Chapter 618

Chapter 618: The Non-Obstructing Mountain Plan and Space Engine

“Wow! You’re already a major; I can’t accept such an honor.”

As Meng Yinan saluted, Lin Mo noticed that his shoulder insignia had changed from a second lieutenant to a major. His rapid rise to the top felt like he had shot up in a rocket, jumping three ranks to match Lin Mo’s military rank.

“Ha ha! It’s all for work, all for work. This doesn’t come from merits of war. I’m just a regular major; even if I become a general, no matter how high my rank is, you’ll always be my boss.” Meng Yinan said cheerfully, adding, “Besides, I have faith in my boss. With your abilities, you’ll definitely get promoted faster than I will.”

It’s well known that astronauts are typically below the rank of commander.

After all, the dangers of being an astronaut far exceed those of a pilot; astronauts are often promoted in emergencies. Those who have gone to space are at least colonels, and the first person to go to space is now a major general.

In the Air Force, the fastest promotions go to nationally registered fighter aces. Had Lin Mo been older, he might already be a squadron leader. However, a major in local forces is a decent rank, but in a high-caliber unit like “Night,” it merely equates to a deputy leader, with no deliberate oppression.

Meng Yinan was unaware that deep within the aerospace training center, a space shuttle was slowly taking shape.

Taking advantage of a failed secret invasion, this guy had quietly secured a wealth of Gold Coins. He always had his own little schemes in mind.

Once that shuttle is built, the great dragon can stealthily take it and go to outer space to enjoy a gourmet meal.

The vast sea of asteroids, with mysterious and unknown metals, would be a feast for the gold giant dragon, savoring every bite.

Thinking about countless meteors possibly containing extraordinary metals burning up in the atmosphere made the gold giant dragon wince. If he could find a pure metallic asteroid, he wouldn’t have to worry about food or drink for the rest of his life. No gold dragon could experience such luxurious feasts.

Gold Coins didn’t dare to share this thought with Lin Mo; otherwise, he would surely end up in the steel furnace for a solid rework.

“Report!”

Major General Sun Huating, the director of the training center, had just finished preparing hot tea when he heard a knocking sound at the door. He looked over and called out loudly, “Please come in!”

“Major General Sun!” Lin Mo sent Meng Yinan away and entered Major General Sun’s office as planned.

“Have a seat!” Major General Sun gestured for Lin Mo to sit on the sofa in his office.

The training center in Jiuquan was not like the densely populated and expensive areas of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. Each room in the training center was spacious, not only Lin Mo’s five-star hotel-style accommodation but even Major General Sun’s office was grander than those of CEOs in big corporations.

With two rooms, a hall, and a bathroom, he could take a hot shower and have a good rest whenever he was tired. Plus, there was a study for reading; the office was large enough to comfortably host seven or eight guests.

Once settled on the sofa, Lin Mo turned to Major General Sun and directly asked, “Major General Sun, did you need to see me?”

Lin Mo was grateful for Major General Sun’s quick approval to borrow the simulator from Colonel Jiang.

The confidentiality level of the Aerospace Department is extremely high, second only to important departments like the Second Artillery. Without high-level permission, it would be nearly impossible for Lin Mo to enter the aerospace training center without going through the proper approval process. However, the training center managed to get it done with a single word.

Major General Sun had been quite ruthless when he dismissed astronaut candidates; Lin Mo was no exception.

“I have something to discuss with you and would appreciate your help?”

Pouring the fragrant tea in front of Lin Mo, Major General Sun looked at him with hopeful eyes, his palms slightly sweating, praying that Lin Mo could assist.

“What is it? If I can help, I will certainly do so.”

Having enjoyed free meals at the 5th Aerospace Training Center with Colonel Jiang in recent days, Lin Mo felt he could not decline if someone was in need.

Major General Sun nodded, tentatively asking, “I have a project that urgently requires special alloy formulas. Do you happen to have any?”

He had put in considerable effort to gather this information and had even used administrative means through the Aerospace Department to learn who held the alloy formulas at the National Defense Star Aerospace Company.

He never expected that after all that, the person holding the information was Lin Mo, a pilot participating in their astronaut selection!

It was like looking for a horse while riding one, or searching for glasses while wearing them.

When Major General Sun and his colleagues realized this after a long chase, they stared blankly at each other, unable to speak. After all that effort, what on earth were they doing? Unfortunately, by the time they processed this revelation, Lin Mo had already vanished.

It wasn’t about going to the Americans to see Boeing and the jokes about airplanes crashing, nor was it about participating in military exercises with the Special Forces; not one of them was able to directly cut in with the Aerospace Department. Given the high level of confidentiality, they couldn’t simply ask for information. If Lin Mo hadn’t coincidentally contacted the aerospace training center, the Aerospace Department wouldn’t have known where to find this elusive character.

