Super Island Tycoon

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Building the 2nd Artificial Island!

Act as soon as you think.

Jiang Cheng, always quick and decisive, immediately took action after realizing the necessity of expanding the territory.

The first step is, of course, to construct a large number of cutter suction dredgers, which would greatly accelerate the progress of blowing sand to create islands.

Jiang Cheng went to the future ship laboratory to discuss with the chief designer and engineers the recent production plan.

For over half a year now, the Jade Island shipyard has been busy producing high-speed transport vessels and some military ships. Due to limited production docks, it’s impossible to produce all types of ships simultaneously.

At the last technology expo, various models of ships were exhibited, with only a few production plans made for close partners who had long placed orders.

After understanding the current shipbuilding situation on Jade Island, Jiang Cheng realized the necessity to expand the production scale.

Currently, all shipbuilding industry is concentrated on Octopus Island. Since Octopus Island is quite small in area, it undoubtedly limits the shipyard’s scale.

Jiang Cheng was reluctant to expand the shipyard to other islands because he had already planned those islands for Jade Island’s future ”Island City” project.

Therefore, if he truly wants to build a new shipyard, the only option is to create a new island like Nanyao Island.

After thorough discussions, Jiang Cheng determined the most important work at hand.

That is, to gather all cutter suction dredgers to search for new reef areas around Jade Island and open new territories.

After the orders were issued, ocean exploration ships docked at Octopus Island port set out to begin meticulous exploration activities around the waters of Jade Island.

Jiang Cheng had never thoroughly explored the seafloor conditions around Jade Island. This is the perfect opportunity to clarify the nearby underwater topography, preparing for future deep-sea development.

...

The exploration work around Jade Island’s waters, conducted by three high-tech exploration ships, lasted only three days and concluded, bringing back an incredibly detailed underwater topographic map for Jiang Cheng.

Through this underwater topographic map, Jiang Cheng gained a clearer understanding of the waters under his control.

And upon some observation, he indeed discovered many shallow areas that could be utilized.

The area Jiang Cheng valued most is located north of Jade Island, approximately 120 nautical miles away from Jade Island.

This area is an underwater reef; at low tide, the highest point is only 3 to 4 meters from the sea surface. Most importantly, this reef has an extensive area that, if filled, could exceed 15 square kilometers, comparable to the largest offshore island of Jade Island, Ivory Island!

Of course, the cost to fill such an underwater reef would be astronomical!

However, what Jade Island lacks the least right now is money!

So, Jiang Cheng isn’t worried about the financial issue at all.

The real hesitation is due to the geographical location of this underwater reef, which is very close to Japan!

According to the map, this underwater reef is nearly 100 nautical miles away from Japan’s southern Ryukyu Islands!

This distance is even closer than the distance to Jade Island!

In other words, if this artificial island is indeed filled, it would immediately extend Jade Island’s influence range beyond 120 nautical miles!

The buffer zone nearest to the military powers would be halved!

This indeed qualifies as a dangerous move!

It can almost be anticipated that once Jade Island’s cutter suction dredgers begin working on that underwater reef, Japan would go into a frenzy!

This is a blatant compression of Japan’s strategic space!

No country in the world would tolerate such actions.

Moreover, the opponent Jiang Cheng has provoked this time is a powerful maritime nation with immense military strength, whose naval power alone far exceeds South Korea!

Therefore, making such a decision to expand territory is not easy.

However, after struggling in his mind, Jiang Cheng still decided to proceed!

...

Half a month later, under the cover of twilight, eighteen immense steel cutter suction dredgers slowly departed from Octopus Island’s third port, heading towards the northern seas.

Shortly after these twelve dredgers set out, a large fleet of military ships also left the port, following closely behind.

For this operation, Jiang Cheng, along with Jade Island’s high-ranking officials, conducted meticulous preparations.

Including responses to the strong protests from Japan once construction begins and the posture Jade Island should adopt in retaliation should Japan take aggressive military actions.

In summary, after various preparations, today’s operation proceeded.

These twelve cutter suction dredgers are all the island-creation equipment Jade Island currently owns, plus four new ones are being built and will soon be operational.

With these twenty-two dredgers, the blowing and filling process of the new island will indeed receive a substantial boost.

Based on efficiency calculations, these island-creation divine artifacts can blow and fill an 80,000 square meters island in just one day, making the construction speed exceedingly impressive.

The full-scale deployment is Jiang Cheng’s strategy for a blitzkrieg to quickly construct the artificial island, creating a fait accompli to alleviate pressure from Japan.

Jiang Cheng believes if he can complete the construction of the Island Master as swiftly as possible, he will gain significant initiative.

If Japan resorts to military provocations, Jiang Cheng is not afraid.

This is where his confidence lies!

Regarding the blow-fill construction issue, Jiang Cheng has already formulated comprehensive plans, and this isn’t his first experience with island blow-filling; Nanyao Island is a very successful case, which has accumulated him a wealth of experience.

...

After several hours of sailing, the dozen dredgers finally arrived at the target sea area at dawn, and the large fleet of military ships following them quickly spread out to safeguard the sea area, vaguely indicating an intention to blockade it.

The military ships Jiang Cheng brought this time are all new vessels combining reconnaissance, exploration, surveillance, and defense, perfectly suitable for the current situation.

To ensure the completion of the sand-blowing and island-building plan, comprehensive military protection measures are absolutely necessary.

Moreover, Jiang Cheng believes Japan’s intelligence department will soon discover the abnormal situation in this sea area, since it’s not far from their territory.

By then, Japan will undoubtedly send investigation ships, and that’s when the real confrontation begins!