Chapter 35: The Setting Moon

The spacecraft was only two hundred meters from the lunar surface. The main retro-rocket engine of the Lanyue spacecraft was about to ignite. While the craft had been searching for a suitable landing spot, its attitude control thrusters had already been engaged, but now the time for the main descent had arrived. Whether the main engine could function properly would be the absolute critical point of the mission. If the engine failed to ignite, the mission would be considered a failure, as the spacecraft would lose its ability to take off from and land on the lunar surface—a scenario that was absolutely unacceptable.

At this moment, it was not just the audience in China or the researchers in the command center; even abroad, countless space enthusiasts were holding their breath. In the command center, every technician took a deep breath. The landing was under complete automated control; aside from the astronauts on board, no one could interfere. Thus, they, too, were like students awaiting their exam results.

"Beep, beep, beep—"

At that moment, a notification sound suddenly echoed through the quiet command hall. Immediately after, the animation on the giant screen changed. In the simulation, a roaring exhaust plume erupted from the main engine beneath the Lanyue spacecraft. Simultaneously, a stream of data was transmitted to the command center. Upon seeing the data, the flight controller, his voice trembling slightly with suppressed excitement, announced loudly:

"Lanyue main engine ignition successful; altitude is decreasing."

"One hundred and fifty meters!"

"One hundred meters!"

"Fifty meters!"

"Ten meters!"

On the command center's massive screen, the animated model representing the Lanyue was now extremely close to the lunar surface. In a small window on the side, a camera mounted on the engine side of the spacecraft provided a real-time view. Everyone could clearly feel as if the ground were rushing toward the screen—or rather, the camera was rapidly approaching the surface.

At the final moment, a shadow appeared on the ground, and a gust, seemingly like wind, blew the lunar dust away. The entire image shook slightly and then became as steady as a rock. The flight controller stood up in excitement, verified the data on the console, and shouted:

"Lanyue spacecraft landing successful!"

"The spacecraft has successfully landed on the lunar surface!"

It was a success! The spacecraft had successfully landed on the moon!

The entire command hall erupted into applause. In an office in Shanghai, Zhou Zhiyun was stunned with excitement upon hearing those words of success. We did it. China's spacecraft had successfully landed on the moon. The landing was a success! He was so thrilled he wanted to stand up and celebrate regardless of anything else.

Suddenly, a roar of excitement erupted from the manager's office.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

"We did it! Hahaha, we did it!"

Before Zhou Zhiyun’s shocked eyes, the office door was kicked open from the inside. Their usually mild-mannered manager, face flushed and expression ecstatic, danced out while carrying a crate of beer. As he ran, the manager shouted loudly:

"China has successfully landed on the moon!"

"Success!"

Seeing this, Zhou Zhiyun finally realized: Good heavens, his manager had been secretly watching the live stream too!

"Hahaha, Zhou Zhiyun, come, come, come! Let's drink. I know you must have been secretly watching the stream." The manager knew the nature of his employees. He stepped one foot onto an empty chair and shouted, "I know everyone has been watching! Let's call it a day for this morning's work—let's go wild!"

"Manager, I never would have guessed, hahaha!" Zhou Zhiyun let go of all inhibitions, rushed out shouting excitedly, ran to the manager's side, and hugged him, both of them waving their arms in triumph.

"Come on, Xiao Zhang, bring out the company's big projector. We're going to play the manned moon landing live stream today. We're going to focus on national affairs today!"

"Haha, from now on, when I talk business with foreigners, I can hold my head high and look down at them!"

This was just one reflection of the countless crowds overcome with joy. Today was destined to be a day of national fervor. At this moment, the moon landing live chat room had exploded. The screen was nearly filled with a dense wall of comments, to the point where the live footage was barely visible.

"Haha, landing successful! Moon, your grandpa has arrived!"

"Let me take a look, Moon! Don't run away, let me take a look!"

"Go tear down the American flag and stomp on the footprints they left behind!"

"Hahaha, is the guy above addicted to cutting solar panels?"

"Awesome, only 'awesome' can describe this!"

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!"

"..."

In Nanhai, on the desert outside the launch site, the over five thousand people stranded there were also caught in a frenzy. Across the entire beach, a dense throng of people jumped for joy. Throughout China, some schools even paused their pre-lunch study sessions to broadcast the landing directly to the children. A successful moon landing—what a perfect piece of material for patriotic education!

Meanwhile, in the White House in the United States, Fred stared blankly at the live broadcast on the television. On the beach, in the control rooms, and in the streets and alleys of China, people had all come out to hug strangers and acquaintances alike, cheering in excitement.

Fred reached out with a trembling hand to press the remote control. To his fury, even the remote seemed to defy him. After pressing it three times, the damn television still wouldn't turn off.

"FXXK!"

"Even you damn thing are against me!"

He cursed, flipped the remote over, and took a closer look. His eyes widened as he stared at the large "MADE IN CHINA" printed on the back. Fred trembled with rage, roaring and cursing wildly while shaking his head.

"FXXK, FXXK, FXXK!"

He scrambled to his feet, walked up to the television, and hoisted it high above his head with both hands.

*Crash—*

The television was smashed violently onto the floor, shattering into pieces with glass scattered everywhere. After wreaking havoc in his office, Fred stood there panting, his eyes fierce like a wolf, staring fixedly at a panda doll sitting on his desk.

"This is what you forced me to do!"

"I will absolutely, absolutely not allow you to surpass us!"

"At any cost!"

After his roar, Fred strode to his desk and pressed a transparent button. The CIA Director, Clyde, walked slowly into the office. He glanced at the debris scattered across the floor without surprise. Ignoring the shards under his feet, Clyde walked up to Fred and asked, "Sir, what is it?"

"Get me the Department of Defense. Tell them to send someone over immediately!"

"We have to make a choice!"

"We cannot let them continue to develop like this!"