Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 462 Sunset Ship No. 1 (3k)

While all of humanity's attention was focused on space, Luo Ji ventured into the deepest underground.

Antarctic underground city.

Nine thousand meters underground, even excluding the 2700-meter-thick ice sheet and an elevation of about 200 meters, it is still 7 meters below sea level, making it the lowest underground city ever built by humankind.

Compared to the icy and snowy surface of Antarctica, the underground city deep in the earth's crust is surprisingly warm. It was here that Luo Ji met the chief engineer of the Sunset Project.

The Sunset Project was not proposed or promoted by Luo Ji, the Wallfacer.

Long before the end of the War of Devouring, humanity shifted some of its exploration focus to the Earth's interior and launched the "Sunset Project." This project was inspired by scientific curiosity about the Earth's physical structure and by practical needs such as resource development and geological disaster prediction.

In addition, the Earth's interior was also planned as an underground guerrilla base for humanity to fight the Trisolaran invaders to the death after humanity's defeat in the war against the Trisolarans.

For various reasons, and inspired by the 'white dwarf starfish population' within the Great Ring, the "Exploration of Earth Project" was finally put on the agenda and later renamed the "Sunset Project".

Compared to the large-scale projects currently under construction, such as the Sun accelerator, the solar system defense system, and the ring city, the Sunset Project has not invested many resources.

However, the dinosaurs expressed great interest in Project Sunset and provided some white dwarf starfish to help with the project's establishment, which greatly helped the research team.

As for the later attention from Luo Ji, the Wallfacer, that was an unexpected surprise.

The chief engineer of the Sunset Project is named Li Hao, a name that sounds very much like the Gregorian calendar. However, he is not a Gregorian, but a modern man who has never hibernated. He comes from a traditional family with marriage and childbearing, and is only in his fifties. In this era, he is in his prime.

Li Hao, dressed in dark gray overalls stained with engine oil and holding half a structural blueprint, guided Luo Ji to sit down in the chair next to the control panel.

"I didn't expect you to come in person. I thought the message you sent us last time was just a whim." Li Hao took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and then, in his signature way, handed one to Luo Ji.

"Engineer Li, who did you learn this from?" Luo Ji asked in confusion.

"My dad, I'm a modern person, but my dad hibernated to avoid the great low point," Li Hao explained simply.

Luo Ji understood.

Luo Ji said, "My interest in the Sunset Project is purely for my personal reasons and has nothing to do with the Wallfacer Plan. You don't need to treat me as a Wallfacer; just treat me as an ordinary cultivator."

Li Hao: "..."

Li Hao lit a cigarette, took a puff, and felt his mind become clearer.

Which aspect would you like to know more about?

Luo Ji: "All of them."

Li Hao sighed, "That's a bit difficult. There are some technical details I can't explain clearly. Wait for me to call someone over."

After a while, a refined-looking middle-aged man walked over.

"Chief Engineer, I'm in charge of the overall design of the Sunset Project, and he's in charge of making my nonsense a reality. Shen Yuan, like me, comes from a traditional family with traditional marriage and childbirth, was born during a major low point in history, and hibernated for a hundred years. You can call him Engineer Shen or Little Shen. He has an adorable daughter..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Luo Ji hurriedly interrupted the irrelevant introduction.

Li Hao paused, then began to introduce Li Hao to Shen Yuan: "Shen Yuan, this is Luo Ji, he is..."

"Chief Engineer Li, I'm not stupid. Let's skip the part about introducing Dr. Luo Ji," Shen Yuan said with a wry smile.

Luo Ji stood up and shook hands with Shen Yuan, addressing him as Engineer Shen.

I really can't bring myself to call him "Little Shenzi".

Luo Ji asked, "What stage has the Sunset Project reached so far?"

Li Hao wiped the dirt on his hands onto his clothes, then tapped the clean white panel, bringing up a project progress panel:
"Currently, the official Sunset No. 1 landship is having its skeleton built. The skeleton is inspired by the way white dwarf fish swim in solids. The skeleton material is white dwarf matter, which, from a design perspective, is basically immune to the temperature and pressure of the Earth's core. Once the main skeleton is built, the surface of Sunset No. 1 landship will use a strong interaction force material, the same material as water droplets, as its shell. It will be extremely sturdy, so there is no need to worry about it hitting a reef in the Earth's core."

