Chapter 290 Unsealing of the Outer Sealing Zone of the Chang Geng

"laugh--"

With a low hiss of air pressure release, the heavy armored doors of the second-generation heavy-duty transport module slowly slid open to both sides.

There was no wind, no sound, only a suffocating silence.

Qin Lie was the first to step out of the hatch. When his combat boots landed on the cold metal grille on the outer edge of the geosynchronous orbit main platform, his body only slumped slightly before he stood firmly on his feet.

"Attention all units, activate the internal circulation communication band. Check the status of the life support array and electromagnetic adsorption."

Qin Lie's voice rang out in the helmets of the twelve team members, with a slight static noise from the microphone.

"Position number one, normal."

"Formation group, spiritual energy output is stable."

"Physical decryption team, toolbox locked, adsorption normal."

The team members filed out.

This was their first time conducting extravehicular activities in a high-orbit environment.

Beneath their feet lay a metal platform reflecting the cold starlight; above them stretched the unobstructed, awe-inspiringly dark universe. The sun, devoid of warmth, hung like a sharp sword in the black sky, casting incredibly heavy shadows on the platform.

"My God..."

A young array engineer looked up and felt a mix of megalophobia and thalassophobia brought on by the vast universe, making him dizzy and even causing him to hold his breath for a moment.

"Don't look down! Don't stare at the sun! Look at your watch face!"

A veteran soldier who had been stationed on the space station for many years slammed his hand on his helmet, his voice stern, "Here, your swordsmanship and agility that you're so proud of on the surface are utterly useless! Once your electromagnetic boots malfunction, or your shield is pierced by a micrometeorite, you won't even have a chance to scream!"

Qin Lie took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the instinctive fear he felt as a creature of the earth.

"Everyone, proceed towards the outer sealing area of ​​the Chang Geng according to the pre-arranged plan. The formation team is responsible for setting up the [Miniature Magic-Breaking Shield] to block cosmic rays; the physics team will move to the middle, ready to breach at any time; the sword cultivators will guard the flanks."

Twelve figures clad in bulky protective suits, like a group of slow but determined ants, moved slowly along the external truss of the main platform of the synchronous orbit, gradually approaching the enormous object suspended not far away.

The main platform is actually not in bad shape.

As the backbone of the rail industry that the Alliance has been struggling to maintain for years, its core structure remains robust. However, due to its low-power hibernation state, the lights in many areas are off, and the massive robotic arms and rail cranes lie quietly in the shadows like dead steel behemoths.

"Old Liu, activate the power supply in zone three of the main platform," Qin Lie commanded through the communication channel.

"clear."

A key member of the high-speed rail operations team named Lao Liu tapped a few times on the tactical terminal on his wrist, then slammed a key plug-in with complex array patterns into a control panel on the outside of the main platform.

"Buzz—"

A deep, resonant sound, as if emanating from the chest of an ancient behemoth, traveled along the metal truss to the feet of everyone present.

Immediately afterwards, rows of blinding industrial searchlights lit up one after another along the outer edge of the main platform, like dominoes. The stark white light instantly tore through the darkness, illuminating the Chang Geng's storage depot, less than 500 meters away.

It was a massive, black polyhedron, even larger than the central building of the Second Fortress City. Its outer shell was covered with a thick layer of superconducting titanium alloy armor, and its surface was covered with fine craters left by micrometeorite impacts, exuding a cold, industrial oppressive feeling that had been weathered by time.

This is their ultimate goal for this trip.

The spark of the Alliance's future space industry.

"Phase 1 objective: Seal off the interface in Area C of the outer perimeter of the Chang Geng."

Qin Lie drew the specially made flying sword from his waist, its blade pointing straight forward. "Advance!"

When the team finally crossed the weightless vacuum zone between the two platforms and stood in front of the huge outer hatch of the Chang Gung, the real test had just begun.

This isn't the kind of treasure vault you can just cleave open with a sword and enter.

