Sky-cracking Rider

It took a full three days for the Water Ability Users to painstakingly reclaim all the seawater they could find from the wilderness and from the mouths of the insects.

Ultimately, when it converged back into the basin where "Atlantis" was located, less than half of what originally escaped remained. Some evaporated into the atmosphere, some seeped underground, and some were drunk by the insects, leaving humans completely powerless.

Regardless of whether they could find a way back to Blue Star, how the nearly twenty thousand people in the "Wall of Sighs" task force could survive on this unfamiliar planet was the top priority. We can't wait until we're about to run out of food or face another emergency to think of a solution!

An unexpected acid rainstorm struck, nearly destroying the inner sea ecosystem of the artificial basin where "Atlantis" was located. A massive Protective Barrier was urgently erected, covering the entire basin, up to the towering walls built by the Ability Users. It consumed an astonishing amount of energy to keep the pH at 2-3, blocking the seemingly endless acidic raindrops outside.

The waterfalls of strong acid formed by the rain traveled across the sky, and the air was still filled with a pungent acidic smell. Just moments after being drenched by the initial rain, the silver gleam of "Atlantis" was cloaked in a dark, frosted texture, and some areas even had mottled black and brown spots.

Even stainless steel couldn't completely resist acid corrosion (304 couldn't withstand the fumes of high-concentration oxalic acid).

"What a dreadful place!"

Chen Fei stood at the top of the Central Building in "Atlantis," overlooking the entire snowflake-shaped city.

Raindrops fell on the arid wilderness, stirring up plumes of dust, much of it vapor from chemical reactions, gathering into a blurry haze that made the horizon indistinct, obscuring the boundary between sky and earth.

The various bizarrely shaped giant rocks scattered across the wilderness likely were sculpted through years of gradual acid erosion.

A total of forty satellites were launched, placed in orbits at different altitudes to create a communication, reconnaissance, and remote sensing network covering the entire planet, which also included meteorological observation functions.

However, the atmospheric environment on the planet's surface was harsh, and localized weather changes were almost completely erratic. The current torrential acidic rainstorm clouds formed in a mere ten minutes and have been raining for over half an hour, with no sign of stopping.

"It seems you were right after all!"

A voice came from behind Chen Fei. Huang Xiulun, the Chief Commander of the "Wall of Sighs" operation, came to his side, and the two of them stood side by side.

He is now the Deputy Mayor of "Atlantis," responsible for coordinating and supervising the affairs of various departments.

Although those politicians were annoying, they were adept at creating organizational structures. Overnight, all administrative departments were established, and each head took office with battered faces.

Apart from the speaker and vice-speaker and the city's administrative departments, there was also an auxiliary decision-making organization, the City Management Committee, serving functions similar to a cabinet, congress, or board of directors.

"Which one are you referring to?"

Chen Fei turned his head to look at the Chief Commander who had picked up a remarkable advantage.

After the online meeting, over a hundred offline brawls erupted, ultimately making this military commander the Deputy Mayor, directly allowing him to converse with Chen Fei, the King of the city.

If he couldn't return to Blue Star in his lifetime, he feared that he would truly become the King.

"The 'Skylight' plan; it's very necessary, and some things can't be delayed. Currently, 'Atlantis' indeed needs a dictator."

Huang Xiulun pretended not to hear the new Mayor's tone of sarcasm. Elders don't bother with those nitpicky details from the younger generation.

If he didn't have this patience, he wouldn't be able to mediate the demands of various sovereignties, uniting everyone under the "Wall of Sighs" operation.

Conflicts between sovereignties are inevitable, especially The First Sovereign, which sometimes seems to be at odds with the world. It's quite challenging to unite so many diverse factions to work together.

The construction materials of "Atlantis" are primarily metal, with silicates and organic materials accounting for only a small portion. Even if it withstands the salt corrosion of seawater, it can't endure the long-term acid erosion from acid rain. Relying solely on a Protective Barrier for isolation will make the limited energy reserves increasingly inadequate.

Therefore, relying on the 'Skylight' for physical isolation is the most effective and economic response. The relatively enclosed internal environment also favors restoring the atmospheric composition ratio of Blue Star.

"I hope those people won't blindly cause me trouble."

Chen Fei wasn't concerned with the temporarily united sovereign powers. Even if they currently suppressed their discontent to obey his leadership reluctantly, they were likely to rebel in the future.

"I'll stop them, and besides, there's Mr. Brown!"

Huang Xiulun glanced at the S-Class Superpower User enjoying the scenery in the distance.

In addition to monitoring Chen Fei, Heseman Brown now also shoulders the duty of protection.

An S-Class Space Ability User serving as a bodyguard sounds extravagant, but currently, there is no more suitable guard than him. Insufficient in attack, excessive in defense, and capable of instantly escaping danger, he is simply impeccable perfection.

"The most important material for the 'Skylight,' the silicon carbide translucent panel, it would be best to find a method for industrial mass production, or a specific spell generation would also work. Currently, it's all done manually by Ability Users, and the efficiency is overly low."

