244: Chapter 244 Su Che went wild, and the fourth gate demanded a hundred pilots!

The door closed, and the hall fell silent again.

Su Che pushed his chair back into place and started walking in the other direction.

The third door.

That hunk of metal, which had been locked for twenty-four hours, had long since passed its cooling period.

Ye Zhiqiu's group of twenty had already arrived, huddled in twos and threes in front of the door; some were sketching on notebooks, while others were crouching down, cross-referencing some data.

Su Che walked over, and Ye Zhiqiu emerged from the crowd.

"Chief Engineer Su, I've reviewed the rules for the door. The thirty-six celestial bodies are ordered by gravitational hierarchy; one mistake results in a twenty-four-hour lockout."

"I made a mistake on the fourth one last time," Su Che admitted bluntly.

Ye Zhiqiu didn't pick up on that, instead handing over his draft notebook filled with formulas.

"There are three compound gravitational wells in this star map. Conventional mass-based ranking doesn't apply; we have to redefine the hierarchy using tensor field decomposition."

Su Che took it and flipped through two pages, all of which was mathematics he understood but couldn't calculate.

"Are you sure?"

"I've cross-checked it with four people in the group; the logic is self-consistent."

Su Che returned the notebook to him. "Then let's do it."

For the rest of the day, the twenty people split into four groups and took turns.

Ye Zhiqiu led the theoretical framework, Shang Guanli was responsible for running quantum field theory calculations, Roger Hamilton was on the side capturing boundary conditions for spacetime structure parameters, and Lin Yanqiu handled the final physical condition check.

The others helped out by moving data, flipping through materials, and running to confirm certain fundamental constants with the Kairos experts.

Su Che listened in the whole time but couldn't get a word in.

What these people were discussing was already beyond his knowledge base; understanding sixty percent of it was already quite good.

But he didn't leave.

The group of twenty argued, tore things down and started over; someone wrote a whole page on the whiteboard, only to erase it all and start deriving from a new line of thought.

There were two disagreements in the middle.

One was a fundamental disagreement between Shang Guanli and Roger Hamilton on how to handle the radiation term of a certain gravitational potential well.

Ye Zhiqiu didn't favor either side, letting both of them run a complete derivation and letting the results speak for themselves.

Roger's version included an extra correction term, and the resulting sequence had two fewer celestial body conflicts.

Shang Guanli scratched the back of his head. "Fine, I concede."

The entire day was spent in this high-density academic collision.

By the time Su Che checked the time again, it was already evening.

Ye Zhiqiu wrote the final sorting plan on a separate sheet of paper, listing the thirty-six numbers in a column from top to bottom, with the derivation basis noted for every step.

He walked to the door and started dragging the light spots on the star map one by one.

The first one, correct.

The second one, correct.

By the fourth one, Su Che's heart was beating faster than anyone else's present.

That was where he had died last time.

Ye Zhiqiu dragged the fourth one into position and let go.

A green light shone.

The twelfth one, correct.

The twentieth one, correct.

The thirty-fifth one—

Everyone crowded around, the corridor packed full.

Ye Zhiqiu steadily dragged the last light spot into the preset position.

The entire star map lit up with a soft white light simultaneously, the thirty-six light spots connected into a grid and slowly sank into the door panel.

The door opened.

The twenty people erupted into irrepressible cheers.

Su Che walked in first.

The space behind the door was several times larger than the medical cabin.

The ceiling was over ten meters high, with a full band of warm yellow light embedded at the top; the moment he stepped inside, his entire skeletal frame felt relaxed.

Ye Zhiqiu led the group in behind him, and everyone's pace slowed down.

This place had a style completely different from the cold functional cabins before it.

The floor was soft, with a bounce when stepped on, and the texture against the soles of his feet was excessively warm and gentle.

On the left was a row of semi-arc independent cabins; peeking inside through the observation windows on the doors, each room had a floating seat with a giant curved projection screen directly in front.

Su Che pushed open a cabin door and walked in.

The seat automatically adjusted its height and curvature, catching his back perfectly.

The projection screen lit up, and the Kairos text on the interface had already been translated into Chinese by the Genesis language system.

"Interstellar Standard Cinema, supports full-sensory immersive projection, adjustable gravity matching."

Su Che read it twice.

These Kairos people installed a cinema on a warship?

He backed out and continued walking inside.

The central area was more open, with several semi-transparent oval cabins hanging, each capable of holding one adult lying flat.

A few words on the instruction plate: Full-sensory gaming pod.