"Physics team, move on."

Two special operations experts, who were specifically responsible for deciphering physical access codes, stepped forward and attached their heavy toolboxes to the side of the hatch.

"The hatch uses the highest level of physical mechanical lock, and the interior is protected by an absolute vacuum and an inert gas layer close to absolute zero."

An expert frowned as he looked at the internal structure diagram scanned on the terminal. "Moreover... after the spiritual energy recovered, the spiritual pressure at high altitudes became disordered, causing some of the internal circuitry of this mechanical lock to be assimilated by the spiritual energy, forming a strange 'half-spiritual, half-mechanical' composite lock-up state."

"Can you untie it?" Qin Lie asked in a deep voice.

"Forced demolition is absolutely unacceptable."

The expert shook his head. "The Chang Geng's hull is equipped with a sensitive countermeasure module. Once it detects violent damage, its internal self-destruct program will instantly carbonize all the titanium alloy plates sealed in Sector C. Then we'll have made a wasted trip."

"Then we can only proceed according to the plan, carrying out physical decryption and array intervention simultaneously."

Lin Feng, the chief engineer of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' "Integration of Array and Microelectronics Project," has taken a difficult step forward.

He took out several sophisticated miniature array plates from his backpack and carefully attached them to the key points of the hatch's mechanical lock.

"Physics team, you're responsible for using the high-frequency decoder to deceive its underlying logic. I'll use the array to suppress the chaotic currents that have mutated due to the assimilation of spiritual energy."

Lin Feng took a deep breath, his hands flying across the virtual keyboard. "Note that we only have one chance to recover from an error. If the spiritual energy output becomes unstable, or the physical password is entered incorrectly, the alarm will be triggered."

This was definitely a micro-operation that tested the human heart's ability to withstand the strain.

At an altitude of over 200 kilometers, in the extreme cold and intense radiation of the cosmic vacuum, two experts representing the pinnacle of mortal technology and an engineer representing the forefront of modern cultivation formations are performing a dangerous "brain surgery" on a steel behemoth that has been dormant for an unknown period of time.

"Code breaking progress: 30%...50%..."

"The array's spiritual pressure output is stable... Successfully suppressed the mutated current..."

Time ticked by, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on everyone's foreheads.

"drop--!"

Just as the code-breaking progress reached 80%, a sharp alarm suddenly blared inside their helmets!

"Damn it! The internal storage environment of the Chang Geng is creating a strong spiritual pressure conflict with the newly restored power supply system of the main platform!"

Lin Feng, his face deathly pale, roared, "A psionic electrostatic arc has appeared at the interface of Sector C! Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

He had barely finished speaking.

"Sizzle—Boom!"

A thick, dark blue arc of psionic static electricity, like a raging lightning serpent, suddenly shot out from the gap in the hatch!

The electrostatic arc struck precisely an expert who was performing physical decryption.

"what!"

The expert let out a scream as his heavy, pressure-resistant protective suit was instantly burned through by the terrifying arc of psionic static electricity!

The immense impact violently flung him away! If his safety rope hadn't been clinging tightly to the metal grille, he would have been thrown into the boundless abyss of space.

Even so, he was tumbling violently in mid-air like a tattered sack, about to crash into a huge mechanical arm that had just been restored to power and was slowly rotating.

Once caught in that mechanical arm weighing tens of tons, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be turned into a pile of minced meat.

"Grab him!"

Qin Lie reacted swiftly and bravely charged forward despite the lingering static arc, grabbing the safety buckle on the expert's waist tightly.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment true essence surged violently, struggling to erect a spiritual energy shield in front of the two, forcefully withstanding the terrifying airflow brought by the mechanical arm as it brushed past them.

"Hold on! Formation team, suppress the static arc!" Qin Lie roared through gritted teeth.

Lin Feng frantically typed on the keyboard, using almost every ounce of his strength, and with great difficulty, at the cost of completely destroying three expensive high-level micro array disks, he forcibly severed the violent arc of psionic static energy.

