Chapter 606 - 594: The Beginning

million yuan, for the base, also saved at least 40% of the cost, indeed it’s a good method.

At this moment, Academician She had an epiphany:

"In fact, we still have a nuclear-powered spaceplane we can use, it can also push the cargo bay."

"Great Wall One? Is it ready to be launched?"

Lin Ju looked puzzled, it was initially said that the Great Wall One was to be equipped with an anti-satellite laser, and a special nuclear reactor was commissioned to New Yuan for production, but the base hadn’t received this order until now.

"The original plan was canceled."

Academician She lowered his voice, and only after seeing that the trio was far away from the crowd did he continue:

"The aerospace plane’s body is too limited, I heard the plan is still to make it into a large satellite independently, to make it bigger, heavier, more powerful, just like the Staecky-M."

Lin Ju glanced at Zhong Cheng, who showed no change in expression, and then he was stunned.

Thousand-Jin Stick Three also took the route of Staecky-M, so... Union technology is leading by thirty years?

"No, wasn’t it said that survival in low orbit is poor, nuclear-powered spaceplanes are highly maneuverable, and satellite networks are expensive to build..."

Academician She exclaimed "Eh", then explained:

"Who says it has to be in low orbit? If the power is high enough, geosynchronous orbit is also possible, and nuclear engines can also be installed on the laser satellite.

As for the networking problem, this thing actually doesn’t need too many."

After he finished speaking, he gave a "you know what I mean" look, and Lin Ju pondered for a moment before he got it.

The domestically manufactured laser satellites definitely aren’t as powerful as the Thousand-Jin Stick Three – just a single-digit number would be needed, at most barely enough to close Thousand-Jin Stick Two. The number of satellites in the network could be around 100.

But if they really plan to launch 100 satellites, then it’s likely that the Third World War is inevitable whether we like it or not.

After all, once fully networked, it signifies the elimination of everyone else’s nuclear retaliation capabilities. Are we expected to spend a huge amount of money to manufacture so many just to watch idly and not use them?

With the protection of the laser satellites, the original nuclear balance has been broken. The side with laser satellites, even if they only have 100 nuclear missiles, at least 90 of them can hit the target.

The others may have 1000, but the number that turns out to be effective may also only be in the single digits.

Such a casualty ratio speaks volumes – it means nuclear war is no longer mutually destructive. If one side decides to risk a major war, even if its own losses are not small, everyone else would be ruins.

One could recover in less than 20 years, the other might not even recover in 200 years; no matter how you look at it, it seems like a very profitable deal.

The best outcome would just be the other parties desperately joining to also create laser satellite networks. But as soon as they realize they can’t keep up, or it’s too late to form a mutually deterring situation, they will unquestionably initiate a nuclear war first.

After all, it’s better to fight to the death than to wait for your own weapons to become completely ineffective.

So, the greatest significance of this thing should be to produce only a small amount, just two or three, or even one is enough, like nuclear weapons, mainly to gain a slightly higher status than the big three and secure more interests, rather than foolishly getting ready to start an all-out war desperately.

After understanding all this, Lin Ju realized what strategic height means – the role of this cutting-edge equipment is far more than the purpose it was designed for.

Then, if he had three or five Thousand-Jin Stick Threes in his hands, wouldn’t he...?

"However, Great Wall One is mainly still a military payload, and its cargo bay is full of confidential equipment that cannot transport cargo, but if we find a way to modify it to push the cargo bay, it’s not a problem.

I heard it is planned to be launched after the New Year, so you guys better not charge us extortionate prices."

"Of course, of course," corrected Lin, "completely no problem.

Look, Chapter 9 is about to land."

The three’s attention was drawn back to Chapter 9; at this time, it was only a few hundred meters from the Moon’s surface, and the dust raised by the engine flow as it blew on the lunar surface was visible in the guiding lights of the Dawn III landing module.

Compared to the great undertaking it was in the midst of, if you don’t look closely, the landing process seems almost indistinguishable from previous landers, as if merely causing more lunar dust to rise.

With an uncharacteristically gentle demeanor, Chapter 9 made contact with the lunar soil, coming to rest right in the center of the landing zone.

Looking at the scales on the four large power modules that doubled as landing legs, it sank just over 30 centimeters into the ground — a flawless landing.

This was thanks to the spider-shaped robots nearby. They had exerted a great deal of effort to clear this landing zone and their already limited mechanical life had been reduced even further.

On Earth, creating this flat ground would take little more than a good fortune and two packs of Zhonghua – a task of an hour for a medium-sized excavator – but these expensive robots had been working tirelessly to achieve this.

The lifespan of the Explorer Series Robots on the Moon typically wasn’t more than a few months, but already half of them have nearly reached the limit of mechanical wear, something unimaginable for spacecraft.

Fortunately, these little fellows, now covered again in lunar dust stirred up by Chapter 9, would soon get a break. Whether it’s the astronaut-like Robot No.2 or the excavator and trucks brought by Chapter 9, they will all greatly outperform in construction efficiency.

After stopping, Chapter 9 remained still for an hour while its various parameters were roughly checked on the ground. After all, it was a huge gadget, weighing over forty tons, with an overwhelmingly large number of checkpoints.

Once it was confirmed that there were no problems, Chapter 9 opened a hatch at the bottom of the craft, touching the lunar surface to form a gentle slope less than 10 degrees.

The electromagnetic valve fastenings that were holding the square cargo released, fulfilling their mission.

The first to move was the excavator cum ore truck at the front, which looked like a regular wheeled excavator with a small cargo bed attached at the back.

The tip of its mechanical arm was more than just a bucket. It extended its arm, rotated and switched at the tip, becoming a nimble mechanical hand.

It first helped itself by removing the loose straps, then slowly moved to other cargoes to do the same, and then the powered ore extraction equipment started moving out of the spaceship, leaving a clear trace on the lunar surface.

Together with the generator vehicles and other scientific apparatuses, there was a total of 14 engine-powered construction vehicles weighing around 5 tons each, looking nearly identical. They emerged from the cargo bay one by one, following the first ore truck headed for the ice mining site several kilometers away in line.

The 14 similar-looking behemoths formed a line, with the rear crushing over the tracks made by the car in front, rapidly creating an impressive mark on the Moon’s surface, much like railway tracks.

Zhong Cheng stared at this scene trance-like; the shock it brought was no less than that of a hydrogen bomb explosion!

A new era had begun.