Courtyard House: Primordial Chaos Pearl

The morning light pierced through the dome of the Dubai Simulated City, casting a warm golden hue over the crimson simulated Martian soil. Inside the command center, everyone's eyes were bloodshot, yet their excitement was palpable—the first round of testing of the Lighthouse Autonomous System was displaying data scrolling across the screens.

"Energy allocation algorithm optimization complete. Solar power accounts for 78% during the lunar day, and nuclear battery power accounts for 22% during the lunar night. Redundant power supply links are uninterrupted." "Ecological cabin autonomous adjustment is effective. CO₂ concentration fluctuations are automatically compensated, and crop growth rate deviations are controlled within 1%." "The autonomous response time of the entire mining-processing-replenishment chain is 0.3 seconds, exceeding the alliance's standard of 0.5 seconds."

Lin Xiangyang sat in the center of the data area, his fingers flying across the keyboard. On the screen in front of him was the interface of the "Lighthouse Autonomous System V2.0," which had undergone more than a dozen iterations. He led the development of the core algorithm, which incorporated the "dynamic resource scheduling model" derived from the Chaos Beads. The system could automatically adjust the mining intensity, electrolysis efficiency, and crop irrigation amount based on the asteroid's sunlight, temperature, and resource reserves, achieving "on-demand allocation and self-sufficiency."

"Incredible." Pierre, a technical advisor at ESA, stared at the screen, his voice full of amazement. "A system designed by a thirteen-year-old boy can achieve 99.8% autonomous reliability."

Yan Jiecheng patted Lin Xiangyang on the shoulder, his eyes filled with undisguised pride: "This kid inherited his father's tenacity, and he's even surpassed him. After the accident, he stayed up for seven nights straight, thoroughly understanding the dynamic balance logic within the Chaos Pearl."

Lin Dong, however, did not completely relax. He pointed to a fluctuating point on the screen: "There's still a problem. When simulating micrometeorite impacts, although the autonomous system's robotic arm responds quickly, its energy consumption is too high. After three consecutive impacts, the nuclear battery's reserves will drop below the safety threshold."

He Yushui immediately added, "We need to add an 'energy consumption priority' module to the autonomous system. Repairs to non-critical components can be delayed, with priority given to ensuring the energy supply to the ecological module and resource processing module."

That night, Lin Dong entered the chaotic space. He input all the extreme scenarios the asteroid might encounter—micrometeorite impacts, orbital shadow periods, solar storms—into the simulation system, and combined this with the Chaos Bead's "energy consumption optimal solution deduction" to construct a "tiered response mechanism" for the Lighthouse Autonomous System:

First priority (survival level): Oxygen/water supply to the ecological chamber, hydrogen-oxygen balance in the resource processing chamber, and positioning beacons;

Secondary priority (functional level): Mining operations, 3D printing of repair parts, crop irrigation;

Level 3 Priority (Optimized): Equipment maintenance, data backup, redundancy compartment preheating.

After he introduced this mechanism into the system, he simulated continuous micrometeorite impacts again. The nuclear battery reserves remained stable above the safety line, and the autonomous system continued to operate smoothly.

"It's done!" Lin Xiangyang jumped up excitedly as he looked at the test results.

With the core challenges of the autonomous system resolved, the Alliance refocused its attention on the final location of the supply depot.

In the conference room, three-dimensional models of three candidate asteroids rotated on the projector: 16 Psyche shone with a metallic luster, Bennu's surface was covered with impact craters, and Didymos's binary asteroid system resembled a pair of jewels orbiting each other.

"The metal reserves of 16 Psyche are enough to build ten supply stations, but it is too far from Earth, and a one-way transport would take two years, making the initial construction costs too high," Michelle stated first. "Didymos is suitable for kinetic experiments, but its water ice and organic matter reserves are insufficient to maintain a closed ecological cycle in the long term."

Karim pointed to Bennu's model: "Its advantages are obvious—its orbit is close to Earth, and a one-way trip takes only six months; its water ice reserves are estimated at over 1 million tons, with an organic matter content of 0.5%-100%, which can fully meet the needs of the initial resupply station. However, the risks are also prominent: its rotation period is only 4.3 hours, and its surface is loose with gravel, making landing and stabilization difficult."

Chen, an engineer from China's aerospace sector, added: "Our telemetry and control system can accurately locate Bennu's landing point, but the adaptive attachment algorithm of the Red Star-130 needs further optimization to cope with the centrifugal force caused by rapid rotation."

Lin Dong stood up and projected a new technical report onto the screen: "This is the 'Bennu Adaptation Plan' derived by Chaos Pearl. First, install a 'rotation compensation module' on Red Star-130 to dynamically adjust the gripping force according to Bennu's rotation speed, thus counteracting centrifugal force; second, the resupply station adopts an 'anchored modular' design, fixed to the asteroid's surface with high-strength alloy anchors to resist the effects of rotation; third, utilize Bennu's loose debris to directly manufacture some cabin structures using 3D printing, reducing the amount of Earth transport required."

