Chapter 122: Reluctance
Success!
Our side finally completed the mission, finally pushing that hydrogen bomb away from this passage, letting it fly toward that floating city!
Based on the intelligence brought back by Comrade Jiang Yang from his previous life, Tong Zheng clearly knew in his heart that the space after passing through the passage, before reaching the floating city, had zero gravity.
This also meant that the hydrogen bomb’s flight would not be hindered by anything else.
Although its flight speed was slow, it would surely fly all the way to above the floating city.
The only problem at this moment was, how much time was left?
Did that cavity also have a negative matter field, and could it also weaken the hydrogen bomb’s explosive power? If time was insufficient, and the hydrogen bomb couldn’t fly close enough to that floating city, thereby causing the explosion’s power to be weakened by the negative matter field, could that floating city still be destroyed?
After a quick assessment, Tong Zheng reached a conclusion.
At this moment, about 30 seconds remained until the hydrogen bomb was finally detonated. And due to the friction deceleration with the passage ground before, the hydrogen bomb’s speed as it flew away from the passage, flying in the zero gravity environment, was only about 0.5 meters per second.
In 30 seconds, it could fly 15 meters, so it would still be over 100 meters away from that floating city, and nearly a kilometer away from the other side of the floating city.
This… is not steady enough, not safe enough!
But his spacesuit was already damaged.
At most 30 seconds of conscious time, now only at most 15 seconds left.
Besides himself, all the comrades had already sacrificed.
At this moment, our side seemed unable to do anything. Whether the hydrogen bomb could ultimately be detonated, and whether it could destroy this floating city after detonation…
Everything could only be left to fate.
But I am not reconciled, not reconciled!
We have already done this much, why can’t we do the best? Why can’t we maximize the chances?
The entire nation, the entire civilization, gathered all their power, handed us the sharpest spear and the hardest shield, yet we failed to make them exert their maximum power?
Amidst the rapid changes of various thoughts in his mind, with the last bit of clear consciousness, amid all sorts of strange, painful sensations caused by the vacuum such as body swelling, brain and eyeball congestion, blood and saliva boiling, Tong Zheng forcibly stood up, then without any hesitation, strode toward the passage end.
Upon reaching the end, he leaped forward, his body like a cannonball, directly rushing ahead of the slowly flying hydrogen bomb, his back slamming hard into the hydrogen bomb tail.
Affected by this, that hydrogen bomb’s flight speed suddenly increased. But due to the huge mass difference between the two, Tong Zheng’s kinetic energy from flying forward did not accelerate the hydrogen bomb much.
But it didn’t matter. The comrade before had already demonstrated for him.
Forcibly concentrating his spirit to ensure his consciousness still existed, Tong Zheng, somewhat stiff but extremely steady and fast, took out the bomb on his body.
In the zero gravity environment, Tong Zheng’s body slowly flew together with that hydrogen bomb.
His back pressed against the hydrogen bomb, and that bomb was placed in front of him.
Then, with his last bit of strength and consciousness, he pressed the detonation button.
Before he could see the light enter his eyes, he lost his last bit of consciousness.
……
Earth, control hall.
Jiang Yang, Lu Zhaoming, Gu Changshan, Sun Changhe, and others were all gathered here, silently waiting.
At this moment, the time was already the evening of the tenth day of the cycle, 10:22 PM, with less than 100 minutes left until the apocalypse finally arrived.
According to the previous estimate, the “minibus” carrying the astronauts should have reached the passage end about half an hour ago, and then detonated the hydrogen bomb.
But until now, the numerous satellites closely monitoring the moon, as well as the moonquake detectors placed about dozens of kilometers away from that passage entrance, had not detected any activity.
That cave entrance was quiet, with only the traces of the astronauts’ previous activities there, and nothing else visible.
Sigh…
Jiang Yang let out a soft breath and silently closed his eyes.
Combining the intelligence he had obtained from multiple cycles, he knew that this attempt could almost be said to be the limit of human civilization.
If even this life still failed… then even with his cycle ability, it would be almost impossible to come up with a better way in the next life.
The limitations of technology level were right there, there was really no way.
And even if he reincarnated thousands or billions of times, because each cycle had only 10 days, it was impossible to drive significant progress in technology level.
Without corresponding large scientific devices, without sufficient scientific foundation, relying solely on some experience and data accumulation from just ten days per cycle to drive technological progress?
Impossible.
In a daze, the bits and pieces of him acting together with the astronauts from the previous few lives reappeared in his mind again, and those faces reappeared.
Now, about 80% of those faces had not yet landed on the moon before perishing in the rocket explosion. The remaining 20% had entered that passage.
“Are you still alive? What exactly did you… go through?”
……
Jiang Yang closed his eyes, silently waiting.
Moments later, a bit of commotion came from the control hall. Jiang Yang abruptly opened his eyes and heard Zhou Yu urgently say beside him: “Jiang Yang, there’s news from the moon. Our exploration satellites and moonquake detectors have simultaneously detected vibrations in the lunar underground…”
Vibration?
Was it the vibration caused by the hydrogen bomb explosion?
Zhou Yu’s voice continued in his ears, but he had automatically blocked it. His gaze directly fixed on that number.
Energy equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT explosion?
No, this is wrong.
He clearly remembered that the hydrogen bomb the astronauts transported into that underground passage had a yield of 1 million tons of TNT.
100 times less.
Or… the hydrogen bomb did explode, but due to the negative matter field, the energy was greatly weakened, and when transmitted to the lunar surface, only the energy equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT remained?
Or did the hydrogen bomb not explode, and something else happened there?
At this moment, no one could know the real situation through any means.
But…
Our side perhaps didn’t need to worry.
No need to do anything, just wait another 90 minutes or so, and the answer would be revealed.
Time passed quickly in silence.
Hundreds of people in the control hall, not a single one spoke, no one conversed.
Everyone was silently waiting.
Time had reached 11:59:01.
Jiang Yang looked at Zhou Yu: “Afraid?”
Zhou Yu was silent for a moment, then said softly: “Yes. Are you afraid?”
Jiang Yang murmured: “I’m afraid too, but I believe our heroes can definitely save us, and save the world…”
Time had reached 11:59:59.
Jiang Yang quietly closed his eyes, waiting for that pain and discomfort he was already very familiar with to arrive.
At this moment, time seemed to pass a very, very long time, yet also like only an instant.
The expected pain and discomfort did not arrive.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the digital clock.
The number above was 0:00:00. Another instant passed, and the number became 00:00:01, then 02, then 03, 04…
Jiang Yang abruptly stood up, feeling a blazing emotion explode in his mind like a bomb, instantly filling his whole body with that emotion, making him uncontrollably roar out loud.
