Han Ning froze for a mont, his expression shifting slightly.
"Teacher Lü, are you saying you want to secretly use Fei Ming and have them help us find a way to the outside world?"
"It’s just a hypothesis. From what Aketu said, I’ve gathered that this Fei Ming is no ordinary Insect Master. He dares to annex other Insect Master Families on his own, which ans he doesn’t respect the Five Ancestor Families. He might even... already know the Queen’s secret."
A glint flashed in Lü Xiuning’s eyes.
"Whether he knows or not, we can use Aketu as a pawn to gather a great deal of intelligence from Fei Ming’s side."
"With Aketu providing cover, our academy will likely have a long period of safety. We can use this ti to focus on developing our Soul Beast cultivation and technological capabilities."
He sighed with emotion. "I have to say, just as the Taman Insect Master said, this All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm might truly be a sixth ancestor on par with the other Five Ancestor Families. I really have no idea where he got such a powerful Soul Beast."
Although they weren’t Insect-n, the two had so understanding of the Insect Master Families’ rules. To prevent the ergence of a massive Insect Master group that could rival an Ancestor Family, the Ancestor Families forbade Insect Masters from rging with one another. If discovered, the entire family would be exterminated.
Han Ning nodded in agreent.
"I also thought about planting Aketu as a pawn by Fei Ming’s side, but... it takes three days for the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm to separate its first Subordinate Insect. I just hope nothing goes wrong in these next three days."
After locking the three Insect-n in the secret underground chamber, Han Ning specifically deployed a Ghost Bee to guard Aketu and prevent any incidents.
...
The secret chamber was located beneath Building A. After leaving it, the two walked side by side out of Building A’s main entrance.
Just then, Dean Wu was leading Leon and his daughter across the open space in front of the building.
The group was pointing at the ground in front of the building, discussing sothing with serious expressions.
When Dean Wu spotted Han Ning and Lü Xiuning approaching, he quickly waved them over.
"Is the interrogation of that Insect Master finished?"
"Yes." Lü Xiuning briefly recounted the interrogation for Dean Wu.
Dean Wu nodded but didn’t discuss the matter further in front of Leon and his daughter.
It wouldn’t be good for the two of them to know too much. It would only cause them unnecessary worry without providing any real benefit.
He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Mr. Leon isn’t just an expert in nuclear power; he also has considerable experience building other types of power plants. We were just discussing whether we should build a small power station near the academy."
"A power station?" Han Ning looked surprised. "Don’t power plants have specific geographical requirents? Are you thinking of a thermal power plant?"
’With the academy’s current capabilities, we could only manage diesel power generation. That’s one type of thermal power, which works by burning fuel to produce high-temperature, high-pressure steam. The steam then drives a turbine, which in turn powers a generator.’
According to the report from the Boeing 737 flight crew, there were still 20 tons of jet fuel left on the plane.
Jet fuel is a type of kerosene, and using it for power generation would require so technical modifications.
Due to the limited supply of rotting food, the amount of crude oil produced by the Crude Oil Rubber Insect was not very large.
Besides thermal power, there was also solar power. The academy had a number of photovoltaic panels, but on the Insect Continent, the constant white fog and dim light kept the power output from the panels at a very low, almost negligible level.
Although Mr. Leon was a Nuclear Power Engineer, Han Ning didn’t even consider nuclear power.
The reason was simple: building a nuclear power plant was no easy task, even for a country, let alone for a small academy with only a few hundred people.
Given their current conditions, building a small-scale power station was probably the best they could hope for.
"No... not thermal power, but geothermal power." Dean Wu shook his head and smiled. "Let Mr. Leon explain."
Leon, speaking fluent English, glanced around and began in a slightly magnetic voice, "First, allow to briefly explain to you both why I’m recomnding a geothermal power plant."
"It’s obvious that this area lacks abundant water resources, nor is it a region constantly battered by strong winds, so hydroelectric and wind power are not feasible."
"I heard from Mr. Wu that there are large underground caverns with abnormally high temperatures a few hundred kiloters north of the academy, which indicates that the geothermal resources there are very rich."
"Geothermal power is actually very similar to thermal power. Geothermal energy is a renewable thermal energy from deep within the earth, originating from molten magma and the decay of radioactive materials. The circulation of deep groundwater, combined with magma intruding into the crust from extre depths, carries heat from the planet’s core up toward the surface."
"Most geothermal energy is found at the edges of tectonic plates. We are only a few hundred kiloters away from that area. For a massive continental plate, a few hundred kiloters is a tiny distance. This suggests... there’s a high probability of finding abundant geothermal energy right here, beneath the academy’s location."
Leon pointed to the ground.
