163: The Moon Palace and Kuafu

Over the next three years, Blue Star entered another eerily peaceful phase.

The Starsea Community spared no effort in building Sky Palace City, and the number of residents in Sky Palace City reached a major milestone of ten million.

Due to the worsening environmental conditions in Europa and Northern Roman Continent, almost all of the original inhabitants moved into the Oceania City-States. The renewed population surge and the improvement of infrastructure led the Oceania City-States into a state where prosperity and poverty coexisted.

During this phase, Militech, also threatened by radiation, entered the Oceania City-States. After several confrontations with the three super-corporations to re-divide interests, the Oceania City-States officially entered a cyberpunk society completely controlled by the four super-corporations.

At the same time, driven by Interstellar Peace Corporation, the Eastern Federation's Guanghan City construction project on the moon began to advance rapidly.

On the large screen of the Guanghan City Construction Command Center, the construction progress on the lunar surface was displayed in real-time.

Lin Mo stood in front of the control console, watching hundreds of automated engineering machines busy on the lunar surface. These machines were remotely controlled by computer clusters located in Pierpoint, with millimeter-level precision.

"Director Lin, the third residential area has completed its airtightness test," Engineer Xiao Wang handed over a data pad. "We can prepare to welcome the first batch of residents."

Lin Mo glanced at the data: "That's half a month ahead of schedule."

"Thanks to the company's technology," Xiao Wang said excitedly. "Even in the low-gravity environment on the moon, construction efficiency can be more than five times higher than on Blue Star."

The holographic communicator in the command center suddenly lit up, and the Premier's image appeared in the air: "Lin Mo, how are preparations coming along?"

"Everything is ready, Premier," Lin Mo pointed to the large screen. "The first phase of Guanghan City has been completed and can accommodate one million residents. The reinforced serum injection work is also proceeding as planned, and the first batch of immigrants have completed their adaptive training."

The Premier nodded in satisfaction: "Very good. Interstellar Peace Corporation just sent a gift, take a look."

The screen switched, showing a huge hemispherical building, its surface covered with solar panels.

"This is?"

"A Helium-3 refinery," the Premier explained. "It's a fully automated factory provided by the company, with 600% higher efficiency than our existing ones."

"It's not entirely a gift, is it?" Lin Mo pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "It seems the company is asking us for an additional Helium-3 supply."

"Exactly. At the same time, this also means that Guanghan City's energy will be completely self-sufficient, and there will even be surplus to support expansion." The Premier's image switched back to him. "By the way, Yanhuang Intelligence has new developments; I need you to come back."

Three days later, in the underground test site of the Eastern Federation Space Agency.

Lin Mo followed the Minister of Science and Technology through layers of security checks and arrived at a huge underground space. On the central platform, a streamlined, silver-gray spaceship was undergoing its final debugging.

"This is 'Kua Fu One'?" Lin Mo looked up at the hundred-meter-long spaceship. "It's larger than I imagined."

"Thanks to Engineer Chu's invention of the ion thruster," the Minister of Science and Technology pointed to the complex device at the rear of the spaceship. "Combined with the new fusion reactor, the thrust reaches twenty times that of traditional chemical rockets, but the fuel requirement is less than one-tenth."

A disheveled middle-aged man emerged from the bottom of the spaceship, it was Chu He, CEO and Chief Engineer of Yanhuang Intelligence. His bloodshot eyes behind his glasses gleamed with excitement.

"Director Lin! You've come at just the right time!" Chu He jogged over. "We're just about to conduct the vacuum environment test."

"Old Chu, your dark circles..." Lin Mo frowned. "How many days have you gone without sleep again?"

"I've slept, I've slept. I make sure to get four hours a day," Chu He waved his hand dismissively. "Come, come, let me show you the core components."

He led Lin Mo to a transparent isolation chamber. Inside the chamber, a ring-shaped device about two meters in diameter floated, with blue energy patterns flowing across its surface.

"This is the miniaturized Kua Fu fusion reactor, with enough output power to support a medium-sized city," Chu He proudly introduced. "The most crucial thing is that, in terms of overall performance, it's already comparable to the company's frigate you once rode!"

"Reverse engineering?" Lin Mo asked in a low voice.

Chu He smiled mysteriously: "Reference plus innovation. The company's technology showed us the direction, but the specific implementation was all our own exploration."

The Minister of Science and Technology interjected: "According to the plan, 'Kua Fu One' will conduct its first manned flight next month, with Guanghan City as its destination."

"That fast? Has the safety verification been completed?"

"Don't worry, Director Lin," Chu He patted his chest. "We've already conducted thirty unmanned test flights, including two round trips between Earth and the Moon. If it weren't for the Premier's insistence and the laboratory rules, I would have wanted to personally be on the first manned flight."

"Oh no!" Hearing this, Lin Mo was so anxious he started speaking in dialect. "How can a chief Engineer be on a test flight? 'A gentleman does not stand under a precarious wall.' Your life is precious; you can't take such risks!"

"Oh, I know. It was just a momentary impulse."

"Alright, alright," Lin Mo looked at Chu He's thick dark circles and, without explanation, pushed Chu He into the lounge. "Stop with the impulses; you should get some proper sleep first."

Inside the control hall of the Eastern Federation Jiuquan Space Center, hundreds of Engineers and technical personnel were busy at their respective terminals.

Lin Mo stood in front of the main control console, looking out at the launch platform through the huge floor-to-ceiling window. The morning sun shone on the silver-gray hull of 'Kua Fu One', reflecting a cold metallic luster.

"Director Lin, all systems checked," Chu He's voice came through the headset. "The reactor is running stably, the ion thrusters are preheated, and it's ready for ignition at any time."

Lin Mo looked at his wristwatch: "How are the astronauts?"

