"The products we made before are still working normally after several months. We perform hundreds of opening and closing operations every day to test their stability. However, the experimental period is still short, so I cannot make any promises to you."
General Li was quite satisfied with the result. He smiled and nodded, "It's already very good. However, I have a question: if the release and retraction aren't so frequent, could the lifespan be extended?"
"This needs to be verified by experiments; I can't give you an answer."
Li Zongmeng didn't mind and chatted with Jiang Ji about other things. In the end, the two agreed to release the news about the spatial storage device a week later in order to divert public attention.
In fact, Jiang Ji was unwilling to have it exposed so early. He found it troublesome and was afraid that someone would have designs on him.
He knew that Xiao Kai's situation was not optimistic, and if no measures were taken soon, the space might really not be able to hold on. For the sake of humanity's continued development, he reluctantly agreed, even if it meant taking a loss.
"Xiao Jiang, don't look so gloomy. There are benefits to releasing this information," Dean Xu comforted Jiang Ji from the side.
Jiang Ji looked up at Dean Xu and asked, "What benefits?"
"Your net worth has increased dramatically!" Dean Xu said with a smile, his face full of teasing. But Jiang Ji quickly shook her head: "I don't want to!"
Dean Xu coughed awkwardly twice: "Ahem, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Seeing that the other party did not interrupt, he continued, "Think about it, although hot air comes out from time to time, this stone is very rare."
We've been searching in the capital for so long and only found one piece. But in Shanghai, we found two pieces, and the second one is so much bigger than the first.
What does this mean? It means that stones exist in other places too. It's just that there are so many places that people haven't noticed them, or they have noticed them but don't know what use they are, so they haven't paid any attention to them.
"Tell me, what a waste it is to leave something so valuable lying around! But once everyone finds out it's worth a fortune, won't they risk their lives to find it? Wouldn't that give you a continuous stream of research materials?"
Jiang Ji thought it made sense, so he nodded.
"As for the troubles you mentioned, don't worry, they'll come sooner or later."
Dean Xu chuckled and continued before Jiang Ji could explode: "However, do you think Chief Alliance Officer Li is just a figurehead? He must have made thorough preparations before announcing it!"
Research, progress, and finished product manufacturing—it's all up to you. You can just hide in the lab and do whatever you want, just produce results as quickly as possible. As for the rest, the alliance will handle it; you don't need to worry about it.
"Don't you think so, General Lee?"
General Li hurriedly nodded: "Yes, yes, I'll handle the rest. Engineer Jiang just needs to focus on the research."
Hearing what the two said, Jiang Ji was finally less resistant. After staying in the office for a while, she left with Dean Xu.
After the two left, General Li pondered the idea for a while, then called a meeting with several high-ranking officials to discuss its feasibility.
At the meeting, he didn't hide the issue of Xiao Kai's space. The bigwigs looked solemn, but they were all helpless.
Some people even began to feel fortunate that their own child hadn't acquired the spatial ability.
Although everyone was quite envious at first, as time went by, they all realized that the price Li Sikai paid was something that most people couldn't afford.
Most importantly, that space doesn't even belong to the owner; its output basically goes into the national treasury. Moreover, it's blatantly exposed to all the survivors, leaving the holder with absolutely no privacy.
Originally, Xiao Kai was thinking that he could use it himself after the apocalypse ended. But unexpectedly, the end is nowhere in sight, and the space is already malfunctioning. Xiao Kai will likely have worked hard all this time, only to end up with nothing. All his efforts will be in vain; he's definitely just a tool.
Before I could even finish marveling at it, I was pleasantly surprised by the news about the spatial storage device. I never imagined Jiang Ji had actually figured it out. That's amazing!
"I didn't tell you before because the storage device isn't very stable right now. But Xiao Kai's condition is not optimistic. If it gets worse, we might lose our only way out."
Although the planet's temperature has risen somewhat, no one can say for sure when it will fully return to normal. Many bases are running out of food; if something happens to Xiao Kai, we'll truly be in dire straits.
"Engineer Jiang and Dean Xu speculated that the instability of the space was caused by over-cultivation. But given the current situation, it's impossible to stop cultivating. We discussed it and decided to divert public attention to stop the space's upgrades. This would put the space in a relatively stable state, and without external forces disrupting it, it could sustain itself for another two years even if it overdraws its life force."
“I haven’t told Xiao Kai about this yet, because I’m afraid he can’t handle it. Personally, I don’t want anything to happen to his space. He’s given so much, he can’t end up with nothing. But as the Alliance’s Chief, I can’t abandon the survivors. After struggling for a long time, I can only ask Xiao Kai to suffer.”
"The purpose of announcing this technology is twofold: first, to divert the survivors' attention and give them another source of emotional support, so they are no longer fixated on Xiao Kai's space; second, to rely on the power of the masses to find the space stone."
As you all know, space stones are extremely rare; the Alliance currently only has two.
Such a small quantity is simply not enough to meet everyone's needs. Even if Jiang Ji's technology is excellent, it's all for naught without the materials. Moreover, he still needs to use most of the materials to find ways to improve the structural stability of the storage device and increase its lifespan.
Once the news is released, speculators will inevitably try to find the Space Stone. If they do, it will be their good fortune, and also an opportunity for the Alliance.
We can offer a high price to acquire it, or we can promise them half of the space stones as payment, and the other half to be crafted into a finished product and given to them as a gift. I believe any intelligent person would choose to cooperate with the alliance.
General Li's words greatly appealed to everyone. This was a highly profitable deal; why bother bringing them here for a serious discussion when they could have just placed the order directly?
"However, there are some problems..."
Li Zongmengguan calmly raised several questions, including how to ensure Jiang Ji's safety, how to ensure fairness in the distribution of storage devices, how to handle the interpersonal relationships involved, how to ensure the safety of survivors when searching for space stones, and how to resolve disputes.
There are quite a few problems, and each one needs to be properly addressed.
"The purpose of today's meeting is to get everyone's opinions and suggestions," said Chief Alliance Officer Li, before sitting down to wait.
Because their own interests were at stake, the bigwigs were very meticulous. While proposing solutions, they also tried their best to secure benefits for themselves.
General Li knew perfectly well what was going on, but he didn't expose it. As long as it wasn't excessive, he could satisfy everyone; there was no need to be too serious.
The group discussed for more than three hours before finally settling on a general plan.
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