155: Chapter 155 Lunar Dock: The Industrial Leap of the "Moon Palace"
Time, a concept nearly eternal on a cosmic scale, was now being compressed, sliced, and fought for in increments of seconds within the industrial zone of the "Guanghan Palace" base.
Lin Mo's emergency order was like a high-voltage current, piercing through the already tense operational rhythm of the entire lunar industrial complex. When Su Xiaowan synchronized the grim news that "the piercer" had accelerated again, shortening the intercept window by nine hours, a collective gasp echoed through the industrial zone's main control center, only to be immediately drowned out by even more frantic operational commands.
This was the "heart" of the "Guanghan Palace" base—the "pangu industrial zone." It was not a closed factory in the traditional sense, but a semi-open super-manufacturing cluster built against the inner walls of a massive crater on the far side of the moon. In the natural environment of microgravity and high vacuum, several imposing "Pangu-type" lunar soil in-situ large-scale 3D printers, like dormant steel behemoths, extended their hundreds-of-meters-long printing arms along the crater walls. Further away were sealed precision machining modules, material synthesis furnaces, and component assembly platforms, all connected by a web of tracks and automated transport vehicles.
In front of the main control console, the head of the industrial zone, Li Yunfan—a material engineering expert in his fifties but still full of vigor—stared at the frantically ticking countdown and the suddenly expanded red production list on the main screen, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
"The special interference warheads Consultant Lin wants have an SS-level structural complexity, requiring 36 hours... and now it's 26 hours? With an extra 50% production increase? And the enhanced deep-space sensor suites—the optical lens grinding precision for those things needs to be at the nanometer level!" He growled into the communication channel, though his hands never stopped, rapidly adjusting the resource allocation map.
"Chief Li, the modification window for the 'soaring heavens' and the interception timeline are ironclad rules." Su Xiaowan's holographic image appeared on a small side screen. Her voice came through the channel, clear and beyond doubt. "the piercer won't wait for us. Consultant Lin has instructed the 'pangu industrial zone' to initiate the 'Limit Burn' protocol. All non-core maintenance energy and computing power are to be shifted to these two projects. If necessary, pre-production of some long-term components for the 'North Heaven Gate' project can be suspended."
"Limit Burn..." Li Yunfan grit his teeth. That meant running the equipment at overload, which would cause failure rates to skyrocket and might even lead to irreversible damage. But looking at the red light on the screen that was constantly drawing closer, he slammed his fist onto the console. "Damn it, let's do it! Tell Consultant Lin that in 26 hours, the goods will definitely be delivered to the launch pad! If it's even one minute late, I, old Li, will take these bones of mine apart and feed them into the printing raw materials!"
The order was issued. The entire "pangu industrial zone" seemed to be injected with a wild dose of adrenaline.
The massive No. 3 Pangu printer was the first to respond. Its structure, resembling a giant gantry crane, emitted a low rumble as the printing nozzle transitioned from standby to a glowing orange-red. Below, automated excavation units, like giant pangolins, fiercely gnawed at the lunar surface, continuously feeding lunar soil rich in specific metal oxides into the intake. Inside the printer, the lunar soil underwent a complex process of instantaneous melting by high-temperature plasma, gasification separation, and then demand-based deposition; it was no longer simple sintering, but atomic-level reconstruction. The incredibly complex structure of the interference warhead, filled with irregular cavities and miniature energy circuits, was being "woven" strand by strand at a visible speed against the near-absolute zero vacuum background. The precision and complexity of the printing arm's trajectory far surpassed that of the finest embroiderer.
In the adjacent precision machining module, the atmosphere was equally white-hot. Special optical crystals for the sensor suites were undergoing containerless levitation growth in a weightless environment. Laser interferometers monitored every lattice growth plane of the crystals at femtosecond frequencies, with any minute defect being instantly corrected or discarded. Engineers in sealed work suits stared intently at the data through observation windows, their eyes bloodshot, yet no one left their post.
"Crystallization furnace number seven, impurity fluctuation exceeds the threshold by 0.3%!"
"Inject compensation electric field, increase frequency by 5 Hertz! Fast!"
"Stabilized! The growth rate can be increased by another 2%!"
Every minute and every second of optimization was pushing the limits of physical laws.
The resource scheduling center had turned into a battlefield without smoke. Rare alloy ingots, high-purity chemical reagents, and superconducting coils originally planned for other projects were urgently re-designated and rushed to the "pangu industrial zone" and machining modules by intelligent transport vehicles along optimal paths. Some critical materials that were in short supply even had to be "hijacked" directly from an emergency supply ship from Earth that had just landed.
"That's the water recycling resin for the ecological zone!"
"The dielectric layer of the interference warheads is more important now! Sign it and move it out!"
