First, as the largest Subsidiary Shelter under Su Wu's control.
One of the former super cities, Steel City.
The total amount of fuel and coal stored within it even slightly exceeded that of Zhenhai City.
These resources, once considered inferior and thought to require a long time before they could be transported on a large scale to the farmhouse courtyard.
After Su Wu also erected a large-scale power transmission system in Steel City.
They were revitalized.
At the same time, since Steel City itself was a heavy industrial city, it left behind numerous power generation facilities.
Even without Su Wu's assistance.
It could piece together a set of power generation units totaling 75 million kilowatts.
Therefore, at the moment the power generator cluster was established at the coastal shelter.
Steel City had also simultaneously completed the construction of its corresponding power plant.
Capable of burning nearly 20,000 tons of fuel or coal per hour.
The generated electricity was remotely transmitted back to the farmhouse courtyard.
"In the future, we can produce another batch of thermal power generation units for Steel City."
"To increase the scale of the power plant there to 100 million kilowatts."
Su Wu made a note in the development log.
The biggest difference between Steel City and the coastal mountainous area.
Lies in the former having a group of mature shelter clusters, far surpassing the latter in terms of environmental safety.
Comparatively, it's like the difference between permanent and temporary structures.
This allows Su Wu to confidently invest more resources in Steel City.
In exchange for a long-term and stable electricity income.
Besides establishing a second large-scale power transmission channel in Steel City, to transmit the stored fuel back to the farmhouse courtyard in the form of electricity.
According to Su Wu's plan.
Steel City will also undertake the task of power transfer.
As an accessory to the large-scale power transmission system.
The effective distance of the small-scale power transmission system is 100 kilometers.
And they can be networked and connected in series.
All Subsidiary Shelters within one to two hundred kilometers around Steel City.
As long as a set of small-scale power transmission systems is installed.
Can conveniently generate electricity on-site, and gather the excess unused electricity first to Steel City.
Then, through the large-scale power transmission channel there, transmit it to the farmhouse courtyard.
Forming a power transmission network with a wide coverage area and relatively low construction costs.
However, since the materials for manufacturing small-scale power transmission systems are quite common.
Its transmission limit is only 100,000 kilowatts.
A thousand to two thousand times less than the 100 to 200 million kilowatt transmission limit of large-scale power transmission systems.
In practical use, it's difficult to use it to connect a too-long power transmission line.
Once the distance between them exceeds two to three hundred kilometers, or too many shelters are connected in series.
From a cost perspective, it would be cheaper and more cost-effective to install another large-scale power transmission system.
"In the future, low-value resources like fuel."
"Can be completely removed from the list of conventional transportation."
"They will all arrive at the farmhouse courtyard in another form of power transmission, efficiently, quickly, and almost at zero cost."
"In other words."
"From this moment on, fuel is no longer a cumbersome item that occupies a large amount of transportation capacity and is difficult to circulate."
"But a consumable that can be conveniently exchanged for equivalent electricity."
In the past human society.
The only way to store electricity for a long time.
The first step was to stockpile fuel for power generation.
Then, the amount of electricity needed in the future would be adjusted on-site at the corresponding power plants.
Transmitting electricity was also a significant challenge.
Especially in a post-apocalyptic environment.
Frequent natural disasters had to be faced.
Long-distance transmission had become nearly impossible.
However, when these two obstacles.
Were completely shattered by the Ball Lightning Control Chamber, which could store nearly infinite amounts of electricity, and the large-scale power transmission device that could transmit electricity over thousands of kilometers without the need for laying lines along the way.
There was nothing left to stop electricity from becoming a true energy currency.
All resources capable of generating electricity.
Could now be regarded as gold mines producing nearly universal energy currency.
The value of coal mines and oil fields had significantly increased at this moment, approaching or even surpassing pre-apocalyptic levels.
"Exploitation of coal mines and oil fields."
"Must be put on the agenda."
"We also need to manufacture a batch of mobile standard power generation equipment."
"Designed to be conveniently transported by air or land according to different specifications."