The "Skylight" plan proposed by Chen Fei covers the entire "Atlantis" and the basin edges; it's a grand-scale project. Besides the towering pillars and structural framework, the most important components are the translucent panels, each with a side length of three meters.

Considering the current planetary environment they are in, Chen Fei abandoned using transparent metal (aluminum oxynitride, which should technically be considered a ceramic material) as the skylight translucent panels, opting instead for high-purity silicon carbide.

On one hand, high-purity silicon carbide has better light transmission properties, whether it's infrared or ultraviolet light, with a transmittance over 10% higher than aluminum oxynitride. On the other hand, silicon carbide material is acid-resistant but not alkali-resistant, with high strength, making it suitable for the acidic climate here.

However, the current production efficiency of the silicon carbide skylight translucent panels is atrociously low, causing related Ability Users to be exhausted, and only a dozen panels have been produced so far, which, compared to the total number needed for the entire "Skylight," is merely a drop in the ocean. It's unknown which future date or lifetime it will be when they can be gathered together.

"Can't your Special Ability achieve this directly? Why all the trouble?"

Huang Xiulun knew that Chen Fei's psi skill could solve everything, but he didn't understand why create difficulties when there are none.

Even though aluminum oxynitride is slightly inferior in some ways to silicon carbide, it can still serve as an excellent material for skylight translucent panels.

"I am the Mayor; I should focus my time and energy on more important matters. 'Skylight' is a centennial plan, so why not use the better material?"

Chen Fei firmly rejected the Deputy Mayor's unreasonable suggestion.

He had no intention of working himself to death for a group of sinister rebels. It should be the other way around — let this bunch of damned creatures work themselves to death, ideally leaving them no extra energy to think about rebellion and conspiracy.

Currently, Chen Xiao'er is in a state of anxiety, always suspecting that the crafty citizens want to harm the Union. Despite his strong tone, he lacks real experience in leadership. Rising from humble beginnings, he carries a bit of insecurity.

However, The First Sovereign's combat power is sharpened and ready, specializing in purging against treacherous ministers, just waiting for someone to step forward and become the scapegoat.

Revolution is not a dinner party; it's about making a clear and dreadful example of one to warn others, revolutionizing the fate of both the chicken and the monkey together.

"All right! I will keep a close eye on this project!"

Huang Xiulun had already observed that Chen Fei was not the kind of ruler who had to micromanage every detail.

At present, all sides are undergoing a very tentative period of adjustment, but it's still unclear whether the new Mayor is lazy or truly talented in this area. His methods of conversation unexpectedly have some organizational logic. To put it nicely, he focuses on priorities and delegates well, with skills in delegating akin to a Taoist art. To put it not so nicely, it could be seen as being a hands-off boss, a lazy person seeking unwarranted fame. The truth remains subjective.

But one thing is certain, this young Mayor isn't going to be entrapped by scheming subordinates, because they fundamentally aren't on the same wavelength. Therefore, it might be a bit difficult to entangle Chen Fei in various complex affairs, leaving him no time to attend to underhanded plots.

Seeing that Huang Xiulun hadn't left, Chen Fei then asked, "Commander Huang, no, Deputy Mayor Huang, do you have any other matters?"

If nothing else, when someone visits in person instead of sending a message or making a direct call, it's likely there's more to it than just the 'Skylight' issue.

Huang Xiulun took a moment to find the right words and said, "An exploration team has discovered underground ruins; this planet once had intelligent life."

"Not surprising at all, given enough time, a planet capable of nurturing life will eventually give rise to civilization."

Chen Fei nodded noncommittally.

The origin of life was something introduced in high school courses. The great entity "Qin" once scattered the seeds of life across the universe, while also collecting a vast wealth of life gene samples, ensuring a spiral upward of biodiversity and evolution. This hypothesis found tangible evidence in the underground ruins of Cangqiong Star, even with highly suspicious indications of giant skeletons, possibly belonging to "Qin."

The Wisdom Race of Blue Star has never been alone in this vast universe.

In fact, it's not just the exploration teams risking it all to search the wilderness; satellite remote sensing scans have also detected numerous traces left by intelligent civilizations, such as grand halls towering in the wilderness, the ruins of industrial areas, and densely concentrated black or reddish-brown areas left after metal weathering and decomposition.

Unfortunately, the satellites have not been able to find any activity traces of intelligent species on the planet's surface, aside from "Atlantis."

Perhaps the once-glorious intelligent civilization on this planet has faded naturally in the long river of time, and the reasons could range from war, disease, climate change, to species evolution taking a wrong turn, among these possibilities.

However, the remote sensing did detect some interesting things; aside from the relics remaining on the surface, there exist some very complex, human-intervened special geological structures underground. It seems that the intelligent species that once lived on the surface had at some point retreated underground to evade irreversible civilization decline. It remains unknown whether these descendants of Blue Star, also as a Wisdom Race, might possibly find the remnants of the civilization once residing on this planet.