The sight of a satellite suddenly appearing above the Moon stunned Liu Hui, who asked, "Which country's satellite is that?"

An Qi replied, "This artificial satellite was just launched from Earth; it hasn't formally entered lunar orbit yet. However, based on our supercomputer's analysis, this satellite was likely launched by the US N."

"This satellite was launched by the US N?" Liu Hui questioned.

"Precisely. We analyze that the N likely launched this satellite toward the Moon at this juncture because our frequent movements between Earth and the Moon were detected by their instruments, revealing some anomalies. That's why they sent a satellite to the far side of the Moon to investigate," An Qi explained.

Hearing An Qi, Liu Hui fell silent for a long time. In his original view, since Starry Sky Group was the first to venture into lunar development, all resources on the Moon belonged to them. He hadn't anticipated that nations on Earth possessed the capability to send people to the Moon. If that were the case, the lunar resources would no longer be exclusively Starry Sky Group's.

Since the US satellite was already on its way to scout the situation, the moment they discovered the base Starry Sky Group was constructing on the Moon, they would immediately seize territory there, ultimately competing with Starry Sky Group for the Moon's abundant resources.

Although Liu Hui no longer feared any force on Earth and could act as he pleased, if the people of Earth discovered that his Starry Sky Group was fully venturing into space, establishing an outpost on the Moon, and utilizing its rich resources, his Starry Sky Group would find itself in an extremely disadvantageous position in terms of global public opinion.

At the very least, international organizations like the United Nations, or the US itself, would step forward to coerce him into sharing the Moon-landing technology. Even if they couldn't obtain his technology, they would certainly demand that Starry Sky Group include them in the lunar development and share the Moon's vast resources, believing the Moon to be the common wealth of all humanity.

If those nations and organizations actually managed to reach the Moon, the activities and development of Starry Sky Group there would be severely constrained by their interference.

Should Starry Sky Group refuse the demands of these Earth-bound entities, the group risked being utterly isolated by the entire world, leading to a complete cessation of cooperation. While the immense resources from the Moon had significantly alleviated Starry Sky Group's urgent need for trade with the world—making transactions with other nations less critical—the prospect of a genuine Earthling being completely ostracized by Earth itself was a prospect that deeply distressed Liu Hui.

In an extreme scenario, the nations and organizations of Earth might even unite their military might against the "City of the Stars," as the conflict concerning the ownership of vast extraterrestrial resources had become irreconcilable. If they failed to fight for it now, these nations and organizations would be permanently left behind by the "City of the Stars," losing any chance of catching up.

This situation was entirely different from Starry Sky Group achieving a monopoly on Earth through controlling essential products. Although Starry Sky Group engaged in monopolistic business on Earth, those nations could immediately sever cooperation with the group at the cost of a price, thereby hindering its progress. However, when dealing with the disposition of major resources crucial to the long-term development of these nations and organizations, compromise was simply not an option for them.

Even if all nations on Earth united, they might not be able to inflict the slightest harm upon Starry Sky Group. Yet, the "City of the Stars" was far from complete; its energy core was not yet installed, and it lacked even the basic capability for self-propulsion.

If the nations of Earth truly launched a war against the "City of the Stars," and if they acted without regard for the consequences, attacking it with nuclear weapons, the still-incomplete "City of the Stars" would suffer immense damage—a finale Liu Hui desperately wished to avoid.

Thus, upon seeing this lunar probe launched by the US N, Liu Hui instinctively wanted to destroy the satellite to ensure the secrecy of his lunar base from the people of Earth. The base's existence should only be made public after its construction was complete, not now, while it was still in its nascent, unstable phase of development.

"Liu Hui, what should we do now? Our lunar base hasn't deployed the Dynamic Simulation Array. If this satellite flies overhead, the Americans will immediately know we are building a base on the Moon," An Qi asked.

Liu Hui pondered for a moment and instructed, "Activate the railgun immediately and shoot down this N satellite. From now on, any satellite launched by any other nation flying toward the Moon is to be shot down as well. We cannot allow them to relay news of our lunar base construction back to Earth."

With Liu Hui's command, the personnel in the command center found their anchor and no longer feared the United States, the foremost military power on Earth. The weapon operators in the control room immediately began charging the railgun and locked onto the artificial satellite, which was moments away from lunar orbit, using the Spirit Energy Fluctuation Radar.

On the massive screen in the command and control center, Liu Hui merely witnessed a flash of light, and the satellite in space erupted in a massive explosion. The force of the blast shattered the satellite into fragments, causing it to completely dissipate into the void.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ On Earth, at the US N headquarters.

