Seventeen Kites

Chapter 405 - 403 Design Problem

Chapter 405: Chapter 403 Design Problem


After confirming the relevant requirements with Chen Xin, the preparation work for the research base quickly began in full swing.


Compared to the research base, which required designing blueprints first and then considering how to construct on site, the special forces’ camp was quickly established outside Chen Xin’s shelter.


It was still the previous mobile barracks, but after being upgraded and modified by Chen Xin, they became easier to set up and move, with better insulation performance, so construction was completed quickly, allowing these special forces to settle in.


However, this is only a temporary camp. After the research base is completed, these special forces will move to the permanent camp built alongside the research base.


Regarding the issue of the permanent camp, Chen Xin also discussed it with the political commissar of the special forces because Chen Xin was unsure whether they would be stationed permanently, so some issues needed to be discussed.


Fortunately, this unit had already received clear instructions before arriving here, and they will be responsible for protecting Chen Xin until they receive new orders.


They also received new instructions from their superiors that once the research base is completed, they will be stationed here to be responsible for the security work of the research base.


This reassured Chen Xin and also allowed him to plan for the construction of the barracks.


After all, if this special forces unit is not stationed here, and another unit or the armed police is transferred instead, some facilities in the barracks need to be changed.


If it’s the special forces, Chen Xin can confidently hand over some of his improved weapons and equipment to them, but if it’s the regular army and armed police, some equipment obviously cannot be handed over so directly.


Although the special forces, regular army, and armed police forces are all part of Flame Country’s military, there are still many differences between these forces in terms of equipment and confidentiality levels.


Now that it is confirmed this unit will continue to protect him, Chen Xin can naturally confidently provide some obviously high-tech weapons to this special forces unit.


For example, the heavy mecha that had already been provided to them, Chen Xin again supplied an amount sufficient to arm two combat teams, allowing this special forces unit to rise to a higher level in terms of heavy equipment.


Especially since Chen Xin kindly replaced the original 12.7 mm rotary cannon on the right shoulder of the mecha with a 50 mm handheld short-barreled recoilless rifle and added a short chain saw to the right arm of the mecha, making this heavy mecha increasingly reminiscent of the terminator armor from Warhammer 40K.


The unit was, of course, ecstatic about the equipment provided by Chen Xin. After all, what unit doesn’t like big, tough cannons like this?


Furthermore, since they were already tasked with obtaining new equipment from Chen Xin, Chen Xin’s proactive provision allowed them to effortlessly complete their superiors’ tasks, so why not do it?


As for their military superiors, upon seeing the heavy mecha provided by Chen Xin, they were overjoyed and only wanted more, with no complaints whatsoever.


Although many say that mechas are inferior to tanks in terms of firepower and defense, mechas are more flexible and mobile, making them better suited for flexible deployment compared to tanks.


In environments where tank deployment is inconvenient, mechas can just fill the gap in defense and firepower support during infantry combat, providing strong support to the troops and filling this gap in the army.


After these heavy mechas were equipped to the special forces, the military even planned to send combat experts to study how to use these heavy mechas and formulate new combat tactics for them.


This also led to an additional military combat research room in addition to the various scientific laboratories at Chen Xin’s place.


Chen Xin was pleased with this outcome, given he plans to develop more exciting things in the future, and having the military support would make many issues much simpler.


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Regarding the blueprints, the special apocalyptic environment meant that many original private design companies could naturally no longer exist, leaving only state agencies’ design institutes to assume design work under these circumstances.


Chen Xin’s research base was to be handled by a design institute in Star City, the capital of Xiang Province.


The reason for choosing the Star City design institute was largely due to Chen Xin being located in Xiang Province. He had previously dealt extensively with the three towns of Hubei Province, which had caused dissatisfaction among Xiang Province’s leaders. Therefore, the design and construction of the research base was seized by Xiang Province’s leaders to build a good relationship with the highest academician produced by their province.


In terms of design, the design institute planned to use steel crossbeams as support and then use lightweight materials and tempered glass to construct the dome.


This design posed no particular difficulty. Although a 500-meter diameter might sound exaggerated, similar applications exist in airports, high-speed rail stations, and stadiums, which are nothing challenging for Flame Country, a giant in infrastructure construction.


The design institute did not falter in this regard and soon produced the first draft of the design blueprint.


The ecological dome was designed in a shape similar to a Mongolian yurt, with a slightly curved circular dome supported by twelve root-like support pillars. The circular dome itself was constructed with lightweight materials styled similarly to dougong structure, mounted on the support pillars and then paved with a hexagonal honeycomb structure of tempered glass as the dome.


Overall, the design institute did not introduce any avant-garde designs; apart from the hexagonal honeycomb structure of the glass, the rest could even be described as plain.


This is understandable, as under the current broader environment, building something with design flair is impractical, and everything should prioritize functionality over artistic sense.


Although there are designs that balance art and function, at present, practicality should take precedence.


Artistic elements should only be considered when there is additional capacity.


After finalizing the design plan, the next steps naturally involved drafting detailed construction blueprints and preparing the relevant materials and parts.


However, a tricky problem arose here, almost bringing the project to a halt.


The twelve support pillars needed for dome construction were large metal components, requiring monolithic production for the necessary support strength, but Flame Country’s recovering industrial production capacity, post-disaster, couldn’t complete such large metal component processing.


According to the design institute’s plan, each support pillar was over thirty meters high, with cross branches over fifty meters long. The requirement for monolithic processing and guaranteed support strength indicated extremely high demands on processing technology.