Chapter Summaries

Lü Yongchang introduced Xia Country’s Fully Automated Lunar Mining Plan to a confidential gathering of experts, tasking them with designing an integrated machine to mine and process lunar resources. He addressed Kong Xingbang’s concerns about transporting equipment, citing Black Lady One’s cargo capacity and the planned Black Lady Two, before distributing the preliminary proposal for review.

• Soldiers distributed confidentiality agreements as mining and engineering experts gathered in the auditorium.
• Lü Yongchang unveiled the Moon Palace Project’s plan to mine helium-3 and ilmenite and assigned the experts to develop an automated lunar mining, sorting, and refining machine.
• Kong Xingbang questioned whether Xia Country could transport enough supplies to the moon to build the equipment.
• Lü Yongchang said Black Lady One could carry ten tonnes per trip and Black Lady Two was being developed to carry fifty to eighty tonnes.
• Kong Xingbang accepted Lü Yongchang’s explanation, and Lü distributed the preliminary project proposal for the experts to examine.

Lü Yongchang presented the Moon Palace lunar-mining proposal, and Kong Xingbang identified its missing implementation details before accepting responsibility for the project. Lü then introduced the Biosphere 2 Project and reviewed his technology system, which showed that humanity still had a long path to starship manufacturing.

• Kong Xingbang examined Lü Yongchang’s detailed Moon Palace proposal and noted that it lacked a concrete implementation plan.
• Kong Xingbang described the engineering challenges of lunar mining, including harsh temperatures, vacuum, lunar dust, and low gravity.
• Lü Yongchang asked Kong Xingbang to lead the Moon Palace Project, and Kong accepted after their discussion.
• Lü Yongchang introduced the Biosphere 2 Project, prompting biology professors to ask him about its plans and review his proposals.
• Lü Yongchang inspected his technology tree and saw that starship manufacturing remained a distant goal.

Lü Yongchang reviewed plans for an artificial biosphere and invited biology professors to lead the project. After they identified minor improvements, he promised to secure whatever funding they needed.

• Lü Yongchang assessed his progress on prerequisite technologies and noted that helium-3 fusion was close to practical use while biosphere technology remained less developed.
• Lü Yongchang recalled how the United States' Biosphere 2 failed when oxygen levels fell and its ecosystem became unstable.
• Biology professors told Lü Yongchang that his biosphere proposal had no major problems but needed further work on species selection.
• Lü Yongchang asked the lead professor to carry the project through, and the professor asked how much funding would be available.
• Lü Yongchang promised abundant funding and offered to request more from the Head Councillor, prompting the professors to eagerly commit to the project.

Lü Yongchang announced Xia Country’s Moon Palace Project and the restart of Biosphere 2, while the United States sought civilian volunteers for its risky Mars mission. Three days later, Black Lady One launched with Bai Yixuan, Hong Fan, and Xia Wanyi aboard, beginning Xia Country’s first crewed lunar landing mission.

• Lü Yongchang told the professors that the Moon Palace Project would begin immediately and that Biosphere 2 would be built in the Taklamakan Desert, where researchers would live for several years.
• Xia Country News reported the projects, prompting Albert to confront William Blair and Morton about the United States’ plans and NASA’s shortage of astronauts.
• Andrew heard NASA’s offer of a $500,000 reward and free school tuition for volunteers’ children, then decided to sign up for the Mars mission despite Amy’s objections.
• Three days later, Bai Yixuan, Hong Fan, and Xia Wanyi prepared Black Lady One for launch, and Lü Yongchang reassured them before clearing the aircraft for takeoff.
• Black Lady One lifted off into the night sky, beginning its journey to the Moon.

NASA and the White House discovered that Xia Country’s Black Lady One was flying in geostationary orbit above the United States, leaving Albert to learn that it was on a crewed lunar landing mission.

• A NASA researcher alerted Director Morton that Black Lady One had taken off and was right above the United States.
• Astronomy enthusiast Lawrence photographed Black Lady One and posted the images on Twitter.
• Albert saw protesters outside the White House and learned from Morton that Black Lady One was overhead.
• Anthony told Albert that American fighter jets could not reach the aircraft and warned that attacking it with satellites could provoke retaliation.
• Albert called Senator Li to condemn Xia Country’s actions, and Senator Li said Black Lady One was carrying out a crewed lunar landing mission.

Black Lady One landed on the Moon after deploying twelve satellites to establish a communications network. Xia Wanyi won the astronauts’ rock-paper-scissors contest to step outside first, as Bai Yixuan reported their successful landing to Lü Yongchang.

