After receiving the communication from the Executive Officer, the four people in the sky were immediately invigorated.
The Team Leader assigned a task!
It requires us elite players to do it, this task is definitely not simple. I knew coming up here couldn't be as simple as just flying a circle!
Caoyuan: "The problem is, do we have enough fuel? Raising the orbit requires firing the engine, right?"
Jubian: "Don't worry! After changing the rocket engine from hydrogen-oxygen to methane, we did lose more than half of the range, but 2000km altitude is still easy. As long as we're not going to the moon, this aircraft can handle it!"
Since there was no atmospheric disturbance, flying in space was even simpler than at low altitude. Chang Kong entered the coordinates, the attitude control thrusters activated, the aircraft adjusted its angle, and then the main engine ignited. The team was already on their way.
Half an hour later, they were less than 100km from the target, but the radar screen was still blank, with only clutter coming from the ground direction.
"It must be using stealth design..." Jubian murmured.
Finally, when they closed to 40km, Ye Xing spotted the target with his naked eye.
"Over there! Look!"
It was a black polyhedron, about 130 meters long, 40 meters wide, and 20 meters high. Its cross-section was hexagonal, gradually narrowing from the center towards both ends, presenting a flat, minimalist cut diamond shape.
"It's quite big!" Caoyuan exclaimed. "It's just been drifting like this, and Apollo didn't find it?"
"This shape has excellent radar stealth performance, especially against short-wave radar. Coupled with black technology-level stealth coating, it's basically undetectable," Jubian explained.
Caoyuan: "But meter-wave radar can still detect it, right?"
Jubian: "No, it's not that simple. This thing is too large. The radar wavelength that can detect it needs to be at least a hundred meters, and the corresponding transmitting antenna array diameter needs to reach the kilometer level. In short, the fact that it's here suggests one thing."
Caoyuan: "What fact?"
Jubian: "Apollo has neither black technology like gravity wave radar nor giant ships carrying high-power electromagnetic wave radar. It doesn't even have infrared and optical detection systems with large enough apertures and high enough sensitivity. My initial judgment is that they are not opponents we currently cannot reach."
On the ground, Lu Yuan, who was listening to this conversation, nodded, deeply agreeing.
He knew this was not actually a game, but a real universe. The "settings" could not escape the laws of physics, including his own "system," which must exist within the framework of some ultimate black technology from the golden age.
The system couldn't completely hide resource points.
No matter how radar stealthy the target object was, it was optically visible. Against the yellow-green Li Star background, it was a black dot. Moreover, after being illuminated by the sun, it would inevitably emit infrared radiation, making it a "red dot" against the cold space background.
It didn't require any sci-fi technology; it could theoretically be discovered!
If they couldn't even see this, it meant that the technology Apollo possessed did not exceed the limits of his imagination and was far from the level of the human golden age.
Of course, the enemy was still very powerful, and their overall strength was estimated to be many times that of Cangyuan's current strength.
But, they were definitely not unbeatable!
"Very good, let's see if there's a way to get in," Lu Yuan ordered.
The spaceplane quickly stopped next to the "black diamond."
Ye Xing once again rendered meritorious service, keenly spotting a small indentation on the seemingly perfectly smooth surface, inside which was a piece of glass.
It was an operation panel!
"Prepare to exit the cabin!"
Ye Xing and Caoyuan, filled with excitement, put on their extravehicular activity spacesuits, attached their safety tethers, and entered space through the airlock.
"I have exited the cabin, and I feel good!"
Caoyuan had long wanted to replicate this classic line, which represented supreme honor and heroic sentiment.
The extravehicular spacesuits provided thrust through miniature compressed air nozzles. The two spent some time getting familiar with operating in a zero-gravity environment, then flew directly towards the operation panel.
As he got closer, Ye Xing saw two light-gray standard script Chinese characters above the panel.
【Cangyuan】
"Hey? It's our own people, open the door."
Ye Xing tapped the panel screen, and unexpectedly, it actually activated.
【Locking mechanism is in the disengaged state. Do you want to open? Yes/No】
"Open!"
The hatch opened, and the internal passage lit up, leading the two people in spacesuits inside.
There was only one magnificent large space inside, with no air and no artificial gravity. On the left were stacked container-sized boxes several layers high, and on the right was a giant cargo hold occupying nearly half of the volume.
【Freshwater, Mass: 6,000,000kg】
After clearly seeing these words on the giant cargo hold through Ye Xing's camera, Lu Yuan let out a long breath.
The biggest and most difficult problem in the Desert, water, could finally be greatly alleviated.
6000 tons of water, let alone for drinking or washing, even if used for industrial production, after circulating purification, could support a considerably large settlement.
Ye Xing and Caoyuan continued to inspect the smaller boxes.
"Seed bank, animal embryo cryo-storage, soilless cultivation kit templates, livestock breeding cabins, living supplies, electronic equipment supplies, medical supplies... Team Leader, these are things for alien colony use! We can do agriculture and animal husbandry now!"
"Okay, received! First, confirm safety, then call Jubian and Chang Kong up as well, and figure out how to transport these supplies back."
Lu Yuan's tone, unusually, carried unconcealed happiness.
Besides the precious freshwater, the other supplies were estimated to be over a thousand tons!
Caoyuan patrolled around with his gun, finding no strange alien creatures or mechanical races. The scanner also didn't detect any harmful microorganisms.
Ten minutes later, Jubian found the internal control panel, and after activating it, obtained some information.
"Executive Officer, this is not a spaceship, but a large airdrop supply capsule. It has retro-thrust deceleration engines and can safely enter a planetary atmosphere and land, but after that, it cannot escape Li Star's gravity and fly again; the engine thrust is insufficient."
Lu Yuan: "That's okay, being able to land by itself is already a big help. Can you set a route for it?"
Jubian: "Of course, landing is fully automatic and very accurate. It can land precisely near our camp."
Lu Yuan: "Very good, set the specific landing time for tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM. Have the supplies been inventoried?"
Jubian: "Not yet."
Lu Yuan: "Then wait until it lands to slowly open the boxes. By the way, have you found out the production year of the airdrop capsule?"
Jubian: "The airdrop capsule was produced and registered in 2311, originating from a colony planet named 'Horizon'. The cargo was packed in 2313."
The early 24th century...
It seems after the conflict between the UEG and Infinite Deep Space ended, Cangyuan tried to regain control of Li Star.
What does the armistice agreement you two signed have to do with me?
But in the end, the old home base didn't succeed, and this place became a true no-man's-land. The airdrop capsule also remained in orbit.
Wait, 2313, that's 900 years ago. After such a long time, things like crop seeds and livestock embryos need to be cryogenically preserved, and I'm afraid even the nuclear power might exceed its design service life.
Moreover, equipping a mere landing capsule with a nuclear reactor, isn't that a bit too luxurious?
There must be other energy solutions!
If this power supply system can be brought back to the ground, it can be used by Cangyuan!