The "Mysterious Shadow Token" lay on the metal control panel, its distorted shadow patterns seemingly alive, devouring the surrounding light and radiating a silent, chilling aura.
Mingzhao's gaze was almost tangible, locked onto the token, and the barely perceptible curling of her fingertips was the only ripple in her heart.
Zhang Mingyuan held his breath, staring intently at her reaction.
The air seemed to freeze in a corner of the entire Galaxy Base control hall.
"Come with me."
Zhang Mingyuan's voice was extremely low, carrying an unquestionable determination.
He didn't explain what "Mysterious Shadow" was, nor did he describe the hardships and dangers to come; there were only these three words.
Time is bought with the blood of pilots and cannot be wasted in the slightest.
Mingzhao did not hesitate.
She didn't even glance at the open "Compilation of Basic Industrial Materials" or the repaired signal amplifier again, as if they had never existed.
She simply stood up calmly, her movements concise and efficient, like a machine programmed with a set routine.
Zhang Mingyuan grabbed the "Mysterious Shadow Token" and quickly hid it deep inside his briefcase.
He turned and strode towards an inconspicuous alloy door deep inside the base, marked "Equipment Maintenance Passage".
Mingzhao followed silently, her steps light, as if she had blended into his shadow.
The heavy alloy door slid open silently, revealing that what lay behind it was not an equipment room, but a narrow passageway extending downwards, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
The corridor walls were rough concrete, without any markings, only the dim, yellowish incandescent bulbs spaced ten meters apart overhead, casting flickering halos of light. The air was cold and damp, carrying a heavy smell of earth and rust.
There were no guards, no checks. Zhang Mingyuan walked in front, Mingzhao behind, their footsteps echoing clearly in the silent passageway.
Downward, ever downward. The light grew dimmer, the air grew increasingly stuffy.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the slope gradually became gentler. Ahead appeared a heavy, unmarked cast-iron gate.
Zhang Mingyuan stopped and took out a uniquely shaped brass key from his pocket, inserting it into an inconspicuous keyhole on the door.
He didn't turn around immediately, but turned his head and whispered to Mingzhao:
"Everything you see and hear once you're inside is top secret. Remember your code name: 'Zero'."
After he finished speaking and saw Mingzhao nod, he turned the key forcefully.
Click! A dull mechanical sound came from inside the heavy door.
Then came the low hum of the hydraulic system starting up. The heavy cast-iron gate, like the jaws of a sleeping beast, slowly lifted up, revealing a crack.
---
A more complex and intense odor, a mixture of engine oil, metal dust, damp rocks, and some kind of strong disinfectant, wafted over.
Behind the door was not the cramped space one might imagine, but a huge, suffocating underground cavern!
Suddenly, the view opened up.
This is a colossal structure built by hollowing out the entire belly of a mountain!
The dome is tens of meters high, with huge rock sections exposed, from which hang dense, buzzing ventilation ducts and thick, spiderweb-like cables.
The stark white xenon headlights illuminated the entire space as bright as day, yet they could not dispel the chill and oppression that seemed to emanate from the depths of the earth.
The most awe-inspiring feature is the massive structure at the center of the space, resembling the skeleton of a steel behemoth.
A giant low-speed wind tunnel in operation!
The wind tunnel's air intake is like a gaping maw, large enough to accommodate a small aircraft.
At this moment, it is emitting a deep and continuous roar, and powerful air currents are being drawn in and surging within the cave.
Inside the observation window of the wind tunnel test section, the outline of a fixed object covered with canvas can be vaguely seen, being subjected to the impact of airflow.
Surrounding the central wind tunnel are auxiliary facilities as densely packed as an anthill: in simple workshop sheds, old-fashioned lathes and milling machines roar and sparks fly.
People dressed in dark blue or military green overalls hurried along, some pushing flatbed carts piled high with parts, others arguing heatedly in front of drawing boards; huge cable reels, piles of aviation aluminum plates, and mysterious equipment covered with canvas were everywhere.
Everything seemed primitive and rough, yet it was filled with a desperate, adrenaline-pumping fighting spirit.
There is no precision or "futuristic" feel here, only the heavy and authentic "rustic" flavor of the industrial base of this era.
A poignant sense of heroism washes over you as you astound the world as you charge toward cutting-edge technology with your flesh and blood and sheer will under extremely difficult conditions.
Zhang Mingyuan led Mingzhao along a narrow passage made of steel grilles suspended in mid-air.
Below is a bustling workshop, where the arc light from welding torches is blinding and the sound of metal clanging is incessant.
At the end of the passageway is a two-story platform cantilevered from the side of the wind tunnel, constructed of precast slabs, with a wooden sign that reads "Project Command Center" hanging on it.
The platform offers a better view, allowing you to see most of the base.
Several figures dressed in four-pocket cadre uniforms or military uniforms were gathered around a huge drawing board, the atmosphere heavy.
"Comrade Zhang Meng! Director Zhang is back!"
A sharp-eyed technician spotted Zhang Mingyuan and immediately called out.
The key figure next to the drawing board turned around upon hearing the sound.
She was a woman around fifty years old, with short hair that was already graying, a thin face, and wearing black-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, her gaze was sharp as a hawk's, bearing the deep marks left by long hours spent at her desk and exhausting herself.
She was wearing a faded blue work uniform, with oil stains and chalk dust on the cuffs. She was Academician Zhang Meng, the chief person in charge of the "Xuanying" project.
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