111: A large number of 'firecrackers'

Before the morning mist had fully dispersed, the titanium alloy gates of the Guixu Space Launch Center slowly opened.

Motorcades from forty-six countries on Blue Star streamed into the aisle, past towering fuel tank clusters that cast jagged shadows.

Inside the North Steel delegation's limousine, Usmanov tugged at his tight collar, his gaze sweeping over the giant pipelines outside the window, emblazoned with Interstellar Peace Corporation logos—oil pipelines over ten meters in diameter were pumping dark brown aviation kerosene into the launch site's underground storage tanks, and the strong hydrocarbon scent permeated his nostrils through the car's air filtration system.

"These lunatics..." He caressed the emblem on his cufflink, looking at the mountain-like rocket assembly plant three kilometers away, "They're actually using fossil fuel propulsion."

The Energy Minister's advisor in the front row turned around, data glowing on his holographic tablet: "According to our analysis of the engineering brief released by the Corporation, a single rocket carries at least twenty thousand tons of liquid oxygen-kerosene. If sixteen are launched simultaneously..." His Adam's apple bobbed, "That's equivalent to burning a month's fuel production from one of our production lines."

Usmanov's fingers suddenly tightened on the leather seat until his knuckles turned white; he remembered the invitation card with the star-trail pattern from two months ago.

He had personally torn up the paper original then, but now he was forced to sit in this fuel-smelling compartment.

When the motorcade arrived at the observation deck, the Champs Elysees Federation delegation had already occupied the prime spot in the southeast corner. Minister Le Maire was wiping his glasses with a handkerchief, trying to get a clear view of the rocket being erected five kilometers away.

The "XPG-03" code painted on the fairing gleamed coldly in the morning sun, reminding him of the morning mist on the day the European Union was forced to sign the Qilu Corporation Agreement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats according to the number on your electronic invitation." Bronya's sweet voice came over the broadcast, and the holographic projection on the dome simultaneously displayed the seating plan.

The indicator light for Zone A, where the Eastern Federation delegation was seated, suddenly lit up, and Academician Li Mubai's Zisha teacup trembled inadvertently, spilling dark brown tea onto the ground.

"Old Li!" The Director of the Science and Technology Commission, Academician Xu Qingshan, grabbed his colleague's trembling wrist, "Calm down, they're just oversized firecrackers."

Li Mubai's glasses were fogged, but his voice was exceptionally clear: "Oversized firecrackers? Are your firecrackers over two hundred meters tall?"

A sharp alarm interrupted their conversation. Red warning lights simultaneously illuminated sixteen launch towers, and the gates of the three-hundred-meter-tall assembly plant roared open.

The ground began to tremble, and the observation deck's bulletproof glass hummed like a swarm of bees passing by. The Nova United States' Minister of Defense gripped the handrail tightly, screaming as he watched the data on the holographic projection: "My God! These monsters are almost as tall as the Empire State Building!"

When the first rocket was pushed out of the factory by hydraulic arms, the Snow Crown Principality's representative fainted in his seat.

The silver-gray rocket body was covered with honeycomb-like heat dissipation structures, and its diameter was large enough to swallow a cruiser. The automatic detachment of the fuel-filling pipes splashed a hundred-meter-high white mist of liquid oxygen, refracting an eerie rainbow in the morning light.

"Launch countdown: three minutes." The broadcast switched to Ms. Emerald's clear, cold voice, and the observation deck's dome slowly became transparent. Before the national representatives could recover from the visual impact, they saw the second and third rockets appear in succession.

When the sixteenth fairing brushed past the top of the observation deck, Crown Prince Abdul's golden turban was blown off by the airflow, revealing his flushed face, red with excitement.

Nothing else, he just loved steel beasts. And, of course, a deep respect for technology.

The moment the countdown hit zero, sixteen orange-red pillars of fire tore through the earth.

Traditional chemical fuel engines erupted with the most primitive aesthetic of violence, their hundred-meter-long tail flames evaporating the morning mist within a one-kilometer radius. Even through thick bulletproof glass and sound-absorbing materials, the thunderous roar still resonated in everyone's hearts.

The Eastern Federation delegation's elderly academicians collectively removed their hearing aids, yet still instinctively covered their ears with their hands.

Eight minutes and fifteen seconds later, when the last tremor disappeared from their feet, the holographic projection switched to a low-Earth orbit view.

The fairings of the sixteen rockets split open simultaneously, like blooming metal petals. Twenty silver-gray cylinders slid out of each cargo bay; these massive objects, eight meters in diameter and over fifty meters long, stretched themselves in the zero-gravity environment, and thousands of mechanical tentacles suddenly popped out from their surfaces.

"Now, begin assembly." Ms. Emerald's voice suddenly broke the silence. She had appeared on the central podium at some point, her deep purple uniform spotless, as if the hellish flames from earlier were just an illusion.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to the black sphere in orbit.

This fifteen-meter-diameter spherical creation floated silently, and hundreds of mechanical compound eyes suddenly opened on its surface. The first cylindrical object to arrive extended eight alloy limbs, emitting a faint blue positioning flame from their tips. When the two were a hundred meters apart, the surface of the black sphere suddenly cracked open with a spiderweb-like docking interface.

"Contact confirmed." Ms. Emerald raised her hand to magnify the docking view. The cylindrical object's mechanical tentacles precisely pierced the interface, and with the fusion at the contact point, the two completed a thorough physical connection within thirteen seconds. The other cylindrical objects, like a migrating school of metal whales, encircled the core sphere, beginning to arrange themselves in a mysterious trajectory.

