My Wife is Actually a top-tier Soldier King?!
Chapter 984 - 984 956 Be Humble!_2

984: Chapter 956: Be Humble!_2 984: Chapter 956: Be Humble!_2 Wu Jie was currently working on a nuclear fusion power plant, which was far more advanced than the traditional nuclear fission power plants.

With a larger installed capacity, it would release even more energy, so it would be at least of the gigawatt class, generating more power.

The cost of nuclear fuel would be lower, uranium mining and smelting for fission are difficult, but deuterium for fusion is readily available in seawater.

Moreover, the advantages of automated operation included higher efficiency, less energy loss, lower labor costs, and reduced construction expenses, among others.

In summary,

A large-scale nuclear fusion power plant required an investment of no more than ten billion and could be built within two years.

The daily power generation could meet the needs of over ten million people for production and living, and making tens of millions in pure profit a day was no exaggeration.

It could recoup its investment in one year and then make a fortune continuously.

If several such plants were built, all the thermal power stations in the country could be shut down.

There would be no need to burn coal for electricity, avoiding continuous environmental pollution, and the consumption and selling price of coal would inevitably plummet.

Coupled with hydropower, wind power, and other sources, it was enough to meet the nation’s electricity needs with clean, green energy, greatly benefitting environmental protection.

But by that time,

Making money was secondary; many in industries such as thermal power generation and coal mining and transportation would harbor resentment against Wu Jie!

Furthermore,

The invention of the Graphene Composite Battery and the large-scale construction of battery exchange stations made electric vehicles gradually replace fuel cars.

This had already made many in the oil industry seethe with rage towards Wu Jie.

Those who once “dripped with oil wealth” from around the world, the numerous petrochemical and gas station workers, had long been fuming with anger against Wu Jie.

Once Wu Jie’s nuclear fusion power plants came online one by one, the powerful supply of electricity would inevitably lead to a substantial reduction in electricity prices.

Beyond squeezing out high-cost and polluting thermal power stations, this would also make electric vehicle operation costs even lower.

Take industrial electricity consumption, for instance; even during off-peak hours in the dead of night, electricity cost about four to five cents per kilowatt-hour.

If used during peak daytime periods, it might cost more than one dollar.

Wu Jie set the electricity price at only two to three cents per kilowatt-hour, with no distinction between day and night rates, which would surely reduce charging costs at battery exchange stations.

In the future, replacing a vehicle’s battery might only cost drivers a few dozen dollars, but there would still be a profit.

And drivers could travel several hundred kilometers.

But gas stations were another story.

Extracting and refining oil and transportation carried costs, and gas station investment and operational costs were not trivial.

Plus, with significant taxes, gas prices simply couldn’t be too cheap.

For drivers wanting to travel several hundred kilometers, filling up the tank would cost at least two to three hundred dollars.

For the same distance, an electric vehicle might only need a battery swap for a few dozen dollars, while a fuel car would need to fill up for two to three hundred.

Fuel cars also had complex mechanical structures like engines and transmissions; they had higher failure rates and higher maintenance costs.

So…

how would car owners choose?

Thus,

Although Wu Jie had stayed quiet for a long time, not stirring up any controversies or grabbing headlines with eye-catching events that sparked envy, admiration, or resentment,

These days he was holding back a major move, ready to astonish everyone with a bang.

The advent of controlled nuclear fusion power plants would greatly change human society, posing a massive threat to many traditional industries.

Despite significant benefits for protecting the environment, saving energy, and promoting green development, …

Blocking someone’s wealth was like killing their parents.

It would cause a steep drop in income for oil magnates and coal mine owners.

It would also force millions of people in industries like petrochemicals, thermal power generation, and fuel stations, as well as energy transportation, to consider changing careers.

Others in various industries would envy the group for creating another ‘money-printing machine’ like the wildly profitable Detox Pill…

By then, it would be hard not to be the target of envy, resentment, and longing, or to avoid making a killing in energy points.

The current low profile was to pave the way for a high profile in the future!

Wu Jie was thus wholeheartedly willing to quietly seclude himself and conduct scientific research.

…

Before he knew it, he was busy until the early morning.

He was extremely tired.

He let Blue Planet continue with the simulation experiments, constantly trying new formulas and processes in the hopes of creating a material that could withstand ultra-high temperatures.

Upon reaching the neighboring rest area, Wu Jie quickly washed up and went to sleep.

The next morning when he woke up, he saw that Blue Planet hadn’t managed to develop the new material.

Humankind had so far discovered over a hundred elements.

By combining different elements in various proportions with special processes, one could create various materials.

Hence, the study of materials is quite enigmatic.

Past research accomplishments were of no use in the study of new materials because one could never know what novelty would emerge with the addition of one more element, a bit more of a certain component, or a slight increase in the temperature.

Take, for example, steel—the most common technical material in daily life.

The amount of carbon it contains could lead to different properties, and the addition of different elements could result in significant performance variations.

By adding alloying elements like manganese, nickel, chromium, tungsten, and vanadium, one would create alloy steels with varying performances.

And the amount added would lead to different properties.

In short.

In order to research various high-performance materials, powerful nations around the world can only keep burning money.

They conduct endless experiments, continuously verify, and keep making trial and error.

That’s why it’s so difficult to close the gap in materials.

Although it’s possible to disassemble and study someone else’s engine, analyzing and testing the materials used in it,

how were those materials processed and smelted?

What was used as the main material, when were other elements added, and at what temperature?

What processing techniques were applied, and how was the final machining done?

If one does not have the complete alloy formula and processing data, simply attempting to reverse engineer with various guesses and reasoning would certainly not be successful.

That’s why research on materials is extremely time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly, akin to gambling with the lottery.

Once you get it right and create a good material, keeping it a secret could lead to making a fortune, as it would be very difficult for others to replicate.

Just like now, domestically produced civil airplanes still rely on importing Boeing or Airbus.

There’s no helping it!

Who could contend when the advanced-performance, ultra-low-fuel-consumption, and highly-reliable aviation engines cannot be produced domestically!

Without being able to produce engines, how can one manufacture superior civil aircraft?

However…

Wu Jie hadn’t expected that Blue Planet, after a night of hard work, wouldn’t have managed to develop any new materials.

Material research really was incredibly challenging!

To create dozens of new types of materials—wouldn’t that take an eternity?

Of course.

In the system marketplace, there were all kinds of materials and process data.

Data for manufacturing the Starships with Californium Alloy was available too, but at a steep price.

This damn system was always trying to drain all of my energy points.

But I refused to agree and let Blue Planet continue with the research.

As the ‘World Factory,’ Liuli Continent had accumulated quite a bit of industrial materials over the decades.

Why not look for something ready-made?

Leaving the smart center, Wu Jie was ready to head to Jiahuan City and then take a direct flight to Liuli City.

If he didn’t score some good stuff, could he still call himself the King of Tricksters?

…