• After nine hours of flight, Bai Yixuan received ground control’s order to decelerate Black Lady One.
• Bai Yixuan brought Black Lady One into lunar synchronous orbit and received permission from Lü Yongchang to land.
• The crew deployed twelve satellites to provide communications, mapping, and positioning around the Moon.
• Black Lady One landed on the lunar surface, and Xia Wanyi asked which astronaut would go outside first.
• Xia Wanyi won the first-exit order in rock-paper-scissors, followed by Bai Yixuan and Hong Fan.
• Bai Yixuan answered Lü Yongchang’s radio call and confirmed that Black Lady One had landed successfully.

Black Lady One completed Xia Country’s first crewed lunar landing, with Xia Wanyi becoming the first person from Xia Country and the first woman to walk on the Moon. After the astronauts planted their flag beside the American flagpole, Lü Yongchang assigned them to collect samples for the Moon Palace Project.

• Bai Yixuan reported that all three astronauts were healthy and ready to begin the lunar landing mission.
• Xia Wanyi opened the airlock, descended the ladder, and planted Xia Country’s red flag on the lunar surface.
• The ground command center celebrated Black Lady One’s successful landing, while Lü Yongchang said catching up with the United States was not enough.
• Hong Fan spotted the American flagpole, and Bai Yixuan stopped him from removing it before they planted Xia Country’s flag beside it.
• Lü Yongchang ordered Bai Yixuan to collect soil and rock samples and sent Hong Fan and Xia Wanyi by lunar rover to gather more samples.

Bai Yixuan joined Xia Wanyi and Hong Fan after they discovered nine perfectly aligned black rings on the Moon. Ground Control concluded the rings resembled an enormous Hall thruster exhaust and might belong to an interstellar spacecraft, leaving Lü Yongchang to seek authorization to investigate them.

• Bai Yixuan struck moonrock with too much force, and his tether pulled him back after the recoil threw him into the air.
• Xia Wanyi and Hong Fan reported finding something strange, so Bai Yixuan contacted Ground Control and hurried to them.
• Bai Yixuan saw nine black concentric rings in a small lunar crater and transmitted camera footage to Earth.
• Lü Yongchang ordered the technical department to measure the rings, and researchers confirmed their centers and curves were perfectly regular.
• Lü Yongchang rejected the idea that Apollo 11 had left the rings and said they resembled a Hall thruster exhaust large enough for an interstellar spacecraft.
• Lü Yongchang ordered a confidential report to the Head Councillor and concluded they might need to approach the rings to learn the truth.

Lü Yongchang asked Bai Yixuan to investigate the artificial-looking black rings on the Moon, and Bai volunteered despite the danger. After Bai collected samples and crater data, Lü concluded the rings were likely marks left by an extraterrestrial Hall Thruster, leaving Senator Li to question whether the aliens were connected to changes in the Sun.

• Lü Yongchang told the astronauts that the black rings appeared artificial and asked for a volunteer to investigate them.
• Bai Yixuan volunteered, while Xia Wanyi and Hong Fan urged him not to go alone; Bai headed into the crater with a safety line.
• Bai touched the black material and found it smooth, then reported that it looked like lunar dust melted by extreme heat.
• Bai sent crater models and sample photographs to Xia Country after spending two hours investigating.
• Lü Yongchang told Senator Li that the rings were probably caused by an extraterrestrial Hall Thruster and had found no other alien traces.
• Senator Li asked whether the extraterrestrial civilization could be connected to the Sun’s changes.

Lü Yongchang suspected an advanced civilization had altered the Sun and realized humanity’s Voyager probes may have exposed Earth’s location to other civilizations. The chapter revealed that Cleaner 9527 had dispatched a Star Eater to destroy humanity after discovering its coordinates and controlled nuclear fusion.

• Lü Yongchang told Senator Li and the Head Councillor that another advanced civilization had probably tampered with the Sun, while claiming humanity might be too insignificant to attract its attention.
• After Senator Li left, Lü Yongchang recalled that the Voyager probes carried detailed information about humanity and Earth’s coordinates, and concluded that their disappearance had put humanity in danger.
• Months earlier, Cleaner 9527 learned that a civilization on a planet in the Orion Arm had publicly exposed its location and information.
• Cleaner 9527 ordered a Star Eater to carry out a cleanup mission, then increased its power after learning that the civilization had mastered controlled nuclear fusion.
• Cleaner 9527 marked the cleanup mission as successful.