Everyone was breathing heavily, their bodies soaked in cold sweat.

Those brief ten seconds made them realize that working on high-speed rail is definitely not a simple matter of inviting someone out for a meal.

This is a cold, unfamiliar, and deadly industrial environment that allows no room for error.

"Expert, can we still hold on?" Qin Lie asked gravely.

"I won't die... The inner layer of the armor wasn't damaged, I only suffered minor radiation burns," the expert replied weakly, struggling to his feet. "The code... the code has been deciphered."

"Click".

A crisp metallic sound, transmitted clearly through bone conduction, reached everyone's ears in the deathly silent vacuum.

Immediately afterwards, the heavy, massive titanium alloy hatch on the outer perimeter of Sector C of the Chang Gung finally slid open slowly and heavily to both sides.

A faint ray of light shone through the crack in the door.

"It's a success."

Wu Di looked at the crack, his eyes reddening with excitement.

When the hatch was fully opened, what appeared before everyone's eyes was not the mountain of ore or magical artifacts they had imagined.

It was an extremely well-organized, standardized storage module that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen.

Inside, rows of superconducting titanium crystal alloy plates, encased in inert gas, were neatly stacked, along with dozens of metal boxes emitting faint spiritual energy fluctuations.

"Found it!"

Lin Feng excitedly pointed to the metal boxes, "Those are the spare modules for the [High-Frequency Pressure-Resistant Array Central Unit] that the second-generation heavy-load transport module lacks! And the core load-bearing framework needed for the high-orbit recovery vessel!"

"We've obtained the first spark!"

Without hesitation, Qin Lie immediately issued the orders: "Physics team, activate the micro-pressure transfer channel! Array team, maintain a stable sealing environment! Sword cultivators, assist in the transport!"

The twelve people immediately got to work.

They didn't touch the vast amount of meteorite metal, nor did they bother with the high-level components deep inside.

They exercised extreme restraint, taking only a few dozen pieces of superconducting titanium crystal alloy plates and a few core modules that were crucial for completing the space elevator's supporting system.

Once these components are safely transported back to the main platform and the final assembly of the second-generation heavy-duty capsule and recovery vessel is completed on-site in orbit, the Alliance will truly possess a complete industrial chain capable of long-term operation at high altitudes!

"Captain, the first batch of target components has been loaded into the micro-pressure transfer box."

Half an hour later, Wu Di reported to Qin Lie, "The storage environment around Area C is stable, and no crystal embrittlement has occurred."

"Well done."

Qin Lie breathed a long sigh of relief, looking at the metal boxes being carefully transported out, a burning light flashing in his eyes.

This is not just a few cold pieces of metal.

This is the first step the alliance has taken to break free from the constraints of the earth and head towards the stars!

"All personnel, prepare to evacuate the outer area of ​​the Chang Geng and return to the main platform for on-orbit refitting!" Qin Lie issued the final order.

However, just as he was about to turn and leave.

"drop--!"

The tactical terminal in Lin Feng's hand suddenly emitted an extremely faint but unusually sharp alarm.

"Wait...wait a minute!"

Lin Feng suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring intently at a set of data that had just popped up on the screen, his face instantly turning extremely grim.

"What happened? Has the storage environment collapsed?" Qin Lie's heart sank.

"no……"

Lin Feng swallowed hard, slowly raised his head, and looked deeper into the Chang Geng, at the core section still shrouded in darkness.

"Captain, while I was scanning the outer area of ​​Sector C, I also took the opportunity to probe the deeper areas of the Chang Geng."

He showed the terminal screen to Qin Lie, which displayed a set of red bands representing extremely high-energy-level reactions.

"There's something inside..."

Lin Feng's voice trembled, "Moreover, it's definitely not sealed industrial materials. That energy wave... doesn't belong to the surface, and it doesn't even belong to any known spiritual material we can recognize."

Qin Lie's pupils contracted slightly.

......