Fire One

These Rat-folk were all "one of us" who had been converted into Node Unit. Rowan had previously created some space-based Rat-folk bodies on the moon, then extracted their consciousness from their bodies on the Origin Star and implanted it into the Rat-folk bodies on the moon.

In an instant, they achieved the feat of becoming the first, second, third... eleventh Rat-folk to land on the moon.

The Catapult has one persistent problem ever since Rowan acquired the Hyperboloid System —its accuracy is terrible.

It's a classic example of how brute force can produce miracles; unless you're shooting at close range, your accuracy is so bad that hitting the target is considered a miracle.

In space, where distances are measured in light-years, if a projectile deviates by one millimeter at the start, it will be nowhere in sight after traveling a light-year.

Therefore, there is still a lot of room for improvement in this thing. And it was for this reason that Rowan specifically brought these Rat-folk research experts over.

Unfortunately, the Rat-folk's previous technology development was severely unbalanced. While they excelled in rocket engines and related technologies, they lagged far behind in radar, computer, and communication technologies.

Therefore, their calculations require a large amount of practical data to support them.

After a series of intensive debugging efforts, all initial data was recorded, and the Catapult entered the launch countdown.

"My Overlord, do you think this experiment will succeed?" In the Swarm Network, Rowan pulled Morgan and some other Rat-folk intelligent beings, as well as some Blade, into a group.

Everyone shared the viewpoint of several Eagle-Eye Bug, watching the entire launch process closely.

The Eagle-Eye Bug is a new type of Scout Bug developed by Rowan based on the principle of a telescope. Its shape is like a giant eyeball, without limbs or even a mouth or nose. It relies on a hydrogen-generating device and a jet propulsion device inside its body to maintain its mobility, and obtains sustenance by connecting to the Creep through a connecting device at the rear of its body.

Its eyeball integrates genes from several organisms. Although it appears to have only one eye, it contains dozens of different pupil structures of varying sizes. This allows it to not only automatically focus but also switch between multiple modes such as thermal imaging and night vision.

The "projectile" must have been launched at an extremely high speed, making it impossible for ordinary imaging systems to detect it. However, Rowan had added a type of deflecting light to the Spore Sac beforehand. The 20-color imaging system from the Mantis Shrimp allowed the Eagle-Eye Bug to quickly capture and lock onto this deflecting light.

Then, its powerful dynamic vision system began to work, clearly displaying the captured images. Because Rowan and his numerous subsidiaries shared its field of view, they were able to observe the entire launch process in real time.

Furthermore, there are multiple Eagle-Eye Bug, and Rowan has granted them temporary permissions, allowing them to switch cameras at will.

"Failure is the mother of success. Failure is not terrible. As long as you can learn from your failures and correct them, you will eventually succeed." Rowan answered Morgan's question casually while intently watching the screen.

"What Overlord Majesty says is absolutely right."

"..."

Once the countdown was complete, the Hyperboloid System was activated, and the Spore Sac in the Catapult vanished instantly. Due to the massive backlash, not only was most of the main body of the Catapult reduced to ashes, but even a large section of the Creep that held it in place was pulled up from the ground.

A few seconds later, the Creep fell back heavily, large clouds of dust swirling out from its gaps, and horrific tears appeared in many places on the Creep.

Rowan had no time to pay attention to the damage to the Creep. Moreover, unlike living organisms, although the Creep's injuries may appear terrifying and severe, in reality, unless its main body is burned or destroyed on a large scale, the remaining injuries are at most minor. These torn wounds, although they look horrific, are actually just superficial injuries that can be repaired in no time.

The first target of the Catapult was not a distant planet, but rather the Red Moon, a satellite of the same Origin Star. After some calculations by the Rat-folk, they determined that today was the day when the Yellow Moon and the Red Moon would pass each other, and at this time, the straight-line distance between them was very close, less than 200,000 kilometers.

In space, this would be considered close-range firing.

After the "shell" disappeared, the Eagle-Eye Bug lost its target for two or three seconds before relocking onto it.

By this time, the "cannonball" had traveled a considerable distance. A minute later, it struck the surface of the Red Moon, causing the entire Red Moon to shake. The landing point was blasted into a deep crater, kicking up a cloud of dust.

This location was far from the intended impact point, but fortunately, it still managed to land successfully on the surface of the Red Moon.

"Holy crap!" Rowan couldn't help but exclaim in his mind. He wasn't surprised that the shot was so far off, nor was he surprised that it even hit. He just hadn't expected it to take so little time.

Although I knew Hyperboloid System were powerful, I didn't expect them to be this powerful.

The distance of 200,000 kilometers was covered in just over a minute. Since the speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second, wouldn't that mean the "cannonball" was traveling at one percent of the speed of light?

Doesn't this mean we could reach a nearby star system in just a few hundred years? Well, looking at it this way, we still need to continue improving the Catapult's performance. Although Rowan's concept of time has become increasingly blurred, several hundred years is indeed far too long.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Rowan began contacting the Spore Sac on the Red Moon via the Swarm Network.

Spore Sac, no reaction.

The Insect Empress Egg did not react.

Worker Bee eggs, no reaction.

Even the Creep showed no reaction.

After repeated calls, Rowan confirmed that the speed was too fast, resulting in too much impact force; the Spore Sac and the Insect Egg inside couldn't withstand it and had been destroyed...

Does this count as a successful experiment?

But now was not the time to be idle. While the two moons were still close together, he quickly arranged for people to prepare for the second launch.

Fortunately, three Catapult were prepared beforehand; even though one was damaged, there were still two left. Although these two Catapult were both connected to the Creep, the one that was damaged earlier was slightly tilted.

However, with the concentrated supply of resources, the Creep around one of the Catapult has been repaired. Furthermore, with the help of Excavator Ant and Worker Bee, its base has also been repositioned.

Without a trace, the second "shell" was quickly delivered. With the experience gained earlier, the Rat-folk researchers readjusted it and the countdown for the second launch began.

This time, Rowan learned his lesson and limited most of the Catapult's performance.

The countdown ended and the "shell" disappeared. Due to limitations on its performance, the Catapult was not damaged and did not tear up a large area of Creep.

It has only minor damage, and because it contains a large number of plant cells, it can be reused with the help of the Creep, or even after simple repairs.

Lunar Surface Four