Chapter 12: Resolute Determination, Ascending to the Moon!

At seven in the morning, Chen Ming woke up and began his day.

He was a sophomore at Beihang University and also an aviation enthusiast.

As a group of aerospace fans scattered across the country, they had formed a small chat group.

Every morning, he habitually checked the group to see the usual banter.

"Starship's second test launch failed. What do you all think?" Sharp Fang started the conversation.

"Haha, I knew it. That damn thing was bound to explode!" Speed of Light replied instantly.

"To be fair, although it looks unreliable, the technology is far more advanced than our country’s rockets," Dog Head Kala sent a “just watching” emoji.

"I think some people are just jealous. They have the money to burn on this, and if they succeed, it will be the most powerful rocket on the planet—a true beacon for humanity," X World’s Number One scoffed, sending multiple messages.

"Your country's space program doesn't even have reusable rockets; jealous much?"

"Sour grapes."

"Give you thirty more years; your country still won’t catch up to America’s space progress."

"No, I think even fifty years would be tough."

"The U.S. landed on the moon fifty years ago. If they’re not doing it now, it’s because they don’t care. Your country? No way."

"Ridiculous. How can you look down on Starship? What are you all anyway!"

"Here comes another bootlicker. Group owner, drag him out, drag him out," Booming Sky from Aolai Star sent a facepalm emoji.

"If you can't argue, just kick people out. Such cowardly behavior."

"Our country’s space program is just as cowardly, no innovation at all. You guys cling to outdated thinking on Earth. By the time you step off the planet, Starships will be flying all over the sky!"

X World’s Number One sent several cold laughs.

In that moment, X World’s Number One felt like a war god.

A master of debate!

Chen Ming’s blood pressure rose as well, and he was about to fire back, abandoning his breakfast.

But just then, the group owner suddenly appeared and posted a link.

“Everyone, check out the morning news! Big event, big event! [Link]”

“What big event?”

Curious, Chen Ming decided to let “X World’s Number One” live a little longer and clicked the link.

The screen shifted, revealing a familiar news studio.

A male and female anchor were delivering the news.

“According to the National Space Administration, the head of our manned lunar exploration project announced that the manned moon landing spacecraft is currently under intensive production and is expected to launch within a month.”

“The project leader stated that if the rocket performs smoothly, our country will initiate the manned lunar landing project within this year, making us the second nation after the United States to achieve a manned moon landing...”

Chen Ming jumped up in shock, his face full of disbelief.

What had he just heard?

The news announced that the manned lunar spacecraft would be launched next month.

If the rocket succeeded, the manned moon landing project would begin within the year.

His country was going to land humans on the moon!

“Holy crap, am I dreaming?”

“It’s 2023. Are you sure it’s not 2030???”

Chen Ming felt like he was in a dream.

He gawked as he opened a certain microblogging site, where the headline “Country Announces Manned Lunar Landing Project” was boldly pinned at the top of trending searches.

This wasn’t a joke from fellow group members.

It was real!

“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!”

At that moment, Chen Ming’s excitement could only be expressed with bursts of exclamations.

The comment section under the post was equally lively.

“Is this an official announcement?”

“Wow, completely caught off guard. No prior news at all.”

“Awesome, can’t wait to see how this goes. No sleep for a month!”

“@NationalSpaceAdministration, secretly cooking up a big move. You're so bad, I love it! *lecherous face*”

“Uh, someone upstairs is weird.”

“What rocket will they use? Type 10, Type 9? Those rockets haven’t even been developed yet.”

“My three holy relics haven’t even appeared!”

“...”

This news was earth-shattering.

It stirred up waves upon waves of reaction.

The entire internet in the country was ignited.

Meanwhile, the U.S., currently deploying troops to the Middle East, was caught completely off-guard.

What the hell? How did they suddenly announce a moon landing?

No intelligence reports had surfaced.

The news spread to the international web, sparking heated discussions.

“Their moon landing relies on that rickety spacecraft. I’m worried about their astronauts’ safety,” commented a netizen from India.

“Unbelievable. I hope they succeed. Love from Pakistan.”

“Check the Apollo landing sites. The U.S. moon landing is fake, definitely fake!” declared an anti-intellectual netizen.

“Fake! Those people could never land on the moon. All lies!” ranted a nationalist Japanese commenter, incredulous and mocking.

“With their technology, if they can land on the moon, you might as well tell me pigs can drive cars!” spat a Korean troll.

“...”

No matter what, that day, the global internet was rocked by the country’s deep bombshell.

Meanwhile, the protagonist of the story, Zhang Zhaoming, director of the National Space Administration, was busier than ever.

At a meeting, he looked at the assembled aerospace experts and engineers and said seriously:

“We’ve been approved for a full 100 billion yuan, plus rocket technology secretly developed by the Military Academy.”

“Our mission is to verify the technology within one month and produce this rocket.”

“Everyone can now review the technical documents.”

The aerospace experts exchanged documents and soon immersed themselves deeply in the technical details.

A few days prior, their project had been temporarily halted, but a message came from above instructing them to fully focus on the “moon landing plan.” The military would hand over secret rocket technology to them.

It was said to be far more advanced rocket technology.

Now, at last, they could glimpse the true nature of this technology.

The more they studied, the more amazed and excited they became.

“A genius concept. This structure can improve fuel efficiency by five percentage points!”

“Amazing! The ship’s structure can be optimized this way?!”

“My goodness, how many treasures does the military still have? This rocket is a whole generation ahead of the Type 9 we expected.”

The data was very detailed, and the experts calculated everything in their minds.

They reached a stunning conclusion.

This rocket wasn’t just capable of manned lunar landings—it could easily handle manned missions to Mars.

Using it for the moon would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

What a waste!

“7,000 tons takeoff weight, 350 tons near-Earth orbit payload, 200 tons lunar orbit payload.”

“This rocket is fierce!”

The top brass at the Sixth Academy was dumbfounded.

“This rocket not used for a lunar base would be a gross waste!”

After all, the bigger the rocket’s payload, the bigger the stage for space exploration.

But going from a 25-ton Fat Five to this 350-ton beast in one huge leap...

This was practically a transcendence!