Chapter 67

As soon as the meeting ended, everyone got up and left.

Qin Hao and Cheng Haitang had just reached the door when a somewhat urgent voice called out to them.

"Comrade Qin Hao, please wait a moment!"

The two turned around and saw a man about fifty years old quickly walking over.

He was the head of the Aerospace Department—Huang Qishan.

"Oh, it's Minister Huang! What do you need?"

Qin Hao immediately recognized him; just earlier in the meeting, he had raised several key opinions on launch and communication issues.

"Ah, don't call me Minister; just call me Old Huang. I came to you because I need your help."

Huang Qishan waved his hand and then stated his purpose.

"Minister Huang, you want me to copy some equipment, right?" Qin Hao said with a smile.

"That's right, it's about the communications relay satellite. The higher-ups want us to quickly deploy a communications link on the far side of the Moon, building a brand‑new satellite from scratch,

then test and debug it; even at the fastest it would take a year and a half—too long, we can't wait."

"Fortunately, a relay satellite was already produced yesterday; we want you to copy one and, by the way, optimize it."

"No problem, let's go there now!"

Half an hour later, a red‑flag car with a special license plate smoothly entered the grounds of the aerospace launch center in the suburbs of Beijing.

Under Huang Qishan's guidance, Qin Hao and Cheng Haitang passed through several security checkpoints and arrived at a spacious assembly workshop.

Inside the workshop, a satellite stood silently.

It was entirely covered with a golden polyimide film, its structure complex and precise, bearing various antennas and sensors.

"This is the Xingqiao series relay satellite, measuring 5×5×6 meters and weighing 7.5 tons; it just came off the line not long ago."

Huang Qishan looked at the satellite, his eyes filled with pride and emotion.

"To build it, we spent a full year and a half and over a billion in funds; every component on it is the crystallization of countless people's hard work."

After finishing the introduction, he finally remembered the main point, turned a bit embarrassed toward Qin Hao, and asked with a hint of uncertainty:

"Comrade Qin Hao, do we have enough Energy Points to copy this high‑tech big guy?"

In his view, since this national heavyweight cost over ten billion, copying it would certainly require a lot of energy.

Qin Hao checked the Energy Points reserve, which showed 1.85 billion.

"It should be enough; I'll scan and find out."

Having said that, he began to operate silently.

【Target scan completed: Xingqiao relay communications satellite, Energy Points required for copying: 12.8 million.】

Over ten million?

Qin Hao himself was stunned.

Compared to the total, it's still quite cheap.

"Minister Huang, just 12.8 million Energy Points will be more than enough."

Qin Hao gave an affirmative answer.

"Then let's begin!" Huang Qishan nodded.

Afterward, Qin Hao made no extra movements; he simply focused his gaze on the satellite before him.

The next second, an identical relay satellite appeared out of thin air three meters beside the prototype.

"Hiss…"

Throughout the assembly workshop, a chorus of gasps rose.

The core researchers seeing this for the first time rubbed their eyes hard, wondering if they were hallucinating from overtime work.

Huang Qishan appeared calm on the surface, but his inner self was equally shocked!

This was also his first time seeing Qin Hao copy an object.

"Indeed, it's super‑black technology beyond our current comprehension…" he exclaimed, his gaze toward Qin Hao unusually bright.

"By the way, Xiao Qin, where is the optimization plan?"

Huang Qishan suddenly remembered this and asked urgently.

"Minister Huang, don't rush; have someone bring a computer over, and I'll transmit the plan right away."

Soon this was all done.

"This is the optimization plan given by the system." Qin Hao handed the computer to Huang Qishan.

"You can study it to see how much performance has improved, and by the way upgrade the original one as well."

"Good, good, good!"

Huang Qishan, as if he had found a treasure, immediately called over several researchers,

"Old Zhou, Old Lao, quickly hook the data up to the supercomputer and start modeling analysis right away!"

"Okay!"

After the response, a group of people sprang into action, with Qin Hao and the others following closely.

In less than ten minutes, the analysis results came out.

One researcher, face flushed with excitement, pointed at the numbers on the screen and shouted:

"This new array antenna design boosts signal gain by 1.5 times over the original! Moreover, the beam is more focused, and anti‑interference capability is at least an order of magnitude stronger!"

"And the power module!"

Another researcher also exclaimed, "It has optimized the photoelectric conversion coating and internal power logic of the solar sail panels, reducing overall energy consumption by 90%!"

"This means that, under the same conditions, the satellite's on‑orbit operational life can be extended by at least five years!"

"Most crucially, the communications encryption module employs a new quantum error‑correction algorithm; theoretically, at present no technology in the world can break its communications!"

The improvements in various performance made Huang Qishan's heart surge.

He looked at the optimization plan as if viewing a perfect artwork.

"How long would it take to remodel the original satellite according to this plan?"

Huang Qishan asked, suppressing his excitement.

A production engineer quickly assessed and replied:

"Most of the materials we already have; only some core components need to be remade and polished. After everything is done and tested, the fastest we can do is half a month."

Half a month — this speed is already quite fast.

"Well, we have the satellite, but the rocket to launch it also needs to be prepared in advance; it looks like I'll need your help."

Huang Qishan said while looking at Qin Hao.

The meaning went without saying.

"Then let's not waste time, Minister Huang, take me there."

Thus Huang Qishan led Qin Hao, they took an internal vehicle, straight through the park, heading to another place — the Rocket Final Assembly Building.

This building stands over a hundred meters tall, its massive sliding doors open.

Upon entering, an overwhelming sense of awe hit them.

A snow‑white rocket, its exterior emblazoned with a bright red flag and the words 'Pioneer', stood silently on the huge mobile launch platform.

It was like a sword about to pierce the heavens, pointing straight to the horizon; a person standing at its base felt as tiny as an ant.

Around it were many scaffolds and various testing equipment.

"This is our country's standard launch vehicle, the Pioneer series."

Huang Qishan looked up at this steel beast and continued: 'Its low‑Earth orbit payload capacity can reach twenty‑five tons, and for a lunar transfer orbit it can deliver over eight tons.'

But this giant is extremely precious and also very complex. Before each launch, from component inspection to fueling to final vertical assembly, completing all the process, even a month is considered the fastest speed.

He turned his head, his gaze burning as he looked at Qin Hao.

"I understand, Minister Huang." Qin Hao nodded, his eyes scanning the rocket.

The previous operation began.