Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"Roger that, start the automated lunar mining equipment now!"

Lu Yongchang's calm voice came through the radio.

The next moment, under the watchful eyes of countless people, a scene with a strong sense of science fiction appeared.

Several indicator lights with a blue glow first lit up on the surfaces of the nine silver-white cubes.

The next moment, as the indicator light flashed continuously, the silver-white cube slowly unfolded along the cracks on its surface.

Due to technological limitations, the cube unfolds at a slightly different speed than in science fiction movies, unlike the scenes depicted in such films.

But this scene alone is astonishing enough!

Nine cubes slowly unfolded and then joined together, gradually revealing the prototype of a mining equipment to everyone.

"hiss……"

Even Captain Bai Yixuan was stunned by the futuristic scene before him.

"Holy crap... what the hell did Professor Lü and his team create...?"

Hong Fan, watching intently as the mining equipment automatically assembled, muttered to himself, "I mean, is it possible that Professor Lü is actually an alien?"

If the three astronauts were so surprised, imagine how astonished the ordinary people who saw the scene through the camera!

Within just a few minutes, countless viewers flooded into the live streaming rooms on various platforms.

"Holy crap!"

"If it weren't for the completely poor image quality, I would have thought this was a clip from some sci-fi movie..."

"Holy crap?! Seriously? I just dozed off for a bit, did I somehow time travel?"

"You're awake! The surgery was a success!"

"If they can show us footage like this, then the question is, just how much are they hiding?"

Rabbit: Not much, just a tiny bit!

"..."

Just as everyone was having a heated discussion, the live stream suddenly switched.

The host, Bingbing, once again appeared on camera with her sweet smile.

Before the words were even finished, the live stream screen went black.

"???"

"Was the broadcast really ended at lightning speed?"

"What happens next? I want to see what happens next!"

"Sorry, this is paid content. Payment account: ..."

……

More than an hour later.

Seeing the automated mining equipment operating normally, Lü Yongchang on the command platform breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Is the surface debris collection vehicle already in operation?"

Kong Xingbang's voice came from the side.

Lü Yongchang nodded slightly: "Unlike mining equipment, the surface rock cuttings collection vehicle started operating a week ago."

"The current situation is good. We have collected a portion of Helium-3 using both electric heating and solar reflectors."

"The second objective of the Xuan Nu I mission was to bring back these Helium-3 particles."

Kong Xingbang, supporting himself with his canes, struggled to his feet, a gleam of excitement in his eyes: "From this moment on, the Moon Palace Project will truly begin!"

"But..." A hint of worry flashed in Kong Xingbang's eyes, "At the current pace, the Moon Palace Project may still be a bit slow."

Hearing Kong Xingbang's sigh, the smile on Lü Yongchang's face gradually disappeared.

He sighed softly, nodded in agreement, and said, "Yes."

"Not only is the transportation capacity of Xuan Nu No. 1 a major problem, but also the working efficiency of the mining equipment."

"I have roughly estimated that, at the current pace, it may take about five more years for the Lunar Palace Project to be fully implemented."

Kong Xingbang pondered for a moment, then said softly, "The transport capacity of the Xuan Nu No. 1 is not a problem. If one is not enough, we can build ten. If that's still not enough, we can build a hundred!"

"In my opinion, the most important issue right now is the efficiency of the mining equipment."

"The program is, after all, static, and it's located on the distant moon; these factors all contribute to the problem of extremely low mining efficiency."

"If... Zero were to control those mining equipment, do you think it would be feasible?"

Kong Xingbang has seen fully automated factories controlled by zero.

Initially, due to limited manpower and productivity, Zero could only control a dozen or so robotic arms and various machine tools.

In just two months, the number of robotic arms and machine tools with zero control has increased by hundreds or even thousands of times.

This was certainly not achieved using Xia's original productive capacity.

After all, Xia Kingdom could not possibly stop other more important production tasks to manufacture a large number of precision robotic arms and processing equipment specifically for Zero.

As a true form of artificial intelligence, Zero possesses a truly unique and core capability.

Self-replication.

With sufficient raw materials and computing power, Zero can achieve exponential growth through a few robotic arms and various production equipment!

This is the legendary "mass production of troops".

Having witnessed the exponential growth in productivity, Kong Xingbang began to consider this approach.

If we used this ability of zero on the moon...

Perhaps the entire Moon Palace project can be completed in just a few months!

The thought of countless robotic arms operating all kinds of production equipment to mine and smelt minerals on the moon ignited a burning flame in Kong Xingbang's old and withered heart once again!

But the next moment, the flame was extinguished by a bucket of ice water from Lü Yongchang.

"Professor Kong, it seems unlikely that this can be achieved at present."

Kong Xingbang stared blankly at Lü Yongchang, whose face was full of bitterness, and unconsciously gripped the cane in his dry hands.

"What's the reason?"

He asked in a slightly hoarse voice.

Lü Yongchang shook his head bitterly.

"Master Kong, I've also considered the method you mentioned."

"Leaving aside the computing power issue, the latency between the Earth and the Moon alone is enough to give us a run for our money."

Kong Xingbang suddenly realized what was happening.

Yes.

Perhaps because he was too excited, he overlooked the simplest question.

Earth-Moon communication is delayed.

Lu Yongchang's voice rang out again: "Elder Kong, the current round-trip time for information between the Earth and the Moon is between 2.34 and 2.71 seconds."

"Even artificial intelligence would struggle to operate mining equipment on the moon with such a delay."

"Moreover... Zero's available computing power is already quite limited. After taking control of this factory, it will also need to be responsible for various computing tasks throughout the entire laboratory."

Kong Xingbang sighed deeply, his eyes filled with disappointment: "Since that's the case, then we can only build a few more Xuan Nu No. 1s and fill this gap with manpower."

Lu Yongchang's eyes flickered slightly: "There's no need to be so pessimistic."

"As far as I know, Academician Cao Liangcai's drawings for Xuan Nu II have passed the initial verification. Perhaps it won't be long before you see Xuan Nu II."