Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"You're awake?"

As soon as Lü Yongchang opened his eyes, he heard Mao Zhengzhi's voice beside him.

"How are the lab rats doing?" Lu Yongchang asked instinctively.

Mao Zhengzhi smiled and pointed to the cages next to him: "Look, they've all woken up and are in good health. No aftereffects have been found so far."

Lü Yongchang subconsciously turned his head to look.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the fifteen white mice hopping around.

"Next, it's just some routine procedures."

"Artificially synthesizing this protease to mass-produce antibodies..." Mao Zhengzhi said casually, "By the way, this protease and antibody haven't been named yet. Do you want to give it a name?"

"...Let's call them hibernation hormone and antihibernation hormone," Lü Yongchang said, frowning and looking somewhat troubled.

As someone who's terrible at naming things, he really couldn't think of any good names.

Mao Zhengzhi looked at Lü Yongchang speechlessly, muttering to himself, "I knew I shouldn't have let you name it, what kind of lousy name is this..."

Lu Yongchang's lips twitched, and he changed the subject.

"The technology is not mature enough yet, so we will conduct experiments on chimpanzees first."

"Remember, only apply it to humans after you've ensured it's absolutely foolproof!"

"Furthermore, I have another research task for you." Seeing the slightly disdainful look in Mao Zhengzhi's eyes, Lü Yongchang's eyes darted around, and he said in a deep voice, "Deep-sea model, ever heard of it?"

……

Beijing.

The familiar office.

Lu Yongchang stood in front of his desk and said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, the old man appeared somewhat dazed.

He slowly put down his teacup: "A space elevator?"

"If I understand correctly, you're talking about those elevators in science fiction movies that can take you straight to outer space?!"

Even though he had become the Speaker of the SUPP (Syrian People's Alliance for Democracy), the old man couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "We have the technology for this?"

Lü Yongchang shrugged and quickly shook his head: "Of course not."

Seeing the increasingly strange expression on the old man's face, Lü Yongchang quickly added, "Oh right, I meant now."

Upon hearing this, the old man's expression didn't soften; instead, it became even more peculiar: "You mean... you already have a clue?"

Lü Yongchang nodded hurriedly, and at the same time gestured with his hand: "After studying this for a while, I have a little bit of a clue."

Representative Lee: "..."

He raised his wrinkled right hand, gently touched his forehead, and then sighed deeply.

This is the same old story again.

He'd be a fool to believe that!

"Since you put it that way, then let's get the project started," Councilor Li said impatiently. "What? Do you expect me to approve funding for you now?"

Lu Yongchang chuckled awkwardly, a hint of "shyness" flashing in his eyes.

"Speaker, I'm not here to ask you for funds."

Councilor Li raised an eyebrow slightly, reached for his teacup, and took a sip. "So, what do you want?"

"The top research talents in the Asian region have basically all gathered in your laboratory."

"As for the Americas and Europe divisions... there's a bit of trouble on their end, they'll probably be here in a few days."

Lu Yongchang's smile grew increasingly awkward and forced.

"Speaker, I've come to ask you for a piece of land."

"Land?" Councilor Li breathed a slight sigh of relief. "It's just a piece of land, why are you bothering me with such a trivial matter?"

"How much you need, what you're planning to build—just get someone to submit the application, that's all. Seriously... does anyone still hold you back these days?"

As he spoke, the old man sipped his tea and shook his head helplessly.

Lü Yongchang: "...The land I need might be a bit large, for the foundation of the space elevator."

"It needs to be at least the size of a normal-sized city, and it needs to be near the equator."

"Pfft! Cough cough cough!" The old man coughed forcefully.

Lu Yongchang's expression grew increasingly awkward as he attempted to explain, "I plan to use this space elevator to build a spaceport. At that time, the Luan Niao No. 1 space carrier can be manufactured within the spaceport, which will save a lot of trouble, so... this space elevator might be a bit larger."

Representative Li frowned slightly.

"Is Africa a good option?"

"The population is slightly smaller, and it's also near the equator."

……

Latest news from the UNHCR.

"The first space elevator project has been approved, with construction planned for the African continent. Project codename: Tower of Babel!"

"..."

The original news channel at the television station has been completely redesigned.

Zhao Zijie stared at the television in front of him, a hint of daze in his eyes.

These past two weeks have felt like living in a dream.

The concept of a community with a shared future for mankind sounds like something out of a novel.

And the television in front of them no longer showed "minor matters" of the Xia Kingdom.

Rather, it's the progress of various mega-projects.

For example, the space elevator project mentioned earlier.

He subconsciously opened Weibo on his phone.

In just a few days, Weibo has also undergone a major upgrade.

Because of the establishment of the Human Alliance, the Xia Kingdom at this time had become the so-called "center of the world".

All sorts of researchers and elites are constantly heading to Xia Kingdom.

Weibo naturally replaced Twitter as the number one tool for "gossiping" among the United People's Federation.

Despite the existence of real-time translation, Chinese has still become an essential language to learn.

The Space Elevator Project Begins!

Seeing the familiar black and red text, Zhao Zijie subconsciously clicked on it.

"Wow, wow, wow!"

"A space elevator? When did our Xia Kingdom acquire such technology?!"

"Hey upstairs, watch your step, you need to call someone (winking)."

"Africa is going to build a space elevator... Do you think property prices there will skyrocket immediately?"

"...Brother, what are you planning to do with this house in 14 years when the Earth is gone?"

Looking at the comments on Weibo, Zhao Zijie chuckled and then turned off his phone, his gaze falling on a book on the table in front of him.

Spaceplane and Starship Piloting: From Beginner to Expert

These kinds of books started appearing in bookstores a few days ago.

Originally, Zhao Zijie did not believe it.

But when he saw the portrait of Lü Yongchang printed on it, he decisively bought a copy.

Although he knew that this thing could not have been written by Professor Lü, the fact that it had Professor Lü's portrait on it precisely illustrated a point.

This book was published by the People's Federation.

The reason is obvious.

It is estimated that this is for the purpose of training a large number of drivers.

Considering that he would have to say goodbye to Earth in 14 years, Zhao Zijie made up his mind.

You must learn starship piloting skills.

At least, I won't have to be beholden to anyone when I'm on the run in the future.