“What is it called?”
After watching a demonstration of the Purple Flame Ejector’s capabilities, Gu Hang posed this question to its developer, Mr. Hu Ke.
Mr. Hu Ke was rather modest, “It doesn’t have a name, just a little gadget I tinkered with in the past. By compressing high energy, releasing high-energy particles, and special chemicals, it’s some of the targeted gadgets I developed during six months in the south. If it can be useful and assist Mr. Gu, that would be more than I could ask for.”
Gu Hang shook his head in admiration, “This is not a mere trifle; this is nothing short of terraforming!”
Mr. Hu Ke waved his hands in dismissal, “Mr. Gu, please don’t say that. Terraforming is way beyond my reach. Such equipment, such technology, are far from what a small gadget can achieve. In fact, its ability to be mass-produced is all thanks to the production capacity of the Concentrated Energy Cubes you created.
Without this exceptional energy support, it couldn’t function, let alone be mass-produced. Even so, it’s still only capable of dealing with the jungle… “
“True, compared to those legendary terraforming technologies, it’s not worth mentioning,” Gu Hang said, “but it is indeed the best solution we have for addressing the Green Valley issue now.”
At this point, Mr. Hu Ke sighed, “Are you truly determined to do this? Eradicate every inch of jungle in the Green Valley Region?”
“Why not?”
“It will require a massive amount of manpower and resources, and it will destroy the environment of the Green Valley Region…”
“Yes,” Gu Hang didn’t deny these points, “But we have sufficient capabilities and enough time to achieve this. Moreover, this is not merely an investment. Look at the reports coming from up ahead, this project is already generating positive returns.
It has solved the unemployment problem for a large number of refugees in the Green Valley Region, and the wood produced, although of inferior quality, does have value; the production department has already transferred the latest batch of synthetic starch production lines to the Green Valley Region, where factories will be built locally.
Once the scale is sufficient, these refugees might not need us to pay extra to support them; their own output will be enough to sustain them, and even generate a surplus…”
Pausing for a moment, Gu Hang mentioned a second point, “As for the natural environment, its weight was too small in my decision-making process. Compared to the threats posed by those monsters and the Cult established by your students, the problems caused by environmental degradation are minuscule. And if there really are issues, we will have the opportunity to rectify and solve them in the future.”
Mr. Hu Ke nodded repeatedly.
He was a researcher, a Prophet of the Engine, who, although having a not insignificant status within the Sect of Mechanics, never involved himself in actual management and focused solely on his own tasks. In matters of industry and certain political considerations, he was not thorough.
Speaking of the environment, that was because he had witnessed many planets ravaged by excessive human exploitation, where the quality of life was far from good.
However, what Mr. Gu said seemed reasonable to him.
He realized that the per capita resource consumption enjoyed by the inhabitants of Rage Owl Star was by no means considered to be overexploitation. For the planet’s development, frankly, they were not in a position to care about such things.
Not to mention the added threats of the Cult and mutated monsters.
Develop first, govern later.
Yet, Mr. Hu Ke still had his doubts, “Even so, the time required is too long. I understand you have ample time to develop that land, even by using years, or even decades as units of time. And indeed, this is a permanent solution. Eradicating the jungle will deprive the mutated monsters of their environment, and the Nature Salvation Society will have no place to hide.
Whatever their plans, they would be meaningless. But isn’t that too slow? Do you really want to take ten years to eliminate the Nature Salvation Society?”
“I can see you’re very concerned.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Hu Ke, who had been in the Twin Cities for a little while now. In these days, he had seen the state of the city.
Some things could be faked, but the living conditions and psychological states of the largest group of lower-level citizens could not be.
He had visited many different worlds. The living conditions of these people on Rage Owl Star certainly weren’t good, even belonging to the poor category.
But that wasn’t the fault of the rulers—at least not the current rulers. The conditions on Rage Owl Star themselves were too poor; not to mention the commoners, even Gu Hang, the Governor-General, and the various high-ranking officials of the League he had met, led austere lives.
However, compared to the less than abundant living environment, the mental state of the ordinary citizens in the Twin Cities was quite good. Something called ‘hope’ was brewing in their hearts and overflowing on their faces.
They had aspirations for the future and genuinely believed that under the League’s rule, they could improve their lives through their own hands and efforts.
This might sound mundane, but across the universe, only a few places possessed such vitality.
Mr. Hu Ke wasn’t infected by this; rather, he could confirm through experience that a League capable of maintaining such a psychological state among its subjects couldn’t be a rubbish government.