243: Chapter 243 The United States is shocked

"General Chu, are you going to cause trouble again?"

Commander Wang now felt that Chu Ge's treatment of certain countries could be described as "wicked," but he liked it.

"Who said I'm causing trouble? Such a large part of the Lunar Base has been completed; we have to celebrate a bit, don't we? Sharing joy is better than keeping it to oneself."

Chu Ge replied solemnly.

"Haha, I knew it. You..."

Commander Wang didn't argue this time, but following protocol, he still needed to report this matter through the proper channels.

"Proceed according to General Chu's wishes. This is a joint decision made by both of us commanders."

"Yes, sir!" Captain Wu replied loudly and then cut off the communication.

Chu Ge looked toward the center of the hall, where a virtual figure now stood.

Chu Ge took a closer look; it was modeled after an ancient woman, with skin like fine porcelain and bright eyes with pearly teeth.

"Is this Change?" Chu Ge asked Commander Wang.

"I don't know; it chose this itself."

[Yes, I am Change. Who else would I be here if not Change? Zhinü?]

Chu Ge felt a wave of coldness wash over him.

"It seems it really should be Zhinü," Commander Wang interjected.

"What nonsense? You are Tianzhi."

The "Tianzhi" system then transformed into the appearance of a normal woman.

[General Chu, Commander Wang, do you need me to continue the introduction?]

"Yes, keep it simple. I don't like wordy AIs."

[Alright. The biggest feature of the Lunar Base's architectural complex is full voice control, including the passwords outside the airlocks, which are currently only temporary.]

[You can see me in holographic form at key locations in every building, but it doesn't matter if you can't see me in the corners; I can hear everything you say.]

[Personnel here can call me at any time for information queries, issuing commands, special services, etc. However, different people have different permissions.]

[For professional commands involving industrial production, relevant panels will pop up to provide guidance for operators to choose from. The guidance commands are also holographic text; no touch is required, just voice commands.]

[...]

"Alright, let's stop here for now. We'll ask if we have any questions."

Chu Ge felt his previous words were in vain; the "Tianzhi" control center involved too many things.

Even if you told it to be concise, it could still talk to you for a whole day.

Chu Ge was well aware of these functions; Tianzhi was designed by him, so he naturally knew everything she could do.

"Let's go, Commander Wang. Let's walk around."

Chu Ge pulled Commander Wang along.

Commander Wang looked back every few steps; he seemingly hadn't heard enough.

...

While Chu Ge and Commander Wang were strolling through the Lunar Base,

on Earth, the leaders of NASA, high and low, sat around a conference table, intently watching real-time satellite photos sent back by a lunar orbiter.

This satellite was a rush job by NASA, built with overtime, and was finally launched over a week ago.

Its destination was clear: the lunar South Pole region.

Inside the conference room,

NASA Administrator Tom Brown sat in the center.

He rested his cheek on one hand in a casual manner, but his eyes never left the large screen.

"Jack, how much longer until we reach the lunar South Pole?"

"Based on the orbital entry time, photos of the South Pole's lunar surface can be transmitted back in five minutes."

Tom nodded and continued to look at the big screen.

There were four sets of photos on the big screen, coming from the high-definition cameras in the four directions of the new satellite.

The Americans weren't fools; they had made ample preparations this time.

Currently, the truly useful images on the screen all came from Camera 1, as it was the one facing the Moon.

As for the other three, except for the one opposite Camera 1 which had a bit of light,

the other two were just photos of the pitch-black deep space of the universe, with no Changes.

The photos were taken rapidly, sliding across the screen one after another.

America had really gone all out again this time.

"Administrator, one minute left."

Jack reminded him.

Tom Brown lowered his hand, his gaze focusing on the photos.

One minute later,

"Administrator, the satellite has now reached the South Pole region on the near side of the Moon."

Tom nodded, his eyes wide open.

The photos still showed the crater-ridden surface of the Moon, no different from before.

"Could we have guessed wrong? Were the previous satellites just malfunctioning? All three of them?"

Tom muttered to himself.

The next second, just as he was lost in thought,

the entire office erupted in cries of "Oh, my God!"

Tom Brown snapped out of it and looked at the big screen; his pupils dilated instantly.

Tom stood up with a "swish," staring intently at the images on the screen.

The 2,100-meter-long "Kunpeng," the even more staggeringly large Lunar Base, and even the fleet of engineering vehicles under construction were all clearly imprinted on the photos.

This American satellite's operating orbit was a circular polar lunar orbit at an altitude of 200 kilometers around the lunar South Pole.

The high-definition camera was also the latest type of military reconnaissance camera.

Thus, the photos were taken perfectly, so clear they could be submitted directly to National Geographic.

After the satellite passed this area, the photos it sent back returned to their original appearance—very lunar.

The small office instantly erupted into a frenzy.

"Jack, what is this? Aliens? On the Moon? Are you kidding me? Is this satellite broken?"

"How is that possible? Even if it were broken, it couldn't form such clear images."

"My God, aliens are right at our doorstep."

"What are we waiting for? Tell the President immediately! They might attack Earth any second now."

"Um, you... didn't you guys notice this photo? It seems like a national flag was captured here. Why does it look so familiar?"

Just as everyone was clamoring about aliens, a voice that wasn't very loud reached their ears.

As the photo was enlarged, a flash of a red national flag and a military flag appeared before their eyes.

The people in the office fell silent.

"My God, am I seeing things? Isn't this the flag of Huaxia?"

"You're not seeing things; that is their flag. The warship next to it is the aerospace carrier they launched a while ago."

Tom Brown muttered grimly.

Like an actor, he perfectly portrayed the shift in expression from shock to disbelief, and now to a face full of gloom.

He understood everything in an instant: his two satellites had been destroyed—destroyed by this force.

After Tom Brown spoke, the conference room was deathly silent.

Many of them still couldn't wrap their heads around it. How was this possible?

This was a space base, and such a massive one at that. How huge was this project?

Although Huaxia's infrastructure construction was world-famous, a space base wasn't a skyscraper, nor was it a high-speed rail or a highway.

"Jack, how long until the satellite returns here?"

The NASA Administrator seemed to have regained his composure.

"Reporting, Administrator. The satellite will fly over this area again in 127 minutes."

Tom nodded. He felt it was time to invite certain people to NASA headquarters..."}],