The modern GPS is a satellite-based navigation system that is made up of twenty-four satellites where twenty-one of them are active satellites in orbit and the remaining three satellites are for backup. Due to the continuous transmission of electromagnetic signals from the satellites to earth, the current position of a person can be determined by a theodolite. Signals from any three satellites in the satellite constellation are received by GPS receivers. After the GPS receivers receive the information and trilateration, the receivers will accurately be able to display a user's position, electronically, according to the electronic map that is stored inside it.
It was this "map" that opened up a new door for Chen Fan.
Most of us have a world map in our homes which depicts the capital, topography and the latitude of each country. What if you used the laser engraving technology to carve a world map on a piece of metallic material? According to the laser engraving technology nowadays, carving out a world map on the spherical surface of a ping-pong size ball is totally possible. Plus, with the aid of a magnifying glass, you can even see the names of a country's capital carved on it clearly. With the map, all that is left to be done is to locate one's current position.
North, south, east and west could be calculated easily. As long as Chen Fan didn't lose his sense of direction, he would be able to locate the electric eel's position according to the electromagnetic induction transmitted out from the electric eel's body or the magnetic induction of the earth's north pole. By obtaining the directions, all that would be left to do would be to figure out the coordinates of his current location so that he would know where his position would be on the map. As the name implied, coordinates meant longitude and latitude. The vertical line was the longitude, whereas the horizontal line was the latitude.
On the globe, the graticule is represented by longitudinal and latitudinal lines that are distributed 360 degrees around the globe. If the graticule is unfolded to become a flat plane, one's current location can be calculated by the geographical coordinate system if either the longitude or latitude is known.
After thinking for a long time, Chen Fan figured out a method to calculate. First, one hour of time difference corresponded to 15 degrees of longitude as there was a total of 360 degrees! For example, suppose the time in Zhongyun city was 5 pm. So, if the longitude was shifted 15 degrees to the west, the time there would be 4 pm, and another 15 degrees more to the west would cause the time to be 3 pm and vice versa if you shift it to the east.
That being the case, Chen Fan could use the electric eel to estimate the local time by observing the sunrise or tide times by the electric eel. After locating his current position on the map, he could estimate the electric eel's location by comparing the difference in the two time zones. Then, based on the electric eel's ability to induce the distance between his own body, the body of the electric eel and the distance between the north and south poles, he would be able to estimate the latitude and longitude of the electric eel.
Chen Fan didn't care much about the precision. It was acceptable to him as long the deviation was not too significant as this was not the missile 'beheading' operation carried out by the United States that required a high degree accuracy within meters.
It was still manageable for him as long the difference was not more than 20 or 30 kilometers. If he was not sure, he could use the Google satellite map to figure out the electric eel's surroundings. After thinking carefully for a long time and browsing the Internet for a lot of information, Chen Fan thought that this method was feasible. After downloading the latest version of a world map that was in HD quality which depicted all the longitudes and latitudes, he called to Zhang Xueyang to ask if his factory had the laser engraving technology.
Zhang Xueyang told him that his factory was involved in mold making and parts processing, so the laser cutting machine that was used to engrave the serial number on parts had only a low precision. Furthermore, his factory did not have a carving machine, but he introduced Chen Fan to another factory that specialized in doing this. The factory that was located on Zhongjiang north road was one of the best factories in the whole laser engraving industry.
After knowing about this, Chen Fan thought for a moment and decided to drive himself there to prevent Wang Bing from asking him questions. After asking Wang Bing to look after the house, Chen Fan took a USB disk, car keys and left.
By observing the way Wang Bing drove, plus his experience in driving around for a few times under the guidance of Wang Bing, Chen Fan believed that he should not face any problems as long he drove slowly. As for the police finding out that he didn't have a driver's license, Chen Fan was quite sure that he didn't have such bad luck.
Automatic cars were very easy to drive, not like manual cars. Learners often faced stalling problems because they don't know the proper way of shifting gears. As a result, they often experienced the thrill of riding a bumper car every time they shifted between gears after stepping on the gas pedal.
The factory that was located at Zhongjiang north road was known as 'Yuanxiang Craft Products' and according to Zhang Xueyang, the quality of its products was very high with almost no errors in production.
After a slow drive to the factory, Chen Fan was satisfied with the structure of a few buildings in the factory after he got out of the car and glanced at it.
"Boss, do you have anything that you want to make?" As soon as he stepped through the entrance, the chubby looking boss of the factory who was sitting next to the computer jumped up and greeted Chen Fan warmly after seeing the black BMW that was parked in front of the entrance.
"Do you provide services that involve laser engraving on metal?" Chen Fan looked at the machines in the room and said, "The harder the metal, the better. Money is not a problem."
"Of course!" The fat boss smiled and took out a metal board that was more than 50 centimeters long from a shelf behind him and tapped it with his fingers. "We have a specialized high carbon ferrochrome alloy metal that is generally used in car parts and it is one of the hardest!"
