Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Moonlit Golden Meteorite

The two of them donned their spacesuits properly and stepped out of the room into the zero-gravity area outside.

“Junior, check if the voice system is in point-to-point mode. Let’s not have a repeat of last time.”

Zhang Mingyang nodded, inspected the system, and confirmed it was set for private communication between the two.

“Senior, do you know the way to the mine?”

Peng Dongli tapped the display on his left arm, pointed ahead, and said, “Just walk straight, about two kilometers and we’ll be there.”

Following Peng Dongli’s direction, the two leapt forward. Along the way, heavy vehicles occasionally sped past them, heading toward the cargo rockets for loading.

“Senior, how long has this mine been in operation?”

Peng Dongli thought for a moment. “Almost twenty years now.”

“And they still haven’t finished mining it? How big is it, then?”

Peng Dongli gestured ahead. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Leaping onward, they arrived at a high platform overlooking a pit dozens of meters deep.

“Look there.”

Peng Dongli pointed downward at a sphere. “That’s the ‘Lunar Aurum Mine.’”

Zhang Mingyang followed Peng Dongli’s gaze and saw a massive stone sphere, nearly a hundred meters tall, settled below. Half of the sphere had already been hollowed out, with numerous heavy-duty mining vehicles excavating nearby.

“Senior, is that the ‘Lunar Aurum Mine’? It looks more like a meteorite to me.”

Peng Dongli replied, “It is a meteorite.”

“How did it end up on the moon?”

Peng Dongli explained, “Twenty-two years ago, when the Jade Rabbit probe discovered it, it had already been lying here for over 150 years. After the Lunar Palace Base was completed, scientists conducted a survey. Researchers collected ore and soil samples, analyzed their isotopic ages, and determined the meteorite struck the far side of the moon 150 years ago. Its formation is estimated at roughly five million years.”

“That long?” Zhang Mingyang asked again, “Was this the only place where ‘Lunar Aurum Mine’ was found?”

Peng Dongli shook his head. “After this meteorite was discovered, our country established two more lunar bases: Tiangong and Xinggong. In 2029, all three bases undertook a large-scale geological sampling of the moon, but the results showed that only here and the American ‘Endeavour’ base in the Picard Basin contained the same material. But we can’t access that place.”

“Why not?” Zhang Mingyang was puzzled. “The moon isn’t any country’s territory, so why can’t we go?”

Peng Dongli explained, “Clearly, you don’t know much about space. Article Four, Chapter One of the 2025 United Nations ‘Space Law’ states that if a country establishes a lunar base covering at least ten thousand square meters, the surrounding area within a hundred kilometers is considered that country’s territory. No other nation may infringe upon it, nor conduct surveys without the host nation’s permission.”

“So that’s how it works!” It was the first time Zhang Mingyang had heard about this.

Peng Dongli continued, “Later, the country launched four lunar space stations for high-altitude surveys, but so far, no more of this ore has been found.”

Zhang Mingyang asked, “If it’s a meteorite, maybe only these two fragments landed on the moon?”

“Actually, no.” Peng Dongli went on, “This meteorite is roughly the same size as the American one. Experts analyzed the volume, and concluded that the amount of Lunar Aurum metal extracted from both meteorites was minimal, insufficient for large-scale use—only for certain critical projects.”

“In 2029, the national Project 29 analyzed the impact trajectory of the meteorite and found its original volume was a thousand times larger than what you see now!”

“A thousand times larger?”

Zhang Mingyang gazed at the meteorite before him, already awed by its size. If it were a thousand times larger, he couldn’t even imagine the sight.

“Senior, was the original volume of the meteorite ever found?”

Peng Dongli nodded. “In 2031, orbital studies revealed the meteorite suddenly broke apart fifteen million kilometers from Mars. The largest fragment crashed into Mars, while two smaller fragments were ejected by Mars’ gravity and flew toward Earth, finally striking the far side of the moon 150 years ago.”

“Senior, is the big fragment really on Mars?”

Peng Dongli replied, “At first, no one believed it. But on July 15, 2032, the space agency decided to reactivate the Tianwen-1 Mars lander, dormant for four months, for a new survey. By chance, they discovered Lunar Aurum in a pile of rubble. That prompted two more large-scale surveys, and finally, the giant meteorite was found on the Utopia Plain.”

Listening to his senior’s account, Zhang Mingyang still couldn’t understand one thing. He asked, “Senior, is Lunar Aurum really that important?”

“Is it important?” Peng Dongli looked at Zhang Mingyang and replied, “The properties of Lunar Aurum metal are enough to support a country’s development for decades, even centuries.”

“You’ve seen ‘Resource Game’ too, so you should understand the importance of resources. Humanity has advanced to its current state precisely because we harness resources.”

“If our country controls this mineral, then in the future we’ll have absolute dominance in high-performance chips, micron-scale robots, spacecraft, and space colonization technologies. For decades, even centuries, we’ll lead the world.”

Seeing his senior’s excitement, Zhang Mingyang didn’t want to dampen his spirits, but he couldn’t help himself. He replied, “Senior, you’ve also watched ‘Resource Game.’ You should know the pros and cons of resources. They bring benefits but also drawbacks. Last century, humanity waged bloody wars across the globe for oil, even committed genocide for land. Surely there will be fierce conflicts over space resources today, and who knows how many will die because of it.”

Hearing Zhang Mingyang’s words, Peng Dongli recalled what he had read last night, but he believed resource competition was necessary. “Junior, haven’t you noticed? When humanity uses resources peacefully, technological progress stagnates. But during resource competition, technology advances rapidly. Competition breeds progress. If we simply go with the flow, humanity will never advance. Only through rivalry and competition can technology evolve.”

Listening to his senior, Zhang Mingyang was surprised at his view—it sounded like the words of a warmonger. But thinking it over, he realized there was truth in it. Everything has two sides, especially humanity.