Chapter 132: Unity Alone
(A slight modification was made at the end of the previous chapter. If you didn’t see the modification, you can go back and check it out, but it’s okay if you don’t, it won’t affect the plot)
Jiang Yang knew that his request was probably unreasonable.
Every script has different creation ideas.
A fusion sounds simple, but behind it, who knows how much effort it consumes.
But it’s really hard to choose. Every story feels like it could truly happen to the astronauts, each one has its shining points…
Then let’s make the screenwriters suffer a bit more. I’ll take the blame.
After the collective review of the script was completed, Sun Changhe announced again: “From this moment on, everyone has 45 hours and 39 minutes of free activity time.
Before the deadline, be sure to arrive at the Hibernation Base for the next round of hibernation.
Now, dismissed.”
Jiang Yang knew that Sun Changhe would head to the World Building to learn about and familiarize himself with the events that occurred during hibernation.
Gu Changshan would head to the Military, Lu Zhaoming to the Academy of Sciences, Chen Yusheng to the Aerospace Technology Research Center, and even Zhou Yu would head to the Academy of Social Sciences.
Every Hibernator has their own tasks to do.
They must do this to ensure their knowledge and vision don’t fall behind, to stay consistent with the real world, and to keep their thinking always at the forefront. This way, when the Reaper Civilization’s second harvest arrives, they can enter working state at the fastest speed.
Although Jiang Yang doesn’t need to go anywhere, he will also receive a comprehensive briefing of recent events, allowing him to know what major events happened during this time.
After another round of study and shopping, Jiang Yang and the others entered hibernation again.
Upon awakening again, a new script was delivered to Jiang Yang.
This time, many exciting plots were fused together, interconnected smoothly, logically coherent, emotionally natural, and won unanimous praise from the Hibernators.
“I heard the production team locked more than a dozen screenwriters in a mountain villa, not allowing them to go out for 24 hours, and they worked for over a month to complete this version of the script.”
Jiang Yang’s eyelid twitched.
He didn’t know yet how those screenwriters were cursing him behind his back…
“Filming cycle of 200 days, expected to release in 10 months…”
Jiang Yang silently calculated: “That is, after 6 hibernations.”
A hint of expectation grew faintly in his heart.
6 awakenings and hibernations passed by rapidly. On this day, the Hibernation Team collectively arrived at the Screening Hall.
Looking at the actors and environments on the screen, who although had different appearances but matched the temperament and style in his memory almost perfectly, Jiang Yang’s thoughts drifted back to those cycles, as if he himself had entered the screen.
Dahuang City, a Mall.
It was almost midnight 12 o’clock now. In the past, the mall would have been empty. But now, the mall was bustling with crowds.
Even shops like dining and toys, which used to close early, specially extended their business hours.
In the cinema restroom on the top floor, hundreds of people crowded the place full. This was still because some people had to wait on other floors temporarily due to the overcrowding here.
Sales of popcorn, cola, and various snacks were unprecedentedly hot. Employees stood at the popcorn counter, their small shovels almost spinning with smoke.
Everyone was anxiously waiting for a certain time to arrive.
Midnight 12 o’clock.
Because after midnight 12 o’clock, that movie would start its global release.
The clock slowly ticked to 11:50 amid the anxiety.
“Admission starts!”
The ticket inspector shouted at the top of his voice, and the crowd immediately gathered toward the entrance.
One ticket stub after another was torn, and the crowd flowed like a river, heading to different Screening Halls respectively.
This cinema had a total of 15 Screening Rooms with over a thousand seats. At this moment, all thousand seats were sold out, without a single empty spot.
According to the Cinema Manager, it wasn’t just their cinema that was full.
The other cinemas in this city, even in other cities, other nations—oh right, now with the World Government established and global unification, those nations are no longer called nations but renamed Regions, and the cinemas in other Regions were the same.
“This film is really popular…”
The Cinema Manager looked enviously at the crowded crowd, feeling a slight regret in his heart.
