Chapter 282 Chen Xueming's Proposal

October 16, 2040.

7:00 AM, Beijing, sky ladder project headquarters.

Chen Xueming hadn't slept all night.

He was slumped over the desk in his hotel room, the photocopied mecha blueprints spread out before him. Next to them was a laptop, its screen displaying data on Mars rovers.

He had been in that position for a full six hours.

Ever since he first saw the mecha blueprints last night, one thought had been stuck in his head—could this thing be used on Mars?

The biggest problem with traditional Mars rovers was their slow speed. Curiosity had traveled only a little over twenty kilometers in ten years on Mars. Perseverance was a bit faster, but could only manage a few hundred meters a day.

But a mecha was different.

A mecha could jump fifteen meters high and thirty meters far. On Mars, with gravity only one-third of Earth's, how far could it jump? Forty-five meters? Fifty?

Moreover, the mecha had two legs; it could traverse any terrain. Cliffs, canyons, sand dunes, rocky areas—there was nowhere it couldn't go.

If this thing could be modified into a Mars exploration device...

The more Chen Xueming thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more impossible sleep seemed.

He closed his laptop, grabbed the stack of blueprints, and rushed out of his room.

At 8:00 AM, Chen Xueming burst into Lin Mo's office.

Lin Mo was reviewing documents and was startled by his entrance.

"Xueming? Why are you here so early?"

Chen Xueming dropped the blueprints on the desk, breathing heavily. "Old Lin, I have an idea."

Lin Mo set down the file and looked at him. "Go on."

Chen Xueming pointed at the mecha blueprints. "Can we modify this thing into a Mars exploration device?"

Lin Mo was taken aback for a moment.

Chen Xueming continued, "Look, traditional Mars rovers are too slow. Curiosity took ten years to cover just over twenty kilometers. But this mecha can jump thirty meters in one leap. With Mars' lower gravity, it could jump forty or fifty meters. Plus, it can climb mountains, scale slopes, and jump over obstacles. If we sent a mecha up there, it could cover the entire landing zone in a month."

His eyes were shining with an intense light.

"Also, the mecha has robotic arms; it can collect samples and operate equipment. With AI assistance, it can make autonomous decisions. It has protective armor that can withstand Mars' radiation and temperature extremes. It's practically tailor-made for Mars!"

Lin Mo looked at him and was silent for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

"Xueming, you stayed up all night thinking about this?"

Chen Xueming nodded. "Yes."

Lin Mo stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the sky.

Mars wasn't visible now, but Chen Xueming's words made him recall many things.

Mecha, Mars, signals, resonance... All the clues were slowly coming together.

He turned around and looked at Chen Xueming.

"You think it's feasible?"

Chen Xueming nodded vigorously. "I think it's highly feasible."

Lin Mo thought for a moment, then said, "Alright. You draft the proposal."

Chen Xueming was stunned. "Me?"

Lin Mo nodded. "It was your idea; you draft the proposal. Tell me what resources you need."

Chen Xueming opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

He just nodded forcefully.

At 9:00 AM, Chen Xueming pulled Li Xiao into a conference room.

"Li Xiao, I need your help." He explained his idea in full.

After listening, Li Xiao's eyes lit up too.

"Senior Brother Chen, this idea is brilliant!" She immediately opened her laptop. "Let me calculate how high this mecha could jump on Mars first."

She typed rapidly, quickly building a model. A few minutes later, the result was ready.

"Mars' gravity is 0.38 times Earth's," she said, pointing at the screen. "If the mecha can jump fifteen meters on Earth, theoretically, on Mars it could jump—"

She performed the calculation, and her eyes widened.

"Thirty-nine meters."

Chen Xueming whistled.

Li Xiao continued calculating. "Jumping distance: thirty meters on Earth, on Mars it would be roughly—"

She calculated again.

"Seventy-eight meters."

Chen Xueming was stunned.

Seventy-eight meters.

One leap could clear an entire soccer field.

Li Xiao's face flushed with excitement. "Senior Brother Chen, if we really get this thing to Mars, we could cover in one day what Curiosity took ten years to travel!"

Chen Xueming nodded, but then frowned.

