Chapter 189: Stepping onto New Hope!
The "tianwen" underwent a boarding inspection by the New Hope Coast Guard.
To everyone's surprise, the inspection was quite perfunctory.
Two young patrol officers scanned the ship with instruments from bow to stern, taking no more than 1 minute, then waved their hands and cleared it.
For players who had to go through security checks even to take the subway in reality, it felt as if no check had been done at all.
"After the apocalypse, human regulations became very lax," Anton, who was accompanying them, explained. "If New Hope checked everything, merchants would dock at other ports."
The young female officer who boarded the ship sized up Xian Yu.
"You few, let me explain the rules first. Since you have a New Hope citizen as a guarantor, you are allowed to enter the space station according to regulations. But once you board, everything must follow our laws. This isn't your hometown, so don't be reckless. Before doing anything, always ask your guide if it's illegal, and remember not to relieve yourselves anywhere! Can you—understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes, we can speak Star Alliance language."
Xian Yu forced a slight smile.
Good heavens, they really think we're country bumpkins, don't they?
"We can even read and write!" Ran Ge stepped forward and said.
"Really?" The young female officer looked at him suspiciously.
"In that case, take this and read it carefully."
She pulled out a small booklet and handed it over. It was a simplified version of the space station's legal code, specifically provided to various outsiders to help them abide by the law.
"Oh, thank you."
"20 credit points."
It costs money?
Fortunately, they had 'starting capital' on the ship, which was encrypted electronic currency extracted from Apollo's power armor hard drive, plus some physical paper currency, totaling 1,403,000 credit points.
"Excuse me, madam, if I may ask, once we enter the space station, can we go anywhere?"
"This is your first visit, so your Ran Ge of activity is limited to the port area when acting alone. Mr. Yu Gong has passed DNA verification; he is a New Hope Level 6 citizen and can take you to the Administrative Ring and the Lower City with his guaranteed accompaniment. All of this is written in the booklet. I'm very busy and won't answer any more questions. Hurry up and dock!"
Hey, hey, hey... a little service spirit, please?
Not even a welcome!
The spaceship docked, but not in the port area; it was in the pier area, which was higher than the port area.
The pier area also centered around the original space elevator pipeline, forming a huge spoked structure. Thousands of berths of various sizes were distributed between 64 thick spokes, where large and small spaceships were parked.
Inside the spokes were conveyor belts for transporting personnel and cargo containers, as well as pipelines for delivering various supplies, including fuel.
"This structure, it's like the historical Carthage Port!"
A player who enjoyed historical strategy games commented.
"Oh, oh~ Carthage's unique port in Civilization VI, right? I remember that too."
"New Hope feels very much like Carthage in all aspects."
"Is that so? I feel it's more like Singapore."
Xian Yu stood quietly by the window, not busy watching the excitement like the others, and quickly spotted important targets.
"Yu Gong, are those two warships? Which faction do they belong to?"
He was pointing to two massive ships docked side by side, nearly 1 kilometer in length.
The hulls featured a very distinct stealth design, sharp angles, and an imposing presence. Numerous missile launch bay covers were visible on the surface, along with four large triple-barreled railgun turrets.
"Yes!"
Lao Yu nodded.
"Those are battleships of the Super Democratic Empire! Look, the eagle emblem on the hull is the Imperial Navy's insignia; only they can build warships this large.
"These ships are equipped with axial super-heavy railguns. The length of the acceleration track is said to be the same as the hull. One shot can create a 5-kilometer diameter crater on a planet's surface!"
"That's approximately 15 million tons of TNT equivalent per shot..." Xian Yu quickly calculated.
That's quite powerful!
"Do they have hangars?"
"Yes! And inside, it's said they can not only house various aircraft but also gunboats and missile boats, but I don't know the exact capacity."
"It's fine, thank you."
Xian Yu sighed lightly, feeling a deep sense of regret.
Now, he only regretted that the "tianwen" 's large scanner couldn't achieve the high precision of a small scanner.
Otherwise, the battleship blueprints would already be in his hands.
After paying a 35,000 credit point docking fee, the "tianwen" docked and stabilized.
Everyone excitedly stepped onto the space station, first taking a conveyor belt to the tubular support structure of the space elevator, then riding a 'cable car' that ran downwards along the pipe wall to the port area.
These 'cable cars' were actually repaired and modified pre-cataclysm space elevator cabins.
However, unlike in the past, they could no longer reach the planet's surface below, which had become a radiation-filled hell.
Xian Yu specifically spent an extra 200 credit points to have everyone ride the fully transparent sightseeing cable car. Once the cable car started moving, due to acceleration, the sense of direction was inverted; what was originally 'down' became 'up'.
Thus, everyone saw the space station's massive six-ring structure 'descending from the sky,' approaching with immense momentum.
The players instinctively gasped in amazement, taking photos and videos to record this magnificent scene.
For everyone, this was the largest and most detailed artificial megastructure they had ever seen, both in game and in reality.
Although Li Star was also developing rapidly at the moment, there was still a large gap in prosperity compared to New Hope. "Yu Gong, why is the docking area so far from the port area? I see it's about 30 kilometers, isn't it? Isn't that troublesome?"
Ran Ge humbly asked for guidance.
"Ha, first time in space? You don't even know this?"
"Where did these bumpkins come from—"
Two Star Alliance Sailors nearby overheard the conversation.
I'm just being studious, got it?
Ran Ge gave the two a disdainful look.
"The distance is 27 kilometers; this is for anti-terrorism," Lao Yu explained.
"The nuclear fuel tanks of various ships can theoretically be converted into nuclear bombs. By creating this 27-kilometer distance, even if a terrorist nuclear explosion truly occurs in the docking area, the space station below won't be destroyed."
Anton added: "There's no shockwave in space; nuclear explosions can only cause damage through super-hot plasma fireballs. Bombs made from fuel tanks are far less efficient than military nuclear warheads. Even if hundreds of thousands or millions of tons of fuel are involved in the explosion, a 27-kilometer distance is sufficient."
"So that's how it is—"
Ran Ge understood.
"So, those two patrol officers who boarded earlier were checking if our ship had any self-made detonators?"
"Yes, they were checking for radioactive heavy elements, which are fission nuclear bombs that can ignite Jubian fuel."
The players exchanged glances.
They were learning from others' advanced experience.
Soon, the cable car arrived at the continuously rotating port ring, where gravity became a standard and constant 1.0 G.
Next was the customs procedure, which was unusually easy due to the relaxed standards after the apocalypse.
Only Lao Yu and his subordinates encountered some trouble.
They had been missing for over a year and were presumed dead, so it took a lot of time to re-certify their identities.
These people desperately wanted to see their wives and children, but they feared retaliation from Apollo, so they could only secretly confirm their family's recent situation, never daring to go home, which was quite pitiful.
"Alright, thank you for waiting, everyone!" An hour later, Lao Yu finally completed the procedure. "I know a hotel that's safe enough. Follow me!"
After settling into the hotel, team leader Xian Yu assigned tasks.
"Ran Ge, you take two people and go gather information on the colonial ship invaders."
"Understood~"
"Loulan, you four pilots go scout New Hope's vehicle and weapon shops. Since we're unfamiliar with the place, don't rush to scan blueprints yet. Prioritize your safety."
"Okay, don't worry!"
"Qing and I will go with Lao Yu to the Administrative Ring to see if we can establish a branch-like outpost here, preferably one that can conduct some business.
"As for the rest of you, go shopping! Try to get a comprehensive understanding of Star Alliance's product categories and market conditions!"
"Okay~~"