Chapter 92: Depart!
Jiang Yang could no longer clearly remember how many cycles he had experienced from the first cycle to this moment when he was about to land on the Moon.
There were simply too many.
Just getting stuck at the rocket launch step, he had died five or six times, right?
With so many cycles, advancing forward time and again based on intelligence from the previous life, at this moment, he had finally arrived on this planet that had orbited Earth for billions of years, finally touching the truth of the apocalypse at an unprecedentedly close distance.
At Li Hui’s reminder, Jiang Yang secured himself to the cabin floor again, ensuring he wouldn’t bump and injure himself while also trying not to interfere with Li Hui’s operations.
A violent jolt came, and the gravity that had disappeared for several days reappeared.
For the next few hours, Li Hui was fully focused, occasionally flipping this switch, pressing that button, and frequently communicating with Earth and the astronauts who had already landed on the Moon ahead of time, hardly ever pausing.
That overload pressure and jolting appeared and disappeared from time to time.
At this moment, Li Hui finally quieted down.
He gripped the handrail and took a deep breath, as if waiting for something.
His ears were filled with silence, no instructions, no countdown, only Li Hui’s faint breathing sounds coming through.
In a moment, as if finally receiving some signal, Li Hui suddenly reached out and quickly flipped a switch. In an instant, the violent shaking and overload pressure reappeared, pressing Jiang Yang firmly to the floor.
The next moment, the spaceship seemed to crash into something with a bang, and then it fell completely silent.
Jiang Yang lifted his arm slightly and clearly felt the gravity much weaker than on Earth.
He looked uncertainly at Li Hui and saw Li Hui solemnly say: “Report to Comrade Jiang Yang, we have successfully landed on the Moon.”
Jiang Yang also let out a soft breath.
Finally, they had successfully landed…
If this final step had failed, he would probably have to cycle another five or six times to be successfully launched into space, and endure another few days of boring travel between Earth and the Moon.
“Good.”
Li Hui stood up: “I’ll help you put on the spacesuit.”
The heavy mechanical spacesuit was put on Jiang Yang again, and after that, Li Hui put on his own.
Everything was ready, the air was pumped out, and the cabin returned to vacuum state.
The hatch door opened, and an ancient, barren breath rushed toward Jiang Yang, causing him a momentary daze.
“This is the Moon?”
He saw several figures in the same spacesuits bouncing toward him on the desolate land in the distance.
“Astronaut Zhao Jianguo reporting to Comrade Jiang Yang.”
“Astronaut Tong Zheng reporting to Comrade Jiang Yang.”
……
“Good, what’s the next step?”
“Currently, 7 people have landed. According to the plan, the remaining 6 will land within two hours.
After that, supply boxes will arrive. Once we receive the supplies and complete replenishment, we will head to that passage.”
Jiang Yang was a bit surprised: “Just call me Jiang Yang, no need to be so formal. But… remaining 6 people? Isn’t it 7?”
He clearly remembered that this time, including himself, there were a total of 65 launch missions, with 14 successes.
There should still be 7 people left.
“Comrade Qian Liang encountered a mechanical malfunction and unfortunately died.”
Jiang Yang was stunned for a moment, then sighed softly: “Alright.”
“During these two hours, you can get familiar with moving on the Moon. Comrade Li Hui and Comrade Wei Han will accompany you throughout.”
“Good.”
Jiang Yang gently lifted his leg, barely adapting to the Moon’s gravity. But no matter how he adjusted, walking always felt awkward. Finally, he started bouncing along on both feet like the astronauts, immediately feeling much more comfortable.
As one meteor after another crashed to the ground, one astronaut after another emerged from the spaceship.
Among the subsequent 6 people, another one failed to land and unfortunately died. So in the end, only 12 astronauts gathered around Jiang Yang.
Astronauts finished landing, and supply boxes, nuclear bomb boxes, ammunition boxes, and others also landed one by one.
With Li Hui’s help, they ate something and completed replenishment. A total of 13 people assembled at the temporary camp.
“Report to Comrade Jiang Yang, the astronaut team should have 64 people, actual arrival 12 people, now assembled, awaiting your instructions!”
Suppressing the heaviness in his heart, Jiang Yang said gravely: “Move out!”
“Yes!”
The 12 fully armed astronauts carrying submachine guns, hand grenades, and explosives instantly spread out, enveloping Jiang Yang in the center.
One of the astronauts dragged the heavy hydrogen bomb board cart, and the team of 13 began advancing toward the direction where the Sun was setting.
As they walked along the path, two deep tracks from the cart and numerous footprints appeared on the moon dust behind the small team.
The further they went, the more complex and rugged the lunar surface terrain became. But no matter the terrain, there were always two or more astronauts guarding Jiang Yang’s side at every moment.
When encountering complex terrain, they would reach out to support him. Every interval, they would open the cover plate at the waist of Jiang Yang’s spacesuit, pull out that handle and turn it forcefully for a while. Astronauts ahead kept giving warnings like “There’s a steep slope here.”
After crossing that invisible barrier, electromagnetic communication disappeared, and Jiang Yang’s ears fell completely silent.
The people still silently surrounded Jiang Yang, their speed not slowing at all.
They walked for more than an hour straight. When Jiang Yang already felt exhausted, the astronauts around him still maintained steady pacing, precise like machinery.
Rounding hills full of sharp rocks, passing low areas and protrusions, ahead, that square, deep and dark cave entrance like a gateway to hell finally appeared before them.
Tong Zheng, walking at the forefront, raised his arm, with two symbols written on the drawing board.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yang recalled that it meant everyone rest in place.
Whew…
Jiang Yang let out a long breath and plopped down on the ground, his mouth naturally sucking on the straw on the left side to drink a few sips of water.
By now, the time had reached 10 a.m. on the tenth day of the cycle. There were still 14 hours until the apocalypse’s final arrival.
That should be enough.
20 minutes later, the astronauts silently stood up and helped Jiang Yang to his feet as well.
Time to move out.
Under chemical cold light illumination, they still kept Jiang Yang and the hydrogen bomb board cart in the center. The group of 13 walked toward that cave in complete silence.
While walking, Jiang Yang subconsciously looked up and saw that bright star in the sky slowly moving.
That was humanity’s satellite.
Jiang Yang knew that people on Earth were watching him through it.
He looked to the side and saw the figures of the astronauts.
He knew that these warriors with the top physical quality in the human world were now protecting him.
So, let’s move out.
