8: This is a surprise

After simply giving himself an employment letter from his own company and dealing with the Forgetful Couple, Chen Hao officially began developing the Interstellar Peace Corporation. Anyway, Honkai: Star Rail hadn't been greenlit yet, so even if a Topaz needed to be summoned later, it would be perfectly reasonable.

Imagine this scene: everyone thinks the Interstellar Peace Corporation is just a faction in a game, but then one day they suddenly discover that this is the other company of Mihoyo's major shareholder... This scene, it's just delightful.

"Ding~ Detected that the Host has completed the first small interstellar vessel. The Host now has the ability to become a beacon for a civilization entering the space age."

"Special mission completed, reward issued: Novice Gift Pack Pro-Plus-Max Collector's Edition. It has been sent to the Host's system space, please check."

Chen Hao was immersed in a sea of mathematical formulas and mechanical blueprints when he was suddenly pulled out by the system's notification. Just as he was about to continue his daily routine of complaining with Xiao Jixiang, he heard the words "Novice Gift Pack" and immediately swallowed a series of words that needed to be censored.

"My little biscuit, the Empire has been built? Woohoo, good! Isn't this a double blessing? The Novice Gift Pack I've waited four years for, let me see! What kind of good stuff could make Xiao Jixiang, that troublemaker, keep me in suspense for four years?"

"Novice Gift Pack, open for me!"

"Wow~ Golden Legend~"

Xiao Jixiang suddenly popped out to stir things up again, but Chen Hao was already used to it.

"Wow, Host, give me some reaction! If no one cooperates, won't I look silly?"

Chen Hao's mouth twitched a few times, thinking, *You know that, huh? That's really something.*

"Let me see what good stuff it is~"

Considering that Xiao Jixiang usually provided a lot of fun during his tedious studies, Chen Hao still cooperated.

"Hehe, the Host is the best. Don't worry, the rewards in this gift pack will definitely make the Host so excited he'll need to change his pants."

Xiao Jixiang's inner monologue: "*Although it's just a small modification of my childhood toys, it should be able to fool him... Hmm, yes, it can.*"

His fists hardened. Chen Hao began to regret why he had cooperated with her foolishness just now, but when he noticed the new item in the system space, he was instantly ecstatic.

"Oh my goodness!"

"Pierpoint! The company's megastructure headquarters!"

"Oh my big biscuit, so *this* is the surprise!"

"Xiao Jixiang, is this real? Am I seeing things?"

Chen Hao couldn't believe what he saw; this was too much of a surprise. He was originally worried about how to solve the space station problem, but now it was a direct one-step solution, an invincible script from the start? But how was he supposed to get up there?

Wait a minute! I just finished building the Empire!

Then it's fine~

"Hehe, I told you, it would definitely make the Host excited, right? Speaking of which, Host, you should thank me properly. The original Novice Gift Pack only contained a simple set of room-temperature nuclear fusion data. If I hadn't increased the mission difficulty by several star levels, there would have been no way to get a ready-made space station. See, I'm very conscientious, right? I didn't even take a kickback~"

Xiao Jixiang's inner monologue: "*This explanation will definitely fool him. Anyway, the Host is still a college student, easy to trick~*"

"Uh, is such a massive space structure considered a space station?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Which part doesn't fit the definition of a space station?" Xiao Jixiang launched an attack: defining terms.

"Alright, you're cute, and you're right." The effect was outstanding, Chen Hao collapsed.

Chen Hao's mind was now completely filled with this megastructure. Any slight doubt he had was immediately drowned in a surging wave of adrenaline, and he instantly transformed into Xiao Jixiang's leg-hanger.

"Oh, Xiao Jixiang is the best, you're awesome~ By the way, how do I get this thing? Do I fly my own spaceship to anchor it in orbit? Or will it just appear with a 'biu'? Also, what's the actual size of this Pierpoint? How much fuel does it need to operate? Are there any personnel requirements?"

"Host, don't rush, listen to me. First, this is a miniature version of the original Pierpoint. After all, the original is planet-sized, and even if you had it now, you couldn't use it. The space sphere is 200 kilometers in diameter, which is roughly enough to encompass your entire hometown's area."

