Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 667 Changing the Weather
In the eighth summer, the weather was extremely dry with little rainfall.

The severe drought that year led to insufficient soil moisture in various regions, resulting in a serious reduction in the production of grains, vegetables, and fruits.

Reduced agricultural production has led to soaring food prices, becoming the biggest impact on the vast majority of ordinary residents.

In addition, the depletion of rivers, lakes, and groundwater has led to difficulties in residents' access to domestic water and restrictions on personal hygiene and medical water, which in turn increases the risk of disease transmission.

Regarding this unusual weather, Xing Shu concluded that it was "primarily due to natural factors."

"The prolonged presence of the subtropical high pressure system leads to the prevalence of descending air currents, which inhibits cloud and rain formation, resulting in persistent high temperatures and drought. Another factor is the delayed monsoon, which reduces rainfall and further exacerbates the drought."

Faced with extreme drought, relatively poor areas are once again facing survival challenges, and infectious diseases and competition for water have brought considerable chaos and impact.

In affluent areas with the necessary resources, two main strategies were adopted: artificial rainmaking and inter-regional water transfer, which were combined with water restriction policies for regulation.

Although the cost of water has increased and been spread across every resident, forcing everyone to pay high water bills, the basic living conditions are good enough that it does not affect their survival.

However, Shagang adopted a completely new approach to deal with the drought.

The rooftop of Emerald City Building No. 1.

Zhou Yi sat on a chair under a parasol, looking up at the sky.

The artificial sun is located in the atmosphere, and it is brighter than ever before, as if a slightly smaller and darker film of light has been pasted onto the surface of the prototype sun.

The effect is very obvious.

The temperature in Shagang dropped by 2 degrees Celsius compared to before. Although this does not completely solve the drought, the drought situation has been alleviated to some extent after the temperature dropped.

Zhou Yi asked Turing beside him, "Won't this kind of artificial intervention, which intercepts solar energy from the sky and lowers the ground temperature, trigger a chain reaction and cause other natural anomalies?"

"Chairman, it is only natural that you have such rational concerns."

The electric ant hovered beside him, its voice coming through a loudspeaker on the ground: "This will indeed have some impact. Weather and temperature are part of the intricate and vast Earth's ecosystem; a single event can have far-reaching consequences."

"Our current approach is essentially about managing solar radiation, reducing surface temperature and evaporation by reflecting sunlight to alleviate drought."

"However, the existence of the super device, the artificial sun, has simplified the entire process. By paralleling energy, we have absorbed a large amount of energy from outer space onto the artificial sun for power generation. This reduces the energy projected onto the ground, thus lowering the surface temperature at the source."

"The risk is that it could disrupt the monsoon and lead to regional precipitation imbalances."

At this moment, Yuanxiao brought out sliced ​​watermelon.

Zhou Yi picked up a piece of melon and started eating, his eyes widening slightly as he ate: "This year's melons are really good."

The watermelon in my hand was bright red without any white streaks, had almost no seeds, and was crisp and sweet.

Even the most beautiful melon in my dreams is nothing more than this.

Is this a new variety?

Yuanxiao smiled and said, "Chairman, this is the 'Sweetheart Miss' melon produced by the Tree Monster this year. After several years of improvement, it has received a very good response in the market, but the price is twice that of ordinary melons. However, Sweetheart Miss is not easy to transport, and its skin is relatively thin, so the various costs are also high."

"Currently, the biggest buyers are Mars Base, our Shagang, and then Heaven's Dawn City. These three places are all regions with high consumption power and relatively high per capita income."

Zhou Yi exclaimed, "The tree-growing plant has finally borne fruit after focusing on in-depth agricultural development; it deserves to make money."

How much has the drought affected the Tree Monster Territory?

Yuanxiao said, "Shuguailing has always attached great importance to soil and water conservation because high-quality agricultural products are closely related to the environment itself. Dams and water storage projects are invested in every year. Although there is a severe drought in various places this year, the local water resources are sufficient, and there is only a slight reduction in production. Everything else is fine."

Zhou Yi hummed in agreement, then looked at the extremely small electromechanical expert beside him: "Sorry, sorry, please continue."

"Yes, Chairman."

Turing continued, “Initially, our conservative approach to dealing with the drought involved spraying sulfate particles into the upper atmosphere to simulate a volcanic eruption and reflect sunlight to cool the air. We also sprayed sea salt particles into ocean clouds to enhance their albedo.”

"However, one of the human engineers in the artificial sun operation team suggested that we reduce the temperature of solar radiation reaching the ground from the source, which is what artificial solar energy can do."

"This engineer is named Han Ding. He is a wind power engineer who used to work in Yicheng, where he was responsible for deploying and maintaining wind turbines. Yicheng has abundant winds, and they used wind power conversion to participate in various ground production and manufacturing processes."

"Han Ding came here because his cousin Han Ye was a physics teacher at the company's Mushroom Forest Elementary School. He heard about Han Ye's salary and working environment, so he switched jobs. After he arrived here, I screened the personnel and invited him to join the artificial sun control team to participate in various aspects of the work of the artificial sun and ground station."

