Chapter 424

Chapter 424: The Space Shuttle

“I have been watching the surveillance camera closely; that is an independent monitoring system, and this door has definitely not been opened.” Major Jin stated confidently, knowing every detail here like the back of his hand.

Yet, a layer of sweat still glued to his back, as his originally refreshing military uniform felt damp.

“National defense is crucial; nothing can go wrong,” these eight words were prominently inscribed on a pillar near the door.

“It seems those robots had really bad luck; they were just one step away from being destroyed.” A smile appeared on the lieutenant general’s face. Fortunately, the largest secret underground training center remained secure, justifying the enormous investment by the country, which even affected domestic livelihood projects.

“Open the door, Major Jin!” Major General Sun heard the middle-aged man’s words but still didn’t intend to break the combat formation of the guard battalion soldiers.

Before arriving here, Major General Sun had received part of the casualty report from earlier.

In just twenty minutes of the attack, the computer center at the training center not only suffered from a massive data flow blockage attack but also had some important documents read, including current advanced aerospace technology files, such as overloading capsules, space laser plasma engines, reverse propulsion shafts, and vital space station control system documents. This was already a serious leak of classified information.

Now, all personnel at the aerospace training center canceled their leave and began gathering technicians and experts to investigate the attack, looking for culprits and evidence. China would definitely not swallow this loss quietly.

Several overseas secret military units have begun gearing up for proportional retaliatory actions.

A loud rumble echoed as the door began to swing open sideways, with one panel retracting downwards. It was evident that the design of this door had been carefully considered, capable of preventing intrusions while also serving as a shelter and trench.

The leaders of the aerospace training center sighed in relief. Such a massive door opening still made quite a sound; it was impossible to escape the monitoring of the stationed personnel. The individuals guarding here were not only loyal to the country but also possessed exceptional physical fitness—there were certainly no deaf or blind among them.

“Squad leader Gu, pick ten reliable soldiers to follow us inside; the others will guard the entrance.” Major General Sun held a position comparable to a CEO within the Fifth Aerospace Training Center, responsible for execution, effectively avoiding the situation of laypeople leading experts and ensuring operational efficiency.

“Understood, Director Sun.” Squad leader Gu Dongshan addressed Major General Sun by his title at the training center.

As the door opened, a larger space appeared before them. Besides a few permanent light sources, rows of additional lights gradually illuminated the entire area.

However, a tall transparent blast-proof wall rose up to the ceiling, blocking the entrance of the buffer zone.

After everyone put on disposable temporary dust suits and passed through a cleaning corridor, Major Jin and his colleagues verified their identities again using new keys and fingerprints to unlock the transparent blast-proof sliding door, which only allowed one person to pass through.

In this sprawling space of nearly twenty thousand square meters, not only were artificial suns and plants maintaining a small underground climate, but there were also various pieces of equipment—some as large as multi-story buildings, while others were no bigger than matchboxes.

In this vast area, several assembly workshops began to take shape. One area housed a shiny, massive object without any paint, reflecting dazzling light like a mirror.

Surprisingly, it was a spaceplane, designed to carry four crew members, enveloped in a transparent dust-free cover resembling a yurt.

Such a mystery lies here; no wonder the invaders went to such lengths to attack this place. However, fate was against them, and they ultimately failed.

This enormous object, comparable in length to two train carriages, was still under construction, with many parts exposed. It was a project stretching over a long time, continually posed with real technical challenges, and many materials and processing technologies were still being refined.

What does the term ‘national effort’ truly mean? This is the true power of the nation.

It gathers the sweat of 1.4 billion taxpayers, the tireless dedication of millions of scientific personnel, the wisdom of thousands of aviation and aerospace experts, and the efforts of thousands of companies pouring their best technologies and budgets into developing it. Hundreds of technicians have devoted their youth generation after generation to this dark underground, like ants moving a mountain, accumulating sand to build a tower, completing this experimental spaceplane—or what can also be called the space shuttle—piece by piece with tens of millions of components.

When this space shuttle appears in public, it may create enormous waves.

Not only is there a space shuttle here, but also assembly areas for space satellites, spacecraft, and space engines. These devices currently in assembly are all covered within a dust-free low-pressure sealed shield.