"To reach any corner of Dongzhou where fuel is stored."
"Quickly convert the fuel there into electricity."
"Then, the first batch of mobile power generation equipment."
"Aim to push the total power generation capacity to 150 million kilowatts."
"In this way, combined with the two locations in Steel City and the coastal mountainous area."
"Under ideal conditions."
"The hourly power generation could reach 300 million kilowatt-hours."
"Almost a hundred times the current consumption of the farmhouse."
The mobile standard power generation equipment.
For the time being.
Was still an item in the conceptual stage.
It would require subsequent investment of Spirituality for research before it could truly be manufactured.
Su Wu's requirements for it.
Were that it should be compact and convenient, while the efficiency of fuel utilization.
Should not be much lower than that of current large-scale thermal power stations.
It would be best if both could be maintained within the same range.
Only in this way could the potential of every fuel resource scattered across Dongzhou be maximized.
Avoiding excessive waste.
And thus, it was obvious.
Under the same specifications.
Its manufacturing cost would inevitably exceed that of the semi-permanent fixed thermal power units in Steel City and the coastal mountainous area.
Their use would also need to be more cautious.
It was necessary to avoid exposing them to dangerous environments as much as possible.
At the same time, the total power generation capacity of 300 million kilowatts.
Had already far exceeded Su Wu's current needs.
Its scale was almost equivalent to 100 ordinary nuclear power stations that Su Wu had previously built outside the farmhouse to supply the daily electricity needs of the entire farmhouse.
The excess electricity produced by these generators.
Would be stored in the Ball Lightning Control Chamber, becoming Su Wu's confidence in facing all future challenges.
"Moreover, the ability to store electricity."
"Means it can also be used to transmit electricity back to various places in Dongzhou."
"There will always be some shelters that, due to unexpected situations such as insufficient fuel reserves, will lack electricity."
"Just by sending a small power transmission device to them."
"We can use electricity to trade with them."
"Adding this survival-related trading method."
"As long as it can be exchanged for some gold and silver, it's not a loss."
Su Wu possessed the Golden Scale.
It could use gold and silver to exchange for nuclear fuel.
In terms of conversion, just over thirty tons of gold could generate electricity equivalent to 80 million cubic meters of fuel stored in the warehouse in the coastal mountainous area.
From a weight perspective, this was a staggering difference of over two million times.
This was enough to prove that these precious metals had risen to a strategic level of importance for Su Wu.
As long as electricity could be used to exchange for gold and silver from other shelters.
No matter the quantity.
It was highly likely that Su Wu would come out on top.
After adjusting the future development direction, Su Wu once again turned his gaze to the distant space.
Transmitting electricity on the ground was ultimately not as convenient as transmitting it through satellites.
Although a large-scale power transmission device could transmit electricity up to 1,000 kilometers away.
Compared to the vastness of space, this distance was almost negligible.
Not to mention.
The Eden Satellite, currently hanging in geostationary orbit.
Was over 30,000 kilometers above the ground.
1,000 kilometers was just a fraction of that distance.
And satellites in closer low Earth orbit couldn't stay in the same place permanently.
To achieve the idea of using satellites as relays for real-time power transmission.
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It would require a network of multiple low Earth orbit satellites to make it possible.
"A large-scale power transmission device has a total mass of over 200 tons."
"Considering the harsh space environment."
"It must also have certain defensive and maneuverable capabilities."
"Ultimately, a satellite with power transmission capabilities would need to have a total mass of at least 230 tons."
"And the current aerospace rockets we have."
"Have a maximum payload capacity of only about 20 tons."
"It would require at least a dozen consecutive launches to send a power satellite into low Earth orbit."
"And then they would need to be assembled and installed in space."
"The difficulty factor increases several times."
Just thinking about it.
Su Wu could feel the level of difficulty, which was not something he could challenge at the moment.
However, he wouldn't have to wait too long.
As long as the seventh-generation fighter jet was successfully developed.
And a near-Earth orbit transport ship of the aerospace carrier class was manufactured.
