"WOW—"
The moment everyone looked up, they saw their homeland, nearly four hundred thousand kilometers away.
Looking at Blue Star from the Moon, it appeared much larger than the Moon did from Blue Star. They could clearly make out the overlapping layers of clouds, the continents, the oceans, and even forests and deserts.
"It’s so beautiful!" a female astronaut exclaimed in awe.
A male engineer pulled out a camera to begin recording their daily routine. The very first shot he captured was their distant home.
Yunyang didn’t interrupt their sightseeing, as he was also taking a moment to admire the view. However, he snapped back to reality much faster than the astronauts. He summoned his Flying Sword, and with a casual, sweeping gesture, the blade carved out thousands of square meters of perfectly flat terrain on the rugged lunar surface.
He then patted his gourd, releasing a long string of shipping containers. They lined up immaculately in numerical order, practically forming an instant container camp.
"This is the spot we agreed on for the camp," Yunyang said to Professor Wang, who was leading the group. "Do you need me to level a patch of ground for you to set up the base?"
Professor Wang looked at the perfectly flattened ground where the containers now sat and fell utterly silent.
A man next to him reached up to facepalm, though he only ended up smacking his helmet. "We even specifically brought suspension brackets..."
The lunar surface was naturally uneven and cratered. Of course, they hadn’t planned to waste time and energy leveling the ground, nor was terraforming the Moon an immediate priority. Because of this, the construction of the Moon Base heavily relied on a suspended design, similar to Antarctic research stations.
After a moment of thought, Professor Wang nodded. "A flat surface will certainly make building the base much easier. We’ll have to trouble you then, Taoist Yunyang."
"It’s nothing," Yunyang waved his hand dismissively. "Just mark out the approximate sizes for both the temporary base and the permanent one."
While some of the astronauts opened containers one through three to unload supplies, Professor Wang guided Yunyang nearby to mark out two plots of land.
Before the astronauts had even finished unloading their cargo, Yunyang had already leveled the entire area.
Everyone was speechless.
They then watched as Yunyang waved his hand again. The remaining cargo flew out of the containers one by one, landing neatly around the perimeter of the temporary base.
"You can handle the details. Just let me know if you need any heavy lifting," Yunyang said with a smile.
Thus, with Yunyang’s help, the temporary base—which originally would have taken ten hours to construct—was completed in just one.
Although it was called a temporary base, it was by no means small. After all, it had to accommodate the living and resting needs of thirty astronauts, shield them from the extreme lunar environment, and provide basic oxygen generation, power supply, scientific research facilities, and staging capabilities for future construction.
The living quarters alone covered a larger area than the Daluo Palace that Gu Zhao had previously built. Furthermore, a massive array of solar photovoltaic panels had been deployed, gleaming brightly under the sun’s rays. This construction scale was large enough for people on Blue Star to observe them with telescopes.
At the Yandu Aerospace Base.
"Signal connected! The temporary Moon Base is fully constructed!"
The massive screen in the main hall displayed the exterior of the temporary Moon Base, along with the figures of dozens of astronauts and Yunyang. Following the operator’s announcement, thunderous applause erupted throughout the room.
Standing behind the operator, Academician Li stared at the screen, his face full of gratification and envy.
A satellite technician nearby opened a smaller window on the left side of the main screen, displaying a high-definition satellite feed of the lunar surface.
"Not just the temporary Moon Base, but even the solar panels have been fully deployed. Power supply for the temporary base is secured, and all subsequent operations are ready to commence."
"That was incredibly fast!" someone marveled.
"Taoist Yunyang helped," a staff member pointed out with a smile.
"The temporary Moon Base is requesting a call!" the operator announced.
Dean Li put on a headset. "Put them through!"
The next moment, a crackle of static buzzed in the ears of Dean Li and the relevant personnel, followed by Professor Wang’s excited voice.
"Calling Yandu Aerospace Base! We have arrived on the Moon. With Taoist Yunyang’s help, we have finished building the temporary Moon Palace base and completed our mission ahead of schedule!"
"Yandu Aerospace Base copies. Excellent work, everyone!"
A crisp, thrilled female voice came through the headset. "It wasn’t hard work at all! We just stood on the sidelines. At most, we just lent a hand."
The staff at the aerospace base exchanged looks of deep envy.
What did it mean to win without lifting a finger? This was exactly it! They didn’t have to endure the crushing G-forces of spacecraft acceleration and deceleration, nor did they have to suffer the physical toll of long space travel. They just breezed their way straight to the Moon.
Although the Moon’s gravity was only one-sixth of Blue Star’s, it was still present. It was far less damaging to the body than the near-zero gravity environment of the Celestial Palace Space Station. Furthermore, the permanent base would have a dedicated gravity chamber. In theory, the amount of time they could safely stay on the Moon far exceeded what was possible at the Celestial Palace Space Station.
"We are still quite a distance from the Guanghan Palace and can’t head over there right now. However, once the Moon Base is fully built, we plan to make a special trip to Guanghan Palace to burn incense." Professor Wang chuckled. "After all, we’ve made it to the Moon. We have to pay our respects to Fairy Chang’e and the Lunar Star Monarch no matter what."
Dean Li shook his head and laughed, though this was something they had already agreed upon beforehand.
After the call ended, the astronauts at the temporary base began preparing dinner. Professor Wang invited Yunyang to join them. Yunyang didn’t stand on ceremony, and driven by genuine curiosity, he followed them inside.
Despite the word "temporary" in its name, the base’s technological sophistication was nothing to scoff at. The base modules were essentially identical to the space modules used in the Celestial Palace Space Station. It boasted multi-layer sealing, independent spatial zones, a connected oxygen generation room, and a myriad of high-tech equipment that left Yunyang dazzled.
Then, he saw the dinner the astronauts were preparing.
"Good heavens, you even have barbecue?"
"Roasted chicken wings, grilled steak, roasted corn, and grilled chives," someone introduced. "In a microgravity environment, barbecue remains tender and retains its moisture while getting perfectly crispy and charred. The Celestial Palace Space Station has already verified this excellent texture."
"It’s a pity that while the Moon’s gravity isn’t as strong as Blue Star’s, it’s still higher than on the space station. I wonder how much of that space station barbecue flavor we can preserve here," another person remarked with a hint of regret.
"Don’t complain when you’ve already got it so good. You’d better not let the folks at the aerospace base on Blue Star hear you," someone nearby teased.
Immediately, the voice of a ground crew member from the aerospace base crackled through their earpieces. "Bro, we can hear you. The base surveillance is running in real time. I know you’re just showing off on purpose, but I’m begging you to stop talking."
Everyone burst into roaring laughter.
Professor Wang walked in from the side. "Save this behind-the-scenes footage. It’s not only valuable for popularizing science, but it’s also highly memorable."
"Memorable how?"
"To commemorate the taste they will never get to experience on the ground, of course!"