Luo Ji asked, "Isn't there a prototype?"

Li Hao glanced at Shen Yuan, indicating that it was up to him to speak.

Shen Yuan explained to Luo Ji, "Dr. Luo Ji, we do have a prototype. The 'Sunset Zero' prototype has just completed underground testing and can safely dive to a depth of 1100 kilometers, which is 300 kilometers greater than the previous design."

Shen Yuan forcefully snatched the pointer from Li Hao's hand and tapped the mineral veins and heat source markers on the screen. "But we can't go any deeper. The propulsion system is a problem. The closer we get to the Earth's core, the stronger the feeling of weightlessness becomes. It's difficult for the spaceship to turn freely in the mantle. However, we have also discovered stable geothermal sources and metal veins at this depth, which can theoretically support the energy and material needs of a medium-sized shelter."

Luo Ji: "Project Sunset is not about building underground shelters."

Shen Yuan laughed and said, "That was indeed a factor when the project was initiated... Well, now that the Trisolarans have all left, it's a purely scientific research project now."

Luo Ji frowned: "Can't this prototype dive any further?"

Li Hao asked, "Dr. Luo Ji, what's the reason you're so interested in the Sunset Project?"

Luo Ji remained silent.

Li Hao pretended he hadn't asked that question. Chief Engineer Shen Yuan said, "We can't dive any further. The prototype is actually stuck. While the communication problem has been solved thanks to breakthroughs in quantum entanglement technology, sensory sharing isn't yet possible, making it easy to get stuck in mantle fissures. Actually, there's a very direct way to get to the Earth's core: make the spaceship heavy enough, a solid white dwarf spaceship… but even then, it won't be able to get out. I believe Dr. Luo Ji wants to see a finished spaceship that can freely enter and exit the Earth's core, right?"

Luo Ji nodded: "I do have a need to go deep into the Earth's core, and it's quite urgent."

Luo Ji asked, "Are you having any difficulties?"

Li Hao and Shen Yuan exchanged a glance and said in unison, "We need more white dwarf starfish."

Li Hao said, "But these fish are actually hard to find. After all, they are the property of the dinosaurs, not Earth's. Getting approval from the federal government is also very troublesome, since it involves diplomatic relations between humans and dinosaurs..."

Luo Ji interrupted, "Alright, Chief Engineer Li, Engineer Shen, give me the progress report, material test data, and planning diagrams for the Sunset series of landships. I'll go directly to the federal government's professional council for evaluation and give you the maximum resources."

Li Hao stubbed out his cigarette: "That felt good, I'll really make a killing on the kickbacks."

A question mark popped into Luo Ji's head.

Shen Yuan shook his head: "Dr. Luo Ji, you don't need to pay attention to him. He talks nonsense all day long, but in reality, without Chief Engineer Li Hao, the entire Sunset Project would not have been possible. He just loves to talk nonsense."

Shen Yuan added, "If the federal government can approve additional energy research and development funding and more white dwarf starfish, we can strive to complete the Sunset No. 1 landship, which is currently under construction, within six months and directly increase its diving depth to 3000 kilometers. As for the power system, we'll think of a solution later."

"The main problem is that the Sunset One landship is too small, with a designed length of only about 20 meters, equivalent to a small submarine. It can't accommodate a nuclear fusion engine and can only be propelled by conventional engines. Furthermore, due to the extremely high drag from the Earth's core, it can't use the propellantless propulsion of a warship. It can only move like a white-spotted fish, swimming with its tail. However, since the strong interaction force material is fixed, figuring out how to make the tail swing is also a technical challenge."

Li Hao: "Plasma reactor propulsion can also be considered."

Shen Yuan: "The small boat couldn't hold that much fuel. The Zero ship had to turn back because it didn't have enough fuel."

Li Hao: "If that doesn't work, we'll find a few hundred white fish and tie them to the front of the boat."

Shen Yuan: "We need to build a land-based ship, not a carriage. Also, tell me what can tie up the white fish?"

Li Hao pointed to Luo Ji next to him.

Luo Ji shrugged: "A white fish weighs hundreds of thousands, or even millions of tons. It could easily kill me. Moreover, if the white fish gets out of control, dozens of underground cities around the world will be doomed."

