Chapter 345: The Birth of Terra (Patreon)

Chapter 345: The Birth of Terra

After completing all this, Su Wu recalled the subtle suggestion Song Hong had made during their recent conversation.

Now that the Farmhouse Compound had absorbed nearly half of the surviving population of the Eastern Continent, effectively becoming its dominant entity, continuing to use the name "Jianghe City Shelter"—a reference to that remote city—was no longer appropriate.

This was something Su Wu had somewhat overlooked before. For a long time, he had grown accustomed to calling it the Farmhouse Compound. But in human history, what farmhouse could ever accommodate a population of one billion? Persisting with this name would, in a way, belittle the dignity and labor of so many people.

"If it's necessary to have a formal name," Su Wu thought, "then let it be Terra."

"In ancient mythology, Terra was the Earth Goddess, the mother of all things, who brought fertile land and thriving life."

"This is also the future direction of the Farmhouse Compound."

"If the apocalypse represents the end of all things, then Terra shall become the cradle and paradise of human life."

Having decided on the name, Su Wu proceeded to enter it into the Artificial Intelligence database. From this moment onward, the Farmhouse Compound would refer to itself as Terra in all internal and external communications.

Externally, as the Farmhouse Compound adopted its formal name, its immense influence gradually became apparent. The most straightforward manifestation was a nearly one-third reduction in the difficulty of assimilating other shelters. Even the Eastern Continent's capital on the Western Wasteland Plateau and the distant Federal Center began to tacitly acknowledge Terra as a force capable of engaging with them as equals. The negative repercussions of Su Wu's absorption of the majority of the Eastern Continent's population and territory were quietly suppressed.

In the afternoon, within half an hour of formally signing the transfer agreement with Changming City, a Morning Light-Class Transport Ship slowly descended at the No. 1 exit of Changming City Shelter, beginning the relocation of the first batch of 500,000 residents.

According to Su Wu's plan, only one Morning Light-Class Transport Ship would be involved in this relocation process, tasked solely with transferring the population and some valuable rare resources. The remaining bulk would be handled by a subsequent fleet of over ten thousand Ice Lake-class Transport Ships.

This deliberately restricted and relatively slow transportation process not only reduced additional logistical losses but also ensured that Changming City's population could smoothly integrate into Terra's societal system without causing significant disruption due to rapid short-term growth.

June 7th marked the completion of the main framework for Terra's 21st shelter level, with internal construction commencing simultaneously. This level, designated by Su Wu as an entertainment district, would adopt a distributed construction approach. As each section was completed, it would be progressively opened to shelter residents to alleviate the psychological strain caused by long-term confinement in cramped collective living quarters.

At the same time, the first second-generation Morning Light-Class Transport Ship completed all stages from design to manufacturing and smoothly rolled off the production line.

This brand-new transport ship, though labeled as the second generation, is fundamentally an extension of the first generation in terms of hull structure, engine design, and other principles.

Yet, its overall performance has seen an astonishing multiplicative improvement.

The length from bow to stern alone is more than double that of the first generation, measuring approximately 470 meters.

It boasts an internal storage capacity of 2.4 million cubic meters and can transport up to 1.5 million people for short distances or 100,000 tons of cargo.

Its cruising speed within the atmosphere exceeds 10 times the speed of sound.

In outer space beyond the atmosphere, it even possesses the capability for long-range voyages to Pluto.

It is a true spacefaring vessel in every sense.

If Su Wu so desired, equipping it with sufficient supplies and internal recycling systems would allow a single second-generation Morning Light-Class Transport Ship to sustain one or two thousand people in space for over a thousand years.

"Strictly speaking,"

"Terra has only now truly entered the space age."

"We now have the capability to develop and construct in space to a certain extent."

"The only thing lacking is sufficient energy."

"The fuel required for conventional nuclear power plants is ultimately extremely limited in reserves."

On the screen before Su Wu,

a website unfamiliar to the vast majority of people was displayed.

This was a scientific research forum that Yue Minghan, a second-tier researcher from the Federal Academy of Sciences whom Su Wu had encountered in the magma zone while completing the Golden Balance Mission, had invited him to join.

By now,

this once highly esoteric forum, which had been nearly impenetrable to Su Wu at the time,

had been thoroughly explored by countless Terra scholars and Artificial Intelligence,

leaving almost no secrets remaining.

From it, Su Wu had also gradually uncovered some information originating from the highest echelons of the Federation.

Both the Federal Central Government and the Western Union Autonomous Council

had, in fact, mastered and implemented controlled nuclear fusion technology as early as the beginning of the apocalypse.

Though limited by the post-apocalyptic environment, their constrained industrial capacity, and scarce resources,

they had not yet been able to fully popularize the technology.

But the stars and beyond were undoubtedly already within their reach.

And if that were all, it might not have been so concerning.

What made Su Wu even more wary was that

both the Federal Central Government and the Western Union Autonomous Council

possessed, to varying degrees, technologies derived from extraterrestrial civilizations.

Even the colonial fleets or the Noah's Ark Fleet they were currently constructing

were based on artifacts left behind on Earth by these alien civilizations.

Without engaging in full-scale conflict with them,

Su Wu found it difficult to accurately assess the gap between these extraterrestrial relics and his own capabilities.

The only certainty was that

these alien artifacts could not be mass-produced easily

and had extremely limited carrying capacity.

Otherwise, the Federal Central Government would not have made the decision to abandon the majority of the global population even before the apocalypse.

"Take it slow."

"There's still plenty of time."

"If all else fails, conventional nuclear power plants—or even oil-based power generation—would still suffice."

"Besides, the other planets in the solar system also harbor vast reserves of chemical fuels that can be used for power generation."

"Enough to sustain us until the breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion technology."

In the following days,

the first and second second-generation Morning Light-Class Transport Ships were successively completed.

All of it was channeled by Su Wu into the global trade network.

Mass quantities of Terra's light industrial products and high-end medical services were delivered to every corner of the world where Shelters existed.

The enormous volume of transactions.

Brought Su Wu immense profits in a short period of time.

At the same time, it also caused a noticeable decline in the average selling price of most light industrial products.

The related markets across the entire world.

Thus approached saturation at an even faster pace.

June 12th.

While Terra continued its quiet construction as usual.

And its population slowly accumulated to nearly 1.1 billion.

An unprecedented earthquake swept through the coastal regions of the Eastern Continent.

Releasing the immense energy from the deep sea.

Without reservation onto the land.

Near the ruins of what was once Zhenhai City, tens of thousands of square kilometers of land.

Were submerged within just an hour or two.

By scorching magma and billions of tons of temporarily thawed seawater.

The super disaster predicted by the Federal Central Government and the Eastern Continent's capital.

At this moment, in the form of an earthquake coupled with a magma eruption.

Officially descended upon the Eastern Continent's mainland.

(End of Chapter)