40: Chapter 40 The Eve of the Storm

Earth, low Earth orbit, 'Kunlun' space station.

This silver-white megastructure, having just completed its main assembly, was silently gliding over the African continent at a speed of 7.8 kilometers per second. Its massive solar panels were fully deployed, like the folded and spread wings of a butterfly, shimmering with a pale golden metallic luster under the sunlight. Inside the station, the first resident rotation crew of three—Commander Chen Yan, Engineer Li Wei, and Payload Specialist Zhao Xiaotian—were conducting their fourth day of in-orbit adaptation and system checks. In the weightless environment, they moved nimbly between modules like swimming fish, checking the readings of the life support, power, and communication subsystems.

The successful assembly of 'Kunlun' was not only a display of the Dragon Country's aerospace prowess but also a clear signal: the Dragon Country had established a long-term, stable, and scalable presence in low Earth orbit. It served as a scientific research platform, a technology testing ground, and an outpost for future deep space exploration. The twelve experimental racks on board had been activated, covering fields such as materials science, fluid physics, life medicine, and astronomical observation, with data continuously being transmitted back to the ground via a high-speed data link.

However, beneath the calm, Undercurrents were surging.

'Commander, external sensors have detected the third surveillance target, 'Starshield-B', approaching. Relative velocity is 15 meters per second, distance closing to 80 kilometers.' Engineer Li Wei's voice rang out on the internal communication channel, calm but with a hint of tension.

Chen Yan floated to the main console and pulled up the fused image from external optical and radar sensors. Sure enough, against the pitch-black background, the familiar, dark silhouette of the delta-wing craft was slowly enlarging, like a shark patrolling the deep sea. This was one of the Imperial Alliance's 'Starshield' space fighter prototypes; in the past week, this was the third time it had approached 'Kunlun' at close range under the guise of 'orbital testing' and 'equipment calibration.'

'Record the opponent's orbital parameters, have all external cameras focus and track it, and pay special attention to any non-standard maneuvers or equipment pointing actions.' Chen Yan issued the order in a steady tone. 'Report the approach incident to the 'Moon Palace' command center. Also, initiate standby mode for the extravehicular robotic arm, but keep the power off; use it only as a passive observation platform.'

They could not actively provoke, but they had to be prepared with full records and minimal defensive measures. According to ground simulations and tactical analysis by 'Nuwa,' the laser weapons and electromagnetic railguns of the 'Starshield' posed a theoretical threat at a distance of 80 kilometers. Although limited by energy supply and precision in actual combat, no one dared to take it lightly.

'Starshield-B' closed to about 75 kilometers, it began a series of slow lateral drifts and attitude adjustments. The laser emitter under its nose and the electromagnetic railgun on its back (though covered by a plate) were constantly, if vaguely, pointed in the general direction of 'Kunlun.' This oppressive 'escort' lasted for about twenty minutes, and then 'Starshield-B' increased its thrust, peeled away in a clean arc, and disappeared into the orbital shadow in the distance.

'It's gone.' Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. 'But it spent significantly longer observing our cabin structures, the solar panel connections, and several key docking ports. It's as if it's... collecting data on structural weaknesses.'

Chen Yan nodded, his brow furrowed. This was not just a provocation; it was naked tactical reconnaissance. The Imperial Alliance was assessing the firepower and strike points needed to attack 'Kunlun.' 'Report to the ground that the 'Starshield's' close-in reconnaissance behavior has a clear tactical intent. I recommend increasing the passive defense level of the 'Kunlun' station and considering the deployment of orbital early warning units.'

Earth, 'Chasing Light' headquarters.

On the screen in front of Lin Shen, multiple images were displayed side-by-side: on the left were the images and data records of the 'Starshield' approach transmitted by the 'Kunlun' station; in the center were the stable yet unsettling anomalous signal monitoring curves transmitted by 'guanghan-1' after it maintained silence at the lunar south pole; on the right were several reports that had just arrived, bringing good news from various fields.

The first report: The first batch of commercial 'mystic light-1' photonic computing chips had been successfully taped out, with a yield rate reaching an astonishing 98.7%, and performance fully meeting design expectations. This meant that the Dragon Country had established a complete closed loop from design and manufacturing to application in next-generation computing cores, making the cornerstone of the information industry impregnable.

