Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 460 Spy Story in Progress

“Carbon nanotubes?”

"This is not a new concept, but the industry is still at the cutting-edge research stage for carbon nanotubes and does not have much influence!"

"Many carbon nanotube research projects are open to the public, whether it is us or the other side, most of them are still in the theoretical research stage by some research institutions!"

"If the carbon nanotubes were made using the currently available technology, there would be no need for them to keep it so strictly confidential!"

"They must have found a completely new technical route and synthesized a completely new carbon nanotube material, and this material is so important that it can change cutting-edge technology."

"This report says that this carbon nanotube material may be used in the space elevator project?"

"To be honest, that's unlikely!"

"The space elevator is just a product of science fiction. It is not feasible in reality. At least, current human science and technology cannot reach this level. Even if they can make carbon nanotube materials that can be used to build a space elevator, there will still be a series of technical problems that cannot be solved at present!"

"This is impossible!"

"It won't be possible even within fifty or a hundred years!"

Several invited technical experts expressed great doubts about the authenticity of the carbon nanotube material reported by Lister, especially when the report mentioned that this material could be used in the construction of a space elevator, which they said was impossible.

As for the space elevator, everyone is very clear about the principle. According to current science fiction, it is a super rope extending from the earth for 35 kilometers, with one end connected to the earth and the other end connected to a giant space station. It can generate electricity from the space station or directly supply electricity from the ground, using electricity to replace the chemical fuel used in traditional rocket launches, thereby greatly reducing the cost of goods or personnel entering and exiting space.

But a super rope of more than 30,000 kilometers... the tension caused by its own weight is an extremely huge number. All the materials currently available to mankind, including some materials that only exist in speculation in the most cutting-edge technology, are not enough to meet such extremely demanding requirements.

Therefore, the space elevator is just a science fiction concept. People in the mainstream aerospace community will laugh when they hear this term. Anyone who believes it is a fool!

As a result, Lister now holds a report saying that Zhiyun Group may have developed a super carbon nanotube material, which may be used for space elevators in the future... Isn't this nonsense!

Lister didn't understand materials science or space elevators. He just quietly took out the report on Zhiyun Group's security measures for their technological achievements!
"In the past six months, according to the incomplete intelligence we have collected, at least more than 5,000 personnel from the security department of Zhiyun Group and the security agencies of China have been directly involved in the security work of this project!"

"There are countless security personnel assisting from the outside!"

"In the Zhiyun Guangcheng Technology Park where the project is located, a completely independent office area has been specially divided for the project. No one who is not related to the project is allowed to enter. In addition, the security level is high, and there are 24-hour armed guards guarding the area. A large number of advanced security equipment have been deployed!"

"Have you seen this photo? You may be unfamiliar with it, but I can tell you that this is a small phased array radar and optoelectronic detection integrated system. See this row of boxes? They are small missile launchers. And this thing that looks like a searchlight, our technicians speculate that it may be a high-power microwave transmitter!"

"Do you understand? They have deployed a separate prevention and control system in this office area. Moreover, it is a top-level short-range prevention and control system that they have never announced before and is still in the confidential stage!"

"In order to protect this base, they did not hesitate to use their latest model of short-range defense system, which is still in the confidential stage. This shows how important the project undertaken in this research and development base is!"

Lister's people are quite capable and have produced a lot of intelligence. The short-range defense and control system he is talking about now is actually not a traditional defense and control system strictly speaking, but a defense and control system for low, slow and small targets... This thing is actually used to attack low-altitude, slow and small drones.

The sensors on top are not just phased array radars and infrared sensors, but also high-power lidars, 360° surround ultra-high-definition cameras and a series of other sensors.

Xu Shenxue himself was an expert in drones, so he was naturally wary of others using drones to blow him up...so he asked people to develop anti-drone equipment very early on.

In Xu Shenxue's travel convoy, there is always a very special electronic vehicle, which was once believed by the outside world to be a communication vehicle. This vehicle is actually used to detect and interfere with drones.

Later, after cooperating with relevant companies in research and development, we combined the technology and artificial intelligence technology of Zhiyun Group with the traditional radars, missiles, high-power microwaves and other equipment of the cooperative enterprises, and finally developed a system specifically for attacking drones.

