《Earth Era》


 Chapter 1: A Sheet of White Paper

    Chapter 1: A Sheet of White Paper


    "Our human civilization seems like a magnificent flower garden, we can pierce through mountains, fill the sea and creatend, control rainfall... Our human civilization seems so powerful. But this is just an appearance, the fact is, we are very fragile, extremely fragile." Li Qi took a sip of wine and slowly said to Zhao Huasheng, who was sitting across from him.


    Li Qi seemed to be thinking about something, but it also seemed like he wasn''t. A distant look was in Li Qi''s eyes, as if his thoughts had already drifted to some faraway ce.


    Zhao Huasheng has always been very respectful of his senior. As early as his doctoral program, Zhao Huasheng entered the Central Science Institute affiliated to the Alliance, where he became Li Qi''s subordinate in the Ster Physics Research Institute. Li Qi''s profound knowledge of ster physics has always impressed Zhao Huasheng.


    "Maybe," Zhao Huasheng said, "but human civilization is always growing stronger, and I believe that we will be truly powerful soon."


    Li Qi sighed and his eyes shed with an indescribable light, seeming to be sorrowful, yet also full of pain.


    Li Qi stood up and walked to the window of the high-rise restaurant. Through the ss, the night view of the bustling city was in full view. The lights were brilliant, seeming to cover the moon in the sky. The roads were full of winding light dragons. Even from the hundreds of meters high skyscraper, the sound of the hustle and bustle from the ground could be heard.


    It was already eleven o''clock, but still far from the time when this city goes to sleep.


    "This is our civilization," Li Qi said, opening his arms as if he wanted to embrace everything. Li Qi''s eyes seemed to be drunk, and his tone began to sound like a dream: "This is our powerful and prosperous civilization."


    "Brother Li, you are drunk; let me send you back," Zhao Huasheng walked to Li Qi''s side and said in a low voice.


    Li Qi shook his head: "Huasheng, don''t rush back. I have something to say to you today."


    Zhao Huasheng was stunned for a moment and sat down again in his seat. He sensed that Li Qi seemed a bit strange today.


    "Human civilization has almost changed the face of the entire earth. We navely thought we could do anything, but the reality is cruel. Just take the earth under our feet as an example. How much do we really know? The deepest part of the earth is the Mariana Trench, which is about 10,000 meters deep, and the highest mountain peak is Mount Everest, which is less than 9,000 meters high. Our submarines going down to the Mariana Trench is considered an impressive achievement, and we exhausted our energy and drilled an 11-kilometer-deep hole in the earth, iming it to be a major step forward... However, the radius of the earth is more than 6,000 kilometers, and we spent a great deal of human and material resources to only prate one six hundredth of the earth... 99% of the ces are unknown to us."


    The depths of earthquake sources generally do not exceed 100 kilometers. Even the strongest earthquakes recorded in the history of the earth are only equivalent to the earth sneezing... No, not even sneezing; just a slight wriggle of the earth. Even so, the result is often the death of millions of human beings.


    Li Qi''s eyes seemed to have a hint of mockery. Zhao Huasheng knew all the things Li Qi said, but still felt ufortable hearing Li Qi say them in such a tone. It was like a person who thought they were incredibly strong having their weaknesses and ipetencies exposed in front of others.


    "People are always talking about protecting the earth, but does the earth really need humans to protect it? Even if all the nuclear weapons stored by humans were to explode at the same time, all they would destroy is the surface environment of the Earth. The effects of these nuclear weapons can''t reach 100 kilometers below the ground. In the end, humans are only protecting themselves. As for the Earth ... even if humans tried their hardest to destroy it, what would it matter? Can ants destroy mountains?"


    Li Qi said, "Our entire civilization, all our cities, all our buildings, all our poption, our culture, our heritage, our technology ... all of us are merely tiny bacteria attached to the Earth. If the Earth has its own consciousness, if the Earth wants to destroy our human civilization ... it only needs to sneeze, just one sneeze."


    Zhao Huasheng quietly said, "Our human civilization is indeed very small, but our development potential is infinite."


    Li Qi disregarded this and continued, "This is merely one Earth. Compared to the whole sr system, what does Earth amount to? Compared to the Milky Way, what does the Sun amount to? Not to mention the Milky Way-Andromeda Gxy Group, the Virgo Supercluster, the universe..."


    There was a deep sadness in Li Qi''s words.


    "Let''s go back," Li Qi said.


    Li Qi had been drinking, and Zhao Huasheng drove him back to his room. When they were in the elevator, Li Qi suddenly looked at Zhao Huasheng with an indescribable expression.


    Zhao Huasheng was puzzled, so he asked, "Big Brother Li, what''s wrong?"


    Li Qi just smiled to himself and said, "Goodbye." After saying these two words, Li Qi walked straight out of the elevator, opened his own door, and then closed it. Obviously, he didn''t intend to invite Zhao Huasheng toe in and sit down.


    Zhao Huasheng was at a loss. He felt that Li Qi was strange today, but he couldn''t say exactly where it was strange. After a moment of hesitation in front of the elevator, Zhao Huasheng shook his head and went home.


    It was already midnight; Zhao Huasheng finished washing up and got into bed, but he just couldn''t fall asleep. There was something wrong deep in his subconscious, he felt like something big was about to happen, but he couldn''t figure it out.


    It was around two or three in the morning when Zhao Huasheng finally drifted off, but he only slept for four or five hours before he opened his eyes again.


    The sleep wasn''t enough, and Zhao Huasheng still felt very tired. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn''t have woken up at this time. Because it was the weekend, he wasn''t in a rush to go to work, and he had prepared to sleep intest night.


    Zhao Huasheng is frozen awake. It isughable to say that it is July or August, a time of scorching sunlight. The sun will rise before five o''clock, radiating its light and heat onto this small, warming up the air that had cooled during the night and eventually bing hot. But today seemed a bit different.


    Zhao Huasheng put on his coat and walked to the window. The weather was clear, and there were no clouds in the sky. Indeed, there was arge sun hanging in the sky, but it looked dull. The sky was not the usual blue color but was mixed with some dim colors, looking very oppressive.


    Zhao Huasheng is a researcher at the Ster Physics Institute, and the closest star to Earth is the Sun, so obviously, Zhao Huasheng''s job is mainly to study the Sun, its internal structure,position, and material evolution, etc. Today''s sun seemed strange, but Zhao Huasheng did not think of using his professional knowledge to analyze it at the moment.


    Zhao Huasheng just grumbled to himself, "Looks like it''s a gloomy day.", then got back into bed, pulled the nket up over himself and prepared to go back to sleep.


    But a sudden knock on the door broke the morning''s peace. Resigned, Zhao Huasheng got up, dressed, and washed his face, then went to the door. When he opened the door, a man in a ck suit with a cold expression presented his credentials.


    "I''m an agent of the Alliance Security Department, Level 1. You can call me Meng Zhuo." The man said coldly, "There are some matters that require your cooperation; pleasee with me."


    "Alliance Security Department? Me?" Zhao Huasheng felt confused and racked his brains; he couldn''t remember ever doing anything bad apart from stealing a lollipop from a ssmate when he was young. "What''s the matter?"


    "Come with me and you''ll find out when we get there." Meng Zhuo still said coldly.


    "OK." Zhao Huasheng thought for a moment and finally agreed. Half an hourter, Zhao Huasheng arrived at a spacious conference room. To Zhao Huasheng''s surprise, in this conference room, he saw many familiar faces, colleagues, leaders, and some people he couldn''t recognize but who looked very familiar. After thinking for a moment, he realized that he often saw them on TV.


    Zhao Huasheng was arranged to sit in an empty seat. For some reason, everyone in the conference room looked very solemn, and no one had a smile on their face. Moreover, after Zhao Huasheng came in, everyone, including those people who were often on TV, looked at him with some inexplicable eyes.


    Zhao Huasheng asked, "May I ask what happened?"


    Meng Zhuo put a safe box in front of Zhao Huasheng and opened it; inside, Zhao Huasheng saw a piece of white paper lying quietly.


    Zhao Hua Sheng did not rush to look at the white paper but asked in surprise, "Legacy? The legacy Li Qi left for me?"


    Meng Zhuo nodded, "Li Qi died in the early hours of yesterday morning. The preliminary investigation concluded that it was a suicide. At the scene of the suicide, we found this safe and this white paper, um, and this note, which reads: I''m leaving; please be sure to give this white paper to Zhao Huasheng. He will answer all your questions."


    Before Zhao Huasheng could figure out what was going on, an old man with the highest viewership on TV knocked on the table and directed his imposing gaze towards Zhao Huasheng: "So, can you now tell us what happened to the sun?"

 Chapter 2: 10%

    Chapter 2: 10%


    The elderly person was the highest leader of the Human Alliance. The several people apanying the elderly person were also important figures in the Human Alliance. When Zhao Huasheng saw these people, he vaguely anticipated that something big was going to happen, but it all came too suddenly. In fact, until now, Zhao Huasheng still hasn''t calmed down.


    Li Qi died,mitting suicide, but he left a nk piece of paper before his death. It was almost the highest specification, and the highest leader was attending the meeting. At this moment, the highest leader was still asking himself, "What happened to the sun?".


    "Sorry, sorry." Zhao Huasheng muttered a few times, waved his hand, and pped his head a few times, then sat down and closed his eyes for a while, digesting all the information he had heard and contacted. After a lot of effort, he finally calmed down.


    Can you tell me what is going on here? What happened?


    The old man gestured to Meng Zhuo, who said, "At around 3 oclock this morning, the sr observation telescope on the west hemisphere, the fifteen sr observation satellites on the Earths orbit, and the observation satellites on Lagrange Point and the sr orbit all reported the same message to the Crisis Prevention Department: the sr radiation intensity had dropped by ten percent in just a few minutes and was still rapidly decreasing. After receiving this message, the Crisis Prevention Department quickly reported it to the Prime Ministers Office and contacted Li Qi, the director of your Ster Physics Research Institute. When Li Qi could not be contacted, our Liaonan Department joined the event and went directly to Li Qis residence."


    "After knocking on the door and not getting a response, we forced open Li Qi''s residence door. We then found that Li Qi had already passed away, and we noticed the signs of a fire at the scene, but it was strange, as if it was a controlled fire that only urred in Li Qi''s bedroom. Li Qi''s corpse was also heavily damaged, and the autopsy showed that Li Qi had died in the fire. The fire scene was a mess, and only this safety deposit box was preserved intact, leading us to believe that it had been purposely kept by Li Qi to deliver a message to you."


    "We investigated and found that Li Qi had been normal in the days leading up to his suicide, except for the fact that he, who never drank, invited you to the top floor restaurant of the Century Building for drinks and talked with you for at least an hourst night. Through reviewing Li Qi''s past research records, we also concluded that Li Qi had known at least a year ago that the sun was going to undergo a great change, but for some reason, Li Qi never publicly disclosed these research results."


    Meng Zhuo spoke in a calm and steady


    tone, yet his words stirred up a huge wave in Zhao Huasheng''s mind. Zhao Huasheng''s thoughts were almost stagnant, yet Meng Zhuo''s words kept forcefully drilling into his mind like bullets. "Well, there''s one more thing, the time of death of Li Qishou. The autopsy report shows that Li Qishou died exactly an hour before the sr drama. From this, we can know that Li Qi had known about the impending changes in the sun and the reasons for it, yet he said nothing and had a conversation with you before his death, and left you a nk paper, and left ast will saying that you can answer all our doubts... So, Zhao Huasheng, can you tell us what''s going on?"


    "No... that''s impossible, how could the sr radiation level suddenly drop by 10%... This isn''t right... If the sr radiation level decreases, it won''t be able to resist its own immense pressure, it will shrink in volume, increase in density in order to raise the core temperature and thus raise the radiation level again... It''s a dynamic bnce... It''smon sense..." Zhao Huasheng muttered.


    The old man gestured to Meng Zhuo again, and Meng Zhuo took out a stack of materials and put it in front of Zhao Huasheng.


    This was a schematic diagram of changes in sr radiation level, as well as preliminary observational data from various observation satellites, and some preliminary analysis conclusions. All of these were things that Zhao Huasheng was familiar with, so he immediately understood what was described on them.


    All the detecting devices have clearly indicated one conclusion: "The sr radiation level has decreased, but the mass, volume, and density of the sun have not changed much."


    "You know what a 10% decrease in sr radiation means, right?" the old man said slowly: "It means the whole earth will enter the most serious cial period ever seen, the equator will be temperate, temperate will be cold... the Antarctic ice sheet will even border South America, the Greend ice sheet will touch the Asian continent, most parts of the earth will be uninhabitable, food production will be greatly reduced, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people will starve to death, if the sr radiation level continues to decrease... our human civilization willpletely copse, and we may even devolve into primitive humans."


    Today is the first day of the decrease in sr radiation. Due to atmospheric cirction and the insting effect of the ocean, we have not yet noticed much change, at most feeling the weather getting a bit colder. But if we can''t increase the level of sr radiation, the temperature will keep dropping, lowering to an unbearable level. So, Zhao Huasheng, tell me, what can we do?


    "I don''t know, I don''t know," Zhao Huasheng murmured.


    "What did Li Qichang say to youst night? Repeat it word for word," said a physicist present.


    "I..." Zhao Huasheng calmed down and


    Zhao Hua Sheng reminisced for a moment, saying: "The weather is nice today."


    "On the way to the Century Building with Li Chi-chang driving, how many times did Li Chi-changin about the traffic jam?"


    "Three times," Zhao Hua Sheng thought for a moment before replying.


    Zhao Hua Sheng has an excellent memory. During college, Zhao Hua Sheng even won the Memory Championship. It is precisely because of this that Zhao Hua Sheng can recall every detail ofst night.


    said with a slight bitterness: "Yesterday was Friday, after work, Director Li Qi found me and said he wanted to broaden my horizons... We went to the top floor restaurant of the Century Building, Director Li Qi told me to sit down and order dishes... then drink wine, he asked me about my recent situation, any ideas, after talking for a while, Director Li Qi led the topic to how small human civilization is..."


    Next to him, a secretary was quickly recording Zhao Huasheng''s words. During the process of Zhao Huasheng''s recollection, the secretary did not interject and was silently recording. After Zhao Huasheng finished speaking, the secretary checked the record and then asked: "On the way from the research institute to the underground parking lot, what did Director Li Qi say, ''The weather is nice today'' or ''It''s quite cool today''?"


    ......


    "Did Li Qi make any statement such as e in and sit down'' before he went home and closed the door?"


    "No." Zhao Huasheng replied.


    "Very well. This is the record of your conversation. See if there is anything missing." said the secretary.


    Zhao Huasheng took the few records, quickly looked them over, and said, "There is nothing missing."


    "If you remember anything else, remember to report it to Meng Zhuo. Meng Zhuo, follow Huasheng for a while." said the old man.


    "Yes." Meng Zhuo uttered a single word.


    At this moment, a knock on the door sounded at the entrance of the conference room. After obtaining the consent, a person dressed as a secretary with a pair of golden sses walked in.


    "Chief, the paper test results havee out. This is just a normal sheet of A4 paper that has not been treated by any technical means or hidden drugs after it was produced. Cryptographic experts have not obtained any valuable information from the details of the paper fiber distribution and indentations. The paper was produced three months ago and purchased from amon office supply store. It was produced by a forestrypany called "Flying", and the paper''s raw material is fast-growing por with an age of three years, one hundred and fifty-two days. Six tons of the same batch of paper have been produced, five of which have already entered the market, and the remaining one ton has been sealed. Of the five tons that have entered the market, four and a half tons have been retrieved, and the remaining half a ton has been sent out with personnel to the residences of the buyers and garbage transfer centers to continue the pursuit. A total of three thousand and seventy people who havee into contact with this batch of paper have been investigated. So far, we have not found any valuable information."


    "Immediately assemble a team of psychological experts to conduct a psychological investigation of Li Qi, as well as gather experts from all fields to immediately analyze and study all the research material and items left by Li Qi. I want to know the reason for Li Qi''s suicide in the shortest amount of time, why Li Qi predicted the disaster but refused to issue a warning beforehand, why he chose tomit suicide before the disaster happened, why he left a nk paper for Zhao Hua Sheng, etc. Furthermore, how did Li Qi predict the disaster, what unique research did he have on the changes of the sun at this moment, and most importantly, did Li Qi have any way to solve the crisis, and if so, what was it? At the same time, immediately summon all relevant scientists within the Alliance to analyze the changes of the sun."


    The elder gave a series of unquestionablemands in a in tone. After saying all this, the elder rubbed his temples, a bit tired, and looked at Zhao Hua Sheng and said, "Huasheng, from today onwards, to a certain extent, the fate of humanity... is in your hands."

 Chapter 3: Crisis Coordination Center

    Chapter 3: Crisis Coordination Center


    The old man stood up and looked around the room, his voice somber. "Human civilization is now facing the most serious challenge it has ever encountered in history. We have not yet developed the wings to fly, not even tond on Mars. I can understand how ridiculous and difficult it is to rely on human civilization to change the sun. But we have no choice. We must face the crisis and continue our civilization, or else we will be destroyed. Fortunately, our technology has developed, although it is difficult, there is still a little hope."


    "I order that from this moment on, the Human Union enters into a wartime emergency stage, and we will mobilize all avable forces to face this crisis. All scientists, engineers, politicians, workers, businessmen, and people from all walks of life must unite. Only then do we have a chance of victory."


    "Dismiss everyone...except Huasheng and Meng zhuo, the two of you stay," the old man said.


    People gradually dispersed, leaving only Zhao Huasheng and Meng zhuo in therge conference room.


    "I have seen your information," the old man nced at Zhao Huasheng, "From elementary school to joining the Ster Physics Institute, you have always shown an unusual talent, you are very smart and diligent."


    Zhao Huasheng felt okay when there were many people around, but now, only facing this elder alone, he felt immense pressure. This elder before him was the highest leader of the Human Federation, a figure that Zhao Huasheng would never have the chance to meet.


    Faced with the elder''s praises, Zhao Huasheng didn''t know what to say.


    The elderly man slowly said, "You don''t have to be too hard on yourself because you are indeed very smart and hardworking. However...in the scope of human civilization, your intelligence and diligence are still within the normal range. You have not shown any extraordinary ability. Even in the field of science and even in the Ster Physics Institute, your qualifications are not top-notch, at most, it can only be considered upper level."


    "Many people are smarter than you, and many people work harder than you. So, Huasheng, I''m curious, why did Li Qi choose you in the end to take on this most difficult task? Can you tell me why?"


    "I...I don''t know." Zhao Huasheng thought for a while and eventually had to admit this fact. Because the reality is indeed like this, although the old man''s words were cruel and did not take into ount his own self-esteem, they are all true.


    The old man sighed and stood up, going to the window to look down at the bustling city below, leaving only a slightly hunched silhouette for Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo.


    "Huasheng, to be honest, I don''t have much confidence that we can ovee this crisis," the old man said. "The sun''s mass is more than a million times that of the earth''s, and we are already so powerless against a small, let alone the sun. But you know as well as I do that these words cannot be said in public. All I can do is try to allocate resources in this direction and let scientists and engineers represent humanity and seek a faint glimmer of hope."


    "To be honest, when I first received this news I almost felt desperate. But luckily, I immediately received the next message and I knew that Li Qi had already known all these things, that he had left the only relic to you and that you could answer all our questions... I had contact with Li Qi and I know what kind of person he is. So if he says that you can answer all our doubts, then you must be able to do it. In this matter, if I say that my confidence in our human civilization''s technology is only one percent, then my confidence in Li Qi is at least twenty percent."


    "So...Huasheng, now I am putting twenty percent of my hope on you. The old man turned around, his serious gaze fell on Zhao Huasheng. I know you are also confused and don''t understand what is going on, but since Li Qi has done this, then he must have his own reasons. Li Qi believes in you, so do I. "


    "Huasheng, I will provide you with all the resources you need. Whatever you think is necessary, if you think it will help you understand Li Qi''s meaning, even if you need to go to the moon, I can satisfy you. The old man came over and patted Huasheng''s shoulder, and said softly: "Whatever you need, you can tell Meng zhuo, he will handle everything for you. That''s it, Huasheng, remember, you hold the fate of mankind in your hands."


    The old man turned and left, leaving only Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo in the conference room.


    Zhao Huasheng leaned back in his seat, his hands covering his face, his mind racing.


    "Why me...? Why me? Brother Li, why did you choose me in the end?"


    "From now on, for the sake of better understanding andmunication between us, I will call you Number One." Meng Zhuo said coldly, "You can call me Number Two."


    Zhao Huasheng forced a smile: "There''s no need to be so troublesome; I''ll just call you by name."


    "All right." Meng Zhuo still had a cold expression: "Number One, please give instructions for the next step."


    "Let''s go home, home...Let me rest for a bit." Zhao Huasheng reluctantly stood up and walked towards the door of the meeting room.


    The car was still driven by Meng Zhuo, and Zhao Huasheng sat in the copilot''s seat; his thoughts had already flown to who knows where. Even Zhao Huasheng felt that the world he saw was so unreal; the flow of people, the long line of vehicles, the tall buildings, and even the slightly dim sun in the sky all revealed a false meaning.


    "How could it be like this? How could it be like this?" This sentence kept circling in Zhao Huasheng''s mind.


    Since the birth of the Sun from primordial interster gas, it has been steadily burning for more than four billion years. Compared to this time scale, the five thousand years of human civilization recorded in writing can almost be said to be a moment of a finger snap. But in this moment of a finger snap, the Sun underwent dramatic changes. And it just happened to be in this moment of a finger snap that human civilization developed and acquired some preliminary inter-ster exploration capabilities.


    Within six hours of the Sun''s dramatic change, an integrated agencyprising of crisis management, scientific research, and psychological intervention departments was established. This agency was named the Sun Crisis Coordination Processing Center, with the human alliance leader personally serving as the director of the processing center and the elders personally empowering it to coordinate and regte the rest of the departments during the crisis.


    The Sun Crisis Coordination Center has two duties: the first is to explore the underlying physical mechanisms behind the sr changes and find solutions, and the second is to find ways to pass on human civilization in the event that the crisis cannot be resolved. The matters between Li Qi and Zhao Huasheng were not made public. Those who knew about it were limited to the top scientists who attended the morning meeting, as well as a few senior members of the Human Alliance. As the old man said, "I put my greatest hope in you and gave you the greatest powers and resources, but these things cannot be said in public."


    Zhao Huasheng understood this point.


    The first day of the weekend passed in this strange situation. Zhao Huasheng stayed at home all day without eating or answering the phone. He just sat there motionless.


    Meng Zhuo just stood beside Zhao Huasheng, like a sculpture.


    After only one day, Zhao Huasheng had already be deeply exhausted. Until night time, Zhao Huasheng sighed and said in disbelief with a hoarse voice, "Meng zhuo, go to the guest room and sleep." After settling Mengzhu, Zhao Huasheng also went to bed. But even in his dream, Zhao Huasheng couldn''t find peace. He kept dreaming of the endless cries, tall buildings copsing, thend covered in ice and snow, and countless people dying. Sometimes he would even dream of Li Qi and thest thing he said to him before leaving, "Goodbye."


    Zhao Huasheng knew that from that day forward, his life had changed drastically. This change began from the moment Li Qi invited him for a drink and left him his only possession.


    The sky gradually brightened. Even though he was exhausted, Zhao Huasheng still woke up in the early morning.


    Today was the second day since the sr crisis. As Zhao Huasheng had predicted, the temperature today was lower than yesterday and the sun was much dimmer. Zhao Huasheng had to take out his long-sleeved shirts and long pants, which had been stored away, and put them on in the middle of summer.


    The temperature would continue to drop, and there was no stopping it. Even though water has a high specific heat, even though more than 70% of the earth''s surface is ocean, and even though the has a thick atmosphere that can retain heat, it was still not enough. When the root cause of something changes, even if there are many branches, they can only slow down the development of the event. In this sr crisis, the decrease in sr radiation was the root cause.

 Chapter 4: Shelter

    Chapter 4: Shelter


    Wrapping himself tightly in the chilly morning breeze, Zhao Huasheng sat in the passenger seat of the car.


    Today''s meeting was of a very high specification, even higher than yesterday''s. Not only the highest leaders of the alliance were present, but also leaders from various departments and fields, as well as rted scientists. It was a meeting to discuss how human society should respond to the current sr crisis. Because of his special identity, Zhao Huasheng, amon researcher, was also invited to attend. This is also why Zhao Huasheng got up early again today.


    Meng zhuo''s driving skills are very high. Under Meng zhuo''s control, Zhao Huasheng had the illusion that the family car he was riding in had been upgraded to a luxury car without knowing it. But this illusion did notst long, or rather, Zhao Huasheng''s attention did not stay on it for too long. Meng zhuo is a silent and rational man, Meng zhuo does not talk, and Zhao Huasheng does not talk either. Zhao Huasheng just put his eyes on the outside of the car.


    The bustling city was as usual. The influence of the strange temperature changes has not yet spread to the world of ordinary people. Zhao Huasheng saw people still hurrying around as usual, there were still snack cars calling out on the street, and office workers still squeezed together waiting for the bus. At this moment, the sun was dim, but no one paid attention to it.


    Zhao Huasheng had a strange thought in his heart. "The entire vast human society is like a slow and slow-moving giant beast... It always responds slowly to external stimuli. When it really feels the bad effects of this change, it is often toote to make up for it."


    Fortunately, humans have a powerful tool in science. If we were still in the dark ages, we would not have known what had happened until our extinction.


    This thought was strange, so Zhao Huasheng dismissed it from his mind the next moment.


    Meng Zhuo brought Zhao Huasheng to the door of the conference room and waited outside. The meeting would start soon.


    "Let''s start with the research department," said the host of the meeting.


    The representative of the Research Department was a renowned ster physicist. Originally, Li Qi should have been the representative, but Li Qi was no longer there.


    After observation and research in this period of time, the scientist said, "We have not found any possible causes for the decreasing level of sr radiation. Although it is regrettable, we have to say this. The only thing we can tell everyone is that the level of sr radiation is still decreasing - in the past 24 hours, it has dropped by three thousandths again. We don''t know how low it will go, how long it willst, or whether there is any possibility for the sr radiation level to be restored to normal in the future. We don''t know anything. We can only suggest everyone to prepare for the worst."


    "What does the worst preparation refer to?" asked the old man who was the leader of the alliance.


    The scientist was silent for a moment and replied, "Theplete extinction of the sun."


    "Please tell me the consequences of such a situation and the probability of it happening," said the leader.


