Chapter 671: Lunar Teammates

As for how exactly the Deep Space Caller had managed to fly to the Moon, neither Su Zhou nor the others ever asked. They were all well aware that for a being of the Commander Tier, escaping the atmosphere was a routine operation. With enough preparation, even getting to the Moon wasn’t out of the question.

Besides, decades ago, the incredibly mysterious Deep Space Caller could already withstand the blast of a strategic nuclear bomb. Pulling something like that off was far more difficult than getting to the Moon.

The United International meeting concluded. Throughout the process, the representative from Ross Country had been little more than a bystander, and all related intelligence had been shared among the parties.

There was no concrete plan for dealing with the Deep Space Caller. The general consensus was to dispatch a team to the Moon as soon as possible to capture or eliminate him. But an operation like that couldn’t be launched at a moment’s notice. No matter how much they rushed, it was impossible to pull it off within a few weeks.

Even the Deep Space Caller himself had lingered in Antarctica for who knows how long, setting up some sort of Array before finally reaching his destination.

‘They all have their own agendas, as do we. But no matter what those agendas are, the spaceship wreckage on the Moon’s Far Side belongs to humanity, not to a monster like the Deep Space Caller.’

As he left, Su Zhou continued his conversation with the Artifice Sage. The young man remarked casually, “Let’s not even get into how those alien wrecks were probably spoils of war from the Immortal Gods. The entire meeting was really just a discussion between the representatives of the four permanent member states.”

‘The four permanent member states are sufficient to represent humanity, and we are the rightful successors to the Immortal Gods,’ the Artifice Sage replied, his tone perfectly placid. ‘Later, United International should grant you the relevant ‘lunar enforcement authority.’ The American Federation, the European Union, and Ross Country will all sign off on it. That way, you can legally and justifiably fight on the Moon and capture or kill John Harrison.’

“What a pain… And it all seems so unnecessary…”

‘But this is order.’

Su Zhou nodded and boarded the plane back to Zhengguo. The massacre at the Antarctic research camp had certainly infuriated him, but anger was useless right now. Once he was on the Moon, Su Zhou would show the Deep Space Caller that no matter what his plans were, he would personally reduce those fantasies to ash.

February 12, 2017. The Spring Festival holiday had ended, and the Lantern Festival had passed as well.

On New Year’s Eve, Zhengguo had announced its second Commander Tier powerhouse: the Daoist Saint. Before that, Ross Country had also announced the appearance of its first Commander Tier.

After that, Commander Tiers from the world’s major powers began to emerge one after another. Su Zhou recognized them as old acquaintances. He was also well aware that, in the shadows, not all Commander Tiers had been revealed to the public. In Zhengguo alone, excluding himself, five Commander Tiers had already emerged, and the other powers had a considerable number as well.

This immediately sparked widespread online discussion. Many netizens theorized that the major powers had coordinated the announcement dates, planning to reveal them all at once. And they were right. With the exception of Su Zhou, the reveal order for every Commander Tier was the result of careful negotiation, intended to maintain a steady momentum and guide global public opinion.

And just as the entire nation lamented the return to work and school, preparations for the moon-landing mission were proceeding in secret at a feverish pace.

Having spent the Spring Festival reunited with his family, Su Zhou had now arrived at a rocket launch base in the western region. Although his physical constitution and capabilities meant he didn’t require any extra training, he was still required to study the structure of the launch vehicle—as well as related rocket physics and engineering principles—as a precaution.

After all, if a malfunction were to occur mid-flight, his teammates would likely be helpless. Only Su Zhou, with his physical prowess, could perform emergency repairs and save their lives.

To be fair, Su Zhou had never liked classes. But now, no one was forcing him to study. What he was learning was essentially for the sake of others, not his own safety or future, so he could approach it with pure curiosity. As a result, he was surprisingly enthusiastic. He pored over the research data on the “Fuguang” launch vehicle, even comparing its structure to the rocket form his Gale Seed could mimic.