Su Che glanced at the technical parameters; neural signal direct connection, fully synchronized physical sensation, virtual scene precision at the molecular level.

The VR equipment existing on Earth was just a toy compared to this thing.

Further back was an extremely open space, with the ceiling pulled straight up to twenty meters.

Gravity-adaptive sports area.

Each block could independently adjust gravity parameters, from a minimum of 0.1 G to a maximum of 5 G.

Next to the sports area was a cross-species social lounge, fully equipped with sofas, a bar, beverage machines, and chess tables; the design was in the aesthetic style of Kairos, but the functions were recognizable at a glance.

In the innermost area, Su Che's nose twitched the moment he stepped in.

Catering support area.

It was completely different from the buffet counter in the living area; here, there was a full set of cooking surfaces, storage cabinets, spice racks, and a set of sophisticated heating stoves.

You could cook for yourself in this place.

Su Che stood in front of that row of gleaming stoves and watched for a long while.

Who would do the cooking?

Himself? The last time he cooked was in Su Family Village, where a plate of scrambled eggs almost cost him the whole wok.

Those Kairos scientists? They had lived for thousands of years studying cosmic physics, not stir-frying.

Earth's scientists? Academician Zhong was nearly eighty; you couldn't have the old man holding a spatula.

The mothership lacked logistics personnel, and this problem could no longer be hidden.

Su Che turned around; the group of twenty was scattered across various functional areas, looking around like country bumpkins who hadn't seen the world.

"Are you all done looking?"

Ye Zhiqiu walked back from the gaming cabin area. "Chief Engineer Su, we're done."

"Alright, your group has worked all day, go get some rest. Continue learning from the Kairos experts tomorrow."

Ye Zhiqiu led the team away.

The hall was empty.

Su Che stood alone under the warm light, thinking about when he had last truly caught a break, but he couldn't recall.

He opened the lid of a full-sensory gaming pod and lay inside.

The lid closed.

All external information was cut off.

A starry sky surged in from all directions, and beneath his feet was the surface of an unfamiliar planet, with purple vegetation stretching to the edge of the horizon.

The wind carried an indescribable herbal scent into his nostrils.

From his scalp to his toes, every taut string in his body went slack.

Su Che wandered around that virtual planet for nearly an hour, watched an alien sunset, and tried jumping in the low-gravity environment, with every leap floating over twenty meters high.

His legs were a bit soft when he left the cabin, but his mental state was more than a notch better.

He detoured into the gravity sports area, twisted the gravity to 1.5 G, and forced himself to run two kilometers; every step felt like it was filled with lead, and he was soaked in sweat by the end.

Finally, he went to the beverage machine in the lounge, pressed buttons for a long time, and produced a drink of unknown composition—sweet and sour, ice-cold, and after gulping it down, he felt alive again.

Su Che curled up on the sofa and picked up the communicator to call General Shen Wangchuan.

"General Shen."

"Chief Engineer Su, what's happened again?" The voice on the other end carried a conditioned alertness.

"Good news." Su Che switched the communicator to his other hand. "The third door of the mothership opened today. It's a crew leisure and entertainment area, fully equipped with a cinema, gaming pods, sports fields, and a restaurant."

"Hmm."

"But there's a problem. The ship is currently lacking logistics personnel. Those doing research are busy with research, those unlocking doors are busy unlocking doors, but there isn't a single person to cook, clean, or serve tea and water."

He propped one foot on the sofa armrest.

"Help me arrange one hundred logistics personnel to come up. Chefs, cleaners, service staff, daily maintenance—I need them all. Have them sign the highest-level confidentiality agreement and gather at Xishan Military Airport the day after tomorrow. Have Kaila pick them up in five trips again."

"One hundred people? Fine, I'll pull them directly from the troops and send you the best."

Su Che laughed. "We need people to do cleaning and service work; it might not be appropriate to have soldiers doing that."

"As soldiers, they obey all military orders; there is nothing they can't do." General Shen Wangchuan's tone on the other end was as hard as a nail. "Wouldn't it be fine if you just transferred more female soldiers up there?"

Su Che pondered for a moment. Soldiers had naturally high discipline, and there was no need to expend extra effort training them on confidentiality awareness; it was indeed less worrying and less work.

"Fine, I'll listen to you. Soldiers are indeed more obedient, and there's less trouble."

He changed the subject. "Also, how is the situation with Lieutenant General Peng?"

"He left the ICU yesterday and is very stable now. The doctor says he can likely be discharged in two weeks."