    "Sorry, we can''t estimate the likelihood of this situation happening; we know nothing about it." The scientist replied, "As for the consequences... do you know about Neptune? If the sun extinguishes, the earth will be simr to Neptune. By that time, the surface temperature will drop to minus 200 degrees Celsius, and all liquids will solidify. All the gases that make up the atmosphere will solidify due to the extreme low temperature, and meteors and interster radiation will freely bombard the earth... All life will be extinct."


    A buzz of voices filled the conference room. The host of the meeting asked, "So, what is your department''s suggested course of action?"


    The scientist hesitated for a moment and then said, "If possible... build arge number of shelters in the tropical area and gather all the people from the hightitudes and temperate zones to the vicinity of the tropics. The warming effect of the ocean and atmosphere is limited after all, and the temperate and cold zones will soon be unsuitable for human survival. If we humans are lucky and the situation of the sun does not worsen, the tropical area may still be suitable for human survival. At the same time, put our greatest energy into the research and development of new energy sources, and if controble nuclear fusion can be achieved, we can at least keep a seed of human civilization."


    "I also propose to carry out the most recent sr observation program,unching the most advanced sr detectors to the sun as soon as possible." And if necessary, we need to carry out manned observation programs; after all, only by finding out what happened to the sun can we find a way to save it."


    The leader looked at the representatives of the industrial and social sectors: "What is your opinion?"


    The representative from the industrial sector said: "With the industrial foundation of the current human civilization, we have the ability to establish arge number of shelters in the tropics and to tilt all industrial resources towards scientific research in a short period of time, as long as you give the order to allow us to stop all other non-essential engineering construction. As for the possible social impacts of stopping all other non-essential engineering construction, this should be left to the social sector to study and solve."


    The representative from the social sector said, "No problem. We have one suggestion though: we suggest not to publicly disclose the real situation of the crisis at this moment. Making the truth public too early may cause social unrest, which is not conducive to the arrangement and implementation of subsequent ns."


    The representative from the agricultural sector interjected, "If we implement the ration system, our grain reserves will be enough for all mankind to eat for three years. But after three years, we will face the risk of food shortages. Therefore, we request to allocate part of the scientific research resources to agriculture, and we request the scientific research department to quickly research and develop cold-resistant grain varieties, as well as hydroponic and indoor cultivation technologies."


    The representative from the agricultural research department of the Central Academy of Sciences said, "This is what we should do."


    .........


    After the scientists representing humanity''s current crises had reported their findings and put forth their requests, it was up to the relevant departments to discuss how to respond specifically. The meeting went on for a long time, and Zhao Huasheng had no right to speak. Even Zhao Huasheng''s presence at the meeting was due to special circumstances.


    Amidst the continuous speeches and discussions, Zhao Huasheng''s thoughts gradually drifted away. The figure of Li Qi appeared in Zhao Huasheng''s mind again, the farewell Li Qi said before his death and the piece of nk paper he left for himself.


    In Zhao Huasheng''s mind, that ordinary piece of white paper seemed to have a magical power. It was nk, but it seemed to bear Li Qi''s thousands of words he wanted to say.


    Li Qi knew everything, but he said nothing.


    Zhao Huasheng knew that his identity was very special and that he was important, but even he didn''t know exactly what was so special or important about him.


    "Hello," said a young woman sitting next to Zhao Huasheng, snapping him out of his daydream. Zhao Huasheng nodded and replied, "Hello."


    "My name is Li Wei. I am Li Qi''s sister. I am currently working in the High-Energy Laser Research Laboratory of the Central Science Institute of the Alliance. I have heard my brother mention you. He said that you are a hardworking and intelligent young man."


    Li Wei''s age this year won''t exceed 25. Sitting in her seat, her slender figure can be seen by Zhao Huasheng. Her delicate face and smooth long hair look so attractive. But Li Wei''s eyes have a slight redness, which cannot be concealed even with makeup.


    Hearing what Li Wei said, Zhao Huasheng''s face fell, and he said, "Li Qi was a very nice person, he took care of me."


    "I heard that Li Ge had drinks with you the night before he passed away," Li Wei asked.


    "Yes," Zhao Huasheng nodded. "If I had known there would be an ident that night, I would have stayed with him even if it made him mad."


    Li Wei lowered her head and took out a tissue from her bag, gently wiping her eyes.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean to me you." After a moment, Li Wei calmed down and said, "Nobody wanted this ident to happen. I just have some questions that I want to get answered from you."


    "Please, go ahead," Zhao Huasheng said.


    "My brother left you the only thing he had left... a nk paper? He also said that you could unlock all our doubts?" Li Wei asked.


    Zhao Huasheng was a bit surprised that Li Wei also knew about these highly confidential matters. But thinking of Li Wei''s identity, Zhao Huasheng felt relieved.


    Zhao Huasheng nodded in confirmation of these matters.


    Li Wei shifted her gaze away from Zhao Hua, her thoughts seemingly drifting far away: "I understand my brother... He was a very organized and disciplined person. As far back as I can remember, I don''t recall him doing anything meaningless. So... I believe thest words he left behind. He must have had a reason for choosing to do this. I have a feeling that in this sr crisis, all of our human efforts will fail, and the final hope, just as my brother said, lies in you."

 Chapter 5: Psychological Models

    Chapter 5: Psychological Models


    Upon hearing Li Wei''s words, Zhao Huasheng was slightly embarrassed. "I am willing to dedicate all I have to the cause of humanity, but I still don''t know where I am special, and I don''t know why your brother would leave me the paper "


    "My brother''s words will not be wrong," Li Wei said, taking out a pen and paper from her bag and writing down a string of numbers and handing it to Zhao Huasheng: "This is my contact information. If you have anything you want to know from me, feel free to contact me at any time."


    "Okay. Thank you," Zhao Huasheng nodded as he took the paper.


    Atst, the meeting came to an end, and Zhao Huasheng left the venue under the guidance of service personnel. Zhao Huasheng knew that this was an important meeting that could potentially change the fate of humanity, but it was also because of its importance that Zhao Huasheng didn''t have the qualifications to take part in it.


    This meeting was only a general, strategic-level meeting, and it basically didn''t involve any specific affairs. After the meeting, various rted departments would hold countless internal meetings to determine the action n, followed by numerous joint meetings, but Zhao Huasheng had nothing to do with it.


    In the afternoon was Li Qi''s memorial service. At the memorial service, Zhao Huasheng met Li Wei again. However, this time, the two of them didn''t talk; they just nodded at each other as a greeting.


    Standing in the temple, looking at the body of Li Qi draped in the banner of the Alliance and covered in flowers, looking at the ck and white photos, Zhao Huasheng inexplicably had a very surreal feeling.


    The fate of humanity had changed drastically, and at this moment, countless rted personnel were busy preparing for the change, but Zhao Huasheng was still outside of this bustle. After a moment of distraction, Zhao Huasheng bowed to Li Qi''s body and then left the temple.


    Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo returned home together. Before opening the door, Zhao Huasheng said to Meng Zhuo: "Can you go somewhere else first? I want to be alone.


    Meng Zhuo shook his head and coldly said one words: "No.


    Zhao HuaSheng was taken aback and asked, "Why? Are you following me?"


    Meng Zhuo replied, "No. For your own safety, I have to stay with you. If you die like Li Qi did, without any exnation, none of us can bear the consequences."


    Zhao HuaSheng sighed and said, "Alright."


    As Zhao HuaSheng opened the door and walked in with Meng Zhuo, he said, "If you want to be alone, I can make sure you don''t see me."


    "Don''t see you?" Zhao HuaSheng asked.


    Mengzhu nodded and walked straight to the balcony, leaving no trace behind. Zhao Huasheng also went over and pulled aside the curtains, only to find the balcony empty. Zhao Huasheng was taken aback and looked up at the ceiling and behind himself, but couldn''t find Mengzhu either.


    It seemed like Mengzhu had disappeared. But Zhao Huasheng knew that Mengzhu was still in his own house. He had no curiosity about how Mengzhu had hidden himself. As someone who had be a Level One Investigator in the Alliance''s Security Department and had been valued by the old man, he must have some capabilities beyond those of ordinary people.


    Zhao Huasheng didn''t look for Mengzhu anymore but sat on the sofa, poured himself a cup of apple juice, and thenid on the sofa, facing the pitch-ck television, distractedly.


    Zhao Huasheng reminisced in detail every moment he had spent with Li Qi, recalling every word they had said, in an attempt to find a trace of clues. Unfortunately, his long contemtion did not yield any results. So Zhao Huasheng changed his approach, instead thinking about the issue from a different perspective.


    "Regardless of why Li Qi chose me in the first ce...let us first think about this question, why did he leave me a nk sheet of paper? What does a nk sheet of paper signify? How did he know everything yet say nothing?"


    If viewed from a normal person''s perspective, Li Qi had no motive to hide all this. After all, this was a matter rted to the survival of the entire human race. As a normal member of humanity, the normal course of action should have been to announce the news at the first opportunity and seek solutions from the entire Human Alliance. However, he did not do so... Does this mean that Li Qi was not unwilling to announce the news but instead was prevented from doing so due to some unknown force and could only pass on all these matters through a cryptic metaphor on a white sheet of paper?


    If this is the case, then everything makes sense. Perhaps the reason why Li Qi chose me in the end is because I held the key to unlocking this cryptic metaphor. However, what exactly is this key...


    "Meng zhuo." Zhao Huasheng called out. Before the sound of his voice had faded, Meng zhuo''s calm and t voice came through: "I''m here."


    Zhao Huasheng turned around and saw Meng Zhuoe out from the balcony, "What orders do you have?"


    Zhao Huasheng didn''t bother to think about where Mengzhuo had been hiding just now and asked directly: "I remember the emperor once said that he would set up a special group of psychologists and scientists to analyze Li Qi''s psychological motives and all the traces he left behind, as well as all my past, and try to find the reason behind Li Chi''s actions, right?


    "Yes." Mengzhuo nodded.


    "Alright, I require that this psychology group and I keep information shared; any of their research results and conclusions, as well as spection, I should see firsthand. Don''t know if I have the authority for that?"


    "Of course you have the authority." Mengzhu nodded and said, "Please wait a moment."


    Mengzhu took out a device that looked like a phone and pressed a few buttons. In less than twenty minutes, four or five young men dressed in the same ck suit as Meng Zhao arrived at Zhao Huasheng''s house. They also brought some instruments, and without Zhao Huasheng''s permission, they followed Meng zhuo to a side room and then began to be busy.


    Half an hourter, the four or five young men left without saying a word, just as they hade. Meng Zhuo said to Zhao Huasheng, "The most advancedputer that can connect to the department''s intr, three-dimensional projection equipment, voice call devices, fax machines, etc., have all been installed. From now on, you can connect to the psychology team at any time of the day or night to get thetest research progress. At the same time, the psychology team will contact you immediately if there is any new progress. Uh, the first phase of research progress information has been faxed. You can have a look."


    Meng Zhuo pointed to the fax machine and gestured to Zhao Huasheng, who nodded somewhat absent-mindedly.


    "I''ll go first. If you need anything, just call me." Meng Zhuo said, then turned and left the room, not knowing where he was going.


    Zhao Huasheng sat in his seat for five minutes until he calmed himself down. He then picked up the document and started to read it, page by page.


    The document was long andplex. Within this document, the psychological group traced back Li Qi''s childhood and slowly constructed a model of his psychology, then used this model as a basis to reverse-infer Li Qi''s behavior andpare it to the recorded actual behavior of Li Qi. If the inferred behavior was consistent with Li Qi''s actual behavior, then the construction of the model of Li Qi''s psychology would be saved; if not, the construction would be questioned, and further analysis would be carried out in order to find the correct construction model.


    In addition to the model construction data of Li Qi''s psychology, there were also data on the model construction of Zhao Huasheng''s psychology. When Zhao Huasheng saw the psychological data of Li Qi alone, he didn''t feel any special emotion, but when he saw the data of his own psychological analysis, he gradually broke out in a cold sweat and eventually even started to tremble slightly


    It feels like having all of one''s clothes stripped off and being put under a spotlight and examined in the most detailed way by countless people with various instruments. Under such an examination, any secrets, even those hidden in the deepest depths of one''s heart, will be dug out.


    In short, this psychological analysis method is to infer a person''s psychological mechanism by observing his behavior, and then, based on this, further specte the reaction of the person when facing various real-life situations. Under this analysis method, any behavior of a person can be found from the psychological level corresponding to the psychological operation mechanism, that is, the reason why the person does this. Even when the parties themselves have not figured out what to do, this psychological analysis group already knows what he will do eventually through this method.


    They even urately predicted that Zhao Huasheng would have a restless night yesterday and that Zhao Huasheng would ask Meng Zhuo to leave today.


    "This is the extent of what the top psychologists can do with their most advanced psychological theories and full-scale data support... It''s simply terrifying." Until now, Zhao Huasheng had only truly realized how powerful the Human Alliance is.


    However... this is of no use.


    Because, at the end of the stack of data, it was clearly written: "Unfortunately, the psychological model we have constructed still cannot exin the actions of Li Qi before his death. In other words... we still don''t know why Li Qi did it."

 Chapter 6: Brightness of Mars

    Chapter 6: Brightness of Mars


    "Before Li Qi''s death, his actions werepletely ipatible with the psychological model constructed based on his past behavior. In other words, the Li Qi who did these things was not the same as the normal Li Qi before. We cannot know what caused this change because we do not have enough data."


    "Although this psychological analysis method is powerful, it is not omnipotent." Zhao Huasheng silently thought, "This method can theoretically analyze any person in depth, but the reality is that no organization has the ability to monitor any minor actions of a person, hormone secretion levels in the body, cortical operation force, or heart rate 24 hours a day. That is to say, there is noplete data avable for modeling. Withoutplete data, in actual analysis, we can only rely on scattered data such as a hospital physical examination form on a certain day, a segment of video footage taken by surveince, or some rted personnel''s memories, which will inevitably lead to errors."


    "Despite the errors... this kind of analysis is quite terrifying. From their ability to urately predict that I would have a bad sleepst night and that I would ask Meng zhuo to be alone today, we can see the power of this method. But their conclusion is unable to assess Li Qi''s behaviour pattern...What does that mean?"


    Zhao Huasheng shook his head and continued looking through the pile of documents.


    "However, we believe that there is a high probability that during the period of Li Qi''s imminent death, he was subjected to some kind of external pressure. It is because of this external force that only Li Qi can detect but others can not, that Li Qi''s behaviour pattern became so chaotic that it could not be predicted or analyzed. Li Qi''s choice of a white paper as his legacy and the message of "Zhao Huasheng will solve all doubts" may have been his attempt to bypass the unknown external constraints and send a message to us. Of course, we still have no clue what message Li Qi wanted to convey to us."


    "We are making efforts to collect any image, audio, and action data rted to Li Chi in order toprehensively analyze his behavior and identify the time boundaries between "normal Li Qi" and "abnormal Li Qi". If we ultimately find this time boundary, we will be able to know what happened on that day that caused Li Chi''s change and we may also be able to find out what the unknown force behind Li Qi is. More data and conclusions, please wait for our further research."


    This data ends here. Zhao Huasheng put down the data in his hand and entered into contemtion again.


    The final conclusion of the psychology team was basically the same as what Zhao Huasheng himself had inferred; both parties thought that it was possible that some unknown force had caused Li Chi''s behavior. The difference was that the research conclusion put forward by the psychology team was more rigorous and detailed. But because of this, Zhao Huasheng was even more confused.


    If even the power of the government can''t figure out the truth, can I, alone, solve this important mystery? Zhao Huasheng thought to himself.


    "But I''m different from them. The key to solving this mystery must be with me, even though I don''t know what it is right now." Zhao Huasheng silently thought to himself, "The key to the problem is with this key, but what is this key?"


    This key was the reason Li Qi eventually chose Zhao Huasheng.


    After looking through the data from the psychology research team, Zhao Huasheng also obtained recent research and observation data on the sun from the research department of the Sun Crisis Coordination Center. Zhao Huasheng was a scientist in the field of ster physics, so there were no obstacles for him to look through these materials.


    The sun''s activity is rapidly declining. In the past 48 hours to the past 24 hours, we have observed a total of 29 small res, while in the past 24 hours to now, we have only observed 13 res. Currently, the sun is at the peak of its 11-year cycle, and in the past, C-level res could be observed almost every day, and asionally M-level or X-level res could be seen, but in recent days even B-level res have been much less. The pictures taken by the Sr Atmospheric One satellite clearly showed the sun going into a strange calm. However, until now, we still have note up with any valuable conclusions or results. The sun in those pictures is still huge, bright, and hot. But Zhao Huasheng was keen to see some faint red in the pictures.


    If ssified ording to stars, the Sun is a yellow dwarf star. The color of stars is determined by the surface temperature, and the yellow light indicates that the surface temperature of the Sun is around 6000 Kelvin. If it is a red light, then it indicates that the surface temperature of the star is between 2000 and 5000 Kelvin. At this moment, red is beginning to be mixed in the sunlight of the sun, which means that the surface temperature of the Sun has decreased by at least 500 degrees.


    This is undoubtedly a very serious disaster for the Earth. But fortunately, the Earth has its own instion system, so it cannot have too much influence on humans for the time being. Also because of this, human civilization has had a rare buffer time.


    "But in our continuous observations, we have also found some ces that make us feel puzzled. The most important point is the brightness of Mars." This document said so.


    "The brightness of Mars?" Zhao Huasheng had a little doubt in his mind.


    Zhao Huasheng has a certain understanding of thews of motion of the majors in the sr system. Zhao Huasheng knows that Mars is currently on the other side of the sun, and because of this, from the perspective of the Earth, Mars rises and sets with the sun. During the day, Mars is obscured by the strong light of the sun, so it is mostly invisible and only visible when the sun is dim in the early morning and at dusk.


    "Mars is currently on the other side of the sun, so what we see on Earth is the light reflected from the other side of the sun. ording to the decrease in sr light we observe now, Mars should also have a corresponding decrease in brightness, but we did not observe such a change on Mars."


    Zhao Huasheng was very clear in his heart what this phenomenon meant.


    This means that... the intensity of radiation from the Sun has only decreased when facing the earth, while the intensity of radiation from the back side of the Sun remains the same. This is the only way for the brightness of Mars to remain unchanged.


    "How is this possible?" Zhao Huasheng thought to himself, "If that were true, then we should have already discovered this. We haveunched many satellites that are not all facing the Earth."


    In recent decades, human civilization has sent out many interster probes, including probes to Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and evs and asteroids. Some of the farthest probes have even crossed the boundaries of the Sr System. ording to Zhao Huasheng''s knowledge, there are probes such as the Encdus Comet probe, Stardust probe, and Messenger probe that are on the other side of the Sun. Therefore, if the back side of the Sun really didn''t have a decrease in radiation, the research department should have already received the signal instead of only noticing it now through the change in brightness of Mars.


    Zhao Huasheng''s question onlysted for a moment, and the next second, he figured it out. "Those detectors aren''t professional sr detectors, they can''t observe the sun, a star so bright, in such detail. That exins why they didn''t spot the changes in the luminosity of the sun." Zhao Huasheng organized his thoughts and continued reading. "Upon realizing this, we rushed to control the professional sr observation satellite to quickly reach the other side of the sun, while risking the chance of damaging the detectors by forcing some deep space detectors to observe the sun. We don''t have enough urate data returned yet, but we''re eighty percent sure that it''s true. This has also been confirmed by the Kepler telescope''s observation of an asteroid with the code A7435D on the back side of the sun."


    We are not yet clear what this means exactly, but a rough inference is that some physical reaction process that we are yet to understand has taken ce in the atmosphere of the Sun (suspected to be the chromosphereyer), which is obstructing the path of photons emitted from the interior of the Sun. Further observation, modeling, and calction are underway..


    This inference is simple and crude, but it is also logical enough. Theoretically, if theposition and mass of the Sun remain unchanged, then its radiation level should not change either. But the fact is that its radiation level has changed, so this inference is capable of amodating the contradiction between the two sides -- it is not that the radiation level of the Sun has decreased, but rather that some kind of obstruction has appeared in the atmosphere of the Sun, blocking its radiation


    Zhao Huasheng silently pondered, "What kind of physical reaction could cause such a consequence? If such a physical reaction process really exists, how long will it persist on the sun? And what does this have to do with the nk paper Li Qi left me...?"

 Chapter 7: K-Level Civilization

    Chapter 7: K-Level Civilization


    There is an obvious fact that presents itself to Zhao Hua-Sheng and all humanity on earth, the most fundamentalw of conservation of energy. Thisw states that energy cannot simply disappear without cause, so if some kind of barrier material appeared in the photosphere of the sun, then...where did the blocked energy go?


    Perhaps this barrier material formed a heat sink, yet the radiation power of the entire sun is terrifying, what kind of heat sink could withstand such a huge energy impact?


    The word "Dyson Sphere" came to Zhao Zhao Huasheng''s mind.


    Dyson Sphere is a virtual sphere in the conjecture of human civilization that fully utilizes sr energy. This virtual sphere can beposed of many mirrors thatpletely enclose a whole star and absorb all the energy it radiates.


    The Kardashev scale divides civilizations that may exist in the universe into three levels: K1, K2, and K3. K1 level civilizations can make use of the energy of an entire, K2 level civilizations can make use of the energy of an entire star, and K3 level civilizations can make use of the energy of an entire gxy. ording to the Kardashev scale, the Dyson Sphere is the most iconic product of a K2 level civilization. Clearly, the creation of a Dyson Sphere enables the use of the energy of an entire star. If the hypothesized heatyer is actually present in the photosphere of the Sun, is it a kind of Dyson Sphere?


    It should be noted that, ording to the ssification criteria of the Kardashev scale, the current human civilization on Earth is only a K0.7 level civilization, and it is still far away from a Dyson Sphere. If a civilization really came to the sun and created a Dyson Sphere around it to absorb all its energy... then no matter what, with the power of human civilization''s K0.7 level, it is impossible to resist a K2 level civilization.


    If this is really the case,


    Zhao Hua Sheng thought to himself, "The physical world has certainmonalities and even the much more advanced K2 civilization is unlikely to vite certain fundamental physicalws. Just like today when the theory of rtivity has developed greatly, thew of universal gravitation is still in use. If it really is a Dyson Sphere, then there must be a subsequent energy collection device, but we haven''t observed the presence of such a device yet."


    "The Rainy Day Mercury detector has changed its trajectory and is now heading full speed towards the other side of the sun. We will get urate news from the far side of the sun in about five days... Let''s wait until then." Zhao Huasheng sighed and put down the documents in his hands, stood up and walked to the window.


    A round, bright red sun hung in the western sky, it was already evening. The air conditioner in the room was not on, so Zhao Huasheng, who had just returned to his senses from the documents, immediately felt a chill. People on the streets were all hurrying, and even the shing neon lights seemed to have a mncholy meaning.


    Meng zhuo was still nowhere to be seen, and Zhao Huasheng didn''t bother to find him. He took a piece of bread and hastily swallowed it, then sat in front of theputer again.


    This time, Zhao Huasheng did not look up some information, but came to several famous forums.


    After casually browsing some postsining about the unusually cold weather recently, Zhao Huasheng refreshed the page, and a headline jumped into Zhao Huasheng''s eyes.


    The recent unusually low temperatures are not due to climate but are caused by a decrease in sr radiation! Zhao Hua Sheng frowned as he opened the post.


    The post did not have any concrete observational data, but the poster imed to be an astronomy enthusiast and had just happened to have a set of sr observation equipment. After carefully observing and calcting, he came to this conclusion. At the end of the post, the poster wrote in a very dramatic tone: "The government must already know these things, but they are hiding it. We have reason to suspect that the government is doing something secretly. As to what these actions are, whether they are building underground shelters or carrying out poption screening ns, we don''t know. In short, the government can no longer be trusted. All we can do is save ourselves! From now on, try to store more food, water and fuel. The end of the earth ising!"


    Below the replies, there were some expressing doubt and some making fun of it. Basically, no one believed these words. But Zhao Huasheng''s worries became more and more serious.


    This event can''t be hidden for long. It''s simpleobserving the fluctuation of sr radiation intensity isn''t something that requires sophisticated equipment or theory. Any experienced amateur astronomer who spends some time observing the sun cane to the same conclusion. The government can monopolize allmunication channels, but they can''t monopolize knowledge.


    Zhao Huasheng returned to a professional astronomy forum. The discussions there validated his idea. Here, "the intensity of sr radiation has decreased" had be a generally epted fact, but the people here obviously hadn''t been given much information, and they were only discussing the mechanisms and physical principles behind the event.


    They still viewed the event as a normal sr activity process and hadn''t yet suspected anything else.


    "But... if the radiation levels keep declining, they will eventually realize it. Then, the news will spread throughout society, with people with astronomical knowledge as the source, everyone will know about it. This process is unstoppable and irreversible. By that time... who knows how much chaos will erupt and how many people will die."


    "I hope the Response Center has prepared for the riots... I hope therge-scale shelters near the equator can bepleted before the riots be uncontroble." Zhao Huasheng sighed deeply and shut down theputer.


    It was already 8 or 9 o''clock. For a summer night, it was still early. But Zhao Huasheng had no interest in doing anything else. Zhao Huasheng simply washed up, andy in bed.


    Zhao Huasheng has a habit of lying in bed and thinking before going to sleep at night, integrating the information received during the day, and digging deeper into the asional shes of inspiration during the day. Now, Zhao HuaSheng hopes that he can make the most efficient use of his brain in this day, and draw some conclusions from the information he received during the day.


    Unfortunately, Zhao HuaSheng''s painstaking thinking did not yield any results, and this thinking seriously affected Zhao HuaSheng''s sleep. Whenever Zhao Huasheng closed his eyes, a scene would appear in his mind. In this scene, heavy snow was falling from the sky, and the cold wind was blowing continuously. People with tired faces put on all the clothes they could find, but still could not resist the cold invasion. As they walked, someone suddenly fell down and died. The survivors fought for even a little bit of food or fuel. Life was so humble and worthless in this scene.


    This was Hell, the most cruel hell mankind could imagine. Civilization perished, order copsed, and people degenerated into pure beasts with no morality, nows, and no conscience, capable of doing anything to survive... That was the end of all civilization. No, not just human civilization, but the end of all life on Earth.


    A sense of mission and responsibility forced Zhao Huasheng to stay alert, forcing him to desperately turn his brain and strive to think of a way to change all this. So until early morning, Zhao Huasheng still didn''t sleep.


    The sunpleted its cycle again, emerging from the horizon and spreading its already weak light and heat to the earth. The morning breeze blew into Zhao Huasheng''s open window, making him wrap himself in his nket once more..


