Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The training program for the three astronauts is also coming to an end.

Looking at the training progress reports, Lü Yongchang couldn't help but smile.

It must be said that the person Hong Qiming chose for him was indeed quite good.

These three astronauts are among the best in China in terms of overall quality!

In addition, the promises made by Lü Yongchang before training were very motivating...

The combined effect was so great that he could hardly believe his eyes!

Fusion reaction rate control, Hall thruster power control, spaceplane takeoff and landing on the ground, lunar takeoff and landing...

The original month-long training program was compressed into a mere fifteen days!

Lu Yongchang put down the training report in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then picked up the landline on his desk.

……

Within the first ring road of the capital city of Xia Kingdom.

"Knock knock knock!"

A series of urgent knocks on the door made the old man, who was engrossed in reviewing documents, frown.

"Come in!" The old man put down his pen, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice.

The heavy wooden door to the office was slowly pushed open.

Upon seeing the visitor, a look of surprise flashed in the old man's eyes: "Academician Cao? What brings you here?"

The old man looked solemnly at Academician Cao Liangcai standing at the door and asked softly, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the Xuan Nu No. 1 project?"

Cao Liangcai quickly shook his head, then said excitedly, "Speaker, I've come to report on the progress of Project Xuan Nu No. 1!"

"Project Xuan Nu No. 1 was completed this morning!"

The old man's expression suddenly froze.

The next moment, he jumped up from his chair, staring intently at Cao Liangcai in front of him: "Is this true?!"

Upon hearing the councilor's question, Cao Liangcai straightened up and replied loudly with a serious expression, "Absolutely true!"

"Currently, the pilot of Xuan Nu No. 1 has completed all training programs!"

"Xuan Nu No. 1 is fully prepared and ready for its test flight at any time!"

"Good! Good! Good!" the senator laughed loudly. "Without further ado, the test flight will be scheduled for..."

As he spoke, the councilor glanced at the calendar on his desk: "Let's set it for three days from now!"

"Oh, right!"

The councilor's eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice, "This test flight will be broadcast live across the entire internet!"

"Xia Kingdom, it's time to flex its muscles to the world!"

……

That evening, the Xia Kingdom's news channel broadcast a news report.

On television, the host, with a smile in his eyes, announced news that shocked the Xia Kingdom and even the world!

"Breaking news from this station: the research project for Xia Kingdom's first spaceplane, Xuan Nu-1, has been a complete success!"

"The Xuan Nu No. 1 will conduct its maiden test flight in three days!"

"According to the latest directive issued by the Xia Kingdom Parliament, this test flight will be broadcast live across all frequency bands!"

The moment the news aired, there was an uproar!

"??? Am I seeing things?"

"Mysterious Maiden No. 1? Isn't that something from the recently announced Southern Heavenly Gate project?"

"Holy crap, is the rabbit serious?"

"Eagle: Rabbit, do you think my pie-in-the-sky drawing looks good?"

"Rabbit: Eagle, doesn't my pancake smell delicious?"

"That's all for now, I've already taken leave. See you on Douyu Live in three days!"

"Douyu Shark? Are you sure Douyu Shark is streaming this?"

"The news says it's a full-band live stream, Douyu will definitely have it!"

……

Unlike the reactions of netizens in China, there was a series of pessimistic voices on Twitter abroad.

"Hahaha, that's hilarious! A spaceplane? Has Xia Country gone mad with its dreams?"

"Tch, this is definitely another smokescreen!"

"I thought Xia Guo had already screwed over dozens of countries with its nuclear fusion technology, but I never expected them to pull this trick on me!"

"The current state of Xia reminds me of the United States decades ago; everyone's just making empty promises and grandiose claims!"

"Enough said. If a spaceplane ever existed, I'd livestream myself doing the butterfly stroke in a cesspool!"

"Butterfly stroke is nothing, I can swim underwater in a cesspool!"

"To the two of you upstairs, I've already taken screenshots. Remember to share the link when you start the live stream!"

……

three days later.

Douyu Live.

At noon, a live stream appeared on the homepage of Douyu Live.

Live broadcast of the test flight of Xuan Nu-1!

The title was unremarkable, but from the moment the live stream started, the number of viewers began to skyrocket!

Zhao Zijie sat at his computer desk, excitedly clicking the mouse to open the Douyu live stream room.

black screen.

The next moment, a dense barrage of bullet comments appeared against the black background.

"Open the door! Open the door! You've got the guts to livestream your test flight, but you can't open the door?"

"That's right, your phone is broken, we all saw the footage!"

Seeing these nonsensical comments, Zhao Zijie's lips twitched slightly.

It has to be said that the saying "silly netizens bring a lot of joy" is sometimes really true.

Just as he was about to type in the chat to send a comment and participate in the interaction, the scene in the live stream suddenly changed.

A blinding white light appeared in the lens.

"Ouch! My eyes are blinded! Pay up!"

"Great! Give me your address, and community workers will come right away to offer their assistance!"

"Excuse me!"

A few seconds later, the image gradually became clear.

The moment he saw the image, Zhao Zijie suddenly stopped breathing!

The shot shows a long airstrip.

At the beginning of the runway, a jet-black, futuristic-looking airplane was parked prominently.

The live stream room fell silent instantly.

But the next second, a barrage of comments instantly appeared on the screen!

"What is this thing? It looks a lot like an American B-2 bomber to me!"

"Holy crap...that's awesome!"

"It's only somewhat similar. Although we don't know the exact dimensions, you can tell from the proportions that the wingspan of the Xuan Nu-1 is much smaller than that of the B-2!"

Just as netizens were debating wildly, an off-screen voice came through the live stream.

"Hello everyone, I'm Yiyi, the host of this test flight live broadcast."

"It's 12:15 Beijing time now, exactly 30 minutes until takeoff."

"Before Xuan Nu-1 takes off, let me give you a brief introduction to this spaceplane."

"..."

……

The White House, United States.

Albert stared at the television screen with a grim expression.

The scene in the video is a live broadcast of the test flight of the Xia Kingdom's Xuan Nu No. 1!

"...Xuan Nu No. 1 uses the latest Hall thrusters, which allows it to achieve an astonishing propulsion force of fifty tons!"

Albert's face grew increasingly grim as he looked at the translation below the video.

"Morton, tell me, what's going on?"

"I seem to recall you saying that Hall thrusters are completely ineffective within the atmosphere?"