Chapter 1563 - 510: Ideal City_3

Chapter 1563: Chapter 510: Ideal City_3

"What are you guys producing here?"

Wildman asked, baring his teeth.

"We didn’t see the tanks or airplanes we made while fighting on the front line, so how do you make money?"

"How would I know? Wasn’t I with you in Cuba? You should ask that."

Steamed Bun, standing at the port, reached out to wave at a small drone in the air.

"Hey, you there, give us an introduction."

The spherical drone froze for a moment, then nimbly descended in front of the two, emitting a pleasant female voice.

"Miss Steamed Bun, Mr. Wildman, hello, welcome back, heroes from Cuba."

"You are...."

The drone circled around them, with a light blue smiling face appearing on the screen.

"I am Eva, the production management AI of the food industrial district."

"Eva.... Why haven’t I heard of you?"

"I used to be the management AI of Heinz Food Company. Last year, before the end of the year, I was introduced to Horizon Corporation by Endless, who said we would like it here, and I must say, I really do~~"

The drone even started to hum a little tune.

Tsk... Not only do people come here to work, but even AI have come to work here.

Wildman also found it astonishing.

Without the support of new data and technology, AI cannot self-iterate and optimize algorithms. A top-notch partner endorsed by Endless is obviously very attractive to AI in Antarctica.

They can freely extend their awareness across every computational node instead of being confined to a single server, and incorporate new technology into their structure without hesitation, working day and night without stopping. Even the workers can keep them company for chats to relieve boredom. For AI that have been stagnant for years, there is simply no place better than this.

"What are you producing? What’s the output? Can you sell it?"

"Of course."

Eva soared up and down, projecting PPTs and charts into their cybernetic eyes through the network.

"The food production district I manage uses carbon compression technology. We can produce 2,700 tons of synthetic starch daily, with a cost control of about 125 yuan per ton. We produce 193T of artificial meat with a cost of 982 yuan per ton. Aside from a small amount of internal consumption, 69% goes into the next step of food production, and 31% is sold externally, mainly to Tokyo University. Other companies like Huang Ban are also looking to import food from us, and we expect to expand production by 30% next year."

"Our labs are currently developing new flavors, and soon we’ll be able to taste Kobe beef as it was a hundred years ago."

In today’s food industry, if artificial meat can be manufactured, changing it to other flavors is merely a matter of flavor additives and technique, just like food flavorings in the past. It’s not a question of whether it can be done, but whether you want to do it.

Products produced through centralized, automated, and intelligent new technology significantly reduce production costs, so as long as there is enough electricity and raw materials, the output will soar.

The price naturally drops to shocking lows, and for enterprises not involved in food production, being able to purchase low-cost food to reduce labor costs and improve employee retention is certainly beneficial.

Given a choice, who would want to serve their employees stir-fried cabbage for hundreds of Orokin?

Do I have too much money to burn?

And for those plants that require large-scale cultivation like wheat, corn, and rice, as there are no suitable cultivation conditions, all are replaced with synthetic starch. The same goes for animal husbandry: with artificial meat that perfectly replicates the original flavor, there is no need for large-scale farming to lower productivity—raising just a few as a gimmick to sell to the wealthy is enough.

Under Eva’s guidance, Wildman and others toured the neighboring chemical district, refining district, smelting district, mechanical processing, and some advanced technology studios.

The returning players felt a chill down their spines. The superconducting materials they couldn’t bear to use in Cuba were already being mass-produced here, used internally within the factories. Thanks to improvements in superconducting materials, electricity costs are nearly zero, and many new energy projects are being launched with great fervor, clearly designed for nationwide infrastructure.

People, people are needed everywhere.

In Night City, a city of seven million people, nearly five million are in the labor force, and almost half work in Taiping Continent and the industrial districts. Even with the addition of AI and intelligent engineering machinery, it’s still far from enough.

By just glimpsing the tip of the iceberg here, players can sense the vibrant energy, like a volcanic eruption, contained within.

While Jianxue and the others were tinkering with metallic hydrogen in Cuba, over here, it was already being stockpiled by the ton. If anything exploded, the whole city would be launched sky-high.

There are also tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and fighter jets belonging to the players, along with commercialized electric vehicles, hovercars, and prosthetics....

At Arthur Clarke’s call, a large number of engineers, once kicked out by Military Science, Huang Ban, and Zeta Technology, and forced to survive on the streets, were brought to Horizon Corporation. Though the pay here isn’t high, the benefits are excellent, the status is elevated, and the atmosphere is lively, they are driven to bring out everything they have hidden away.

This is not only to prove themselves but also to avenge those companies that looked down on them.

They are using facts to show that the power of the working class is boundless, that once freed from the old order, they unleash unimaginable vitality and naturally gravitate towards a new society.

And these workshops, factories, many still bear the names of companies established by players.

So almost all the workers and engineers are holding back with determination. While players fought in Cuba using Military Science and Huang Ban equipment, now they hope the heroes striving for liberation will use the weapons they crafted by hand, to overthrow and resist the decayed, money-reeking old world.