Jiang Ye Xing orbit, the spaceship began to descend.
Jiang Ye sat by the window, reaching out to tap and drag on the holographic projection, processing the backlog of official duties. All powers of Bi Rong Xing had been transferred to him, with large numbers of refugees migrating, countless commercial projects queued for application, and a mess of other troublesome matters.
Jiang Ye sighed as he worked, feeling like an office worker, the kind who never finished their overtime.
The holographic projection suddenly blurred, and Cen Ye Meng's face appeared, holding a plate of cut fruit.
"Thank you," Jiang Ye said, taking the plate and munching on the fruit.
"After visiting Desert City," Cen Ye Meng said, "I want to see our son in prison."
"Alright," Jiang Ye replied. "Desert City will take at most a day. We'll return to Ha Er Xing tomorrow evening, and tomorrow morning and afternoon, I'll take you to the prison."
"No, you can't go into the prison," Jiang Ye corrected himself. "You can only talk through the glass."
"Are you going?" Cen Ye Meng asked.
"I'll accompany you, but I won't talk to our son. I'll just take a look from behind," Jiang Ye said.
The holographic projection suddenly disappeared.
The spaceship's alert sounded, indicating they were two minutes from entering the airflow zone, which might cause slight turbulence.
Jiang Ye and Cen Ye Meng sat side-by-side on the sofa by the window and fastened their seatbelts.
The spaceship began to vibrate gently, the sensation extremely weak, like riding an elevator. Jiang Ye turned his head to look out the window. The altitude was dropping rapidly, and the vast golden desert below was already visible. The sunlight was brilliant, and the desert's color resembled gold dust, with many bright spots standing out conspicuously in the yellow sand.
He had initially thought those bright spots were temporary visual anomalies or reflections from small lakes in the desert.
However, as the spaceship continued to descend, they gradually became clearer: they were all colossal buildings!
These buildings were at least forty stories high, towering like small mountains in the yellow sand. At the top of each were three giant wind turbine blades, all spinning rapidly. Some of these blades could even change their position on the building; the rooftops likely had rotating mechanisms to adjust the blades to face the wind at all times, improving power generation efficiency.
Each building was a lush green color, with many reflective glass surfaces.
Soon, the spaceship landed at the desert starport.
As Jiang Ye and Cen Ye Meng disembarked, they were immediately met by a barrage of camera lenses. The movements of these lenses were so synchronized, it was like anti-aircraft weapons automatically targeting enemy aircraft. This was followed by a continuous stream of shutter clicks and very appreciative applause.
As Jiang Ye Xing and Bi Rong Xing grew in scale, the media presence also exploded. In addition to local media outlets, there were many privately owned news companies, media departments from major online platforms, and even reporters from other planets.
After descending the escalator, Jiang Ye and Cen Ye Meng proceeded under the escort of guards. A cacophony of noise erupted from all directions as reporters eagerly shouted questions. However, the Jiang Ye couple completely ignored them.
Soon, the two boarded a special vehicle and drove towards Desert City.
Xu Yan was already waiting in Desert City, followed by a large entourage. As soon as they spotted the general's car, the group swarmed towards it.
Jiang Ye and Cen Ye Meng alighted from the vehicle and shook hands with Xu Yan in turn.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang and Ms. Cen, for visiting Desert City for an inspection," Xu Yan said in a very formal tone, his smile as if he were meeting Jiang Ye and Cen Ye Meng for the first time. "On behalf of all employees of Xu Yan Real Estate Company, I welcome you."
The surrounding reporters snapped photos furiously.
Jiang Ye exchanged brief pleasantries with Xu Yan, and the group began to walk into the city.
The ground in this area was all hard, barren soil, with many sand grains and dust swirling on the horizon.
Artificial forests had already been planted near the city, consisting of small saplings that looked fragile and desolate amidst the vast yellow sand and desert.
The entire city lacked low-rise buildings, or even proper streets; it was composed entirely of colossal buildings, each separated by hundreds of meters.
All the buildings looked similar, with large expanses of glass and solar panels alternating, forming reflective, shimmering facades. The balconies of each unit faced different directions, with the outer walls of the balconies covered in lush green plants. Looking inside through the glass, each building was filled with plants; various trees in their full glory, tender green vines, and vibrant, colorful flowers covered the entire interior of the massive buildings.
Possibly to better utilize the wind at different altitudes, adjacent buildings varied in height, with floors of 22, 44, 66, and 88 stories. The taller the building, the thicker its structure.
"They look a bit like bamboo shoots," Jiang Ye remarked after gazing upwards for a moment.
"You have a keen eye, sir. The design inspiration for these buildings comes from bamboo shoots," Xu Yan explained. "Each section of the building can rotate. Generally, one side of each building is the residential area, housing various families, while the other side is the public area, such as shopping malls, hospitals, and schools. In the desert, where temperatures are high and the sun is strong, the residential areas face away from the sun, while the public areas face towards it to maximize solar energy."
"So, each building is a complete neighborhood with all amenities?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Precisely. These colossal buildings are a solution to the problem of large city diseases. Every four buildings form a cluster, and each cluster can house approximately forty thousand people, equipped with all the facilities of a forty-thousand-person neighborhood. Theoretically, people living in these bamboo shoot building clusters can live from birth to death without leaving, as the world within the buildings can meet all their basic needs," Xu Yan said. "The most valuable aspect of this design is that it greatly reduces travel time. Most destinations can be reached by walking and elevators."
"What about in practice?" Jiang Ye inquired.
"In practice, within each building, there are reserved empty spaces for various businesses and organizations to set up shop," Xu Yan explained. "For instance, a very delicious restaurant might only open in one building, and people from other buildings would have to take a hovercar or walk over when the weather is good to eat there. Moreover, there will always be many people who need to leave the building for university, travel, attending events, or visiting relatives, and so on."
Jiang Ye looked at the rows of colossal buildings on the horizon. "How many people in total will reside in this area?"
"The theoretical capacity is four million people," Xu Yan replied. "Currently, 2.8 million residents have been confirmed, and approximately one hundred thousand people will be moving in tomorrow."
Jiang Ye nodded, saying nothing.
"The reason for choosing this location to house four million people was also based on calculations by macroeconomists," Xu Yan continued. "This area is on the edge of sandstorm zones, and the soil is similar to desert but very easy to modify. The people living here will continuously plant trees in the nearby wilderness, improving the local environment and gradually pushing greenery into the desert."
"There are ten more such desert cities in the process of being finalized," Xu Yan added. "Within a few years, the areas around each desert city will become well-greened forest regions, thereby promoting environmental improvement throughout Jiang Ye Xing."