My science and technology museum

In order to ensure that the Shenzhou successfully completes the docking and assembly task and plays a role in gathering the confidence of all mankind in next week's global live broadcast, the institute is moving very quickly and has begun to use the space elevator to transport the cruise ship in the past few days. components to a near-Earth spaceport.

And under the control of Xingtong, the formal splicing of the main body began.

Coupled with some of the Shenzhou footage released from time to time, the popularity of the entire network is getting higher and higher.

The global public is eagerly awaiting it.

We are all looking forward to the live broadcast event in a few days.

Let’s witness this great rise of human civilization together.

Under the wash of joy, the panic in everyone's hearts was temporarily forgotten.

Completely forget about Pluto.

Saturday, April 13, 2030.

Everything is appropriate.

In the master control center of Dengtian Island Ground Station, Xu Lei, Wu Chuping, Li Chengzhe, Yang Senping, Yu Hongliang and others looked serious, with nervousness mixed with a little excitement and anticipation.

Today is the day for the final docking and launch of the main body of the Shenzhou, and the live broadcast has also begun.

Xu Lei, Wu Chuping, Li Chengzhe and the others, as the main persons in charge of the heavy cruiser manufacturing plan, must personally take command on such an important occasion to ensure that the matter can be a complete success.

In addition, this time Xu Lei also decided to board the Shenzhou himself.

Doing this not only fulfills the dream of being a man, but also sends a signal to the outside world.

Future technology will not leave all human beings to survive alone.

The crisis on Pluto must be resolved.

As for Yang Senping, the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Yu Hongliang, the commander-in-chief of the base, they came to Dentian Island specifically because they did not want to miss this scene that would be recorded in the history of human civilization.

And among these people, there is also a special being.

It is Xingtong's mechanical body.

"How are all the processes going?" Xu Lei walked to the main control screen. There was no sound from his body but it reached the ears of everyone behind him.

Li Chengzhe was the first to react and report on the current situation: "The main body of the Shenzhou has basically been spliced. The remaining core power system was just transported to the space elevator ten minutes ago and can be started at any time to the near-Earth space port to complete the final splicing. "

"Dean Xu, I think we can start. I'm afraid the global public can't wait." Wu Chuping, who was standing next to him, stood up and reminded him.

Xu Lei knew that as long as the remaining six nuclear fusion power engines were successfully installed on the main body of the cruise ship, the Shenzhou would be able to undergo the final start-up test.

Even the two heavy rail guns that serve as the main weapons can also try to test their power.

Yang Senping and Yu Hongliang were not participants in the Hammer Project, so they were very sensible at this time and did not express their opinions rashly.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Lei stopped wasting time and immediately gave the command to start the space elevator.

"Start the ladder and send the nuclear fusion power engine to space."

As the voice sounded, under the operation of the staff, the space elevator was decisively started.

At the same time, in the live broadcast room, the audience's perspective is also following the rapid rise of the space elevator. It will not take long to reach the near-Earth space port. At that time, the overall picture of the Shenzhou will also be exposed for the first time.

Excited, they all sent comments to express their feelings.

If it hadn't been for the despair and death that enveloped the world just last week, no one would have thought that human civilization would only have a few years left.

But this also proves from the side that everyone’s fear of Pluto’s coming is disappearing.

This is a good transition.

It shows that Xu Lei's choice to use the heavy cruiser to build public confidence is indeed a good way.

"Take off from Wuhu!"

"I'm so excited, I can finally see the whole picture of the Shenzhou."

"With six nuclear fusion power engines, it is worthy of being an interstellar battleship that can sail freely in the galaxy."

"I don't know if there will be a test launch of the rail gun, I look forward to it."

"Oh my God, only future technology can be so powerful."

“It’s really hard to imagine that future technology can achieve this level, it has simply reached a new level of civilization.

"Seeing those partial photos of the Shenzhou in the past few days has whetted my appetite. I hope I can enjoy it today."

"It can reach one thousandth of the speed of light, and it only takes two days to reach Mars."

…

As for the comments from global audiences in the live broadcast room, Xu Lei and the others definitely didn't have time to read them. Their attention was always on the ladder.

According to the speed of the space elevator, it will take about two hours to reach the near-Earth space port.

But no one slacked off in the process.

The six nuclear fusion power engines in the elevator are related to whether the Shenzhou can be successfully launched.

If there is a problem during transportation, then today's plan will fall short, and it will be impossible to manufacture six additional nuclear fusion power engines in a short period of time.

The key point is that if the Shenzhou fails, it will undoubtedly bring another major blow to the public's already desperate heart.

If you want to save the situation by then, you will have to pay a higher price.

Therefore, there must be no surprises in the entire process.

For this reason, Xu Lei also gave instructions to Xingtong, asking her to monitor the operation of all equipment at all times and solve any problems in a timely manner.

