Otherworld Girl Development Guide

Suddenly, a bad feeling crept over me... and I blurted out, "Oh, that? I just picked it up while I was traveling..."

"So what happened to the things you purchased in the past two years? Where did the sand, cement, bricks, wind turbines, and sensors go?" the retired old man asked softly.

"..."

The retired old man's words shattered Zhou Mingrui's last shred of hope. Well... continuing to argue would only be an insult to both his own and the other person's intelligence.

Seemingly noticing the other person's hesitation, the retired old man turned to look out of the car: "Mingrui, do you know what that ore is? It's a natural room-temperature superconductor! I don't need to explain its importance, do I?"

Room-temperature superconductors have a wide range of applications. Every year, a large amount of electricity transmitted by the State Grid is consumed in transmission... and magnetic confinement fusion devices also require superconducting materials!

Current superconductivity requires extremely demanding conditions, such as complex liquid nitrogen cooling...

Graphene, a material on which humanity has placed high hopes, can indeed achieve superconductivity when formed into magic angles, but it does not have the capability for industrial manufacturing. Its preparation is too difficult, the superconducting current it can withstand is too small, and the conditions for its use are harsh!

Room-temperature superconductors, on the other hand, mean that complex cooling structures can be omitted during the design process, allowing for optimized structures and increased reliability.

The application of superconductors in military applications is even more extensive. There are room temperature superconducting materials. Academician Ma, known as the "Magneto," dared to put a combat-ready electromagnetic railgun on the Type 055 destroyer!

“Mingrui, I guarantee with all my honor that I will not restrict your freedom or threaten you! Don’t be misled by Western media! We are not the demons they portray us as. We don’t need you to hand over anything. We can cooperate!” The retired old man patted his chest and said with utmost seriousness.

In recent years, those idiots have made the internet a mess, maliciously vilifying and applying double standards... Many young people have been misled, which makes this retired old man grit his teeth in anger.

"cooperate?"

Zhou Mingrui was stunned for a moment and didn't react immediately.

"We'll invest 100 billion, but that's just the initial investment. We only need 40%, and you won't have to sacrifice your personal interests; it's a win-win situation!"

China is determined to acquire room-temperature superconductors, and besides, it's just a matter of money; money is the last thing they lack right now!

So what if Zhou Mingrui becomes a millionaire? The value of providing room-temperature superconductors alone cannot be measured in price. China is not a petty and narrow-minded country like the United States!

Zhou Mingrui was somewhat tempted. If he didn't cooperate with the government, was he supposed to seek capital? Venture capital? Angel funds?

You still have to give away shares!

Putting aside the issue of scale, their greed is even greater, and freedom and security will likely become problems... Besides, some people are seriously biased, and if they get targeted by C Ai Ai, Zhou Mingrui shuddered at the thought.

Given the retired old man's character, Zhou Mingrui could completely trust him. Besides, the fact that he could say such things meant that he had a higher level of authorization.

However... if you want to develop another world, 100 billion probably won't even make a splash.

"I think 100 billion might not be enough..."

Need more money? The retired old man didn't even raise an eyebrow and doubled his investment.

"200 million."

"Uh, it's not about the money..."

Under the somewhat surprised gaze of the retired old man, Zhou Mingrui opened the car door and got out. He glanced around at the empty surroundings and then looked up at the sky.

"Are there any satellites up there?"

The retired old man glanced at his watch: "At this time, the satellite has already passed."

"That's good."

Zhou Mingrui snapped his fingers with his right hand.

Snapped!

Chapter 5: Earn Money While Standing!

slap~

Zhou Mingrui snapped his fingers like Thanos.

The next second, a blue singularity appeared in the void, and a two-way portal took shape. Gray mist emanated from the edge of the portal, and static electricity swirled around its edge.

Visually speaking, it's very cool.

This was the first time Zhou Mingrui had opened the portal in front of outsiders. He had kept this secret for too long, and it had unknowingly affected his mentality.

At that moment, he felt an indescribable sense of relaxation, the gloom in the corner of his heart dissipated, and his body felt light.

The retired old man stared in disbelief at the portal that seemed to exist only in science fiction movies.

"Mingrui, what's this?"

"I don't know the specifics either."

Zhou Mingrui slung his backpack over his shoulder, walked to the portal, and turned to look at the retired old man: "I've been very well taken care of these past few days, so this time it's my turn to treat you to a meal!"

After saying that, he stepped into the portal and disappeared from the retired young man's sight. The retired young man frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then followed Zhou Mingrui into the portal.

The portal closed slowly the moment you stepped through it.

A gentle sea breeze caressed his skin. The old man looked up and saw that the night sky was pitch black, with no moon, only a dazzling starry sky.

The old man tried to identify the constellations in the sky, a basic skill that every navy officer must master. However, he couldn't find any familiar constellations in the starry sky, which reminded him that he was now on another planet!

"Could this be...?"

"Another planet, but I haven't named it... I don't even know if this planet is in the Milky Way."