"Director, our lunar satellite seems to have disappeared," a Black man, intently watching his computer screen, said to Director N with some hesitation.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean our satellite seems to have disappeared?" Director Grayden said with displeasure.

"Sir, you had better come and see for yourself," the Black man urged.

So, Director Grayden walked over, clearly annoyed, and looked at the computer screen.

"What's going on? Where is our satellite?" Director Grayden exclaimed in shock. The screen was utterly blank, showing nothing.

"Sir, I don't know where our satellite went. For the past minute, we maintained excellent communication with it, and it was blinking at this location on the screen. But now, that signal source has completely vanished," the Black man said, pointing to a region on the monitor.

Director Grayden asked, "Could our satellite have malfunctioned, causing it not to display on our computers?"

The Black man responded, "While our satellite is capable of malfunctioning, we have been monitoring its movements continuously. All its equipment indicated normal operation; it showed no signs of failure."

Director Grayden immediately pulled up the satellite's flight trajectory. When he saw the satellite flying steadily until it vanished abruptly upon approaching the far side of the Moon, his expression grew grave.

"Our N instruments previously detected some major activity behind the Moon, which is why we specifically launched a probe satellite to investigate what was happening back there. Yet, unexpectedly, our satellite vanished mysteriously just as it was about to reach the far side. What does this imply? Is there truly a hidden secret on the far side of the Moon?" Director Grayden mused.

The more Director Grayden thought about it, the more serious the situation seemed. Regardless, some unknown change—a development unfavorable to Earth and a major challenge to the status of the US as a space superpower—had definitely occurred behind the Moon.

With this realization, Director Grayden instructed his secretary, "Prepare the car immediately. I must go to the White House; I have vital information to report to the President personally."

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ The interstellar transport ship carrying Liu Hui slowly lifted off from the lunar surface, preparing for its return to Earth. On the main screen, Liu Hui watched An Qi's tearful, lingering gaze, and he felt a deep attachment to her as well.

However, the lunar base still required An Qi's central coordination and command, just as the "City of the Stars" needed Liu Hui. Thus, the two could only part for a time. Yet, both believed the moment they would never be separated again was not far off.

After breaking free of lunar orbit, the interstellar transport ship entered space, accelerating toward Earth at a rapid speed of 100 kilometers per second. Fifty minutes later, the ship had entered Earth's gravitational influence.

The transport ship then began to decelerate, approaching the orbital space station flying around Earth, and re-docked there.

After leaving some supplies brought from the lunar base at the orbital station, collecting a new contingent of personnel, and taking them back to Earth, the transport ship departed the station and headed toward the location of the "City of the Stars" on Earth.

Two hours later, the ship landed silently at one of the "City of the Stars"' large, secret airfields. It was six o'clock in the morning local time.

Liu Hui was the first to step out of the transport ship. As he set foot back on the soil of the "City of the Stars," he felt an overwhelming surge of emotion. After being away from Earth for four months, Liu Hui had finally returned to his domain. In that moment, he nearly blurted out a bold declaration: "I, Liu Batian, am back!"

As soon as Liu Hui steadied himself, a soft, yielding body lunged into his embrace, clinging to him tightly. Liu Hui turned and wrapped his arms around Hu Xian'er's waist, laughing, "Xian'er, I'm back."

Hu Xian'er laughed through tears, "Shuinniu, it's wonderful that you're back, truly wonderful!"

Holding Hu Xian'er, Liu Hui saw his parents, brothers, and the management staff of Starry Sky Group and the "City of the Stars" gathered outside the secret airfield, awaiting his return.

Looking at them all, Liu Hui felt a sudden wave of peace and joy wash over him. He shouted out to the crowd, "Everyone, I have returned!"

The people below roared back, "Welcome home, Boss, to Earth!"

Liu Hui smiled, greeting the familiar faces. Mei Peng approached with a grin and asked, "Boss, was the Moon fun?"

Liu Hui laughed, "If you want to know if the Moon was fun, why don't you go see for yourself?"

Mei Peng was overjoyed. "Boss, do you mean I can go to the Moon too?"

Liu Hui chuckled, "Indeed. Not just you, but everyone here. If you wish, you can all choose to visit space and the Moon."

Hearing this, the assembled personnel erupted in cheers. Nearly every human on Earth harbored a dream of space and the Moon, yet the vast majority lacked the means to reach either. What made the Starry Sky Group proud now was that they possessed the capability to let people enter space and walk on the Moon at will. It was only at this moment that Starry Sky Group truly deserved the name "Starry Sky."