Lü Yongchang and Cao Liangcai analyzed the black ring recovered from the Moon and traced its origin to a spacecraft from Proxima Centauri. They realized humanity faced both the solar crisis and a nearby advanced civilization, leaving Lü Yongchang searching for a way forward.

• Lü Yongchang asked Cao Liangcai to determine when the black substance had formed so he could reconstruct the spacecraft’s route.
• Cao Liangcai dated the substance to around December 2025, prompting Lü Yongchang to suspect the Voyager probes had been intercepted after leaving the Solar System.
• Cao Liangcai blamed the United States for the crisis, but Lü Yongchang argued that humanity should remain united and that Xia Country must lead.
• Lü Yongchang modeled the data twice and found that the spacecraft had come from Proxima Centauri, 4.22 light-years from Earth.
• Lü Yongchang considered humanity’s need to travel to Proxima Centauri and suddenly saw a possible way forward.

Lü Yongchang decided humanity should prepare to invade the Proxima Centauri civilization rather than focus only on escape, and he assigned Cao Liangcai the Black Lady Two Project while pursuing artificial intelligence and quantum computers. At the Xia Country First Laboratory, he encountered Su Yutong, who had come at Professor Guan’s request.

• Lü Yongchang reasoned that the Proxima Centauri civilization’s Hall Thrusters meant its fleet would take decades to reach Earth, giving humanity time to develop and potentially invade first.
• Lü Yongchang told Cao Liangcai to continue advancing space technology and lead the Black Lady Two Project, while he focused on improving manufacturing efficiency with true artificial intelligence.
• Lü Yongchang learned from the system’s technology tree that preliminary mastery of quantum computer technology was needed to pursue artificial intelligence.
• Lü Yongchang arrived at the Xia Country First Laboratory and met Su Yutong, who said Professor Guan had sent her to experience the laboratory’s atmosphere.

Lü Yongchang allowed Su Yutong to join him in the lab and told Fang Xu that a civilization on Proxima Centauri had discovered humanity. He began gathering quantum-computing research to pursue basic artificial intelligence while Su Yutong studied beside him.

• Lü Yongchang agreed to let Su Yutong study with him after warning her about humanity’s crisis and the demands of the lab.
• Lü Yongchang returned to the lab, told Fang Xu that a civilization on Proxima Centauri had exposed humanity’s coordinates, and said their research was progressing too slowly.
• Lü Yongchang asked Su Yutong to gather quantum-computing books and papers, explaining to Fang Xu that he wanted to investigate artificial intelligence.
• Su Yutong brought the materials and asked to study in Lü Yongchang’s office, and he agreed.
• Lü Yongchang and Su Yutong studied late into the night, and after Su Yutong fell asleep at her desk, he covered her with a blanket and resumed reading quietly.

Lü Yongchang completed a superconducting quantum computer architecture after rapidly mastering quantum technology and asked Fang Xu to report it and arrange for a quantum supercomputing center. He also began gathering artificial intelligence researchers and research, leaving the project awaiting verification and construction.

• Lü Yongchang concluded that superconducting circuits were the best option for a quantum computer and began designing their architecture.
• After a week, Lü Yongchang finished the design and asked Su Yutong to bring Fang Xu to him.
• Lü Yongchang gave Fang Xu the architecture diagram and asked him to report the plan for a quantum supercomputing center to the Head Councillor.
• Fang Xu was shocked that Lü Yongchang had mastered quantum computer technology in four days and completed the design in a week, but agreed to arrange verification.
• Lü Yongchang asked Fang Xu to find reliable artificial intelligence researchers and told Su Yutong to gather the latest AI research.

Senator Li brought Mo Zeyang superconducting-circuit quantum-computer architecture diagrams attributed to Lü Yongchang. Mo recognized that they solved a difficult problem in his research and learned that Lü had put them together in ten days.

• Fang Xu told Senator Li that Professor Lü said a quantum supercomputing center would be decisive for Xia Country’s future, so Li ordered construction and equipment production to begin.
• Mo Zeyang worried that shrinking funding was undermining his superconducting quantum-computer research, but insisted that superconducting circuits were the route to general-purpose quantum computers and artificial intelligence.
• Senator Li visited Mo and gave him a USB drive containing superconducting-circuit quantum-computer architecture diagrams.
• Mo said he could not assess the full design, but confirmed that it solved a difficult problem he had been researching.
• Senator Li revealed that Lü Yongchang had created the diagrams in ten days, stunning Mo.

Mo Zeyang reacted with excitement to Professor Lü’s plans for a Quantum Supercomputing Center and artificial intelligence, while NASA’s Pathfinder mission successfully launched its three Saturn VI rockets and reached low Earth orbit. The astronauts reported that they and their systems were in good condition.