But be cautious, and no one is talking idle during this period.

First, Wu Chuping, who couldn't stand it anymore, took the initiative to stir up the topic.

He walked up to Xu Lei and asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Dean Xu, if you really want to take the Shenzhou to Mars for a mission, in my opinion you should leave it to professional astronauts."

It's not that Wu Chuping doesn't believe in Xu Lei's abilities. The main thing is that space is a very dangerous place after all, especially if you have to go to Mars. If something happens in the middle, it will definitely be the biggest loss to mankind.

It is no exaggeration to say that Xu Lei has become the backbone of everyone based on these recent events.

With Xu Lei here, no matter what kind of crisis mankind encounters, there will be a glimmer of hope in everyone's hearts. It always feels like Xu Lei can lead everyone to successfully resolve the disaster.

But if Xu Lei is gone, it will be like a high-rise building without its load-bearing walls.

The building will collapse.

From the current point of view, it is undoubtedly safest for Xu Lei to stay on Earth.

But since it was Xu Lei's decision, he definitely couldn't give up because of Wu Chuping's words, not to mention that he had to set an example in front of all mankind today.

Of course, he is not a show of courage.

The Hammer Cruiser is not an experimental product designed for the first time. As the technological crystallization of the second-level civilization, its technology is very mature.

It truly has the ability to sail freely in space.

Even if you encounter special troubles in the galaxy, you can escape safely with the power of your primary and secondary weapons.

In any case, the crisis that mankind encountered this time came from Pluto and had nothing to do with extraterrestrial civilization.

Of course there is nothing to be afraid of.

As for the Shenzhou mission to Mars this time, it is to improve the Mars galaxy monitoring station and put it into use as soon as possible to better observe the situation of Pluto.

According to the Shenzhou's flying speed, the round trip only takes a few days.

In addition, this time Xu Lei will take Xingtong's mechanical body aboard the Shenzhou, which can be said to be foolproof.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Xu Lei slowly raised his lips with a smile, turned to look at Wu Chuping and said: "In order to gather public confidence, I must personally carry out the mission of the Shenzhou this time. Wu commands you You don’t want to see our plan fail, right?”

"Alas~"

Finally Wu Chuping sighed.

Faced with Xu Lei's remarks, he really couldn't find a reason to refute.

But then he changed his approach and said resolutely: "If Dean Xu insists on going, although I have nothing to say, you just have to take me with you."

A man is a boy until he dies.

What's more, Wu Chuping has devoted most of his life to the aerospace industry.

Now that we have the opportunity to set foot in space, it is inevitable that we will have thoughts.

Although the Hammer Cruiser has a gravity system that allows the crew inside to walk normally on flat ground, the environment there is after all much more complex than on Earth. It is not suitable for older people due to their reduced body functions. space flight.

In fact, when he was preparing to come to Dengtian Island, Pei Hongyin thought he was dissatisfied with Lao Ye's request, but Xu Lei persuaded him to stop.

In the end, he didn’t even come to the Sky Island.

Join the action by choosing to watch live from home.

Wu Chuping is indeed younger than Pei Hongyin, but in this case it is more appropriate to stay at the ground station, not to mention that the general control center also needs someone to direct the overall situation.

"Commander Wu, the ground station can't live without you. How about we wait until next time to talk about it." Xu Lei did not directly refuse Wu Chuping, but mentioned this more tactfully.

Everyone has been getting along with each other for so long, how could Wu Chuping not know the meaning of these words.

In addition, although he had this idea, it was not strong, so he could only nodded and smiled bitterly: "Okay, I will stay here to ensure your safety."

Two hours passed quickly as several people talked.

When the space elevator car arrived at the near-Earth spaceport, the space robot began to execute the program under the operation of Xingtong, using the robotic arm to transport the nuclear fusion power engine and dock it with the main body of the Shenzhou.

The whole process seems very difficult, but it can be very smooth and fast due to the functions of various equipment.

In a short time, the installation of an engine was completed.

Because after the space elevator arrived at the near-Earth space port, the perspective of the live broadcast screen changed, and the Shenzhou that everyone had been thinking about was finally fully revealed.

With a length of almost 400 meters, it looks very large even in a near-Earth space port. Although the all-black painting is not very eye-catching, it is a hidden killer in space.

The two heavy rail guns as the main weapons cannot be underestimated even by medium-sized battleships.

What's more, there are also powerful space torpedoes and close-in defense guns.

It's just that the nuclear fusion power engine at the rear has just been installed, and it doesn't look very harmonious.

But no matter what, the enthusiasm of viewers from all over the world in the live broadcast room has been completely ignited, and the barrage refresh rate has reached an astonishing frequency.

"Is this our first interstellar battleship Shenzhou? It looks so thick and big."

"What a powerful visual impact."

