Liu Hui harbored a secret, which is why he didn't let the people from the landing vessel disembark with him.

He bounded across the lunar surface alone. With the Moon's low gravity, a mere exertion sent him soaring high before landing ten meters away.

Liu Hui began to muse; if he unleashed his full strength in a single leap, perhaps he could break free of lunar gravity entirely and shoot straight into space. But it was just a fleeting thought; he had no intention of engaging in such a pointless endeavor. Following his pre-set course for ten minutes, a voice crackled through the communicator in his spacesuit: "Liu Hui, how are you feeling?" Liu Hui chuckled, "I feel absolutely incredible, better than I've ever felt."

"That reassures me," An Qi replied, "but I need to give you a heads-up. If you keep running like this, you'll leave the area designated for our construction base. The spot you're standing on right now is precisely where we planned the primary site—the vast, flat expanse to your right is the area you specifically requested earlier."

Hearing this, Liu Hui awkwardly halted his forward momentum. He looked around and immediately spotted a massive canyon ahead, beyond which stretched a large, level plain. That canyon was earmarked for the future Lunar Base, while the flat land was the perfect staging ground for stacking all the supplies transported from Earth.

"An Qi, I've confirmed the supply drop zone," Liu Hui said. "Begin the transport now. Please immediately disable all monitoring cameras on the interstellar transport vessel that are currently aimed at me."

Knowing Liu Hui was about to reveal his miraculous method for moving massive quantities of material, An Qi instantly ordered the shutdown of every surveillance device on the ship focused on him. Though intensely curious about Liu Hui's incredible ability, she was a discreet person and would never dream of peeking at this critical moment. If she secretly witnessed Liu Hui’s secret and that somehow caused a change in her demeanor when facing him, leading to an irreparable rift, that was something An Qi absolutely could not tolerate.

Only after Shi Qi confirmed that all monitoring equipment aimed at him aboard the vessel had been deactivated did Liu Hui relax and switch off his spacesuit communicator.

Liu Hui then initiated a call to Alexander from the Magic Plane. Alexander had been anticipating Liu Hui's summons, and he appeared almost instantly on the Planar Trader.

Upon seeing Alexander, Liu Hui bypassed pleasantries and immediately instructed him to trade containers numbered one through one thousand, as marked on the large containers, over to him.

Though Alexander was curious about Liu Hui’s current attire, he asked nothing.

He simply located the numbers etched on the containers and transferred the large containers, numbered one to one thousand, to Liu Hui as instructed.

Suddenly, several large containers materialized on the empty ground before Liu Hui. He stacked them neatly upon the surface. Quickly, the area, previously barren save for lunar regolith, was now lined with row upon row of massive containers.

Two hours later, Liu Hui had traded one thousand containers from Alexander. These thousand large containers were stacked orderly on the plain, holding the heavy machinery and building materials required for the lunar base construction.

The Planar Trader revealed its sublime utility at this moment. By simply routing the transfer through Alexander in the Magic Plane, Liu Hui had moved a colossal amount of material from Earth onto the Moon, drastically cutting down the time and cost required for building the lunar base.

After receiving the first thousand containers, Liu Hui terminated the transaction with Alexander. He reactivated his spacesuit communicator and contacted An Qi aboard the interstellar transport vessel.

Upon receiving Liu Hui’s signal, An Qi finally let out a long, relieved sigh. For the preceding two hours, Liu Hui had been completely cut off from the vessel. On the dangerous and unknown surface of the Moon, no one knew his status, causing An Qi significant worry about his safety. Thankfully, Liu Hui was back in contact, assuring her of his well-being. Had he remained silent, An Qi might have been tempted to activate the cameras to check on his condition.

When An Qi heard Liu Hui report that part of the supplies had been delivered, she immediately reactivated the monitoring equipment aimed at his location. She gasped, staring at the scene: a flat expanse that had been empty two hours prior was now lined with successive rows of containers.

An Qi was deeply shocked; this miraculous phenomenon defied all her current knowledge. Yet, she knew it was Liu Hui’s secret, and she would not press for details unless he chose to reveal them.