He paused, his gaze resolute: "Risk and reward go hand in hand, but Bennu is the most suitable option at this stage. It can serve not only as a supply depot but also as an 'outpost' for humanity's deep space resource development."

After three days of intense discussion, the alliance finally voted to select the Bennu asteroid as the site for the first phase of the International Asteroid Replenishment Station project.

On the day the news was announced, a simple celebration was held in Dubai's SimCity. Karim raised his glass: "To Bennu, to the lighthouse, to humanity's deep space dreams!"

Lin Dong raised his glass in response, but his thoughts drifted to the courtyard house far away in Beijing. He took out his phone and dialed Yi Zhonghai's number.

"Hello, Lin Dong?" Yi Zhonghai's voice on the other end of the phone was tinged with laughter. "I saw in the newspaper that you chose an asteroid called 'Bennu.' How far is that place from Earth?"

"It's not too far, it'll only take six months to get there," Lin Dong said with a smile. "Once the supply station is built, I'll send you photos taken from space."

"Great, great." Yi Zhonghai paused for a moment. "Everything's fine in the compound. Liu Haizhong has been practicing calligraphy lately, and his calligraphy of 'Shining Stars of China' is hanging in the community activity room. Yan Bugui's bookstore has received a lot of popular science books on aerospace, and the kids love to read them. As for Jia Dongxu, he tells everyone that the parts his son Banggeng made are going to space."

Lin Dong's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He knew that no matter how far he went, the courtyard house would always be his root.

After hanging up the phone, He Yushui came over and handed him a glass of warm water: "Missing home?"

"Okay." Lin Dong nodded. "Once the Bennu supply station launches successfully, we'll go back and take a look."

At this moment, at Jia Dongxu's core component base, Bang Geng was leading his team in conducting the final round of parts testing. The anchors, sealing rings, and robotic arm joints they produced had all undergone extreme environment testing—maintaining toughness at temperatures as low as -170℃, not deforming at temperatures as high as 120℃, and exhibiting zero leakage in a vacuum environment.

"Uncle Dongxu, all the parts have passed the tests!" Banggeng held the test report, his face full of pride.

Jia Dongxu patted his shoulder, his eyes filled with fatherly pride: "Good lad, back when your dad was causing trouble in the courtyard, I never imagined you could build parts for space travel."

Jia Zhangshi walked into the workshop carrying a basket of fruit, beaming from ear to ear: "I knew my Banggeng was going to amount to something! Take this fruit and eat it to nourish yourselves, so we can all strive to make our parts shine in space!"

Time flies, and three months later, all the equipment at the Bennu supply station completed integration testing and was transported to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

A week before the launch, Lin Dong took He Yushui and Lin Xiangyang back to the courtyard house.

In the courtyard, the elderly were already waiting at the door. Yi Zhonghai, leaning on his cane, quickly stepped forward and grasped Lin Dong's hand: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Liu Haizhong held up a newly written calligraphy scroll with four powerful characters: "A Bright Future Ahead".

Yan Bugui handed Lin Xiangyang a stack of aerospace science books, saying, "This is what your uncle brought for you. It contains a lot of information about asteroids, which will be useful to you."

Lin Xiangyang took the book and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Grandpa Yi, Grandpa Liu, Uncle Yan."

At dinner time, the courtyard was filled with tables, and Jia Dongxu's family and Yan Jiecheng's family also came. Everyone chatted, talking about the changes over the years, from the chaos of the courtyard to the rise of Hongxing Agricultural Machinery, and then to the soon-to-be-launched Bennu supply station.

"Back in the day, I even tried to steal your job," Jia Dongxu said with a smile, taking a sip of his drink. "Looking back now, I'm glad you didn't hold it against me."

Lin Dong smiled and said, "That's all in the past. Without everyone's help, I wouldn't be where I am today."

As night deepened, the lights in the courtyard were warm and bright. Lin Xiangyang lay on a bamboo chair in the courtyard, gazing at the stars, and suddenly asked, "Dad, is asteroid Bennu in that part of the sky?"

Lin Dong walked over and sat down next to him: "Yes. Once our supply station is built, it will become a lighthouse in the starry sky, illuminating the path for humankind's voyages."

Lin Xiangyang nodded, his eyes full of anticipation: "I want to go to Bennu in the future and personally operate the Red Star-130."

"Yes, you will." Lin Dong patted his head. "As long as you stick to your dream, you will definitely be able to do it."

The sun shone brightly on the day Lin Dong left the courtyard house. He looked back at the small courtyard that held all his beginnings, and his heart was filled with strength.

He knew that Bennu's journey would not be smooth sailing, but he had the help of the Chaos Pearl, the companionship of his team, the concern of his family, and even more so, the red star that rose from the courtyard and would never be extinguished.

At the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, a Long March rocket carrying the modular hull of the Bennu resupply station and the Hongxing-130 agricultural machinery stands quietly on the launch tower. Like a sharp sword poised to strike, it is about to pierce the sky and soar towards the distant asteroid Bennu.

The countdown clock for launch is quietly tolling.