Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones.

Chapter 5 Steam
Given the current situation at Base No. 1, it is obviously impossible to grow crops.

First of all, Li Qingsong needs a stable source of heat so that the temperature inside Base No. 1 can always be maintained at a sufficient level.

Secondly, Li Qingsong needed a stable source of electricity. After all, there was no sunlight on Luoshen Star, so he needed fluorescent lighting.

Fluorescent lamps are big electricity consumers.

These two needs cannot be met by the fission reactor on the landing spacecraft, because the amount of fission fuel left is too small, and once it is used up, it will be gone.

We must find a way to obtain energy supply from Luoshen.

Li Qingsong's 12 brains began to think at the same time.

"Then let's build a simple steam turbine and use it to drive a generator to generate electricity. At the same time, the waste heat can be reused and introduced into the base through pipes to raise the base's temperature."

So, the two bodies that remained in the Deep Space spacecraft immediately began to learn about steam turbines, and the other two clones began to travel back and forth between the Deep Space spacecraft and the surface of Roselle, bringing down various needed materials and parts.

The remaining eight clones boarded the only two planetary vehicles and began to race across the dim, dark red land of Luoshen.

They are looking for and collecting some minerals that will be needed later.

The principle of a steam turbine is very simple. It simply generates high-pressure steam through the combustion of fuel, and then uses the high-pressure steam to drive the generator to generate electricity.

But the principle was simple, the execution was difficult. The two clones left on the surface of Luoshen took great pains to assemble a steam engine using only the tools and materials available.

This steam engine is divided into two layers: the inner layer is the combustion chamber and boiler like a normal steam engine, and the outer layer is two independent thawing chambers.

The two thawing chambers are connected to the outside world through a feed port respectively.

While the steam engine was being built, the other clones were also busy.

They were busy removing the generator on the landing spacecraft that was originally connected to the nuclear fission reactor and connecting it to the steam engine with gears and belts.

At the same time, clones brought a large number of pipes from the Deep Space Spacecraft, both leather and metal.

These pipes, which are only a few centimeters in diameter, were all connected together and then laid on the ground of Base No. 1 like floor heating pipes.

Its inlet and outlet are also connected to the steam engine.

After finishing all this, the clones who went out to collect minerals came back again in their planet cars.

The two trucks were each loaded with some minerals that were either transparent, milky white, dark red, or light blue.

After unloading these two buckets, the temporary fuel storage area was completely full.

"So...first ignition, begin!"

Li Qingsong made his decision with great solemnity. Then, the two clones each carried a piece of ore—one dark red, which was tholin, and the other light blue, which was solid oxygen—and dropped them into the thawing chamber through two feed ports.

The heat temporarily drawn from the nuclear fission reactor was transferred to the steam engine thawing chamber, causing the substances that had been frozen into hard solids at extremely low temperatures to slowly melt and slowly turn into gas.

When the gas concentration reached a certain level, the two different gases broke through the pre-set barriers and entered the combustion chamber. With the appearance of an electric spark, the mixture of the two gases immediately began to burn violently.

In the boiler, the water that had been frozen into solid ice began to slowly melt under the heat, turning into liquid and then slowly starting to boil.

Feeling the slight shaking of the steam turbine caused by the boiling water, Li Qingsong's heart was filled with joy.

The water was boiled, steam began to be produced continuously, and the pressure became greater and greater.

When the pressure is large enough, the heavy rotor is finally pushed and begins to rotate reluctantly. The power of this rotation is extended to the generator through the mechanical structure, and an electric current finally appears.

Up ahead, in Base No. 1, which was pitch black due to power outage, the lights finally came on, bringing light back to this dark planet.

But that’s not all that’s changed.

As piece after piece of solid oxygen and tholin were thrown in, they were continuously heated, melted and began to burn. The steam that had completed the work on the rotor but still had extremely high heat extended to the "floor heating pipe" of Base No. 1 through the pipe connected to it.

The surface of Base No. 1, which had long since cooled, began to heat up again. The oxygen and nitrogen that had previously turned into snowflakes due to the extremely low temperatures began to melt and rise again.

The shriveled Base No. 1 began to swell again due to the appearance of these gases, and eventually returned to its original appearance.

The cooled steam returns to the steam engine through the end of the pipeline for a new heating and a new work, and is then led to Base No. 1. While completing its own cooling, it also increases the temperature of Base No. 1.

Looking at this whole system that was organically combined and began to run smoothly, Li Qingsong's heart was filled with joy.

With this steam engine, I now have a stable source of electricity.

As for fuel, Li Qingsong was not worried at all.

After billions of years of evolution and accumulation, enough tholins have accumulated on the surface of Luoshen. The total amount is probably as much as one hundred trillion tons, which cannot be used up even if it is used casually.

There are also many solid oxygen mines on Luoshen that act as oxidants. Once they are used up, they can be mined at will.

The temperature inside Base No. 0 was still relatively low, only around degrees Celsius. But it didn't matter, Li Qingsong knew it was because the steam engine hadn't yet run at full power.

At the moment, there is not much demand for electricity, so there is no need for the steam engine to run at full power. Otherwise, the extra electricity generated will be wasted.

After the steam engine was built, several clones began to work again.

They kept taking the landing spacecraft to travel back and forth between the Deep Space Spacecraft and Base No. 1, dismantling all the equipment in the planting area on the spacecraft and bringing them to Base No. 1.

At the same time, a grinding device was brought over.

After the grinding equipment was connected, the steam engine could finally begin operating at full power. The temperature inside Base No. 30 began to rise rapidly, eventually settling at around degrees Celsius.

The grinder also began to run with a roar, grinding some ores containing potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements that Li Qingsong had found into powder.

In the small Base No. 1, ten clones were busy.

(End of this chapter)