Chapter 499 - 328: The Yellow River Roars: The Earth Pivot’s Divine Manifestation (Part 2)
Chapter 499: Chapter 328: The Yellow River Roars: The Earth Pivot’s Divine Manifestation (Part 2)
Besides, the volume was simply too massive. Even Li Xiang’s Otherworldly Warehouse couldn’t hold it all, so he would have to discard the excess.
According to Li Xiang’s calculations, dredging the 250-mile-long Suspended River to an average depth of five meters and across a width of 0.8 kilometers would require excavating a staggering 32 trillion cubic meters of earth.
Li Xiang’s Otherworldly Warehouse currently had a volume of 549.76 billion cubic meters. Furthermore, it was already filled with a large amount of supplies, leaving only about half its space available for transporting silt. To prevent contamination, he also needed to leave a wide buffer zone between the contents. If he transported 200 billion cubic meters per trip, he would need to make 160 trips to move the 32 trillion cubic meters.
This transport capacity was astonishing. Of course, if he leveled up again while dredging the Yellow River and his warehouse expanded further, he would need even fewer trips.
Still, at a speed of Mach 20, a round trip to the deep Pacific Ocean wouldn’t take much time.
During the dredging process, he would simultaneously apply "Gravity Field Reverse Loading" to the Kaifeng-Zhengzhou section. He would use his Giant Power in conjunction with his Earth Superpower to compress the soft soil layer of the riverbed, causing the entire Suspended River section to sink by three to five meters.
Additionally, downstream from Zhengzhou, a parallel underground flood-diversion channel would be created. He would use "Rock Vein Shaping" to construct a fully enclosed basalt tunnel with a designed inner diameter of 80 meters.
The main channel would be dedicated to navigation, with a water depth of at least four meters. The flood-diversion channel, controlled by linked, intelligent earthen sluices, would automatically open during flood season to divert water and prevent the risk of the levees overflowing.
The third, fourth, and fifth parts of the plan covered ecological and navigational synergy, disaster-preparedness and levee-reinforcement measures, and the implementation schedule and performance forecast, but there’s no need to detail them all.
However, two points were worth mentioning. First, Jiang Cai’Er had used a quantum computer to help Li Xiang design a hydrological model. It would use "Earth Vein Resonance" to dynamically adjust the river’s curvature, optimizing transit efficiency for ships.
Second, Jiang Cai’Er suggested that Zhao Xueqing should participate in the project.
Zhao Xueqing was an expert with the Plant Superpower. Her "Spirit Plant Telepathy" could help quickly screen for salt- and alkali-tolerant vegetation. On the reshaped riverbanks, she could introduce plants with genetically enhanced, soil-stabilizing root systems, creating a 200-meter-wide ecological buffer zone.
At the same time, Li Xiang would lay a "Crystal Vein Filtering Layer" on the riverbed. This layer would adsorb heavy metal pollutants while releasing minerals, restoring the water’s natural self-purifying capabilities.
The crystalline particle structure of the Crystal Vein Filtering Layer was also designed by Jiang Cai’Er, while Li Xiang would be responsible for its implementation using his Earth Superpower.
After dredging, navigational capacity would allow 5,000-ton ships to travel directly from Zhengzhou to the Bohai Sea, a massive improvement over the previous 200-ton limit in certain sections. The flood control standard would also be upgraded from a one-hundred-year flood event to a one-thousand-year flood event.
This plan took full advantage of Li Xiang’s Extreme Speed, Otherworldly Warehouse, Giant Power, and Earth Element Micro-Shaping abilities. It would compress a super-project that would traditionally take decades into a matter of months. If implemented, it would be enough to withstand even a pre-Apocalypse super-flood.
"I can make a PowerPoint for you, too."
Jiang Cai’Er always saw things through to the end. As an Intelligent Type and research-focused Extraordinary Being, she was also a master at making presentations. After joining the national key laboratory at Tsinghua University, she frequently created PowerPoints, participated in group meetings, and gave eloquent reports that made her very popular.
Her spoken English had improved particularly quickly as well. Sometimes, when foreign research teams visited for academic exchanges, Jiang Cai’Er would give the entire presentation in English, earning frequent thumbs-ups and praise from both domestic and international experts.
And she was just an eighteen-year-old girl in the first semester of her freshman year. The foreign experts were astonished. ’How does China keep producing such geniuses?’ they wondered.
It was a well-known fact that the Beautiful Country’s military had fallen behind in recent years, mainly because they had driven out their engineers of Chinese descent and relied heavily on those of Indian descent. Meanwhile, the Beautiful Country’s own white and Jewish populations were first-rate at playing the financial markets but weren’t skilled in military or aerospace engineering.
Even the Minuteman III missile was the work of a scientist of Chinese descent, who studied under the same master as the "Father of the Dongfeng" missile.
Jiang Cai’Er’s stunning performance caught the attention of several foreign experts. One prominent figure privately invited her to study at a prestigious university in the United States, offering a massive scholarship, but Jiang Cai’Er naturally refused.
Li Xiang sent the Yellow River dredging plan and the PowerPoint to a confidential email address. He then spent a relaxing day with Jiang Cai’Er. The next evening, at around eight o’clock, he made another mysterious phone call.
He had been given the number and permission for a direct line after his first meeting with the dignitary in the Imperial Capital, but he had never taken the initiative to call before. This was the first time.
As soon as the call connected, the voice on the other end—usually calm and steady—held a faint trace of excitement.
"Brother Xiang, is that you? How have you been?" the official asked, his tone as warm as ever.
"I’m doing well, thank you for asking," Li Xiang replied.
Everyone’s time was precious, so after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Xiang cut to the chase and explained his plan for dredging the Yellow River.
He explained that he had divided the project into two phases because the hydrological and geological conditions differed between the upper and lower reaches of the river.
The official on the other end listened intently, asking questions from time to time to discuss the details with Li Xiang.
In the end, the official said six words: "I trust you to get it done."
After hanging up, the official was quite pleased. ’Brother Xiang truly has a patriotic spirit. He’s been a tremendous help.’
A moment later, he made another call to arrange matters, giving explicit instructions to fully cooperate with Li Xiang’s work.
An operation as massive as dredging the Yellow River couldn’t possibly be hidden from the world. Li Xiang needed someone to manage the cleanup and public-facing aspects, which was why he had submitted the plan in the first place.
...
「Meanwhile, in Conference Room 3 of the National Command Center for Major Water Conservancy Projects.」
Chief Engineer Zhou Zhengyang slammed his fist on the smart conference table, sending ripples across the holographic sand-table model. The cuff of his dark gray uniform was stained with coffee, and his knuckles were white from constantly gripping a stylus. "This is the sixth version of the plan the central command has rejected!"