"It's actually true, we already have interstellar battleships."

"The history of human civilization will be rewritten again."

"Humanity will win!"

"I don't think Pluto is anything. It's just a bigger meteorite."

"I believe that with the presence of interstellar battleships, mankind will definitely be able to overcome the disaster in a few years."

…

Just as the audience in the live broadcast room was immersed in the majestic body of the Shenzhou, good news finally came from the Dengtian Island master control center.

"The last nuclear fusion power engine has been installed, and the Shenzhou assembly progress has reached 100%. Will it start?"

Xu Lei listened to the voice coming from the communicator, turned his head and looked around at everyone, and then gave the final order decisively.

"Start the Shenzhou."

For star battleships, space is their destination. If they do not encounter any special conditions after the first startup, they will basically not shut down completely again.

A lifetime of navigating the galaxy.

Almost as soon as Xu Lei's voice fell, the audience in the live broadcast room suddenly noticed that the originally silent Shenzhou was moving.

First, the six nuclear fusion power engines located at the rear of the battleship began to slowly start and emit a faint light, and then even the main body of the battleship began to brighten, as if it had been injected with life.

Until everything is calm again.

Although the audience does not understand these things very well, their subjective judgment of the Shenzhou based on its appearance alone is undoubtedly a complete success.

After all, if the activation fails, the battleship will no longer exist due to the power of nuclear fusion.

It even involves the entire near-Earth space port and the Tiangong Space Station.

The intelligent core system used by the Shenzhou interstellar battleship is Xingtong. After the battleship was successfully started, Xingtong immediately ran the self-test program and reported it in real time in the general control center.

"The power engine system is operating normally."

"Weapon systems are operating normally."

"The gravity system is normal."

"The adaptation rate of each core component reaches 100%."

…

"Passed system detection, you can fly..."

Xu Lei, who was standing in front of the main control screen, listened to everything Xingtong reported in his heart. After being stunned for a few seconds, he turned around with great excitement to face the crowd and uttered five words in a deep voice.

"We succeeded."

What followed was cheers and warm applause.

Enduring.

"The Shenzhou has been launched successfully. The next step is up to us. All crew members will enter the Shenzhou with me." Xu Lei raised his hand to signal everyone to stop, without forgetting his mission at all.

Although the Shenzhou is a small warship with a length of less than 500 meters, it can accommodate 1,400 crew members when fully loaded.

It's just that there is currently no training system for crew members in China. It is definitely impossible to fully load the Shenzhou. There are only more than 100 personnel who followed Xu Lei into the Shenzhou this time.

It's a little less, but Xingtong's mechanical body is enough to ensure the normal operation of the battleship.

So no one hesitated in the following time, and the original crew members followed Xu Lei and Xingtong directly into the space elevator.

However, it is worth mentioning that these people also include two special figures.

It was Yu Hongliang and Li Chengzhe.

Li Chengzhe is the core member of the Hammer Project, and Wu Chuping is in charge of the general control center of the ground station. There is no problem for him to board the Shenzhou to participate in the specific testing of various functions of the warship.

As for Yu Hongliang, he just sneaked in to experience it.

Considering that Yu Hongliang's physical fitness as a soldier was pretty good, Xu Lei turned a blind eye to this.

Anyway, they won't stay on the Shenzhou for long.

Later, a captain will be selected to stay in space for a long time and be responsible for the command of the Shenzhou.

But at a time when human civilization is in crisis, when Pluto approaches the Earth, it is inevitable that someone on the ship will have some selfish thoughts and do things that betray all mankind.

For example, capture the battleship and move it away from the earth star.

But with the existence of Star Pupils, the captain's control authority can be removed at any time, which ensures absolute control.

Soon after they entered the space elevator and started heading for the Shenzhou, the live broadcast room also announced the successful launch of the Shenzhou and the news that it would go on a mission to Mars.

Especially when everyone found out that the person in charge of the task was Xu Lei, they were completely surprised.

At this moment, everyone finally understood that Xu Lei did not take the crisis of Pluto to heart. At this time, he dared to go to Mars like nothing happened, which showed that he was absolutely sure that he could solve Pluto.

This caused the number of Xu Lei's supporters to increase at a linear speed in almost a short period of time. The key is that they all come from all over the world.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Xu Lei wants to be the overlord of the planet, there will probably be a large number of people supporting him.

The barrage is so fast that it can no longer be observed with the naked eye.

"Damn it, Mr. Xu is so strong."

"From now on, Mr. Xu will be my guiding light in life."

"With Mr. Xu here, who dares to say that human civilization is gone?"

"Suddenly I'm very envious of Mr. Xu. I also really want to experience the feeling of riding on the Shenzhou."

"This is an interstellar battleship that can only appear in science fiction movies. Who doesn't want to go up and experience it? Maybe in the future, when our human civilization is strong enough, interstellar travel will become easier."

