Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Jinling launch site.
The atmosphere was quite lively recently.
The first group of space residents to go to the Guanghan Special Economic Zone had already moved here a month ago. Most of them were born in the 90s, and some were born in the 80s. All of them had a PhD or were senior engineers.
Tao Muye stood near the dorms at the launch base. He had a can of coffee in his hand, drinking coffee while thinking.
A man walked out of the dormitory building and walked over.
“You’re a PhD?”
There were only two kinds of people in the first group of lunar residents; one was engineers and the other was scientific researchers.
Tao Muye looked at the man and nodded.
“Yes, you?”
“Same.” The man with a flattop smiled and lit up a cigarette. He said, “What are you doing?”
“Me?”
“Who else?”
“Growing things.”
“Growing?”
“To be precise, researching growing seeds.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Not as interesting as you think.”
“Haha, good one, but seriously…” The man took a deep breath of cigarette smoke. He then took out another cigarette, smiled, and said, “Want one?”
“I don’t smoke.”
“There are PhDs who don’t smoke? I already doubt your academic ability.” The man smiled and put the cigarette on his ear. He then asked, “How do you write papers then?”
Tao Muye shook the canned coffee in his hand.
“By using this.”
“Coffee… Good stuff, but for me, the stimulation is still a bit weak. I have to write out a 20,000-word essay within 72 hours to satisfy my old supervisor. A pack of cigarettes a day is a must.”
“Who’s your supervisor?”
“Sheng Xianfu.”
There was an obvious look of pride in the man’s eyes. It was obvious that he respected the professor quite a bit.
And after hearing the name Sheng Xianfu, Tao Muye looked surprised.
Academician Sheng was one of the leaders in the field of nuclear fusion engineering, and he was once in the fusion project team led by Academician Lu. After the completion of the Pangu reactor, he entered the controllable fusion miniaturization project team, and later, he became the director of Institute 585.
The plan of the second-generation fusion project was led by Academician Sheng, Academician Wang Zengguang from the China National Nuclear Corporation, and Academician Li Jiangang from the Fuyang Institute Construction Material Laboratory.
His supervisor is Academician Sheng.
Isn’t that Academician Lu’s colleague?
He’s quite an important person.
When the man carrying a can of coffee didn’t speak for a long time, the man with the flattop haircut continued, “Who is your supervisor?”
“It’s the archdruid.”
“Archdruid? Not bad! But speaking of which, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet.” The man with the flattop grinned and stretched out his right hand. He said, “I’m Sun Lieyang, I just graduated last year, and I want to work on second-generation controllable nuclear fusion.”
“I’m Tao Muye, studying aerospace technology for growing cotton, coffee beans, and other crops…” Tao Muye shook his hand briefly and glanced at him. He asked, “Is it fine to tell that information to anyone?”
“It’s not some kind of secret.” Sun Lieyang tapped the cigarette butt and said, “For a hundred-year long plan like this, we’re all cannon fodder. See how Professor Lu is not interested in participating? Second-generation controllable fusion is very different from first-gen. We plan on using helium as an energy source. This will take at least a century.”
Tao Muye smiled.
A century…
Most people couldn’t even imagine such a long time.
“What if Academician Lu helps?”
“That is unlikely.”
Even though their personalities were different, they began to chat. However, just as the two were talking, a harsh siren suddenly cut through the silent night sky.
Sun Lieyang frowned and stood up from the ground. He then patted his pants.
“What happened?”
Tao Muye glanced over and said, “I don’t know… Maybe it’s them?”
“Them?”
“The Airborne Brigade. They are on the other side of the base.”
Tao Muye threw the empty can accurately into the trash can. He clapped his hands and stood up from the ground. He said, “It’s better not to talk about this. We should do we learned in safety class. Let’s go and meet at the dorms. It’s not good to be seen out here.”
While the sirens were ringing, a line of soldiers wearing black mechanical exoskeletons ran toward Starlight, which was already parked on the runway.
Three squadron leaders wearing exoskeletons and a platoon leader stood with their hands behind their backs in front of a military staff officer.
“Three-minute combat meeting—”
“We are an instant-response team. The combat meeting will be held on the way.”
The sound of heavy footsteps interrupted the staff officer. Li Gaoliang, fully armed, unlocked his exoskeleton mask and slammed his two fists heavily on the conference table.
“The first row will come with me. I will personally lead the team for this operation!”
The staff frowned and reminded him, “That is not your role.”
“My life was saved by him. The orbital Airborne Brigade only cares about combat, not roles!” Li Gaoliang took his hands off the table and glanced at the four heavily armed fighters at the table. “Let’s go!”
“Yes, sir!”
They all boarded within one minute.
They prepared for takeoff in two minutes.
A blue light was shining at the back of the Hall effect thruster, forming an arc in the sky.
Li Gaoliang felt the violent shaking from the back gradually reduced. He was sitting in the airborne cabin. He looked at the altitude data. He skillfully accessed the command channel through the voice control system, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly with a clear voice.
“Combat briefing!
“The Oseberg ship was hijacked by unidentified militants at 17 east longitude and 55 north latitude. We have contacted the Baltic shipping company and confirmed this. After a consultation, the other party agreed to launch a preemptive strike against the cargo ship. The premise is to ensure the personal safety of the twenty crew members on the cargo ship. The British side has sent the Royal Air Force from the nearest military base, and the Danish side has also sent rescue ships from the nearest port.
“Our mission is simple. Land and pull the trigger. We will try our best to ensure the safety of the hostages on board and perform strikes on the deck!”
One of the team leaders asked, “Should we capture anyone alive for interrogations?”
“We’ll think about that later.”
The safety of the Swedish royal family had nothing to do with them. But Professor Lu did.
In the event that his life was in danger or threatened, they retained the right to exercise necessary force in any area on the planet.
While they were talking, a red signal light in the cabin began to light up.
Starlight, sailing in low-earth orbit, had reached the skies over Northern Europe.
They had to jump from a height of more than two hundred kilometers. Even though they couldn’t see the scenery outside the window, their adrenaline was still rising. This was a test of courage.
“Check your seatbelt one last time, don’t p*ss your pants when you go down!”
“Inspection complete!”
“Good! Team 1 is entering orbit, the airborne procedure has started!”
The three airborne cabins were ejected away from the cargo compartment of Starlight. They began to fall toward the blue planet.
“What are we?!”
The uniform roar echoed in the communication channel.
“We are men of steel!”
Someone spoke.
“Sir, we are landing in seawaters.”
Li Gaoliang laughed and said, “Then we’ll ride the waves!”