"But the problem is, how do we get it up there?"

Li Xiao was also stumped.

Yes, how to get it up there?

The mecha weighed eight tons. A traditional chemical rocket would need a heavy-lift vehicle to send an eight-ton payload to Mars. The cost was high, the timeline long, and launch windows were limited.

But if they had the sky ladder...

"The sky ladder." They both said the words simultaneously.

Chen Xueming slapped the table. "Right! The sky ladder can send large components into orbit. Assemble it in orbit, then use a Plasma Engine to propel it to Mars!"

Li Xiao nodded. "The Plasma Engine has a high specific impulse; it could get there in three months."

They looked at each other, their eyes shining.

At 2:00 PM, Chen Xueming placed the preliminary proposal in front of Lin Mo.

The proposal was rough, just a few pages with some hand-drawn sketches. But the core concept was clear:

Step One: Dismantle the mecha into several main modules—cockpit, power system, robotic arms, energy system. Send each module into orbit via the sky ladder.

Step Two: Complete assembly at the orbital Space Station. Astronauts perform extravehicular activities to piece the mecha together.

Step Three: Use the Plasma Engine for propulsion, sending the mecha to Mars. Arrival in three months.

Step Four: The mecha lands on Mars and begins its exploration mission. Key areas to explore—those locations related to the signal resonance.

Lin Mo flipped through the pages one by one, nodding occasionally.

When he reached the last page, he looked up at Chen Xueming.

"A few questions."

Chen Xueming sat up straight. "Go ahead."

"First, how does the mecha land on Mars? An eight-ton object, with Mars' thin atmosphere... parachutes alone won't work for a direct landing."

Chen Xueming was prepared. "We can use retro-rockets. The mecha has its own power; it can ignite for deceleration in the final phase."

Lin Mo nodded. "Second, what about power? The mecha uses batteries on Earth, but on Mars, daylight is only half as long as Earth's, and nights are cold and dark. Can the batteries last?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment. "We can use nuclear batteries. We have small nuclear battery technology; one could power the mecha for years."

Lin Mo nodded again. "Third, communication delay. The delay between Mars and Earth is at least three minutes, up to twenty minutes at its longest. If the mecha encounters an emergency, it can't rely on ground control; it has to handle things itself."

Chen Xueming said, "That's where the AI comes in. The mecha's built-in AI is powerful enough for autonomous decision-making. Just set its objectives, and it can complete them on its own."

Lin Mo was silent for a few seconds.

Then he closed the proposal and looked at Chen Xueming.

"Xueming, this proposal... we can do it."

Chen Xueming's heart skipped a beat.

"But it needs refinement," Lin Mo said. "Assemble a team dedicated to this. Within a month, produce a complete technical proposal and budget."

Chen Xueming sprang to his feet. "Alright!"

At 6:00 PM, as Chen Xueming left the conference room, he ran into Zhao Gang.

Seeing his excited expression, Zhao Gang smiled. "Did you find treasure?"

Chen Xueming shook his head, then nodded. "Better than finding treasure."

He briefly explained his idea.

After listening, Zhao Gang was silent for a moment, then said, "If we really get this thing to Mars... could it also be used as a weapon?"

Chen Xueming was taken aback.

Zhao Gang continued, "If it works on Mars, it could work on the Moon too. If we build a lunar base in the future, sending a few mechas up there for patrol..."

He smiled and didn't finish the sentence.

But Chen Xueming understood.

The mecha wasn't just an exploration device.

It could also be a guardian.

Late at night, Chen Xueming was back in the conference room.

Piles of materials were stacked before him—mecha blueprints, Mars environmental data, sky ladder payload capacity charts, Plasma Engine specifications. He began integrating them item by item, refining the proposal bit by bit.

His phone buzzed. A message from Lin Mo:

"Start assembling the team tomorrow. Pick the people yourself."

Chen Xueming looked at the message and smiled.

He replied:

"Okay."

Outside the window, the night was deep. The Beijing night sky showed no stars, but he knew that fifty-five million kilometers away, that red planet was still out there.

Soon, they would send a steel giant to it.

To see for them what secrets were hidden there.