"They're great!" Chu He said excitedly. "Captain Zhang just asked if they could take off early."

The large screen switched to an internal view of the spaceship. Three astronauts in dark blue spacesuits were checking their instruments.

Captain Zhang Yue, the Eastern Federation's most experienced astronaut, had participated in the construction of Sky Palace City; Co-pilot Li Min, a nuclear physicist, was responsible for monitoring the spaceship's power system; Engineer Wang Yan, a technical backbone of Yanhuang Intelligence, had participated in the entire spaceship design.

"Attention all departments, 30-minute readiness," Chu He pressed the all-call button. "Final system self-check."

The lights in the control hall turned dark red, and various data began to scroll across the main screen. Lin Mo's gaze quickly swept across the indicators: reactor output power 98%, ion thruster array online rate 100%, life support system normal...

"Director Lin," an assistant hurried over, handing him a document. "The Premier's special instructions."

Lin Mo opened the document; it contained only a simple line: "Safety first, but do not be overly cautious."

He smiled slightly, put away the document: "Notify the astronauts to proceed as originally planned."

"10 minutes, all personnel in position."

The launch tower's robotic arm slowly retracted, revealing the complete streamlined silhouette of 'Kua Fu One'. Unlike traditional rockets, this spaceship had no massive boosters, only the array of ion thrusters at its tail emitting a faint blue glow.

"1 minute, reactor power increased to launch level."

The spaceship vibrated slightly, the blue light from its tail gradually intensified, and the surrounding air distorted due to the high temperature. The control hall's monitoring system showed that the reactor's output power had reached 105% of its design value, but all parameters were still within the safe range.

"10 seconds, 9, 8, 7..."

Chu He unconsciously clenched his fists. Although dozens of unmanned tests had been conducted, manned flight was, after all, a different matter. His gaze was fixed on the real-time data stream on the main screen.

"...3, 2, 1, ignition!"

There was no deafening roar, no flames shooting skyward. 'Kua Fu One' merely hovered silently, its ion thrusters at the tail ejecting a nearly transparent plasma stream.

The spaceship ascended vertically with astonishing acceleration, becoming a mere speck of light in the sky in just half a minute.

"Orbital insertion normal," the controller reported. "Speed has reached first cosmic velocity."

"Orbital thrusters activated, commencing Earth-Moon transfer orbit acceleration."

Chu He breathed a sigh of relief; the first stage was successful. He turned to his assistant: "Notify Guanghan City Control Center, estimated arrival in 36 hours."

The subsequent flight was incredibly smooth. The ion thrusters continuously worked, accelerating the spaceship to an unprecedented Earth-Moon transfer velocity.

"Engineer Chu, you should see this," the duty Engineer suddenly called out. "Captain Zhang is performing an overtime test of the manual control system."

The screen switched to the cockpit view. Zhang Yue was holding the joystick, a childlike smile on his face: "This feel is amazing! Even more responsive than the simulator!"

Co-pilot Li Min smiled and shook her head: "Captain, don't forget we're still on a mission."

"Don't worry, I'm just making a slight course adjustment," Zhang Yue's hands danced across the control panel. "Flying a spaceship, don't tell me you're not tempted."

"Captain, don't make me hit you."

"Hehe~"

Time passed minute by minute. When the spaceship crossed the Earth-Moon gravitational midpoint, the control hall erupted in applause. This meant the spaceship had successfully escaped the dominant influence of Earth's gravity and began to enter the Moon's gravitational sphere.

"Prepare deceleration procedures," Chu He ordered. "Initiate Moon orbit insertion pre-plan."

'Kua Fu One' elegantly turned its direction, and the ion thrusters began to fire in reverse. Guided by the Guanghan City Control Center, the spaceship precisely entered lunar orbit.

"Engineer Chu," Zhang Yue's voice came through the communicator. "We can already see Guanghan City. It's magnificent!"

The screen switched to the spaceship's front camera. On the lunar surface, a huge domed city glowed in the sunlight. Inside the dome, a well-arranged cluster of buildings, a crisscrossing transportation network, and even patches of green areas were clearly visible. Next to the dome, the Helium-3 refinery donated by Interstellar Peace Corporation resembled a silver gem, continuously providing energy to the city.

"Prepare for landing," Chu He's voice was a little tight. "Activate the automatic guidance system."

"Understood. Switching to automatic mode," Zhang Yue's voice remained steady. "But honestly, this system is even more responsive than what we used in training."

"I think I can do it manually."

The spaceship began to descend, with its ion thrusters adjusted to a vertical direction. Dust on the lunar surface was blown up, forming diffusion rings of ripples. 'Kua Fu One', like an elegant dancer, slowly landed on the designated platform of Guanghan City Spaceport.

"Landing successful!" Cheers erupted in the control hall. Engineers hugged each other, some even shedding tears of excitement.

Chu He breathed a long sigh of relief and pressed the communication button: "Captain Zhang, how do you feel?"

"Flawless!" Zhang Yue's voice was full of praise. "The reactor ran smoothly, the thrusters responded sensitively, and the life support system was stable throughout."

"All vital signs are normal," Li Min added. "The radiation shielding effect exceeded expectations; the radiation level inside the cabin was below the surface background value throughout the flight."

Engineer Wang Yan eagerly interjected: "The data recorder shows that all system operating parameters fluctuated within the expected design values, fully meeting expectations!"

Chu He smiled as he listened to these reports, the huge weight finally lifted from his heart. He turned to all the personnel in the control hall: "Everyone, today we made history. The success of 'Kua Fu One' not only proves the Eastern Federation's aerospace capabilities but also marks the arrival of a new era of human interstellar travel!"

Applause erupted again, lasting for a long time.