Chapter 50: What Are They Trying to Do?!
At the end of December, the entire nation was eagerly awaiting the return of the trio of lunar exploration heroes!
The three astronauts, having spent seventeen days on the moon, were bringing back five tons of lunar samples!
These lunar samples included lunar soil, rocks, and strata cored from deep underground.
Five tons was more than enough for scientists to study the entire lunar environment!
The Moon-Capture spacecraft lifted off smoothly.
To be honest, launching from the lunar surface was considerably less difficult than launching from Earth.
With the spacecraft's main engines firing at full throttle, it broke away from the lunar surface in just five minutes and entered a circumlunar transfer orbit.
"Success!"
Inside the Aerospace Command Center, everyone clenched their fists in excitement and burst into loud cheers.
Only now did everyone finally let out a huge sigh of relief.
With the lunar liftoff successfully completed, the next and only major hazard was the reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
However, the reentry of the landing capsule into Earth...
The Chinese manned spaceflight program was already more than familiar with this phase.
Across more than a dozen Shenzhou spacecraft missions, the success rate had been 100%!
The landing capsule of the Moon-Capture spacecraft was the most reliable and least worrisome part of this entire mission!
At this stage, the Moon-Catching Project could essentially be considered a success.
Now!
They only needed to wait three days for the return of the lunar exploration heroes!
By then, the entire country would be boiling with excitement!
This lunar liftoff was not broadcast live; only after its success was the footage released.
"Success! The Moon-Capture spacecraft has successfully lifted off from the lunar surface and is now heading back to Earth!"
Citizens who had been paying intense attention to the event flooded in the moment the video was published.
They nearly crashed Weibo's servers.
"Hahaha, I scrolled straight to the end. It succeeded! I can finally rest easy!"
"Just patiently wait three more days, and they'll be home!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!! It succeeded! The next step is returning to Earth, right?!"
"That's right! What's next after the manned lunar landing? @MannedSpaceflightOffice, do you have any other plans?"
"We want to see the lunar base! I can't wait, hurry up and serve it up!!!"
"Seconded, we all second this! And we want a live broadcast of the lunar base!"
"..."
Eager citizens, upon opening the video, naturally skipped straight to the end.
Although the title already stated it was a success, seeing the actual footage finally put everyone's minds at ease.
It was a success!
Their heroes were coming back!
...
At the Xishan Base, Fang Jing was being spun around frantically inside a centrifuge.
Through a dizzying blur of motion,
Fang Jing didn't even blink his eyes once!
The centrifuge came to a halt.
He stepped out with extreme composure.
Throughout the entire process, he didn't sway so much as an inch.
Stepping out of the cabin, Uncle Yang glanced at the stopwatch, nodded with satisfaction, and said in pleasant surprise:
"You've made massive progress. You can already withstand 7G of hypergravity. Push a bit harder, and you'll officially reach the standards of an astronaut."
Patting Fang Jing on the shoulder, Uncle Yang had witnessed all of his hard work firsthand.
Being an astronaut required far more than just good physical fitness.
Willpower, machine operation, experimental science, emergency response, and much more had to be fully mastered.
Over these past days, Fang Jing had transformed from an ordinary college student into someone genuinely capable of taking on tasks, and Uncle Yang was well aware of the effort behind it.
"Hahaha, after all, I'm a lunar base reservist!"
Mentioning the moon always put Fang Jing in a good mood.
That was the moon.
To be able to land on the moon and spend some time there—
Damn, that was something he could brag about for the rest of his life!
Wait!
Fang Jing quickly forced himself to calm down.
The moon was nothing.
Once he mastered the spatial gate from The Wandering Earth, let alone the moon, he'd go sightseeing at the edge of the solar system!
"Well, keep up the good work. The manned lunar landing mission has already concluded."
At this, a trace of genuine confusion appeared in Uncle Yang's mind as he said, "Though, I don't know why Elder Zhu is in such a hurry. No sooner has the manned lunar landing mission ended than the lunar base project has been put on the agenda."
"Xiao Fang, there are still many things you need to be trained on."
"Who knows, you and Zhou Yuan might just be part of the second batch of lunar crew."
"The lunar base project has been put on the agenda?!" Hearing this news from Uncle Yang's lips, Fang Jing was inwardly shocked.
The higher-ups were moving far too fast.
"It's normal that you didn't know yet. The authorities are currently discussing how the base should actually be constructed, and a preliminary draft is already in place. It'll be happening soon, though."
Yang Su narrowed his eyes, a flicker of anticipation in his gaze.
A lunar base—it truly filled one with yearning.
"Then I really need to work hard."
Fang Jing guessed that the higher-ups must have seen the profits brought by The Wandering Earth technology and decided to tilt resources toward the 237 Project.
According to Elder Zhu, just the battery profits generated by the Multidimensional Era Company over the past two months had exceeded 20 billion!
And that was just cash flow.
Other hidden benefits were simply unimaginable!
"By the way, why have so many scholars been arriving at the base? It looks like... nuclear physicists and researchers from the plasma laboratory."
While chatting casually with Fang Jing, and remembering that Fang Jing had been tied up with training lately, Uncle Yang filled him in on the situation outside.
"Nuclear physicists?"
Fang Jing raised an eyebrow.
Then it clicked in his mind.
It seemed Elder Zhu was paying close attention to controllable nuclear fusion technology!
"That's right, do we have related equipment here as well?"
Uncle Yang asked quizzically.
He had only been ordered to train Fang Jing and didn't actually have deeper knowledge about the Xishan Base.
"Yes, and more than one unit. Uncle Yang, after a little while, there's definitely going to be big news here!"
Fang Jing said with absolute confidence, playfully keeping Uncle Yang in suspense.
"Big news?"
Uncle Yang raised an eyebrow, then chuckled and said with eager expectation:
"Then I'll just have to wait and see what kind of surprise you bring me!"
...
South China Sea Fleet Information Detection Center.
An information officer was controlling the "agricultural observation satellite" to patrol the globe.
After observing the situation at several of the enemy's overseas bases, the officer furrowed his brows, feeling a lingering sense of doubt.
"Hey, where are the two US aircraft carriers supporting the Hexagram in the Middle East?"
With current satellite technology, locating the position of American aircraft carriers was not entirely impossible.
One of the officer's routine tasks was to track the positions of enemy carrier fleets.
"Mediterranean Sea, negative; Red Sea, negative..."
"Where on earth did they go?"
Scrolling the controller, a sudden ominous premonition stirred in the officer's heart.
Where on earth had those damned two American carrier fleets gone?
Could they possibly have come to East Asia?
"Wait?!"
With a sudden jolt of realization, it was entirely possible those bastards had come to East Asia.
Without hesitation, the officer immediately mobilized the satellite, commanding it to execute a tactical turn and an emergency orbit change, locking the camera target onto the eastern Indian Ocean.
"Buzz—"
A burst of static interference came through, making the officer's eyes widen abruptly.
"This frequency band is interference from an American satellite!"
"There is definitely something wrong with the eastern Indian Ocean!"
"What are they trying to do?!"