Chapter 1572: Project Redwood

“Sure enough, my judgment was not wrong. I said at the time that no one is more suitable for this chairman position than him!”

It was not just Wu Qing who watched the progress of this matter. Zhong Ziyu, the managing director of the AIIB for the East Asia Energy board of directors, also had a sincere smile on his face.

He admitted that the election of Lu Zhou, the dormant man, as the chairman of the board was indeed a gamble. But now it seemed that not only was his bet right, but the rewards he received far exceeded his expectations.

Those colleagues who opposed him in the AIIB either pretended to be deaf and did not speak, or they had begun to kiss his a*s.

He was standing in the office of the president for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, reporting to the president about the completion of the second-generation controllable fusion project and the total expenditure of the entire project.

“You hid from us so well.” The president said with a smile on his face, after listening to Zhong Ziyu’s report, he looked at him in a relaxed tone and said, “The whole project was suddenly completed, I didn’t even mentally prepare for this.”

Zhong Ziyu shrugged and said.

“Actually, I didn’t know much either. The entire second-generation controllable fusion technology research, especially the project progress at the lunar experimental reactor base, was very confined within the group. Non-related personnel who want to access this information must get approval. Even myself, the managing director, has only recently heard of the successful fusion ignition.”

“It’s not a good thing.” After a pause, the president continued, “Speaking of which, what does he think?”

“Think?”

President: “About the East Asia Energy board of directors.”

Zhong Ziyu pondered for a while and replied earnestly: “I don’t know what he thinks, just like I didn’t expect that he will be the chairman himself. However, judging from his behavior in the past few months, he has not been in the headquarters for a long time.”

The president was silent for a while, he then sighed softly.

“I understand.”

Hasn’t been in the headquarters…

Obviously, that man has lost his interest in East Asia Energy and probably does not want to continue his position of chairman.

But this makes sense. The second-generation controllable fusion experimental reactor was successfully ignited, so his biggest wish has been fulfilled, and there is indeed no need to continue to stay on the East Asia Energy board of directors.

But if he leaves, the investment banks and shareholders would start to worry about the high-level changes of East Asia Energy…

After a pause, the president continued.

“… If Lu Zhou leaves the position of chairman, who do you think is the most suitable candidate for the next chairman?”

Zhong Ziyu shook his head.

“I don’t know… but to be honest, since last month, I have clearly felt the atmosphere of tension in the board of directors. Not only just us, but others are also aware that Lu Zhou might choose—”

“I want you to do it.”

Looking at Zhong Ziyu who was there, the president smiled and said.

“Regardless of whether Lu Zhou has a suitable successor, you placed the right bet on the second-generation controllable fusion plan. This isn’t just luck.”

“I admire your vision!”

…

Forget about how East Asia Energy was booming due to the breakthrough of the second-generation controllable fusion technology. The originally peaceful international society had become turbulent because of Lu Zhou’s amazing “gift”.

Whoever mastered the second-generation controllable fusion technology would master the ability to navigate distant planets, or in other words, mastering the entire universe beyond the asteroid belt, and even beyond the solar system!

This statement may be a bit exaggerated, but helium III was indeed more suitable as a fuel for the s.p.a.ce age than the use of expensive and rare tritium. The second-generation controllable fusion reactor fueled by helium/deuterium elements was more suitable as the energy supply core of the s.p.a.ce age because it would not produce additional neutrons, and didn’t deplete the core material.

If a first-generation controllable fusion reactor equipped with a normal number of generator sets could meet the energy needs of an urban agglomeration, then the second-generation controllable fusion reactor could be the supplier of an entire regional alliance.

It was no exaggeration to say that once a breakthrough in the technology of long-distance power transmission was made, the moon, which had abundant reserves of helium III, would immediately transform into a vital organ of the Earth-Moon system!

At that time, there would be no need to build any fusion reactors on the earth at all, the production line for extracting tritium would gradually shut down. From now on, mankind would enter a new era, this kind of transformation could surpa.s.s people’s imagination!

As for how to handle long-distance power transmission…

Long before the second-generation controllable fusion plan started, Lu Zhou had already figured out a plan to solve this problem.

“So how do you plan to solve the problem of energy attenuation in long-distance power transmission?” Li Guangya, sitting in a private meeting room in a five-star hotel near the Heart of Asia, asked Lu Zhou curiously, “Could it be that laser?”

“Of course not.” Lu Zhou shook his head and said slowly, “The energy attenuation of the laser in the atmosphere, even if we don’t consider the possible impact on the ecosystem, we can’t do this.”

Li Guangya: “Then what are your plans?”