"I hope that the global forces will support Mr. Xu in the future, so that the crisis on Pluto will definitely be resolved."

“We have to stick together.”

Just like the audience's mood at this time, Xu Lei was extremely excited as he watched the space elevator rise rapidly and was about to reach the Shenzhou. After all, this was his first time in space.

As for Yu Hongliang beside him, he didn't care at all, and hearty laughter came from the communicator from time to time.

"In my life, I have ridden in armored vehicles, driven tanks, and fired missiles. I can even drive an aircraft carrier. I never thought I would be able to board an interstellar battleship in my lifetime. This is all thanks to your future technology!"

"Commander Yu, the Shenzhou is fully intelligently controlled. I'm afraid there's no hope for you to pilot it." Hearing this, Li Chengzhe reminded with a smile.

Xu Lei thought of something and suddenly interjected: "The Shenzhou does not need to be driven manually, but you can try the heavy rail gun."

According to the introduction of relevant technical knowledge in the Science and Technology Museum, Xu Lei knew that the heavy rail gun on the Hammer cruiser uses nuclear fusion reaction as energy to accelerate the shell to a relative speed.

The shells are made of tungsten alloy, with a maximum range of two astronomical units.

That is twice the average distance from the Sun to the Earth's stars.

And it can directly penetrate any ordinary star battleship at a distance of 1,000 kilometers.

It's just that these are all evaluations from the Science and Technology Museum. As for how powerful the Shenzhou can be, it is currently unknown.

Previously, because the nuclear fusion power engine was not installed and could not provide energy support for the weapon system, it was naturally impossible to conduct actual testing.

Now that the Shenzhou has been successfully launched, there will be no obstacles to launching the rail gun.

Moreover, in the vast space, there is no need to worry about any impact.

really.

I heard there was going to be a test firing of a rail gun.

Yu Hongliang immediately became impatient.

"That's a good feeling. I also want to see how powerful this space battleship weapon is."

As he spoke, images seemed to flash in his mind.

About two hours later, Xu Lei and more than a hundred crew members finally arrived at the near-Earth space port and entered the Shenzhou through a special passage.

The Shenzhou ship adopts an upper and lower double-layer structure. In addition to the core cabin, it also includes a rest and living area for the crew.

Xu Lei arranged for the crew members to arrive at their respective posts, and he took Yu Hongliang, Li Chengzhe, Xingtong and others into the core command cabin of the battleship.

——

"As expected of an interstellar battleship, this feeling is almost the same as on the ground." Yu Hongliang, who had changed into the ship's uniform, felt his physical condition at the moment, with a surprised expression on his face.

Li Chengzhe fiddled with the operating table and checked various indicators anxiously.

In addition, since the Shenzhou is equipped with a high-power quantum relay station, it can ensure that the warship can establish contact with the earth and stars at any time. With this convenience, the live broadcast can naturally continue.

The purpose of this global live broadcast is to let everyone know the true strength of human beings, thereby building up human confidence.

Therefore, the live broadcast time must not be too short.

According to Xu Lei's idea, he planned to turn off the live broadcast after completing the mission to Mars and returning to Earth.

At that time, all work will focus on the execution of the plan to deal with Pluto. After all, this will take several years to prepare.

Thinking of this, Xu Lei immediately refocused his attention. After putting everyone in flight mode, he immediately issued the latest instructions to Xingtong.

"Xingtong, set the destination to Mars and let's go!"

"Instruction received."

A voice that was less emotional than Xingtong came from the battleship system, and then the Shenzhou's six nuclear fusion power engines sprayed out a large amount of high-energy particles until the battleship's flight speed reached one thousandth of the speed of light.

Flying at this speed, it would only take two days to reach Mars.

However, Xu Lei did not forget to test the heavy rail gun, so he asked Xingtong to search for suitable meteorites during the flight and use the heavy rail gun to attack.

Perhaps it was due to the charm of the heavy rail gun that Yu Hongliang, Li Chengzhe and the others stayed put without rest during the flight of the battleship, for fear of missing the test of the rail gun.

Even the audience in the live broadcast room chose to stay in their original position even though it was dark.

This shows the charm of gunfire.

Fortunately, the heavy rail gun has a far enough range that even if the suitable target is not near the Shenzhou, it can still launch an attack.

So after the battleship flew for more than ten hours, the heart-shaking good news finally came from the core command module. The battleship scanning system successfully identified a suitable target for attack.

"The system detected a meteorite object with a diameter of about 500 meters, and the heavy rail gun has successfully locked on the target."

"Launch?"

Xu Lei, who was waiting for this opportunity, would definitely not hesitate at this time, and immediately issued the launch order with Yu Hongliang and Li Chengzhe looking forward to it with excitement.