"Let me have a look."
Chen Fan took the silver-grey surfaced board which was smoother than a mirror and said, "Well, it's not bad indeed! It would be better if there was a larger piece, preferably one meter, 10 centimeters thick and has a streamlined shape. Since this is a handicraft factory, I'm sure that it's possible to make it into a big wristband with leather on the surface. The longer the better, and make it as beautiful as possible."
"We have one that is a meter long, but it needs to be redesigned. We'll use a plasma cutter to cut out the shape that you want."
"Come and take a look at this one." Chen Fan went to the computer and downloaded a photo of a hunter's wristband from the game that he was playing lately and said, "Can this pattern be cut out?"
"Hmm....." The fat boss ruffled his hair and said sadly, "It is possible, but coloring it isn't easy because the paint will fall off if it's painted with a common paintbrush."
"It doesn't matter. This original silver-grey color is very nice. You don't need to paint it." Chen Fan pulled out the USB from his pocket, plugged it into the computer, pointed at the world map and said, "After that, reserve a space that is about 60 centimeters in the middle of the wristband and carve this world map onto it. Bear in mind that I will give you a higher price depending on your accuracy and precision."
"... Uh..." The fat boss rolled his eyes.
He initially thought that Chen Fan was a gamer and wanted to make a huge piece of gaming equipment to hang in his house for display as this was not his first time dealing with this type of business. However, when Chen Fan asked him to carve the world map on it, his brain went blank instantly, and he was speechless. This was because according to the style of gamers, it should have been the map in the game that was engraved.
Looking at the highly detailed map, the fat boss took half a day to respond and started to tell Chen Fan about the advancement of his machines, asking Chen Fan to rest assured.
Chen Fan was quite strict in his requirement regarding the accuracy and he also wanted all the words on the map to be engraved on it. After receiving 5000 RMB as a deposit, the fat boss said in a slightly reluctant manner, "We will need at least three days to finish it."
"Time is not a problem. What I want is quality!" Chen Fan once again reminded the fat boss, "If there is a problem with the accuracy, I would not accept it!"
"You can rest assured, I guarantee that you won't be able to find any mistakes even if you use a laser rangefinder!" The fat boss did not dare delay his work and immediately asked three to four men in the back to start working on this project which he named 'the world map wristband'!"
After giving him a series of phone numbers and asking the fat boss to call him as soon as it was done, Chen Fan started the car and headed home.
The sky was getting a little dark, and Chen Fan, who didn't dare drive fast, drove at 30 kilometers per hour on the road.
On the way to the north mountain road, a Steyr truck on the main road that was loaded with watermelons suddenly stopped after making a turn at the corner. The truck driver tried to solve the problem by fiddling around, but he was still not able to solve it after ten minutes.
"Shit, how can I continue my journey like this?"
Chen Fan honked at the truck but his car was in between several cars, so he was unable to drive away. He could only stare at the big truck. After waiting for another few minutes, it seemed like the white Regal car in front could not wait any longer either. The driver turned the steering to the left and drove on the sidewalk after driving underneath the truck.
"Damn, seriously?" Looking at the space that was only about five centimeters, Chen Fan's eyes nearly popped out. He would have been afraid to do this even if there were 50 centimeters of space.
After the white car left, there was a huge space. After looking around, Chen Fan found out that there weren't any traffic police around, so he also drove his car onto the sidewalk.
The sky was getting darker and after driving for a few hundred meters, there were fewer people on the road.
"Wulala, I am a happy little donkey!" At this moment, a text message popped out suddenly on Chen Fan's hand phone screen. After seeing that there weren't many people in front, Chen Fan quickly picked up the phone to see who sent the message.
"Dear user: I am going to charge you 1000 RMB from your card (annual fee). I hereby inform you to verify that the customer service number... "
"Sh*t! This is already the seventh message this month... "
He knew that this was a fraud because the clerk sold his number to a swindler after he got the card.
All of a sudden...
Chen Fan seemed to have caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of his eyes, and then...
Bang! Ah! Biiii!
In 0.3 seconds, his nerve impulses were being sent to his foot to slam down the brakes. Besides that, the excellent braking performance of the BMW 7 series was displayed to its fullest as it decelerated from 20 kilometers per hour to zero.
"Oh God!" All his hair stood up suddenly and his heart was thumping harder than a piston engine.
"Ah... You... You... Are you okay?" Chen Fan pushed open the car door and anxiously asked the girl who was lying on the ground.
Chen Fan had been busy looking at the message just now and didn't notice the girl who appeared suddenly from the sidewalk. The girl in a black suit was lying on her side on the ground and looked like she was in severe pain.
"...Ouch... Oh... The pain is killing me... You will have to compensate me at least fifty to sixty thousand... "