169: Chapter 169: Six Thousand Lines of Code Concluded, The Eve of Lunar Reclamation Ignition!

Alien civilization voyage countdown, day fifty-two.

Pangu Laboratory, Level B2, 3:00 PM.

The line count of the code repository stopped at 6,091.

Su Che sealed the last function interface, leaned his neck back, and his cervical vertebrae cracked twice.

The underlying control architecture of the Sub-nanometer lithography all-in-one machine—the quantum field generator driver layer, the atomic beam separation layer, the deposition path planning layer, and the fifth-order compensation algorithm layer—all four layers were completed.

The only thing left blank was the calibration module at the end.

A 6.8-picometer deviation lay quietly in the simulation log, waiting for a yet-to-be-born Sub-nanometer chip to fill it.

Zhao Mingyuan leaned over from his workstation on the left, staring at the architectural topology diagram on Su Che's screen for two seconds.

"All four layers sealed?"

"The bones are built, but the flesh hasn't grown yet." Su Che locked the architecture document into the encrypted storage. "The optical path design and deposition layout plan will be integrated starting tomorrow; those two parts are the real time-consumers."

Zhao Mingyuan picked up a crumpled ball of draft paper from the table and smoothed it out.

It was densely packed with topology optimization formulas for the auxiliary field source, with three red lines crossed through the last row.

"I expanded the auxiliary field source from four groups to eight, with an asymmetrical layout."

He tapped his fingernail on the red lines. "The non-uniformity of the edge gradient can be suppressed by another 15%, and the static compensation limit can be reduced from 6.8 picometers to 5.7."

"5.7 is still within the noise range of quantum fluctuations."

"But it leaves more margin for the subsequent dynamic calibration."

Zhao Mingyuan pushed the draft paper over. "After the chip is produced, the less computing power the calibration module consumes, the lower the power consumption of the entire machine, and the less pressure there will be on thermal management during on-orbit operation."

Su Che took the draft paper and scanned the derivation process.

There was a step in the middle that jumped too quickly, but the conclusion was sound.

"Can the improved compensation algorithm be encapsulated tonight?"

"Three hours."

Su Che folded the draft paper and tucked it into his jacket pocket. "Once it's encapsulated, push it directly to simulation; give me the results tomorrow morning."

Zhao Mingyuan turned back to his workstation, the wheels of his chair screeching briefly against the alloy floor.

A sound of metal colliding came from the other side of the hall.

Liu Huaqiang's lunar energy station team occupied one-third of the east side of Level B2.

Ten workstations were arranged in a U-shaped array, with a scaled-down model of the Controlled Nuclear Fusion reactor set up in the open space in the middle.

The model was half a person tall, its beryllium-copper alloy shell polished until it shone, and the terminals of the high-temperature superconducting coils extended from the top, wrapped three times with red electrical tape.

Wen Bo was squatting next to the model, gripping a torque wrench in his hand, tightening the fixing bolts of the base.

An enamel mug was placed half a meter away on the floor, mouth facing up, with a few dried goji berries soaking inside.

"Bolt torque is 32 Newton-meters."

Wen Bo finished tightening the last one, stood up, and shook his hands.

"Lunar surface gravity is one-sixth of Earth's. The same torque is equivalent to only 5.3 Newton-meters on the Moon; the preload force between the structural components won't be enough."

Liu Huaqiang walked over from the corner of the U-shaped array, holding a mechanical pencil, the cap of which had been lost somewhere.

"Increase the bolt specifications?"

"Change the locking method."

Wen Bo rummaged through the toolbox and pulled out a palm-sized part sample—a silver-white ring structure with spiral grooves carved into the inner wall.

"Self-locking wedge washers. Once tightened, the wedge surfaces lock together; they won't come loose under vibration or low preload environments. There are mature solutions for this on Earth, so we can just purchase them."

Liu Huaqiang took the washer sample and flipped it over. "Replace all the fasteners for the entire reactor structure?"

"Replace them all, 3,400 of them." Wen Bo put the torque wrench back into the toolbox. "I've already sent the purchase list to Zhou Dehai; Kaitian Base will place the order on our behalf, and it will arrive the day after tomorrow."

Su Che walked over just in time to hear the last sentence.

"Is the reactor structure finalized?"

Liu Huaqiang tucked the mechanical pencil behind his ear. "The structure is set. The Helium-3 cryogenic separation module finished its vacuum seal re-test this afternoon, and the second version of the neutron shielding layer, which Wen Bo added 5% thickness to, has also passed accelerated aging tests."

"What's left?"

"The final assembly plan."

Liu Huaqiang opened an A4-sized bound document and flipped to a dog-eared page in the middle.

"We still need to verify the final assembly sequence and interface protocols for the four subsystems: the reactor, the separation module, the shielding layer, and the temperature control system. Academician Li's lunar surface thermal stress compensation coefficients were promised the day after tomorrow two days ago, and today is the third day."

Academician Li Zhengyang's voice drifted over from the direction of the folding table.

"I gave them."

Liu Huaqiang turned his head.

Academician Li Zhengyang was walking over, carrying a thermos, holding a piece of printed paper in his other hand.

"The lunar surface day-night temperature difference is 270 degrees, and the reactor operating temperature is 15,000 degrees."

He placed the paper on the document in front of Liu Huaqiang. "Third-order thermal expansion compensation coefficients, accurate to the seventh decimal place, accompanied by a set of structural stress correction matrices for the lunar low-gravity environment."

"There's one more matrix than we agreed on." Liu Huaqiang scanned the data.

"It was just a quick task." Academician Li Zhengyang took a sip of water, and the latch of the cup lid clicked shut.