“Sure, there are many, but I’m not sure what types you need. If you want them all, it will take a lot of time. I can only describe them orally; I can’t write them down,” Lin Mo replied nonchalantly. He had plenty of these formulas. He had copied many for Chen Haiqing, also known as Young Master Chen, and even exchanged them for a director’s position, expecting substantial dividends by the end of the year.

The Aerospace Department had also reached out to the 611 Institute and other aerospace design institutes. However, while these design units had a database of alloy formulas, they didn’t satisfy the Aerospace Department’s needs; in fact, the number was even less than those from the National Defense Star, which had incomplete smelting techniques.

“Do you really have them?”

Lin Mo’s confirmation matched the information that had come from the Aerospace Department, and Major General Sun felt overjoyed. This was indeed the main character! All their efforts had been in vain, and they had even been tricked by the National Defense Star. It felt incredibly unfair.

Although they didn’t know where Lin Mo had acquired his alloy formulas, it was clear to them that it was related to the fighter jet he was tinkering with.

Lin Mo was crafting a fighter jet without any restrictions, and that kind of freedom had made the experts at those design institutes quite envious. They had to undergo countless verifications and reviews, while the financial officers keenly scrutinized everything, fearing a slip-up would lead to immense losses for the country. The construction costs of the Garden of Perfect Brightness couldn’t even compare to the total R&D costs of those fighter jets.

“Really! More genuine than real gold, it’s 24K with an extra one!” Lin Mo joked for a rare moment.

Major General Sun’s demands were no challenge for Lin Mo. For the gold giant dragon, creating alloy formulas was easier than eating, and he could produce countless variations without effort, even including formulas for metals that didn’t exist on Earth.

High-performance fighter jets undoubtedly needed the support of special materials. Lin Mo had frequently interacted with smelting plants and mechanical processing companies, and perhaps it was these small accumulations over time that led to this understanding; the Aerospace Department couldn’t conduct a thorough investigation either, and issuing administrative orders wasn’t done lightly.

“Great, great!” Major General Sun was overjoyed, standing up and pulling a stack of documents from his desk, handing it to Lin Mo. “Take a look, but remember, this is a strategic-level secret. Don’t let anyone outside know you’ve seen this document.”

These documents were just a part of a larger collection, and giving them to Lin Mo had been discussed beforehand. Although Lin Mo had a reasonably high reading privilege, it still didn’t compare to this specific document.

However, given the circumstances, they chose to make an exception. The aerospace industry allowed for no errors. It was better to grant temporary access to Lin Mo so he could understand better.

Major General Sun didn’t expect Lin Mo to submit every single alloy formula to the Aerospace Department; even if Lin Mo was willing, the department wouldn’t dare accept it. The days of contributing to socialism without compensation were long gone. There is no such thing as a free lunch. To gain anything, one must pay in return, and the cost of acquiring everything was simply too high for the Aerospace Department.

Lin Mo glanced at the document and looked up in shock, asking, “Pulsed Detonation Engine? Plasma Engine? Are you all stuck on the materials?”

The surprise from this document felt like watching a science fiction movie. Shouldn’t rockets with jet engines be the most common in the Aerospace Department?

This document indicated that the country was starting to massively advance its space plans. Had Meng Yinan guessed correctly about the interstellar warship? Lin Mo suddenly recalled that the thing in the underground training center didn’t actually require these two types of engines.

“The ‘Non-Obstructing Mountain’ plan has been moved up,” Major General Sun said, choosing his words carefully and giving Lin Mo a meaningful look.

Confidential, highly confidential. Even revealing a single word would lead everyone in the room to face the fate of being sent for target practice within 24 hours.

“‘Non-Obstructing Mountain’?” Lin Mo was stunned and muttered to himself before suddenly realizing that the space station model suspended by wires in the training center could only be known by astronauts and those who had participated in the astronaut selection.

Rather than a space station, it was more like a spaceport, a giant structure designed for multiple spaceplanes.

It was real! Lin Mo felt a rush of excitement, his eyes gleaming with unusual light.

“Shh!”

Major General Sun made a silent gesture, nodded at Lin Mo, implying they understood each other. The heavens knew, the earth knew; that was enough.

“The country has invested 500 billion, fully accelerating this plan,” Major General Sun seemed reflective. Whether it was 500 billion yuan or dollars didn’t matter to Lin Mo; it was just a huge figure.

“Now I see!” Lin Mo nodded, returning his attention to the documents in hand.

Although he couldn’t personally reach space, Lin Mo was happy to lend a hand. After all, he was now an Air Knight receiving military pay from China.