Seeing the first batch of supplies in place, An Qi gave the command: the engines of the interstellar transport vessel ignited, lifting it from lunar orbit as it steered towards Liu Hui’s position.

Ten minutes later, the massive interstellar transport vessel hovered near Liu Hui, slowly descending onto a clear patch of ground a kilometer away. Once landed, the rear hatch opened, disgorging two fully enclosed, heavy-duty engineering vehicles, each carrying several drivers.

Liu Hui bounded back to the ship, removed his spacesuit, and entered the command and control center. Seeing Liu Hui safe and sound, An Qi was overcome with emotion and rushed into his arms.

Moved, Liu Hui held her close, standing still as they monitored the engineering vehicles operating outside via the large screen in the command center.

The two heavy engineering vehicles lumbered toward the containers. Following the markings, they opened the containers sequentially, extracting components of various machinery and beginning their assembly.

Soon, the first large construction vehicle was fully assembled. A driver, waiting nearby, boarded it and piloted it toward the remaining containers to retrieve further components and begin constructing new machinery.

Rapidly, more and more massive construction vehicles took shape. These were then manned by an increasing number of construction personnel, who set about assembling even more equipment. Within a day, half of the containers had been opened, and the ground now displayed five hundred colossal construction vehicles.

Liu Hui and An Qi stood embracing on the transport vessel, watching the busy construction site below. Liu Hui spoke with awe, "I still can't quite believe it—we are standing on the Moon, and our crew is working below."

An Qi smiled, "Liu Hui, you must believe it, because we have truly done it. Right now, we are merely assembling the construction equipment on the Moon; this is our first step here. Imagine how you’ll react when we begin terraforming and colonizing Mars?"

Liu Hui laughed, "If all of that truly comes to pass, I can only say that the saying 'Man can conquer nature' holds some truth after all."

"Liu Hui," An Qi asked, "Have all of our supplies been transported to the Moon?"

Liu Hui nodded. "Yes, everything has been moved to the Moon."

"But I recall we had one hundred thousand large containers," An Qi inquired curiously. "I can only count a thousand containers down there!"

Liu Hui chuckled, "These thousand containers hold only our construction machinery and some building materials, so they can be stored in a vacuum. The rest of the goods cannot be exposed to a vacuum, so I haven't deployed them yet. Once they build the massive sealed storage warehouses using the materials down here, I will transport all the remaining containers."

An Qi responded with an "Oh," indicating she understood, then turned back to watch the construction team below, dropping the sensitive topic.

With lunar gravity at only one-sixth of Earth's and no atmospheric drag, the efficiency of the construction crew below was extraordinarily high. Once the five hundred diverse construction vehicles were assembled, they commenced work on the lunar base foundation.

First, four colossal pillars were erected. At the top of these pillars, forty lights, each powered by a thousand watts, blazed to life, illuminating the vast construction site as brightly as day. Auxiliary support equipment was also rapidly constructed to manage logistics for the crew.

Next, the large construction vehicles began leveling the foundation for the base. It took them a full week to excavate all the surface regolith at the designated site, exposing the hard basalt rock beneath. They then began setting the foundation anchors into the basalt and pouring high-strength concrete.

Two weeks later, the foundation of the lunar base was complete, and they started on the first structure. This initial building was a single-story block, ten meters high, one hundred meters long, and fifty meters wide. The frame was assembled first, and then the construction crew installed powerful glass panels, manufactured by Star-Sky Group, onto the exterior of the frame. Once sealed, the structure became a large room entirely isolated from the Moon.

Inside this large room, thick curtains were hung, oxygen supply systems installed, electrical circuits connected, and daily necessities arranged. It transformed into a habitable space completely sealed off from the vacuum outside.

As this room was being constructed, nine more identical units began assembly simultaneously.

One week later, ten identical structures stood on the lunar base. These rooms were interconnected by circular, sealed corridors, forming a sprawling complex of low-rise buildings. Connected together, they created a large, habitable volume.

From the ship, Liu Hui watched these ten habitable structures materialize so simply on the ground. He remarked, "Scientists back on Earth kept saying how difficult space migration would be, how impossible it was to establish an outpost on the Moon. They could never have dreamed we would construct a settlement capable of housing a thousand people this easily."

