Jing Mingqiu pushed open the window, pointed at the vast desert outside the camp, and said with a smile, "Old General, what do you think of me turning the entire Taklamakan Desert into an oasis?"
"Great! Couldn't be better!" Cheng Feiguang's eyes instantly lit up. "If we can turn the nearly 400,000 square kilometers of the Taklamakan Desert into an oasis, we will not only have a large amount of arable land, but our domestic sandstorms will also be greatly reduced."
After the initial excitement, Cheng Feiguang remembered what the top leader had mentioned about Jing Mingqiu's system. He suppressed his inner excitement and gently advised, "Professor Jing, turning a desert into an oasis requires a lot of manpower and resources, and it takes a very long time. If you want to permanently change a piece of land, a desert is not the best choice."
Jing Mingqiu waved his hand, "Conventional improvement methods do indeed take a long time, but with my method, as long as there are sufficient manpower and resources, the desert can be quickly turned into an oasis."
"However," Jing Mingqiu scratched his head, "my method seems to require a bit too much manpower and resources. Old General, I estimate you can't make the decision alone. It's the same as before, send me over, and I'll go talk to the top leader."
Hearing Jing Mingqiu's words, Cheng Feiguang did not get angry. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the First Military Region, but he was only in charge of the military. Jing Mingqiu's plan to transform the desert required more workers and scientists, which were not under his jurisdiction.
In the Central Auditorium of the Imperial Capital of Longguo.
As soon as Jing Mingqiu got off the plane, he was greeted by the top leader and a group of high-ranking officials.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jing Mingqiu followed the top leader to the main conference room.
After taking their seats, the top leader asked with a smile, "Mingqiu, Old Fang said you've discovered a new method to turn deserts into oases?"
"To be precise, there are two," Jing Mingqiu flipped his wrist and handed a USB drive containing newly acquired data to the top leader. "I have formulated two different transformation plans based on whether the desert is primary or secondary."
"The primary part of the Taklamakan Desert does have little rainfall. But the outermost deserts were all grasslands or even forests at the beginning. Due to overgrazing and reclamation, the soil fertility was depleted, and they gradually turned into deserts."
"These areas do not lack rainfall, but the desertified soil cannot retain moisture or nutrients, making it impossible for plants to grow. The remaining soil, without the consolidation of plant roots, is blown away by the wind, thus falling into a vicious cycle."
"I have invented a special binding material, which you can think of as glue. When mixed with sand, it can greatly improve the water retention capacity of the sand, giving it soil-like properties, allowing drought-resistant plants to grow normally on it."
"As for the primary desert in the middle..."
Having traveled a long distance, Jing Mingqiu felt a bit thirsty. He casually grabbed a bottle of special mineral water from the table, unscrewed the cap, and began to drink heavily.
Jing Mingqiu had already created too many miracles, so although everyone was surprised by his explanation, they already believed it by eight-tenths.
Seeing Jing Mingqiu pause, the Minister of Environment felt an unbearable itch, and eagerly stood up, "Professor Jing, the peripheral secondary deserts are solved. What about those primary deserts?"
"That's indeed a bit troublesome," Jing Mingqiu shook his head slightly. "Those areas have too little rainfall. Even if I turn all the sand into soil, it will turn back into desert in a few years due to drought and lack of water."
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Environment's eyes dimmed. They could use traditional methods like grass grids to consolidate the sand and turn it into soil. Although it was time-consuming and slow, with persistence, they could eventually turn the desert back into fertile land. However, for the areas that were originally deserts, the rainfall was too little, and there was no feasible solution with current technology.
As he was feeling dejected, Jing Mingqiu finished drinking, put down the water bottle, and wiped his mouth. "However, this is not without a solution. The Taklamakan Desert lacks water, but the mountain ranges around it are not short of water."
"So, top leader, lend me a car manufacturing plant, and I will guide them to build some tunnel boring machines. Then, we can use these tunnel boring machines to dig several underground rivers beneath the Taklamakan Desert, so the desert will no longer lack water..."