    Never before had Zhao Hua realized how important the sun and warmth were. For the past four billion years, the Earth has been bathed in the steady light and heat from the sun, so much so that all life on Earth has taken it for granted and assumed it to be a given. It was not until it began to show signs of fading that the Earth, including humans, could truly appreciate its preciousness.


    Sunlight means life. Without sunlight, there is no life.


    Zhao Huasheng threw off his nket, exposing his chest to the cold of the morning air. Zhao Huasheng''s hair was disheveled, his beard was unkempt, and his face was pale and withered, but his eyes were bright. A power emanating from deep within was supporting Zhao Huasheng''s body. Zhao Huasheng got out of bed, washed his face carelessly, not even bothering tob his hair or brush his teeth.


    "Meng zhuo, are you there?" Zhao Huasheng called out into the empty room.


    "I am here." Meng zhuo emerged from the balcony, expressionless and still impably dressed.


    Zhao Huasheng was used to Meng zhuo''s sudden appearances by now. No matter when he called for Meng zhuo, thetter would appear in perfect order, with no emotion on his face.


    "Start the car. Take me to the institute. I need to find something." Zhao Huasheng said.

 Chapter 8: Solar Environment Simulator

    Chapter 8: Sr Environment Simtor


    At around 7 o''clock in the morning, Zhao Huasheng came to the familiar ster physics institute. He had spent three years here. There were many people and things that Zhao Huasheng was familiar with here, but everything looked strange at the moment.


    Most of the colleagues were here. As the main institution for ster physics research, everyone here carried a heavy responsibility. It was obvious that they had been working from yesterday to today.


    The atmosphere in the institute was somewhat heavy and oppressive. Zhao Huasheng briefly greeted a few people, and then he and Meng Zhuo went to another building.


    The building looked very tall, but it was hollow inside. Arge machine was installed inside, and Zhao Huasheng had used it himself.


    That was a set of equipment built by Li Qi about two years ago, whose main function was to simte the physical operation mechanism inside the sun. Since it was built, many research topics have been broken through.


    However, one of the instruments in this set of equipment is very special. No one except Li Qi has used it, and no data has been obtained from it. At the beginning, the research institute had rumors that Li Qi was doing a big project, and in order to keep it confidential, it was necessary to prohibit others from essing it, and it was not known whether it was true or not.


    But now Zhao Huasheng is going to verify this question. Zhao Huasheng wants to know what Li Qi has been busy with in the past period of time. Perhaps this matter has something to do with the obscure words left by Zhao Huasheng.


    There were still many peopleing and going here, and everyone seemed extremely busy. Zhao Huasheng knew that at this moment, a lot data were being generated, and then tangled, analyzed in the minds of these researchers. They were trying their best to find something out of these data.


    If it weren''t for Li Qi''s legacy, Zhao Huasheng would probably be busy here at this moment, trying to figure out what happened on the sun.


    With some thoughts in his heart, Zhao Huasheng came to the door of Li Qi''s office. As expected, guards from the department stopped Zhao Huasheng and told him that the ce was sealed and entry was not allowed for the time being.


    Meng Zhuo took something out that looked like a document and showed it. After exchanging nces with each other, the guards silently stepped aside.


    Zhao Huasheng walked into the office and realized that it was more like an operating room than an office. In the middle of the room was aputer, and above it was arge screen mounted on the wall. The screen showed a muchrger hall, with many instruments and wires crisscrossing the hall. In the center of the hall was a mechanical device whose name Zhao Huasheng could not recall.


    At the center of the device was a thick pir, on which was mounted a round machine that looked like a tire. The pir went right through the center of the tire-like ring.


    Some researchers Zhao Huasheng did not recognize were busy in the hall on the screen and in the room here. After the people had been busy for a while and reported something, everyone left the hall. Then a strange air fluctuation appeared in the hall, which could even be seen with the naked eye. Zhao Huasheng knew it was the vacuum cleaner working, and the fluctuation was caused by the rapid flow of air disturbing the light.


    Zhao Huasheng felt a little puzzled as to why they were vacuuming the hall. But Zhao Huasheng kept quiet and just watched. Meng Zhuo stood beside him without saying a word. Nobody in the room paid any attention to them, as if they didn''t exist.


    After the vacuum had been running for a while, it stopped. Another researcher checked the air readings in the hall and then typed something on theputer in the room. Zhao Huasheng saw the ring mounted on the pole start to rotate on the screen. Its speed kept increasing until it was almost too fast to see with the naked eye.


    "The speed of this must be faster than that of a helicopter rotor, right?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    Meng Zhuo replied faintly, "A helicopter rotor usually rotates at around 600 revolutions per minute, while this machine is at least spinning at 1000 revolutions per second."


    Zhao Huasheng was somewhat shocked when he heard, "One thousand revolutions per second!" Even though he was not too familiar with material science, Zhao Huasheng knew that under such a high rotation speed, the ring-shaped structure had to bear an enormous centrifugal force. What kind of toughness would be required for the material to withstand such a huge centrifugal force and yet remain intact?


    "What topic is Li Qi working on with such a machine?" Zhao Huasheng had another question in his mind.


    As the huge ring started to rotate rapidly, a change appeared on the huge screen in the operating room. A new picture appeared on the screen that shoked Zhao Huasheng with just a nce.


    Zhao Huasheng was very familiar with the picture. During the past three years of work, he had seen it countless times.


    The picture disyed shows something that looks likeva, and just one look is enough to feel the tremendous heat it carries. The picture is undoubtedly dimmed, so it looks like a yellowish color with a dark red hue, and something that looks like gas rises from it. At some times, what seems to be gas forms a circr shape in midair, and then it is torn apart by a force that seems to be air currents, and the cycle keeps going.


    This is clearly a picture of the surface of the sun! But why is it here now?


    "The real-time rotation speed is 1,135 rpm, the real-time temperature is 5,867 degrees Celsius," the researcher operating theputer said as he took a puff of his cigarette and looked at Zhao Huasheng.


    Zhao Huasheng now understood what was going on, so he nodded to the scientist.


    "working on with such a machine?" Zhao Huasheng had another question in his mind.


    "Zhao Huasheng...I know about your situation," the scientist said. "I''m a member of the research division of the Crisis Coordination Centre; my name is Wang Tang, and I was borrowed by the psychology team specifically studying Li Qi to help them figure some things out."


    "So have you figured it out?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "We have figured it out," Wang Tang gestured towards the huge rapidly spinning ring on the screen and the photo of the sun''s surface in the lower right corner of the screen, "it''s these."


    "Li Qi has been studying this for the past period of time? But how does simting the environment on the surface of the sun and...Li Qi''sst words have anything to do with each other?"


    This peculiar instrument is designed to simte the environment on the surface of the sun. Through its extremely high rotational speed, a centrifugal force is generated inside the instrument, creating a gravity that isparable to that on the surface of the sun. This is thenbined with an external electromaic heating system and a maic field simtor to simte the temperature and maic field of the sun''s surface. With adjustments to gravity, temperature, and the maic field, plus some other adjustments to the instrument, a realism of at least 95% can be achieved.


    Without a doubt, this instrument has immense utility. With this instrument, scientists can measure the properties of materials on a surface that is simr to the real sun, simte sr activity, and even study the internal structure of the sun. Its use is indeed great. Before his death, Li Qi operated this instrument alone for more than a year. It can be said that all of Li Qi''s energy before his death was devoted to this instrument. But... what does this have to do with Li Qi''sst words?


    Wang Tang shook his head and said, "I don''t know. This is a question for the psychology team to study. I''m only responsible for telling them what the instrument is used for and what the data it produces means to a ster physicist."


    Zhao Huasheng was silent. After a while, Zhao Huasheng asked, "Can I get a copy of your assessment results?"


    Wang Tang replied firmly, "Yes. I have received notice to give you the fullest support within my power. If you need me to help you with your research on the physical environment of the sun''s surface, I can report to you immediately."


    "No, no need," Zhao Huasheng shook his head. "I just want to know what Li Qi is doing and why he is doing it..."


    "We all want to know," Wang Tang said, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Young man, the fate of mankind is at least partially in your hands. Your work is important."


    Zhao Huasheng forced a smile. This was not a feeling he enjoyed. Everyone knew Zhao Huasheng was important, and Zhao Huasheng knew he was important, but what was the importance of it all? What was the key to unlocking all the mysteries?


    Turning to theputer disy behind Wang Tang, Zhao Huasheng looked at the numbers jumping around on the screen. He was familiar with these numbers, which measured some physical quantity on the surface of the sun.


    After ncing for a moment, Zhao Huasheng found something strange. So Zhao Huasheng pointed to one of the data and asked, "High-precision light intensity detector? ...... Why is the precision so high? Is it necessary to have such a high precision?"


    "It''s not necessary," Wang Tang said directly, "but this is what Li Qi asked to be installed at the beginning. As for why, we don''t know either."

 Chapter 9: 200 Bytes of Knowledge

    Chapter 9: 200 Bytes of Knowledge


    A light intensity detector is an instrument used to detect the intensity of light. It is not unusual to install a light intensity detector on a device that simtes the surface environment of the sun. After all, the luminosity of the sun''s surface is very strong, and the change of luminosity also means the change of some physical processes, so the existence of a light intensity detector is quite necessary.


    But it is a bit strange to have a light intensity detector with such high uracy. Zhao Huasheng looked at the parameters in the instrument and calcted in his heart to draw a conclusion.


    The conclusion is that this light intensity detector can detect the change of sunlight even the equivalent of a candle''s luminosity. That is to say, even if the luminosity of the sun decreases to the equivalent of a candle, this instrument can detect it.


    What concept is this? Even on Earth which is 15 million kilometers away from the sun, the sun''s rays are too bright to look directly at. How intense is the sunlight on the surface of the sun? And how advanced is the instrument that can detect even the light of a single candle inparison to the terrifying intensity of the sunlight? It''s unimaginable. What Zhao Huasheng couldn''t understand was what Li Qi was doing by installing such a powerful instrument here.


    "Don''t ask me, I don''t know anything. Maybe the psychology research team can tell you what Li Qi is trying to do." Seeing Zhao Huasheng''s confusion, Wang Tang spoke first.


    Zhao Huasheng asked, "Maybe...the intensity of the sun''s radiation and the luminosity changes on the surface of the sun are rted? Li Qi noticed this by measuring the slight luminosity changes on the surface of the sun before any of us knew about the sr crisis? What kind of physical mechanism is behind this, and what does the luminosity change mean? Is anyone in the research department doing research in this area?"


    "I have already reported the relevant situation, and someone will soon take over the relevant research and evaluate what the small changes in the luminosity of the sun before the sr crisis may mean in terms of physics. After all, such a high-precision optical detector implies many things," Wang Tang said, "But...don''t have too much hope."


    Wang Tang took a drag of his cigarette and said, "This instrument only simtes the environment of the sun''s surface, it doesn''t provide a real environment of the sun. Therefore, the data obtained here is of limited use." He then added, "I don''t think it will help the study of the sun in the physical world, its only purpose is to help you solve the mystery of Li Qi."


    "I understand," Zhao Huasheng said, "ording to the current information, we know that Li Qi knew about the sr crisis at least a year ago, and at the same time, he started to pay attention to the weak luminosity changes on the sun''s surface. So we have reason to believe that there is some connection between the two. I will think about it carefully."


    "Good." Wang Tang stood up, flicking away the cigarette butt in his hand before patting Zhao Huasheng''s shoulder, "Young man, do your best. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."


    As he said this, Wang Tang walked towards the door to leave. After his figure disappeared, his words still drifted back: "The materials you need will be faxed to youter; the person beside you has my contact information."


    Meng Zuo said indifferently: "I have the contact information of anyone in the world. As long as you need it, I can provide it to you at any time."


    Meng Zuo''s position seemed very high, and his ability could be described as omnipotent. Allowing Meng Zuo to follow him around 24 hours a day... Zhao Huasheng was reminded of the importance the old man ced on him.


    "I hope I won''t let them down." Zhao Huasheng sighed secretly and then turned around: "Let''s go, let''s go back."


    On his trip to the Ster Physics Institute, Zhao Huasheng didn''t gain anything other than more questions. But questions can be a good thing, as it provides the opportunity to answer them and make progress instead of beingpletely in the dark about how to start.


    Later on, the information Zhao Huasheng needed was sent over through theputer.


    The first batch of information didn''t contain anything of particr interest to Zhao Huasheng. It was mainly research materials regarding the environment on the surface of the sun, which may be useful in the field of research but were of no use to Zhao Huasheng.


    It was the second batch of information that caught Zhao Huasheng''s attention.


    "We checked all kinds of electronic devices that Li Qi had used before, including theputer, mobile phone, variouswork devices, storage devices etc. It was found that there was basically no information left in these things. It is obvious that Li Qi had thoroughly cleaned these things before he died, which led to our inability to restore the data from them. But perhaps due to Li Qi''s negligence, or perhaps due to our luck, through our investigation, we found a damaged hard disk that Li Qi had used in a garbage recycling center."


    "This hard disk was severely physically damaged, and under normal circumstances, we still couldn''t restore the data from it. But the researchers at the Institute of Computing Science thought they could try. So we gave them the hard disk, and they worked continuously for two days and two nights before finally restoring about 200 bytes of data."


    The symbol for a byte is Byte, 1KB is equal to 1024Bytes, 1M is equal to 1024KB and 1G is equal to 1024M. Two hundred bytes of data are roughly the same size as a text document with no more than five hundred words.


    And this hard disk is a one thousand G high-speed hard disk. It may have stored a lot of data that is important for the whole human world and the whole earth, but those important data have been damaged, and the only data that has been restored is no more than five hundred words.


    "From the surface meaning, it seems to be a conversation record between Li Qi and someone, but we can not know who that person is, nor do we know what the specific connotation of this record is, nor do we know if these records are helpful for your work. The restored data is as follows."


    "The primary mission of life is survival. The essence of survival is to continuously obtain energy from the outside world to maintain its own operation. When it is inevitable to perish, life tends to preserve its own information, specifically, by reproducing its own genes.


    I agree with thetter part of your statement about the definition of reproduction, but I don''t agree with the first part.


    Why?


    The primary task of life is survival, but the essence of survival is not to obtain energy from the outside world to sustain itself, but to expel its own energy to the outside world to sustain itself.


    Why is that?


    Because life itself has a very high energy intensity."


    And that''s where the sentence ends. Maybe there was more to it, but that content disappeared from this world along with the damaged hard drive.


    Besides this record, another one was restored that was significantly shorter and even more puzzling.


    "Can youe out?"


    "No, it''s too cold outside."


    "What would happen if it''s too cold?"


    "I will freeze to death."


    These two records were all that was left. After reading them, Zhao Huasheng put down the materials in his hand and went to the window again. He opened the window, allowing the cool summer breeze to caress his body while he watched the people hurrying under the building, entering deep thought once again.


    Does the living body itself have a very high energy intensity? Zhao Huasheng murmured to himself, "Compared to this, it can be said that the energy intensity of the living body is indeed high, but can it be used to release energy to maintain its existence? Humans, including other animals, are constantly losing their own energy, but does this have anything to do with the essence of survival?"


    "Is there a necessary cause and effect rtionship between the cold outside and "holding on" to survive? Who was Li Qi talking to? What kind of role did the mysterious person who was talking to Li Qi y in this incident?"


    Zhao Huasheng felt that he seemed to be caught in a certain logical trap. Every strange thing he encountered since he took over this matter was so strange, and there seemed to be some hidden connection between these strange things. But Zhao Huasheng could never figure out what the connection between these strange events was.


    Zhao Huasheng knew he was missing a key, missing a crucial point. As long as he could figure out this key point, all things would be connected and all doubts would be resolved. Through Li Qi leaving him the only relic, this key must only be in his possession. But what is it, and what could it be?


    The white paper was left specifically for him? And the conversation they had while drinking together?


    What was the connection between them?


    No matter how he tried to figure it out, Zhao Huasheng couldnt. His gaze towards the window started to be scattered, and his hands gripping the railing started to form blue veins. Even his body started to tremble.


    At this moment, Zhao Huasheng was even somewhat resentful of Li Qi, resenting why he had to take on all the doubts and questions by himself, why he couldn''t just speak it out clearly instead of putting in so much effort to solve the puzzle. If he could solve it, then it would be fine, but he still had no clues.


    Zhao Huasheng suppressed the rage in his heart and calmed down after a while. He didn''t know when the sky became dark again and the weather got colder.


    Zhao Huasheng sighed and closed the window as he walked out of the room and asked the empty living room: "I''m going downstairs for dinner, are youing?"


    Meng Zhuo walked out from the balcony again: "Yes."

 Chapter 10: Equatorial Engineering

    Chapter 10: Equatorial Engineering


    Zhao Huasheng is a single man and Meng Zhuo does not look like someone who can cook. The two of them went downstairs and sat in the small restaurant they often visited.


    Zhao Huasheng was very familiar with this small restaurant. In the past, Zhao Huasheng did not know how many times he hade here.


    The owner of this restaurant was an old man in his sixties. He was in charge of the kitchen, and his old partner was responsible for the service and cashier work. The old man had good skills, and the food was clean enough, so the business of this small restaurant was always good. However, today, for some reason, the business of this restaurant was much worse. Even now, it was dinner time, but there were no customers in the restaurant.


    Due to theck of business, the old man also came out of the kitchen and sat at another table, intently watching the old-fashioned television fixed to the wall. The television was broadcasting news. The neatly dressed host was reporting a news story without any emotion: "The Equator Project has officially started today. More than two million soldiers have been deployed to various parts of the equator, and they will be responsible for the initial construction and subsequent maintenance of the Equator Project. The government has begun to formte preferential policies, and arge number of construction personnel are gathering around the equator. It is expected that the number of people participating in the construction will exceed 300 million. As a supporting project, there will be more than one billion people in catering, culture, entertainment, and service in the following projects. The sess or failure of the Equator Project is rted to the future of human civilization, and we have enough reason to invest the greatest energy and the most resources in the Equator Project."


    "It can be foreseen that, due to the Equator Project, the areas around the equator will quickly be the economic, cultural, political and entertainment center of the whole in the near future."


    We have connected to the overallmander of the equatorial project construction, Mr. Sun Hui, the Minister of Construction of the Human Alliance. Next, he will give us a brief introduction on the progress and future ns of the equatorial project.


    "Hello everyone, I''m Sun Hui... We humans won''t be limited to this small Earth forever, and due to its unique geographical position, the equator will inevitably be the gateway to our human journey into space... All of the resources of our human civilization will be tilted towards the equatorial project, so far there are 26 dedicated freight railway channels, 195 air transport channels, and more than 36 maritime channels opened, countless materials are converging towards the equator at any moment... In the first phase of the project, we will build more than 5,000 livingmunities and corresponding living facilities, With amunity of 20,000 people, the first phase of the project will be able to provide living space for 100 million people. At the same time,rge-scalend remation is in progress, andrge-scale raw material factories, processing factories, energy, electricity, food, light industry, and other factories are also under construction."


    This is a massive construction project that will affect our civilization''s future. If you are willing to contribute to our civilization, find your own value, and expect to get rich rewards in return for yourbor, pleasee to the Equator. The Equator project has just started and arge number of personnel are gathering here. No matter what kind of skills you have, whether you are a worker, a farmer, or a businessman, you can find opportunities for yourself here. Even if you can''t find a job temporarily, it doesn''t matter. The personnel department of the Equator project constructionmand will register your information and help you find the right job for free. The social welfare institution will provide you with all the necessities of life before you find a job. As long as you are willing toe here and participate in the construction of the Equator project, all your needs will be guaranteed."


    The camera shifted away from Minister Sun Hui wearing a safety helmet and towards a busy construction site behind him. At this moment, the host also inserted a sentence: "We have just received news from the Transportation Department of the Alliance Government. No matter what your upation or age is, if you are willing to go to the Equator to participate in the Equator Project, the Transportation Department will provide you with free tickets and take care of all your needs on the way. At the same time, we have also received news from the Alliance Government Office that the Alliance Government is preparing for the specific matters of the transfer to the Equator and is expected tounch the transfer action within a month. After this, the capital of our human civilization will no longer be Hope City but the newly built Equator City."


    Zhao Huasheng said, "The government is acting quickly. What is the guise they are using? What is the face of the Equator Project being marketed?"


    Meng Zhuo said, "Space elevators, as well as the construction of a giant space city. Because the equator is closest to the Earth''s fastest rotational speed,unching spacecraft from there is the most convenient and fuel-efficient."


    Zhao Huasheng thoughtfully said, "This reasoning has many ws and is far from enough to exin the massive undertaking. Human civilization was developing steadily, and people had gotten used to their lives as they were. Now, with the reason of developing space technology and marching towards the stars to change all this, to change the habits of the entire human race... isn''t this reasoning too weak? How long can it support? How long can it conceal the truth?"


    Meng Zhuo nced at Zhao Huasheng, still maintaining a faint tone: "Do we need this reason to sustain for so long? Do we need to hide it for so long? Don''t forget that ording to the current rate of decrease in sr radiation, in just two months, areas above 50 degrees north and southtitude will no longer be suitable for human survival."


    "This reason has many loopholes and is far from sufficient to exin the grand scale of this project," he admitted. Human civilization was originally developing in an orderly manner, and people had already be ustomed to the current lifestyle. Now, however, the reason for developing space technology and marching into the starry sky to change everything and change the lifestyle of the entire human race is too weak? How long can it support? How long can the truth be hidden?"


    "Moreover...construction is real. We do indeed need to construct countless residential areas, energy nts, power nts, steel nts, food factories, etc. We also have countless pieces of infrastructure to build, and it is impossible for the unprecedentedly huge construction project to be aplished solely by the government. We can only have a chance of sess by mobilizing the power of the whole society and civilization."


    "The government doesn''t really care how wed the "Equator Project" reasoning is, nor does it matter if someone punctures it. As long as the reasoning can bring enough people to the Equator, that''s all that matters. That''s the truth. It doesn''t matter what reason is used to deceive people to the Equator Project, the most important thing is to get them here. The government is just an organizer, not an executor. The government is responsible for organizing people building houses for their own residence, power nts for themselves, infrastructure for themselves... Everything built by the people is for themselves."


    There are more than seven billion people in the human civilization, and no more than one billion living on the equator. That means our government needs to relocate six billion people... Zhao Huasheng suddenly felt a sense of helplessness. Six billion is a number that can be quite daunting.


    Zhao Huasheng could almost imagine the scene. Trainloads of supplies running day and night along the railway, cargo nes shuttling back and forth in the sky, immense ocean liners going back and forth on the sea surface...all of this, was to transfer as much of the wealth and poption of human society as possible towards the equator, since the chances of survival here were the greatest.


    Time is too tight and the task is too heavy; there is no other way to do this except to mobilize all the strength of mankind.


    "What happened to the world? It seems like everything suddenly changed." The old man next to him muttered to himself, "This is too crazy."


    "Old man, are you not going to the equator?" Zhao Huasheng asked, "Everyone is going to the equatorial project, and there aren''t many customers at your restaurant."


    "No, I''m too old to move. I''ll stay here." The old man shook his head and said, "There are no customers, so we n to close the restaurant and go back home to retire."


    "Grandpa, you should still go. The government will provide all the expenses on the way, and with your skills, you can open a restaurant there and the business will certainly be booming."


    "No, no." The old man said, "I don''t have many years left anyway, so I''m just staying here."


    Zhao Huasheng felt a lump in his throat. He wanted to tell him the truth, but he couldn''t bring himself to say it.


    Zhao Huasheng knew that as long as there is an excuse, even if it is full of loopholes, human society can maintain basic order and rules. If there is no excuse, the truth will be revealed, and who knows how much chaos and turmoil it will cause, how much impact it will have on the Equator Project, and how many people will die.


    "Let''s go." Zhao Huasheng put down the bowl and chopsticks and walked out of the small restaurant with Meng Zhuo.


    "What about those who don''t want to go to the Equator?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    Meng Zhu was silent for a moment, then said: "The government can only consider the situation from an overall perspective, and can only choose to save more people... The government has done its best. Maybe... After the overall situation is determined and most of the poption has sessfully migrated to the equator, the government will choose to reveal the truth and make onest effort to save them."


    Zhao Huasheng said dejectedly, "Yes, it should be like this, the government has done its best..."


    It was already dark. Zhao Huasheng looked up at the night sky. In that night sky, the moon was dim, and Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars were all dim.


    The intensity of the sun has decreased, so the brightness of the stars visible to the earth''s humans by reflection of the sun''s light naturally decreases as well.


    "Right," said Meng zhuo. "I just got a message from the Crisis Coordination and Research Department at the Center - just now, the brightness of Mars has decreased too. The decrease in brightness is consistent with the decrease in sr radiation levels."

 Chapter 11: The City of Life

    Chapter 11: The City of Life


    Zhao Huasheng''s body trembled slightly.


    Before Mars, the brightness did not weaken. This also means that the radiation level on the other side of the sun did not weaken either. But now Mars has also dimmed...


    Meng zhuo''s words still echoed in Zhao Huasheng''s mind: "But the Science Department still decided to let the Thunder Rain Mercury Probe go to the other side of the sun. The other side of the sun has been weakened for a short time. They hope to find some clues there."


    "Okay. The entire sun is wrapped up." Zhao Huasheng sighed, "What is the situation of the sun today?"


    Meng Zhuo shook his head. "No improvement. The level of sr radiation is still decreasing."


    Zhao Huasheng anxiously asked, as if he couldn''t catch his breath, "What if the level of sr radiation continues to decrease, even to the point where even the equator is too cold to be suitable for human life? What about our civilization? What can we do?"


    Meng Zhuo nced at Zhao Huasheng, "The Equator Project is a public project, while the government is secretly sponsoring the ''City of Life'' program. The City of Life program will construct arge,pletely closed city in a geologically stable area, in order to prevent drastic decreases in sr radiation and extreme low temperatures and various severe weather. Even if the sunpletely extinguishes and the Earth''s atmosphere turns into solid matter falling to the ground, the City of Life does not have to worry about being harmed by various harmful rays and asteroids in the universe, as well as the vacuum and low temperature environment, because of its thick shell and defensive system."


    "How many people can the City of Life amodate?"


    "It will not exceed two million people. The Research Department has already made an assessment. Due to the extreme difficulty of energy acquisition on Earth after the end of the world, if the poption exceeds two million, then even if we store as much energy and food as possible, it will notst for more than ten years. And ten years is the lowest expectation time for the breakthrough of controble nuclear fusion technology."


