Continuing construction

9. Weapons and Equipment Research Center

With the controllable nuclear fusion reactor in place, development of designs for new weapons and equipment would continue, preparing for disputes with humanity that might spark interstellar wars in the future.

Orange Star might never use them, but it could not afford to be without them.

One mature energy weapon was the Electromagnetic Shockwave, but its destructive power dropped linearly with distance.

The Laser Ray, meanwhile, was limited by the lens materials used to redirect light, making it difficult to concentrate greater amounts of energy.

The proposed energy ray required firing a high-energy beam first, then introducing certain special materials into it to trigger a high-energy reaction.

Those materials would instantly be activated into polymers and launched by the high-speed particles continuously emitted by the beam itself, causing massive destruction upon impact.

There were already a few promising leads, but the increase in destructive power was less than 7%. Achieving complete combustion while retaining activity within a high-energy beam was extremely difficult, like trying to carry paper through a fire.

The Weapons and Equipment Research Center had also begun researching various other weapons, such as the plasma cannons formed from pure energy found in novels, or a Death Ray designed specifically to kill carbon-based life.

There was also Ion Collapse, intended specifically to kill silicon-based life, but there were no leads on any of these yet. They were merely entries on a project list.

The base's mature weapons currently consisted primarily of magnetic launch weapons.

10. Star Observation and Defense System

A surveillance-satellite defense network would be deployed in ultra-high orbit around Orange Star, monitoring every signal source in space and providing intelligence through comprehensive coverage of the space surrounding the planet.

11. Space combat readiness

A defense fleet would certainly have to be built to protect the planet from any threats or attacks. The Rescue Craft would be converted into the Guardian model, with further module upgrades possible on that foundation.

Orange Star had no local enemies, so it had no need for ground forces. If ground troops ever had to enter combat, the industrial T3 Robots could simply download combat modules, pick up submachine guns, and engage ground targets.

Orange Star did not need missiles. Luo Qi began improving the Electromagnetic Cannon Shell, the kind fitted with the explosive components of one or two nuclear warheads.

Later derivative models of the Homeward Bound would be equipped with mature energy weapons, as well as Electromagnetic Shields...

Luo Qi reviewed the plans, making more revisions at the end. There was far too much to do.

Technology at the Research Center was advancing too quickly, with one breakthrough after another.

It reminded Luo Qi of the United States in his previous life. He must have died in 2022, when going online made it easy to find all sorts of muddleheaded little news reports.

Those online hacks really churned out nothing but piss.

Most of the weapons the United States had used in his previous life had been developed between 1980 and 1990. They mostly upgraded those designs rather than replacing them with a new generation.

The strength the world's nations displayed openly was a curious thing, too.

For example, everyone had a scabbard called Concealment, which could hide their blades.

Someone named Russia drew ten meters of his blade, displaying it to intimidate everyone else.

Someone named America drew twelve meters of blade from his own scabbard. He looked at Russia, then at everyone else.

Hmm, this length is already enough to rank first in the world. If I draw too much and frighten them, they might join forces against me.

Who knew how many more meters of blade remained hidden in those scabbards?

That was how the United States had operated in his previous life. It merely upgraded its existing weapons and equipment, except for blades such as aircraft and missiles, which did receive generational replacements.

It understood perfectly well that it only needed to maintain its position at the top and keep its weapons adequate, rather than push itself into opposition with all of humanity on Earth.

After all, the United States had been monopolizing scientists from around the world. In his previous life alone, how many students from his homeland had stayed there? How many wealthy people had chosen to emigrate there...?

Were those highly educated students idiots? Were the wealthy idiots? Did they enjoy seeking thrills in a country with "shootouts every day"?

Luo Qi turned his attention back to his own operations. Based on the recovered data, the Space Technology Research Center was developing the Second-Generation Ion Thruster, along with new observation satellites.

They intended to build a new type of satellite, combining satellites with space-based weaponry to create a new instrument of war, complete with independent nuclear fusion power, energy turrets, and defensive shields.

The Materials Research Center reported that it was researching high-performance silicides to replace nonessential metal consumption in the development of the base's equipment.

Whether extracting particles or stabilizing magnetic fields, the enormous energy supplied by the controllable nuclear fusion reactor played a crucial role.

The Fundamental Particle Physics Research Center had requested further particle research, requiring the construction of a ninety-kilometer Particle Collider.

Every research center was asking for equipment, space, and materials, yet the base's industrial construction was still too slow!

