The holographic sphere hovered thirty meters above the plaza, turning in a slow, hypnotic orbit.
Seventy planetary bodies were rendered in glowing amber light. Between them ran millions of golden geometric filaments, weaving together like the strands of an indestructible celestial silk net.
Elder Mo adjusted his magnifying spectacles, his fingers tracing one of the golden nodes in the air.
“It is brilliant,” Elder Mo said, his voice brimming with genuine admiration. “Chief Architect Jiang, your team solved the harmonic drift problem that puzzled the Artificer Guild for three centuries!”
“We didn’t solve it with metallurgy alone, Elder Mo,” Chief Architect Jiang replied, turning toward Lin Mo with a respectful bow. “We solved it because Chairman Lin provided the missing fuel source. Clean starlight energy.”
Master Lu Jian stepped up beside them, tapping the side of the projection with his brass caliper.
“Traditional planetary shields rely on dark void crystals or dirty spirit-coal,” Lu Jian explained to Lin Mo. “Those crystals run hot. They destabilize after three hours of sustained bombardment, and the radiation poisons the soil beneath the shield generators. But this design is different.”
Mo Xing’er hopped onto an empty equipment crate, pointing her silver wrench at the central nexus.