"It has a complete life support system and comes with various modules such as a factory module, laboratory module, and living module, allowing it to be self-sufficient. It's powered by a stellar-like nuclear fusion core, and the included fuel is enough for 7 years of use. Of course, that's at low power; if all modules are fully activated, it'll probably only last about 2 and a half years."

"Besides bionic robots, there are no employees. Supplies and such are present but not fully stocked. The optimal solution still requires external replenishment, such as food, medicine, and minerals. Although there's an internal inventory, you can never have too much of these things, so just hoard as much as you can."

"Of course, you can also use ecological farms for production, but, you know, conservation of energy, right?"

"As for how to deploy it, since it's a Novice Gift Pack, no special operation is required. You just need to use it in the system space, and it will automatically appear in Earth's synchronous orbit."

"Because the current setting is a no-gravity mode, the advantage is that you don't have to worry about space-time effects, but the disadvantage is that the energy is mainly supplied to the gravity core, so the remaining functions are in a low-energy consumption state. But don't worry, it's definitely enough for the Host for now."

"The entire space station is fully automated. Theoretically, as long as there's an external supply channel for materials, the Host's Ya Ya can fully handle all management tasks. Of course, in that situation, the actual output of the space station would be approximately zero."

"The Host doesn't need to worry about safety either. The outermost layer of the space station has an electromagnetic defense field, the middle circle has particle point defense equipment and an electromagnetic defense field, and there are also some basic defensive forces inside. I even made some small upgrades; the defense field includes full-spectrum stealth. How about that~ Isn't it amazing?"

Xiao Jixiang immediately put on an arrogant display, with 'Praise me, praise me' written all over her face. Chen Hao was also very accommodating, showering her with a wave of compliments on the spot.

"That's amazing! It truly is you! How can there be such a beautiful girl like you, who combines wisdom and beauty? My admiration for you is like a surging river, endless... (One hundred words omitted here)"

"Hehe~ Oh, don't say that, I'll get shy~"

Xiao Jixiang was shy for once, hiding away to secretly gloat. Chen Hao licked his lips, looking at the Pierpoint Youth Edition in the system space.

"Hehehe, I didn't expect this, I didn't expect this. I originally thought I'd have to figure out the space station myself and had already prepared plans to connect with the government. Not bad, not bad. Although it's not as big as in the game, considering current needs, it's simply flying high."

"So delightful, so delightful."

"Now it really is the Interstellar Peace Corporation."

"Pierpoint Youth Edition, use!"

The next second, the icon in the system space disappeared, and in orbit 36,000 kilometers above the ground, an extremely brief and imperceptible ripple appeared in a certain area. Although nothing seemed to change, behind a full-spectrum stealth barrier of a sphere, there was a massive space station.

Of course, this 'massive' was only relative to other satellites and space stations. After all, compared to the moon, this space station was like a person standing in Daxing Airport.

Looking at the Empire in the dry dock, and thinking about going to space and living in a space station soon, Chen Hao instantly became excited.

What? You say you don't know how to fly? Was Ya Ya invented just to make money? What? You say it's not safe without testing? Are you underestimating Ya Ya or underestimating Xiao Jixiang?

"Ya Ya, take over the Empire. Oh, and rename it, Xuan Bird. Hehe, I'll borrow it for now; I'll get her brothers and sisters out later."

"Alright, Xuan Bird's piloting system connected, confirming operation permissions." Bronya instantly jumped out; she had wanted to fly this ship for a long time!

"Master, please board."

As soon as Bronya finished speaking, the Xuan Bird approached the middle section of its hull, and a boarding ramp opened and lowered from the side of the ship.

Chen Hao took two deep breaths, calmed his excited heart, and stepped firmly onto the Xuan Bird.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, when he saw the real cockpit appear before his eyes, his heart still raced to 120 beats per minute.

"Artificial gravity field, holographic operating system, energy weapons... Tsk tsk tsk, although I personally redesigned all of them, seeing them with my own eyes is still breathtaking. Ya Ya, check the Xuan Bird."

"Received, currently detecting."

"Fusion core normal, remaining fuel 99%, estimated usage time 2 years."

"Propulsion system normal, warp drive missing, jump drive missing."

"Life support system normal."

"Electromagnetic shield normal."