Using satellites for power relay transmission would no longer be a fantasy.
On April 10th.
As the merchant train transferred the second batch of 4 million Zhenhai people to Jianghe City.
The Zhenhai City shelter, located more than 100 kilometers from the coastline.
Finally, after holding out for several days, could no longer withstand the increasingly intense geological activities.
First, the passage between the residential safety zone and the exit station.
Was twisted and broken by a tremendous force.
The entire residential safety zone itself slid into the volcanic magma below.
Then the already empty fuel storage tank.
Had its walls cracked.
A large amount of seawater, heated by the magma to a boiling temperature, surged in.
Within just a few minutes.
It completely filled the vast warehouse and washed against the isolation door between the warehouse and the outside.
Finally.
Seven undersea passages connecting to the station.
Were successively shattered into several pieces of wreckage.
Thousands of subway trains and medium to large trucks that were still traveling inside were all buried beneath the sea.
At this moment, despite the seven exit stations specially reinforced with rapid-setting cement still holding up, the occasional intense underwater tremors had become a daily occurrence. This made the cost of repairing the undersea passage skyrocket countless times, rendering it no longer feasible.
The operation to salvage supplies from the Zhenhai City Shelter was officially declared over.
In this operation, Su Wu ultimately obtained approximately 92 million tons of ordinary supplies, 80 million cubic meters of fuel, and hundreds of thousands of tons of rare resources, essentially emptying out more than half of the Zhenhai City Shelter.
Although there were still about 40 million tons of ordinary resources, a large amount of light industrial products used daily by millions of residents, and various essential equipment ensuring the shelter's operation left behind, these were no longer significant compared to the gains.
"Let them sleep in the exit stations for now," Su Wu thought. "When future technology advances to a certain level, capable of withstanding frequent earthquakes and supersonic storms at a low cost, we'll return to take over the remaining resources."
With a final regretful glance at the Zhenhai City Shelter, now reduced to just seven exit stations, Su Wu ordered the robot army stranded in those stations to return from the seabed on their own.
Unlike humans, the robot army didn't require any life-support equipment and had the capability to move directly in water. However, in the current chaotic underwater environment, it was nearly impossible for these robots to cross over 100 kilometers and reach the coastline without losing more than half of their numbers.
Su Wu had long been prepared for these losses and wasn't overly distressed. The value created by the robots in the past few days had already far exceeded their own worth, making their sacrifice worthwhile.
With the relocation of the Zhenhai City Shelter completed, the edge of Su Wu's sphere of influence shifted to the coastline centered around the Linhai Shelter. From now on, apart from the ongoing but gradually shrinking search and rescue operations for other undersea shelters, Su Wu's defense focus could be entirely placed on the temporary warehouses in the Linhai mountainous area.
"The Linhai mountainous area is currently dominated by factories, robots, and inedible ordinary resources," Su Wu noted. "There are no humans or food there, so it holds little attraction for the Amethyst Crystal Entity. Thus, the defense pressure will be minimal. Leaving around 100,000 ordinary Spider Robots and one Pioneer-class Land Destroyer should be sufficient."
"The remaining armed forces can follow the merchant trains and the over 20 million residents of Zhenhai City who haven't been relocated yet. As long as these people are brought to the farmhouse courtyard within the next ten days or so, the task of taking over Zhenhai City will be considered successfully completed."
"The next phase will be to start planning actions targeting the Xiaojiang Province."
Su Wu held great expectations for the Xiaojiang Province, which he had acquired through a trade with Song Hong.
Not only does it have twice the population of Zhenhai City.
But it also boasts abundant natural resources, especially that copper mine with reserves exceeding 10 million tons.
Su Wu couldn't help but feel the urge to personally rush over and start mining.
Because copper ore.
Is one of the most essential raw materials for manufacturing snow transport vehicles and land battleships.
With an ample supply of copper ore.
Su Wu could immediately initiate another large-scale production campaign.
After receiving resources from Zhenhai City.
The number of merchant train fleets, which had already leaped to 450, would continue to expand to over 600.
(End of Chapter)