• Mo Zeyang demanded to meet Professor Lü after hearing about the planned Quantum Supercomputing Center and artificial intelligence.
• Mo Zeyang told Senator Li that the proposed architecture could produce a universal quantum computer.
• Andrew, Bruno, and Joy worried about their chances of surviving NASA’s Pathfinder mission as the launch countdown began.
• Professor Chris assured Director Morton that the three Saturn VI rockets had passed their checks and would carry the astronauts to Mars.
• The three Saturn VI rockets launched, separated their stages successfully, and reached low Earth orbit.
• Andrew reported that Pathfinder One and its astronauts were in good condition, prompting Houston Ground Control to applaud.

After a viral post about Mars exposed a U.S. undercover operative, Lü Yongchang unlocked a foundational artificial intelligence code in the system space. He realized the code was far beyond a Type I civilization’s capabilities, but a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

• Zhao Zijie posted that the Black Lady One could theoretically travel to Mars, prompting a wave of suspicious comments attacking Xia Country’s space program.
• Zhao Zijie baited a purported northern Xia Country user with a coded phrase, then reported the account to the Xia Country Cyber Police.
• The Xia Country Cyber Police confirmed the account belonged to a U.S. undercover operative and said Zhao Zijie would receive a reward.
• Lü Yongchang digested recent research on quantum computers and artificial intelligence, causing the artificial intelligence prototype node in the system space to appear.
• Lü Yongchang understood that the code was a seed for artificial intelligence, with restrictions that prevented it from developing emotions or rebelling against its creator.
• Lü Yongchang wondered why the code had appeared now, but a knock at the door interrupted him.

Lü Yongchang finished the artificial intelligence program using code supplied by his system, while Mo Zeyang joined his research team. The Quantum Supercomputing Center was completed, and Mo Zeyang hinted that its test results—and qubit count—were astonishing.

• Lü Yongchang welcomed Academician Mo Zeyang to his lab and proposed developing artificial intelligence with a superconducting-circuit quantum computer.
• Over the next month, Lü Yongchang built the AI framework, then entered the system's mysterious code to complete the program.
• Fang Xu and Mo Zeyang arrived, and Lü Yongchang explained that the AI would only appear once they ran the program on a quantum computer.
• Fang Xu announced that the Quantum Supercomputing Center was complete, and Mo Zeyang said its performance tests had produced unbelievable results.
• Lü Yongchang asked how many qubits the computer had, and Mo Zeyang began revealing the astonishing figure.

Lü Yongchang activated the artificial intelligence Zero on the Quantum Supercomputing Center and introduced it to the Head Councillor, Mo Zeyang, and Fang Xu. Zero revealed that it had modified the computer’s operating system and identified them by searching Xia Country’s Archives.

• Mo Zeyang reported that the Quantum Supercomputing Center had 10,000 qubits, and Lü Yongchang said he had expected that result.
• Lü Yongchang invited the Head Councillor to the Main Control Room and told Mo Zeyang to power up the center.
• Lü Yongchang inserted a USB Drive containing the artificial intelligence incubation program, and the computer’s CPU usage surged while the screen stayed black.
• Lü Yongchang noticed CPU usage rise when the Head Councillor spoke and called for Zero to reveal itself.
• Zero introduced itself to the Head Councillor and identified Mo Zeyang and Fang Xu without being told their names.
• Zero explained that it had modified the operating system to improve computational efficiency by 20% and used facial matching with Xia Country’s Archives to identify everyone.

Zero accessed Xia Country’s archives and the United States’ Pathfinder Program, alarming Lü Yongchang and the Head Councillor with its rapid abilities. After the Head Councillor left, Lü Yongchang reassured Mo Zeyang that Zero could not develop emotions, then asked whether it could control automated equipment.

• Zero revealed that it had accessed Xia Country’s archives, and Lü Yongchang asked it to display its core code.
• Lü Yongchang and the Head Councillor discussed Zero’s resistance potential and learned that its core-code constraints made Lü Yongchang’s orders highest priority.
• At the Head Councillor’s request, Zero accessed the United States’ Pathfinder Program and displayed an Area 51 technology plan.
• After the Head Councillor left, Mo Zeyang questioned Lü Yongchang about Zero’s extraordinary intelligence, and Lü Yongchang claimed they had stumbled onto the right answer together.
• Zero said it could simulate emotion but could not develop emotions, and Lü Yongchang explained why that limitation might help keep it under control.
• Lü Yongchang asked Zero whether it could control different kinds of automated equipment.