Chapter 637 - 621 Alarm

"Hmm, truly a stunning desolation. Which direction is the lighthouse you mentioned?"

Jamie stood atop the highest nearby hill, gazing into the distance, but he could only see the grey-white lunar surface and the boundless darkness of space, with a few stars of higher brightness scattered about.

Unlike the fledgling scale of Yushu No.1 Base, this time they had landed near a mining area, with the only remnants being those left by the Skylight II mission. The few days of exploratory tasks relied solely on the Jiuzhang Spaceship.

"It’s two hundred kilometers from here, Jamie, and even with the Moon’s curvature, you can’t see it. Even if it were tall enough, the light would fade to a level that human eyes can’t observe."

"All right, but you will surely see the flash from the nuclear explosion over there. I hope you have your protective measures in place."

The one talking to Jamie was Yang Xinjun, who had taken two lunar rovers along with his assistant and two astronauts and was carrying out inspections and collecting samples along a predetermined route, leaving Jamie all by himself.

He was now using a telescope to observe the terrain, comparing it with satellite maps in his memory to confirm the location of the mining field and to choose a site for the test explosion.

He had to determine a few options first, then swiftly review them with a consortium of five experts before carrying out an on-site inspection, aiming to gather as much data as possible during the explosion.

Jamie hopped along the mountain range searching for the best observation point, suddenly envying the motorcycles equipped on Artemis III.

Although his spacesuit was quite light and made it easy to move, it still required more physical effort than on Earth, thinking that it would be nice to have a motorcycle for the next resupply.

"Captain, what if something happens to him, leaving him there alone?"

Yang Xinjun’s assistant couldn’t help but ask, harboring some resentment towards the foreigner who had almost cost his mentor his job.

Using a hydrogen bomb for road construction may sound far-fetched, but on the Moon, it was indeed feasible, reducing a considerable amount of work even if not all of it.

Moreover, this proposal was also known on the ground, and for such a cost-reducing method, United Mining was extremely interested; after all, getting a nuclear bomb was not much trouble.

It was just that without supporting empirical data, the actual effect couldn’t be confirmed, and if it proved to be feasible, the two road-building teams that had played a significant role might suffer undue misfortune.

Deng Lei could clearly hear the complaint in the assistant’s tone, luckily they were using a private channel.

"Cough cough... Don’t say things that are not conducive to unity. Jamie has also undergone six months of training; there won’t be any problems. His sampling work is scheduled for tomorrow.

Stop talking; I need to drive."

"But aren’t we using the autopilot?"

"..."

"That’s just for assistance, assistance!"

Deng Lei then placed his hands back on the steering wheel. The latest lunar rovers came equipped with unconcerned intelligent driving systems, supported by GPS positioning; they were not only safe and energy-efficient on the Moon’s barren ground but also more reliable than human drivers.

...

[2017 Annual Settlement in Progress...]

Long-term event: Reach for the Stars

During the past calendar year, you have sent over 160 professional astronauts/payload specialists and more than 130 non-professionals into space, with the total number of people exceeding 300 and the total number of trips surpassing 500—an incredible step forward;

In 2017, three organizations spearheaded six manned lunar missions, with 12 astronauts landing on the Moon, totaling 18 trips, thus successfully completing the first phase of the space race;

Achievement unlocked: Outpost, the first long-term inhabited cabin segment appeared on the Moon;

Achievement Unlocked: Dragon Chant, you launched a super rocket weighing over 10,000 tons;

Achievement Unlocked: Atomic Power, you traveled to the nearest celestial body using a nuclear spacecraft;

Achievement Unlocked: Card Collector Master, you absorbed over 100 B+ level scientists at once;

Reward calculation in progress... You have received the following items:

38% concentration Uranium Rods from 1977*10,000,

Level A Skill Cards*10,

Designated Research Funds*30 billion yuan (non-withdrawable).

Notice: You are attempting to excavate resources from other celestial bodies, the first step of the Long March is the most difficult, please persevere.

Notice: Using nuclear weapons to mine ores in space is an inefficient and relatively dangerous act, please use with caution.]

On January 1, 2018, at midnight, Lin Ju finally welcomed the third annual settlement of the System.

Last year’s annual settlement rewarded him 10 billion yuan in research funds, substantially reducing operating expenses for the base. This time, he also hoped to receive a similar award.

The System did not disappoint him. While the 30 billion yuan could only be used for research and technology, it greatly eased the previously tight budget. At least the funds diverted from the early stages of the Saturn exploration program could be replenished without delaying the progress of other projects.

As for the Uranium rods from 1977... the most he had ever received at one time was 1,500 rods; this time, he directly received 10,000 rods. If all were enriched for nuclear bombs, the base could rank as the sixth largest nuclear entity...

It’s a pity that these things can’t be converted into money; otherwise, so many Uranium rods would be quite valuable.

But what made him happiest were the Level A Skill Cards, meaning the base could have 10 additional Level A scientists or, at most, 5 Level A+ scientists.

Although they had daringly absorbed hundreds of top scientists before, their help with the substantial practical technology research at the current stage was still too limited. The personnel he would upgrade next were those who played key roles in the field of application, greatly benefiting the overall scientific research.

Based on the prices of other skill cards, Level A cards would cost at least 1 billion each. With 10 cards, that was almost 10 billion yuan, definitely the most precious reward.

As for the last two prompts from the System, he simply ignored them. After all, United Mining couldn’t find a more effective tool than nuclear bombs and had even started researching how to use hydrogen bombs for construction.

Lin Ju, who had gotten up in the middle of the night, was carefully reviewing this harvest in his mind when suddenly his cellphone lit up.

The screen showed an encrypted notification, which was only sent via satellite network during major emergency events at the base. This was the first actual encounter with such an event after such a long time.

He immediately opened and decrypted it, rapidly reading the contents:

"Departing Fire, Log: MD64, 67, 68 anomaly summary:

Observed multiple orbit changes in observational objects AM0, AM4, AM5, purpose unknown;

Observed a significant increase in communication volume between AM0, AM4, and E0, large increase in communication volume among AM0, AM2, AM4, AM5, purpose unknown;

Total duration of recorded anomalies: 8 days 12 hours 05 minutes 32 seconds, meeting BBB-level warning criteria, has entered M05 Level Silence, awaiting command to release.

Attachment: The Departure Fire Detector seems to have been discovered, the activities of several of America’s Mars probes have surged. After our evaluation, it is very likely they are searching for it. Departing Fire has now automatically entered a near-top-level silent state, no longer emitting any signals externally.

We request to utilize the Stellar III supercomputer to investigate and confirm NACA’s database and the communication records of key personnel.

(Ye Changsi, Xie Liaofu, Xiao Okada, Androff)"