I want to watch it too, but duty calls, I must stay here.
Once admission was complete and the trailer appeared, everyone quieted down.
“In the year AD XXXX, the Lunar Satellite in the East Region detected an unknown Alien Creation in the Lunar Area. After further detection, scientists confirmed that this Alien Device functions to directionally release a High-Energy Neutrino Stream that acts on human gene targets.
A crisis capable of destroying the entire civilization has quietly emerged…”
The film opening concisely introduced the background, then quickly cut into a series of decision-making and mobilization scenes.
Although everyone knew the crisis had passed long ago and humanity had won the victory, the audience’s hearts still couldn’t help but tense up.
In Screening Hall after Screening Hall, over a thousand viewers were pin-drop silent at this moment, their attention fully focused on the screen.
People saw that after clarifying the crisis type and determining the action plan, total mobilization began.
Factories operated non-stop through the night, workers taking brief rests in the restroom when tired, grabbing a few bites of bread when hungry, eyes bloodshot from staying up, still holding their posts;
In Research Building after Research Building, Researchers in White Coats moved as if springs were under their feet, walking so fast it seemed they might fly.
Finally, Giant Rockets were transported to the Launch Site, Astronauts unhesitatingly entered these hastily built rockets, then queued up and launched into the sky.
“Comrades, for the nation, for civilization!”
An Astronaut who participated in this mission left his final shout before the rocket exploded.
At this moment, tears quietly appeared on people’s faces.
It turns out that at times and locations we didn’t know, so many people had made such sacrifices to resist the apocalypse and continue civilization.
It turns out our lives today are not taken for granted without cost, but someone is shouldering the burden ahead.
Following the movie plot, people’s hearts rose and fell.
The plot continued.
The road to the Moon was so difficult, every step forward met with nearly insurmountable obstacles like chasms.
But every time, these obstacles were overcome.
And not in the way audiences were familiar with, like in other films relying on one person’s flash of inspiration, or the arrival of a genius, or the birth of a superhero, but relying on ordinary people one by one.
They couldn’t fly or burrow, couldn’t transform, had no superpowered armor; they were ordinary like passersby seen everywhere around.
They had only one thing.
Firm belief, unyielding courage.
They paved the road with their blood and sacrifices, step by step crossing those chasm-like obstacles.
The cost was vividly presented to the audience.
Some Astronauts had fires in their cabins and perished in space;
Some Astronauts failed to decelerate due to equipment failure and crashed onto the Moon, shattering to pieces;
Some Astronauts failed orbital insertion, their Spaceships drifting into the vast depths of space, never to return.
Until the Astronauts landed on the Moon, finally 13 Astronauts reached the Passage Entrance, spending a lot of time to assemble that incredibly complex “Minibus” with their solid skills, then 12 drove the vehicle while Zhao Jianguo followed on foot, all entering the Lunar Underground Passage, and the main event began.
In the real world, even Jiang Yang didn’t know what exactly the Astronauts encountered in that Passage, let alone others.
This segment of the plot could only be performed by the screenwriters with the assistance of the Science Advisor.
And this segment was the one Jiang Yang was most satisfied with. It was set this way at his request.
Seeing Astronauts taking turns getting out of the vehicle, sacrificing their lives to buy time to repair the Minibus, ensuring the vehicle kept moving forward, then falling one by one, female viewers’ eyes filled with tears again.
Seeing them nearing the end of the Passage, but the Wheel corroded to half, losing the power to continue forward—although knowing it was artistic rendition, people’s hearts still couldn’t help but tense up.
Until seeing Tong Zheng’s Spacesuit leaking, another Astronaut using his back to push the Hydrogen Bomb trying to get it past, but ultimately failing, even knowing the apocalypse had passed, people couldn’t help but grow tense.