    "What about the rest of the people? That''s almost seven billion people..." Zhao Huasheng muttered. In fact, Zhao Huasheng already had an answer in his heart, but this answer was too cruel, and Zhao Huasheng even dared not to think about it.


    But the answer that Zhao Huasheng did not dare to think of was lightly and skillfully spoken from Meng zhuo''s mouth. Meng zhuo''s tone did not change at all, and he said it calmly, as if he were saying "I had a bowl of noodles today".


    "Death." Meng Zhuo uttered this word faintly, "We have no choice."


    "Tell me, who, who can qualify to enter the City of Life..." Zhao Huasheng asked tremblingly.


    "The elites of human society." Meng Zhuo''s tone remained t, "Only the elites can pass on human civilization. They can be sessful businessmentheir sess already reflects their excellence; or they can be high-ranking politicians...don''t deny it, without leaders, human society willpletely copse, as well as scientists, engineers, researchers in various fields of human knowledge, and outstanding artists, such as musicians, painters, singers, calligraphers, etc. They will be the main force in the inheritance of human science and culture. In short, only the most outstanding can get the pass to the City of Life. Of course, among these outstanding people are you and me. Even without your current special identity, with your knowledge as a ster physicist, you have the qualifications to enter the City of Life."


    In addition to this, there will also be various creatures on Earth, chickens, ducks, geese, tigers, leopards, various nt seeds are included here. After all, if one day in the future the sun returns to normal and allows humans to return to the outside, if there are no animals and nts, human survival will be very difficult... There will also be various works of art in human culture, various treasures, etc., which will be preserved in the city of life. The crisis center has sent forces to begin to preliminarily determine the selection of candidates and collect various animal specimens and art treasures. After all... If we wait until it is determined that the equator is no longer suitable for human survival before doing this work, time will be toote...


    "Of course... This is only the worst-case response n. Personally, I also hope that the situation will improve and that all the work they do is useless." Meng Zhuo said calmly.


    Zhao Huasheng''s body was trembling uncontrobly.


    You guys have thought it through thoroughly and considered everything...you''ve thought of preserving art and animal specimens, but you have neglected our kind, our seventy billion kind! Zhao Huasheng roared out this sentence with a red light in his eyes, like a wild beast.


    But Meng Zhuo still kept hisposure, seemingly unaware of Zhao Huasheng''s change in emotion. Meng Zhuo nced at Zhao Huasheng again: "I''ve said it before; you don''t have a choice. You must make this kind of selection. You should take the view from the whole picture rather than focus on one individual. I ask you, if the situation is the worst and the city of life can only amodate two million people, who would you choose to get the qualification to enter the city of life?"


    "You choose ordinary people? But even if two million of them are ordinary people, there are still around seventy billion people without the qualification for survival. Since it''s a matter of choosing, why not choose the outstanding ones, the outstanding ones who can better pass on human civilization?"


    Zhao Huasheng wanted to refute, but he didn''t know what to say. Menzhuo''s words seemed very reasonable..., why not choose the outstanding ones? From the perspective of maximizing benefits, it is indeed the most sensible approach to choose the outstanding ones to enter the City of Life. For the whole of mankind, the benefits that the outstanding ones can gain by surviving are undoubtedly much higher tthan those ofordinary people.


    Meng zhuo said, "In addition, in the nning of the City of Life, only one million ces are for the outstanding, and the remaining one million ces are for ordinary people. In the great migration towards the equator, each person will be taken some blood by the gene bank under the Research Department to analyze the genes. These gene data will be summarized in the database and will undergo further gene screening. Those with disease-causing genes will be eliminated, those with weak genes will be eliminated; and those with excellent genes will be selected. In the next step, further screening will be carried out among these ordinary people with excellent survival genes; those with certain skills and in the prime of their lives will enter the next round of selection quota, and then finallybined with the total poption structure ratio, gender ratio, and other data for thest round of screening. One million ordinary people will eventually be selected."


    "So, apart from the two million people who entered the City of Life, the remaining seven billion people can only choose to die in the low temperature and cold, right...?" Zhao Huasheng murmured.


    "That''s right," Meng Zhuo nodded.


    Zhao Huasheng took a deep breath, then turned his head and cast his gaze to the already somewhat deserted streets. The progress of the Equator Project had almost an immediate effect, causing this once bustling city to suddenly be deste. But even so, there were still some people on the street.


    Zhao Huasheng saw a couple walking hand in hand. Although it was a summer night, due to the cold weather, both of them had already put on long pants and long coats. After walking for a while, the man in the couple leaned in and whispered a few words to the girl''s ear, then took off his robe and gently draped it over the girl''s body.


    Under the man''s robe was a simple tank top. Under the tank top was his obviously strong muscles. The girl stopped and looked at the man''s chest, her eyes full of tenderness. She looked at the man''s chest as if she saw the whole world and saw reliance.


    The girl turned around and hugged the man tightly, and the man also hugged the girl. The two of them snuggled together, as if no power in the world could separate them.


    Zhao Huasheng knew what kind of force could separate them. If, in gic screening, the man was selected while the girl was eliminated, or the girl was selected while the man was eliminated, or both were eliminated...


    Zhao Huasheng felt something stirring in his heart. He suddenly could not bear to watch the couple anymore.


    "They probably don''t know their situation yet...if the radiation level doesn''t improve, if the Life City n is really implemented, then what kind of cruel future awaits them?"


    "If things get to the worst...how many more people like this couple will be trapped in such a tragic situation in this world? Among them, there might be married couples, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, friends, lovers..."


    "Actually, in a way, their fate is in your hands," Meng Zhuo seemed to have seen through what Zhao Huasheng was thinking and his words drifted into Zhao Huasheng''s ears when Zhao Huasheng was in turmoil.


    "In my hands?" Zhao Huasheng murmured.


    "Yes," Meng Zhuo said. "If Li Qi really knew how to solve the problem and you really cracked the puzzle he left behind, then... nobody here has to face the harshest of choices. Lovers, spouses, fathers and sons, siblings, friends... nobody has to be separated and nobody has to die."


    "I understand, let''s go, let''s go back," Zhao Huasheng nodded then turned and walked away. Meng Zhuo followed behind Zhao Huasheng and with his keen eyesight, he could clearly see white streaks mixed in Zhao Huasheng''s ck hair. And Meng Zhuo remembered clearly that these white streaks were not there yesterday.

 Chapter 12: Memories of the Past

    Chapter 12: Memories of the Past


    Another sleepless night weed Zhao Huasheng. Listening to the cold night wind tapping on the windows and embracing the dim moonlight, Zhao Huasheng tossed and turned on the bed and couldn''t fall asleep.


    Although Zhao Huasheng has been without sleep for more than forty hours now, he still doesn''t feel a bit of fatigue. An inexplicable force is supporting Zhao Huasheng''s spirit and body, allowing them to maintain ample vitality in the quiet night.


    It gradually became morning. Zhao Huasheng''s face became more haggard, and his hair was even more disheveled, like a chicken''s nest. Zhao Huasheng felt a little hungry, and then suddenly remembered that there were a few bags of milk in the refrigerator. So Zhao Huasheng put on some clothes and crawled out of bed. The sudden dizziness made Zhao Huasheng frown slightly, and his body was a bit shaky when he stood up. So Zhao Huasheng leaned against the bed, steadied himself, and then wobbled out of the bedroom.


    Just as Zhao Huasheng had taken out a bag of milk and was about to drink it, he heard a knock at the door.


    Zhao Huasheng was a single man and usually had few friends, so apart from the water collector and delivery person, no one usually came to his ce. But it was still early in the morning and obviously not the time for the water collector. Zhao Huasheng had not ordered any delivery either.


    Without thinking much, Zhao Huasheng walked to the door and opened it, only to see a young woman of about 1.7 meters tall, slender figure, with shoulder length hair, and wearing ck sses.


    It took Zhao Huasheng a moment to remember that this was Li Wei. In the meeting, he had a brief conversation with Li Wei.


    "Just woke up?" Li Wei raised her arm and gestured to Zhao Huasheng with the breakfast in her hand: "I remembered something about my brother, so I came to visit you. I guess you haven''t had breakfast yet, so I brought you breakfast."


    "Oh, thank you," Zhao Huasheng said. "Pleasee in."


    Zhao Huasheng turned around and wanted to take Li Wei into the room, but as soon as he turned around, an irresistible dizziness rushed over Zhao Huasheng. The world turned ck in the blink of an eye, and it seemed that many lights were flowing in Zhao Huasheng''s mind, and in a moment, the world turned upside down. Zhao Huasheng fell heavily to the ground. Before losing consciousness, Zhao Huasheng vaguely heard a scream from Li Wei.


    Looking at the fallen Zhao Huasheng, Li Wei was at a loss with the breakfast in her hands. Just put down the breakfast box, want to help Zhao Huasheng up, just see from the balcony walked out a neatly dressed ck suit, short hair, expression resolute indifferent middle-aged man, is Meng Zhuo.


    Meng Zhuo walked up to Zhao Huasheng and pressed a finger on the carotid artery in his neck, feeling it for a moment before lifting his eyelids to look at her. He then stood up and said, "He''s fine. He just fainted from overwork."


    "O-overwork?" Li Wei stammered, "What should I do? Should I call an ambnce?"


    Meng Zhuo gave Li Wei a nce and she immediately stood still. He reached into his pocket and took out an object resembling a cell phone. After pressing a few buttons, five young men in military uniforms burst into Zhao Huasheng''s room. Without exchanging any words, they took out a stretcher and swiftly ced Zhao Huasheng onto it. They left the room in less than thirty seconds.


    Mengzhu asked, "I heard you say...you have something to tell about your brother? Do you want to go see him with me?"


    Li Wei nodded unconsciously.


    "Let''s go," Mengzhu said, turning around and walking away. Li Wei quickly followed behind Mengzhu.


    In his dream, Zhao Huasheng had many strange dreams. When he woke up, Zhao Huasheng almostpletely forgot the dream, only remembering that he had experienced many things in the dream, as if...he had also slept for a long time.


    What Zhao Huasheng saw when he opened his eyes was a white ceiling, and an infusion bottle hanging from the support bar next to him. A soft tube extended from the infusion bottle and continuously injected the transparent liquid into his body, and there was a strong smell of disinfectant in the air.


    When Zhao HuaSheng turned his head, he saw Meng Zhuo standing motionless by the window of the sickroom, like a mountain. Li Wei was sitting beside him, peeling an apple. Seeing Zhao HuaSheng wake up, Li Wei smiled at him and said, "Lie down here first and I''ll go call the doctor." The doctor came shortly afterwards and gave Zhao HuaSheng a brief examination, saying, "There''s nothing wrong with you. You just fainted from overwork and low blood sugar. Just rest and have something to eat and you''ll be fine." Li Wei stood up and said to the doctor, "Thank you, thank you very much." The doctor left and Meng Zhuo still looked out the window. Li Wei sat back down beside Zhao HuaSheng.


    "You said you have something to tell me about your brother?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Yes," Li Wei nodded, "I remembered after a while that my brother asked me to make a high-precision light intensity detector for him about a year ago...you know, I work in the optics institute. The uracy he required was very high, this type of instrument is usually used in the biological and medical industry, I''m not too familiar with ster physics, but I don''t think ster physics would need such a thing. I remember I asked him what he wanted it for, but he didn''t tell me."


    When Zhao Huasheng heard Li Wei mention the high-precision light intensity detector, a ripple of anticipation rose in his heart, but when Li Wei said she didn''t know what Li Qi wanted it for, he felt a little disappointed.


    "Oh." Zhao Huasheng said, "I understand now."


    "You know?" Li Wei was slightly surprised, but she didn''t ask and continued, "Besides this, there''s one more thing. I don''t know what would be useful to you, so I thought I''d just tell you all of it."


    "Please speak." Zhao Huasheng nodded.


    "My brother has been single; this is something you know. We are both orphans, we have relied on each other since we were young. In order to take care of me, he is already almost forty years old but still has no girlfriend, so I am also a bit anxious... I really hope my brother can have a happy family, so I have always paid attention to his emotional matters."


    "Mm." Zhao Huasheng said.


    I asked someone to introduce potential partners to my brother, but he showed no interest. However, about a year ago, my brother suddenly stopped returning home and stayed in his studio all day, as if he was doing something. Whenever he met me, he always looked distracted. I felt strange, so I paid attention to this matter. One day, my brother hadn''t returned home for several days in a row, so I took breakfast to his office. The security guard and the others were familiar with me, so they didn''t stop me. When I pushed open the door of his office, I saw him tapping something in front of theputer, and there was a chat window on the screen, like a certain kind of instant messaging tool.


    "Mmhmm," Zhao Huasheng said.


    "After my brother heard the knock on the door, he immediately closed the chat window. He turned around and saw it was me, and immediately scolded me sternly, saying that I should knock on the door before entering in the future. Our rtionship has always been very close, and yet he scolded me for such a thing. I was curious and began to think: could it be that my brother had some rtionship with a woman in secret and was too shy to let me see it?"


    Suddenly, Zhao Huasheng''s mind shed with the conversation record which the researchers from the Institute of Computational Science had restored from Li Qi''s broken hard drive.


    "Who was Li Qi talking to?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "I don''t know," Li Wei shook her head sadly, "At the time, I thought my brother finally had someone he liked and I was happy for him in my heart. But my brother is a very serious and inflexible person, and I was afraid that the person he liked would be scared off by his seriousness, so I wanted to find out who this person was. I went to make contact with her first, to help my brother make progress. So, on ater day, when my brother was taking a break at home, I snuck to his workce, lied to the guard about getting something for my brother, got the key to his office, and opened hisputer..."


    Zhao Huasheng''s breath began to be urgent. Li Qi''sputer may have been hiding a huge secret, a secret that may have been rted to the future of mankind. The scientists of the Institute of Computing Science had spent countless hours trying to restore less than two hundred bytes of data, and now... Li Qi''s sister, Li Wei, had opened it when theputer was intact.


    Zhao Huasheng trembled as he asked, "Tell me, what did you see?"


    Li Wei gave Zhao Huasheng a slightly surprised look, seeming to be puzzled by why Zhao Huasheng was so excited.


    There were many strange scientific programs on theputer, and I didn''t understand them, nor did I pay attention to them. I found the instant messenger I had seen before and opened it, but there was only nk except for the few recent conversations. There was no record of the past.


    "Do you remember what these conversations were about?" Zhao Huasheng asked anxiously.


    "I remember," Li Wei said, nodding."The conversation was very short, only a few dozen words, so I remember it very clearly."

 Chapter 13: Going to the North Pole

    Chapter 13: Going to the North Pole


    "Tell me about them," Zhao Huasheng said forcefully.


    "All right," Li Wei recalled, "the conversation went like this:"<blockquote>


    "Let me go."


    "You want to leave here? Aren''t you afraid of starving?"


    "If you help me, I can make it."


    "Okay, I will help you."</blockquote>


    "That''s all the dialogue recorded."


    The hospital room fell silent again. Zhao Huasheng sank into contemtion with his expression changing constantly. Li Wei looked at Zhao Huasheng with worry, not knowing why these four sentences had such a huge impact on him.


    "Are you...sure? Not one word wrong?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Not wrong," Li Wei nodded confidently. "My memory has always been good. I remembered this incident very well. You know, I originally wanted to see the conversation between my brother and his beloved, but I unexpectedly saw such a bizarre conversation. So I can''t be wrong."


    "Meng Zhuo, send this conversation to the psychology research group," Zhao Huasheng thought for a moment and said to Meng Zhuo. Meng Zhuo nodded and simply replied, "Okay."


    Zhao Huasheng rxed again, staring at the pristine ceiling, sinking back into contemtion.


    Who is the person that Li Qi is talking to? Li Qi''s behavior has changed so much that he is no longer like his former self, and Li Qi obviously has a lot to say but can''t say it, and only hints at something through a white paper... Is there any connection between these things and the mysterious person? Did the mysterious person threaten Li Qi in some way?


    "Let me think about this from the beginning... From the conversation, the mysterious person seems to be no ordinary person, his views on life and the environment are different from those of ordinary people. He seems to be trapped somewhere and can''te out, and if hees out, he will "supposedly die.". But Li Qi has a way to help him adapt to the external environment so that he will not die. So did hee out in the end?"


    "Maybe he has alreadye out, and it is because of his presence that Li Qi''s actions have been hindered... Hmm, right, Li Qi knew about the Sun Crisis before it erupted, what is the connection between him and the mysterious person? Is it because of the mysterious person''s existence that Li Qi knew about the Sun Crisis? Then how did the mysterious person know about it? With human technology, it was impossible to detect this before the Sun Crisis erupted, could it be... that the mysterious person does not belong to the human realm? What is he then? An alien? A ghost? A time traveler?"


    "If it is an alien, is there any connection between it and the object simr to Dyson spheres appearing above the sun? Or maybe these objects were made by them, and this alien is a member of a certain group, who was separated from the main force due to some reasons and thus encountered Li Qi on the earth?"


    Then what were they making those objects simr to Dyson spheres around the sun for? There are so many stars in the universe, why did they focus on the sun?


    This doesn''t make sense. We humans have been trying to search for extraterrestrial civilizations, and after such a long time, nothing has been found. The possibility of the sr system being invaded by aliens recklessly is too small. But, but ...


    Countless pieces of information were tumbling through Zhao Huasheng''s mind, making his brain almost like a pot of porridge. The world Zhao Huasheng sawthe white ceiling, the beakers filled with transparent liquid, Li Wei''s worried face beside him, and Meng Zhuo standing in front of the windowsuddenly distorted before his eyes, and at the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his head. With a cry, everything went dark and he lost consciousness again.


    When Zhao Huasheng woke up again, it was already dark. The milky-white chandelier had been lit, casting Meng Zhuo''s still standing silhouette in front of the window and Li Wei''s concerned face in its light. In front of Zhao Huasheng stood a doctor wearing a whiteb coat.


    "Huasheng," the doctor said, you can''t go on like this. Your head has been thinking too much, and you now have signs of a nervous breakdown. If you keep this up, you may be at risk of developing a mental illness. Li Wei said sadly, "I''m sorry; if I had known you weren''t well, I wouldn''t have told you all this."


    Zhao Huasheng had already woken up, but his head still felt involuntary bursts of pain. It was a weird kind of pain that would disappear if Zhao Huasheng cleared his mind and stayed calm, but as soon as he thought of something, the pain woulde surging back.


    It seemed that the doctor had seen Zhao Hua''s suffering, and said: "This is the body''s stress response. If you continue to think, your brain will be seriously damaged, so in order to avoid harm to you, your brain chooses to use pain to stop you from thinking further."


    "Although I don''t know what kind of responsibility you bear..." The doctor hesitated and continued, "But I can see that your responsibility is very heavy. It is precisely because of the heavy responsibility you bear that you should take better care of your body. If you fall down, then there will be nothing left."


    The doctor then turned to Li Wei: "Are you his loved one?"


    "No, I''m his friend," Li Wei replied.


    The doctor nodded: "Take good care of him in theing days. Don''t let him be exposed to those things. If he rests well, it should be all right in a month''s time."


    "Yes, doctor. Thank you," Li Wei said, standing up to thank him.


    The doctor looked at Zhao Huasheng, sighed, and left the room.


    Li Wei helped tuck Zhao Huasheng in the nket, andforted him softly: "Rest well for a while; don''t think about anything. Don''t worry, it''s all under control. The research department and psychological research team of the Crisis Coordination Center are all paying attention to these matters."


    "But the key is with me, only I can unlock the mystery, and only I can stop the disaster that is about to befall us humans. Li Wei, do you know that they are all the same as us? They have joy and sorrow; they have love and family; they are living people... If the disaster cannot be stopped, they will all die. Our civilization will copse, and the traces we leave on this earth, as well as the stories that have happened, will be gone and no one will ever know." Zhao Huasheng spoke weakly.


    "But now your body..." Li Wei''s worried words were cut off by Meng Zhuo before she could finish.


    "Zhao Huasheng," Meng Zhuo said, "there''s something I need to tell you."


    "Go ahead," Zhao Huasheng replied.


    "After assessment by a team of psychologists, your current mental state is no longer suitable for this kind of high-intensity thinking. The doctor was right; if you continue like this, you may suffer a mental breakdown and be insane."


    Zhao Huasheng gave a bitter smile.


    The psychological experts'' team decided to temporarily suspend your work, and they suggested that you go out for a trip to rx yourself. After you adjust, you can start working again. During this period, unless you ask me proactively, I won''t tell you any information about this event.


    Meng Zhuo said faintly that, although the word "suggestion" was used in the words, this sentence still sounded like amand no matter how it was heard.


    "Well." Zhao Huasheng nodded a little sadly.


    "Where do you want to go?"


    Zhao Huasheng had a distant look in his eyes. After a brief pause, he said, "Let''s go to the North Pole first. I want to see it."


    "Alright. I''ll arrange it," said Meng Zhuo.


    "Can he handle it in his current state?" Li Wei asked urgently.


    "I''ll make sure to bring a professional medical team and the most advanced medical equipment so there won''t be any problems during the trip. You don''t need to worry about that." Meng Zhuo replied calmly, "Are you going with him?"


    Li Wei hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, "No, I won''t go."


    Meng Zhuo said, "You should go. No one in this world understands Li Qi better than you. You should stay with Zhao Huasheng, so he can ask you his questions whenever he has them."


    "Alright," Li Wei said.


    Meng Zhuo nodded, "Go back and prepare now. I will take care of your work matters."


    Li Wei stayed in the hospital untilte into the night and only left after Zhao Huasheng had fallen asleep. Meng Zhuo remained at the window, motionless, as if he were a mountain.


    At the crack of dawn the next day, Meng Zhuo left the hospital with Zhao Huasheng who was still somewhat weak. A car had already been waiting at the hospital entrance. Meng Zhuo and Zhao Huasheng got into the car, and the driver drove off without saying a word. After picking up Li Wei, in just a short while, the group arrived at an empty space where a helicopter was already waiting.


    "Our destination is the Longshan Research Station in the Arctic. But before we reach the station, we will stay in the town of Kewis in the north for five days to rest. We will stay at the station for three days. After three days, we will evacuate the Arctic with the station personnel. Of course, if you have any special requests, I will still arrange personnel to ensure your safety in the Arctic," Meng Zhuo said.


    "Alright," Zhao Huasheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "Evacuate? Are the station personnel going to evacuate the Arctic?" Meng Zhuo said, "Yes, because the Arctic is no longer suitable for humans to stay there. It''s summer in the Arctic Circle now, the season of melting ice and snow. But just yesterday, the staff at Changshan station measured the lowest temperature in history: minus 93 degrees Celsius. The government''s resources are being tilted toward the equatorial project, and the government does not have enough energy to transport too many special survival supplies to support Arctic scientific research. If the scientific research personnel continue to stay there, there may be unexpected injuries."


    "Of course, after the personnel evacuation, robots will rece humans to stay in the Arctic. However, if they are damaged, there is no way."


    Zhao Huasheng, Meng Zhuo and Li Wei took the helicopter together. The helicopter took off with a roar, flew for a while, and thennded in the valley. Here, Zhao Huasheng changed to arge jet and, together with Meng Zhuo, Li Wei, and a medical and security team of about twenty people, flew northward.


    It took more than ten hours for Zhao Huasheng and his team to finally reach their destination. Keweis Town was a world covered in ice and snow, but at this moment Zhao Huasheng had no time to appreciate the scenery. After entering his room, Zhao Huasheng fell asleep without even washing his face.

 Chapter 14: The Freyas Family

    Chapter 14: The Freyas'' Family


    There was no hotel in Cowes Town, so Zhao Huasheng''s group all stayed with the local residents. Zhao Huasheng stayed in the best room in the town. There was an elderly couple, their daughter, and their granddaughter, a seven-year-old adorable girl.


    Perhaps due to the long absence of outsiders in Cowes Town, Zhao Hua''s group was warmly and grandly received. Almost all the townspeople came out to wee the guests, and many people had been busy since the morning. Many delicious wines and delicacies began to gather and then released a tempting aroma in a moment.


    Zhao Huasheng woke up in the morning sunshine. The Arctic was in the middle of the day and the night in Cowes Town was also very short. The sun only went down for less than two hours before it rose again. Zhao Huasheng looked at the time and found that it was already eight o''clock in the morning, so he got up from the bed.


    In this well-insted room, Zhao Huasheng didn''t feel any cold. The fatigue from his long journey also let Zhao Huasheng get a good night''s sleep that he hadn''t had in a while. When he got up in the morning, Zhao Huasheng felt that his spirit had greatly improved.


    Suddenly, voices came from outside the room, a young girl''s voice: "Mom, can I go into Uncle''s room to wake him up?"


    A young woman''s voice also came in: "Freya, Uncle is a patient; he is sleeping; you shouldn''t disturb him."


    "But I want to give Uncle his present quickly." The little girl said


    "Go prepare breakfast first; Uncle will wake up soon."


    At this moment, Zhao Huasheng opened the door of the room and saw Freya and her mother talking. He smiled and greeted them, "Good morning. Freya, good morning."


    "Uncle, you''re awake!" The little girl ran over joyfully, "Uncle, I have a gift for you."


    Freya held something in her hands that looked like a reindeer made of y, but the craftsmanship was a bit poor. Not only was the color wrong, but the shape was also ugly, just like a ck donkey.


    The little girl stood on her toes with hope, holding the thing in her hand and presenting it to Zhao Huasheng. Her mother, the young woman, was a bit embarrassed but still said to Zhao Huasheng, "Mr. Zhao, this is what Freya sacrificed her sleeping time to make. I hope you like it."


    Zhao Huasheng was filled with surprise as he held the thing in his hands and examined it carefully, marveling, "Freya, did you really make this? Is it for me? It''s so beautiful, I love it."


    Finally, a relieved smile appeared on the little girl''s face. Seeing that Zhao Huasheng liked the gift she had made by hand, she seemed even happier than he was.


    "You gave me such a precious gift; I also have a gift for you." Zhao Huasheng patted Freya''s head, then took out a pearl ne from his pocket and put it around her neck.


    "I love it, Uncle. Hug me." Freya opened her arms, and Zhao Huasheng picked her up. Seeing this scene, the elderly couple as well as the young woman allughed together.


    After a brief chat, the group came to the table. Despite it only being breakfast, the meal was quite abundant. Zhao Huasheng''s appetite was aroused by the distinctive dishes, and he kept eating until he could no longer.


    "We are having a wee lunch for our guests at noon today. If Mr. Zhao has time, please join us," said the young woman after the meal.


    Zhao Huasheng nodded, "Thank you for your hospitality, I will definitely attend."


    "Mr. Zhao, are you from far away?" asked the young woman.


