Chapter 212: Today's Special: Space Food Bun

Brother Hao, Brother Hao, wake up! The rocket is launching today!

In the morning, Wang Hao was awakened by the holographic projection alarm clock on the dormitory ceiling.

"All right, all right, stop howling……" Wang Hao groggily waved his hand to turn off the projection and rolled over.

Three seconds later, the mattress began to vibrate slightly, then the frequency gradually increased.

"Damn it again!" Wang Hao sat up abruptly, "Guangzi! Are you remotely controlling my mattress again?"

The bedside speaker played Chen Guang's voice: "According to your sleep monitoring data, slight vibration wake-up is far more efficient than sound wake-up."

Besides, the launch window is at 7:30, you still have one hour and twenty minutes to eat breakfast, wash up, and get to the control center.

Wang Hao cursed as he got up and put on his work clothes.

When he reached the door, the smart lock automatically identified his identity; as the door slid open, the wall-mounted display popped up today's schedule:

"07:30 Azure Cloud-Heavy One launch, payload: Heavenly Craft Core Cabin Module (mass 118.7 tons)"

"10:00 Coordinated orbital adjustment with Deep Sea Dragon Palace Space Station"

"14:00 Launch of second batch of mechanical arm components"

"19:00 First evaluation meeting of Heavenly Craft construction progress"

Below that was a line of small text: "Cafeteria today's special: space food bun trial version (Zhao Gong's improved formula)"

"Space food bun?" Wang Hao's eyes lit up, "I definitely have to try this!"

There were already quite a few people in the cafeteria.

Li Yang sat in the corner, blueprints spread before him, holding a triangular packaging bag and studying it.

Zhao Kaiyuan held a plate of normal buns and soy milk, looking at Li Yang and shaking his head: "Old Li, you really want to eat that thing?"

"Just a test." Li Yang tore open the packaging; inside was a gray-brown block, which smelled…… not particularly strange.

He took a bite.

"How is it?" Wang Hao leaned over.

"It tastes a bit like compressed biscuits, but softer." Li Yang took another bite.

"The calories should be sufficient, though it's a bit dry."

"Zhao Gong has already revised the formula three times." Chen Guang appeared at some point, holding a tablet.

"The first version was too sweet, the second too salty; this version is said to be very close to the texture of normal food."

"One packet provides enough nutrition to meet an adult male's eight‑hour standard energy expenditure, plus vitamins and mineral supplements."

Wang Hao grabbed a packet, tore it open, and stuffed it into his mouth: "Mmm… not bad! It's a bit like the sesame candy I ate as a kid!"

"That's because Zhao Gong actually added sesame powder." Chen Guang pulled up the formula.

"It also contains peanuts, oats, and soy protein fiber."

"Most importantly, it can be safely eaten in the microgravity environment of space, and it won't produce crumbs that contaminate equipment."

"What about lunch?" Wang Hao asked while chewing, "Can't we eat this for all three meals a day?"

"Lunch is normal." Chen Guang pointed to another window.

"But Zhao Gong suggests that, during the Heavenly Craft construction, all engineers entering space must first adapt to space food."

"So starting today, the cafeteria will provide a new trial version every day."

"What about tomorrow?"

"It's said to be a Kung Pao chicken‑flavored compressed block."

Wang Hao: "... I'm starting to miss instant noodles."

At 7:10, everyone arrived at the launch control center.

On the big screen, the Azure Cloud-Heavy One rocket was already erected on the launch pad.

This is a heavy‑duty variant of the Qingyun series, with the fuselage thickened by 40%, using four fusion propulsion engines in parallel, giving it a staggering lift capacity of 120 tons—enough to send a small building into low Earth orbit.

"Final checks on all systems." came the order from the main control console.

"Propulsion system normal."

"Navigation system normal."

"Payload secured normally."

"Heavenly Craft core cabin life signs monitoring……normal."

The last item was a bit special.

Because the core cabin had already been pre‑installed with a simplified life‑support system, plus twelve construction robots.

They will automatically activate after orbit insertion and begin construction work.

"One minute to go."

Wang Hao rubbed his hands: "It's starting, it's starting! Humanity's first orbital shipyard!"

"Strictly speaking, the Deep Sea Dragon Palace also has construction capability." Chen Guang corrected.

"But Heavenly Craft is the first to combine professional‑grade, large‑scale capability with the ability to build multiple large spacecraft simultaneously in orbit."

"That makes it the first!" Wang Hao insisted.

"Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one—ignition!"

A pale blue fusion tail flame spewed out, the rocket slowly lifted off, its acceleration smooth as an elevator rising.

"This thrust control…" Zhao Kaiyuan praised.

"With four engines in parallel you can achieve this stability—your team really put in the work, Haozi."

"Of course it is!" Wang Hao gloated.

"Each engine has its own independent control system, coordinated by Torch Dragon. Thrust deviation is kept within 0.03 per mille—finer than embroidery!"

The rocket climbed rapidly, and within a minute it had become a tiny bright spot in the sky.

The big screen switched to the rocket view, and the Earth's curvature could be seen unfolding below.

"First-stage separation…… second-stage ignition…… entering transfer orbit."

The whole process went smoothly.

Eight minutes later, the rocket reached the planned altitude: a higher orbit fifty kilometers from the "Deep Sea Dragon Palace".

This distance both avoids construction interference with the space station and facilitates the transport of materials and personnel.

"Core module release."

"Autonomous navigation activated."

"Docking procedure started."

On the screen, the cylindrical core module slowly rotated, adjusting its attitude.

Fifty kilometers away, the Dragon Palace Space Station had extended its docking arm, like waiting for a late guest.

"Docking countdown: ten seconds."

Li Yang held his breath.

Although the ground had been simulated countless times, the space environment always had variables—micrometeoroids, orbital debris, solar wind……

"Three, two, one—dock!"

The sound of the mechanical lock engaging came through the sensors, slightly dull but clear.

"Airtightness test…… passed."

"Power line connection…… passed."

"Data link established…… passed."

"Now it really begins." Feng Yan's voice came from the rear, "Open the core module and release the robots."

The order was given.

The core module's shell opened like petals, revealing the internal structure.

Twelve construction robots slid out from the grid, extending their limbs in the microgravity environment.

They resembled the Heavenly Clerk's mechanical arm, but were sturdier, each arm having seven degrees of freedom, with the ends able to quickly switch tools.

"Activate the Heavenly Craft Construction Agreement First Sequence." Chen Guang operated the console.