In the eighth summer, the weather was extremely dry, and rainfall was scarce.

This year's large-scale drought caused insufficient soil moisture in various places, leading to a severe reduction in the production of grains, vegetables, and fruits.

The agricultural reduction led to a continuous rise in food prices, which became the greatest impact on the vast majority of ordinary residents.

Furthermore, rivers, lakes, and groundwater dried up, making it difficult for residents to obtain water for daily use. Personal hygiene and medical water were limited, increasing the risk of disease transmission.

Regarding this abnormal weather, the Star Axis concluded: "Natural factors are the main cause."

"The long-standing subtropical high pressure led to prevailing downward airflow, inhibiting the formation of clouds and rain, causing persistent high temperature and drought. Additionally, a delay in the monsoon resulted in reduced rainfall, further exacerbating the drought."

Faced with extreme drought, relatively poor areas once again faced survival challenges. Infectious diseases and the scramble for water resources brought considerable chaos and impact.

Wealthier areas with resources adopted two major strategies of artificial rainfall and interregional water diversion, and implemented water restrictions for regulation.

Although water costs increased and were shared among every resident, with everyone having to pay high water fees, due to better basic conditions, survival was not yet affected.

However, Sand Port adopted an entirely new method to cope with the drought.

Jade City First Building rooftop.

Zhou Yi sat on a chair under a parasol, looking at the sky.

The artificial sun was located within the atmosphere, brighter than ever, like a slightly smaller, dimmer light film pasted on the surface of the original sun.

The effect was very obvious.

The temperature in Sand Port dropped by 2 degrees Celsius compared to before. Although not a complete solution to the drought, the situation was somewhat alleviated after the temperature decreased.

Zhou Yi asked Turing next to him, "Will such artificial intervention, intercepting solar energy from the sky to lower the ground temperature, cause some chain reactions leading to other natural anomalies?"

"Chairman, it's only natural for you to have such rational concerns."

The Electrician Ant hovered by his side, with a voice emanating from the loudspeaker on the ground: "This indeed can cause certain impacts. Weather and temperature are intricate and vast parts of Earth's ecological system, affecting everything as a whole."

"The method we are currently adopting essentially involves solar radiation management, reducing ground temperature by reflecting sunlight and lessening evaporation to alleviate the drought."

"However, due to the existence of this super device, the artificial sun, the entire process has become simple. By aligning energy streams, we absorbed a large amount of energy from beyond the sky at the artificial sun for power generation. This reduces the energy projected onto the ground, lowering the ground temperature at the source."

"The risk is that it might disrupt the monsoon and cause regional rainfall imbalances."

At this time, Yuan Xiao brought over some sliced watermelon.

Zhou Yi picked up a slice and started munching, eating with eyes slightly widened, "This year's watermelon is really good."

The watermelon in his hand was bright red without white streaks, almost seedless, crisp, and sweet.

The watermelon of one's dreams was nothing more than this.

"Is this a new variety?"

Yuan Xiao smiled and said, "Chairman, this is 'Miss Sweetheart' produced in the Tree Monster Territory this year. After several years of improvement, it has been well-received in the market, but the price is twice that of regular watermelons. However, 'Miss Sweetheart' is difficult to transport due to its thin rind, so the costs are also high."

"The largest buyers currently are the Mars Base, our Sand Port, and then Heavenly Dawn City. These three places have high consumption capacities, with relatively considerable per capita incomes."

Zhou Yi sighed, "Tree Monster Lord's focus on deep agricultural development has finally borne fruit, and it deserves to make money."

"Has the drought affected the Tree Monster Territory significantly?"

Yuan Xiao said, "The Tree Monster Territory has always placed great importance on water and soil conservation, as high-quality agricultural products are closely related to the environment itself. Investments in dams and water conservation projects are made every year. Although there is widespread drought this year, the local water supply is adequate, only with a slight reduction in production, everything else is fine."

Zhou Yi gave an approving sound, then looked at the tiny mechanical and electrical expert beside him: "Sorry, please continue."

"Yes, Chairman."

Turing continued: "Initially, in response to the drought, we adopted conservative measures, such as injecting sulfate particles into the high sky to simulate volcanic eruptions to reflect the sun and cool the atmosphere, along with spraying sea salt particles into ocean clouds to enhance cloud albedo."

"However, among the artificial sun operation group, a human engineer proposed, why not reduce the solar radiation reaching the ground at its source, which the artificial sun can achieve."

"This engineer's name is Han Ding. He's a wind energy engineer who previously worked in Yi City, primarily responsible for deploying and maintaining wind turbines. With abundant wind in Yi City, they participated in various ground production and manufacturing through wind conversion."

"Han Ding came over here because his cousin Han Ye works as a physics teacher at our company's Mushroom Forest Primary School, attracted by Han Ye's salary and work environment, so he switched jobs. Once here, I sifted through personnel and invited him to join the artificial sun control group, engaging in various job roles related to the artificial sun and ground station platforms."