"But..."
"No buts! This is wartime control authorization! Sign it!"
Disputes, shouting, and then rapid execution. The entire industrial zone was racing at full speed in a strange state of chaotic efficiency, bursting pressure, yet unified goals.
Lin Mo did not stay in the lab to command remotely. Wearing a lightweight extravehicular suit and escorted by a member of the "Torch Dragon" team assigned by Long Zhantian, he personally came to the assembly platform of the "pangu industrial zone." Functional testing was being conducted here on the first batch of off-the-line interference warhead prototypes.
Looking at the two-meter-long, pitch-black missile body covered in fine honeycomb structures, he asked, "What are the test results for the frequency stability of the field effect generator core?"
The young female engineer in charge of testing had a raspy voice but was full of confidence. "Consultant Lin, after seven full-power simulation tests, the frequency drift is controlled within plus or minus 0.001 Hertz, fully meeting or even exceeding your design specifications. The coordination efficiency of the resonance focusing module has also reached 93%, two percentage points higher than expected."
"Very good." Lin Mo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the busy figures on the platform. "What about the encapsulation strength and impact resistance? The defense methods of 'the piercer' are unknown; the missile body must be able to approach closely enough."
"We used a multi-layered composite buffer material reverse-engineered from the 'reaper' probe wreckage. Theoretically, it can withstand an instantaneous overload of over 1,000 Gs. There's no time for live-fire testing, but the mechanical simulation pass rate from the system is 99.8%."
"Trust the system." Lin Mo patted the female engineer's shoulder. "Everyone has worked hard. Hold on for another twenty hours. Once the first batch of qualified products is sent out, I'll request rewards for everyone."
The simple encouragement gave a boost to the spirits of the grease-stained, weary engineers around him. Lin Mo, who explained technical principles to them, solved problems alongside them, and even visited the front lines to check progress, was no longer just the high-and-mighty "unparalleled national scholar," but a leader they trusted and a comrade-in-arms fighting by their side.
Time flowed in a molten, white-hot atmosphere. The countdown ticked ruthlessly.
18 hours... The first set of twelve special interference warheads completed assembly, passed quality inspection, and was sent to the launch preparation area.
12 hours... The core components of the enhanced deep-space sensor suites came off the line and began docking with the carriers.
8 hours... The last high-speed supply ship from Earth arrived, unloading the final batch of critical isotope materials for the warhead energy cores, which had been urgently mobilized from across the globe.
5 hours... All customized modification parts and ammunition for the "soaring heavens" were loaded into three dedicated high-speed unmanned transport ships. These slender, arrow-like transport ships now stood quietly on the launch pads at the edge of the crater, awaiting the final ignition command.
Li Yunfan's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was so raspy he could barely speak, but when he made the final report to Lin Mo, his back was straight. "Reporting to Consultant Lin! The 'Guanghan Palace' industrial zone has completed the Limit Burn protocol! All customized modification parts and ammunition are in place, with quality and quantity guaranteed! We are ahead of the revised timeline... by one hour and seven minutes!"
They were ahead of schedule!
In the main control center, a suppressed cheer, filled with exhaustion but also immense pride, broke out. Many people collapsed directly into their seats, nearly spent.
Lin Mo looked at the three transport ships ready for launch on the screen, then at the engineers and workers below the crater who, though exhausted, had bright eyes. A warm current surged in his heart.
This was human resilience; this was the creativity that civilization bursts forth with in desperate situations. No magic, no divine help—only wisdom, sweat, collaboration, and the most persistent desire for survival.
"Chief Li, and all the comrades of the 'pangu industrial zone'," Lin Mo said solemnly, "What you have won for our civilization is more than just this extra hour. You have proven that we possess the industrial capacity to rapidly transform cutting-edge concepts into combat power under extreme pressure. This is a treasure more precious than any single weapon. You have poured a part of the foundation for the 'North Heaven Gate'!"
His words spread through the industrial zone via broadcast, causing more collapsed people to struggle to sit up, light returning to their eyes.
"Launch." Lin Mo gave the final command. "Target: 'soaring heavens'. May they carry the will of 'Guanghan Palace' and become sharp blades piercing the enemy's throat."
"Understood! Launch sequence initiated!"
At the edge of the crater, the tails of the three transport ships spewed ghostly blue plasma flames. Under the moon's weak gravity, they easily lifted off, rapidly accelerating into three streaks of light that pierced the deep space, heading toward the "soaring heavens" standing ready in its designated orbit.
Lin Mo looked up, watching the streaks of light disappear into the sky. Without atmospheric scattering, the stars in the lunar sky were exceptionally clear and cold. An even more brutal trial for the North Heaven Gate was about to unfold among those stars.