Having been here for so long, they have basically completed the scientific research tasks they originally took with them when they went to space. Although they are continuing their research work, they have much more time now.
Only then did they have time to improve their living conditions, and begin to design a more comfortable version of the original base.
However, due to the limited amount of supplies they carried, they couldn't bring many large tools up, and they had to do almost all the work by hand. So, although the work to improve their living conditions had been underway for some time, they had only managed to carve out a few caves on the mountain for living and storing supplies, and didn't have much spare capacity for other construction.
"Come on, Brother Li, I'll show you around our work area."
After chatting for a while on the edge of Moon-Chasing Island, Tang Cheng led Li Xingkong to take a stroll around the base. Meanwhile, a new batch of researchers from Moon-Chasing Island also came to the island's surface and began communicating with the people outside through the Moon-Chasing Island's completely enclosed barrier.
They were not modified by Li Xingkong, and they genuinely envied this group of people who could move freely on the lunar surface.
However, compared to those still on Earth, they are already very fortunate to be able to come to the moon in person. It's not the best, but it's not the worst either. Thinking about it this way, at least they have some psychological comfort.
This life, which had been stagnant for a long time, was suddenly invigorated by the arrival of these new people. As soon as they arrived, everyone who had been looking for something to do gathered around and started chatting on their phones.
Those who know the situation are interacting with newcomers on Moon-Chasing Island; those who don't might think they're observing animals in a zoo.
Li Xingkong followed Tang Cheng, and the two arrived at one of the caves on the mountainside.
This cave was built above a natural cave and was carved out by several people over several days. The entrance is only about the width and height of one person, making it somewhat narrow.
Following Tang Cheng inside, after walking several dozen steps, the cave suddenly widened. The cave's interior was about ten meters high, and they had entered from a position suspended in mid-air. A winding path, cleared by human hands, led to the bottom of the cave.
Tang Cheng didn't follow the path; instead, he jumped down directly.
That would be impossible on Earth Star; his physique wouldn't be that strong. But on the moon, even an ordinary person could become a master of agility, given the difference in gravity.
Tang Cheng's body floated lightly to the bottom of the cave, and Li Xingkong followed him down.
Although there is no direct sunlight in the cave, you can still see the surrounding environment clearly. Several large lights are installed on the cave ceiling, and the winding wires connect to the solar panels outside the cave.
The cave was divided into several areas. On the upper left corner of the lower level where the two of them had descended, there was a row of earthen beds made of lunar soil. After counting them carefully, they matched exactly the number of people. It seemed that this was their dormitory area, or rather, a large communal dormitory.
In the upper right corner, their supplies were piled up. Although they could survive on the lunar surface after being modified by Li Xingkong, and could rely on sunlight to replenish their energy, and even had a solution to their breathing problems, the exchange of supplies was still unavoidable.
They cannot yet go without food and water. Although they require far fewer supplies than the average person, they still need to regularly supplement with essential vitamins and trace elements.
Besides this half being the living area, the other half was used as an indoor work area, where most of the scientific research equipment they brought with them on this lunar mission was placed.
Although outdoor scientific research is more convenient, scientific instruments require precision and are far more valuable than the human body. Any environmental issues can drastically change the experimental results.
Therefore, a more rigorous research lab is still very necessary, although their current research lab is not very sophisticated.
Besides the instruments, the research lab is filled with all sorts of collected samples: colorful soil, strange stones, various minerals that look like metallic minerals, and all kinds of different things, densely packed in one corner.
The cave is indeed quite large, and it looks like there's still plenty of space left for future development.
"This is our main base now. Although many designs are still on paper due to material issues, we are now gradually putting them into practice."
Tang Cheng showed Li Xingkong around the Li Xingkong and then began to discuss the problems they were currently facing.
"The most important issue now is how to advance our technology on the moon. The first problem we're facing is that we don't currently have a way to produce qualified building materials here."
"Because no compound fuels, oil, wood, or coal have been found on the lunar surface, there are none of these. Without fuel, we can't create a high-temperature environment, and we can't even fire a single brick right now."
"Although large quantities of helium-3 have been found in the lunar soil, this material cannot be used directly as fuel under normal circumstances; it is used in nuclear applications. For us right now, it's just a high-grade mineral—we can look at it, but we can't use it."
"Furthermore, the lunar surface is a vacuum environment, lacking oxygen and making conventional heating methods impossible. We are currently exploring ways to use solar energy for heating to experimentally prepare the first batch of building materials."
After hearing Tang Cheng's description, Li Xingkong that this was indeed a crucial question.
On Earth Star, due to the use of various compound fuels, various smelted metal weapons had already appeared on the historical stage as early as the early stages of civilized society. People had been using metals for thousands of years and had never considered this aspect before.
Once on the moon, the problem we're facing now is clearly beyond our capabilities.
After all, the idea of a lunar base was only proposed recently, so who could have imagined these problems?
He should have brought a small nuclear power plant with him, but even though it's called a nuclear power plant, if it's not used properly, it could be a nuclear bomb. Li Xingkong was still reluctant to touch it until he had enough confidence to deal with it.
However, building materials do not necessarily require a high-temperature environment to be prepared; a high-pressure environment can also produce building materials of sufficient quality.
Li Xingkong is currently helpless against high temperatures, since he hasn't learned any Fireball Spell or anything like that, but he has many ways to deal with high pressure.
Putting everything else aside, his sheer strength already surpasses the pressure of many hydraulic presses, making it quite easy for him to press a batch of simple, usable building materials.
Even with the solidified structure of Explosive Reactive Armor, it's still possible to quickly produce some building materials.
Of course, only he can do this right now; no one else can do it for him.