Lu Zhou: “It’s very simple. Deploy a few receivers in low-Earth orbit, and then use superconducting cables to transmit electrical energy from the low-Earth orbit to the surface.”

Li Guangya: “…”

He didn’t feel like this was simple at all.

“Don’t worry, I have already considered this matter. If it is not reliable, I would not be so confident.” Looking at the time on the wall, Lu Zhou looked at the chairman sitting on the opposite side, and continued, “If that’s it, I will go back first.”

“Wait a second.”

Seeing that Lu Zhou was about to get up and leave the meeting room, Li Guangya quickly stopped him.

“What?”

Using a negotiating tone, Li Guangya smiled embarra.s.sedly.

“I have something here I need a favor for.”

“What.”

“Closing speech!”

Hearing these words, Lu Zhou sighed and spoke.

“Isn’t that your job?”

“Yes, but now you are alone in the limelight of the whole celebration,” with a helpless expression on his face, Li Guangya spread his hands on the table and continued, “What’s more, as agreed, I will give you support in the second-generation controllable fusion project, and you will help my s.p.a.ce elevator.”

Lu Zhou: “Does the closing speech have anything to do with this?”

“Of course.” Li Guangya nodded naturally, and gently pushed a holographic interface in front of Lu Zhou, he said after a dry cough, “After you read this, you understand why.”

…

The celebration of the fusion ignition day lasted for three full days.

Although many excellent scientific research results were displayed during this period, the attention was undoubtedly taken away by East Asia Energy.

After all, no matter how impressive the technology was, it was impossible to compare to the energy that transcended the stars. What’s more, nuclear fusion technology had extraordinary significance for the Pan-Asian people. The completion of the ignition of the second-generation fusion reactor on this special day exploded with excitement on the Internet.

Bathed in the applause of the audience and the enthusiastic eyes, Chairman Li Guangya, who stood in front of the stage, had a gentle smile on his face.

After a short pause, he immediately began the final part of the whole celebration—

The chairman of the Pan-Asian Cooperation’s closing speech.

As Li Guangya read the closing speech, Lu Zhou, who was waiting behind the scenes, was also observing the reaction of him and the audience. He had to admit that Li Guangya’s popularity was quite high, the excitement that the audience showed seemed real.

Of course, they could be paid actors.

Lu Zhou was not particularly interested in political matters.

The ten-minute closing speech soon came to an end.

Lu Zhou took a look at the time on the watch, he estimated that he was about to appear on the stage. He got up from his chair and followed the staff’s footsteps to the side of the stairs.

At almost the same time, Chairman Li Guangya, who was standing in front of the stage, finished his speech in a concise tone.

“Next, we invite the Chief Consultant of the Scientific Development for the Pan-Asian Ministry of Science and Technology, Academician Lu, for an important announcement!”

Li Guangya gave up the microphone beside him, smiled, and made an inviting gesture to Lu Zhou.

As Lu Zhou stood in front of the chaotic stage, the noise was quieted by a dozen decibels in an instant.

Whether people were sitting in front of the TV or at the scene, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Lu Zhou intently, fearing that they would miss a word or small detail.

At the opening ceremony three days ago, the aurora covering the entire city deeply conquered their hearts.

Everyone was looking forward to what different surprises he would bring to them when he stood on this stage again.

Obviously, Lu Zhou wanted to live up to the expectations in their eyes.

Standing in front of the stage, he quickly spoke.

“It’s an honor to stand here to draw an end to this important celebration. Our chairman has already touched on themes such as unity, bravery, and grat.i.tude. So I won’t repeat them again.”

Looking at the friendly smiles on the faces of the audience sitting in the front row, Lu Zhou also responded with a smile.

After a pause, he changed into a serious and solemn tone and spoke.

“Considering the needs of Pan-Asian Cooperation in the development of s.p.a.ce resources and the potential impact of the use of shuttles on the ecosystem, the Pan-Asian Cooperation has decided to launch ‘Project Redwood’, once and for all, to solve the problem of traveling to high-orbit!”

The representatives of various countries sitting in the VIP seats showed surprised expressions on their faces, and whispered to the colleagues or other representatives beside them.

Sitting in the venue, Clooney held the lens in his hand tightly, his index finger on the shutter, was frozen.

His intuition told him that he was experiencing a historic moment!

At such a great moment, missing even one shot was the loss of the entire civilization!

“… In short, we intend to build an elevator on the equator from the surface to s.p.a.ce.” Lu Zhou continued with an indisputable tone as he watched the eyes gradually turning from surprise to shock, “This is something that was discussed a long time ago.”

“And I think the time is ripe now!”

The entire venue of the Heart of Asia exploded with exhilaration…