34: Chapter 34 Five Satellites in One Arrow, and the "Unexpected"

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, early morning in late autumn.

The cold wind of the Gobi Desert was like a knife, sweeping past the snow-white vermilion bird-1 rocket standing under the spotlights, letting out a low wail. The launch tower had long since been retracted, leaving the rocket standing proudly on the launch pad. The blue "Starrail Express" logo and silver "Vermilion Bird" characters on the fuselage were particularly eye-catching under the intense lights. This was no ordinary launch; it was the first official commercial operation mission of the "space bus" project, codenamed "Starrail-001."

The Command and Control Center hall was brightly lit. The air was filled with a special scent—a mixture of caffeine, ozone, and a certain suppressed excitement. On the large screen, the mission schedule was ticking down toward zero, second by second. Lin Shen sat in an inconspicuous observation seat in the back row. Before him were multiple split screens displaying telemetry data from the rocket's various subsystems, global monitoring network dynamics, and the mission risk assessment curves generated by "Nuwa." His expression was calm, but his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, scanning every critical parameter.

Inside the payload bay of "Starrail-001" were five experimental satellites from different countries: two CubeSats from Dragon Country universities, a space physics probe from a European university, a meteorological technology verification satellite from a South American intergovernmental organization, and—most notably—the "Helvetia" lunar long-distance mapping satellite, jointly developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Swiss Deep Space Observation Foundation.

This Swiss satellite was the star client of the "space bus" maiden voyage, and also the product of a delicate political and technical balance. Switzerland's neutral status and its reputation in the field of precision instruments made it a "third party" acceptable to all sides. Its public mission was to verify the imaging capabilities of a new lightweight Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on faint lunar surface features, providing data support for the site selection of future lunar research bases. However, only a very few people knew that the orbital design of the "Helvetia" would allow it to perform several "on-the-way" scans of the lunar South Pole region during specific phases.

"One minute to launch!"

The commander's voice spread through the hall via the broadcast, and everyone held their breath. Lin Shen saw the reuse counter for the first stage of the vermilion bird-1 on the screen in front of him displaying "7." This was the seventh flight for this rocket; the previous six, including tests and internal missions, had all been successfully recovered. Every reuse was a rigorous test of materials, craftsmanship, and reliability.

"...Five, four, three, two, one! Ignition! Liftoff!"

The low, thick roar, even through the thick soundproof walls and the screen, still conveyed a soul-shaking power. Orange-red flames erupted from the bottom of the rocket, instantly engulfing the flame trench beneath the launch pad. The white rocket body rose steadily, accelerating, piercing through the deepest darkness before dawn, carving an increasingly bright and straight light trail across the firmament.

"Programmed pitch-over normal!"

"All system parameters normal!"

"Velocity and altitude continuing to increase..."

The standard, calm dispatch voices echoed. Lin Shen's attention was focused more on another screen—the real-time health monitoring map of the rocket's first stage generated by "Nuwa." Data from hundreds of sensors were fused and processed, displaying a real-time 3D model of structural stress, engine status, fuel consumption, and heat flow distribution. Everything was within the green and yellow healthy zones; there were no glaring red alarms.

First stage separation! The simulated animation and actual telemetry footage were displayed simultaneously as the massive first-stage rocket successfully detached from the upper stage, beginning its return journey.

At this moment, the lenses of at least dozens of professional organizations and countless astronomy enthusiasts worldwide were aimed at the designated recovery airspace. This was the first public commercial recovery demonstration by Starrail Express, and its success or failure was directly tied to market confidence.

The first-stage rocket continued to climb for a distance due to inertia, then turned around. The engines ignited again for the first deceleration burn as it plunged into the atmosphere. The rocket body began to be enveloped in scorching plasma, forming a dazzling "meteor," but soon, its attitude stabilized, withstanding the harsh ordeal of reentry.

"Deceleration normal! Peak heat flow lower than expected!"

"Navigation system locked onto the recovery site!"

"Landing legs deployed!"

The most critical moment arrived. At an altitude of about one kilometer from the ground, the first stage's main engine ignited precisely for the last time for the final vertical deceleration. The massive rocket body seemed to be gently held by an invisible giant hand as its descent speed dropped sharply. Grid fins fine-tuned its attitude. Under the reflection of the rising sun, the rocket's shadow on the ground shrank rapidly.

*Thump—*

A steady, muffled sound was transmitted through the ground sensors. Simultaneously, multi-angle camera footage showed the four landing legs of the first stage landing steadily on the giant red bullseye at the center of the recovery site, kicking up dust that slowly dispersed. The data terminal immediately displayed the landing deviation: 0.31 meters.

After a brief silence, the Command and Control Center erupted in thunderous applause and cheers! The seventh reuse, a successful precision recovery! The cornerstone of the "space bus" was now solid!

Meanwhile, the second-stage upper stage had already successfully delivered the five satellites into their predetermined orbits one by one. Separation signals were sent back in succession, the solar panels of each satellite deployed smoothly, and telemetry signals were received normally. On the mission hall's screen, the words "Mission Complete Success" were displayed in large characters.

However, on the encrypted split-screen in front of Lin Shen, an information stream from "Nuwa" marked as "Anomaly - Low Priority" quietly popped up. The information was linked precisely to the Swiss "Helvetia" satellite that had just entered orbit.