Su Che took the printed paper and looked at the values at the end; the dimension of the correction matrix was one order higher than he had estimated, but it covered a wider range of operating conditions.

"When can the final assembly plan be locked?"

"Tomorrow." Liu Huaqiang took the mechanical pencil from behind his ear and wrote a time in the blank space of the document.

Su Che returned the printed paper to Liu Huaqiang and turned to walk toward the main control console.

Passing by the communal dining table, there was a row of paper cups on the table, each with a straw inserted.

Lin Waner must have stopped by at some point, as there was a sticky note pressed next to the cups.

Written in ballpoint pen: "Sour plum soup, there's another pitcher in the fridge."

Su Che picked up a cup and took a sip.

Sweet and sour, chilled but not too cold, just right for quenching thirst.

He carried the cup back to the main control console and casually switched on the real-time space feed on the monitoring wall.

The shell laying of the Dry Dock's enclosed assembly module had already covered most of the skeleton, with the dark gray heat shield reflecting a matte white on the sunlit side, and the remaining open areas concentrated in the rear propulsion module and the top docking module.

Five hundred silver-gray robots were packed even more densely on the shrinking work surface; the scheduling algorithm had self-iterated to the ninth version, and the path planning accuracy of each robot had improved by 60% compared to the first version.

At this rate of laying, the space Dry Dock would soon be completely capped.

Su Che placed the sour plum soup cup in a spot where it wouldn't be knocked over by his elbow and pulled the keyboard toward him.

The technical documentation for the Sub-nanometer optical path design had been unlocked.

He opened the document and began reading line by line from the first page.

The wavelength of the quantum coherent state light field was three orders of magnitude shorter than extreme ultraviolet.

The surface roughness of every reflective mirror in the optical path had to be controlled to below 0.01 nanometers.

The lens substrate had to be ultra-high purity single-crystal substrate, with molecular-level polishing.

There were no more than five pieces of equipment on Earth capable of achieving this polishing precision globally.

He pulled up his contact list and dialed a number.

The sound of wind from Jiuquan Launch Base came through the receiver.

"Academician Sun." Su Che pushed a screenshot of the lens parameters from the optical path design document. "How many pieces of equipment globally can perform molecular-level polishing on ultra-high purity single-crystal substrates?"

Academician Sun Qiwen's voice carried the dryness characteristic of the desert region. "Germany has two, Sakura Country has one, and we have two ourselves—one at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, and one at the Aerospace Science and Industry Chengdu branch."

"What about production capacity?"

"A single machine polishes one substrate at a time, with a cycle of 48 hours. The complete Sub-nanometer lithography all-in-one machine requires twelve primary mirror substrates."

Academician Sun Qiwen flipped through something on his end, the paper rustling. "With both machines running, we can finish them all in about 25 days."

"Too slow."

"Can we rent the two in Germany?"

"I'll have Qin Lan ask through diplomatic channels." Su Che noted down the numbers. "Lock in the production schedule for the two domestic machines first; all other tasks must give way."

"Understood."

The call ended.

Su Che wrote the production cycle for the lens substrates into the project Gantt chart.

He switched back to the code repository and typed a line of comments above the header of the first function in the optical path design module—

// Optical path core: 12 primary mirrors, surface roughness ≤ 0.01 nm, substrate molecular-level polishing, production cycle...

His fingers hovered over the keyboard for two seconds.

The encrypted handheld device in his pocket vibrated.

A message from Jiang Yingxue.

"Channels in the six Southeast Asian countries are fully opened. As of today, the global cumulative shipment of Star Sea Glasses has reached 1.2 billion units, and daily active users have exceeded 1.1 billion."

Su Che pulled up the virtual ecosystem independent point pool in his consciousness.

2.31 million.

It had been steadily rising, but it was much slower than at the beginning. Emotional value is just about novelty; it will only get slower later on.

It was still 690,000 short of the 3 million exchange threshold.

At this acceleration, it would take a little over two weeks.

In a week or two, the optical path design and deposition layout plan for the lithography machine should be about finished.

The first batch of polished lens substrates should be ready too.

The Dry Dock would be capped soon as well.

All the gears were turning on their respective tracks at different speeds, but the finish line would converge in the same time window.

Su Che placed his phone face down on the desk.

The sour plum soup was finished.

He pushed the empty cup aside, his fingers landed back on the keyboard, and he began writing the first line of control code for the Sub-nanometer optical path design module.

On the east side of Level B2, a burst of brief applause suddenly rang out from Liu Huaqiang's team.

Su Che tilted his head.

Wen Bo stood next to the reactor model, holding his enamel mug in front of his chest.

Ten researchers formed a semi-circle.

The bound document in Liu Huaqiang's hand was flipped to the last page, and he made a stroke in the signature box with his mechanical pencil.

"Small-scale lunar Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy station, reactor structure final blueprints, finalized."

Wen Bo tapped the model shell with his enamel mug, and the beryllium-copper alloy emitted a crisp hum.

"Next step: final assembly plan." Liu Huaqiang closed the document. "We'll lock the interface protocols tomorrow and run the full system integrated simulation the day after."

Su Che looked away.

On the monitoring wall, the last few heat shield panels for the rear propulsion module of the space Dry Dock were being moved into place by robots.

The blueprints for the lunar energy station reactor were set.

The underlying architecture of the lithography machine was sealed.

The optical path design had just begun.

He continued writing code.

The air conditioning vent on Level B2 changed direction, and the black line on the whiteboard that divided "Sub-nanometer lithography" and "Lunar development" swayed slightly in the breeze.

Two lines were running.

The Dry Dock 400 kilometers overhead was growing.

The Moon, 380,000 kilometers away, was waiting.

The water stain from the sour plum soup cup next to Su Che slowly evaporated on the alloy desk.