"What are you talking about? The Chinese side has impounded the security ship of the South Island?"
In the corner office, Bob suddenly jumped up from behind his desk. Judging from his posture, if the desk hadn't stopped him, he would have jumped directly in front of the assistant, grabbed him by the collar and questioned him.
"Why was it not notified until now about such a serious matter?"
Looking at his expression, the assistant replied helplessly:
"In fact, we have notified the incident as soon as possible. It has not been more than an hour since their security boat was impounded."
"No, this is not the first time!"
Bob waved his hand irritably and continued:
"I mean, they should have informed us of the situation as soon as they decided to return the fishing boat and even escort it with a security boat!"
"They should have foreseen the danger of this plan. Even we have put the plan on hold, so why are they still provoking it?"
"Perhaps their original intention was not to provoke, they just wanted to maintain balance in this way under the current situation."
"But it's obvious that Gu Kuanmin was a little clever and he failed."
Hearing this, Bob sighed, and then gritted his teeth and said:
"I've said it for a long time, we should put a tougher, smarter person in power."
"I'm very optimistic about You Xijian, but those grandpas in Congress are like entering the stage of Alzheimer's disease early, and they actually empathize with an 80-year-old man like Gu Kuanmin."
"I'm really afraid that one day, our country will be ruled by such an old man who has half his body buried in the ground. That would be the end."
"I don't think so."
The assistant shook his head calmly and replied:
"At least for now, our leadership is still very young."
"It's hard to say. I'm already old, and my friends are also old."
"How many years can we last? But on the contrary, their team is getting younger and younger, and they are getting bolder."
Bob's voice gradually lowered, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly came back to his senses, and then continued:
"Forget it, this topic will not be discussed again."
"If we can't solve it in a short period of time, we can just pretend it didn't happen."
"Right now, our most important thing is to figure out the other party's specific inventory of metallic hydrogen. Have we made any progress on this matter?"
"have."
The assistant nodded quickly, then spread out the documents in his hand and said to Bob:
"Based on the intelligence collected in the early stage, it can be inferred based on the data on raw material consumption, spare parts consumption, electricity and other energy consumption, as well as the working hours of researchers and equipment working hours, that the other party's current production of metallic hydrogen materials is still stuck in the laboratory stage. In a single day, The output will not exceed 30 kilograms."
"This is much less than we originally estimated, and the threat has been greatly reduced."
"originally?"
Bob was keenly aware of the key points in the other person's words.
"Yes, originally."
"But we can be said to be very lucky. Through a peripheral intelligence officer in the early stage, we established contact with the Western Materials Research Institute."
"We got a piece of information from an insider: China's research on metallic hydrogen probably did not start when the plan was originally made public."
"On the contrary, they have had a mature preparation process since that time, and may have even carried out laboratory preparation work for more than two years."
"So, based on the average daily output of a single laboratory of about 500 grams, we estimate that their current stock of metallic hydrogen explosives may even exceed 20 tons."
"20 tons? How is this possible?"
Bob exclaimed in surprise:
"A laboratory can only produce about 500 grams in a single day, which means a maximum of 200 kilograms a year. Are you telling me that they mobilized 100 laboratories for secret production?"
"No."
The assistant shook his head and then showed Bob a photo.
"This is a new underground facility captured by spy satellites in a certain area in the northwest. A long time ago, we have been wondering about the purpose of the other party's new base here."
"It now appears that the water resources here are abundant, the power facilities are complete, and a new multi-stage power station has been built on the nearby river. It is likely to be related to the synthesis of metallic hydrogen."
"But it is still possible that this is false information deliberately released by the other party."
Bob said cautiously.
"Of course it's possible, but at the moment, it's not very likely."
"What we obtained is not direct intelligence, but information about the use of the other party's warehouse - according to verification, the other party has indeed opened several new explosives warehouses before. The transport vehicles out of these warehouses have close contact with CALT, so it should be It is replacing charges for various types of strategic missiles."
Hearing this, even the most suspicious Bob had to nod.
