99: Chapter 99 Earth is too small! Lin Yun turns his gaze to the moon.

"Moving? Moving to the moon? Comrade Lin Yun, are you sure you're not joking with me?"

On the encrypted channel of the Capital's Supreme Command, Elder Chen's holographic projection had both hands propped on the table, and on his old face, which was full of worry, veins were faintly bulging.

"Elder Chen, when have I ever joked with you?" Lin Yun stood on the core platform of the "Hive" command center. In front of him was a three-dimensional topographic map of the moon, accurate to the centimeter, jointly generated by "Nuwa" and the "Red Queen."

The "Moon Gate" on the far side of the moon, which once emitted a sinister purple light, was now marked as a glaring red circle on the scan. The energy curve inside it was climbing at an unsettling speed.

"Forty-eight hours." Lin Yun held up two fingers. "In forty-eight hours at most, that gate will reopen. By then, if we're still hunkered down on Earth waiting, we'll be sitting ducks."

"But if we take the initiative and establish a forward position on the moon before it fully opens..."

Lin Yun's finger drew a circle on the lunar map, enclosing a five-hundred-kilometer radius around the "Moon Gate."

"We can turn the entire 'Moon Gate' into our own 'front door.'"

"Whoever wants to come in will have to ask me first."

Elder Chen fell silent. He knew Lin Yun was right. It was better to strike first than to wait for death.

However—

"Comrade Lin Yun, building a base on the moon isn't something that can be done just by talking about it. The transportation of personnel and supplies alone is an astronomical challenge. Not to mention, the moon has no atmosphere, no magnetic field, cosmic radiation, micrometeorite impacts..."

"Elder Chen." Lin Yun interrupted him, a faint, knowing smile on his face. "Have you forgotten what nine things are floating above our heads?"

Elder Chen was taken aback, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

That's right, nine Luan Bird-class aerospace carriers. Each one possessed an independent anti-gravity engine and a complete ecological recycling system, capable of carrying a hundred thousand people for interstellar travel.

In the face of such transport capacity, the three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers between the Earth and the Moon really didn't amount to much.

"But even if transport isn't an issue, building a permanent base on the moon that can accommodate a hundred thousand people..."

"Three months."

The one who spoke this time wasn't Lin Yun.

It was the "Red Queen."

That cold, synthesized electronic voice, sounding like metal grinding against metal, rang out in the command center without warning.

"Under my coordination, utilizing the full industrial capacity of the nine Luan Birds and the initial resources transferred from Earth, a Type I permanent base code-named 'Guanghan Palace' can be constructed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon within ninety days."

"The base will include: 5 anti-gravity dome ecological zones, capable of accommodating a total of one hundred thousand residents; 128 military-grade plasma shield arrays, capable of resisting medium-scale orbital bombardment; 20 deep-underground mineral extraction facilities; and one... miniature Luan Bird construction dock."

"I do not recommend the five-year plan proposed by 'Nuwa.' Five years is too slow. The Observers will not give us five years."

The Red Queen's analysis was precise, cold, and devoid of human emotion.

But every piece of data was impeccable.

Elder Chen looked at Lin Yun, then at the red sphere representing the Red Queen, and finally sighed.

"Fine. I approve it. But there is one condition—you must ensure that all personnel participating in the lunar construction are volunteers. No coercion."

"Of course." Lin Yun nodded, but a meaningful smile curled at the corners of his mouth. "However, Elder Chen, I think you're overthinking it."

"Why?"

"Because I just had 'Nuwa' post a recruitment message across the entire network—'Moon construction volunteers: room and board included, gene optimization slots provided, outstanding performers can obtain permanent lunar residency.'"

"Guess how many people signed up within ten seconds of the post?"

Xiao Zhang pulled up the data nearby, took a look himself, and then froze entirely.

"Lin... Brother Lin, the number of applicants... three hundred million."

"Globally, three hundred million people."

"And it's still growing at a rate of a hundred thousand people per second."

Elder Chen's mouth hung open, and he finally waved his hand weakly.

"Fine, you win, kid. When do we leave?"

"Now."

Lin Yun's answer was crisp and decisive.

He didn't give anyone any more time to hesitate.

Over the next six hours, an unprecedented operation—the first "interstellar move" in human history—was launched with near-violent efficiency.

The nine Luan Bird aerospace carriers lowered their altitudes from their hovering orbits around the globe, opening their giant internal holds that were large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people and massive amounts of supplies.

The first batch of fifty thousand volunteers were elites hand-picked from the Civilization Guardian Army and the Hive construction teams. They boarded these steel behemoths carrying the most advanced nano-construction materials, self-repairing alloy structural components, and "ecological seed packs" personally improved by Lin Yun (genetic engineering products that can rapidly grow plants in a vacuum environment).

But what truly left everyone dumbfounded was the "secret weapon" Lin Yun had prepared for this lunar mission.

It was a thousand deep-sea special operations members who had completed the Dragon Whale gene modification, plus three thousand super soldiers personally led by General Li Yunlong.

Their mission wasn't construction—it was to be the first to land on the moon and clear all possible threats around the Moon Gate before the "Guanghan Palace" base was completed.

