Chapter 456 Transportation Plan

Sun Demao slammed the measuring tape onto the table. The metal casing hit the drawing, bounced up, and then slammed down again, causing the pencil to roll to the ground.

"Dean He, your ship is thirty meters high and fifty meters wide. Highways have a height limit of five meters, and railways have a width limit of four meters. Tell me, how are we going to transport it?" He spread his hands, palms up, his expression not one of questioning, but of despair.

Several leaders from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center sat around the table, but no one spoke. Ma Yuejin bent down, picked up a pencil, and twirled it between his fingers. "Disassemble it and transport it. Take it apart in sections, and reassemble it at the launch site."

Qian Zhiyuan didn't even look up, his voice muffled. "The keel is four hundred meters long, glued together. Can you take one apart so I can see?" He emphasized the word "you." Ma Yuejin stopped turning, the pencil resting between his fingers.

Lin Jianguo opened the calculation report, pointing to the data circled in red, his voice growing slower as he spoke. "The highway bridges don't have enough load-bearing capacity, the culverts aren't high enough, and the curve radii aren't big enough. The railway doesn't have flatbed wagons that big, and the tunnels can't fit." He closed the report, gave a wry smile, and added, "There are waterways, but Jiuquan doesn't have a dock."

The last half of the sentence was self-deprecating, but no one laughed.

Sun Demao stuffed the measuring tape back into his canvas bag, the zipper rattling loudly. "Dean He, I've been a railway soldier my whole life, building bridges and paving roads, and I've never seen anything like this before. You'll have to think of another way."

He Yuzhu didn't speak. He walked around the corner of the table to the side view of the Kunlun warship on the wall and stood there for more than ten seconds. Ma Yuejin was about to speak when Qian Zhiyuan tugged at his sleeve. The conference room fell silent, with only the ticking of the wall clock audible.

He Yuzhu picked up a red pencil from the table and drew a horizontal line on the bottom of the boat.

"It uses anti-gravity levitation. The hull is ten meters off the ground, and a specially made trailer is placed underneath to tow it."

Sun Demao was the first to react, his voice rising a half-octave. "Tow it? Ten meters high? Where will the trailer be attached?"

"Hang it on the bottom of the boat. The trailer is equipped with an electromagnetic chuck to hold the carbon nanotube structure." He Yuzhu pointed to the horizontal line with a pencil. "The chuck does not bear weight, only horizontal tension. The weight is borne by the anti-gravity system."

Qian Zhiyuan squatted down and drew a sketch on the ground with chalk. The trailer was flat, covered with electromagnetic chucks, and dozens of wheels underneath that steered independently. He stood up, brushed the dust off his knees, his brow still furrowed.

"Is the pulling force enough? The boat is 200 meters long and the trailer is 20 meters long. The lever arm is too long, and the boat will tilt."

Lin Jianguo turned to another page of the calculation report, pointing to a string of numbers. "Use two trailers, one in front of the other. The front trailer pulls the boat, while the rear trailer controls the direction. The two trailers are 100 meters apart, connected by a rigid linkage. The hull rests on the linkage and won't tilt."

Sun Demao leaned closer to look at the simple diagram, stared at it for a while, and then looked up. "Two trailers, rigid linkages, the boat rests on top. Can the wheels hold it up? Two thousand tons."

He Yuzhu threw his pencil on the table. "The anti-gravity system bears 90% of the weight. The trailer can only actually carry 200 tons."

Sun Demao froze, his lips moved a few times, but he didn't speak. After several seconds, he finally spoke. "Two hundred tons...that's the same as the flatbed trucks we make in our factory. The chassis is usable, but the wheels need to be widened, otherwise they'll ruin the road surface. The power also needs to be increased, the original engine can't pull it."

Ma Yuejin walked back from the corner. "It can be pulled. Anti-gravity lifts the boat up, so the friction with the ground is very small. Theoretically, one truck should be enough. But to be on the safe side, use two high-horsepower tractor heads, one in front and one behind."

Qian Zhiyuan shook his head. "The tractor head is too slow, only five kilometers per hour. Two hundred kilometers, forty hours without stopping. The driver can't handle it."

"Two shifts," He Yuzhu said.

Sun Demao bent down to pick up the pencil that had rolled to the corner of the wall. When he straightened up, the wrinkles on his face were furrowed. "Dean He, it will take at least six months to build the trailer."

"Three months." He Yuzhu's tone left no room for negotiation. "The trailer doesn't carry heavy loads, so the structure is simplified. Your factory will work overtime to deliver the truck in three months."

Sun Demao placed the pencil on the table without arguing.

He Yuzhu walked to the map. The road from Jiuquan base to the launch site was winding on the map. He traced the red line with his finger, stopping at two places.

"How much weight can these two bridges bear?"

Lin Jianguo opened another document. "Designed load capacity of ten tons. In reality, it's severely aged; even vehicles weighing over five tons dare not cross it."

"Can't get around it?"

"The detour will add 80 kilometers to the journey, and there's a section of dirt road that tow trucks can't pass."

He Yuzhu's finger hovered over the bridge, and he remained silent for a few seconds. "Reinforce the area beneath the bridge. Use military pontoon bridges to build temporary supports to hold up the bridge deck. When tow trucks cross, limit their speed to one kilometer per hour."

Old Sun was writing in his notebook when the pen tip pierced the paper. He turned the page and rewrote.

"Roads closed," He Yuzhu said. "All roads along the route will be closed on the day of transport. No vehicles or pedestrians are allowed to approach."

Old Sun looked up, his face troubled. "Dean He, this is a 200-kilometer stretch of road, affecting dozens of villages and tens of thousands of people. Will the local government agree to this?"

"You have to agree, whether you like it or not. The Kunlun doesn't belong to Jiuquan City, it belongs to the state." He Yuzhu looked at him. "Go to Gansu Province and get them to issue a document. All the counties along the route need to cooperate. If anyone doesn't cooperate, I'll make a phone call."

Old Sun bit his lip and remained silent.

Yang Xiaobing came in through the door, heard the last few sentences, and stood by the door without moving. He only spoke after He Yuzhu turned around.

"Director He, who is responsible for road safety?"

"You'll lead the team."

Yang Xiaobing walked to the table and pointed to several points on the map. "Bridges, culverts, intersections—we need to set up posts. One sentry post every kilometer, two hundred posts in total. The special forces don't have that many people."

"We will draw a guard company from the Jiuquan base to assist us. You will be in overall command."

Ma Yuejin interjected. "Forty hours a day, with sentries rotating, how do they eat, drink, and relieve themselves?"

Yang Xiaobing ignored him, staring at He Yuzhu. "I'll handle the logistics. Director He, what should we do if anyone gets close?"

"First issue a warning. If the warning is ignored, fire a warning shot. If the warning is ineffective, arrest the suspect immediately."

Yang Xiaobing stood at attention. "Understood."

He turned and took two steps, stopping at the doorway. Looking back, the scar on his face appeared taut and pale under the fluorescent light. "I'm afraid someone might be hiding in the shadows and taking sniper shots. If the ship floats ten meters high, a sniper can take out the cockpit with a single shot."

There was a two-second silence in the meeting room. Ma Yuejin put down his pencil, Lin Jianguo closed the report, and Lao Sun looked up.

He Yuzhu pulled Yang Xiaobing to a corner and whispered a few words to him. Yang Xiaobing's expression changed; he first frowned, then nodded, and pushed open the door to leave.

The lights in the corridor were still on. He Yuzhu stood in the empty conference room, picked up the measuring tape that Sun Demao had left behind, its metal casing cold. He put the tape away, placed it on the table, and turned off the light.