Although he is not a professional intelligence officer, he also knows that indirect information is often more credible than direct information.
"Twenty tons of metallic hydrogen is okay. If calculated based on the previously estimated damage power, it is still some distance from the warning line."
"But their industry is developing at a rapid pace - it is obvious that the purpose of introducing various research institutes is not to expand production capacity, but to quickly diffuse technology."
"Maybe in two months at most, the amount of metallic hydrogen they hold will be enough to break through the safety line that requires us to launch a nuclear counterattack."
"At that time, their deterrence will be officially established."
There was unconcealable worry in the assistant's eyes. Bob thought silently, silently calculating the explosion efficiency of metallic hydrogen and nuclear fuel.
At present, the utilization rate of nuclear fuel in nuclear bombs is generally around 30%. Calculated based on the fact that the equivalent of nuclear bombs is roughly 1:15,000 and that of metallic hydrogen is roughly 1:20. The opponent only needs 60 tons of metallic hydrogen explosives. Reach your own cordon.
——
This is still on the premise that the other party directly uses metallic hydrogen as the raw material. What if it develops further and uses metallic hydrogen as the primary detonator of the hydrogen bomb?
I can't think about it anymore.
"So, how long do we have left?"
Bob asked:
"The maximum is 6 months, the minimum is 3 months."
"During this period, we have to come up with a response plan."
The assistant's words were a little vague, but Bob understood them clearly.
This means that if the matter here is to be completely resolved, it must be within three months.
——
The so-called "complete solution" conflicts with our previous goal.
I am afraid that our side can no longer try to use this quagmire to hold the other side down. As long as we take action, we must resolve the problem decisively and quickly.
And to do that, it’s hard to stay out of it.
This is by no means an easy strategy to decide on.
After thinking for a long time, Bob said:
"Notify the other side, we need to organize an emergency meeting and review the strategy."
"The situation has changed. We have started to lose the initiative."
"If you want to achieve your goal, you must find a way to regain the initiative!"
Chen Nian was sitting in his office, reviewing the latest mission progress information.
Wujian-9 has entered the final sprint stage. The air test of Julang-3 has been completed and will soon enter the launch test.
The not-so-difficult missile boat project has long ended. After the success of the YJ-21H, it can basically declare the end of the research and development process.
At present, the most difficult and complex short-term project is only the 096 project, but just this morning, he received a message from Wuwei, Gansu:
The first set of thorium-based molten salt reactors has completed experiments and is operating in good condition. The thermal efficiency exceeds project expectations by 5%, and the output power is almost twice that of the nuclear submarine reactors in service. There is no doubt that it is a great success.
This means that the most difficult power problem of the 096 project has been solved, and the next step is only the production and assembly links.
As long as there are no material barriers, this process will obviously not be too difficult, and all it takes is time.
From Chen Nian's perspective, the projects that require his involvement have basically been completed - perhaps before the 096A is launched, he still needs to be responsible for a small amount of technical review and process design work, but this part of the work is unlikely to take up too much of his time. .
Therefore, it was inevitable that Chen Nian started thinking about new projects again.
Since he used source points to solve urgent problems at any cost during the early project sprints, the number of net source points he accumulated in the past few months was actually not that many.
From the initial 400 points, up to now, it has just exceeded 800 points.
If he, who had just come into contact with the system, saw this number, I'm afraid he would jump out of his chair with joy. But in the current environment, don't tell me, this thing is really not worth spending.
There is no other reason. The technological foundation of this world is almost exhausted.
The further away from the technology foundation of the current timeline, the more source points will be consumed.
What did Chen Nian want before?
Fourth-generation aircraft that others have built, "big ships" based on known principles and known technologies, and strategic bombers stitched together by many new technologies
These things cannot be said to be unadvanced, but they do not exceed the understanding of most people.
And now? What does Chen Nian want now?
Metallic hydrogen is a typical example - he wants something that, once it appears, can completely change the entire world.
If the source point consumption of this kind of thing was not high, it would not be logically possible.