The working principle is actually quite simple. It uses small phased array radars and infrared sensors to provide outer early warning detection, and uses lidar and high-definition cameras to scan nearby distances of hundreds or even one thousand meters, and directly creates dynamic 3D images!
And use the artificial intelligence image processing technology provided by Zhiyun Group to quickly calculate and process!

This is actually a bit similar to the on-board sensor system in the unmanned autonomous driving technology of Hailan Automobile, but it is more precise, has a longer detection distance, and greater computing power.

After detecting the target, the system can guide the electronic jamming equipment or high-power microwaves to directly irradiate the target, achieving soft kill or even area kill. If that still doesn't work or there are fish that slip through the net, then it will guide the launch of micro-missiles to attack the target for terminal defense.

This micro-missile is very small, with a total length of only more than 40 centimeters and a total weight of only 2.5 kilograms. In order to increase sustained maneuverability, more propellant is installed inside it. Because there is too much propellant, plus fragments and explosives, this also results in this micro-missile actually having no active detection head system.

It can only passively receive information transmitted by the detection system to adjust its flight trajectory, and then explode after flying near the target, killing the enemy drone with fragments.

This is a semi-active micro missile.

In order to enhance maneuverability, this thing can even pop out wings after being launched. In order to increase sustained maneuverability, the maximum speed is actually not very high, only about subsonic speed, which is completely different from traditional missiles that can reach speeds of several Machs.

It feels a bit like a remote-controlled high-speed small drone... except that it is not propelled by propellers or jet engines, but directly propelled by chemical propellants... Although it looks like a small high-speed drone, it is a serious semi-active missile!
This thing was developed specifically to counter low-altitude, slow-speed small drones... As to whether it is useful or not, that is debatable.

In addition, the anti-drone system developed by Zhiyun Group and its partner companies is extremely expensive. At least one set costs several million US dollars, but it targets cheap small drones worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Very low value for money.

So this is embarrassing...

Therefore, at present, this system is only purchased in very small quantities and then used for exploration and testing.

The Materials Research Institute in Guangcheng is quite special. It has been under great security pressure recently. In order to prevent people from flying drones for monitoring and spying, a system has been deployed here as a precaution. It is not to prevent sabotage, but to prevent aerial reconnaissance.

There are a lot of civilian drones flying around these days. Drones are often seen at Zhiyun Guangcheng Science and Technology Park for aerial photography. God knows whether these drones are illegally flown by civilians or deliberately released by hostile intelligence agencies for reconnaissance.

So, we have an anti-drone system here, and we can directly interfere with or even shoot down any drone that approaches...

It's no wonder that this anti-UAV system, which costs several million dollars, is extremely effective in shooting down small UAVs that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. It can accurately kill them all... After all, micro missiles are more expensive than these UAVs.

This is also the embarrassment of anti-drone defense: the anti-drone system is too expensive, and drones are too cheap... Even if the defense efficiency is 100%, the opponent's drones can be defeated one by one, but in the end the defender will go bankrupt!

Therefore, from the perspective of large-scale warfare, the best way to counter small drones is to destroy them on the logistics supply lines and not give them the opportunity to go to the battlefield!

Otherwise, no matter how you fight against small drones, you will suffer a huge loss!
------

Although Lister and his team could guess that this was a close-range air defense system, they did not know that it was actually a system specifically designed to counter small drones. However, they could still judge the importance of this place from this.

"The security level in this R&D base is extremely rare. In the past six months, we have invested a lot of manpower and resources to figure out what happened here!"

"In a series of operations, we lost contact with nine direct agents and 136 peripheral personnel. In addition, eight direct agents were evacuated urgently because their operations were exposed!"

"It cost more than 15 million US dollars!"

"Finally, we got the name of the secret project being carried out in this R&D base: carbon nanotube materials!"

"I can't tell you what the carbon nanotube material they are developing is like, and I don't know if it can be used in a damn space elevator. All I know is that we paid a huge price to get this name!"

"There are many idiots in this world, but we are not, and neither are they!"

"We will not launch such a drastic action and pay such a high price for something worthless. You know, we paid the lives of nine agents to get the name of this material!"

"And it's impossible for them to spend so much manpower and resources to protect ordinary materials!"

"Now, what we want to know is, if this damn carbon nanotube material is real, what should we do? How much should we pay for it?"