An Qi giggled, "The scientists weren't wrong. If we didn't have the Body Evolution Fluid, which significantly boosted the physical conditioning of the construction crew, we never could have transported six hundred people to the Moon all at once. Consider that any astronaut capable of space flight undergoes more than ten years of specialized training. Furthermore, without the Suspension Array Formation, cleverly deployed, we couldn't have built such a massive interstellar transport vessel. Simply moving those six hundred people to the Moon would have been an almost impossible task then.

"And look at the heavy engineering vehicles they are using now—doesn't each one weigh over five hundred tons? Never mind how Earth scientists would solve the energy demands for these colossal machines; just transporting a single one to the Moon might take them a decade! Not to mention the astronomical amount of materials needed for the base construction—they simply couldn't deliver them to the Moon.

"So, what appears simple to you, building this lunar base, is actually fraught with unimaginable difficulty in the eyes of Earth's scientists. At their current pace of research, they likely wouldn't achieve what we have now even in a hundred years."

Liu Hui listened to An Qi’s explanation with deep satisfaction, as everything they achieved was the direct result of his relentless efforts toward this lunar base project. Every single component of this plan was infused with Liu Hui’s hard work.

The construction crew on the Moon operated on a rotating schedule: four hours of continuous work, followed by two hours of rest aboard the transport vessel, then another four hours of work before their shift ended, adhering strictly to Earth-standard timetables.

After a month of construction, the staff dormitories for the lunar base were fully completed. The construction workers finally moved out of the cramped confines of the interstellar transport vessel and into their spacious, well-lit accommodations.

Liu Hui and An Qi also moved into the dormitories, relocating the command center inside.

The scientific instruments from the ship were also moved into the dorms, where scientists used them to conduct various experiments.

During the evenings, Liu Hui arranged for more containers filled with daily necessities from Alexander, distributing them to ensure the basic living needs of the lunar base personnel were met.

Once everyone was settled in the base, the massive interstellar transport vessel turned back toward Earth's 'Star-Sky City' to ferry the next batch of personnel and supplies.

Although Liu Hui had acquired most daily necessities through Alexander, the current lunar base lacked the capacity to produce fresh vegetables, meaning this replenishment still had to come from 'Star-Sky City.'

The lunar base still lacked artificial gravity. While the internal spaces were generous and they didn't need spacesuits, the constant feeling of weightlessness remained uncomfortable, but they had to endure it until the base construction was fully complete.

The lunar construction crew continued their work. Utilizing new materials provided by Liu Hui during this period, they spent another month constructing ten super-large storage warehouses adjacent to the dorm complex, all interconnected.

These storage facilities were rectangular, standing one hundred meters tall, five hundred meters long, and four hundred meters wide. Once finished, their combined storage volume reached a staggering one hundred billion cubic meters—sufficient capacity to hold every single item transported from Earth.

Seeing the time was right, Liu Hui contacted Alexander in the Magic Plane again, trading back all the containers stored in Alexander's subterranean cavern and placing them within the new super-storage facilities.

Only at this point did Liu Hui fully utilize the marvelous capabilities of the Planar Trader, finally transporting all the required supplies to the Moon and successfully completing the most significant challenge in constructing the lunar base, fulfilling An Qi’s directive.

As this final batch of material entered the super-storage complex, every single component needed for the lunar base construction was now accounted for. Coincidentally, the interstellar transport vessel, returning from delivering provisions to 'Star-Sky City,' arrived back at the Moon. This time, besides a large shipment of fresh vegetables, it brought five hundred skilled construction workers and an accompanying team of one hundred scientists.

With established shelter and the addition of five hundred new workers, the pace of construction on the lunar base instantly doubled. The base quickly began to take shape, with various structures successively rising upon the prepared foundation.

As surface construction commenced, the base's weapon systems began installation and debugging. On the mountaintops surrounding the lunar base, a total of two hundred massive electromagnetic cannons were mounted. Alongside these, four hundred high-energy laser weapons were installed. The energy cores for these systems were powered by the lunar base itself and controlled centrally from the base's command center. With these energy defenses in place, the base was rendered impregnable, capable of repelling any external threat, including meteoroid impacts.

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