"This is the Corporation's modular self-assembly construction technology, which I believe you are all familiar with. However, the true application scenario for this technology is not on the surface, but in space," Ms. Emerald's fingertip traced the projection, and the sixteen sets of cylindrical objects suddenly transformed simultaneously. Some unfolded into solar panels, while others extended mechanical skeletons.

Most astonishingly, one of the cylindrical objects suddenly split into tens of thousands of nano-modules, enveloping the entire structure like a silver storm.

When the countdown timer jumped to "00:01:00," a tsunami of gasps erupted from the observation deck. The previously scattered space components had already assembled into a perfect cube with sides three hundred meters long, its surface gleaming with a liquid metal luster similar to mercury.

A young Engineer from the Eastern Federation suddenly stood up excitedly, muttering in a voice only he could hear: "I knew my idea could be realized! I've touched the Eagle, now I can touch the Corporation!"

Ms. Emerald tapped the control panel, and the cube suddenly became semi-transparent. Inside, tens of thousands of robotic arms were autonomously operating, assembling prefabricated components into production lines.

"As you can see, this launch completed the preparatory engineering, which is the basic construction of the space station assembly core. Now..." She suddenly revealed a mysterious smile, "Please allow me to reintroduce the 'Space Garden' project."

Ms. Emerald's finger gently swiped across the holographic projection, and the metal cube in orbit suddenly began to deform.

Countless hexagonal modules flowed and reorganized like living things, constructing a five-hundred-meter-diameter ring structure in space. Mechanical skeletons extended from the inner side of the ring, quickly covered by translucent ecological cabin walls.

"What you are seeing now is the main body of the first phase of the 'Space Garden' project." Ms. Emerald's voice remained calm, yet it silenced the observation deck, "This orbital construction core will complete the basic construction of the living areas and energy modules within the next six months."

A reporter from the Champs Elysees Federation suddenly raised his hand: "May I ask if the energy system will use the 'Golden Crow' fusion device? After all, your Corporation already has a precedent in Guixu."

"Partially correct." Ms. Emerald gestured for the reporter to lower his hand and brought up the energy structure diagram. "For safety reasons, we have installed two small fusion cores. Even if unforeseen dangers arise, they will not immediately cause an irreversible crisis. This will allow sufficient time for repairs or rescue."

"Also, the fusion cores are only used to maintain the life support system." She zoomed in on one of the nodes, "And the primary energy for daily use comes from these—"

The projection switched to an overwhelming array of photovoltaic panels, each hexagonal panel densely covered with nano-scale light-absorbing structures. Li Mubai of the Eastern Federation delegation abruptly stood up, his teacup overturning.

"This is... the third-generation composite laminated photovoltaic panel!" The old academician's voice trembled, "The next-generation photovoltaic material that we just completed industrial production of?"

Ms. Emerald nodded slightly: "Academician Li, keen eye, the Space Garden indeed plans to use your country's products." Her gaze swept over the expectant faces of the Eastern Federation delegation, then she suddenly changed the subject, "However, what we are focusing on announcing today is the energy storage system—"

A silver-white cuboid suddenly appeared in the center of the projection, its surface gleaming with a liquid metal-like luster. When Ms. Emerald clicked to zoom in, everyone saw the internal structure: tens of thousands of hexagonal lattices tightly arranged, with dark red energy storage media suspended in each lattice.

"Solid-state lithium energy storage battery." Ms. Emerald's voice finally gained a hint of warmth, "Charging and discharging efficiency 95%, energy density 50 times that of traditional lithium batteries."

The observation deck instantly erupted. The Nova United States' Minister of Energy rushed directly to the railing: "This! Is this the technology from your Warrior robots?! You're actually willing to release it?!"

"It seems your country is indeed very interested in the Corporation's weapons." Ms. Emerald snapped her fingers, and a display stand suddenly rose from the ground, on which rested a silver sphere the size of a football, "This is the civilian version; the energy density is not much different from the military version, it's just that the overall redundancy in material usage is not as much as the military version."

Crown Prince Abdul suddenly stood up: "Ms. Emerald, is your Corporation going to..."

"Publicize technical standards, global bidding." Ms. Emerald's lips curved slightly upward, "From today onwards, any enterprise that passes the qualification review can participate in the supply of energy storage equipment for the 'Space Garden'."

This declaration was like a nuclear bomb.

The Eastern Federation delegation was collectively speechless. They had initially thought the photovoltaic order was the biggest surprise of this trip, but they hadn't expected the Interstellar Peace Corporation to bake a whole new cake.

Ms. Emerald seemed to enjoy the shock effect. She slowly walked towards the display stand, her finger gently caressing the silver sphere: "Specific technologies and relevant parameters have been uploaded to the Corporation's official website. As for the value of the first batch of orders..." She deliberately paused, "1.5 trillion credit points."

"Of course, you can still exchange natural resources. As for this money, the Corporation has many newly opened civilian technologies that you can purchase according to your needs."

This number and Ms. Emerald's subsequent words made North Steel's Usmanov's pupils widen directly. He stared intently at the silver sphere, suddenly realizing that the Interstellar Peace Corporation was not simply building a space station; they were going to fundamentally reshape Blue Star's entire industrial system through this project!

"Additional explanation." Ms. Emerald added finally, her gaze sweeping over the shocked faces of the national representatives, "All Winning bid enterprises will receive technology authorization, the very affordable kind. As long as you have sufficient manufacturing technology, the Corporation doesn't mind helping you improve your theoretical capabilities."

She lightly flicked the display sphere, and the Interstellar Peace Corporation's logo suddenly appeared on its surface, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the space age, the grand infrastructure project is about to begin."