The Yun Gong, its old wounds still healing, had suffered new damage. Fortunately, these were minor issues, easily repaired with time.
However, the dangerous actions of the Miliman nearly caused an irreversible outcome, a problem that couldn't be brushed aside so easily.
The ground station immediately contacted them, demanding an explanation from the Miliman. Otherwise, they would be held responsible for all consequences.
The Miliman immediately cried foul, claiming they had tried to help, but who knew there was an arsenal hidden within the debris? They were also victims, and shouldn't bear the responsibility.
Both sides held firm, refusing to yield, and it seemed unlikely they would reach an agreement anytime soon.
However, this had nothing to do with Ou Zhanpeng and the others. After returning to the base, they immediately joined the effort to clear the debris until all scattered fragments were removed.
It was already the early hours of the next day. Except for a few on duty, everyone else slept until noon. After a quick meal, they resumed their work in clearing the orbit.
But the matter was far from over.
Given the dangerous situation in orbit, the ground station held an emergency consultation lasting several hours and connected with the Luojian Mountain base to inquire about their situation.
Seven days later.
Ou Zhanpeng was securing himself in his seat, writing something, when Ling Xiao burst in, pulling him out, "Fatty Ou, Fatty Ou, what are you doing? Come with me quickly!"
Ou Zhanpeng was confused, "Where are we going?"
"The Lunar Express is here, docked at the pier. They say they've brought a batch of equipment for the base."
Equipment?
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly remembered a recent rumor, "Where is it from?"
"Where else? Of course, from Luojian Mountain!"
They floated to the pier, and Ou Zhanpeng realized he was late. A large group, led by Mu Xingyu, had already completely blocked the corridor connecting to the pier. A small group of soldiers was using a retractable skybridge to transfer several large crates into the space station.
Additionally, a familiar-looking fellow was accompanying them. As they got closer, Ling Xiao immediately waved, "Hey, hey, Lu Tianming!"
The man turned his head, waving back in surprise.
It wasn't a good time to talk. Later, the group reunited, and Ling Xiao asked, "Tianming, why are you here? Has your leg healed completely?"
Lu Tianming smiled, "The higher-ups assigned two more assistants to the teacher, and they sent me here."
He was a survivor of the hostage incident, the unlucky individual who was accidentally injured by friendly fire.
Ou Zhanpeng asked curiously, "There's no alien reactor here, so why would they assign you?"
"Of course, to deliver equipment to you," Lu Tianming said. "Didn't something almost happen a few days ago? The higher-ups arranged for Luojian Mountain to send a batch of shields to strengthen the space station's defenses."
"Shields?" Ling Xiao almost blurted out, "Is that true?"
Ou Zhanpeng was also surprised, "Where did the shields come from?"
Lu Tianming smiled happily, "Where else? They were salvaged from the derelict ships."
"How is the energy supply handled? Have you figured it out?"
"Not that quickly!" Lu Tianming sighed. "We salvaged over a dozen shield generators and found that their structure wasn't as complicated as we thought. Half of it was a receiver for a remote energy supply system, and the other half was the shield generator itself. As long as enough energy is provided, it can be used normally."
Ling Xiao couldn't believe it, "It's that simple?"
"Of course not!" Lu Tianming shook his head. "Currently, we can only separate these two parts. Both the remote energy supply and the shield itself are far beyond our understanding, and we can't replicate them for now. If it weren't for the vital strategic importance of the Yun Gong, the higher-ups wouldn't have equipped the space station with shields."
Ou Zhanpeng's heart stirred, "So, you mean the shields can be powered directly by electricity?"
Lu Tianming smiled again, "Ah, that we discovered after you left. The aliens, like us, are primarily powered by electricity."
Ling Xiao's expression immediately fell, "No way?"
"Disappointed again?" Ou Zhanpeng teased him.
Lu Tianming looked confused, "What makes Brother Ling disappointed? Isn't it good that you've found the answer?"
Ou Zhanpeng revealed Ling Xiao's thoughts, "He always thought that what the aliens used must be more advanced than ours, something high-tech like antimatter or vacuum energy, so, you know!"
"Ah, I thought it was something else!" Lu Tianming realized, "What's the big deal? Aliens are in the same universe as us. There are only a few forms of energy: light, electricity, or heat. They can't escape this. As far as I know, aliens have a much better understanding of electricity than we do."
"Can't there be anything different?" Ling Xiao asked disappointedly.
"What's the point of being different? I think electricity is quite good," Ou Zhanpeng said.
Although they might not share the same technological system, the fact that aliens also used electricity meant there were likely some things worth researching and utilizing. Wasn't that much better than light or heat?
If the aliens truly used light or other strange things as their primary energy source, wouldn't they have to rebuild an entire technological system to utilize alien technology?
Lu Tianming thought for a moment and said, "We've confirmed that the shields are field generators, not electromagnetic shields. Does that count?"
Ling Xiao immediately rolled his eyes, "I don't want to talk to you!"
Ou Zhanpeng laughed, "Ignore him. Tell me, how do you use this thing? Just connect it to a power cable?"
"That won't work. This thing consumes a lot of power. It must be powered by supercapacitors."
Ou Zhanpeng was slightly surprised, "Isn't that like an electromagnetic cannon?"
"Yes," Lu Tianming nodded. "The space station has a reactor, so power supply isn't a problem. I've also brought a batch of personal shields, so if anything else happens, personnel can be protected."
Ling Xiao was dissatisfied again, "What about the airships?"
"We can't manage them. The shields consume too much power. With current battery technology, it can barely meet the consumption of personal shields... Well, when powered remotely, they can withstand seven or eight shots, but with batteries, at most two. As for the large field generators, they absolutely require reactor power."
"I see!" Ling Xiao was even more disappointed. "Never mind, it's better than nothing."
"Greed is never satisfied, that's what they say about people like you!" Ou Zhanpeng said. "This is already equipment comparable to what aliens have!
"Haha, you two are really funny!" Lu Tianming chuckled. "By the way, there's one more thing. The higher-ups have also allocated a batch of plasma cannons to the space station, saying that if they encounter the same situation as last time, one shot can vaporize debris and ensure the base's safety."
Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao exchanged glances. It seemed like all the usable alien equipment had been sent to Tiangong II.
Ling Xiao suddenly had an idea, "Do you think we can use plasma cannons to clear the debris directly?"
"It's the same problem," Lu Tianming spread his hands. "Without remote power supply, they can only be used as fixed turrets. You can't install a reactor on a spaceship, can you?"
"That's true!" Ling Xiao sighed.
As they were happily chatting, Ou Zhanpeng's arm vibrated slightly: "Ou Zhanpeng, the director is looking for you!"