Chapter 296: Space Pioneers

Du Qiu’s private jet is a bit faster, blazing through space at speeds of 3000 kilometers per second, reaching the Heaven Realm Space City in just 14 hours.

Once Liu Sichen announced the existence of Heaven Realm at a press conference, its cloaking system was deactivated—after all, it costs energy to keep it active. Numerous astronomers and enthusiasts from Earth are now observing this colossal man-made celestial body through telescopes. In fact, during cloudless nights on Earth without moonlight, this man-made bright star can be seen with the naked eye.

A huge ring of solar panels surrounds the core module of Heaven Realm, utilizing Dream Technology’s cutting-edge solar technology. Even with metallic hydrogen as a power source, they wouldn’t overlook the cheaper alternative of solar energy. Most of the brightness Earth’s residents see originates from reflections off these panels.

Of course, if the upper part of the core module rotates towards Earth during Earth’s night, the countless lights and neon signs light up the Heaven Realm like day, bright enough to be perceived from the ground.

The core module of Heaven Realm, although not spherical, has distinct upper and lower sections. This “heaven” isn’t like the subterranean bases; it’s entirely made of artificial sky and sun. The dome of the core is made from transparent material, allowing natural sunlight to penetrate.

Just like Earth, the core module rotates around the sun, and it also spins on its axis, mimicking Earth’s cycle of day and night. The base of the core module connects to a gravity field chamber, which houses powerful equipment that generates gravity identical to that on Earth, allowing inhabitants to live as comfortably as on Earth without worrying about weightlessness.

The total area of the core module is about 2400 square kilometers, which is half the size of Shanghai. The area within the Sixth Ring of the imperial capital covers 2282 square kilometers, making Heaven Realm’s urban space slightly larger. With skyscrapers densely packed within the core module, it can accommodate a population comparable to that of the imperial capital.

Initially planned for a population of 5 million, Du Qiu later relaxed this to 8 million but decided against further increases. His priority was to ensure comfortable living conditions in Heaven Realm, unlike the crowded cities on Earth, where people constantly worry about cramped housing and congested traffic.

The construction of additional core modules is underway, with no expansion of production capacity since Du Qiu is focusing resources on building living bases on Mars. The life bases designed for Mars are far simpler than those on Heaven Realm and Dream Technology’s other Martian bases and are intended for sale to various countries and organizations, with Natural Force being the first buyer.

These simplified life bases prioritize accommodating a higher number of residents in smaller, less comfortable living spaces. Du Qiu plans to use these bases as refugee shelters during Earth’s upcoming Ice Age if they aren’t purchased by nations or organizations—a grim reminder that not all of Earth’s 7 billion inhabitants can be saved by Dream Technology.

Currently, as Dream Technology designs increasingly larger living bases to house more people, they are not planning on engaging in any saintly rescues. Instead, the life bases are being offered for sale to nations to offload the grim responsibility of who gets to survive. If nations decline to purchase and everyone expects Dream Technology to conduct rescues, the selection criteria will necessarily be based on the benefits to Dream Technology’s operations.

Upon Du Qiu’s entrance into the spacious airport chamber of Heaven Realm and passing through a sterilization process to eliminate any potential viruses or bacteria clinging to his aircraft, he emerges wearing a spacesuit. Flanked by highly realistic robotic guards, he traverses several transition chambers that adjust air pressure and temperature, while also performing sterilizations—ensuring no dangerous viruses or bacteria could enter the sealed space of Heaven Realm, preventing a public health disaster.

In space, even the slightest oversight can prove fatal for the inhabitants of a space city or spaceship as living in space is an integrated engineering challenge touching every aspect of human existence. This is why, to this day, national ecological technologies have been inadequate in supporting large populations in enclosed spaces over extended periods.

Du Qiu has extensively tested his ecological technology in simulated environments provided by the Maintainers and has validated these systems with several hundred thousand people living in underground bases. Despite this, he is treading carefully as these subterranean habitation trials have lasted less than a year.

He originally planned to have these people live in the underground bases for at least three years before transitioning to space. However, the sudden onset of the predicted Ice Age by the Pleiadeans has accelerated his plans. Du Qiu can no longer wait and must push Dream Technology’s populations into space earlier to begin adapting to off-Earth living.

It is only when humanity can live comfortably in space, detached from the cradle of their home planet, that the true conquest of space begins. Du Qiu is eager to lead Dream Technology and humanity into this new frontier.

After navigating through several transition chambers and entering the domain of the Heaven Realm, which is still part of the spaceport, Du Qiu uses an exclusive passageway similar to VIP lanes at Earth’s airports. Emerging from the passageway, he steps into a vast, nearly empty hall, as the transport lines from Heaven Realm to Earth and Mars aren’t operational yet.

Dream Technology’s transportation department, which is currently in its planning phase, is also taking charge of redesigning and refurbishing the spaceport. Additionally, the security department’s immigration office is setting up here because anyone traveling to and from Heaven Realm must pass their checks.

Previously, those not affiliated with Dream Technology had to apply for the necessary visas and permissions from Dream Technology’s Public Relations and Diplomacy Department. In essence, this space operates much like a sovereign state.

The command center is still central in Heaven Realm, with Dream Technology’s headquarters building right beside it. Du Qiu prefers working at the command center. With many research institutes established, a comprehensive scientific research system is now in place. Du Qiu increasingly delegates specific research and development tasks to others, focusing instead on directing research projects across various disciplines and providing guidance on key projects when appropriate.

He enjoys handling these duties from the command center, feeling a sense of command over the broader picture.

Just as Du Qiu returns to his office in the command center building, Leng Yanran approaches him, saying, “Sir, Mr. Hao Ren is waiting for you.”

“Oh, when did he move to Heaven Realm? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the Middle East helping the Persians?”

Du Qiu asks as he walks into his office.

“Master, I’ve missed you so much.”

Hao Ren, dressed in a suit, stands up from the sofa and opens his arms to hug Du Qiu.

“Hey, stay back. What’s that smell on you?”

Du Qiu holds up his hand to stop Hao Ren, frowning as he sniffs. Hao Ren reeks of a strong cologne.

Hao Ren pauses, sniffing himself, “Isn’t this what many Western gentlemen like to use? I think it’s quite nice.”

“Nice your head! That smell could knock out an elephant! You’ve been around it so long you don’t even notice anymore. I was wondering why you liked spraying that stuff.”

Du Qiu speaks and then can’t help but sneeze.

“Oh, sorry, master. I didn’t know you disliked it. I promise not to wear it next time I see you,” Hao Ren says apologetically.