The second report: Decisive breakthroughs had been achieved in Topological Quantum Computing verification experiments. In the high-magnetic field facility in Hefei, the 'Jiuzhang Special Project' team successfully observed and manipulated topological quantum bits composed of multiple 'Majorana fermions.' Their decoherence time far exceeded that of traditional superconducting quantum bits, and logic gate fidelity set a new record. The 'Jiuzhang-3' project was officially approved, aiming directly at a thousand-qubit topological quantum computer with practical error correction capabilities.

The third report: An operational briefing on the 'space bus.' Since the successful maiden flight, 'Starrail Express' had successfully executed seven regular launch missions, sending a total of over 40 tons of various payloads into predetermined orbits. Clients included research institutions and enterprises from over twenty countries and regions worldwide. The launch success rate was 100%, with a 97% on-time rate, and a reputation for being low-cost and reliable was rapidly being established. The 'anti-dumping' investigations and 'technical security' challenges attempted by the Imperial Alliance were making slow progress and facing heavy resistance in the face of detailed cost accounting, technical certifications, and international third-party insurance documents provided by the Dragon Country's Ministry of Commerce.

On the surface, technological breakthroughs and commercial expansion were advancing triumphantly, and the situation was excellent. Good news was pouring in from multiple fronts: energy, information, aerospace, quantum...

But Lin Shen's gaze lingered more on the images on the left and in the center. There lay the hidden iceberg, the reef beneath the calm sea.

'Starshield' has escalated its provocations.

Zhao Zetao walked into the office with a grim expression. 'They aren't just scouting 'Kunlun.' We've monitored that their 'Sentinel' series surveillance platforms have stepped up monitoring and signal analysis on all our in-orbit 'space bus' service modules, and even several 'Magpie Bridge' satellites used for 'Moon Palace' data relay. They are trying to figure out the operational patterns and communication pathways of our entire low-Earth space system. This is technical preparation for potential 'space blockades' or 'surgical strikes'.'

Lin Shen nodded, not surprised by this. Vincent and the Imperial Alliance would not sit idly by and watch the Dragon Country establish such a clear space advantage. The 'Kunlun' station and the 'space bus' network already constituted a substantial 'low Earth orbit presence system,' which, for the Imperial Alliance, which sought to monopolize resources on the Moon and beyond, was a target that had to be suppressed or destroyed.

'What are our countermeasures?' Lin Shen asked.

'The passive defense enhancement plan for the 'Kunlun' station has been submitted, including the installation of more redundant sensors, structural reinforcement of key nodes, and the design of lightweight physical barriers that can be deployed rapidly.' Zhao Zetao reported, 'The design of orbital early warning and defense units, based on the preliminary concepts of the 'vermilion bird-2' upper stage platform and 'Deep Blue' superconducting energy storage technology, has also been completed, but it is still some distance from practical application. More importantly...'

He pulled up a top-secret intelligence summary: 'The Imperial Alliance, in conjunction with the Federation and some allied nations, has just passed the final version of the 'Low Earth orbit Traffic and Safety Initiative'. The core content is simple: any spacecraft or space facility that has not signed this initiative or passed its 'security certification' will be prohibited from accessing the global navigation, communication, and space traffic management networks led or maintained by the member states of the initiative. They gave it a nice name—the 'Starry Sky Firewall'.'

Lin Shen's eyes turned cold. It was here, the anticipated cutting of the ground from under their feet. 'Starry Sky Firewall'—it sounded nice, but it was actually the most direct and vicious method of space fragmentation. Global satellite navigation (such as GPS and the successors to Galileo), major geostationary orbit communication networks, internationally recognized space debris monitoring and collision avoidance information exchange systems... these were the foundational services modern aerospace activities relied upon. Once excluded, all of the Dragon Country's spacecraft, including the 'space bus,' the 'Kunlun' station, and even future lunar missions, would become 'space islands,' forced to rely on their own independent, costly, and limited-coverage backup systems. Their operational efficiency, safety, and even the legitimacy of international cooperation would be severely challenged.

'They want to cut us off from the 'civilized' space system.' Zhao Zetao gritted his teeth.

'It's also paving the way for more aggressive actions they might take.' Lin Shen said in a deep voice. 'Once we are labeled as 'unsafe' and 'uncooperative,' any subsequent restrictions, interference, or even attacks they carry out can be packaged as 'legitimate actions' to 'maintain space order and security'.'