Of course, just studying without any hands-on practice would be dull, but with Su Zhou’s abilities, he could easily learn and practice at the same time. As he studied the Fuguang’s multi-stage rocket design, he couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘You know, a multi-stage launch is surprisingly similar to a multi-stage transformation. Each stage has its own rocket engine. After separation, it can rapidly adjust and boost acceleration. It not only maintains its previous velocity but accelerates even further…’

‘Nice. I can definitely make use of this technique next time!’

Naturally, with his current level of scientific literacy, Su Zhou couldn’t read through all the research materials on his own. The professional terminology and specialized vocabulary created that classic cognitive barrier best described by the phrase, “I know what each word means, but I have no idea what the sentence is saying.”

However, at the rocket launch base, not only were there technicians available to explain things in detail, but an intelligent sub-unit of the Artifice Sage was also directly connected to Su Zhou’s personal terminal. It provided him with explanations and translations in near-zero latency, covering everything from the internal structure of a rocket engine’s combustion chamber to the scientific names and specific components of related catalysts. This personal AI was far more useful than any teacher, dictionary, or textbook because it could even identify the specific area of his confusion and provide targeted clarification, rather than just repeating information verbatim.

“Artifice Sage, have you ever considered making this kind of personal AI available to the general public?”

As he studied, Su Zhou discussed it with the Artifice Sage with great interest. “I feel like this would be a national-level buff, at least a ‘+20% Learning Efficiency’ for the entire population! And it would save a ton of time.”

‘The American Federation is actually already doing that,’ the Artifice Sage’s sub-unit replied calmly. ‘Their brain chips have a built-in basic artificial intelligence and are linked to the brain’s memory centers to enable rapid learning. It sounds wonderful in theory, but the side effects are completely unknown.’

‘We don’t need to be the first in everything. We’ll wait and see what happens to the American Federation, and then we can learn from their outcome. While there are certainly times one must take the initiative and feel their way across the river, for this kind of matter, it’s best to have an example. We can watch them make mistakes. If we share those faults, we correct them; if we don’t, we take it as a cautionary tale.’

Objectively speaking, that was true.

Su Zhou was receiving a pleasant, well-rounded education, complete with expert tutors and AI companionship. His three teammates for the moon mission, however, were on a very different track. They had just finished a series of engineering courses and were now undergoing physical conditioning.

Su Zhou’s three teammates for the moon mission were former fighter pilot Bai Jingtiao, Rocket Engineer Gu Yaoluo, and veteran astronaut Meng Jin.

Originally, the lunar exploration team was planned to be larger. However, with the Moon now being home not just to alien spaceships but also to the “Deep Space Caller”—a high-risk individual of unknown power—Zhengguo had, after careful deliberation, reduced the number of human astronauts and added more drones and intelligent machines for support.

Among them, Bai Jingtiao was something of an acquaintance to Su Zhou. He was a leader of the younger generation of the Western White Tiger’s Bai Family, the younger brother of Bai Canglang, and the second of the three brothers of his generation, between Bai Canglang and Bai Hongbo. He was also the first pilot in Zhengguo to test a hypersonic aircraft equipped with Spiritual Power technology. His strength was at the Extraordinary Peak, and in terms of qualifications, background, experience, mental fortitude, professional skill, and personal power, he was among the nation’s absolute best.

As for Gu Yaoluo, he had originally been an ordinary engineer. Fortunately, his Cultivation Talent was among the best of his peers, earning him preferential treatment from the Zhengguo Aerospace Bureau. He was quickly transferred from a technical position to a frontline unit. In addition to his solid theoretical knowledge and rich experience, his personal strength was not to be underestimated, as he had reached the Extraordinary High-tier.

The veteran astronaut, Meng Jin, had been in the service even before the Spiritual Energy Revival. Afterward, most professional astronauts had been moved to support roles because their Spirit Talent wasn’t strong enough; the future clearly belonged to Transcendents, who could adapt to a wider range of environments. Meng Jin, however, was fortunate. His Talent wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t bad, and with his wealth of experience, he was someone who could not be ignored.

Together with Su Zhou, these four comprised the first lunar exploration team. They would have to face not only the harsh environment of the Moon but also a powerful enemy.