Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh

Saturday, April 7th, 12 hours before the launch of the first batch of reflector satellites for the "Project Starlight".

Inside Academician Shen's villa, Shen Qi is telling a story to his daughter.

"Long, long ago, there were ten suns in the sky. They agreed that each of them would take turns working one day to bring light to the world."

One day, the ten suns had a sudden thought, "Wouldn't it be interesting if all ten of us went to work together?"

"And so, all things on earth saw ten suns in the sky..."

Shen Qi told the story vividly, and Shen Nuo Fei listened with great interest.

"Ten suns appeared in the sky, and disaster struck the ground. The heat released by the ten suns destroyed everything on the ground. People and animals were burned to death, trees and forests turned to ashes, rivers and lakes evaporated instantly, and high temperatures and flames devoured all life. Beautiful homes became a sea of fire of suffering..." Shen Qi told his daughter the well-known Chinese myth in a low and sorrowful tone.

Shen Nuo Fei was completely immersed in the story her father was telling, and she asked curiously, "Why don't they turn on the air conditioning?"

Shen Qi patiently explained, "Darling, if ten suns were to rise into the sky at the same time, the temperature on the ground would exceed five thousand degrees Celsius, and even air conditioners would vaporize... Vaporization means that the air conditioner would instantly turn into a cloud of metallic vapor. Moreover, a long, long time ago, there was no electricity in the world, and appliances such as air conditioners and electric fans had not yet been invented."

"Oh." Shen Nuo Fei nodded, seemingly understanding.

"When humanity faced annihilation, a hero appeared: Hou Yi, an incredibly skilled archer. Hou Yi drew his bow and shot arrows—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Nophie, could you tell me how many Hou Yi made in total?"

"Nine times."

"Darling, you're amazing!" Shen Qi couldn't help but kiss Nofi. She was indeed his own daughter; Nofi had a natural sensitivity to numbers.

"And then?" Shen Nuo Fei was eager to know how the story ended.

"Hou Yi shot down nine suns with nine arrows, leaving only one. The world returned to normal order, and people lived in peace and prosperity, once again leading happy and joyful lives. This is the story of Hou Yi. Nophie, do you like this story?"

"Hmm, this is more interesting than 'Little Bunny'," Nofi said, still wanting more. "Daddy, Daddy, I want to hear more stories!"

"I'll tell you a new story in a few days. But now, I have to go to work; Dad has something very important to do."

What is Daddy going to do?

"Dad is going to build a new sun."

"Huh?" Nofi fell into thought. She didn't understand what creating a new sun meant. Didn't Dad just say that one sun was enough?

"Nofi, you must listen to your mother at home." Shen Qi stood up. At this moment, Ou Ye walked up to Shen Qi with his briefcase. Ou Ye handed the briefcase to Shen Qi and asked, "When will we, a widow and her son, be able to see you again?"

Shen Qi took the briefcase and said, "If everything goes well, I'll be home around this time next week."

Ou Ye carefully straightened Shen Qi's collar until she was satisfied with the result.

Shen Qi kissed Ou Ye's forehead. "Wife, I'm leaving."

Ou Ye said reluctantly, "Yes, come back soon, and have a good trip."

Shen Qi bent down and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Nofi, Daddy's going to work."

Nofie looked melancholy. "Goodbye, Daddy. Come home soon and tell me a story."

With a virtuous wife and obedient daughter at home, Shen Qi wouldn't have wanted to be away from home for a week if it weren't for matters of national importance.

With a wave of his hand, Shen Qi walked towards the car outside the villa, glancing back every few steps.

Ou Ye and Nuofei watched Shen Qi into his car, which disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The first batch of reflector satellites under the "Project Starlight" is scheduled to launch at 1:02 AM on April 8th.

Shen Qi will be stationed at the Capital Command Center to direct the entire operation.

It wasn't far to drive from Academician Shen's villa to the Capital Command Center building. Sitting in the back seat, Shen Qi gazed at the crowds on the street through the car window.

Shen Qi's car quickly arrived at the Capital Command Center.

The security measures at the Capital Command Center today are significantly higher than usual, with the number of armed police patrolling and on duty doubling.

Shen Qi arrived at the command center, handed over his cell phone, and changed into the uniform.

For the next week, Shen Qi will stay at the Capital Command Center, where he will eat, drink, and use the restroom, without contacting the outside world or his family.

The command center, spanning several hundred square meters, contains three large screens: one connected to the Northwest Base, one connected to the Wenchang Launch Base, and the middle screen is the main screen.

At 4:00 PM sharp, all core staff members of the Capital Command Center were in place.

Meanwhile, staff at the Northwest Base Command Post and the Wenchang Launch Base Command Post have also taken their positions.

There were three microphones in front of Shen Qi. He said, "Number two, number one. Number two, how's the situation on your end?"

An image of Chief Engineer You appeared on the screen connected to the Northwest Base. Chief Engineer You was also in a closed hall of several hundred square meters.

Shen Qi's code name was "Number One," and Chief Engineer You's code name was "Number Two."

Chief Engineer You No. 2 was dispatched to the Northwest Base to take charge of on-site command of the ground engineering.

Chief Engineer You immediately responded, "Report to Number One, all is normal at the Northwest Base, over!"

Shen Qi then spoke to another screen, "Zero, Zero, this is Number One. Zero, how's the situation on your end?"

An image of "Zero" appeared on the screen connected to the Wenchang Launch Base; he was a middle-aged man with a square face.

Commander "Zero" is the highest-ranking commander at the rocket launch site. In front of "Zero" are five microphones lined up, labeled "Broadcast", "To Above", "To Below", "Head to Head", and "Backup to Head".

The environment where "Zero" was located was a closed space surrounded by electronic screens on all four sides, each screen densely packed with data.

"Zero," located at the Wenchang Launch Base, stated with absolute certainty. "Report to Number One, pre-launch checks are complete. Everything at the Wenchang Launch Base is normal. Over!"

Shen Qi: "Check it again."

"Zero" responded without hesitation, "Received!"

Engineering data from the Northwest Ground Base and the Wenchang Launch Base will be transmitted to the Capital Command Center in real time.

The capital, the Northwest, and Wenchang work together, with the capital as the brain, the Northwest as the body, and Wenchang as the wings that grow from the body.

China's first rocket launch base was built in Jiuquan, and the Jiuquan launch base is still in normal operation.

The Wenchang Launch Base is China's closest rocket launch site to the equator. Low-latitude launch sites can significantly reduce rocket fuel consumption by taking advantage of the greater linear velocity near the equator and the centrifugal force caused by inertia.

The "Project Starlight" will launch 120 reflector satellites aboard Long March Carrier Rocket, which will then enter Geostationary Orbit in batches.

If the rocket fails to launch normally and the satellite fails to enter its intended orbit, then that's the end of the story.

The main focus tomorrow morning will undoubtedly be the Wenchang Launch Base.

Including Shen Qi, all participants in the "Project Starlight" focused their attention on that starting point in the South China Sea.