[Detected non-public data stream from "Helvetia" (Encryption Protocol Level: Swiss National Research Grade A). During the orbital calibration phase, three brief high-power active radar scans were performed on a non-predetermined target area (Lunar South Pole, Coordinates: XX.XXXX, YY.YYYY). Scan mode is abnormal, suspected trigger of a preset hidden command. Raw scan data has been attempted for interception and decryption according to the preset protocol (Progress: 15%). Correlation analysis: These coordinates highly overlap with the area of interest for the "Moon Palace" project.]

Lin Shen's eyes narrowed. The Swiss indeed had their own plans, and it seemed... their target also pointed to that mysterious hollow area. Was this a coincidence, or had they obtained some information from other channels?

He didn't act immediately, but simply made a mental note and continued to monitor the follow-up.

News releases of the mission's success and video clips of the vermilion bird-1's seventh perfect recovery spread rapidly across the globe through official channels and the Starrail Express platform. International public opinion was in an uproar, and stock prices and futures markets in the commercial aerospace sector fluctuated violently. With one flawless flight, Dragon Country proved to the world that the "space bus" was not just a slogan, but a tangible, reliable, and cheap transportation capability.

The celebratory atmosphere permeated the launch center. But Lin Shen did not participate; he quietly returned to his temporary encrypted office in the command center. There, Zhao Zetao was already waiting for him, his expression far from relaxed.

"The Swiss side just sent an urgent and highly encrypted contact request through informal diplomatic channels." Zhao Zetao projected a briefly decoded message. "The content is just one sentence: 'Helvetia has obtained anomalous data involving a potential non-natural lunar structure. Requesting an urgent consultation with your side's "deep shadow" or equivalent technical experts; data can be partially shared. This concerns... matters that may transcend the Earth-Moon scope.'"

"Transcend the Earth-Moon scope..." Lin Shen repeated the phrase, his fingers unconsciously tapping the desk. The Swiss wording was extremely cautious, but it also carried significant weight. They had indeed discovered something and realized its unique nature, to the point of proactively reaching out to Dragon Country, who might also be interested.

"How did they decide to look for us?" Lin Shen asked.

"There is a hidden data packet verification hash in the message," Nuwa's voice sounded through the room's concealed speakers. "This hash is perfectly consistent with a specific marker I previously reverse-engineered from a public scientific database, found in an anonymous preprint paper about non-standard signal processing algorithms. The theoretical foundation of that paper shares the same origin as certain mathematical tools you used in early photonic chip architectures. The Swiss have top-tier experts in cryptography and information theory; they likely established indirect confidence in the technical style of 'deep shadow' through this method."

Lin Shen understood. This was a form of secret identification within top-tier technical circles. The other party was gambling—gambling that the scientist behind "deep shadow" would understand and value this discovery.

"Reply to them. Agree to a preliminary data exchange and evaluation in a neutral, third-party encrypted setting. Designate you, 'Nuwa,' as our primary analysis interface, signed with my encryption key." Lin Shen made a quick decision. "Additionally, raise the secrecy level for the development progress of our own 'Moon Palace' probe prototype. The Swiss discovery might draw more eyes toward that location."

Zhao Zetao nodded and made a note, but stopped as he was about to leave. "One more thing, intelligence just received. Less than ten minutes after 'Helvetia' performed those abnormal scans of the South Pole, the Imperial Alliance's space situational awareness network intensified its monitoring of that satellite and the entire lunar South Pole region. Simultaneously, they issued a strongly worded inquiry to the Swiss through diplomatic channels, demanding an explanation for the scanning behavior that 'deviated from the declared scientific goals,' and threatened to suspend parts of their cooperation with Switzerland regarding the deep space monitoring network on the grounds of 'violating the Memorandum of Understanding on international lunar exploration data sharing.'"

The pressure came quickly. The Imperial Alliance's sensitivity toward that area exceeded the scope of ordinary resource competition. Did they also know something? Or was it merely an instinctive vigilance against any behavior that might challenge their "pre-emptive rights"?

"As expected," Lin Shen said. "Tell the Swiss that if they can't withstand the pressure, the cooperation can temporarily move deeper underground or be delayed. But what we need is the data itself."

After Zhao Zetao left, Lin Shen stood alone by the observation window of the office. Outside, the morning sun over the Gobi had fully risen, dyeing the boundless sands a golden red. But above the sky, in the domain where the rocket had just traversed, things seemed clear yet were actually full of surging undercurrents.

A successful commercial launch had solidified the reputation of the "space bus."

A precise recovery had proven the maturity of reusable technology.

A hidden scan, however, had unexpectedly pulled out a deeper mystery at the lunar South Pole, drawing Switzerland, a neutral country, and the Imperial Alliance, an adversary, even deeper into the fold.

The "Helvetia" was like a pebble accidentally thrown into a deep pool; the ripples it stirred were spreading rapidly, churning the already restless undercurrents beneath the surface.

Lin Shen called up the technology tree in his consciousness. While the [Aerospace Technology] branch glowed slightly due to the successful launch, the branches related to [Interstellar Archaeology] and [Civilization Contact] in the deeper regions seemed to tremble imperceptibly, as if disturbed by some distant "echo."

He turned off the light screen and cast his gaze toward the eastern horizon, at the outline of the moon that remained palely visible even in the daylight.

The "Moon Palace" project had to be faster.

And the wings of vermilion bird-2 needed to unfold even sooner.

Because some secrets would not remain buried forever beneath the frozen silence.