Passing through the wormhole gave a tiny push of speed, helping objects completely exit the tunnel.
Right after, everyone began setting up the space station, which was provided by the Defense Bureau. While the exploration team traveled through space, the United Nations adjusted their plans too, relying on Superman to pre-deliver a batch of critical supplies—including the Defense Bureau's space station.
The Joint Exploration Team had to install the station and earn temporary usage rights.
With Superman's help, there was a 1-month time gap between the expedition and Earth's logistics. So when they arrived, the materials Earth sent afterward had already beaten them there. That saved a lot of time.
The Defense Bureau's space station was massive. It was expected to support over 30,000 people for 6 months. Of course, such a huge station was being built in multiple phases. The current phase was just the first and could only support 500 people for 6 months.
Even so, no matter how big the station was, compared to the wormhole, it was like a salted duck egg compared to the giant soup pot in a cafeteria.
Liu A'dou made another trip and brought back two Chinese-made nuclear pulse landing ships.
Things were looking great.
"This is a small landing ship China began building last year. It was designed for spacecraft that can't land directly... I didn't expect them to send them over," An Rong said in surprise.
"According to the latest orders, Dr. An Rong, you'll serve as the lead for our three teams. Your top priority is to investigate 'Einstein Star'," said a Chinese soldier named Zhang Dong. He had 17 years of service, was formerly a squad leader in a special forces unit, had done peacekeeping missions, and had a wealth of crisis-handling experience. Now, he was the commander of all three exploration teams, in charge of the landing operation. Zhang Dong only handled security. The real overall leader was An Rong.
It seemed every Earth nation took this Earth-like core planet very seriously. Who knew, it might hold new oil fields or rare earths—a whole new gold mine. That kind of thinking was totally normal. An Rong and Zhang Dong both understood. This could turn into another Age of Exploration, like discovering the New World.
Research into the wormhole had hit a bottleneck, so An Rong didn't mind going to check out the new planet.
Still, all of that would have to wait. First priority was mastering control of the wormhole. Resources could be given up, but not control over the wormhole itself.
There were signs of intelligent life on the planet. Drones had spotted the ruins of wooden carts. Though no people were seen, all evidence suggested the core had its own inhabitants.
"Dr. An, do you think Kid will let us colonize it?" The general had said Kid was trustworthy, but when it came to national interests, everyone around was either a rival or an enemy. Look at the U.S., U.K., and France—they seemed to be forming an alliance. Russia was leaning toward a partnership with China. As for the Joint Teams? Just a pile of loose sand. Japan was shamelessly clinging to the U.S.-U.K.-France camp. Australia and Canada were doing the same. Meanwhile, Germany and Italy were sticking together, not wanting to be anyone's lackey—but they couldn't compete with a unified team either.
"The situation's really complicated," Zhang Dong said. Even a simple exploration team involved this many factions. The Defense Bureau was going to be a mess in the future. If the core planet had valuable resources, it could even lead to war.
But for now, only the U.S., Russia, and China had real space combat ships. That kept the balance.
"I'm just a physicist," An Rong said humbly. Though in truth, she had touched on chemistry and biology too—she just mainly focused on physics.
"Doctor, don't forget. Science has no borders, but scientists do have nationalities," Zhang Dong replied. "So other scientists will think about benefiting their own countries too—especially those from the U.S. and Russia."
To be honest, An Rong didn't like Zhang Dong. She felt his ideology was too obvious. Everything they were doing now should be for all of humanity. But the soldiers only cared about claiming land on the core planet and grabbing resources. It wasn't just Zhang Dong—every country's exploration teams were like this, because they were mostly made up of military personnel.
"My dear commander, giving your usual patriotic lecture again?" The one walking over was also from the Chinese side—Team Three's leader, Zhong Qianqian, one of the few female soldiers among the 200 people. "Dr. An is a scientist, not a soldier."
"Captain Zhong, are you ready?" An Rong considered Zhong Qianqian a friend. Seeing her step in to break the awkward mood, she quickly changed the subject.
"Nothing to prepare. Team One is landing. Team Two stays on Bunny. Our Team Three is stationed on 'Maochong.' Not much prep needed," Zhong Qianqian replied. "Zhang, I'm jealous that you get to land. We'll be weightless again up on 'Maochong'."
These 200 people hadn't been formally trained. They were top elites transferred from different countries' forces, only used to weightlessness on Wugang-2.
'Maochong' was the name of the space station on the other side of the wormhole. Since its main structure looked like a caterpillar, they called it 'Maochong.' It wasn't finished yet, so unlike Bunny, it didn't have artificial gravity.
"The U.S. and Russia are doing the same—one team stays on the station, one team lands. We're part of the first landing group, so we'll be facing the unknown."
"I'm not afraid of danger," Zhong Qianqian said. Among the first landing teams from the U.S., Russia, and China, each sent 1 team. Other teams stayed on the stations. China's extra team remained on Bunny to work on the entry point's construction.
"This is already decided. No more discussion," Zhang Dong said firmly, putting on his commander face.
"An Rong-jie, I'm so jealous you get to go to the core planet with them," Zhong Qianqian said with a pout. "And you get to go on an adventure with Kid too. So romantic."
Zhong Qianqian was a total Kid fangirl.
"Kaitou Kid is a member of the Justice League. He joined to make sure we don't do anything that harms the core planet's residents," An Rong replied. "The Justice League are real heroes who quietly dedicate themselves to humanity. Without them, our wormhole exploration wouldn't have gone this smoothly." Without the Justice League, their probes would probably still be on the way, let alone building space stations and launching ships.
Like the satellite Stark launched—it was still drifting through space using only inertia.
"But we have Wugang-2," Zhong Qianqian said proudly. "We can totally explore the wormhole on our own." Then she added softly, "Though... it might take a bit longer."
"Thanks to the Justice League, we got to the wormhole and collected critical data almost instantly. And our country only launched after the UN decided to create the Defense Bureau. If Superman hadn't been around, the UN couldn't have acted so quickly," An Rong explained.
Zhang Dong sneered, "Without the Justice League, Wugang-2's launch would've been blocked for sure. Just look at all the foreigners on board. It's clear the launch came at a price."
That's why Zhang Dong could only be a military officer—not a top leader. Wugang-2 represented shared interests. China couldn't claim it all because it was still one of many nations on Earth and didn't want to start a war, so it compromised. What mattered was holding the biggest slice of the pie—not the whole thing. Giving up a portion to other countries was a smart way to win for everyone.
Especially now, in the era of galactic civilization, Earth's countries needed to unite. They all had to grow together. Of course, the premise was that China had to develop a little faster than the rest—enough to have the strength not to be bullied. For now, China still met that condition.