This underground assembly workshop completely avoids detection by military satellites in space; neither remote sensing equipment nor synthetic aperture radar can discover the incredible mystery fifty meters below ground.

Due to costs, technology, and material constraints, the working days here are limited to just a few days each month. Once operations begin, it means continuous work day and night, and the space shuttle and other equipment parked inside are kept in a constant temperature and humidity environment.

Once everything is completed, the large pieces will be disassembled and packaged for transport to other locations for assembly and tuning. In its complete form, no one, not even a celestial being, could take the assembled items here away intact.

Major General Sun exchanged glances with Squad Leader Gu, who nodded in understanding. He then addressed the ten soldiers he had brought, saying, "Spread out and search."

The ten soldiers quickly took off, armed with their weapons. As they ran, they activated the search module in their digital soldier equipment, launching life detection and electromagnetic response checks simultaneously. This digital equipment was designed with combat mechanical soldiers in mind from the start; with dual modes active and under multiple cross-scans, it is generally difficult for anyone or any robot to escape tracking.

There is a substantial amount of electronics here, some of which cannot be powered down for years and must remain operational, which can create some interference. However, human judgment allows for filtering and identification, unlike robots that might miss crucial information.

If combat mechanical soldiers scanned this area, they would be fast but less accurate.

Since this is a restricted zone, no one can linger for too long; the search must not allow any slack.

"Eh?"

Major Jin noticed that a few catalogs he had placed on a workbench near the entrance seemed to have been moved. It was not easy to detect without close observation.

Despite being cautious, after watching for a while, he found no abnormalities; just some low-value scrap handling lists. Perhaps someone else had moved them. He casually organized them and followed behind Major General Sun, waiting for the search results.

As he reached out to arrange the materials, he did not see a metal particle the size of a soybean roll out from under the documents, leaping quickly and silently burying itself into the alloy belt buckle.

“Report! No discoveries?”

“Okay, I understand. Old Sun, let’s talk outside.”

In this underground space, various probes were present, checking the monitoring logs, but no abnormalities were found.

The group exited again, and the special alloy impact-proof steel door rumbled shut once more. The verification machine at the entrance began its maintenance and repair. According to safety regulations, the original control systems and chips would be completely replaced with new ones, using a new detection formula. Everyone’s entry verification cards or keys would also be replaced; otherwise, they would not be able to enter.

“It seems no one got inside!” Major General Sun’s expression improved, and he said to Major Jin, “Seal it completely and create a vacuum environment for 24 hours.”

“Yes!”

Major Jin understood Major General Sun’s intent very well. If any humans had slipped in, they could expect to become something akin to space corpses. This tactic was indeed ruthless, but it was a pity for the plants that maintained the ecological environment and provided oxygen.

Squad Leader Gu remained fifty meters underground with his subordinates to guard the area, while only one platoon followed the high-ranking leaders from the training center back to the surface.

On the sloped elevator heading to the surface, Major General Sun exchanged opinions with a few other leaders.

“Director Sun, when will the investigation team arrive?”

“At seven o’clock tonight; they have already set out with four transport planes carrying computer experts and forensic specialists. General Cai, how should we arrange these candidates? Should we send someone to screen them for any issues?”

After the major incident at the training center, the astronaut candidates also found themselves victims of an unforeseen disaster, needing to go through a screening process.

“Little Sun, just give them a quick overview; don’t put too much pressure on them. After all, being able to participate in astronaut selection means their loyalty shouldn’t be a concern. Their training will be paused for three days so they can rest; it’s not easy for them either.”

Major General Geng, another leader responsible for political work at the training center, interjected in the discussion between Major General Sun and General Cai.

“Alright, I will allow them three days of free activity. I hope this time we can expose the mastermind behind this. This loss is just too great.”

Major General Sun nodded. There had been times when the aerospace training center had been caught off guard, suffering significant casualties. From the enemy’s planning and actions, it was clear that they had been scheming for a long time before launching a sudden attack.

Based on the information gathered so far, the enemy’s intentions were evident—they aimed for the aerospace technology at the training center. It wasn’t just theft; they sought to destroy, which clearly indicated their malicious intent.