Apart from his status and appearance, Liu Zeng was very much like a friendly neighborhood elder who cared for his juniors.
As soon as he arrived on Jiang Ye Star, he proposed to visit various places and survey the entire planet. If anything needed improvement, he would point it out to Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye was immensely grateful and happily accompanied him.
It was worth noting that Le Ling Star had a population of 12.7 billion, with 36 cities boasting populations of fifty million, and an average annual income of 220,000, making it a truly prosperous planet.
As the planet governor of Le Ling Star, Uncle Liu's experience was bound to be invaluable.
Such a teacher was priceless.
They toured for two consecutive days, inspecting more than half of the cities.
On the afternoon of the third day, Liu Zeng suddenly suggested visiting the military.
"What part of the military do you wish to see?" Jiang Ye asked.
"What do you currently have?"
"Some scattered military bases, naval ports for warships, bomber bases, mechanized troop bases, factory districts, and two nuclear missile silos."
"Let's see the missile silos first," Liu Zeng said. "I don't understand the low-end forces."
Jiang Ye understood his meaning; the other forces were considered low-end, and only the nuclear missile silos were slightly more advanced.
He wasn't offended. The man was speaking the truth without any intent to belittle or mock. The military gap between their planets was simply too vast.
"Alright, please have lunch first, and I'll make arrangements immediately," Jiang Ye nodded.
Jiang Ye personally made a call to contact the nearest nuclear missile launch base.
"In about an hour, the Planet Governor of Le Ling and I will be visiting for an inspection. Please be prepared."
"Yes!" the base officer's reply was crisp.
A moment later, Che Zhen's call came again.
"Commander, you're taking Liu Zeng to see the nuclear missiles?" Che Zhen asked cautiously.
"That's right, is there a problem?"
"This is the highest-level weapon on the entire planet. According to secrecy regulations..."
"Ah, don't worry about it. Those few nuclear missiles are like big toys in their eyes. Le Ling Star is almost phasing out nuclear weapons," Jiang Ye chuckled. "Besides, all planets are under the unified jurisdiction of the Galactic Empire. Can they even fight each other? Even if they did, how could a few nuclear missiles possibly defeat them?"
"Understood, Commander. I was being overly anxious."
Jiang Ye shrugged and hung up the phone.
After lunch, they drove directly to the nuclear missile base in a military vehicle.
The entire base was underground, requiring passage through eight blast-proof doors to enter. These doors were not designed to withstand an uncontrolled nuclear explosion from within but were primarily to prevent external terrorists.
Jiang Ye had been here seven or eight times before. Regardless of the season, the interior of the launch silo felt the same.
The mercury vapor lamps on the walls emitted a pale, ghostly light. Silence reigned, so profound that one could hear their own breathing. The temperature varied with height, but it felt chilly to everyone. At the launch duct, one could look up at the entire nuclear missile, approximately nine stories high and four meters in diameter. Every time he came, Jiang Ye thought to himself, "This thing is truly massive."
The nuclear missile was black-green all over, with the words "Jiang Ye Star First Nuclear Weapons Brigade" painted in white. Its sharp tip pointed towards the sky like a giant bullet. Of course, strictly speaking, there was a six-hundred-ton concrete cover between the warhead and the sky.
"I haven't seen this model before," Liu Zeng said, tilting his head back. "What are its performance specs?"
"It can launch within a minute and hit targets 10,500 kilometers away, which is sufficient for Jiang Ye Star. Its yield is 1200 tons of TNT, equivalent to four times the total yield of all bombs dropped in World War II," Jiang Ye stated. "The bottom 21 meters are oxidizer, about fifty tons, and above that is fuel and the warhead, capable of generating about 600,000 pounds of thrust, reaching an altitude of 85 kilometers."
"Is the fuel Aerozine? Hydrazine?" Liu Zeng asked, showing his expertise. "Fifty?"
"Mixed Hydrazine 50," Jiang Ye replied.
"Oh, they're still using 50? The military doesn't prioritize you here," Liu Zeng frowned. "The oxidizer isn't Nitrogen Tetroxide, is it?"
"Yes... it is indeed Nitrogen Tetroxide," Jiang Ye said, sensing something amiss in his tone.
"What an old formula. This must be processed stock, not a new model," Liu Zeng remarked.
"It was very cheap when I bought it."
"No wonder. You get what you pay for. However, given your planet's situation, one or two of these should be enough," Liu Zeng said. "Your missile silo has a safety hazard."
Jiang Ye was taken aback. "It was built according to military blueprints."
"Military blueprints aren't always reliable, especially for technology that's over a century old. This type of structure has been out of mainstream use for over a century, so any issues won't be promptly corrected," Liu Zeng explained.
"Mixed Hydrazine 50 is colorless and transparent. It spontaneously ignites upon contact with wool, cloth, or rust. Gaseous Mixed Hydrazine 50 reacts with moisture and oxygen in the air, producing white smoke with a fishy odor. Inhalation causes difficulty breathing, a drop in heart rate, and convulsions leading to death with higher exposure. It's also highly carcinogenic and can enter the body through the skin."
"Nitrogen Tetroxide is an inorganic toxic substance. It easily ignites upon contact with leather, paper, or clothing. Furthermore, its boiling point is only 21 degrees Celsius. At slightly higher temperatures, the liquid oxidizer vaporizes. It's corrosive upon contact with water and can cause burns to the respiratory tract. Moreover, when inhaled, symptoms only appear six to twelve hours later, by which time pulmonary edema, which can be fatal, is already imminent."
"Therefore, the danger with this type of missile is leakage. The internal pressure is already high. Even a small crack or leak can cause many casualties within the base. On my way here, I noticed that your base lacks cooling and fire suppression equipment. Those small machines with fine pipes are completely inadequate; their only purpose is to fail at critical moments," Liu Zeng said, pointing upwards.
"The maintenance bridge," Jiang Ye looked up. "When data changes, engineers are sent up to check the situation and make minor adjustments."
"I forget which planet it was, but a missile with a similar mixture as yours had an engineer working on it, and a wrench fell," Liu Zeng's finger slid downwards. "The wrench fell from the ninth floor and struck the oxidizer casing at the bottom. Guess what happened next? The oxidizer sprayed out like water from a garden hose. Then it caught fire, killing a bunch of people. The base had so many blast-proof doors, and with the complex procedures for opening and closing them, they couldn't escape. In the end, their ashes were mixed together."
"If a similar accident happened here, it wouldn't just be a fire. If the temperature control fails, and it bakes for a night, it would detonate directly," Liu Zeng stated. "More than half of the nearest city would be gone instantly."
Jiang Ye broke out in a cold sweat.
"I'll call the military right away and have them send people to renovate it," Jiang Ye said.
"Tell them to replace the oxidizer and fuel directly. It won't cost much, and you'll save on maintenance fees later," Liu Zeng said, walking away with his hands behind his back.