Just then, the personal terminal in front of Lin Shen received a high-priority, independently encrypted message from 'Nuwa.' The message had no content, only a coordinate and a timestamp. The coordinate pointed to the dedicated terminal in his laboratory that was directly connected to the technology tree system.

Lin Shen felt a chill in his heart and said to Zhao Zetao: 'Regarding the 'Starry Sky Firewall', organize a joint response strategy discussion with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Space Agency immediately. The principle is: expose the essence of their trade protectionism and technological hegemony, unite all non-signatory countries and international commercial entities that may be affected by this, and propose the establishment of a truly open, inclusive, and technology-based new international space governance plan. At the same time, accelerate the construction and upgrading of our own backup systems.'

'Understood!' Zhao Zetao went off to carry out the order.

Lin Shen quickly returned to his core laboratory and started the dedicated terminal to connect to the technology tree system.

The light screen unfolded, and the familiar roots and branches emerged. But this time, Lin Shen's breath almost stopped.

The edge of the entire light screen was glowing with an ominous dark red light, as if the system itself was under some kind of invisible pressure. And in the center of the light screen, at the end of the [Interstellar Navigation] branch, which had originally been at the deepest level and shrouded in dense 'technical fog,' the warning text about the Reapers civilization was flashing crazily! Its content had been updated:

'Warning: Large-scale curvature navigation ripple disturbance detected. Source point: Outskirts of the Oort Cloud, azimuth Delta-7. Disturbance intensity surging, pattern analysis match rate increased to 99.3%. Estimated arrival time in the Solar System revised: 49 years, 11 months, 07 days, 14 hours... (digits continuously micro-fluctuating)... Civilization threat assessment: Extinction level (0.72 / 2.00). Emergency recommendation: Elevate civilization combat readiness level.'

The arrival time was becoming more precise! The match rate was increasing! This meant that the Reapers not only existed, but their trajectory was becoming increasingly clear; they were indeed heading toward the Solar System! The fifty-year countdown was not an empty statement!

What alarmed Lin Shen even more was that next to the [Interstellar Navigation] branch, the small branch related to the lunar hollow ruins, [Civilization Contact/Archaeology], was now emitting an extremely faint pulsation, synchronized with that dark red light. It was as if the technology tree system itself had been dual-'activated' or 'warned' due to the passive reception and weak 'disturbance' of the lunar signal by 'guanghan-1,' and the further confirmation of the deep-space Reapers signal.

An unprecedented sense of urgency flooded Lin Shen like ice water. The military standoff and rule fragmentation in low Earth orbit, the eerie signs of awakening of the ancient lunar ruins, plus the encroaching threat of an unknown advanced civilization fifty light-years away...

A triple storm was quietly brewing and approaching, in a way that humans could barely perceive. Yet, within humanity, they were still arguing endlessly and sharpening their knives over interests in low Earth orbit and resources on the lunar surface.

Stupid! Shortsighted! But this was reality.

Lin Shen closed the technology tree system light screen, the dark red warning seemingly still branded on his retinas. He walked to the window; outside, the sky was approaching dusk, and the city lights were lighting up one by one—a scene of peace and prosperity. But in his eyes, beneath this tranquility, crises were lurking everywhere.

He picked up the encrypted communicator and dialed the number that went directly to the highest decision-making level. In the brief busy signal while waiting for the connection, his voice was calm and firm, like quenched steel:

'This is Lin Shen. I request an emergency joint meeting of the highest level. Agenda: First, comprehensive countermeasures against the 'Starry Sky Firewall' and our country's space system self-reliance plan. Second, re-evaluation and response strategies for the latest discoveries of the 'Moon Palace' project and the potential risks of the lunar ruins. Third...'

He paused for a moment, his gaze seemingly piercing through the roof, cast toward the unfathomably deep, starry night sky, and slowly uttered the last and most important sentence:

'...Preliminary discussion on initiating the 'Civilization Survival' level contingency plan, code name... 'Ark and Ember'.'

The storm is coming.

And the Dragon Country must become that ark capable of standing tall in the storm and preserving hope and the future for civilization.

Night fell, and the lights came on.

But those who knew of the Undercurrents could no longer sleep.