"Armor structure integrity 100%, stealth system normal."

"Weapon system normal."

"Detection system normal."

"Detection complete, ready for takeoff."

Chen Hao sat in the main seat, listening to Ya Ya's report while checking the detailed information of the weapon, defense, and propulsion systems.

No kidding, survival was the most important thing. Either active defense, or passive plus active defense; the high-energy pulse energy weapon with a range of 200 kilometers was truly awesome. After a simple estimation of its power, within its range, it could destroy a heavy tank with a snap of fingers, turning it into a puddle of liquid.

"Fusion power, the Moon base's priority needs to be raised to the highest. Seawater extraction is too slow, and the deuterium-tritium system has too low an energy density compared to helium-3 to truly sustain it. The small amount we're using now took a lot of effort. Space stations, spaceships, all consume fusion fuel. Fortunately, the Moon is close; otherwise, it would really be deadly."

"Although deuterium-tritium isn't unusable, helium-3 is just too good, irresistible."

"Forget it, let's make do for now. The Xuan Bird is my personal vehicle, so it definitely can't be used for work. I need to design a new industrial spaceship. With an ion engine, the maximum speed can still reach over 30 kilometers per second. If it's unmanned, acceleration can be increased, and a round trip between Earth and the Moon would only take about 6 hours. Modifying it for mining and transport would still be acceptable."

Chen Hao rearranged his plans, packed up his daily necessities, and then had Ya Ya shut down the factory before boarding the Xuan Bird. He had to admit, opening the factory in the suburbs was very foresightful. The number of people who would pass by in a year could be counted on one hand. As long as all procedures were complete and taxes were paid on time, even government officials might not come.

But even if they did come, it wouldn't matter; they wouldn't understand the various technologies in the super factory anyway.

"Ya Ya, turn on the factory's automatic defense mode and set it to non-lethal mode. I still need to come back for holidays, and I need a place to park and maintain the ship. Before everything is ready, let's not tell Mom and Dad."

"Now, let's go!"

"Wow, Master, can I really fly the spaceship? Really, really?"

"Of course, you can. It's decided, it's you. Ya Ya, you have a driver's license, don't panic, go for it."

"Okay~"

"Start the spaceship. Destination, Pierpoint."

"Yes, Master. Factory sealed, dry dock exit opening."

"Spaceship starting. Flight path set. Target, Blue Star synchronous orbit, Pierpoint. Estimated time, 10 minutes."

The Xuan Bird's engine emitted a deep hum, and a faint blue ion stream slowly gathered at the tail nozzle. Chen Hao sat in the center of the bridge, looking through the panoramic observation window at the factory ceiling. A few seconds later, this steel dome would no longer be his limit.

"Stealth mode activated."

As the command was given, the Xuan Bird's hull rippled like water, and optical camouflage quickly covered the entire warship. From the outside, only a blurry, distorted patch of air remained in the workshop; even heat radiation was completely absorbed by the nanocoating. The factory's ceiling armor automatically separated, revealing the gradually darkening sky.

"Pierpoint coordinates verified, flight path calculated, estimated to break through the atmosphere in 1 minute," Bronya's excited voice came from the console, "Master, I suggest you buckle up~"

As soon as Chen Hao fastened his magnetic restraints, a thrust pressed him into the seat.

The Xuan Bird ascended vertically, its anti-gravity engines offsetting most of the acceleration. Whether it was psychological or not, Chen Hao could still feel his blood rushing to his feet.

Clouds swept past like torn cotton, and the blue outside the window began to fade. Soon, even this reference point disappeared.

A sudden orange-red flash of fire enveloped the observation window—that was plasma generated by atmospheric friction. But the Xuan Bird's electromagnetic shield kept it out; there wasn't even a temperature change inside the cabin. Chen Hao instinctively held his breath, watching the altimeter numbers frantically jump:

20000 meters... 50000 meters... 100000 meters...

"Entering the Kármán line soon," Ya Ya reminded.

As if in the very next second, the fiery glow vanished. The sky changed from light blue to a profound inky black, like the deepest part of the ocean. Serene, dark, with scattered starlight.

Chen Hao stared blankly at the scene outside, suddenly realizing:

He had crossed a boundary that humanity had spent thousands of years to understand.