After hearing what Lister said, the technical experts were silent for a long time. After about dozens of seconds, one of them said, "My professional knowledge tells me that it is impossible with the current level of human technology..." Halfway through the sentence, Lister's boss spoke up, "Before the emergence of Xylocta, the medical community did not believe that there would be a broad-spectrum anti-cancer drug."

"When my daughter was diagnosed with cancer, all the doctors told me that there was nothing they could do and that the medical community was powerless to help her. But I never gave up and insisted on looking for various treatments for her. Finally, I found Xilokeda."

"After taking Xylocta, my daughter's cancer is almost cured. Now she can grow up healthily and enjoy her wonderful life in the future, so don't tell me that it is theoretically impossible!"

The technical expert was interrupted and paused before saying, "Based on the properties of carbon nanotube materials, it is theoretically possible for such a super material to exist, but it is just a possibility!"

"If, I say if this super carbon nanotube material really appears, then my suggestion is to get it as much as possible. Not only samples, but more importantly, its synthesis method. The synthesis method is the most important!"

"If this material is real, then let's not even mention the typical science fiction concept of a space elevator, the conductivity and optical properties of carbon nanotubes, and the special properties after being made into composite materials. Its mechanical properties alone are enough to play a huge role!"

"In countless fields, this super-light and super-strong super material is irresistible!"

------

Just as on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Lister and his colleagues were discussing carbon nanotube materials and preparing for targeted deployment, they even submitted a secret report suggesting that more research should be done in the field of carbon nanotubes.

In Zhiyun Guangcheng Science and Technology Park, Zhu Junneng is still working leisurely... His life has been relatively comfortable recently. There is nothing much to say about work. The workload is not high, and the income... For him now, the current salary is just so-so.

Now he can get activity funds worth two or three hundred thousand US dollars every month from his upline.

The only pity is that this money still needs to be laundered before it can be spent, and most of it is actually still in his offline electronic wallet in the form of Bitcoin.

It is worth mentioning that the reason why Bitcoin is so expensive and recognized by many people is not because of Internet freedom, currency or other messy things, but because of its own decentralization, the flow of funds it brings is very secretive, and it is then used as a transaction currency for various black and gray industries.

This thing is inherently associated with the dark side!

Of course, many large multinational companies also hold a lot of Bitcoin assets... Some secret subsidiaries of Zhiyun Group hold a lot of Bitcoin, mainly used for some secret overseas transactions.

As a global enterprise, Zhiyun Group has operations in most countries overseas and naturally encounters various issues, which often involve the use of secret funds.

It is naturally unreliable to use traditional currency for these shady fund allocations, as they can be easily detected. The most suitable currency is Bitcoin, an electronic currency that is recognized by everyone, cannot be tracked, and has extremely volatile exchange rates.

The flow of funds is secretive, and because the exchange rate fluctuates greatly, it is very easy to make accounts.

Even Xu Shenxue personally got a lot of bitcoins in his early years, but now these bitcoins are of no use to him and are just part of the regular liquid asset allocation.

Of course, unlike the current large companies playing with electronic currencies, Zhu Junneng simply has no way of laundering all the money for use… The amount is too large, and money laundering is extremely difficult, so he can only continue to keep it in the form of Bitcoin.

But having money means there is no need to worry, so Zhu Jun is still very relaxed about finances.

The job is pretty good and the money is there... The only trouble is the spy who lingers online!
In order to cope with the launch, Zhu Junneng has spent the past six months meticulously studying all kinds of spy-themed TV dramas and novels. He has also specially learned professional skills such as novel writing and screenwriting.

It is just to make up a story that is 'reasonable' for the other party, so that the other party will not become desperate and push himself too far!

For this story, Zhu Junneng wrote more than 100,000 words for the outline alone, and 200,000 to 300,000 words for various plot designs, details, character biographies, etc.

Strive to ensure that all details can stand up to scrutiny, while maintaining the anticipation of the story, and also remove yourself from danger, and by the way, reasonably obtain activity funds from the other party.

To be honest, it's very difficult!
Zhu Junneng felt that those so-called spy-themed novels and film and television scripts on the market were nothing compared to the stories he made up!
But despite being so proud, Zhu Junneng often couldn't sleep.

