Chapter 126: Foundations of a New World

The Houyi led the fleet as they arrived at Mars.

There, they picked up the final group of passengers. Among them were Mu Qingxue and Lin Yu’s two children.

And even…

Wang Jing.

That’s right. Wang Jing was also one of those immigrating to Proxima.

She was bringing along the seventeen kids from her orphanage.

Of course, Lin Yu and Mu Qingxue lent a hand in making that happen.

Wang Jing knew life would be tough at first on Proxima V. It would be hard on the adults and no easier for the kids she cared for.

But in a brand-new world, the first immigrants naturally have the most opportunities.

Compared to letting the kids grow up in a Martian orphanage—unless someone like Lin Yu could snag full sponsorship from the Federation Fleet—

the chances of receiving the best possible education and making something of themselves looked bleak.

But everything changed by joining the first wave of settlers to Proxima V.

Early on, everyone received equal access and tuition-free education, giving orphanage kids a much fairer start.

That’s why Wang Jing made this decision.

And really, if not for Lin Yu and Mu Qingxue, there was no way she could have taken the kids along in the first place.

But once they’d reached Proxima V, Wang Jing’s network of relationships might be second to none.

After all—

Lin Yu, the boy she’d raised since childhood, was now the highest-ranking military commander on all of Proxima.

Mu Qingxue held the highest administrative role there, too.

Talk about a power couple—between the two, they covered both military and government.

And their kids? Most of their time since birth had also been spent under Wang Jing’s care.

With connections like these…

Tsk, tsk…

——

A few days later.

When the fleet set out again,

there were over three hundred more ships in formation.

But this time, every new arrival was a warship—163 belonged to the Sixth Fleet and 156 to the Fifth Fleet.

Because the immigrant fleet was tagging along, travel was slow. They kept their speed at just 180 kilometers per second.

It took a whole month to reach the Kuiper Belt from Mars—almost twice as long as the last time.

But once they slipped into the current, it didn’t matter.

There, they didn’t even need to start up the engines. Every ship rode the stream at eighteen times the speed of light.

“Sister Ling Wei! Safe travels!”

“You too. And hey, treat Qingxue better. She’s given up so much for you.”

“I know!”

Lin Yu nodded firmly.

After saying goodbye,

the two fleets parted ways. One headed for Proxima, the other for Barnard’s Star.

——

Half a year later.

The fleet reached orbit around Proxima Centauri V and rendezvoused with the Zhulong-class warship, the Bashe, which had been stationed there for over two years.

A host of pre-fabricated modules were pulled from the transport ships and began coming together in geosynchronous orbit.

Just three days later,

the core of the spaceport was finished and ready for preliminary use.

Everything else could be built later, no need to rush.

At the same time, over thirty ships—escorted by several assault ships—entered planetary orbit and used anti-gravity engines to land on the surface.

First out were the heavy infantry, who started fortifying the area and securing a safe zone.

After all, the animals on this planet could be a bit dangerous.

Soon, people poured out from the ships and went straight for the cargo bays to begin unloading.

All kinds of equipment, materials, and a swarm of robots quickly filled the plain.

Their next job: construction.

They needed to lay the foundation for the space elevator—get the main structure done in a month, and link it up with the orbiting spaceport.

But if ships already had anti-gravity engines, why bother building a space elevator?

First, not every ship has an anti-gravity engine.

Most ships never once touch down on a planet their entire lives, so there’s no point installing such an expensive gadget.

Second, it’s simply more efficient.

These days, the Federation’s space elevators are nothing like the old ones from centuries ago.

You don’t just get one passenger or cargo pod to a cable—you can have as many as you like.

For example, once a cargo pod gets to the bottom, it doesn’t just sit around and wait for loading before heading up again.

It detaches from the cable and moves aside to a dedicated offloading area, so the pods behind it can keep coming.

So, with eight nanotube cables, even accounting for safety spacing, you could have over three hundred cargo pods running at once.

And if you count the ones loading and unloading,

at peak, over a thousand pods can be working simultaneously if needed.

How’s that for efficiency?

One more thing—

If just a handful of people wanted to go up or down to orbit,

would you really call a whole spaceship for the trip?

Way too expensive.

So even after two centuries of progress, the space elevator is still essential.

——

A little over a month later.

All eight carbon nanotube space elevator cables were now connected.

With that, the first space elevator on Proxima V was officially in operation.

Soon after, even more supplies and people began streaming down to the surface by elevator.

Meanwhile, the fleet sent in more heavy infantry and mechs to drive out the wildlife and secure the area picked out for the city center.

They expanded the safety zone even further.

And like that, the grand construction project of Proxima finally—

got underway in full.

Meanwhile, a small fleet of thirty ships was tasked with escorting the Elven diplomatic mission back home.

Now, they arrived at Elphoria—that is, Proxima II.

After dropping off Violet and the others, they’d be building a four-cable medium-sized space elevator and a spaceport here.

In the future, they planned to provide the elves with their own starships and train a group of elven pilots.

This way, the elves could leave their home world at last.

Of course, they were laying the groundwork for tourism as well.

Outside of Elphoria’s habitable zone, nowhere else was livable or rich in rare resources.

Their best path forward was clearly tourism.

After all—

Who could say no to a vacation on the elves’ home planet?

If you could travel to the elven homeworld, who wouldn’t want to?

To pull this off, Violet would work with the other tribes to begin large-scale development, all to prepare for the day when Elphoria fully opened to visitors.

But to be clear, “large-scale development” didn’t mean heavy industry.

Everything would be done with a focus on keeping the natural elven flavor and preserving the environment.

Accommodations would be designed just for guests, likely using tree hollows or building homes into the branches of great trees.

Tour programs might include sightseeing, experiencing Elphoria’s unique wildlife, even riding an elven deer.

Each new project and attraction zone needed care and careful planning.