Upon hearing this, Li Hao's dream of using fish to pull a cart was shattered.

Shen Yuan pressed Chief Engineer Li into his seat and explained to Luo Ji, "Dr. Luo Ji, please understand that sometimes it's not just about having enough resources. Whether it's plasma propulsion or fishtail swaying, we need to experiment slowly. After all, humans haven't studied how to drive ships underground."

Luo Ji expressed his understanding: "I know that scientific research cannot produce results simply by piling on resources, but sufficient resources can at least save you a lot of trouble. I just hope that you can succeed as soon as possible."

"Definitely," Shen Yuan said.

...

After visiting the ship production workshop of the Sunset Project, Luo Ji sought out Li Hao alone before leaving.

"Chief Engineer Li Hao, I feel like Engineer Shen Yuan looks familiar. What did he do before joining the Sunset Project team?"

Li Hao put away his nonchalant expression and frowned in thought for a while.

"Dr. Luo Ji, are you familiar with the 'Antarctic Garden Project'?"

A rare look of bewilderment appeared in Luo Ji's eyes.

Li Hao sighed and said, "You hibernated too early. You don't know about many things that happened during the great downturn. Let me give you a brief introduction to this plan."

"In the mid-21st century, various crises caused by economic recession, natural environmental degradation, and desertification intensified. Internally, there was a large-scale ETO rebellion, and externally, there were factors of global resource depletion. With Luo Qing in seclusion, the United Nations' restrictions on countries were greatly weakened. Due to the lack of resources, this directly led to the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1952, becoming a mere formality, and directly led to countries openly vying for the Antarctic continent."

Argentina and Australia set a bad precedent, and other major world powers quickly followed suit, all vying for freshwater resources in Antarctica.

Of course, the Antarctic hibernation base where the South Pole is located belongs to the PDC, and other countries aren't interested in it. What they are interested in are other parts of Antarctica. Among them, Chinese physicist Shen Huabei, while experimenting with stellar-type nuclear bombs underground, unexpectedly discovered a "new solid-state" material—an ultra-hard substance that, after being compressed under the pressure of a nuclear explosion, can penetrate the Earth's strata. While this material is not as hard as neutron star material, it can still withstand the pressure and temperature of the Earth's core, forming a fixed corridor.

Luo Ji noticed the surname 'Shen' in Shen Huabei's name.

Sure enough, Li Hao said again: "Dr. Shen Huabei is the father of Chief Engineer Shen Yuan. After the Green Grass Era, Shen Yuan proposed the idea of ​​'Antarctic Courtyard' to the national level: to dig a tunnel from Mohe, China, through the Earth's core to Argentina, making Antarctica the country's 'backyard', realizing a 42-minute Earth core crossing transportation, and completing the replenishment of the country's freshwater resources."

Luo Ji: "But even if we came to the Green Grass Era, it would be impossible to do this with the productivity at that time, right? Unless we gather all the star gas bombs produced since the time of Radiaz on Earth and then blast a passage through them."

Li Hao nodded: "That's right, so this plan could only remain a complete idea. Shen Yuan simply went into hibernation and didn't wake up until the year 190 of the Crisis Era. Later, he came to Antarctica, met me, and we became partners."

Li Hao said thoughtfully, "If you think he looks familiar, then the only thing I can think of is that you met him when you woke up in Crisis 205. After all, the underground city here leads directly to the Antarctic hibernation base. You may have happened to run into him eating at the hibernation base's canteen after you woke up, so it's possible that you have some impression of him."

Luo Ji understood, and then asked, "But the fact that he could work with you on the Sunset Project, doesn't that also indicate that he has a strong interest in the Earth's core?"

Li Hao frowned: "I don't know about that. I haven't heard him mention it. But one thing is certain: after the Antarctic Garden Project was rejected by the national level, Shen Yuan was indeed depressed for a while. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to hibernate for 100 years and only woke up in the 190th year of the Crisis Era."

"Okay, thank you for telling me so much. I'm going up now."

Luo Ji plans to collect relevant information about the period before and after the major downturn after he leaves, to see what major events happened that he had overlooked during those years.

(End of this chapter)