Thinking of this, Chen Nian sighed.
He couldn't blame the system for being too stingy, so he had no choice but to use the limited resources to maximize its value.
However, when it comes to the issue of "maximizing value", he can't help but feel a little confused.
food? energy? transportation?
No way to start.
After thinking for a long time, Chen Nian picked up the phone and informed Chen Guo to report a new topic to the Spark Core Group's regular meeting in the afternoon.
Technology belongs to technology, and strategy belongs to strategy. This is the most time-saving working method that Chen Nian has discovered.
In the afternoon, he attended the regular meeting of the core group on time, and after a series of somewhat boring progress reports and budget reports, it was finally his turn to discuss the topic.
Next step technology development planning issues.
Chen Nian first gave an introductory speech, and then everyone in the core group immediately started a discussion.
——
In fact, they have been waiting for this issue for a long time.
Once Chen Nian takes the initiative to declare a topic, it basically means that a new batch of technologies will be born in this world.
Most of you here are engaged in scientific research. How many of you can’t be excited about this?
A middle-aged man stood up from his seat. He was Ye Beijian, a representative of the aerospace industry. Before this, from the beginning to the end of the Spark Team's project, the only thing related to the aerospace power was a high-burning ramjet engine. Although the TBCC project was barely It can be considered relevant, but for the general direction of aerospace, the effect is still too small.
Therefore, his speech also has a strong meaning of "complaining".
"I, Lao Ye, won't be polite to you about this question, so I'll answer it first."
"I believe that our country's technology in the aviation field must be improved as soon as possible, because compared with other industries and other fields, in fact, so far, aerospace has been considered a shortcoming of ours."
"Although we have made certain achievements in the field of manned spaceflight, there is still a long way to go compared to what we want to achieve."
"What about the space station? What about the lunar exploration program? What about the Beidou satellite positioning system?"
"Each of these things can be said to be very important."
"But the paradox is that too few resources have been invested in these projects - it is right to be diligent and frugal in making revolution, but on the other hand, we must also be wary of some bad thinking."
"For example, some notices believe that aerospace is too ambitious and too cost-effective. But I want to say that we have indeed reached the time when we need to be ambitious."
After hearing his words, everyone in the conference room nodded.
In fact, the shortcomings of China's aerospace industry have become more and more conspicuous in the past two years, especially after the relationship between China and the United States deteriorated. The United States has completely blocked China's ability to enter the International Space Station through the Wolf Clause that was approved in advance, even for subsequent efforts. Without the opportunity to enter the Russian segment of the space station, the role it can play in scientific research is also extremely limited.
In addition, the GPS system is still firmly in the hands of the Americans, which has always been a big problem for us. Many people even say that if Beidou does not successfully establish the network, we will never be able to defeat the United States.
Therefore, it is normal for Ye Beijian to have such a request.
——
Of course, just because his appeal is reasonable does not mean that others will immediately agree.
After he finished speaking, Chen Feiyun, who was sitting in the front row, immediately raised his hand and said:
"I agree that the aerospace industry must be pursued."
"But the question is, to what extent and how to prioritize it are the issues we need to consider."
"I'm different from you. I'm not an expert in the technical field, but I think from an overall perspective. I think the most important task at the moment is not aerospace, but computers."
"In the future, in various scientific research fields, our demand for computer technology will become stronger and stronger, and the requirements for computing power will also become higher and higher. We should vigorously develop supercomputing to ensure that subsequent scientific research will not be unable to do so due to this gap. conduct."
Before Chen Feiyun finished speaking, someone in the conference room immediately stood up and objected:
"Then based on what you say, I think we should build a large particle collider. This thing is so important to the development of cutting-edge physics."
"Particle collider is far less important than nuclear fusion. Let's do nuclear fusion first."
"I agree with nuclear fusion. Our technical foundation is relatively strong in this regard. After all, metallic hydrogen has already been released."
The discussion became more and more intense, but Chen Nian just listened silently.
He knew that this discussion would eventually come to an end.
It just takes more time
(End of chapter)
