entire cosmos, and enter into orbit around Earth. Even after entering orbit, the batteries will still be left with a small amount of electricity, more than a ton of working fluid and around three tons of load. The High Energy 2 batteries will be unable to accomplish this feat.”

This new battery was certainly a game-changer.

“Besides, our company is constructing an electromagnetic acceleration track 30 kilometers in length and 7 kilometers in height at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains in cooperation with the National Space Administration. It is expected to be completed next year. By then, space shuttles that accelerate through the electromagnetic track will be able to reach an ejection speed of 2.5 Mach. With the aid of the electromagnetic track, the space shuttle will get to save a quarter of its energy reserves, thus increasing its actual load to 10 tons. High Energy 3 batteries, the electromagnetic acceleration track and 10 tons of actual load.”

Zhao Chiang’s face grew serious, but a glimmer of joy was still present in his eyes.

“Mr. Chen, I think these three factors can kick start the era of outer space resource mining within the boundaries of our solar system. Not to mention, the cost of this combination is currently the lowest possible. The launching cost in the actual load per kilogram will be reduced from 20,000 dollars per kilogram to 3,000 dollars per kilogram. After the launching instances increases, it can drop to 2,000 dollars per kilogram or even to as low as 1,000 dollars. No other space launch agencies can reduce costs to this level, but we can do it, and we are the only ones. We will be able to complete any future outer space construction project at the lowest possible cost. Our cost-performance ratio is unparalleled.”

Chen Jin nodded. The time for Xing Hai Technologies’s full entry into space had finally come.

In general, new developments in the field of science and technology stemmed from the revolutionary development of information technology, such as the 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G communication technologies which had all brought about huge advancements in science and technology.

Developments in the industrial sector were mainly prompted by changes in the method of utilizing energy. For example, steam engines, internal combustion engines, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, etc. were all in pace with the evolution of energy utilizing methods. Human productivity and room for survival were both massively improved.

The High Energy 3 batteries marked the beginning of humanity’s full march into the universe.