Homo Sapiens

”Paul, how many of these 10 Jinpengs can be completed in April?”

Paul thought for a moment. ”We can complete three.”

”Good. Keep up this pace.” Li Qingye then asked about the Phoenix Passenger Plane. ”What’s the production volume for the Phoenix Passenger Plane?”

”Currently, the aircraft manufacturing base at the Luzon Branch can produce 20 Phoenix Passenger Planes per month, with five of those being military transport variants.”

Paul continued to explain, ”Over at Qingye Airlines Company in Hongsawaddy, they can produce 15 Phoenix Passenger Planes a month. They also use half their production capacity for military transports.”

”Alright. Also, have the missile production factories begin operating at full capacity,” Li Qingye instructed.

Hearing this, the look in Paul’s eyes changed. ”Full capacity, starting now? I understand.”

He had obviously guessed what this implied. Paul’s obedience to Li Qingye’s decisions was absolute.

Homo Sapiens Company, operating on a full emergency footing, was a terrifying force. The New Human employees within the company had already begun a full-scale mobilization.

Although Homo Sapiens Company was preparing to use deterrence to scare off those brigands, it didn’t mean deterrence was its only option.

If deterrence failed, Homo Sapiens Company was not afraid of all-out war.

Mobilizing now and shifting parts of its industry to an emergency footing was all in preparation for a fight to the death.

Li Qingye had never underestimated those brigands, nor did he entertain the vain hope that they would willingly lay down their butcher knives.

Besides, Homo Sapiens Company had other cards up its sleeve.

For example, the as-yet-unexposed Malaysia Branch and other shell companies and minor factions.

The Java Branch, whose transformation was nearly complete.

The Three-leaf Oak Branch, which was constantly clashing with America in Latin America.

And the branches of the Foreign Affairs Division hidden all over the globe.

Even if it meant razing Hongsawaddy, Luzon, Siam, and Ceylon to the ground, Homo Sapiens Company was willing to see it through to the very end.

When it came to survivability and the art of laying low, Homo Sapiens Company could run circles around America.

If all-out war broke out, Homo Sapiens Company’s public-facing branches might be annihilated along with America and the other major powers. However, a large portion of its hidden branches would surely survive. With an escape route secured, Homo Sapiens Company simply didn’t care.

Li Qingye didn’t care how many people died, either. As the boss of Homo Sapiens Company, he didn’t have the luxury of being weak.

’Only by being more ruthless and barbaric than the enemy will those brigands sit down to have a calm cup of tea with you. Otherwise, they will devour you alive.’

’When he agreed to let Chen Jianxiong initiate the Mountain Torrent Plan, did he not know that countless innocents would be caught in the crossfire?’

’He knew.’

’But he approved it anyway.’

’It was because he had to use more ruthless and barbaric methods to prevent Tianzhu from getting its hands on Ceylon.’

’A man can’t stand firm if he isn’t ruthless.’

Li Qingye, accompanied by Sangjibada Laiyal and Phil, left Lower Batangas City and headed for San Pablo City.

「San Pablo City.」

This was a city less than 45 kilometers from Batangas City.

The city’s underground base was not very large, mainly because of a massive active volcano nearby—the Banahao Volcano.

Li Qingye’s destination was the Banahao Volcano.

Homo Sapiens Company’s subsidiary, the Luzon Mining Group, had built a ring-shaped underground base around the Banahao Volcano. However, this base was used primarily for production and had no residential areas.

Base Chief Hu Long (Longba Hooker) led Li Qingye and his group into the base’s secure zone.

”What’s the status of the test?”

With a stern, deadpan expression, Hu Long replied, ”Chairman, the test results are excellent. We have currently completed 2,400 megawatts of installed capacity, and we can install another 1,200 megawatts of generating equipment by the end of the year.”

”I heard you’ve also successfully extracted underground helium.”

”Yes. We inserted heat-resistant pipes directly into the magma chamber at a depth of 37,000 meters and detected a large amount of helium. We can currently separate 8,000 cubic meters of helium per day.”

Li Qingye was quite interested in the helium, as it was necessary for a lot of biological and medical research equipment.

And currently, the world’s largest producer of helium was America.

As the relationship between Homo Sapiens Company and America deteriorated, future helium procurement from America had become uncertain. The fact that Luzon Mining could extract helium from beneath the volcano solved a key vulnerability for Homo Sapiens Company.

The project to generate power using the volcano had actually been initiated long ago.

However, the technological breakthrough only came with the advent of heat- and corrosion-resistant materials.

After all, the temperature inside the underground magma chamber was as high as 800 to 1,400 degrees Celsius, the pressure was immense, and the magma contained large amounts of corrosive elements, placing extremely high demands on the materials.

Luzon Mining had drilled through over 30,000 meters of strata to insert pipes directly into the magma chamber. They then installed a U-shaped pipe and injected carbon dioxide into one end.

When the carbon dioxide entered the U-shaped heat exchanger in the magma chamber, it was heated into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas. This gas then rushed to the turbine at the other end of the pipe, enabling continuous power generation.

Hu Long continued his introduction, ”This model of magma power generation can also effectively reduce the probability of a volcanic eruption. According to our monitoring data, the pressure in the Banahao Volcano’s magma chamber has already dropped by 13%.”

Li Qingye was already somewhat familiar with this technology. ”Organize the technical data as quickly as possible. Java has abundant volcanic resources; they will need this technology.”

”I will make the arrangements immediately. It should take about two weeks,” Hu Long replied, as meticulous as ever.

”I have confidence in your work,” Li Qingye said, patting him on the shoulder.

Hu Long quickly replied, ”It is simply my duty.”

Li Qingye gave another instruction, ”In addition, you can start preparing to build volcanic power stations at the other volcanoes in the Luzon Islands.”

”I’ve already notified Luzon Mining. They are currently planning the power station for the Mayon Volcano.”

After touring the Banahao Volcano power station, Li Qingye quickly traveled to Panay Island in the Mishan Islands.

「Inside Panay Island’s First Shipyard.」

The Pacific-class Battleship, having completed all its internal tests, was undergoing its final inspection.

The sailors and officers of the Luzon Sea Security Team were already at the shipyard, familiarizing themselves with the interior of the Pacific-class Battleship.

Sen Shangzhe, Yino, and the others watched Li Qingye with feverish excitement.

”The Pacific-class Battleship…” Li Qingye murmured, a strange smile touching his lips as he looked at the behemoth in the dry dock.

Sen Shangzhe’s face was flushed with excitement. ”Mr. Chairman, the Pacific-class Battleship will be the company’s spear, and it will make all our enemies tremble.”

”I look forward to seeing it.”

Ovi, the director in charge of maritime security, stood to the side and briefed him on the Pacific-class Battleship’s planned fleet composition.

Once commissioned, the Pacific-class Battleship would be paired with two improved, nuclear-powered Great Luzon-class Amphibious Assault Ships and four Orca-class strategic nuclear submarines to form a submersible strategic fleet.

The Orca-class strategic nuclear submarine was the third-generation submarine developed by the New Luzon Shipbuilding Company, following the Mackerel-class and Tuna-class.

This model of nuclear submarine had a full displacement of 9,500 tons and was powered by a molten salt reactor.

However, they were not yet complete. The first batch of four Orca-class submarines was still in the docks of the Second Shipyard, with completion expected this August.

Therefore, the Pacific-class Battleship could only be teamed up with the two already-commissioned Great Luzon-class Amphibious Assault Ships for now.

Of course, the Pacific-class Battleship was also capable of operating independently. After all, it could submerge and was equipped with a large number of anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and other armaments.