Luo Qi eagerly awaited the deployment of flying builders. Meanwhile, the Downlink Server Cluster built from eight-nanometer chips had begun processing, once again easing the shortage of computing power in his primary servers.

Validation of the flying builder theory began...

Miniaturized Controllable Magnetic Field Devices were introduced into the Orange Star Civilization's basic manufacturing operations, marking the beginning of its first industrial productivity reform since entering the age of controllable nuclear fusion...

Three days had passed since the survivors arrived, and they had already adapted to life here.

At noon, a massive convoy of tracked vehicles assembled outside the base and headed for the nearest mining area.

Inside the base, people gathered in twos and threes to play table tennis in the recreation room, worked out to restore their physical fitness, or used Virtual Reality Equipment.

The best option was going to the greenhouse to observe and record the plants' growth.

The surveillance feeds showed Zhong Fu and Huang Qi examining the soil and the plants' condition.

Luo Qi coordinated the operation of the entire base. The research centers required tens of thousands of tons of metal every day.

Meanwhile, completed but empty factory buildings awaited allocation, new equipment had to be manufactured, and the New Industrial Zone had entered another round of construction and expansion.

The research centers all moved to spin off their long-prepared specialized projects, and a great many technologies rapidly evolved as actual materials became available.

The survivors in the base were left entirely to fend for themselves. Plans were underway to build the Biological Research Lab two kilometers from the control center.

There were also five supporting ecological enclosures, with all manner of equipment and facilities developing according to Luo Qi's plans.

Luo Qi alone was driving all of Orange Star's technological progress.

Standing amid the greenery in the greenhouse with her helmet in her arms, Huang Qi reveled in the warm sunlight and the fresh, humid air.

The sense of life that could only be experienced in Water Blue Star's forests had miraculously appeared on barren Orange Star.

It was a miracle of life and a creation of science. The fully sealed space, with its independently maintained air pressure, contained microorganisms and bacteria that could break down organic matter, forming a small ecosystem.

Stendhal had explained that the original purpose of this place was to meet the human body's vitamin needs and establish an initial ecosystem.

He certainly would not say, I was just bored out of my mind, so Dad found me something to do and had me grow my own vegetables.

But now, this greenhouse appeared to have bought them a little breathing room. The food crisis was becoming apparent, and they needed to plant new vegetables within the next month, at the very least, to meet everyone's basic food needs in the future.

The girl closed her eyes in bliss, a gentle smile lifting the corners of her lips as moisture rose through the greenhouse and met the cold, uneven glass of the roof.

The vapor slowly condensed into beads of dew that dripped down, splashing cold against her pale forehead.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and her smile deepened. More and more droplets fell, like a light rain.

Has that girl lost her mind...? Smiling like that...

Stendhal thought this with a strange expression beneath his helmet. He held a large, half-yellow pumpkin in his arms. For now, they could only eat porridge at every meal, stretching their limited grain supplies until the next round of food production.

According to "Dad," the Tianhe-1 was too far away to salvage the surviving cargo containers without locator devices for the time being. Even if they recovered one, they would not know what was inside it.

And Stendhal had grown attached to the pumpkin in his arms.

When it flowered, Stendhal had personally pollinated it using stored pollen, then watched it grow day after day.

It was like raising a dog; he had developed a deep attachment. Unfortunately, pumpkins could not become sentient, and this one could not talk.

Now that his affection had reached a certain level, he would have to express it in a more direct way.

Not far from Stendhal, Lin He and Wang Xiaofei were picking tomatoes and green peppers.

Wang Xiaofei glanced around and found that no one was watching her.

"I'll just have a taste!"

She secretly popped a small red tomato into her mouth. Its flesh burst with a crunch, and the unexpected sweetness and tang struck straight to her soul.

It was hard to imagine that, with only one person left on Orange Star, this guy had still managed to do so well, setting up a six-hundred-square-meter greenhouse and growing thriving organic vegetables.

If not for the vast, barren red desert visible beyond the glass and the automated industrial facilities filling the place, they could have believed their spaceship had merely circled Water Blue Star and brought them back down to land.

On this planet, people rediscovered who they had once been, as though they had returned to their original lives.

Meanwhile, Gu Tianming remained committed to continuing his mission. He brought his assistant, Kanawu, over to the control building.

The two stood together before the building's identification system, which gave a beep.

"Insufficient authorization. Access denied."

Gu Tianming had, in fact, worried that he might not obtain authorization. Looking at the facial recognition device, he said, "I am Gu Tianming, the reclamation supervisor assigned to Orange Star by the River Domain Alliance."