    "Yes, very far," Zhao Huasheng said. "I''m from Hope City. It takes several hours by ne to get here."


    "Uncle, where is Hope City?" Freya asked.


    Hope City is south of here... it''s the capital city of our Human Alliance, and it''s home to arge number of people, Zhao Huasheng said as he warmly patted Freya on the head.


    I heard from the town broadcast that our capital is going to be moved to Equator City soon. They said they are doing an Equator Project and almost all the young people in our town have gone there. Now almost all that''s left in the town are the elderly.


    "Why don''t you guys go to Equator City then? You can live well there," Zhao Huasheng asked.


    The young woman shook her head: "Dad and Mom don''t want to go. I want to stay here to apany them. But recently, I don''t know why, the weather has be colder and colder even though it''s still summer. We have to go to very far ces to go fishing."


    "Uncle, do you know why the weather is so cold?" Freya said, "Mom has forbidden me to go out and y."


    Zhao Huasheng felt a pain in his heart but still kept a smile on his face: "Thats because the Sun is taking a rest. When the Sun has rested well, the weather will be warm again."


    "I always feel like something is wrong." The young woman said sadly, "The weather is getting colder and colder, and its getting harder and harder to catch fish. If the weather gets colder, well have to go to the Equator City."


    Hearing the young woman say this, Zhao Huasheng rxed in his heart. "It is getting colder here. The Equator City is very warm, and the government has such good policies so you dont have to worry about living there."


    "Maybe." The woman nodded.


    "Lovitha, we are leaving," an old man''s voice came from outside. Hearing the call, the woman stood up and said to Zhao Huasheng, "Mr. Zhao, we will go out first. If you feel bored at home, you can go to the town center church, where they are preparing lunch and it''s very lively."


    "Where are you going?" Mr. Zhao asked.


    "Oh, we are going to collect the. The we put down yesterday should have some harvest today. When we bring the fish back, we can have a fragrant and delicious grilled fish for lunch." The woman smiled, "Freya, you go to Mrs. Vicky''s first; go and y with little John for a while; we''ll be back soon."


    "Are you going by sled?" Felicia asked.


    "Of course."


    When she heard the word "sled", Freya was immediately excited. The woman hesitated for a moment and finally agreed.


    The woman went back to the room to put on thick clothes and wrapped Freya into a round ball. At this time, the shouts outside came in again. The woman smiled apologetically at Zhao Huasheng and carried Freya out of the house. Zhao Huasheng also followed to the door and saw that there was a sled stopped there, with seven or eight big dogs pulling the sled and panting heavily.


    The old couple were already sitting on the sled. The woman carried Freya and sat on the sled. Freya turned her head hard and waved to Zhao Huasheng: "Uncle, wait for us to bring back fish for you to eat!"


    "Okay, thank you, Freya," Zhao Huasheng nodded and said to the woman, "Be careful in the bad weather."


    "Thank you; you go back to your room and rest first; we will be back soon." The woman waved at Zhao Huasheng, and at the old man''smand, the seven or eight big dogs that were pulling the sleighs immediately started running and pulling the sleighs away.


    Zhao Huasheng returned to his room, dressed in his thick winter clothes, and walked out of the yard. The weather was still cold, but in this small town that seemed like a paradise, there was a festive atmosphere everywhere. Everyone Zhao Huasheng met on the road had a sincere smile and warm words. Zhao Huasheng''s mood gradually improved without knowing it.


    When he reached the door of the church, Zhao Huasheng realized that Meng zhuo and the medical and security team had arrived. At this moment, they were preparing lunch with the vigers. Even Meng zhuo, who was always unsmiling, was helping out.


    When Zhao Huasheng came, Li Wei gave him a slight nod without saying anything. Zhao Huasheng smiled back and then went over and started working.


    It had been two hours of bustling activity. It was almost noon, but the sky had gotten dark without notice. After a while, snow kes started to fall.


    "It''s snowing," an old man sighed, "the weather is really getting strange."


    Zhao Huasheng had a bad premonition in his heart. He stepped forward and said to the old man, "The Freyas'' family went out to collects. In this weather, will something happen to them?"


    "How long have they been gone?" The old man asked.


    "About three hours," Zhao Huasheng said solemnly.


    The old man furrowed his brow and turned to a middle-aged man of about fifty and said, "Yance, go and find out why the Freyas'' family hasn''t returned yet." Yance nodded and left. The old manforted Zhao Huasheng, "Freyas'' grandfather is the best fisherman in our town, he must be fine, don''t worry. It''s cold outside, let''s go to the church to take shelter from the storm."


    Zhao Huasheng entered the church uneasily, but he couldn''t sit still. He went back to the church entrance and noticed that the snow seemed to have gotten heavier and the cold wind had started to blow.


    A feeling of unease began to spread throughout the church. Zhao Huasheng sat anxiously, until he could no longer bear it and came to the old man again, saying: "The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the Freya family has not returned yet. I''m worried that something might happen to them. I think we should set off to look for them."


    The old man meditated for a moment and finally nodded: "Yes, let''s go look for them."

 Chapter 15: Snow Pile

    Chapter 15: Snow Pile


    The old man stood up and shouted to the people behind him, and they gathered around. After giving some orders, the crowd dispersed, and after a while, they came to the church with their sleds or cars.


    "Guests who havee from afar, please wait here for a while. We are going to look for the Freya family and wille back immediately when we find them," said the old man.


    Mengzhu stepped forward and said, "Elder, we are all young and strong, how can we hide behind? We can go with you; just let Huasheng stay here. Huasheng is ill, he cannot endure the cold."


    Zhao Huasheng immediately stepped forward and protested, "No, we''ll go together."


    Meng Zhuo nced at Zhao Huasheng with a faint look, and Zhao Huasheng returned with a determined gaze, so Meng Zhuo nodded.


    Almost all the residents of the town, except for the weak and elderly, poured out. The barking of dogs and the roar of cars formed a jumbled mess. The old man obviously knew the direction the y family was going, so he didn''t hesitate on the road and went straight in one direction.


    The snow became heavier and heavier, and the wind changed from a whimper to a mournful howl. Although Zhao Huasheng was wearing the thickest, warmest clothes he could find, he still felt cold from head to toe. In front of him was a white, icy world, and under the heavy snowfall, he could not even see things twenty meters away.


    Zhao Hua''s worries had grown increasingly heavier, and it seemed the chill had even seeped into his heart: "What if the Freys get lost in this wind and snow? Will something bad happen to them?"


    Someone produced a bullhorn and some people shouted out with their own voices, but there was no response in the snowstorm.


    The group advanced further, and a figure, almost covered by the snow, entered their vision. The figure was painfully pushing against the wind in the thick snow. As they got closer, people finally saw that it was Jans, the one whom the old man had sent to look for the Freys.


    "Did you find the Freys?" the old man asked.


    "No," answered Hans, shaking his head. "I went to the fishing spot, but the was gone, and I could not find Freyas family."


    "What happened to your sledge dogs? You had them with you when you went?" the old man asked.


    Hans cursed under his breath before replying, "The weather was so bad, I just stopped the sledge to take a look and the snow and wind got so strong that when I came back the dogs that had taken me there had been frozen to death. I had to walk back. I''m d I ran into you guys, or else I would have been lost."


    Sledge dogs are a special breed with immense cold tolerance, but... they were frozen to death.


    Freyia''s family is in a dangerous situation, we must find them as soon as possible or else they are at risk of freezing to death," said Meng zhuo. "Let''s stay together and don''t get separated. Xiao Hu, go and bring the helicopter over, and use the thermal imager to look for Freyia''s family."


    "Yes!" replied the strong young man named Xiao Hu before he returned to the town. Zhao Huasheng asked, "Can the helicopter take off in such weather?"


    "We have no choice. If we don''t find Freyia''s family soon, they will die. Xiao Hu is an ace pilot, and the ne is the most advanced one, with a global positioning system installed on it. Don''t worry, nothing will happen." Meng zhuo''s answer seemed very confident. Zhao Huasheng could only suppress the uneasiness in his heart.


    A group of people were still searching in the snowstorm, but to no avail. In such weather, even if footprints were left, they would be filled up by the snow in a moment. Everywhere the eyes could see was a white, snowynd, without exception.


    After searching for half an hour, something like a cellphone on Meng zhuo''s chest vibrated. Meng zhuo took it out and said to Zhao Huasheng, "They have been found. Not far from us, about two kilometers to the left."


    "How are they? Is there anything wrong?" Zhao Huasheng asked in a hurry.


    Meng zhuo sighed and patted Zhao Huasheng''s shoulder, saying, "You''ll know when you get there."


    Zhao Huasheng''s ominous premonition grew stronger, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart. Zhao Huasheng did not ask any more questions as the regiment changed direction and marched towards the ce under the leadership of Meng Zhuo.


    It took about half an hour for them to arrive at the ce. Zhao Huasheng saw a mound of snow first and when he got close, he realized it was a sleigh with four people sitting on it, almost buried in the snow. In front of the sleigh were several dogs lying in various positions, all frozen stiff.


    Trembling, Zhao Hua got down from the sleigh and slowly walked towards the mound of snow. Meng Zhuo followed closely behind Zhao Huasheng, obviously trying to prevent him from doing anything unexpected.


    Zhao Huasheng tightened his hat and squatted down to brush away the snow that had fallen on the face of Freya and her mother. The little girl who had sweetly called him uncle that morning had her eyes closed forever. Her mother still held her tightly in her arms, as if trying to keep the little girl warm with her embrace. But it was obvious that it was of no use.


    Next to them, the elderly couple closed their eyes and embraced each other until theirst breath, keeping that position.


    The little girl still had a sweet smile on her face, even with a hint of rosiness. She was as if sleeping, as if in the next moment she would open her eyes andughingly jump into Zhao Huasheng''s arms, saying to him: "Uncle, we brought the fish back; we can have grilled fish for lunch."


    Meng Zhuo who was behind him, said in a low voice: "The process of freezing to death is divided into two steps. In the first process, the nervous system is in an excited state, sensitive to cold stimuli, and the skin and subcutaneous blood vessels shrink, and the blood flows to the deep muscles to reduce the loss of heat. But when the body temperature drops to thirty to twenty-six degrees Celsius, the cortex of the brain will lose its regtory effect on body temperature, and the warm blood in the deep muscles of the body will flow to the surface of the body, and the cold blood on the surface of the body will flow to the deep muscles of the body. The temperature in the depths of the body drops quickly, and the temperature on the surface of the body drops slowly, so the skin will have a very warm feeling... So the person who is frozen to death will not feel cold before death; they will feel very warm, and they will die in warmth."


    Zhao Huasheng''s remained expressionless, without any emotional fluctuations. Zhao Huasheng seemed to not have heard what Meng Zhuo had said. he just kept stroking Freyja''s little face, feeling the warmth gradually leaving her little face, gradually bing cold and ultimately solidifying, engraved in Zhao Huasheng''s mind.


    Zhao Huasheng''s whole body was trembling. Zhao Huasheng seemed to still be recalling Freya''s tender, sweet voice: "Uncle, this is my gift to you." He also seemed to be recalling her mother''s slightly awkward words: "Mr. Zhao, please let us know if you need anything." He also seemed to hear the couple''s cheerful and kindlyughter: "Young man,e and have a meal."


    ......


    There were many voices lingering in Zhao Huasheng''s mind, but the owners of those voices had forever fallen here. Zhao Huasheng still had in his pocket the y reindeer that Fleur had made by sacrificing her sleep time, which felt like a donkey. He touched it and seemed to still feel the warmth of Freya''s fingertips. Freya also had the pearl ne that Zhao Huasheng gave her around her neck, and the pearls still shone dazzlingly, but... everything was different, everything was different.


    Zhao Huasheng knelt down in front of Freya''s family, and finally couldn''t help but burst into tears. Li Wei stood behind Zhao Huasheng and seemed to want to help him up, but in the end didn''t touch Zhao Huasheng. Li Wei stood there, motionless, and her eyes too became red.


    Zhao Huasheng hadn''t cried for a long time, since he had be an adult, he hadn''t shed a tear, but at this moment, Zhao Huasheng was crying like a child.


    "It''s my fault they died, it''s my fault they died!" Zhao Huasheng cried out.


    The people of the town gathered around tofort Zhao Huasheng, they told him the death of the Frey family was not his fault, it was due to the sudden change in the weather and Freya''s family not being prepared...but only Meng zhuo knew what Zhao Huasheng really meant.


    Zhao Huasheng was ming himself.


    If I could have cracked the riddle left by Li Qi earlier, so that the sun could have warmed up again it wouldn''t have been so cold here, nor would have such bad weather appeared, Freya''s family would not have died.


    Zhao Huasheng also hated Li Qi.


    "Li Qi, why did you choose me? Why me? I''m not smart, and my logical thinking ability and professional knowledge are not top-notch. Why did you choose me to take on this responsibility? Why didn''t you choose someone with extraordinary wisdom to do this? Did you ever think that your doing this would make many people die needlessly?"


    Zhao Huasheng seemed to have held back a breath but could not vent it out.


    At this moment, Meng Zhuo''s cold voice entered Zhao Huasheng''s ears: "Zhao Huasheng, if you don''t want more innocent people to die tragically, you have to pull yourself together and don''t let me down."


    "You can cry and fall apart, but who will bear the responsibility that should have been yours after you fall apart? This is a puzzle that only you can solve; no one else can. Even if you want to fall apart, you have to solve the puzzle first! Zhao Huasheng, if you want to be a real man, stand up for yourself!"

 Chapter 16: The Hypothesis of Quarks

    Chapter 16: The Hypothesis of Quarks


    Zhao Huasheng recalled many people and events. He remembered the couple he saw that day, the old man in the small restaurant, and every ordinary person he met on the street.


    Suddenly, Zhao Huasheng''s head started to throb faintly. He stood up and tried to wipe away the tears on his face, only to find that the tears had frozen onto his face, melting away as soon as he touched them.


    "I understand," Zhao Huasheng said hoarsely.


    "It''s not your fault, Huasheng," Li Wei gently reassured."Nobody wanted this to happen."


    Zhao Huasheng looked at Li Wei gratefully and nodded.


    In the small town, the old man sighed and directed several people to get Freya''s family onto the sled. A group of people slowly moved toward the townin order to prevent the sled dogs from consuming too much heat and freezing to death, they dared not let the sled dogs move too fast. At the same time, they also took off their clothes and put them on the sled dogs to help them keep warm.


    The snowstorm gradually weakened, and the townspeople finally returned to the town. The only priest in the church put on his robe and started to pray for Freya''s family. The weing banquet originally prepared for the Zhao Huasheng''s group also became a funeral.


    The atmosphere in the small town began to be heavy and oppressive. Zhao Huasheng locked himself in the room and didn''te out for three days except to eat and meet his physiological needs. Zhao Huasheng seemed to still be able to smell Freya''s family breath in the house, hear their conversations andughter, but he could no longer see them, never again.


    The supplies for the following days arrived gradually over the next three days, and it was finally time to embark. Zhao Huasheng left his room and reunited with everyone. Several helicopters had already stopped in front of the small town church, and the townspeople hade here to bid farewell.


    Facing the crowd bidding farewell to him, Zhao Huasheng said, "Don''t stay in this small town anymore; go to Equator City. Contact the government now; they will send someone to pick you up. Don''t stay here anymore, don''t you know? The weather has changed, this ce is no longer suitable for human survival."


    Zhao Huasheng could not vite the confidentiality agreement, and these words were all he could say.


    The old man sighed tremulously and said, "The weather is indeed getting colder and colder; s, we all know that. But how can we leave here? We have lived here for a lifetime, gone through the long years of seven or eight decades, we just want to stay here peacefully and die here. We don''t know where to go if we leave here. Young people love to run around and go adventuring; they are willing to go to the Equator City; let them go to the Equator City; we are all old, can''t walk anymore, so let''s just stay here and go nowhere."


    Zhao Huasheng seemed to have heard the same words from the old restaurant owner, who was also getting old.


    "Anyway, we don''t have much years left to live; let''s just stay here."


    Zhao Huasheng could not understand the words and choices of these elderly people, but Zhao Huasheng knew what kind of deep emotion it was. Under the threat of death, this deep emotion made them choose to stay and not leave their hometown, and Zhao Huasheng was sure that there must be many elderly people with the same idea all over the world.


    Even if it meant death, they would not leave.


    If they don''t leave, they will die.


    And Zhao Huasheng did not want them to die.


    Zhao Huasheng felt a hot flow in his eyes, but he finally held back. Zhao Huasheng turned his head and said hoarsely: "Well, then you stay here. I hope... I can have the ability to change all this before the weather gets too cold."


    The elderly were puzzled, not understanding the meaning of Zhao Huasheng''s words. But they still expressed their thanks and blessings to Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng then boarded the helicopter and dared not look back.


    The helicopter took off amidst a loud roar and a flurry of snowkes stirred up by the propellers, leaving the ce and quickly heading north towards the Arctic. There, the personnel of the Arctic Longshan Station would stay for three days.


    The Arctic is dangerous, especially now that the level of sr radiation has dropped significantly. The danger and harsh environment of the Arctic is beyond imagination. But Zhao Huasheng still chose the Arctic as his destination. Nobody asked why Zhao Huasheng did that - as long as Zhao Huasheng thought it was necessary, even if Zhao Huasheng wanted to go to the moon, they would try to make it happen.


    Even Zhao Huasheng himself was not quite sure why he wanted to go to the North Pole. There was just a voice in his heart constantly ringing, "See these scenes; soon they will disappear and never be seen again."


    The effects of the decrease in sr radiation are global. Zhao Huasheng knew that from then on, scenes of lush greenery, bird songs, fragrant flowers, and babbling streams would all gradually disappear, and only cold ice, wind, and snow would remain eternal.


    As Zhao Huasheng pondered all this, he wanted to remember all these scenes before they eventually disappeared, and only then could the side of firmness and struggle and never giving up in his heart outweigh the side of decline and copse. After all, Zhao Huasheng was just an ordinary person.


    Zhao Huasheng and Li Wei sat side by side in their seats without speaking. The huge roar of the helicopter sounded exceptionally monotonous at this moment, just like the scenery on the ground below the helicopter.


    That was an endless expanse of white ice. Sometimes there were living creatures to be seen here, such as pr bears, Arctic foxes, wolves or deer. When a helicopter flew by, they would raise their heads to observe the strange object, as if wondering why it could fly.


    "We used to worry that global warming caused by the greenhouse effect will melt the Arctic ice and have an impact on the local ecosystem. Now we don''t have to worry about that anymore," Li Wei said with her hands on her hips. "If I''m not mistaken, there was no ice here at this timest year."


    "This is noughing matter," Zhao Huasheng shook his head.


    "Don''t be so serious," Li Wei said softly. "My brother has faith in you, so he assigned you this task. I have the same faith in my brother. I''m sure his choice was not wrong. You can do it."


    Zhao Huasheng sighed and looked at Meng Zhuo: "Have there been any new discoveries in the research department these few days?"


    "Yes," Meng Zhuo said, "Further observation shows that the substances that appear in the photosphereyer which resemble Dyson spheres are not solid but rather appear darker and cker due to the lower temperature. At the same time, certain observation data indicate that it seems to be present above the sr convectiveyer rather than the photosphereyer as previously spected. Of course, this needs more observational evidence to be confirmed."


    The sun is divided into the core, radiationyer, convectiveyer from the inside out, and then the atmosphere, with the photosphereyer being the closest to the surface of the sun in the sr atmosphere.


    "Does this suggest that the decrease in sr radiation is due to some physical mechanism inside the sun?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "The assessment data from the Research Department indicated that the possibility has risen to 80%. The possibility of interference from some external force, i.e. an unknown civilization, has been reduced to less than 20%. The Research Department has also spected that the change in the sun might be caused by some unknown advanced civilization, but it doesn''t seem to be the case now. It seems more like a spontaneous change in the sun. You''re a scientist in the field of ster physics; perhaps you can make your own spection about this."


    Zhao Huasheng shook his head, "I can''t imagine any physical mechanism that could cause such a phenomenon. Has anyone from the Research Department proposed any physical models?"


    "There are two. One is the neutrino escape hypothesis and the other is the uncontrolled thermonuclear fusion under extreme environment. Of course, these are just hypotheses; the Research Department has not yet found enough evidence to support either of them."


    "Oh?" Zhao Huasheng showed a bit of interest, "Bring me the relevant materials to look at."


    Meng Zhuo nodded and five minutester, he brought over a stack of documents and handed them to Zhao Huasheng.


    "The escape of neutrinos... due to some unknown reason, arge number of neutrinos were produced in the fusion process of the sun''s core. Due to the high density of the sun''s core, even neutrinos which are extremely difficult to react with matter, were unable to escape smoothly. Arge number of neutrinos took on the task of supporting the structure of the sun, and after leaving the sun''s core, the neutrinos began to escape freely and carried away arge amount of energy, thus leading to a decrease in the sun''s radiation level..."


    Neutrinos are a very mysterious particle that almost does not react with any matter. It is also very small, so small that it can freely pass through the whole earth without colliding with any particles that make up the earth. This hypothesis is the key to exin all the changes with neutrinos. But this exnation also has a ratherrge loophole.


    Is it true that the matter density of the sun''s core is so high that even neutrinos can''t escape? At least ording to the knowledge held by Zhao Huasheng at the moment, the matter density of the sun''s core is far from reaching that point. Furthermore, if the hypothesis is true, the neutrino telescope deployed deep underground on Earth should be able to detect neutrinos at a level far beyond the previous one.


    "Someone has proposed a new nuclear fusion model, predicting apletely new and different neutrino particle, to exin the contradiction in the hypothesis. The Research Department is working hard to verify the hypothesis, and the results will be avable soon," said Meng Zhuo.

 Chapter 17: The Disappearing Northern Lights

    Chapter 17: The Disappearing Northern Lights


    As for the second hypothesis... the hypothesis suggests that due to some coincidental reasons, arge amount of heavy elements gathered in the core of the sun, reducing its radiation power, and due to being in an extreme environment, heavy elements and light elements collided and participated in fusion together, as well as some unknown reasons, resulting in a more intense fusion reaction in the sun''s core, putting the sun in a dangerous bnce phase, in which the sun neither shrank in volume due to the internal radiation pressure decreasing, nor expanded in volume due to uncontrolled nuclear fusion, but merely the temperature dropped...


    "This is absurd," Zhao Huasheng shook his head, "This is impossible. With the mass of the sun, the temperature and pressure of the sun''s core cannot reach such a high level to let heavy elements participate in fusion."


    Within the research department, many people opposed these two hypotheses, but at the moment... we have no clue. There was no hypothesis that stood up to scrutiny. Even though these two hypotheses were extremely absurd, the research department still decided to send out relevant forces to verify these two hypotheses. This is definitely better than us being like headless flies." Meng Zhuo said, "The truth is... faced with this strange change that is far beyond our technological level, we can only try to not leave out any ideas that might lead to a breakthrough. No matter how absurd the idea, we have to try and verify it."


    "That''s why I''m being taken so seriously." Zhao Huasheng smiled bitterly.


    "Yes." Meng Zhuo nodded, "That''s why the leader said that the fate of the Earth people isrgely in your hands."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and fell into silence again.


    Outside the window was the same scenery of snow, cold wind, and a gloomy sky. Even in the hermetically sealed cockpit, Zhao Huasheng could feel the bitter chill of the outside world, even enough to make the pr bear tremble in its renowned cold tolerance.


    Li Wei also stared at the scenery outside the window, her thoughts seemed to have drifted far away.


    "Any progress from the psychology experts group?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Not much," Meng Zhuo said. "Through analyzing Li Qi''s psychology and the traces he left behind, the psychology expert group judged that Li Qi had noticed you a long time ago. He had essed your information and personally intervened in your work arrangement. It''s very unusual, considering that you were just an intern at the time and Li Qi was the director of the entire Ster Physics Research Institute."


    Upon hearing the name "Li Qi," Li Wei snapped out of her daydream.


    "Yes, I can confirm this," Li Wei said. "My brother has mentioned you at least ten times in front of me. And ordinarily, he would never tell me about work-rted matters."


    "It is a pity that even the team of psychologists cannot determine why Li Qi paid so much attention to you. Otherwise, the mystery Li Qi left us would be much easier to solve," Meng Zhuo said.


    Zhao Huasheng forced a smile. "I can''t even guess what qualities of mine would have been worth Li Qi''s attention. After all, I was only an intern at the time, and there was no reason for him to pay attention to me. Speaking of which, can the team of psychologists determine when Li Qi started paying attention to me? If I knew the exact time, I might be able to make some guesses."


    Approximately two years ago, it was around this time that Li Qi started to change, bing "not like himself". It''s not clear whether Li Qi noticed you before the change urred, or if the change urred first before he noticed you. Hmm, there is one event that has a precise time stamp - it''s recorded within the education system. One year, ten months and nine days before, Li Qi''s supervisor pulled up your academic record from the education system. Probably due to ack of authority, the record retrieval was not deleted.


    "One year, ten months and nine days before..." Zhao Hua fell into a reverie.


    On September 5th, 13th year, at 10:08 pm, Montz added, "Through recovery of surveince data from the research institute, as well as restoring yourputer, phone records, and surveince records around your residence, the psychological experts group confirmed that it was just an ordinary day for you. You left home at 8 a.m. for work, had lunch at 12:21, then took a nap at the table. You returned home at 6:13 p.m., cooked dinner by yourself, yed video games for an hour and thirty-nine minutes, browsed several websites, then went to bed. There was nothing noteworthy in that day."


    "The psychological experts group is searching for records rted to you from before the time. Of course, because the time has passed for too long, the retrieved records cannot be tooplete. If this time point can make you recall something, that would be even better." Montz said.


    Zhao Huasheng thought for a while and shook his head, "Give me all the records about me that you have collected. Starting from the earliest time I may have known Li Qi to the time when Li Qi requested my file records."


    "Okay," Meng Zhuo said lightly, "This is the data currently collected, and the rest of the data the psychological experts are still collecting. This time period is up to one year, and there will be a lot of data. You can take your time to look through it and recall it slowly."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded silently and took the notebook from Meng Zhuo. Looking at the lines of text, audio and video records, Zhao Huasheng was immersed in a long period of recollection until the helicopter started to descend.


    Zhao Hua Sheng picked up his notebook, put on his special cold-weather clothing, and stepped out of the cabin. Not far away from the helicopternding spot was a small settlement made up of dozens of low, t buildings, and several workers dressed in thick cold-weather clothing were waiting there.


