Chapter 123: Focus On The Present
At this moment, in the spacious Control Hall, roars, cheering, and applause mixed together, nearly flipping the ceiling.
The heaviness and oppression of ten consecutive days completely and unreservedly erupted the moment the clock passed midnight at 12 o’clock.
That Underground Chamber has been destroyed by us!
The “Reaper Machine” left behind by the Reaper Civilization to harvest our data and our lives has been destroyed by us!
Our nation, our people, can continue to prosper and multiply on this planet where we have lived for hundreds of thousands of years!
The massive clamor lasted for a long time. Later, the clamor converged into a name.
Jiang Yang! Jiang Yang!
Countless people shouted this name together.
Facing those fervent faces, Jiang Yang slowly felt a wave of sadness in his heart.
Did I really save this world?
No, not at all.
It wasn’t me.
The ones who truly saved this world were Captain Tong, Zhao Jianguo, Li Hui, and other astronauts; the workers and engineers fighting on the industrial front line who built nearly 300 rockets in just five days; the managers providing logistics transportation and production coordination for this entire production system; the scientists fighting on the scientific research front line; those ordinary people…
It was these tens of millions to billions of people, their power gathered together, that finally achieved this.
They are not the ones being saved.
It wasn’t this hero descending from the sky to save everyone; it was everyone saving themselves.
Now, the astronauts are buried on the Moon, while I stand here receiving people’s cheering and praise.
Jiang Yang raised his head, his gaze seeming to penetrate the thick ceiling and rock layer, extending to the distant deep space, to that desolate and silent planet.
“Captain Tong, Captain Zhao, and also Li Hui, Qian Liang, Wei Han… rest in peace.”
Flashes of moments spent with them in previous lives crossed his mind, Jiang Yang’s eyes grew hot, and he tried hard to control himself to keep the tears from flowing.
The cheering gradually subsided. Sun Changhe came before Jiang Yang.
“Our people, our warriors, have never feared sacrifice.
The only thing we fear is sacrifice without value.
And you have given value to everyone’s efforts, costs, and sacrifices.
If the heroes have spirits in heaven, they will only be grateful to you.”
……
The sun was bright, the breeze gentle.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, in a newly built Cemetery, 64 tombstones had already been erected.
Jiang Yang slowly walked past these tombstones, and photos of Captain Tong, Zhao Jianguo, Li Hui, and others came into view one by one.
In the photographs, they either gazed firmly or smiled, as if all looking at this world where humanity continues.
Jiang Yang knew that their corpses were not buried in these tombs. Because their corpses were either shattered to pieces in the rocket launch explosions or turned to dust in the hydrogen bomb’s glow.
At this moment, only the badges, shoulder boards, military uniforms, and such that they had used were buried among them.
Jiang Yang, Zhou Yu, Sun Changhe, Gu Changshan, and others each held a large bouquet of flowers, placing one bunch down at each tomb they passed, then bowing deeply.
Behind these people, more people stood in neat queues, placing flowers while expressing their condolences.
Soon, the martyrs’ tombs were surrounded by flowers.
“Attention all—salute!”
Together with everyone, Jiang Yang raised his right arm, facing these 64 tombstones, offering his highest respect.
After the salute, Sun Changhe said quietly: “Ten days of Industrial Mobilization, the sacrifices were not only the astronauts.
All walks of life, every front line, factories, research institutes, data centers, control centers, logistics transportation…”
He softly named one industry after another: “According to statistics, a total of 35,669 people fell at their posts.”
Jiang Yang was silent.
“Based on the principle of nearby resettlement for convenient family worship, most of them were resettled locally, scattered across thousands of cemeteries.
The nation will regularly send people to maintain their tombs.
At the same time, for the heroes’ affairs after death, the nation will take full responsibility, ensuring the heroes have no worries. Those who made outstanding contributions during the mobilization will also receive corresponding recognition from the nation.”
Jiang Yang nodded.
This is the last thing we can do for them.
After finishing these follow-up resettlement work matters, Sun Changhe looked at Jiang Yang again, his expression becoming serious and solemn.
“Comrade Jiang Yang, Comrade Zhou Yu, now, on behalf of the nation and civilization, I need to discuss some things with you.”
Jiang Yang nodded in agreement.
This is only right and proper.
Zhou Yu was somewhat surprised: “Including me?”
“Yes.”
The three moved together to the pavilion beside the Cemetery.
Sun Changhe first asked: “Comrade Jiang Yang, now that we have passed the first apocalypse crisis. Has your time loop ability changed?”
As early as after passing midnight on the tenth day of the apocalypse, Jiang Yang had noticed a subtle change in his mind, with some new information generated out of thin air.
“It has changed. Now, my loop ability has been ‘sealed’.”
“Sealed?”
Sun Changhe’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
This was a massive change enough to influence civilization’s fate.
“Now if you die, the loop won’t activate?”
“According to my personal perception, yes. If I die, I will truly die. But… I also perceive that when the next apocalypse arrives causing my death, the loop will reactivate, and the loop length will have increased.
When the Reaper Civilization’s second harvest arrives, I will rebirth 100 days before the apocalypse descends, no longer 10 days.”
Phew…
Sun Changhe let out a soft breath and slowly nodded: “In that case, our preparation time will be more sufficient. So, do you know when the second harvest will arrive?”
Jiang Yang shook his head: “I don’t know. Um… do the government experts have any research and judgment on this situation? About who gave me this ability, the purpose and reason, and such.”
“We have no valuable judgment. Perhaps it’s an experiment, a casual act of kindness, a game, all possible. Even, this ability itself might have been given by the Reaper Civilization.
Although we obtained those alien text from the Lunar Underground Chamber and deciphered the information, it’s still the same: who can ensure this information is certainly true?
Maybe it’s just the Reaper Civilization making this game more realistic?
But none of that actually matters.”
Sun Changhe calmly looked at Jiang Yang: “We can set aside those things beyond our civilization’s level for now, focus only on the present, on the current moment.”
