Chapter Twenty: Loosen Your Grip

Since future mineral extraction operations were to be scaled up and standardized, having only two or three cats at each mining site without proper dormitories, as was the case now, was absolutely unacceptable.

The 600 clones drove tractors loaded with vast amounts of materials and tools, charging fiercely toward the three mining sites.

They first erected temporary dormitories and built provisional kitchens. Then, the special cement transported from the main base arrived and was put to use.

Before long, a building covering over 300 square meters, capable of housing 200 people and equipped with water treatment, power, kitchen facilities, and dormitory areas, was completed.

From that moment on, the clones involved in construction no longer had to live in temporary shelters.

Within these formal dormitories, they could rest, eat, and drink with great comfort and convenience.

Subsequently, a large number of machines were assembled one after another.

Crushers, thermal cutting tools, mining carts, buckets, cranes, hoists, rail connectors—all were installed.

At this oxygen mine site, Li Qingsong left behind 180 clones, with 10 assigned to logistics and 170 becoming miners.

Unlike the previous rough-and-ready extraction methods, these miners now followed a standardized, procedural approach.

Specialized miners used thermal cutting machines to extract large blocks of solid oxygen, which were then hoisted by dedicated transport personnel onto trailers and taken to the primary screening workshop to remove large impurities. Following that, the ore proceeded to the primary processing workshop, where it was refined into suitable sizes before being lifted by cranes onto trains for transport.

This entire standardized process immediately increased oxygen ore extraction efficiency by more than tenfold, significantly boosting output.

The other two branch bases—the iron mine base and the Torin mine base—followed the same pattern.

Once the railways were finally completed, all three branch bases were put into operation simultaneously.

At the same time, a new power plant was completed in the energy industrial zone of the main base.

This power plant employed more advanced generation technology, reducing fuel consumption per kilowatt-hour by over 5% compared to before, while operating more stably.

Leveraging his previous experience and expertise in generator manufacturing, Li Qingsong developed six large generators, each with a capacity of 2,000 kilowatts.

Operating at full capacity, this power plant could produce 12,000 kilowatt-hours per hour, amounting to 288,000 kilowatt-hours daily!

A total installed capacity of merely 12,000 kilowatts is negligible on Earth and would be considered outdated, even slated for decommissioning.

After all, current Earth power plants typically have single generators with capacities exceeding one million kilowatts.

That means a single generator can produce one million kilowatt-hours per hour, several times more than the daily output of these six generators combined.

Yet, for Li Qingsong, this power plant was already immensely satisfactory.

Besides meeting the power demands of the steel mill, it could supply the entire electricity needs of all four bases he currently operated!

Whether for the lighting in the planting base, the water pumps in the livestock base, the electric trains on the railways, or the kitchens in the branch bases, all were powered by this plant.

Of the six generators, three were dedicated to the steel mill, two to other factories and daily needs, and the last was reserved as a flexible power source to be allocated as needed.

Now that the railways were laid, the branch bases constructed, and the power plant completed, Li Qingsong's heart brimmed with joy: “This steel mill can finally run at full capacity...”

Centered on the main base, the four bases bustled with vibrant activity.

Train after train sped back and forth along the tracks, continuously transporting massive quantities of ore to the main base.

At the branch bases, clones, freshly rested and clad in spacesuits, left their dormitories and drove fully charged vehicles from charging stations toward the mining sites.

After working for over ten hours, the miners returned their vehicles to be recharged, washed up briefly, and were served steaming hot meals.

After hearty feasts and short breaks, they retired to their dormitories to sleep.

At the “dock,” dozens of clones operated various machines, hoisting the preliminarily processed minerals into train cars one carriage at a time. Once thirty carriages were filled, powered by surging electricity and accompanied by the earth’s slight tremors, the heavy train, weighing over a thousand tons, roared off into the darkness.

At the canyon where the main base was located, a full set of mechanized equipment similarly unloaded these materials at the dock.

Iron ore and materials for steelmaking were transported to the steel mill, while oxygen and Torin ores were sent to the power plant.

The six generators rumbled steadily, producing vast amounts of electricity. At the steel mill, workshops coordinated orderly; large quantities of ore were transformed into steel ingots or plates and stored in warehouses.

Vehicles from other areas swarmed here like ants, transporting ingots and steel plates as if delivering nourishment to construction sites of other factories, which began to spring up like bamboo shoots after rain.

With ample steel supply, Li Qingsong could finally unleash his full potential.

The first factory he built was his long-cherished battery plant.

Supported strongly by the chemical industry, this standardized battery factory produced an average of ten large-capacity battery packs daily, supplying the machinery factory.

The machinery factory had yet to specialize in operations; at this stage, tractors, mining carts, bulldozers, and excavators were all produced here.

With sufficient steel, production ran at full capacity, churning out about ten mechanical vehicles each day.

After that came the planting base and livestock base.

As the population grew, so did the demand for food. Li Qingsong adopted a more refined strategy for agricultural facilities.

He constructed ten agricultural centers: one specializing in wheat, another in corn, others in soybeans, vegetables, and so forth.

In addition, there was a poultry center for raising chickens, ducks, and geese, producing both meat and eggs; a livestock center for pigs, cattle, and sheep; and an aquaculture center dedicated to fish farming.

Yet none of these factories were what Li Qingsong valued most.

What he prized above all was a factory at the very heart of the base:

The clone cultivation factory!