Zhou Yi remembered Han Ye.

This is one of the talents that the company brought in from Longgong after reaching a talent introduction and joint training plan.

The company has indeed become more attractive, and even senior technical staff from the five major centers are willing to come here.

"And then?" Turing said, "Handing proposed a complete set of specific plans, mainly consisting of two parts: solar radiation management and atmospheric circulation intervention."

"First, the heat is cooled by artificial sunlight, and the adsorbed parallel energy is converted into electricity and then conducted to the electric cat system for use."

"Electric Souls, in particular, have extremely high power requirements. Giving them electricity will allow them to remain active and move at high speeds in the air for extended periods. With sufficient energy reserves, they can also participate in rocket launches for the Flying Sky Company or enter low Earth orbit to participate in some of the company's space projects."

It continued, "Then, the temperature drop shouldn't be too rapid; a decrease of 1-3 degrees Celsius is enough to form cold air."

"Based on this, we can build a giant array of wind turbines, deploy the turbines, disturb atmospheric circulation, and guide the rain belt. This will allow for rapid, targeted rainfall while simultaneously cooling the air. The electricity generated by the artificial sun will also be sufficient to support the operation of a large number of wind turbines."

"As long as cooling and rainfall occur within a specific cycle, and cooling and rainfall are carried out during the critical dry season, the living problems of people on the ground can be solved."

"Through this kind of artificial regulation, we can help the ground overcome extreme drought. However, we need to be careful and reduce the timing. This is an artificial adjustment for local areas, rather than directly disrupting the original cycle. Local and short-term changes will not affect the entire ecosystem, as atmospheric circulation has self-repairing capabilities."

"In summary, the risks are currently under control."

Zhou Yi nodded repeatedly, "This Han Ding is a talented person."

"We first conducted data simulations, then experimented on some desert islands, and the final results were very good before we dared to use it officially."

Turing said, "The main point is that the success of artificial climate regulation can be replicated."

"For example, extreme droughts and extreme floods can both be mitigated through similar methods to contain disasters that exceed the region's carrying capacity. Together with the three Dead Sea disasters, we can divert and control high-intensity disasters."

"really."

Zhou Yi also strongly agreed: "Extreme disasters can cause serious casualties, but they can also save many lives in critical moments."

"Chairman, we have an idea."

"Could this drought relief project be made public? Because just two or three rounds of rainfall and cooling would be enough to help life on the ground survive the drought."

“Shagang itself has very well-developed infrastructure. There is air conditioning indoors, a Dead Sea canal built a long time ago, and a water storage system. We are not afraid of drought here. The only difference is that water is abundant and regulated, and our survival is not affected.”

"There are still many poor and water-scarce areas outside, and this dry season is endangering many lives. Perhaps we can help them get through this difficult time in our own way."

"Such a great technology should be applied to more places to benefit more lives in order to realize its value and also to improve our company's reputation and prestige."

Zhou Yi nodded: "Well said. Since the company has such a solution, it should give back to society. I'll entrust this task to you. Prioritize helping the most difficult areas. You have data to refer to, so this shouldn't be difficult."

"Yes, Chairman, thank you for your support!"

Now that you mention it, I'd like to ask a new question.

Zhou Yi looked at the tiny electric ant beside him: "Isn't the second artificial sun supposed to have finished its trial run? Why hasn't it come over here yet?"

"Reporting to the Chairman, the situation of Sun No. 2 is rather special."

Turing said, "Based on the first sun, we made some improvements on the second sun, turning the [Cultivation] program into its data center carrier."

"You can think of it this way: inside the second Sun Gem is actually a small electromechanical city, but this city is equipped with six [Electromechanical Taoists]."

"Among these six professional cultivators, two are able to maintain the [Prophet] mode for extended periods, providing calculations and simulations for the entire Second Sun."

"The first sun adopts the traditional vehicle control method, while the second sun has been upgraded to electromechanical computing power support, which will be faster and can operate independently without ground support."

"Most importantly, the second sun has a special purpose: it is being paired with the [new phase] using a gemstone as a carrier. Currently, 703 is being matched and tested with the second sun."

Zhou Yi nodded.

The company's second-ranked "New Phase" is 703, because this evolutionary path requires at least 1500 million gems, making it extremely expensive. Therefore, the company is very careful in selecting personnel, requiring only trustworthy individuals from within the company.

Propelling 703 into the light core required a staggering 1900 million gems, more than Juemingzi.

After awakening, 703 was somewhat dazed and confused. He went to the moon to seek guidance from Juemingzi and was still gradually adapting to and mastering his abilities.

Unexpectedly, it has become related to the second sun.

"703 is the second new phase to use gems as an element after Juemingzi. Although the new phase itself has sufficient computing power, it is still in the prophet mode. However, if the new phase combines with the artificial sun, it may be able to challenge the theoretical limit state [Taishang Laojun] mode."

Turing said, "The second sun is making attempts in this regard."

Zhou Yi immediately became interested: "Let's go, let's go to the moon and take a look."

(End of this chapter)