"All I know is that this is a surviving plant suitable for human habitation. I have been here for two years and have not experienced any headaches, fevers, or other adverse reactions."

The retired old man's eyes flashed. A habitable planet suitable for human habitation! What this means for China is self-evident. They thought the room-temperature superconducting material was somewhere unexplored underground on Earth, but they never expected to pull out such a big fish!

With such a planet as a backup, one could say they are already invincible... provided that the portal is truly reliable.

Zhou Mingrui took out the remote control from his pocket, pressed it lightly, and immediately all the LED lights in the villa lit up.

The two walked towards the two-story villa. Zhou Mingrui introduced the basic situation of the island to the retired old man, who carefully took notes.

When he saw the red flag fluttering on the top of the villa, the retired old man couldn't help but nod to himself, and his gaze towards Zhou Mingrui softened even more.

The two entered the villa, and looking at the small but fully equipped house, the retired old man couldn't help but joke, "Wow~ you're living a good life."

"Self-reliance leads to abundance... I'll go get some food; this meal is on me."

"You little brat..."

After saying that, Zhou Mingrui put down his schoolbag and went down the stairs to the basement. The basement of the villa was filled with a large amount of prepared food, as well as two diesel generator sets and solar batteries.

I took potatoes, onions, and beef out of the refrigerator and then went into the kitchen to get to work.

"Mingrui, how much do you know about this planet?"

The retired old man sat at the dining table, taking notes in a notebook he had swiped, and asked without looking up.

"I'm not too sure about that either, since I'm all alone and haven't left the island for safety reasons."

The retired old man nodded and quickly wrote something in his notebook.

Soon, the aroma of beef stew with potatoes wafted out... Zhou Mingrui sat opposite the retired old man.

"Now we have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

The bureau chief stopped what he was doing, looked up at Zhou Mingrui, and couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha...you're still keeping me in suspense? Okay, let's hear the good news first."

"The good news is that this planet is habitable, and you can even grow vegetables there!"

What do Chinese people look for when judging the quality of land? Resources? Products? Those are things for the higher-ups. Ordinary people just look at whether they can grow vegetables. As long as they can grow vegetables, it's a good place!

"That's really great..." The director wrote "can grow vegetables" in large letters in his notebook, and even added an emphasis mark before it: "...So what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is... there is a civilization on this planet."

"civilization?!"

The old man squinted his eyes, thinking that it was normal for intelligent life to exist on such a habitable planet; the key question was the level of civilization.

"Don't worry, the civilization level isn't too high. At least I haven't seen any airplanes or giant ships, and the telescope on the terrace hasn't detected any satellites or anything like that..."

Upon hearing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief, but also realized that his leisurely retirement life had come to an end and he would probably be gone for a long time.

"Mingrui, let's go back after we finish eating. I need to report this matter immediately!"

"Well... I'm afraid we'll have to wait a while, the skill is on cooldown."

After gaining the ability to open portals, Zhou Mingrui conducted numerous experiments and gradually discovered that the opening of portals also follows the law of conservation of energy.

Although it's unknown where the energy to open the portal is obtained, perhaps it's related to dark matter or vacuum zero-point energy... In any case, his intelligence is completely incomprehensible.

The time it takes for the portal to open is directly proportional to the cooldown time; the longer it is open, the longer it takes to recharge... For a short opening like this, it takes about 2 days to recharge.

Once the portal is fully charged, there will be an invisible and intangible sensation reminding him that the portal can be reopened.

"It's on CD..."

The retired old man was stunned for a few seconds before he realized what the other person meant. It was only because the old man had spent a lot of time on the internet that he understood. If it were any other elderly person, they really wouldn't understand what CD meant.

"How long will it take?"

Two days.

After thinking it over, Zhou Mingrui decided to tell the truth. Although he could falsify some data, it would be easy to be exposed in long-term cooperation with the country. It would be better to leave a good impression of being honest and truthful.

The old man nodded and wrote down the characteristics of the portal in his notebook.

After dinner, the retired old man chose a guest room and went inside, busying himself with something.

Zhou Mingrui lay on his bed in the bedroom, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep at all, feeling incredibly conflicted.

His secret was completely exposed. Although he had the retired old man as his guarantor, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, fearful of the unknown future... yet also excited, and involuntarily a smile crept onto his face.

He can't develop another world on his own, but cooperating with a country means investing a lot of manpower and resources. He would take 60% of the resources of a planet... He could easily crush Ma and Jack Ma. I really have no interest in money!

This is how you earn money while standing up!

Chapter 6: Always Wanting to Build a Gundam!

Zhou Mingrui sat up in bed, the smile slowly fading from his face. What exactly did he want...? This question stumped him for a moment.

What's the point of making so much money? Luxury cars? Mansions? Clubhouses and young models?

These pursuits are a bit too mundane!

For a moment, Zhou Mingrui became somewhat irritated and got up to open the door.

Light shone through the crack in the door of a guest room not far away, indicating that the retired old man was still busy taking notes.