"I just learned from Mr. Wu—and I’ve also seen it with my own eyes—that so Earth Type Soul Beasts can, like a subterranean detector, effortlessly sense conditions thousands of ters below the surface. This is critically important for our plan to build a geothermal plant."
"With Earth Type Soul Beasts that can freely travel underground, we won’t need heavy, large-scale machinery to dig relatively stable tunnels down to the heat source."
"Compared to wind and hydro, isn’t geothermal power much more attainable for us?"
Han Ning nodded and asked, "Assuming there is abundant geothermal energy beneath the academy, how difficult would it be to build a geothermal power plant?"
Leon smiled faintly.
"You might think of geothermal as a new form of power generation, but as early as 1904 on Blue Star, geothermal energy was first used to run a small 0.75-horsepower generator that powered five 100-watt light bulbs. Shortly after, humanity built its first small 500-kilowatt geothermal power station."
"Geothermal steam power systems are a very mature technology. Of course, the reason geothermal power hasn’t beco mainstream is that it has quite a few limitations."
"Not all countries have abundant geothermal resources. Take your Xia Country, for example. The areas with excellent geothermal resources are limited to the Tibet region. Other more populated areas are mostly mid-to-low temperature geothermal zones, below 150°C."
"Also, the research and developnt costs for the instrunts needed to explore geothermal resources are enormous. Compared to other, more easily obtainable resources, geothermal power seems quite demanding."
"But for you, with your miraculous Soul Beasts, this isn’t so difficult. As long as we can confirm the underground temperature is high enough, we can begin developnt of the geothermal plant."
As expected of an energy expert. Leon spoke with such eloquence and confidence that Han Ning was quite moved by the idea.
"So... our first step is to determine where the geothermal energy is most abundant, and then formulate a plan to build the plant nearby?"
"That’s about right." Leon’s tone suddenly shifted. "I’m not an expert in geothermal power, specifically. I only learned about it during a university internship and from reading so related literature. To build a power station of any significant size, I’ll need help from others. You’re an engineering academy, so you shouldn’t be short on teachers and students with backgrounds in energy and chanics, right?"
"We do." Dean Wu nodded slightly. "Mr. Leon, I’ll have a computer assigned to you later. You can start working on the design schematics for so of the plant’s equipnt. Also, if you have any other requests, please don’t hesitate to ask."
Leon put his arm around his daughter’s shoulder. "I’d like Lisa to be my assistant. Also, we’re very interested in raising Soul Beasts. Would it be possible to have a few teachers who are skilled in Soul Beast cultivation teach us how to raise them in our spare ti?"
Leon smiled. "You should understand, the kind of teachers I’m looking for are... different from ordinary people."
At the ntion of Soul Beasts, Lisa, who had been silent the whole ti, suddenly blinked her bright, sapphire-like eyes. She looked Han Ning’s elegant Yin Yi up and down, her own eyes filled with keen interest.
"No problem, Mr. Leon. As long as you can help the academy build its first power station, we will do our best to give you the finest treatnt."
It’s true what they say: gold shines wherever it goes. If Leon could really oversee the construction of a power station, it would be a technological leap for the academy.
With a stable source of electricity, they could produce various industrial raw materials. Then, they could even try to manufacture so high-powered military-grade weapons.
As for Soul Beasts, a sufficient supply of electricity could be used to cultivate large numbers of Electric Fire Cannon Insects, and a stable power supply could simulate a constant-temperature, constant-humidity environnt for raising Soul Beasts.
"Speaking of Soul Beasts..." Han Ning looked Leon and his daughter up and down, asking curiously, "Why haven’t you two ford a contract with a Soul Beast yet?"
Currently, there were several types of Soul Beasts available at the academy for new mbers to form contracts with: Silver Lotus Wood, Purple Vine Tree, Iron-toothed Snake, Scabbed Treasure Demon Eye Frog...
The Purple Vine Tree was the irritable Little Tree Spirit they had found outside the academy’s East Gate.
The Iron-toothed Snakes and Demon Eye Frogs were so of the Soul Beast cubs that people had found and collected around the academy for experintal cultivation.
The Purple Star Snake and the Copper-Feathered Falcon were E Talent Soul Beasts, reserved for mbers who had made significant contributions.
More than ten Awakened Level Tree Spirits and Tree Demons were permanently stationed in the dormitory area. Their Purification range covered almost the entire zone, so as long as non-Wood Type Soul Beasts were raised to a certain Level within the dorms, even Beast Masters whose first Soul Beast wasn’t a Wood Type could overco the toxins in the fog.
"Mr. Han Ning, I think... I want to find a Soul Beast as elegant as that one," Lisa couldn’t help but say, her eyes fixed on Yin Yi, which rested atop his head like a magnificent crown of frost.
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