Hu Xian'er remained nestled in Liu Hui's arms, clinging to him tightly, unconcerned with matters of space and the Moon, feeling only that being close to Liu Hui was her greatest happiness.

Just as Liu Hui was enjoying this joyful reunion, Desheng stepped forward and whispered into his ear, "Boss, I just received intelligence that the US and Russia have dispatched their reconnaissance aircraft to the airspace two hundred kilometers from the 'City of the Stars' and are preparing to scout us. What should we do?"

Liu Hui paused, then addressed the welcoming crowd, "Everyone, please head home for now. I have some urgent matters to handle, and I promise we will have a proper gathering later."

The people present understood that Liu Hui had important business, so they politely took their leave. Liu Hui then proceeded to the command and control center of the "City of the Stars" accompanied by Hu Xian'er and Desheng.

As Liu Hui entered the control center, the personnel immediately rose and collectively called out, "Greetings, Boss!"

Liu Hui nodded. "Everyone, please take your seats. Desheng, brief me on the current situation."

Desheng explained, "Boss, here is the situation. Since you departed for the Moon, you haven't appeared in public for four months. Consequently, global nations and other powers began speculating that the Starry Sky Group faced a major crisis, thinking it was time for them to reap the rewards. However, they remain wary of the formidable military strength of the 'City of the Stars' and dare not launch a direct assault. Only the US and Russia have sent reconnaissance planes to survey us, operating just outside our territorial waters, testing our attitude in the process."

Liu Hui sneered, "Are you suggesting that if they perceive the Starry Sky Group is in serious trouble, and if we yield to their harassment, they will deem us weak and easy to bully, leading them to attempt to seize our colossal wealth and advanced technology?"

Desheng confirmed, "Precisely their thinking. Furthermore, the US and Russia have been sending reconnaissance planes to harass the 'City of the Stars.' Since they have been operating outside our territorial waters, we have refrained from engaging them."

Liu Hui considered this, then asked, "Has anyone attempted to disrupt our product sales or partnerships with those nations?"

Desheng replied, "Not directly, no. Even the US and Russia are merely testing our resolve right now; they don't dare truly provoke us, given their extreme caution regarding our military might."

Liu Hui commanded, "Bring up the imagery of the US and Russian reconnaissance planes."

The operator tapped furiously at the computer, and the main screen of the command center split into four panels, each displaying the image of a reconnaissance aircraft. Daylight was fully present now, and under the clear atmospheric conditions, Liu Hui could clearly see the four planes flying low over the sea, gathering information and data on the "City of the Stars" as they flew.

Liu Hui observed their flight paths and noted they consistently flew outside the two-hundred-kilometer boundary of the "City of the Stars"' territorial waters, maintaining a distance of at least ten kilometers from the nearest edge of the restricted zone.

Desheng remarked, "Boss, the US and Russia have continuously dispatched reconnaissance planes to scout our status, and they remain outside our territorial waters, giving us no justifiable pretext to attack them."

Liu Hui laughed coldly. "What a joke. Do we require a pretext to attack anyone? Although the US and Russian reconnaissance planes have not approached the 'City of the Stars' directly, they are undeniably making moves against us. Based on that alone, I cannot let them off."

Hu Xian'er asked, "Shuinniu, are you planning to eliminate all the US and Russian reconnaissance planes?"

During Liu Hui's absence on the Moon, Hu Xian'er had been secretly managing the operations of the "City of the Stars" on Liu Hui's behalf, so she was fully aware of the provocations from the US and Russia. However, due to the formidable strength of those nations, the "City of the Stars" had exercised maximum restraint and avoided conflict as long as their aircraft remained outside the defined alert perimeter.

Liu Hui smiled. "Xian'er, this is them testing our attitude. If we retreat in the face of their deliberate provocation, they will surely escalate their tactics. Their ultimate goal is to relentlessly suppress our development space and diminish our strength. Given that, why shouldn't we display our resolute stance from the very beginning? This will make them cautious, forcing them to evaluate the gains and losses before daring to attack us—only this way can we avert a larger conflict!"

Hu Xian'er nodded. "Since you are back, you must make the decisions here. But whatever you decide, I will support you!"

Liu Hui chuckled. "In that case, let's shoot down these four irritating flies immediately!"

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ Gratitude to reader: Fearless Skywalker for your support! RO