    The North Pole Changshan Station was built on an ice sheet near the North Pole. Due to its proximity to the North Pole, it was frozen all year round and the climate was cold. The lowest temperature on Earth recently measured was taken by the workers at Changshan Station.


    The solid ice sheet was no different from thend. Although there was nond here, the ice sheet was more than 30 meters thick and as tough asnd. There was snow on the ice sheet, and under the cold wind, the snow was rolled up, making the whole sky look a bit gray. Even with a thick hat on, Zhao Hua Sheng could still hear the sound of the cold wind.


    It was midnight, although it was already night, the sun still hung at the horizon, refusing to set. There was no difference between having the sun or not; its little heat couldn''t bring any change to the ce.


    Standing on the ice cap of the North Pole, Zhao Huasheng was overwhelmed by the winds, snow and the pale whiteness, a primordial and cold feeling filled his chest. Along with this feeling was the sense of powerlessness of a tiny human being in face of the nature.


    "The weather is getting colder and colder."A worker who hade to greet them sighed and received the supply box from the medical and safety team, asking "Are we going to take these guys away when we evacuate?"


    Meng Zhuo nodded: "Yes. We also epted the task of helping you capture specimens of pr bears, wolves, arctic foxes, and reindeers."


    "I don''t get it, why retreat and also capture those animals?" The workerined, then turned around and waved at the back, "What are you waiting for? Come help move things!"


    With everyone''s help, the supplies were quickly moved from the helicopter to the living area. The helicopter was properly ced to prevent it from freezing, and Zhao Huasheng, Meng Zhuo, Li Wei and others went into the specially insted house.


    Zhao Huasheng took off his thick coat and sat in front of the window desk, looking out of the window in a daze. After a long time, Zhao Huasheng took out the materials that were given to him by Meng Zhuo and looked at them carefully. When it was twelve o''clock at night, the sun still hung on the horizon, but Zhao Huasheng felt a fatigue spreading from the depths of his heart. Zhao Huasheng rubbed his forehead, pulled down the curtains and theny down on the bed. "I always wanted toe to the Arctic to see the Northern Lights. Now I''m really here in the Arctic, but there is no Northern Lights." Zhao Huasheng sighed in his heart. The special double-zed structure not only insted the coldness from the outside world, but also retained excellent light transmission performance.


    The urrence of the aurora is due to the collision of high-energy charged particle streams from the sun with the Earth''s maic field. With the sun''s radiation level reduced so much, the aurora is naturally no longer visible.


    This could be counted as the first thing lost on Earth due to the sun getting colder. But Zhao Huasheng did not feel too sad or lost, because Zhao Huasheng knew that in the near future, the Earth would lose more than anyone could imagine, beyond the limit of everyone''s endurance.


    Under this slightly anxious mood, listening to the whistling cold wind outside the window, apanied by this somewhat pale world, Zhao Huasheng entered the first dreand aftering to the Arctic.


    When he woke up, the sun was still hanging on the horizon without setting. After having breakfast with the staff of Changshan Station and tidying himself up, Zhao Huasheng put on his thick cold-weather clothing again and left the base with Li Wei, Meng Zhuo and other people, as well as the staff of Changshan Station.


    "Our task today is to capture at least three pr bears, and it would be even better if we could also capture two reindeers on our way," said the staff.

 Chapter 18: The Weight of Life

    Chapter 18: The Weight of Life


    The staff at the station did not know what use there was in capturing these animals, but Zhao Huasheng was very clear in his mind.


    This was to prepare for City of Life. If the level of sr radiation continued to drop and reached a point that was unbearable for humans, the City of Life would be activated. These animal specimens would apany the two million lucky humans into the City of Life, where they would have a chance to survive in this freezing doomsday.


    People dressed in thick winter clothes climbed onto the rumbling snow vehicles, and after all the ropes,s, cages, and tranquilizers were ready, the convoy set off.


    Due to the cold weather and the extension of the Arctic ice sheet, big guys like pr bears are heading south, only where the ice is thin can they get food. So we have to go south to catch them." A Changshan Station staff member exined to Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng nodded and said nothing.


    The snowmobile was not very fast. Sitting in the car, Zhao Huasheng looked through the window and saw the deste Arctic scenery.


    Cold, silent, and destethis is the true portrayal of the Arctic. Zhao Huasheng felt that the icy cold of the Arctic seemed to be eroding his mind, making him restless, and the heart and soul that had been running at high speed gradually cooled down. This made Zhao Huasheng feel at ease from the inside out.


    "Perhaps, travel really has some use." Zhao Huasheng thought silently.


    The staff of the Changshan Station first checked some traps set up yesterday. Most of these traps had yields. The Arctic was too deste, so the temptation of food was irresistible to animals. And because of the ban on hunting and fishing in the Arctic imposed by humans, the animals here had little fear of traps or humans. It was easy to capture prey with traps.


    Four Arctic foxes, two deer, and three wolves had already been injected with anesthetic and thrown into the carriages before the pr bear was found. They would be temporarily penned up and then transported by ne to the City of Life.


    Inparison, the pr bear was the hardest to deal with. They were too big and too fierce. Zhao Huasheng estimated that only Meng Zhuo could confront a pr bear, and relying only on these staff members, it is feared that four or five of them together would not be a match for the pr bear.


    It''s okay, though. The human technological system reveals an irresistible power at moments like this. With an anesthetic gun, even the physically weakest Li Wei can dispatch a pr bear.Therefore, this hunting expedition is more like a leisurely outing than a mission.


    The convoy stopped, and a pr biologist got off, searching the ground for a while with a confident tone: "Look around, there must be a group of pr bears around here. One big and three small; the big one is the head female bear."


    "No need to be that troublesome." Meng zhuo jumped out of the car, pulling a deer weighing more than a hundred jin off the back of the car with one hand while a sharp ck dagger appeared from somewhere in the other, stabbing it into the neck of the tame deer.The unconscious deer only made a vague sound before dying from excessive blood loss.


    "Pr bears have a keen sense of smell and it''s too cold now for them to get food, so they won''t let go of these prey," Meng zhuo said calmly, dragging the deer corpse to a hill of ice about two hundred meters away from the convoy, and throwing the dead deer there.


    Everyone was shocked by Meng zhuo''s actions. The Arctic wildlife expert stared incredulously at Meng zhuo until he walked back from the cier and shouted loudly, "Who gave you the authorization to kill an Arctic animal? Did you read the Arctic regtions before you came to the Arctic? I''m going to use you of poaching Arctic animals! You despicable scoundrel!"


    Zhao Huasheng and Li Wei jumped out of the car at this time. Meng zhuo''s coldness and treating life as grass made Zhao Huasheng feel ufortable, and even Li Wei felt a bit unwilling to watch this scene. But Zhao Huasheng and Li Wei knew more, so they also knew that Meng zhuo''s behavior was actually not wrong.


    It is enough to preserve the genes of a species with only a few individuals; too many of them would be a waste. Maintaining them requires extra resources, and if those resources were saved, a human being would likely gain hope for survival.


    Meng zhuo nced at the biologist and then turned away, wiping the blood off the sharp dagger with his gloved left hand. The biologist yelled for a while and then fell silent.


    The group waited in silence for a moment, and in the distance, the sound of ice and snow being trampled was heard. Meng Zhuo waved his hand, and the workers followed him. The biologist said, "You, the executioner, go to the back; we will take care of the bear; you don''t need to intervene."


    Meng Zhuo walked to the back of the group calmly, following behind at a leisurely pace. Li Wei grabbed Zhao Huasheng''s hand and said, "Let''s go, let''s go take a look."


    The hiking and hunting activity in this distant and deste Arctic seemed to drive away all the gloom in Li Wei''s heart, allowing the already youthful girl to regain her lively nature. A long-lost smile reappeared on her face, She jumped and hopped; even though she was wearing thick cold-weather clothing, she looked like a jumping elf.


    The staff hid behind an ice mound and aimed the tranquilizer gun at the biggest pr bear, then pulled the trigger. The mother bear roared, trying to stand up, but the rapid loss of strength prevented it from doing so, and it eventually fell heavily to the ground and fell into a deep sleep. The three cubs that followed it panicked as well, abandoning the food in their mouths and wailing around the body of the fallen mother.


    "The cubs are temporarily harmless, so no more tranquilizer guns. With the mother here, they won''t run away." The biologist called out, "The tranquilizer gun may cause damage to their nervous system."


    Several members of the staff nodded and took the to go over. Behind them, someone drove a crane over.


    Li Wei was very excited, pulling Zhao Huasheng''s hand and walking forward until they were less than ten meters away from the mother bear. The three cubs were already caught by the, struggling desperately. Li Wei even went forward to touch the cubs'' heads andfort them softly: "Be good; don''t make a fuss. We are here to save you."


    A motherly glow radiated from Li Wei, making Zhao Huasheng''s heart ripple slightly. Zhao Huasheng turned his head and looked at Li Wei nkly. At this moment, Zhao Huasheng found Li Wei very beautiful, more beautiful than ever before.


    But the mother bear lying on the ground had opened her eyes unknowingly. When she found Li Wei touching the cubs, she suddenly stood up with unknown strength, roared, and quickly rushed towards Li Wei.


    The mother bear was less than ten meters away from Li Wei and Zhao Huasheng. The speed of the pr bear running at full force was even faster than that of the world champion in sprinting.


    Everything happened in the blink of an eye and too quickly for anyone to react. Just as the biologist shouted "tranquilizer gun", and another worker grabbed the tranquilizer gun in a hurry and was about to aim it, Zhao Huasheng quickly grabbed Li Wei and used his back to face the mother bear, protecting Li Wei in his arms.


    It all happened too quickly. All Zhao Huasheng had time to do was protect Li Wei, and all Li Wei had time to do was let out a scream. Before her scream had faded away, a crisp gunshot was heard. Zhao Huasheng tightly held Li Wei, awaiting the expected death and pain, but they never came. Zhao Huasheng released Li Wei, and when he turned around, he saw that the mother bear had fallen to the ground with a bloody hole in its head. Behind them, Meng Zhuo stood calmly without any change in his expression.


    Evidently, in the critical moment, Meng Zhuo drew his gun and shot dead the mother bear, then put the gun away. No one saw how Meng Zhuo drew and shot, or how he put the gun away afterwards.


    Everyone fell into silence, only the three baby bears cried out even more mournfully after they noticed their mother''s death.


    The biologist started trembling, pointing at Meng zhuo, and tremblingly said: "Y-you, you shot dead a pr bear...... why didn''t you use a tranquilizer gun......"


    Meng zhuo gave him a faint look and said, "The lives of these two people are more important than the life of one pr bear."


    Meng Zhuo walked past the biologist, up to the mother bear''s corpse, and said calmly, "Sorry, the hope of humanity and the earth cannot be destroyed in your hands." After saying this, Meng Zhuo snapped his fingers and said, "Let''s go; three cubs are enough."


    Meng zhuo had be the leader of the group in an invisible way. After Meng Zhuo issued the order, everyone got on their own vehicles and set off on the way back.


    "Thank you, Zhao Huasheng," In the carriage, Li Wei''s expression changed and she whispered a thank you to Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng''s eyes were very distant, as if he had heard but also as if he hadn''t.


    "We killed a mother, a mother who attacked the intruder to protect her cubs," Zhao Huasheng said sadly, "but this is the end of the world; the end of the world is so cruel."

 Chapter 19: Siberia

    Chapter 19: Siberia


    The death of the mother bear left people with a heavy heart. On the way back, apart from the roar of the vehicles, the team was mostly silent, until they returned to the Changshan station.


    The deer, wolves, bears, foxes, and other animals that were captured were put in cages and entrusted to the care of the Arctic wildlife specialist. Everyone else returned to their own rooms for a brief rest. The chefs had already started preparing dinner, marking the end of Zhao Huasheng''s first day in the Arctic.


    The sun that wouldn''t set made Zhao Huasheng feel somewhat restless. The presence of light easily disrupts one''s biological clock, having a range of negative impacts on the body. Zhao Huasheng drew the curtains and then turned on the light, feeling a bit better.


    At this moment, Li Wei arrived at Zhao Huasheng''s room. Seeing the tightly closed curtains and looking at the electric light on the roof, Li Wei was somewhat surprised and looked at Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng spread out his hands and said, "It''s morefortable this way."


    "Mmm, yeah," Li Wei smiled. "People always pursue the light of the sun, but when it won''t disappear, they will get bored with it."


    Zhao Huasheng tidied up the scattered materials on the desk and handed over a chair. "Sit down."


    Li Wei took the chair but did not sit down. She looked at Zhao Huasheng who was still tidying up the materials, and there seemed to be some kind of light in her eyes. Li Wei also walked to the desk and said softly, "The materials can''t be organized like this. Although it looks neat, it''s actually very messy, and it''s not easy to find them when you need them."


    Li Wei said and naturally took over the documents that had been gathered by Zhao Huasheng and reorganized them, then sorted thempletely ording to the dates. There was a lot of information, and it was chaotic, but Li Wei''s hands seemed to have eyes. The disorderly information was quickly tidied up after Li Wei''s sorting. After cing thest document in the folder, Li Wei smiled at Zhao Huasheng.


    "Thanks for your help during the day."


    "Oh, don''t mention it; it''s what I should do. In fact, I didn''t do much, and if it wasn''t for Meng Zhuo, we may have been injured." Zhao Huasheng said.


    Li Wei''s eyes curved into a crescent moon, as if she had thought of something pleasant: "You and my brother are very simr. Both of you are not good at expressing yourselves; you look cold, but have a sense of responsibility in your hearts. Whenever I encounter danger, my brother always rushes out to protect me from behind."


    Zhao Huasheng could not think of anything to say and could only say, "It''s nothing."


    "Let''s go, it''s time to eat." Seeing Zhao Huasheng''s awkwardness, Li Wei smiled and took Zhao Huasheng''s arm, and the two of them left the room together.


    After dinner, Zhao Huasheng was still greeted by the quiet night of the North Pole. In the morning, the staff of Changshan Station set off again to hunt for prey; there were still many Arctic creatures on the list that had not been captured. Meng Zhuo originally wanted to go with them, but the Arctic wildlife expert strongly opposed Meng Zhuo''s follow-up, so Meng Zhuo had to stay at Changshan Station.


    Meng Zhuo couldn''t go, so Zhao Huasheng couldn''t go either. Meng Zhuo''s reason was simple: "What if something dangerous happened without me there?" So Zhao Huasheng had to stay.


    The departure of many personnel left Changshan Station in silence. Zhao Huasheng put on his thick winter clothes and went to a ce near Changshan Station, then randomly sat on the ground and stared at the distant scene in a trance.


    Today''s weather seemed to have improved a bit. Although the sun was still in a half-dead state, the wind had dropped significantly. Zhao Huasheng sat here until noon, ate lunch, and still came out in the afternoon to sit here.


    No one knew what Zhao Huasheng was thinking, not even Zhao Huasheng himself. His mind was empty and quiet, just like the vast and deste Arctic. Zhao Huasheng seemed to have fallen asleep but also seemed not to have.


    Zhao Huasheng spent three days in the Arctic in this state. He watched the staff of the Station capture all kinds of Arctic creatures and saw them put into cages, sometimes even hearing their anxious howls. Until after three days, the cages were tied to a helicopter. The helicopter would take them away from the Arctic, leading them into a whole new world and embark on a new life.


    During these three days, Zhao Huasheng''s spirits gradually improved, and when he left the Arctic, the feeling of deterioration that seemed to be able to fall at any time had disappeared. Zhao Huasheng''s eyes began to shine, and his voice became stronger, and even his thoughts became much sharper.


    "Where are you going next?" Meng Zhuo asked.


    Zhao Huasheng thought for a moment and replied, "Go to Siberia. I have always wanted to see Lake Baikal, but I never had the chance. Now I finally have time, let''s go and take a look."


    Meng Zhuo nodded and said okay. So, Zhao Huasheng''s group parted with the workers from the North Pole Changshan Station. Some helicopters took the workers and the various animals they had captured to the City of Life, while another helicopter carried Zhao Huasheng, Meng Zhuo, Li Wei, and the medical and security team to a vast Siberian area near Lake Baikal.


    The members of the medical and security team quickly set up more than a dozen tents here, and even a helicopter delivered a food truck and arge amount of precious ingredients, as well as many hunting tools. With these things, a small settlement was formed in less than a day.


    The camp site chosen by the workers was very advantageous. Not only was it close to Lake Baikal, but it was also sheltered from the wind, and there was even a hot spring nearby. The hot springs were powered by geothermal energy, so the sun''s radiation would not affect them.


    Although Siberia is located in a hightitude area, it is much better than the Arctic, which is cold here too. It is not as deste as the Arctic, and if Zhao Huasheng looked carefully, he could even find sprouting green grass or traces of some small animals. But unfortunately, the newly sprouted green buds were frozen to death, and in order to resist the cold, those small animals usually do not appear outside.


    Zhao Huasheng seemed to havepletely put down his thoughts and gave up thinking about those difficult and obscure things. During the day, Zhao Huasheng, Li Wei, Meng Zhuo, etc. would go to theke to fish or follow others to hunt, and when it was time for lunch or dinner, the professional chefs who followed the food truck would use these ingredients to make dishes that Zhao Huasheng had never imagined before. Sometimes Zhao Huasheng would also take matters into his own hands, using a barbecue rack or oven to make food, and then gather with the staff to sing songs, dance, and drink together.


    Faced with Li Wei''s amicable overtures, Zhao Huasheng seemed to have opened up his heart. The rtionship between the two of them was developing in a tacit understanding where neither spoke of it, as if they were lovers but also like old friends who had known each other for years. Zhao Huasheng didn''t mention Li Qi''s matter, and none of the staff members, including Meng Zhuo and Li Wei, brought it up. It was as if everyone had forgotten about it. Zhao Huasheng said let''s go fishing, so they went fishing; Zhao Huasheng said let''s go hunting, so they went hunting; Zhao Huasheng said let''s have a barbecue, so they had a barbecue.


    Meng Zhuo even brought in several motorboats, and when the weather was good, Zhao Huasheng, Li Wei and Meng Zhuo would ride the motorboats across the boundless surface of Lake Baikal. All of Zhao Huasheng''s requests were met, and whatever he wanted to do or have, nes would fly in from thousands of kilometers away to deliver it. Among these items was even a huge RV. Inside the RV was arge HD disy screen and state-of-the-art audio equipment. However, Zhao Huasheng only used it once for singing before he stopped using it. He realized that the reason he used to sing so badly was not due to ack of good equipment.


    The camp was always filled withughter, as if everyone was just on vacation. Time passed quietly. Zhao Huasheng couldn''t even remember how many days he had been hereseven or fifteen? It didn''t matter to him.


    However, the heaviness in Zhao Huasheng''s heart was gradually increasing. The happier he was and the more heughed, the softer Li Wei''s words were, and the more gentle her gaze was, the heavier his heart became. The heaviness was like a shadow behind him, always lingering, and getting bigger and bigger with time.


    On one night after dinner, Zhao Huasheng went to Li Wei''s side and asked, "Can you apany me for a while?"


    Li Wei nodded, and then the two of them came hand in hand to thekeside. There was a t stone, so the two of them sat shoulder to shoulder there.


    Zhao Huasheng''s peripheral vision seemed to have seen Meng Zhuo''s figure, but Zhao Huasheng did not take notice. Zhao Huasheng had long since be ustomed to Meng Zhuo''s presence, and at the same time Zhao Huasheng also knew that ensuring his safety was Meng Zhuo''s duty and he should not interfere with Meng Zhuo''s duties.


    The air is very fresh, the clean air of Siberia brings the world''s most beautiful night sky. The dark sky was dotted with stars, and the magnificent Milky Way stretched across the horizon like a colorful ribbon.


    Listening to the faint sound of the rolling waves and looking at the mysterious and profound night sky, Zhao Huasheng''s mind was particrly tranquil.

 Chapter 20: Son of the Sun

    Chapter 20: Son of the Sun


    It felt like he had turned into a fish, swimming in the vast, boundless night sky. Zhao Huasheng was swimming in thoughts, his far-reaching thoughts drifting away in the silent night near the tranquil depths of Lake Baikal.


    "Huasheng, is something wrong?" Li Wei asked after a moment of silence.


    "Oh," Zhao Huasheng replied before falling into silence again. Li Wei didn''t say anything more, just silently pulling Zhao Huasheng''s arm into her embrace and resting her head on his shoulder.


    Non-astronomers or physicists may find it difficult to appreciate the vastness of the cosmos and their own insignificance. Zhao Huasheng opened his mouth and said, "They may have heard many words such as ''vast'' and ''insignificant'' from books, movies and the Inte, but they will never have a real understanding of the vastness of the universe and the smallness of mankind."


    Li Wei remained silent, only listening quietly.


    "Our human civilization began in the far distant past and developed a glorious civilization on thisnd of nothing. You may not be able to imagine how big a step it was when the first primitive humans started to use stone knives and stone axes made by grinding stones. Afterwards, fire, bows and arrows, fishings, bronze wares, andter on the Industrial Revolution, the invention of steam engine, the discovery and utilization of electricity, the invention ofputers, and the discovery of atomic energy, etc. Every tool or principle discovered has brought about earth-shattering changes to human society. We have created art, medicine, and all sorts of things that have never existed on Earth or perhaps even in the universe. We certainly have a reason to be proud of our own greatness."


    Zhao Huasheng sighed, "The universe is like an endless sea, and we are only scooping up adle of water from it." He continued, "Any star in the night sky is far enough away that it would take a lifetime to pursue, and every darkness in the sky hides mysteries that may never be fully uncovered until the end of our civilization. We are so smalltruly so small. Before my brother passed away he said something to me that I only fully realized until now. Like now, stars are born, live a lifetime, then explodesomething that happens constantly in the universe. Now, with the sun''s radiation level having only decreased by fifteen percent, our civilization is almost at the brink of apocalypse."


    Astronomers and physicists are the two most crisis-aware people in the world. Knowing our own insignificance, we are willing to spend our lives in pursuit of endless mysteries. Your brother is like this, and so am I. In our civilization, there are many more people like this.


    It seemed that Zhao Huasheng had a lot of emotion in his heart, or maybe, in this period of time, Zhao Huasheng had umted too many words to tell someone.


    "But sometimes I feel so powerless, very powerless. Because we are too small, and this universe is too vast. " Zhao Huasheng sighed, "What does the life span of a person or a civilization count forpared to the whole universe? Even for geniuses like Newton and Einstein, their work only solved some problems and, incidentally brought more unknowns to mankind. "Human civilization has developed for hundreds of thousands of years, and we still can''t figure out the cause of the sun darkening. "


    Li Wei nestled in Zhao Huasheng''s embrace and said softly, "It is only through geniuses like you that human civilization can keep progressing."


    Zhao Huasheng was silent and then shook his head, "No, I''m not a genius, it''s your brother who is the genius."


    "Your brother is a true genius. If it weren''t for Li Qi''s expertise, it would take us at least ten years to gain the current level of understanding about the sun."


    "Some people in the scientificmunity call your brother the ''Son of the Sun''. Do you know why?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Are there such titles? I didn''t know that." Li Wei said.


    "Because... if it wasn''t for being born under the sun, how could we understand the sun so well? Your brother is like a person living on the sun, with the sr fusion model, the sr atmosphere model, convection, radiation, the corona, and the maic field. Your brother is the type of person who sees everything personally and can easily solve difficult problems.Including me, none of us researchers in the institute can imagine what kind of brain exists in Director Li''s head. To put it bluntly, in the field of ster physics, your brother is like Einstein in the field of physics."


    "I''ve heard something like that too, but it seems like... all of my brother''s research results have only appeared in the past two years. Before that, my brother was already an outstanding ster physicist, but he wasn''t as outstanding as you said yet."


    "Who knows why. Maybe there really is an alien around your brother." Zhao Huasheng said, "But I''d rather believe that all of this is your brother''s contribution."


    Everything Li Wei said is true. It''s true that two years ago, Li Qi wasn''t as outstanding as he is now. It''s because of his contributions in the past two years that Li Qi has earned the glorious title of "the son of the sun".


    "I admire your brother a lot. Even when I was in college, I had already made him my idol," Zhao Huasheng said.


    "So ... now that you are chatting with your idol''s little sister under the silent night sky, how do you feel?" Li Wei joked, perhaps because the conversation was too dull and obscure.


    But Zhao Huasheng is a dull person, so he simply ignored Li Wei''s joke.


    "I''m under a lot of pressure," Zhao Huasheng said. "A lot of pressure."


    Li Wei''s tone was slightly dull: "Is it too much pressure being with me?"


    "No, I didn''t say that," Zhao Huasheng''s words contained no emotional fluctuations, still maintaining a steady tone. "It''s your brother. Your brother is too outstanding,pared to him, I am just an ordinary person. Right now, your brother wants me to solve the puzzles he set andplete the task of saving human civilization...I am under a lot of pressure. I have used up all my knowledge and experiences and even had help from the government machines, yet I still have not made any progress. I''m thinking, did your brother make a mistake entrusting this task to me?"


    I tried my best to even out my thoughts, viewing the most beautiful scenery I can imagine, enjoying the best life imaginable, being with the best peopleI tried my hardest to put aside this mystery, but I can''t do it, I really can''t. Your brother''sst words are like a bone worm, constantly clinging to me and not allowing me a moment of liberation. I want to solve it but I can''t. I want to put it aside but it''s always there.


    Zhao Huasheng''s voice was slightly downcast.


    Li Wei tightened her grip on Zhao Huasheng''s arm, as if to transmit some unseen energy.


    "I''m here with you," Li Wei said softly. "I''m here to bear it with you."


    "Thank you. If you weren''t here, I wouldn''t be able to take it." Zhao Huasheng said.


    The night was still quiet. The faint sound of waves continued incessantly.The sky was like a pure ck curtain, and the stars were like jewels. The night was beautiful, and Zhao Huasheng and Li Wei were both silent. Under the night sky, Zhao Huasheng''s thoughts drifted to the distance again.


    "The enjoyment should be over now," Zhao Huasheng said after a pause. "From tomorrow, I will resume work. I have the unique key to unlock the puzzle, and you are the person closest to your brother. Let''s solve the puzzle left by your brother together."


    "Okay," Li Wei said.


    Meng Zhuo stood still at a distance of no more than twenty meters from here. This distance ensured that he could arrive at Zhao Huasheng''s side within a second in case of an emergency, and that he would not interfere with Zhao Huasheng''s thoughts because of his presence.