"General Li, there's no sea on the moon; I'm afraid those gills of yours won't be of much use." On the bridge of luan bird no. 1, Lin Yun teased General Li Yunlong over the communicator.

"Haha! Doesn't matter! Old Li's fists work anywhere!" General Li Yunlong's laughter made the communicator buzz. "Commander-in-Chief Lin, don't you worry! If there's any crooked business on the moon, I'll pull their teeth out one by one!"

Six hours later.

As the Luan Bird fleet broke through the atmosphere, leaving the blue jewel of Earth behind, Lin Yun stood before the massive viewport of luan bird no. 1, looking back at his home planet.

This was the first time he had seen Earth from space with his own eyes.

He remained silent for a long time.

Behind him, Captain Long Ying, holding Babao, quietly walked to his side.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking... Earth really is too small," Lin Yun said softly. "Too small to contain my ambition, and too small to contain the future of my children."

"But it's precisely because it's small that it's even more worth protecting."

Captain Long Ying didn't speak, she just leaned her head gently against Lin Yun's shoulder.

Babao was in her arms, staring curiously at the infinite starry sky outside the viewport, her chubby little hands constantly patting the window as if trying to catch the twinkling stars.

Three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers.

At the Luan Bird's cruising speed, it would only take four hours.

But just as the fleet entered the Earth-Moon transfer orbit in the second hour, Nuwa suddenly issued a level-one alarm.

"Commander! The energy restoration speed of the 'Moon Gate' has suddenly accelerated!"

"It was originally estimated to open in forty-eight hours, but now... the estimate is twelve hours!"

"Furthermore, in the Red Queen's latest deep scan of the Moon Gate's remains, a previously overlooked structure was discovered—"

"There isn't just one passage behind that gate."

"There are seven!"

"Seven spatial passages leading to different star sectors! At least three of them are already in a semi-activated state!"

Lin Yun's expression instantly turned grim to the extreme.

Seven passages?

Before, they only knew of one—the main passage leading to the Observers' civilization headquarters.

But now, the Moon Gate was actually connected to seven different star sectors simultaneously!

What did this mean?

It meant the Moon Gate wasn't just an invasion tool for the Observers. It was an interstellar... transport hub!

It was a transfer station connecting multiple civilizations throughout the galaxy!

The Observers' civilization might just be one of many 'clients' using this transfer station!

And hidden behind those semi-activated passages might not just be enemies...

They could also be—allies.

Or, existences even more terrifying than the Observers.

"Interesting..." A complex curve slowly formed at the corner of Lin Yun's mouth—both tension and excitement.

He turned around and gave orders to everyone on the bridge:

"Change of plans!"

"luan bird no. 1 through no. 3, continue to the moon as planned to execute the 'Guanghan Palace' construction mission!"

"Luan Bird no. 4 through no. 9, follow me!"

"We're going to get there before the Moon Gate fully opens and see what's behind those seven doors..."

"Exactly how many uninvited guests are hiding there!"

"Or—" Lin Yun's eyes flashed with the burning light only a pioneer could possess.

"How many of our future neighbors are hiding there!"

The fleet split up, engines roaring.

And the moment luan bird no. 1 separated, an unprecedented prompt suddenly popped up on Lin Yun's system panel—

[Congratulations, Host! The system has detected that the Host is about to enter the "Interstellar Era"!]

[New functions unlocking...]

["Interstellar Mate Matching System" activated!]

[Detected potential SSS-rank maternal targets with high genetic compatibility with the Host in the civilizations behind Moon Gate Channel 7... Quantity: 3!]

Lin Yun looked at the three golden flashing question marks on the system panel, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Interstellar mate matching? SSS-rank maternal targets?

Is this system so afraid his Hundred Sons Plan won't be completed?

"Mr. Lin." Katerina's cold voice came from behind him.

Lin Yun turned his head stiffly.

He saw Katerina holding Jiu Bao Little Anna, her ice-blue eyes staring fixedly at Lin Yun's face like an X-ray.

"You just... smiled."

"That kind of smile, I saw it countless times before I was kidnapped by the 'Moon Gate.'"

"It's the smile a man only gives when he sees a 'new target.'"

Lin Yun: "...I didn't smile."

"You did."

Jiu Bao Little Anna, in Katerina's arms, also let out a timely "giggle," as if backing up her mother.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and decided to strategically change the subject.

"Cough, Comrade Katerina, tell me, if there really are other civilizations in the seven channels of the 'Moon Gate'... what would their attitude be toward us?"

Katerina was silent for a moment, a rare look of deep thought flashing in her cold eyes.

"During the time I was inside the 'Moon Gate,' I occasionally received fragments of information from other channels."

"That information... was very chaotic. But there was one keyword that appeared repeatedly."

"What?"

"'Chains.'" Katerina's voice dropped even lower. "All civilizations that use the 'Moon Gate' are bound by something called 'Chains.'"

"They don't use the 'Moon Gate' voluntarily."

"They... are also prisoners."

Lin Yun's pupils constricted.

Prisoners?

If the seven civilizations connected by the Moon Gate were all prisoners held by the Observers...

Then what was coming wasn't a simple "alien invasion."

It was—

A prison break.