Until he took out the Bomb, using the Bomb’s kinetic energy and himself as a shield to “blast” the Hydrogen Bomb into the zero-gravity cavity, and seeing Tong Zheng in his final moments leaping to use himself as a shield again, detonating the Bomb to accelerate the Hydrogen Bomb, even male viewers couldn’t help but redden their eyes.
But…
In the Doomsday Base Screening Hall, Jiang Yang looked at Professor Lu Zhaoming beside him: “Isn’t this portrayal a bit too much? In reality, can you really use the Bomb’s impact force?”
Professor Lu Zhaoming whispered: “This was strictly scientifically tested and confirmed feasible before daring to film it this way.”
Jiang Yang nodded slightly.
In Screening Hall after Screening Hall, audiences with hearts on edge and attention fixed on the screen finally welcomed the film’s ending.
The Hydrogen Bomb explosion’s energy churned the Lunar Surface upside down, while people in the Ground Bases, after a moment of tense waiting, saw the time steadily pass midnight 12 o’clock.
The apocalypse did not come, human civilization continued, but the Astronauts remained on the Moon, unable to return.
Finally, to confront the possible second harvest, all nations united, and the World Government was established.
“Compatriots, in the face of crisis, only unity.
One person’s power is small, but 8 billion united can unleash power to overturn heaven and earth…”
The film finally ended with the global speech of the Commander of the World Government Decision-Making Group.
In the Hibernation Base Screening Hall, Jiang Yang stood up silently.
“We will never know exactly what you encountered in that Underground Passage, how you resolved the crisis and difficulties, and ultimately saved our world.
But this movie’s portrayal, I think is qualified, because I know if the difficulties you faced were really like in the movie, you would certainly, like those actors, disregard everything and use your lives to cross that final distance.
Let these scenes replace what you truly experienced, to live forever in people’s minds…”
In cinema after cinema in cities, the lights in the Screening Halls gradually brightened. But people sat silently in their seats, reluctant to leave.
Helplessly, the Cinema Manager had to play the bad guy once, assigning people to urge Screening Hall by Screening Hall: “The film has ended, please leave as soon as possible, the next showing has people waiting…”
The surging crowd gathered toward the cinema exit. And at the entrance, audiences for the next showing were already anxiously waiting for admission.
Outside the cinema, night had deepened, under light pollution, only a few stars visible in the sky.
This night seemed unchanged, yet everything seemed different from before.
In these short two days of wakefulness, Jiang Yang saw the film’s box office globally surpass 5 billion, with momentum unabated.
The characters shaped by the film, whether ordinary Workers or Scientists bearing important responsibilities, left deep impressions on the audience.
Especially the images of the 64 dispatched Astronauts were deeply etched in hearts.
The network world was filled with massive discussions, countless words of praise surging like tides.
“Whenever crisis strikes, our civilization, our nation, always has heroic figures stand up. It was true in history, is true now, and I believe will be true in the future.”
“These heroes are not Superman in underwear outside, but ourselves. Only we ourselves can save us.”
“There has never been any savior, nor do we rely on fairy emperors! To create human happiness, it all depends on us ourselves!”
“Damn Reaper Civilization, how dare they do this! When they come next time, I’ll fight them with my life!”
“Watching this movie, I also recalled those few days over a dozen years ago… Back then the Group Leader called us back to work overtime…”
After waking from another hibernation, he saw the film’s box office had reached over 700 billion, leading the second place by a wide margin.
With this film’s release, through the briefing, Jiang Yang also saw some wonderful changes happening in the world.
Opponents’ voices were extremely weakened again, the World Government’s authority further elevated, the Reaper Civilization’s powerful image more deeply rooted, and everyone had a deep sense of crisis.
But this sense of crisis did not crush people’s spirits into despair; instead, it made people more courageous and more united around the World Government.
People clearly recognized one thing.
In the face of crisis, only unity. As long as united, no enemy is unconquerable.
Just like in the movie, those ordinary people one by one, Workers, Engineers, Scientists, Astronauts.
……