    Meng Zhuo''s headphones were transmitting a speech into Meng Zhuo''s ears. "ording to the evaluation of our psychology experts group, we believe that dating will not only not affect Zhao Huasheng''s work efficiency but will actually bring many benefits. This can make Zhao Huasheng''s mind more resilient and increase his ability to endure. Under positive emotions, Zhao Huasheng''s thinking will be more keen, which will be of great help to Zhao Huasheng in solving the puzzles. Especially because Li Wei is Li Qi''s sister, she is the person who is most familiar with Li Qi, and her presence will bring many conveniences to Zhao Huasheng''s work. So this is a good thing. You should not only not interfere with them but instead create as many opportunities for them as possible."


    "I understand," Meng Zhuo said indifferently, his voice just loud enough not to be heard by Zhao Huasheng, but still picked up by the headphones, "Thetest development is that under Li Wei''s encouragement, Zhao Huasheng has decided to resume work from tomorrow."


    "See, this is the advantage of being in a rtionship," said a psychologist in the headphones.

 Chapter 21: Reverse Fusion

    Chapter 21: Reverse Fusion


    The cold night of Siberia finally passed. Today the weather is sunny, the sky is azure blue, and the faint breeze carries the scent of the fragrantke water of the Baikal Lake. The only downside is that it''s really cold here.


    After breakfast, Zhao Huasheng sat in his tent, flipping through some material. After a brief pause, Zhao Huasheng called out: "Meng Zhuo?"


    Meng Zhuo pushed open the curtain and walked in, "I''m here."


    "Let''s go." Zhao Huasheng said, "It''s time to go back."


    "Where are you going?"


    Zhao Huasheng hesitated and said, "Let''s go to Equator City."


    The "Equator City" is actually not a city, its area is even bigger than a country. In thetest geographic division, the government has included all of the tropical ocean, mountains, andnd into the Equator City. That is a vast area with a radius of 2500 kilometers from the equator and a total width of 5000 kilometers. The total area of this region is 200 million square kilometers, of course, including many uninhabitable terrains such as mountains, deserts, and oceans. After excluding these ces, the inhabitable area is only 40 million square kilometers. All of humanity''s resources and construction capabilities are concentrated on this 40 million square kilometers ofnd.


    "Okay, I''ll go arrange it." Meng Zhuo nodded and turned to leave.


    "Let someone else arrange the itinerary, Meng Zhuo, I have something to ask you." Zhao Huasheng said.


    Meng Zhuo then issued orders to the other staff members before returning to Zhao Huasheng''s tent.


    "In this period of time... what progress has the human society made in the research of the sun? Is there anything I need to know?"


    "A lot has happened in this month or so," Meng Zhuo nodded and said, "Let''s start with the exploration of the sun. Thanks to the efforts of many telescopes, detectors, and researchers, we have preliminary analyzed the physical process of the emergence of the low-temperature material belt on the surface of the sun and even reproduced it in the physicalboratory."


    "Oh? Such a huge breakthrough? Quickly bring me the relevant materials to have a look."


    Meng Zhuo nodded. It seemed that he had expected Zhao Huasheng to have such a question, so he had prepared the relevant materials earlier. After Zhao Huasheng''s request, Meng Zhuo reached into his pocket and handed Zhao Huasheng a stack of materials.


    Zhao Huasheng took about half an hour to finish reading the data.


    The data listed the reaction process, physical equations, and reaction models in detail. With Zhao Huasheng''s scientific literacy, understanding the data was not difficult.


    In short, the physical process is as follows: Under the extreme environment on the surface of the sun, sparse material can also undergo nuclear fusion reactions. However, this fusion is different from the nuclear fusion that supports the burning of the sun and generates heat in the core. It is not fueled by hydrogen or helium, but by elements that are heavier than these two elements.


    In the fusion reaction chain, elements lighter than iron release energy when they undergo fusion, while elements heavier than iron, including iron, absorb energy. Of course, this is under normal conditions. The nuclear fusion process urring on the surface of the sun at this moment is different. Although the materials participating in the fusion are lighter than iron, they still absorb energy instead of releasing it.


    This fusion mode has been named "inverse fusion" by physicists.


    As to why inverse fusion urs, it involves the intricate physical mechanisms of the microscopic world, and physicists are still not very clear about it. They only know that this situation of inverse fusion does exist and is happening on the surface of the sun.


    The factors triggering inverse fusion may be rted to the motion of certain substances on the surface of the sun and strong maic fields, and may also include many other extremely strict conditions. Physicists are still not very clear about the specific conditions, but one thing is certain, that this process of inverse fusion is extremely rare, so rare that among the tens of millions of stars observed by astronomers so far, only the sun has experienced this phenomenon.


    What is happening on the sun can now be given a reasonable exnation. The mass of the sun has not decreased, its volume has not changed, and neither has its pressure. It is simply due to a reverse fusion event urring on the surface of the sun, where the energy radiated by the sun is absorbed by the "reverse fusionyer", thus leading to a decrease in the sr radiation level.


    But this brings up three new questions. Among these three questions, the first one is: What is the first driving force? What is driving the reverse fusion phenomenon on the surface of the sun? ording to the assessment of physicists, the conditions for the reverse fusion reaction are too stringent. Physicists have spent endless effort to only recreate the phenomenon three times in theboratory, which means that the chances of such a phenomenon urring spontaneously in the natural environment are very low.


    In the material Zhao Huasheng had seen, a physicist described the probability of inverse fusion urring in nature in a very vivid way: "It''s like we walk into a primitive jungle that has been untouched by human beings for millions of years, and we unexpectedly find a tree shaped exactly like a wardrobe, and when we open the wardrobe, we even find the partitions and hangers inside."


    This is a probability so low that it can almost be ignored. So the question is, why is it that humans have never found this phenomenon in any other star in the universe, yet it appears in the sun? Is this a coincidence, or is there some kind of force at work?


    The second question is: what force is keeping inverse fusion alive?


    Based on the limited understanding of the phenomenon of inverse fusion, physicists can now be certain that it requires many conditions to maintain its existence. Even if it really appears on the sun, it cannot remain for a long time. Just like a house, if no one cleans it, it cannot remain clean and new. So, what power keeps the inverse fusionyer not only existing, but also expanding to almost wrap the entire sun?


    Another physicist left a sentence on this document: "This seems to mean the existence of aliens. I would rather believe that it was done by aliens than believe this was naturally urring and evolving on the sun on such arge scale."


    The third question is, where does the energy absorbed by inverse fusion go?


    Reverse fusion will also form new elements; however, these elements are very unstable and can only exist in a natural environment for a very short time before exploding and releasing all the absorbed energy, reverting it back to its original state. In other words, in general, reverse fusion neither absorbs nor releases energy, it merely stores it for a while and then releases it.


    But why have we never observed energy release phenomena on the sun? Where did all that missing energy go?


    Zhao Huasheng closed the folder thoughtfully, saying: "This is an ideal Dyson sphere model. Think about it: if we can artificially create such a reverse fusionyer and then find a way to collect and store the ''anti-matter'', stars will be an inexhaustible source of energy for us. Perhaps in the future, our spacecraft will no longer need any chemical or nuclear fuel; just store some antimatter, and we canplete interster voyages that we wouldn''t even dare to imagine now."


    "So, what do you think?" Meng Zhuo asked.


    Zhao Huasheng put down the folder and stood up, saying, "The existence of the anti-fusionyer implies the presence of an extraterrestrial supercivilization, which has at least reached the K2 level. They have chosen the sun, so they have set up the Dyson Sphere outside the sun to collect its energy for their own use. As for why the sun was chosen, who knows? "Perhaps it really has something special."


    Meng Zhuo shook his head, saying, "This argument has no value. After the existence of the anti-fusionyer and rted physical mechanisms were confirmed, scientists from the Research Department of the Crisis Management Center also believed that this was done by an extraterrestrial supercivilization. Some optical and radio telescopes have even been allocated to search for possible extraterrestrial spacecraft and signals. But humans don''t care about these things. Humans only care about how to solve the current problem."


    A groupposed of many physicists, social psychologists, science fiction writers, etc. is discussing why the K2 level civilization, if it exists, directly ignores us and does not contact us, whether we should contact them proactively and what attitude should be used for contact. Scientists are also specting about the possible social model and culture of this K2-level civilization and the ways to convince them to spare the sun, how to contact them, whether contact will anger them and lead to the destruction of the earth, etc.


    More experts are assessing the data left by Li Qi and your role in this incident. Afterbining previous data, they think Li Qi had contact with this K2 level civilization a long time ago, then found the weakness of this K2 level civilization in the dark, and then told you how to defeat this K2 level civilization through hints.


    "That''s right, they''re doing that now," Meng Zhuo said, spreading his hands towards Zhao Huasheng.

 Chapter 22: The Possibility of Defeating K-2 Civilization

    Chapter 22: The Possibility of Defeating K-2 Civilization


    After listening to Meng Zhuo''s words, Zhao Huasheng fell silent for a moment, then said: "Assuming this K2 civilization really exists, do you think we can really defeat them?"


    "That depends on you." Meng Zhuo said it bluntly.


    Zhao Huasheng fell silent again, then shook his head with a bitter smile: "Let''s assume two conditions. One, this K2 civilization really exists, and they really set up an inverted fusionyer as a Dyson sphere around the sun. Two, Li Qi''s really found a way to defeat this K2 civilization and then hinted at the method to me."


    "No, it doesn''t have to be defeat; co-existing peacefully is also possible." Meng Zhuo added.


    "No, co-existence is not possible," said Zhao Huasheng. "It''s quite obvious that our human civilization needs the sun, and that''s our bottom line. I don''t think a K2 civilization, which has chosen the sun as its energy source after so much deliberation, would make any concessions in this regard. To put it simply, there are so many stars in this universe, yet they chose to use the sun as their energy source. That means the sun is irreceable and unique to them. So if this K2 civilization exists, we could not coexist peacefully. Either we defeat them and bring the sun back to its normal radiation level, or they defeat us and our civilization copses, and they get the energy from the sun."


    Meng Zhuo said, "Perhaps there is such a possibility. The sr energy needed by the Earth is limited, perhaps Li Qi''s idea is to open a crack on the Dyson sphere that wraps the whole sun, preserving all the sunlight that shines on the Earth, and blocking the sunlight that shines in other directions. After all, the sun is a sphere and radiates a huge amount of energy in all directions, and the Earth receives none of the sr energy. Or, perhaps Li Qi''s idea is to let the K2 civilization make concessions and provide human beings with survival guarantees through their technological means. After all, at the level of K2 civilization, it may not be difficult to guarantee the survival of a K0.7 civilization."


    Zhao Huasheng shook his head and said, "This may also be ruled out. They are not doing it now because the Earth''s civilization has been greatly affected and many people have died. This means that, whether it''s opening a rift on the Dyson sphere or relying on their technological power to protect the survival ofhumans, it means paying and losing benefits for them, so they won''t do it. And if Li Qichang''s method is really like this, it also means resistance. It is obvious that only when we show enough bottom cards and qualifications for negotiation, will the K2 civilization make concessions to protect our survival. And there is no difference between "forcing them to make concessions" and "defeating them.""


    Meng Zhuo fell silent and stopped speaking. "Let''s discuss further, the possibility of ''forcing'' or ''defeating'' a K2 level civilization with the power of our human civilization," Zhao Huasheng said lightly. "Unfortunately, I think this possibility does not exist."


    "In the past, many films and television works about human civilization responding to the invasion of extraterrestrial civilizations have been filmed by artists and directors in our human society. In these films and television works, there are some that rely on certain sound waves to repel enemies, some that rely onputer viruses to defeat enemies, and some that rely on schemes to defeat enemies. In short, in the process of repelling these extraterrestrial civilizations, all of us humans use tricks. It seems that even ordinary people know that it is impossible to repel enemies by relying on real strength, so let''s discuss the possibility of repelling a K2 level civilization by relying on tricks."


    Unfortunately, this possibility still does not exist. Zhao Huasheng still shook his head indifferently, and his words were as cold as ice. "If you think it''s possible, then please help me think of a way to let the primitive humans with stone tools repel the modern armed forces with firearms."


    "Your words are too absolute," said Meng Zhuo, expressing his opposition.


    "It may be too absolute for two civilizations with limited differences, but it is not absolute for us. Even primitive humans with stone tools can kill a modern human, but we, a K0.7 civilization, absolutely cannot defeat a K2 civilization. Perhaps there is really some way, such as the dark forest theory, using such acts as exposing coordinates as a threat to make K2 civilizations retreat, but with our technological level, I don''t think we can find this way.


    "The difference in technological level is reflected in all aspects, which is the most cruel and ruthless oppression, just like we clearly know that if a rabbit can press a button to kill the human who wants to eat him, but from the rabbit''s perspective, can it know this thing?"


    "So my conclusion is that maybe there is a way, but we can''t find it."


    "No, that''s not right," Meng Zhuo said with a shake of his head."Normally, it is indeed so, but don''t forget Li Qi. Maybe Li Qi has already found this way and then hinted it to you."


    "So...what is Li Qi''s talent and virtue? Even if he is extraordinary, he is still within the scope of a normal human being. Where did he find the means to repel a K2 civilization? Of course, it is possible that Li Qi has alreadye in contact with this K2 civilization, so he would have this clever method. However, please note that this is only a possibility. If we assume this to be true, then we need to modify the premise to: a certain K2 civilization had been in contact with Li Qi for a long time, and then Li Qi discovered the means to repel this K2 civilization, and then this K2 civilization set up a Dyson Sphere around the sun to draw energy from it... but am''s razor implies that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily, which means that the more premises in a hypothesis, the lower its credibility.


    Meng Zhuo opened his mouth, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. After a while, Meng Zhuo rubbed his forehead and said, "I''m just an ignorant person; I can''t argue with all of you scientists."


    At this moment, a voice came from Meng Zhuo''s pocket. Meng Zhuo took out a device that looked like a cellphone and said, "Our conversation has been recorded, and the content is being sent to the Crisis Management Center for analysis by scientists. Now, you and yourpanions can speak."


    "Zhao Huasheng, hello, I am Wang Tang. We have met in Li Qi''s office before," said the machine.


    Zhao Huasheng said, "Hello."


    "We heard your discussion with Meng Zhuo. It cannot be denied that what you said makes sense. It is almost impossible for us humans with K0.7 level technology to repel a K2 civilization, and the probability is indeed very low. However, you can''t just assume it doesn''t exist because of the low probability. Do you have absolute confidence that Li Qi will not find a way to take advantage of this?"


    Zhao Huasheng shook his head and said, "I just said the probability is very low."


    "But this is the only hope for the survival of human civilization at this moment. Even if the probability is low, we must keep pursuing it."


    "Do you mean to put a lot of resources, manpower, and material into this?" Zhao Huasheng had a slightly ironic smile.


    "Yes." Wang Tang''s words were very definite.


    "Youve all gone down the wrong path," Zhao Huasheng said directly, "youve been blinded by appearances."


    "So, whats your opinion?" Wang Tang asked.


    "Let''s go back to the two original assumptions. One, that a K2 civilization actually exists and has set up a Dyson Sphere, and two, that Li Qi possesses a way to defeat this K2 civilization. However, I have argued that the possibility of us humans finding a way to repel this K2 civilization is extremely slim. So why do you still insist that these two assumptions are correct?"


    "Since these two assumptions are mutually contradictory, the likelihood of them both being true is very low. So why don''t we change the initial conditions to imagine that the K2 civilization does not exist and Li Qi does not have a way to repel them?"


    "Mm?" There was a sound of confusion from the device, followed by some murmuring, as if Wang Tang was discussing something with someone.


    After a while, Wang Tang''s voice came through: "But... these phenomena all hint at the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization...."


    Zhao Huasheng said softly, "So you all have been misled by the illusion. If K2 level civilization really exists, then there is only a very slim chance that Li Qi has the means to repel them. If Li Qi really has the ability to solve the problem, then the probability of K2 level civilization existing is very small. These two conditions cannot coexist. So, are you willing to believe in Li Qi or willing to believe that there is a K2 level civilization?"


    "Of course we are willing to believe in Li Qi," Wang Tang said weakly, "but besides the so-called extraterrestrial civilization, how do we exin the phenomenon of the Dyson sphere-like object above the sun at this moment?"


    Zhao Huasheng was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "This still requires us to continue to explore and pursue. My suggestion is not to put too much energy on the so-called extraterrestrial civilization. We should still return to the path of physical mechanism, data collection, and psychological analysis of Li Qi... If we can avoid some detours, human civilization will have a little more hope..."

 Chapter 23: Conspiracy Theories

    Chapter 23: Conspiracy Theories


    In one way, the assumption that "Li Qi has a solution to the existing predicament" is the premise of all discussions. If this assumption is true, then there is still hope; if the assumption is false, then there is no need to continue the discussion, and the entire human society will directly give up the struggle and put all hopes of preserving civilization in the City of Life.


    The second case has no meaning to continue the discussion, so the entire human society, including Zhao Huasheng, can only discuss and explore under the premise that the assumption is true.


    It is obvious that the hypothesis that "K2-level civilizations have ced a Dyson sphere around the Sun" is in contradiction with the hypothesis that "Li Qi has a way to solve the existing dilemma," which is the point that Zhao Huasheng was discussing. Zhao Huasheng does not want human society to put too much energy and resources in the wrong direction because, to some extent, this means suicide.


    "Of course, I don''t have much assurance to make sure of this," Zhao Huasheng sighed, "but under the current situation, we can only pin our hopes on this."


    "The Research Department will hold a general meeting to discuss your opinion, and when the meeting is over, I will inform you of the discussion results," said Wang Tang.


    "Okay, I''m waiting for you." Zhao Huasheng said.


    Wang Tang was silent for a moment, but he didn''t hang up the call. After a moment, Wang Tang finally said, "Hm... Zhao Huasheng, I heard you''re in a rtionship recently? With Li Qi''s little sister, Li Wei?"


    "Yes." Zhao Huasheng replied indifferently, "Psychologists have told me that positive emotions can help my work, expanding my thinking breadth and making my thinking more agile. Just so happens, Li Wei is a very nice girl and I''m happy to have something with her."


    "That''s not going to make the girl very happy," Wang Tang sighed. "But it looks like this situation is actually quite useful for your work. You''ve never been able toe up with such an inspiring statement before. Alright, goodbye; I''m going to report this to our superiors in the scientific research department, and we''ll have a meetingter."


    "Goodbye."


    After the call was disconnected, Zhao Huasheng again directed his attention to Meng Zhuo: "Tell me again, what progress have the psychologists working under the research department made regarding Li Qi''s psychological research?"


    "Not much progress," Meng Zhuo replied. "They still can''t figure out the exact time Li Qi underwent a change and what exactly caused him to take interest in you. Howeverafter a lot of references and analysis, the psychologists proposed a new theory."


    "As you know, Li Qi is often referred to as ''the son of the sun'' due to his almost unimaginable contributions to ster physics. But the majority of his major discoveries that shook the world were only made within the past two years. This time frame coincides with several other events such as ''Li Qi''s conversation with a mysterious person'', ''Li Qi''s personality change'', and ''Li Qi''s secret interest in you''. So, the psychologists specte that the reason Li Qi was able to make such great contributions might not be due to his own remarkable nature. In other words, they suspect that Li Qi''s contributions are rted to the mysterious presence behind him."


    This in turn has increased the credibility of the im that Li Qi had contact with an extraterrestrial super civilisation. But if you don''t think such a super civilisation exists, then I don''t know how to exin this," said Meng Zhuo.


    "There will be an exnation," Zhao Huasheng nodded, "Trust me, I can unlock all the mysteries...What is the view and analysis of the Research Department regarding the mysterious entity hidden behind Li Qi?"


    Meng Zhuo said, "There is not enough data to analyze anything. Currently, there are two main views. The first view is that the presence is an extraterrestrial civilization, and the second view is that the presence is some mysterious Earth human. Among the second view, some people believe that we haveplicated this matter, and the person Li Qi talked to was just an ordinary person, and the conversation was just a normal daily exchange, but we have made an excessive interpretation of the conversation record due to theck of context and the influence of the current mysterious atmosphere."


    "In short, in order to make more specific analysis, we must get more information," Meng Zhuo emphasized.


    Zhao Huasheng said, "I understand. Now please tell me more about the situation of human society today."


    The situation isn''t so good. The recent weather anomalies have finally caught the attention of ordinary people, and those who are knowledgeable, such as meteorology enthusiasts and exo-astronomers, have gradually spread news close to the truth to the entire society. Nowadays, the human society is in chaos. All kinds of conspiracy theories are rampant, and we have counted at least three hundred different ones. Among these conspiracy theories are ims that the government is conducting secret weapon tests which lead to the darkening of the sun, alien invasions, the government''s n to reduce sr radiation to cleanse humanity, and the ridiculous rumor that the government is colluding with aliens to sell out the earth and its people in exchange for their own interests.


    In addition to the rumors, various cults have also be popr. The doomsday theory has been rekindled, and numerous people who imed to be saviors or messengers from the gods are actively developing their followers. The crime rate has increased fivefold, hedonism has be popr, and there is a risk of social order copsing ...


    "I''m not interested in these details." said Zhao Huasheng.


    "Among the remaining two billion three hundred million people, more than six hundred million have expressed their refusal to evacuate. The subsequent mobilization is under way. Due to the limitation of transport capacity, the remaining one billion seven hundred million people are being evacuated in batches ording to the n. The agricultural sector is developing low-temperature nting technology and marine and mountain nting technology, and the reserve grain has started to be transported. However, due to the unknown timing of when the technology will make a breakthrough and how long the disaster willst, a strict grain rationing system has been implemented in the Equatorial City, and people need to participate in the construction of the Equatorial City to exchange for the materials needed to maintain their own survival."


    "The military has begun to expand its recruitment, and the police force, reserve forces, militia, joint defense forces, etc. are all beginning to organize on arge scale. The government is doing its utmost to maintain order in Equatorial City."


    After iplete statistics, at least ten million people have died abnormally due to the continuous extreme low temperatures,rge-scale migration, various upheavals, illegal crimes, etc., since the outbreak of the Sun Crisis. This number is still increasing rapidly. The initial construction of Life City has beenpleted, and the first to be qualified to enter are scientists from various fields. In Life City, they can conduct their research without interference and threats. The originally nnedrge-scale sr exploration program, including at least thirty sr explorers and a manned sr observation spacecraft, has been put on hold due to the spected existence of a K2 civilization.


    Meng Zhuo maintained his tone without any fluctuation, as if he was reading, and spoke out the messages one by one. The more Zhao Huasheng listened, the heavier his heart became.


    This was something that had never happened in human history. Such arge-scale migration, such arge-scale construction, and various otherplicated matters, really involved every individual in the entire human society. It was like a powerful vortex that attracted everyone, and no one could be excluded.


    "What will be the future of our human civilization?" A question popped up in Zhao Huasheng''s mind, but unfortunately, no one could answer it.


    "Everything is ready, we can leave now." At this moment, a report came from outside the tent. Zhao Huasheng nodded and walked out with Meng Zhuo.


    Still on the ne to Equator City with Meng Zhuo and Li Wei, Zhao Huasheng''s thoughts were still a bit scattered. The vast Siberiannd was still t and pristine, the scenery still beautiful, but Zhao Huasheng had no mood to look at those things now.


    Not knowing how long had passed on the ne, Zhao Huasheng''smunication device suddenly received amunication request. Zhao Huasheng pressed the answer button, and Wang Tang''s voice came through.


    "The meeting is over," Wang Tang said. "A total of 137 scientists from various fields participated in the discussion of your opinion."


    "Oh, what is the result of the discussion?"


    The final result is that the scientists have only partially epted your statement. Moreover, the possibility of the existence of a K2 civilization has decreased from ny percent to fifty percent. This means a lot of manpower, material resources, and scientific research resources will be shifted from dealing with K2 civilization issues to other scientific research. Also, with the approval of the head, the science department has decided to restart the Sr Exploration Program.


    "When will it start?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "From now on," Wang Tang said without hesitation, "we don''t have any time to waste. But...before the Sr Exploration Program is restarted, we n to send out a message to the vicinity of the Sun first."

 Chapter 24: The Radio Telescope

    Chapter 24: The Radio Telescope


    Zhao Huasheng was somewhat puzzled by this statement: "What message? Why send a message?"


    "We have reached this point, we must confirm whether the K2 level civilization that we spected exists. If they have indeed set up a Dyson sphere around the sun, then our radio signals sent to the sun will definitely be received by them. Yes, we want to make contact with them. No matter what their intentions and ns are, we cannot continue like this." Wang Tang''s words were somewhat helpless.


    "Has the leader made a decision?" After a moment of silence, Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "It was the suggestion of the Science and Research Department that the leader should do this." Wang Tang said, "After sending the message, we will be faced with two results: one, that the K2 civilization sends us a message back, and in that case, we can arrange and prepare our next steps ording to the content of the response; two, no one sends us a message back. In this case, there are two possibilities, first, that the K2 civilization has chosen to ignore us, and if this is the case, we cannot just sit back and wait; we must take the next step, whether it be active probing or other methods; second, that the K2 civilization does not even exist. If this is the case, we must hurry up and take the next step in order to save our civilization. So logically speaking, if we do not receive a response from the signal we sent out, we should restart the Sr Probing Program."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and said, "I agree with this statement as well. So, which observatory is responsible for transmitting the signal?"


    "The Telescope at the Starry Sky Observatory that received the ''Wow'' signal."


    The Starry Sky Telescope is thergest radio telescope on the, with a diameter of 500 meters. Obviously, such a giant telescope cannot be constructed like a normal radio telescope, which consists of a base and a huge pan-shaped antenna, because with the current level of human technology, it is impossible to support such arge device on the ground. In fact, it is built in a valley on the ground.


    It is a basin-shaped valley with a diameter of five hundred meters and tens of meters deep. When the Star River Observatory was built, the engineers remodeled the valley ording to a certain angle and curvature and then installed more than four hundred thousand aluminum tes ording to a certain rule on the mountain walls and bottom of the basin. A supporting frame was also built above the basin to support the signal receiver. In this way, all wireless signals within five hundred meters in diameter will be reflected by these aluminum tes to the signal receiver above, so that it can obtain the most sensitive signal receiving ability on the earth. ording to its theoretical strength, the Star River Radio Telescope can even receive wireless signals with a strength equivalent to that of mobile phonemunication on Mars.


    The most famous "Wow" signal ever received in the history of extraterrestrial life exploration was also received by it.


    The "Wow" signal was a suspiciously powerful radio signal from the direction of the constetion Sagittarius. It had a certain degree of logic to it, making it unlikely to be a natural phenomenon. After receiving the signal, the staff at the Big Ear radio telescope were so shocked that they wrote the character "Wow" on the signal paper to express their surprise, giving the signal its name.


