295: Chapter 295 Space Station

Deep space.

A circular space station was rotating slowly at a constant angular velocity, like a silent giant quietly watching the beautiful blue planet below in the boundless void.

It was not a traditional spindle-shaped or modular structure, but a nearly perfect ring, its scale far exceeding any previous human space creation.

Sunlight spilled onto its cold armor, unable to bring even a hint of warmth; instead, it only served to highlight its inhuman grandeur and loneliness. It simply existed there, rotating, as if it had stood for a thousand years and would continue to exist until the end of the universe...

In reality, it had only appeared for a week.

It had been in an unmanned state, but today, in a logistics transfer warehouse at the core of the space station, a black dot suddenly appeared in the center of the space.

This was the precursor to the generation of a Wormhole. Soon, the black dot extended upwards and downwards, forming a five-meter-high fissure. The fissure opened with a bang, like a giant dragon opening its eyes, revealing the deep blue petal-like structure inside.

After opening layer by layer, a young man with black hair and black eyes stepped out. Compared to today's popular "little fresh meat" idols, the young man's appearance could only be described as handsome, but any star standing near him would only pale in comparison.

An indescribable aura swirled around the young man. At first glance, it was like the calm and waveless deep space, so ordinary that it was easily overlooked. However, if anyone observed closely, they would feel a mysterious and somber pressure rushing toward them. That feeling was like staring into a bottomless black hole; no matter how much effort you spent, you could not peer into the secrets hidden beneath.

It was also like a high-and-mighty deity looking down upon the mortal world, carrying a natural sense of detachment and control.

"Damn it, I'm not really going to turn into Erlang Shen, am I?"

Lin Fang rubbed his brow. He had just consumed 5,000 plunder points to optimize his genes. Besides the usual Force Field enhancement, the black mark on his brow had become increasingly solid.

After pondering for a bit, Lin Fang looked up to survey the space before him. This was the prototype of the Sun Disk. After it was built in the Black Watch Base, it was launched into space at a random time.

However, on the floor of the space station, Lin Fang felt no different than on Earth. This was because the space station generated simulated gravity through rotation. When the ring structure rotated around its axis, the inner walls of the cabin would generate a centrifugal force pointing outward, whose acceleration could precisely match Earth's gravity, ensuring the long-term survival of personnel.

This is also why space stations in movies are often circular.

"Xiao Hei, let Professor Ai Li and the others in."

After wandering around the unmanned space station for a bit, Lin Fang spoke to Xiao Hei. This B5-level member of the Inner World would be the primary person in charge of the Sun Disk project in the future, also responsible for the subsequent construction progress of the space station.

In the future, this space station would become a creation even more magnificent than the Ark or the Navigator Space Station in movies, serving as a base similar to a space port.

Soon, a group of people walked in through the passage one after another.

Leading them was Professor Ai Li, about forty-five or forty-six years old. His sideburns had prematurely turned a bit gray, but this did not weaken his efficiency; instead, it added a touch of steadiness. His whole being exuded a serious temperament formed by long-term focus on complex problems.

The others behind him were also the original members of the Sun Disk. They were all visibly excited upon seeing Lin Fang.

"Look, a live BOSS, a live one!!"

Upon seeing Lin Fang, Ai Li quickened his pace and took the initiative to extend his hand, saying, "BOSS, I'm very happy to see you again."

Ai Li was right. Lin Fang rarely appeared in the base. Even for the base's high-level executives, the number of times they saw Lin Fang each month could be counted on one hand; sometimes they wouldn't see him once for over six months.

"Thank you for your hard work, Professor Ai Li," Lin Fang said with a slight smile as he released his hand. "The space station prototype is even more complete than I thought. You deserve a lot of credit."

"This is also the credit of others, and it's our duty," Professor Ai Li said respectfully, not taking all the credit. He wasn't the only one in charge of the Sun Disk's main construction, but because there were other projects to carry out, he was the only one who came here to lead the subsequent construction.

"Is it just these people?" Lin Fang noticed the people behind him; there were only about twenty of them.

Lin Fang also noticed a problem: the speed of talent recruitment seemed unable to keep up with the base's development. Coupled with Lin Fang's consistent attitude of preferring quality over quantity, the total number of people in the two Black Watch Bases barely exceeded ten thousand, making things a bit tight.

Ai Li replied with a smile, "The space station has a high degree of automation, primarily handled by construction modules. This is enough..."

After a few brief words with Ai Li, Lin Fang left the area under everyone's gaze, pondering the issue. The scale of the company's personnel indeed needed to be further expanded so that a steady stream of fresh blood could join the Inner World.

—

The outside world was not as harmonious as it was here. After Third-Party Technology launched a space station into outer space and successfully deployed it to low Earth orbit, the entire world fell into turmoil and shock, which had not subsided even after a week.

Although this company had demonstrated advanced technology many times before, wasn't playing with giant Transformers in outer space this time a bit too ridiculous?

More importantly, what was shown this time were not relatively mild technologies mainly used in the civil sector, like brain-computer interfaces or specialized cancer drugs.

It was this engineering capability to directly send and deploy a tens-of-thousands-of-tons complete structure into orbit. Its significance and the concerns it triggered were completely different, pointing directly at the core of various nations' survival and competition.

Reports from various countries had not stopped for a single day.

[Unprecedented: Third-Party Technology Continues to Trigger Global Shockwaves!] — Associated Press of the Americas.

[Spokesperson for the American Aerospace and Astronautics Bureau: For certain reasons, the retirement of the International Space Station has been postponed indefinitely.] — New York Daily.

[European experts suggest that the space station belonging to Third-Party Technology risks national security and is highly likely to possess a military threat.] — Central Continent News Agency.

[The battle for space resources breaks out early! Multinational enterprises jointly call for Third-Party Technology to disclose space station technical standards and share orbital resources.] — Wall Street Journal.

[Shocking! Third-Party Technology actually did this in space, see details...] — UC News.

In this environment of widespread discussion, countless media outlets flocked to the offices of Third-Party Technology in various countries every day, trying to get even a few words.

What surprised these media outlets today was that, just after lunch, they discovered new activity on Third-Party Technology's official website...