It's not that he is afraid of being discovered by the security department. After all, he didn't actually spy on the secrets of the Artificial Intelligence Materials Research Institute. From beginning to end, he didn't even get close to the Artificial Intelligence Materials Research Institute. The so-called secret insider he developed was purely fictitious... He claimed that he had not committed any big mistakes. At most, he had done some things in the past, but the previous leaks were at most ordinary business secrets. He had checked... At most, he would be sentenced to a few years in prison.

What he was really worried about was that the opposing intelligence agency was still haunting him, pestering him and forcing him to do something more serious.

At the same time, I am also worried that one day in the future my scam will be exposed and the other party will be furious and retaliate against me.

After all, he had received a lot of activity funds from the other party. In total, he had received more than two million US dollars, which was a lot.

But there is no point in worrying. Zhu Junneng is now in a difficult situation and can only continue to make up stories.

Then, Zhu Junneng didn't know that his every move was under the surveillance of Zhiyun Group's security department. In order to cooperate with his acting, the security department even deliberately "leaked" some information about the so-called carbon nanotube material research to him through some coincidence.

All of this is to keep the MMK34 material confidential.

However, it is difficult to say how long the information can be kept secret. Some detailed data of the materials can definitely be kept secret for a long time, but it is very difficult to keep the information about superconducting materials at room pressure and temperature secret.

Especially since this material has actually begun to be synthesized experimentally on a small scale and has begun to be used in superconducting quantum computers and other secret projects, some of the secrets will be leaked more or less.

Even if the other party cannot figure out the specific performance of the MMK34 material in the future, it is still very likely that Zhiyun Group will develop a superconducting material at room temperature and pressure.

No matter how difficult it is, we have to keep it secret, no matter how long we can delay it!
Xu Shenxue himself did not pay much attention to these matters on the security front. Naturally, the relevant person in charge of the security department would handle them. For Xu Shenxue, the most important thing was to promote the small-scale production of the YCL51 superconducting quantum computer.

At the same time, continue to promote the research and development of the sixth-generation superconducting quantum computers!
Although the fifth-generation superconducting quantum computer is much more powerful than those quantum computers outside, it only has 10,000 quantum bits, and is still a long way from large-scale mature applications.

In order to make superconducting quantum computers truly large-scale computers and meet the huge computing power requirements of general computing and parallel computing, the number of quantum bits needs to be further increased.

The performance indicators of the sixth-generation superconducting quantum computers will be directly upgraded to the level of 50,000 quantum bits.

This also means higher technical difficulty. The design and manufacturing of core component quantum chips, as well as the design and training of the underlying quantum algorithms of the new generation of LX architecture are all very difficult.

But Xu Shenxue is optimistic about this.

A superconducting quantum computer with 10,000 quantum bits has been made, which shows that the previous technical route was successful and feasible.

What we need to do now is to continue to promote development and develop along the existing technological route!
Sooner or later, we will be able to create a quantum computer with millions of quantum bits... By then, human computer computing power will be increased to a very terrifying level compared to now!

And this is what Xu Shenxue expected!
In mid-April, Xu Shenxue once again inspected the installation of the first mass-produced YCL51 superconducting quantum computer, and then went to Qiongzhou Island the next day.

Because in the afternoon of that day, Nanmen Aerospace will usher in a very important launch mission: using the Type 6 heavy rocket to launch the core module of the 'Centaur Space Station', the first commercial space station in human history.

This launch mission is very important for Nanmen Aerospace and Zhiyun Satellite, as it is related to the subsequent commercial operation plan of the commercial space station. The amount of money is a small matter. Xu Shenxue said that the construction cost of more than ten billion or twenty billion US dollars and even the subsequent operating costs can be sustained.

More importantly, through the construction and use of commercial space stations, we can gain more experience in the accumulation and development of aerospace technology, and provide technical support for subsequent commercial aerospace development.

Xu Shenxue's ambition is not just to build a commercial space station, he is also planning to build a lunar base and a Mars base.

He wants to push humanity toward the stars!

Even though the current accumulation of human technology is still relatively weak and cannot temporarily support the demand for heading towards the starry sky, Xu Shenxue believes that with the assistance of his own scientific research system, as time passes and technology accumulates, he will have the hope of pushing mankind to truly head towards the starry sky.

This is also the reason why, although Nanmen Aerospace is not actually making money at present and its business scale is relatively small, Xu Shenxue will personally attend every important launch activity.

He is really interested in heading towards the starry sky!

(End of this chapter)