I am the Emperor of Humanity across the Multiverse

Space City was actually a large-scale engineering project developed in conjunction with the orbital elevator.

Publicly, Atlas had been using the Accra rocket launch base in the Southern Hemisphere to transport cargo pods containing vast amounts of construction materials, supplies, and necessary equipment to an orbit roughly 37,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface.

Once in orbit, these cargo pods were autonomously docked together, forming the foundation of Space City—a pressurized, thermally regulated, self-sustaining habitat capable of housing and supporting around a hundred crew members.

Atlas then deployed over a hundred experienced engineers using new civilian spacecraft to the outer reaches of space, 37,000 kilometers from Earth, where they began expanding the initial structure of Space City.

Meanwhile, the city itself orbited above the capital of Gabon, Libreville, maintaining geosynchronous rotation with Earth and working in tandem with the engineering teams on the surface to further the dual-directional construction.

All of these projects and steps were publicly shared on Atlas's official website, with regular live broadcasts to allow people around the globe to watch the progress.

Behind the scenes, the Ernio space vehicle made frequent trips between the Accra production base and Space City.

One mission from the Ernio could transport as much cargo as several rocket launches, and with the introduction of specialized Hex robots, the construction speed of both Space City and the orbital elevator increased dramatically.

By June 30, 2000, the first phase of Space City's construction was complete. Its scale was massive, capable of supporting the daily lives of 160,000 people.

From a distance, the space city, built by Atlas and shaped like an enormous elongated cone, was the largest structure ever constructed by humanity in the main universe—bar none.

Excluding the area connected to the orbital elevator, Space City stood about 9,000 meters tall, and the widest section, housing the living quarters, workspaces, and fusion reactors, stretched about 3,600 meters across.

Atlas publicly claimed that this massive space station was for civilian use, laying the groundwork for humanity's future colonization efforts.

The idea was to transport materials via the orbital elevator, then use Space City's 3D printing factories to produce modular ship components. These would then be transferred to shipyards equipped with fully automated robotic arms to complete final assembly, greatly improving the efficiency of spaceship "launches."

In reality, however, Atlas had already established production lines within Space City for civilian engineering ships, transport vessels, as well as the Ernio, Luna transporters, Swift-Shadow assault ships, and even Selenene-class military transport ships.

Despite Atlas's public stance that Space City was a civilian facility, it was equipped with embedded close-in weapon systems, plasma cannon arrays, and vertical missile silos, making it a veritable supermassive military fortress.

Thus, Space City served as a dual-use "hub" for construction, transport, colonization, tourism, and deep space exploration.

At that moment, within the reception hall numbered 03, located above the orbital elevator, the area was spacious with an average ceiling height of about 12 meters. The panoramic glass ceiling allowed sunlight to pour into the hall unimpeded.

With greenery and artificial rivers, plus prominent holographic screens, travelers arriving here were greeted with a comfortable and warm environment. They had no reason to feel disoriented, as it closely resembled a station or airport on Earth.

A holographic clock hanging in the center of the hall displayed the date and time: "Monday, January 22, 2001, 10:48."

As for potential safety hazards, both foreseen and unforeseen, the Atlas engineering team had addressed them at the project's inception.

The panoramic glass, while appearing fragile, could withstand direct hits from 14mm Gauss armor-piercing rounds.

Furthermore, the superconducting magnetic devices embedded in the deck layers could simulate Earth-like gravity by adjusting the strength and direction of the magnetic field, while also shielding everyone in the city from deadly cosmic radiation.

At this moment, on the far right edge of Hall 03, the field reporting duo from Seattle News at Noon were gazing through the panoramic window at the vast, boundless depths of space.

Robin Meade, standing in front of the camera, was awestruck by the magnificent scene before her. Overwhelmed by emotion, she couldn't help but express her feelings:

"Friends... when I learned that I would be taking the orbital elevator to Space City to report live, I mentally prepared myself as much as possible.

But now that I'm actually standing here, looking down at Earth beneath my feet and gazing at the brilliant stars above—honestly, all I can think is how small we humans truly are... incredibly small.

All those political and economic struggles, all those armed conflicts and resource grabs—when you look at them from the perspective of the entire universe, they seem utterly meaningless.

Just as Atlas has always advocated, humanity should rid itself of parasites and unite as one."

Robin continued her improvised broadcast while she and her cameraman, Jerry, made their way toward the nearby rail station.

Meanwhile, the tablet mounted to the left side of Jerry's camera generated two small holographic screens in front of Robin, displaying live viewer comments and bullet messages from their streaming channel, allowing her to stay updated in real-time.

The bullet messages and comments echoed Robin's sense of awe:

User 3367: "Oh my God! This is breathtaking! I wish I could visit Space City myself."

SupremePower: "You should go! It's only $4,500 to travel from here to Libreville and then to Space City."

ParatrooperAgainstTheSea: "Damn! Watching this gets my heart racing—I want to join Atlas!"

Username1237: "Hey! Cool it, guys. After Robin finishes touring Space City, she's taking us to the moon!"

SupremePower: "I remember Atlas just released concept art for their engineering ships. We might be the first viewers to see the real thing."

Judging by the comments, while viewers of Seattle News at Noon were amazed by the sights outside Space City's windows, they also had a sense of familiarity. 

Thanks to Atlas, especially its annual September 3rd product release events, people in the main universe had grown accustomed to a rapidly advancing world. The sense of shock and technological awe that came with the first Titan 3G phone launch had long faded.

Now, with Atlas leading the charge, the public had begun to naturally anticipate space projects like "colonizing the moon this year" or "setting foot on Mars next year." Some had even become involved in these ventures.

Even if Atlas suddenly announced on their official website, "Atlas has established a space fleet" or "Atlas research teams have discovered extraterrestrial life," it wouldn't feel all that surprising anymore.

Next, the field reporting duo of Seattle News at Noon took viewers aboard Space City's rail system, touring the brightly lit hydroponic gardens, the work and office zones, and the leisure and entertainment areas. They even got a close-up look at a standard Atlas single-occupancy apartment.

The two spent nearly six hours exploring the public sections of Space City, grabbing a bite at a fast-food joint along the way.

By Pacific Time, at 5:15 PM, Robin and Jerry found themselves at the outer port area near the top of Space City. They were about to meet with the Atlas engineering team and board a ship that would take them more than 300,000 kilometers to the moon.

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