"As for why underground rivers and not digging on the surface, I don't need to explain this common sense issue, do I?"
The top leader laughed heartily, "No, no! While I'm not a professional, I do have this common sense. Because the desert has very sufficient sunlight and lacks cover, the surface moisture will evaporate quickly."
"Mingqiu, your invention is excellent. I was just worried about how to settle the more than 80 million recovered disabled people, as well as the factories producing prosthetics and wheelchairs."
The top leader changed the subject, "According to the work report, the cry crystal battery is nearing completion and will soon be put into production. Mingqiu, what are you planning to do next? Do you want to personally oversee this massive project of turning the desert into an oasis?"
"Forget it!" Jing Mingqiu shook his head forcefully. "Every profession has its specialty. Providing technical support is fine, but I shouldn't be a bother to a project involving tens of millions of people."
"By the way, top leader, I've been busy between the laboratory and the factory recently, and without realizing it, summer vacation is almost over. For the remaining time, I plan to go practice martial arts."
"Practice dance?" The top leader was stunned for a moment, then reacted and said with a smile, "I almost forgot, Mingqiu, you're a dance student. What, have you taken a liking to a dance master? I can help you get acquainted."
Facing the top leader's enthusiasm, Jing Mingqiu said with a wry smile, "It's not 'dance' as in performing arts, but 'wu' as in martial arts! I want to practice martial arts, not learn to dance!"
"Oh, it's that 'wu'!" The top leader forced a laugh. "Mingqiu, why do you want to practice martial arts?"
Jing Mingqiu tapped the table with his hand, and a small projector rose from the shoulder of his mecha, displaying a video of a burly man defeating a large group of enemies with just a few punches and kicks onto the screen in front.
"If nothing unexpected happens, I will encounter many more attacks in the future," Jing Mingqiu explained. "Although my mecha is equipped with quite a few weapons, there's still a possibility of being caught in close combat."
"To avoid life-threatening situations in such scenarios, I plan to practice martial arts to improve my close-quarters combat skills."
The Minister of Military Affairs patted his chest vigorously after hearing this, "That's easy to arrange. I'll immediately assign the best instructors to teach you authentic military combat techniques."
"No," Jing Mingqiu waved his hand, "I've already learned military combat. It's powerful but not very stylish. I want to visit famous martial arts meccas like Shaolin Temple and Wudang Mountain to see these legendary martial arts."
The Minister of Military Affairs was taken aback, and then earnestly advised, "Professor Jing, countries are coveting you now. The channels through which the Sakura Country's special forces infiltrated have not yet been investigated. If you go out now, you are very likely to encounter danger!"
Jing Mingqiu narrowed his eyes, "That's not entirely wrong. However, if I stay here from now on, always under heavy military protection, wouldn't our pretense be in vain? I don't want to be confined to the laboratory for my entire life."
"Moreover," Jing Mingqiu smiled like a fox, "if I go out so brazenly, they might become suspicious and think I'm just bait. This way, I'll be safer."
The Minister of Military Affairs wanted to persuade him further, but the top leader stopped him, "He's right. The more high-profile he is now, the safer he'll be. If you're worried, you can send more people to follow and protect him."
Three days later, at the White House of the United States.
The President of the United States looked at the document just handed to him by the Director of the CIA, Smith Lunen. Upon seeing the intelligence that Jing Mingqiu was traveling to Shaolin Temple with his girlfriend and engaging in sparring with Shaolin monks, he chuckled in disbelief.
"Longguo is treating us like fools! If Jing Mingqiu were truly a world-changing genius like Einstein, they would have kept him under tight protection. How could they let him go sightseeing?"
"Sakura Country has already suffered a great loss because of him. Not only was their entire special forces team wiped out, but their hidden operatives in Longguo were also purged. Now they're trying the same trick again. Only a fool would fall for it!"
After roaring with laughter, the President casually tossed the intelligence aside and turned to ask, "Smith, how is the 'Shattered Ink' plan progressing?"
"Longguo has been too boastful lately. It's time to show them some color and let them know who's the boss in this world!"