Chapter 124: New Material—Black Gold

Inside the Materials Industrial Park, near the ultra-high temperature reactor, Li Fu wore a white lab coat. Beside him stood Li Qianyu, Yao Tianyi, and a large group of researchers from the Institute of Materials. Everyone was intently watching the massive electronic display, which showed the fundamental operating parameters of the ultra-high temperature reactor.

The temperature reading on the display had reached 3,200 degrees Celsius; this was the surface temperature of the reactor. The core temperature had already exceeded 4,000 degrees. Of course, this temperature was measured using external instrumentation, as it would be impossible to simply insert a thermometer into such terrifying heat.

Inside the reactor, a new material was currently being calcined—a material formula Li Fu had obtained from the seed of the Great Han Technological Empire, a super-civilization. Having participated in the research of the "Divine Arrow" aerospace fighter, Li Fu knew that the materials for its core engine and outer hull were crafted from an abundance of rare metals, making them incredibly precious.

Setting aside other factors, the sheer volume of rare metals required made these materials more expensive than gold. This was the reason a single aerospace fighter cost over 30 billion Huaxia credits to build—and that was merely the production cost, excluding all other overheads.

Li Fu’s goal was to engineer a new, inexpensive material that could replace these costly components. Once successful, the government contracts alone would be enough to make his materials company incredibly wealthy. Furthermore, the Huaxia government had clearly stated its commitment to fostering the space industry and encouraging private sector participation. It was evident that vast amounts of capital—both public and private—would continue to flow into this sector. The market for this new material was guaranteed, and it had the potential to become the flagship product of the Fuyun Group.

Of course, for Li Fu, profit was secondary. His true objective was to propel Huaxia’s expansion into space. Everyone in the country was buzzing with excitement over the space industry, and industry titans were sharpening their blades, preparing to make their mark.

However, the cost of the aerospace fighters was prohibitive. At over 30 billion each, the Huaxia government had only managed to produce three. This price point was a significant hurdle for the nation’s space ambitions; if the government struggled to afford them, private entities certainly stood no chance.

Therefore, it was imperative to drastically reduce the production costs. Only then could Huaxia possess a sufficient fleet of aerospace vehicles. Without hundreds of such craft, talk of a robust space industry remained premature. If the cost could be slashed by a factor of ten—bringing the price down to around 3 billion—the burden on the government would be significantly lighter, and private capital would be able to enter the fray. This would provide a massive boost to the development of the space industry.

As the cost decreased, the number of aerospace vehicles would naturally rise, leading to a surge in the frequency and volume of space travel, thereby accelerating the industry's growth.

When Li Fu first participated in the "Divine Arrow" project, he had considered introducing cheaper materials immediately, but he ultimately chose to use formulas requiring vast amounts of rare metals to ensure he maintained greater leverage and control.

The civilization seed Li Fu possessed contained countless material formulas from the Great Han Technological Empire. That super-civilization had essentially mastered all materials; they had researched every combination and every fabrication method. Finding a suitable material for an aerospace vehicle from that database was trivial. He could easily pull up hundreds of thousands, even millions of options—some requiring rare metals, others relying on common metals or only trace amounts of rare elements.

Naturally, the methods utilizing abundant rare metals were relatively simpler, while those using common metals often required specialized fabrication techniques—many of which were currently beyond the reach of human technology, with only a few being achievable under current conditions.

"The calcination time is nearly up. We can begin lowering the temperature," Li Fu instructed his team while monitoring the massive display.

No one yet knew the status of the material inside the reactor. Even though Li Fu possessed the formula and the production process, it still required experimentation. They had failed many times before, either due to issues in the manufacturing process or problems with the raw materials.

This was the 82nd experiment. Having summarized the lessons from each previous failure, Li Fu had a premonition that this time, they would likely succeed in creating the new material.

As the temperature in the reactor dropped rapidly, the fully automated equipment opened the furnace to retrieve the new material. Everyone watched with bated breath.

A large mechanical arm gripped a piece of solid black material. It was pitch-black and possessed a unique metallic luster. Despite being calcined at thousands of degrees, it did not turn red or translucent like other materials—its heat resistance was already evident. Even the mechanical arm made of standard steel began to heat up rapidly just from the thermal transfer.

*Hiss!*

The mechanical arm moved the black material to the cooling chamber, where automated equipment sprayed water from all directions. Instantly, the chamber filled with steam and a thunderous sound, shrouded in a thick, swirling mist.

Soon, the advanced ventilation and drainage systems cleared the steam and water. Once the material had cooled completely and the steam had dissipated, the process stopped.

The black material appeared unchanged. It had not expanded due to the heat, nor had it cracked from the rapid cooling or contracted as the temperature dropped. Its performance was remarkably stable, and its color remained constant. It seemed the cooling process had had no effect on it whatsoever; it remained as it was when it first came out of the furnace—a solid, pitch-black block.

"It looks like we succeeded this time," Li Qianyu said, her eyes sparkling with confidence as she gazed at the black material.

"I agree," added Yao Tianyi. "It didn't discolor or deform under thousands of degrees of heat, which proves its heat resistance. And it held its shape after rapid cooling. It must be a success." Both of them had followed Li Fu closely throughout the research process and were confident in the result.

The new material was created by grinding metal and ceramic powders, binding them, freezing them in an ultra-low temperature environment, letting them return to room temperature, and finally calcining them in the ultra-high temperature reactor.

The steps seemed simple, but the first stage—grinding the materials into a perfect powder—had exhausted the team. They had failed repeatedly because the quality of the final product depended entirely on the perfection of the initial powder.

Li Fu, however, knew how to solve every problem. He treated this as a training exercise; even though he knew the answers from the start, he let his researchers figure it out on their own, guiding and cultivating them slowly.

"We must rely on the data. Li Qianyu, Yao Tianyi, take a team and test the material to see if it meets our requirements."

Although Li Fu was fairly certain they had succeeded, he wanted the final data. Soon, a detailed report arrived. Li Fu nodded as he read it: it could withstand temperatures up to 5,500 degrees without deformation, possessed high thermal insulation, hardness, and strength. It was the perfect material for a plasma engine.

"Brother Fu, this material is perfect, and the production cost is relatively low. It is absolutely the ideal material for the aerospace and aviation sectors," Yao Tianyi said, clearly exhilarated. For a researcher, participating in such a groundbreaking project was a priceless experience.

"It is indeed perfect. The data is excellent. There will be no issues using this to build a plasma engine," Li Fu agreed. Having worked on the "Divine Arrow," he knew exactly how demanding the material requirements for plasma engines were.

"Let’s call it Black Gold—black gold," Li Fu said, a shrewd merchant’s smile playing on his lips.