Zhou Yi remembered Han Ye.

He was one of a batch of talents recruited from the Dragon Palace after reaching a talent introduction and joint training plan with them.

The company's attractiveness is indeed on the rise, even senior technicians from the Five Great Centers are willing to join us here.

"And then?"

Turing said, "Han Ding proposed a comprehensive plan, mainly comprising two parts: solar radiation management and atmospheric circulation intervention."

"First, cool down through the Artificial Sun, converting the absorbed parallel energy into electricity, which is then conducted for use by the electric cat series."

"The Electric Souls, in particular, have a high demand for electricity. Providing it to them allows them to remain active and move rapidly in the sky over long periods. With sufficient energy reserves, they can participate in the Flying Sky Duke's rocket launches or enter low Earth orbit, engaging in some of the company's space projects."

He continued the introduction, "Then, the cooling should not be too abrupt; lowering the temperature by 1-3 degrees Celsius is enough to form cold air."

"Based on this, build massive arrays of wind turbines, deploy fans to disturb atmospheric circulation and guide rain belts. This way, cooling can quickly form directed rainfall while the electricity transformed by the Artificial Sun supports the operation of a large number of fans."

"Simply by forming cooling and rainfall within specific cycles and undertaking cooling and rainfall during crucial drought periods, it will solve the ground's people's living problems."

"This artificial adjustment can help the ground get through extreme drought. However, the timing needs caution and reduction; this is localized artificial regulation, not directly disrupting the original cycle. Short-term changes in local areas will not impact the entire ecosystem, as atmospheric circulation has a self-repairing ability."

"In summary, the risks are currently controllable."

Zhou Yi nodded repeatedly, "This Han Ding is quite a talent."

"We also used data simulation first, then conducted experiments on some deserted islands. The final results were good before we dared to use it officially."

Turing explained, "The main thing is that the success in artificial climate regulation can be replicated."

"For example, both extreme droughts and extreme floods can be curbed using similar methods, mitigating disasters beyond regions' capacity. Even the three disasters of the Dead Sea can be guided and controlled."

"Indeed."

Zhou Yi also deeply agreed, "Extreme disasters can cause severe casualties, and being able to save many lives at critical moments is crucial."

"Chairman, we have an idea."

"Could we expand this drought control project externally? Because just two to three rounds of rainfall and cooling are enough to help life on the ground survive the drought."

"Sand Port itself has very comprehensive infrastructure, indoor air conditioning, the long-built Dead Sea Channel, and a water storage system. We are not very afraid of droughts here; the difference is merely between abundant and regulated water, without affecting survival."

"There are still many poor and water-scarce areas outside, risking many lives in this drought season; perhaps we could use our approach to help them overcome this difficulty."

"Such a great technology should be applied to more places, benefiting more lives, to reflect its value, and also enhance our company's reputation and prestige."

Zhou Yi nodded, "Well said. Since the company has such a solution, it should give back to society. Leave this matter to you; prioritize helping the most difficult places, you have the data as a reference, this should not be difficult."

"Yes, Chairman, thank you for your support!"

"With what you said, I want to ask a new question."

Zhou Yi looked at the small Electrician Ant beside him, "Isn't the second Artificial Sun already trial-completed; why hasn't it come over here yet?"

"Chairman, the second sun is a bit special."

Turing said, "Based on the first sun, we made some improvements on the second sun, turning the [Cultivator] program into its data center carrier."

"You can understand it as a miniature Mechanical City inside the second sun's Gemstone Body, but this city is configured with six [Mechanical Taoists]."

"Among these six professional cultivators, two can run the [Prophet] mode for long periods, providing computation and simulation for the second sun."

"The first sun uses traditional carrier control methods, while the second sun has been upgraded to a machine-electric support that will respond faster and can operate independently without ground support."

"Most importantly, the second sun has a special purpose; it's pairing with the [Newborn Phase] through the Gemstone Body as a carrier. Currently, 703 is being matched and tested with the second sun."

Zhou Yi nodded.

The company's second [Newborn Phase] is 703 because this evolutionary direction requires at least 15 million gemstones, which is extremely costly. So the company is very cautious in selecting people, needing trustworthy insiders.

To push 703 into the Light Core Body cost as high as 19 million gemstones, higher than Jue Mingzi.

After awakening, 703 wandered to the Moon to seek advice from Jue Mingzi, still gradually adapting to and mastering its abilities.

Unexpectedly, it got connected with the second sun.

"703 is the second Newborn Phase with gemstones as an element after Jue Mingzi. Although the Newborn Phase itself has sufficient computational power, it is still in the Prophet mode, but if the Newborn Phase combines with the Artificial Sun, it might hit the theoretical limit state [Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad] mode."

Turing said, "The second sun is trying in this aspect."

Zhou Yi immediately got interested, "Let's go, let's see what's happening on the Moon."