Su Che hummed in acknowledgment.

General Shen Wangchuan continued, "Actually, those academicians who were working with you have basically all been discharged. One by one, they've come to find me, clamoring to continue working with you."

"Especially Academician Sun Qiwen, Academician Li Zhengyang, Academician Zhao Mingyuan, Academician Qian Zhenhua, and Wen Bo—they block my office every day, even more persistently than petitioners."

Su Che leaned against the sofa, tapping his fingers on the armrest twice.

"Tell them that Earth needs them more to build the Interstellar Village and enter the next era. Things will be in full swing in Su Family Village soon, and they can learn more by working with the Kairos experts."

He paused. "Working anywhere is for the sake of human civilization; it doesn't make much difference whether they are on the mothership or not."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"I will pass that on."

"One last thing." Su Che sat up straight. "Has the construction plan for the Su Family Village Interstellar Village been released?"

"The preliminary plan is out. The national infrastructure task force is being mobilized to Su Family Village, and the advance team has already arrived." General Shen Wangchuan changed the subject. "By the way, about your father, do you need to tell him the truth?"

Su Che thought of the old man in Su Family Village who spent the whole year chasing chickens and ducks in the yard, and it took him two seconds to speak.

"You should tell him, so he doesn't keep thinking I've gone missing."

"Understood."

The call ended.

...

The next morning.

By the time Su Che arrived at the main control hall, the second group was already waiting in front of the fourth door.

Su Wanxing was leading the team; she was the director of the Deep Space Exploration Department of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Dragon Kingdom, in her early forties, a woman of few words and efficient actions.

Su Che fished a data disk he had prepared earlier from his pocket and handed it over.

"Follow the rules. Insert the data disk, look at the questions, and solve them. The failure penalty only existed for the previous door; this door shouldn't have a failure penalty mechanism."

Su Wanxing took it. "Understood."

She turned and inserted the data disk into the reading panel.

The data stream ran for a few minutes, and a set of questions appeared on the door panel: twelve derivation problems regarding the basic energy topology of a Level 3 Civilization. You had to get them all right to pass.

Su Wanxing recorded the questions and turned back to assign tasks to the group members.

Su Che watched from the side for a few more minutes, confirmed that the process was running normally, and walked away.

He went to find Kaila and finalized the route and rhythm for picking up people tomorrow: five trips, back and forth with batches of twenty people.

...

Another day passed, early in the morning.

The shuttle took off and headed toward Earth.

Kaila made five round trips, sending all one hundred logistics personnel from Xishan Military Airport to the Genesis.

They were all in military uniform, half men and half women; the oldest was in his early thirties, and the youngest was just twenty.

The moment they stepped onto the mothership, everyone's reaction was exactly the same as when the scientists had come up earlier—their feet were nailed to the spot, not knowing where to step.

Su Che didn't show his face, leaving everything for Kaila to arrange.

The chefs went into the catering support area and the living area buffet section, cleaners were assigned by floor zones, and service and maintenance positions were filled in wherever there was space.

There was also a batch that couldn't be placed yet; they were told to follow along and get familiar with the layout of the unlocked areas.

No rush; there were still over ninety doors behind, and every time one opened, there would be a pile of work.

On the same day.

The progress of the second group was steadily advancing.

For the twelve derivation questions, Su Wanxing led the team in grinding from yesterday morning until noon today, and they took down the first eleven.

They were stuck on the last one for two hours, but a scientist specializing in quantum computing changed their line of thinking and bypassed it.

In the afternoon.

Su Che was flipping through materials in the rest cabin when Kaila called out from outside the door.

"Chief, the second group reports that the fourth door has been unlocked."

Su Che closed what was in his hand, pushed the door open, and went with Kaila to the fourth door.

Su Wanxing was standing at the door, and the state of the twenty people behind her was much more relaxed than Ye Zhiqiu's group had been when they opened the third door yesterday.

Without the pressure of a penalty, doing the questions was just doing the questions; the mentality was completely different.

"Good work." Su Che beckoned to Su Wanxing.

The door had already opened a crack, and cold white light shone from within.

Su Che reached out to push the door open and walked in.

Less than ten minutes later, after finishing his look around, he came out.

He dialed General Shen Wangchuan's private line.

"General Shen, sorry to trouble you again."

"Speak."

Su Che held the communicator steady, his voice unable to suppress the excitement.

"A good thing has been unlocked this time."

"You need to get one hundred of the best pilots up here for me."