    The Wow signal only appeared once, and no simr signal was ever detected again in the following decade, even after Big Ear and other research institutions around the world had monitored the direction of the Sagittarius constetion. The Wow signal disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and the meaning of the signal remains undeciphered to this day.


    This task of sending a message to the sun was entrusted to the world''s most powerful and famous radio telescope.


    "That''s good, Meng Zhuo; let''s not go to the equatorial city first; let''s go to the Star River Observatory," said Zhao Huasheng. "Let''s witness this event together."


    "Ok." Meng Zhuo agreed.


    "I''m not at the Star River Observatory, but it doesn''t matter, I''ll report this to the superiors. You can go directly there, and someone will receive you when you arrive," Wang Tang said. "Well, goodbye; contact me if something happens."


    "Ok, goodbye," Zhao Huasheng said.


    After turning in the sky, the helicopter made a supply stop at an undered military base, then continued its journey. After roughly eight hours, Zhao Huasheng and his party arrived at the Star River Observatory.


    The Star River Observatory had a veryrge area; the government even listed the area within 20 kilometers as a restricted area, prohibiting any irrelevant personnel from approaching. But the building area of the observatory was much smaller, just a single building two kilometers away from the Star River Radio Telescope. All the scientific researchers and maintenance personnel of the observatory lived here.


    The five helicopters that Zhao Huasheng and his party rode onnded in front of the building. There was already a group of people waiting there.


    "Hello, I am the head of the Star River Observatory, and these are the relevant scientists from the Research Department." A middle-aged bald man walked up, shook hands with Zhao Huasheng, and then introduced himself to Zhao Huasheng.


    Hello, I''m Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng nodded.


    The number of people at the Milky Way Observatory has increased a lotpared to before. In addition to the original staff and researchers from the Sr Crisis Coordination Center, there are also many security personnel around the Observatory. They are all strong young people wearing neat military uniforms, looking serious and powerful.


    The research department personnel knew Zhao Huasheng''s identity, but they didn''t say much or talk to Zhao Huasheng here, just nodded to him as a greeting. When they arrived in the control hall, Zhao Huasheng saw many screens, which were full of shing data and various charts, as well as red, green, ck and white lines. Zhao Huasheng was not an expert in radio astronomy, so he didn''t understand these things, but he didn''t ask any more.


    "When was the signal sent out?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    The observatory head exined, "The signal will be directed towards the sun, and only at noon will the telescope be facing the sun. You can rest for now."


    "No," Zhao Huasheng said, "can I go to the telescope and take a look?"


    "Sure," the observatory head said, "it''s just a routine task to send a signal, so we don''t need so many people to stay here. There''s a viewing tform next to the telescope, let''s go there."


    So Zhao Huasheng and his group, as well as several staff members from the observatory and some scientists from the research department, made a total of more than 30 people came to the viewing tform next to the telescope.


    The viewing tform was higher than the valley next to it. Standing on the viewing tform, both the distant green jungle and the huge telescope reflecting the sunlight a thousand meters away could be seen.


    The tree leaves in the dense forest have started to show a hint of wilting yellow due to the drop in temperature, yet the mountain breeze that blows across the viewing tform still carries a hint of coolness despite it being a scorching summer day.


    "This is probably ourst time using this viewing tform," the observatory director sighed, "The weather will get colder and colder in the future, so apart from the necessary maintenance of the telescope, we will all stay inside the base and note out anymore."


    "What, you''re not going to evacuate to the city on the equator?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Of course not," the observatory director shook his head, "if we leave, what will happen to the telescope? You have to understand that the current human government does not have the funds or ability to rebuild such a big thing. We are the ears of humanity that listen to the voice of the universe, so we must stay here."


    Apart from this observatory, there are at least thirty thousand organizations on Earth, with more than five million personnel who won''t evacuate to the Equator City," Meng Zhuo said indifferently. "Among these organizations, there are energy factories, coal mines, oil fields, nuclear power nts, research institutions, and so on. These are all immovable."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded slightly. These are the necessary institutions for the continuation of human civilization, and someone must stand up to stay in these positions.


    "Fifteen minutes to the signal transmission," the observatory''s head raised his wrist and looked at his watch, then said.


    Zhao Huasheng seemed to have not heard that sentence. Zhao Huasheng''s gaze crossed the distance of a thousand kilometers and went to the distant, huge valley. Hundreds of thousands of aluminum pieces melted together at this distance, reflecting the sun''s light and making Zhao Huasheng''s eyes narrow. Within three hundred meters around the valley, there was no vegetation or any traces of animals, and outside three hundred meters, the area was full of vegetation, and asionally the cries of wild animals could be heard.


    Under the weak sunlight, the whole huge radio telescope revealed a primitive and deste vor.


    "It''s time," said the head of the observatory.


    At the same time, Zhao Huasheng seemed to hear a faint buzzing sound, slightly low but very powerful. It entered people''s ears, making their heads dizzy.


    The head of the observatory seemed not to have felt this. He suddenly opened his mouth and said loudly, "Respected unknown civilization, hello, this is the voice of the human civilization from the third of this small sr system..."

 Chapter 25: The Fire God Telescope Solar Telescope

    Chapter 25: The Fire God Telescope Sr Telescope


    The buzzing sound became louder and louder, and while feeling dizzy, Zhao Huasheng also felt that his exposed skin seemed to be wooden, like ayer of stic film covering it, or like the feeling of static electricity. Zhao Huasheng looked up and saw countless birds flying out of the mountains and forests like headless flies, some of them even crashing directly onto the ground. Zhao Huasheng knew that it was because the birds'' navigational organs were being disturbed.


    I am witnessing what might be the first evermunication between human civilization and an extraterrestrial civilization, which has been developing alone on this small blue for millions of years, from ancient apes to now, when our human civilization has finally reached this point. The endless starry sky is like a ck curtain wrapping us all up, and behind this curtain hides an infinite number of mysteries...and now, a mysterious civilization from this mysterious world hase to the Sr System, and at this moment, we are trying to reach out to them.


    Zhao Huasheng felt a surge of enthusiasm in his heart. "If they really exist, if they really receive this message, what kind of thoughts would they have? Would they mock this backward civilization''s boldness or simply ignore it, treating it as an ant''s chirping?"


    Despite our current technological backwardness, we humans have made it this far. It is merely because we have not had enough time to develop and does not signify the inferiority of our civilization. If we can survive this crisis, we will spread our footprints across the entire sky and unlock the mysteries of the universe in the not-so-distant future...


    Zhao Huasheng''s emotions were surging like waves, refusing to be cated. Amidst the slight dizziness and difort on his skin, the voice of the observatory director still echoed in his ears. Zhao Huasheng knew that the words spoken by the observatory director were the contents of the signal sent by the radio telescope towards the sun.


    "It is our great fortune that two civilizations can bridge a distance of perhaps millions of light years and reunite here. As the masters of this small gxy, we wee your arrival and extend our sincere greetings to you."


    Although our technology is behind, we have still observed that you seem to be doing something in our gxy. May we ask, are you looking for something from our gxy, or are you conducting some scientific research in order to gain some scientific data? Can you tell us what it is? We would like to receive your answer.


    We believe that the moral level of a civilization isplemented by its technological level. You, who have advanced technology beyond our imagination, must have a moral level that matches your technology. And we believe that those of you with such lofty morality would note to trouble a backward civilization whose footsteps are still limited to its own. Unfortunately, we must tell you that your actions regarding certain aspects of our gxy''s sun have severely affected our lives, resulting in the deaths of millions of members of our civilization and potentially billions more in the aftermath. We are deeply saddened and grieved by this.


    We believe you are well-intentioned, which may be due to some missteps that we cannot understand. We eagerly await for you to rectify these mistakes to alleviate the suffering imposed on our civilization. We would very much like to coexist peacefully with your civilization, and we also believe this is your wish as well.


    Earth, humanity civilization. We await your response."


    The roar of the observatory head ceased, and the dizziness and skin difort felt by Zhao Huasheng vanished at the same time. The buzzing sound vanished and the birds in the mountain forest returned to silence. Zhao Huasheng knew then that the signal had ended.


    The whole message was presented in an earnest and humble manner towards the possibly existent or nonexistent K2 civilization. The millions of human deaths and the suffering of many more that followed were glossed over with a single line, "Your certain mistakes that we cannot understand".


    At this moment, Zhao Huasheng thought of the Frey family who perished in the cold and snow of the small town of Kowis, of those stubborn old people who refused to leave even in death, and of the mother bear who was shot by a gun from Meng Zhuo in order to protect its baby.


    A rush of heat flooded Zhao Huasheng''s heart, yet his expression remained calm, and he said nothing. Beside him, Li Wei grabbed his arm, and he heard her low sobbing and felt the warmth of his sleeve wet with her tears.


    "Damn it, damn it!" The head of the Observatory had already turned red-eyed at some point, and he walked up to the railing, grabbed it with both hands and held it so tightly that the veins on his arms even bulged out. He began to tremble all over.


    "That''s millions of people! If they said they would die, then they would die. The bandits havee to our house, taken away our sunshine, and yet we still have to lower our heads and plead with them to spare us out of ''noble morality''damn it! Damn it!"


    Meng Zhuo said indifferently: "This is politics. Politics is not affected by emotions, and politics is only guided by the pursuit of the highest interests. If lowering one''s head can save the sun and prevent more people from dying, then I don''t mind kneeling before these alien scum and kowtowing to them seventeen or eighteen times."


    Zhao Huasheng walked over and patted the head of the Observatory on the shoulder, saying in a low voice: "Don''t forget, we can''t be sure whether this K2 civilization really exists. The changes urring above the sun could also just be the result of natural physical mechanisms."


    The director of the observatory took a few deep breaths and turned to Zhao Huasheng, saying, "I''m sorry, I lost my temper."


    "It''s okay," Zhao Huasheng sighed and turned to the research department personnel and asked, "What''s the scheduled time?"


    "Three days," the research department personnel answered, "If we don''t receive a response from the extraterrestrial civilization within three days, we will assume that the extraterrestrial civilization does not exist and we willunch arge-scale sr exploration program."


    "Okay, let''s wait three days then," Zhao Huasheng nodded, "If I''m not mistaken, the Fire God Telescope is not far from here, right? Director Li Qi once led the construction of the telescope before his death and has been keeping data sharing between the Ster Physics Institute and the Fire God Telescope?"


    The research department personnel nodded and said, "Yes. The Fire God telescope, a sr telescope, is less than 500 kilometers from here. If you take a helicopter, you can get there within an hour and a half. The Fire God telescope is a sr telescope, specialized in observing the sun, and Li Qi, the director of the Ster Physics Institute, is responsible for the manufacture and maintenance of this telescope, which is quite normal."


    "Good." Zhao Huasheng nodded and said, "I will go there to take a look three dayster."


    Meng Zhuo said, "Okay."


    The signal transmission has ended, and the Telescope has returned to quiet, switching from signal transmission mode to signal receiving mode. Zhao Huasheng knew that after the signal was sent out, not only The Star River Radio Telescope, but also all the radio telescopes, optical telescopes, astronomical observatories on the Earth''s orbit, satellites, and many other facilities in space would be aimed at the sun.


    The Earth and the Sun are eight light minutes apart, so it takes eight minutes for signals we send to reach the Sun. Simrly, it takes eight minutes for signals from the Sun to return to Earth. Therefore, if the K2 level civilization really exists and responded to us immediately, we would receive the signal at the earliest sixteen minutester.


    Zhao Huasheng and the group of people spent fifteen minutes returning to the little building of the Star River Observatory. When they arrived at the control hall, Zhao Huasheng noticed many unfamiliar faces had gathered there, probably employees from the Research Department.


    The Star River Radio Telescope had been adjusted to its highest sensitivity, and the same was probably true of the other radio telescopes on Earth. At this moment, at least six hundred eyes were focused on the Sun, paying attention to every movement from its direction, and at least a few thousand people had their hearts in their mouths, waiting to receive a signal that could shock the world.


    The atmosphere in the control hall was heavy, like a lead weight, with no sound except the faint hum of instruments. Even breathing was kept to a minimum, as if afraid to disturb something hidden in the darkness.


    The sun, too, was a great source of radiation, constantly emitting powerful rays. At this moment, these rays were perfectly reflected in the instruments of the control hall. But the signals were meaningless; the instrument''s signal filter couldpletely filter out these interferences and leave only those with unusual logical features. If the signal has logical features, it is very likely to have been sent by an intelligent being.


    The clock is ticking away. Sixteen minutes have passed. In theory, this time is enough for the radio signal to make a round trip between the sun and the earth. But on the instrument disy, the signal from the sr direction remains stable, with nothing else except the sr radiation itself.


    Perhaps the K2 civilization also needs time to discuss whatnguage to use to respond to us. People thought this, then continued to wait.


    Eighteen minutes, twenty-five minutes, one hour, three hours...


    The sun direction remained quiet as usual.


    "Alright," said the head of the observatory, "It seems that either the K2 civilization doesn''t exist or they have ignored us."

 Chapter 26: Changes of 0.0001%

    Chapter 26: Changes of 0.0001%


    Five hours have passed. It is nearly six o''clock in the afternoon, but the sun is still quiet. Neither satellites, observatories, nor radio telescopes have received any logical signals from the direction of the sun.


    Perhaps it is true that, as the head of the observatory said, "Either the K2 civilization does not exist, or they have ignored us." After five hours, due to the angr difference caused by the rotation of the Earth, even if the signal from the direction of the sun really came, the Milky Way Radio Telescope could not receive it.


    Obviously, due to being built in a valley, the Star River Radio Telescope cannot freely rotate to point in different directions. It can only follow the Earth, scanning a certain range of the sky along a fixed orbit.


    Nevertheless, even if the Star River Radio Telescope cannot monitor the sun, it is no problem. At this moment, other radio telescopes that can freely rotate in other regions of the Earth are still chasing the figure of the sun until it sets.


    The highest intensity of monitoring willst for three days. If no information is returned after three days, the monitoring of the Sun''s direction will not stop. At least tworge radio telescopes will still be responsible for this task.


    Zhao Huasheng said, "Lets wait for three days then. Some people may think that exchanging with extraterrestrial civilizations to change our current predicament is easier than relying on our own strength to change the sun, but I don''t think so. I think if the sun has changed due to its own physical mechanisms, then we still have some chances. If there really is a K2 level civilization out there, then we have no chance at all. SoI hope no reply will evere back from the sun."


    The head of the Observatory said, "In any case, lets just wait for these three days."


    Zhao Huasheng, Li Wei, and Meng Zhuo stayed at the Star River Observatory. After the Star River Telescope was no longer able to observe the sun due to the earth''s rotation, the Star River Observatory returned to its daily routine.


    This is the most sensitive ear built by human civilization. It can even listen to the radiation emitted from gxies seventy billion lightyears away. Since thepletion of this radio telescope, it has discovered more than five hundred neutron stars and white dwarfs, and through gamma ray monitoring, it has determined at least three hundred new suspected ck hole ster bodies. It has made many extremely important discoveries in close binary stars, progenitor variable stars, supernova explosions, double neutron stars or white dwarf systems, and dense main sequence star models.


    There is always massive radiation and signals in the universe.The role of the Milky Way Radio Telescope is to listen to these signals, filter out useless interference, and screen out signals of value to astronomy research.


    Zhao Huasheng is also an astronomer. Although his research direction is different from those of the Astronomical Observatory, this does not prevent Zhao Huasheng from participating. Zhao Huasheng stayed at the Milky Way Astronomical Observatory for three days, until noon on the third day.


    After 72 hours, the sun remained silent and still. None of the global receiving devices had detected even a hint of a signal.


    At this moment, Zhao Huasheng received the notice from Wang Tang: "The Prime Minister has approved, and we have decided to runch the Sr Exploration n. There will be at least thirty probes and one manned spacecraft leaving Earth for the Sun."


    "Good," said Zhao Huasheng, "When will theunch be?"


    "The astronauts will depart from Earth tomorrow."


    "Okay, I''ll go see them off too," said Zhao Huasheng.


    "Wee," said Wang Tang.


    Themunication was cut off, Zhao Huasheng said to Meng Zhuo, "There is still some time before the rocketunches. Let''s go to the Fire God Telescope to take a look. Maybe we can find some clues left by Li Qi."


    "Alright," Meng Zhuo agreed. After an hour of preparation, five helicopters carrying Zhao Huasheng and his group left the Star River Observatory and set off towards the Fire God Telescope.


    The Fire God Telescope is an optical telescope, so it must be constructed in a ce with clean air to reduce the impact of the atmosphere on the light so as to improve the observation uracy. In fact, the construction site of the Fire God Telescope is on mountain, with an altitude of more than five thousand meters, and it is dry and rarely rains all year round.


    Located at lowtitude, although sr radiation has been reduced a lot, the in temperature here still remains above zero. But it is different on the mountain. At an altitude of more than five thousand meters, the temperature has dropped to about minus thirty degrees. In such extreme cold, Zhao Huasheng''s helicopter came to the open space in front of the Fire God Telescope.


    The head of the Fire God Telescope base received Zhao Huasheng and his group. After bringing Zhao Huasheng and other people from the cold outside to the base, he left alone and reced another person to apany Zhao Huasheng and others. This was a somewhat thin, wooden and awkward middle-aged man wearing sses, with a pen in his pocket, looking very much like a schr of thest century.


    The middle-aged man said, "That''s right, this telescope was indeed built under the supervision of Director Li Qi. After Director Li Qi unfortunately passed away, the research department has sent at least seven batches of people toe here to inspect, but they didn''t find anything valuable. What, you guys are from the research department too? Coming here to investigate Director Li Qi''s things?"


    "Yes, we hope to find some clues left by Director Li Qi here," Zhao Huasheng said, nodding.


    "No, there''s nothing here," the middle-aged man shook his head regretfully, "Director Li Qi had permission for this telescope, but after it was built and put into use, he never paid attention to this ce again. How could there be anything left by Director Li Qi here?"


    Zhao Huasheng asked: "Does Li Qi have the operating authority over this telescope? Is it possible that Li Qi could operate this telescope for some observations without going through you guys directly with his own authority?"


    "In theory, this is possible," said the thin, middle-aged man. "However, the investigators from the Seventh Division of the Research Department have already investigated this matter, and they seem to have found nothing."


    "Yes, the research department personnel have investigated this matter," said Meng Zhuo. "The investigators did not find any trace of Li Qi''s activities. There are two possibilities: one, Li Qi really did not do anything; two, Li Qi did something, but he left no trace. We don''t know which one is true. Since this information has no value, I did not report it to you."


    "Hmm." Zhao Huasheng nodded, thinking for a moment, then he turned to Li Wei and asked: "Since it''s an optical telescope, did the people from your Optical Research Institute participate in the construction process of this telescope?"


    Li Wei said that she had participated in the investigation, and the investigators had also examined the construction drawings and technical parameters of the telescope, but they hadn''t found anything strange.


    Zhao Huasheng pondered for a while, then said to the thin, middle-aged man, "Can we go and have a look at the telescope?"


    "Of course," the middle-aged man replied. "We can take the car there."


    The group then drove to therge factory where the telescope was located.


    Optical telescopes are different from radio telescopesthey don''t have the shape of a pot lid but rather the traditional cylindrical structure, just muchrger. When it is used, the baffle above the factory is removed, and light from afar enters its mirror.


    Although the structure is the same as a mirror, it is different from other telescopes. Other telescopes are mainly used for observing extremely distant celestial bodies, while this one is used for observing the sun. The sun is toorge and too close, and if it is not treated, the sr light collected by the lens is enough to melt steel tes. Therefore, there are many filter tes on the outside of this telescope, and the staff at the base can conveniently adjust the intensity of the light entering the telescope ording to the observation needs.


    Many staff are busy here. On the huge screen in the factory, Zhao Huasheng also saw the real-time image of the sun. It was a hot fireball with a dark red color, and even after a great amount of attenuation, it still looked full of awe-inspiring power.


    Due to the outbreak of the sr crisis, the observation tasks of this telescope have suddenly increased many times, even the staff here have increased three or four times more than before.


    Zhao Huasheng did not say anything, only walking leisurely around the busy researchers, looking around the arrangement here and at the data sent back, and asionally casting his gaze on the huge telescope.


    After a while, Zhao Huasheng asked thoughtfully, "What is the resolution of this telescope in terms of sr light?"


    "Resolution? What do you mean?" The middle-aged man with a slim figure asked with some confusion.


    "Light intensity. For example," Zhao Huasheng said, "If its uracy is adjusted to the highest, is it possible for it to detect the light intensity changes in a specific area of the Sun - this area may be very small, let''s say 10 square kilometers, can it detect it?"


    "Of course it can be detected," the thin middle-aged man said. "This telescope has a very powerful function. It is one of the most advanced ground telescopes built by humanity."


    "What kind of uracy can it achieve? Can a change of one millionth of a magnitude be detected?" Zhao Huasheng asked immediately.

 Chapter 27: A Hint of Discovery

    Chapter 27: A Hint of Discovery


    Upon hearing Zhao Hua''s question, the thin middle-aged man paused for a moment before replying, "Theoretically speaking... it should be possible, but we haven''t tried it before, and I''m not very clear on these matters. But you should know one thing, and that is light interference. The Earth has a very thick atmosphere; clouds, air flow, and even uneven water content in certain ces of the atmosphere can all affect light. In space, there are sunspot activities, as well as space dust,ets, etc., which can all cause changes in sunlight. A precision of one-millionth is too high, I''m not sure about that...the real universe environment is different from theboratory environment, it is veryplicated."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded thoughtfully, "Theoretically it can be done, but have you guys really tried it?"


    "Yes," the middle-aged man with a thin build nodded.


    Zhao Huasheng left the factory and came to the t mountainside. This was the highest peak within a hundred-mile radius, yet human power was ultimately manifested here, with the top of the mountain ttened and various huge buildings rising from the ground. All supplies here had to be delivered by airnes from outside, and evenmunication with the outside world had to be done through satellites. In such a ce that was almost isted from the world, the giant sr telescope representing human eyes was firmly gazing at the sun.


    In the cold air, Zhao Huasheng raised her head and directed her gaze towards the towering telescope over twenty meters high. Numerous machinery were supporting its operation, and the earth''s rotation slightly changed its orientation. As long as it was daytime, it would always point towards the sun until the sun set.


    The air in the sky was iparably pure, so pure that it felt like it was washing one''s eyes. There were no clouds in the sky either. Zhao Huasheng had never felt the world she was seeing to be so clear.


    Even at this time in the afternoon, Zhao Huasheng could already see a few stars in the sky.


    The light from the sun had crossed the immense distance of 150 million kilometers, passing through the pure air here. Along with bringing light and warmth, they also brought some hidden messages from the sun.


    Zhao Huasheng knew that these rays were very ancient, even older than the entire history of mankind. Photons are produced in the core of the sun''s fusion, with a diameter of about 1.4 million kilometers and a radius of 700,000 kilometers. That is to say, photons need to travel up to 700,000 kilometers from the core of the sun to its surface.


    The speed of light in a vacuum is 300,000 kilometers per second. ording tomon sense, it should only take a little more than two seconds toplete this journey. But this is not the case in reality. The environment inside the sun is very special. The material density there is too high, and the temperature is too high. After photons are produced, they are constantly reflected and collided within the sun, gradually approaching the sun''s surface.


    Usually, this time scale is 15 million years. Even if we start counting from the ancient apes, the history of mankind is no more than a few million years.


    In other words, the sunlight that we can see right now was actually produced inside the sun long before humans even existed. It took 15 million years to reach the surface of the sun and then 8 minutes to travel to Earth and enter our eyes to be perceived.


    This is an epic story and a great journey.


    Zhao Huasheng looked at this huge telescope and was in deep thought.


    When he saw this telescope and knew that Li Qi had the right to use it, something seemed to be connected in Zhao Huasheng''s heart, but it was a vague feeling and he couldn''t make it out clearly.


    "Do I have the authority to use this telescope?" Zhao Huasheng asked Meng Zhuo.


    "Yes," Meng Zhuo nodded, "but I need to seek permission from the research director first. Themand to grant you the authority to use the telescope will be sent here from the research department."


    "Alright, I''ll go do that now," Zhao Huasheng said.


    Meng Zhuo then took out the instrument, which looked like a phone, and said a few words in a low voice. After a moment, he said, "Alright, now you have the authority to use this telescope. You can use it freely and without restriction, and if you think it''s necessary, I''ll even allow you to destroy it."


    Zhao Huasheng smiled bitterly and turned back into the factory. The thin middle-aged man with sses came up to him and said, in a slightly strange, dark tone: "Okay, from now on, this telescope is yours."


    All the original observation tasks were suspended, and the researchers were temporarily idle. They whispered to each other in their respective positions, seeming to guess Zhao Huasheng''s identity.


    Ignoring these rumors, Zhao Huasheng went straight to the operator and said, "Hello, please help me adjust the resolution of the telescope to the highest and aim at... uh, just aim here."


    Zhao Huasheng randomly pointed at a ce on the sun model with his hand.


    The operator replied and tapped the keyboard in front of him, adjusting the parameters of the telescope. Zhao Huasheng then heard a very faint mechanical rotation sound that onlysted for a moment before it stopped, and then the image of the sun on the big screen quickly erged, as if it was rapidly approaching.


    Zhao Huasheng saw the surging sma waves on the sun, saw the sunspots bound by the strong maic field, like a stargate, and saw many things on the surface of the sun. But these things were macroscopic; they didn''t look big, but in fact they were bigger than a dozen Earths added together.


    The telescope''s line of sight continued to quickly prate, and the surging sma waves disappeared, the huge sunspots also disappeared, and a blurred image of dark red appeared in front of him.


    The operator said, "This is actually a photo of the photosphere. The photosphere is the innermostyer of the sun''s atmosphere, and we can only see this far; what''s inside we can''t see."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and did not exin his identity as an astrophysicist but asked, "Is this the highest resolution now? What is the resolution of the picture?"


    "Three kilometers per pixel, the whole picture is about three thousand by three thousand, which is a total of nine million square kilometers of the sr surface image," the operator said.


    "Mm, start recording the brightness changes at the pixel point at coordinates 926, 1453 from this moment on," Zhao Huasheng said.


    This coordinate point was selected randomly by Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng just wanted to test the performance of the telescope and hadn''t expected to observe anything from there.


    "Okay," the operator agreed and manipted the keyboard. A minuteter, Zhao Huasheng said, "Print the result to me."


    A piece of paper soon arrived in Zhao Huasheng''s hand. On this piece of paper, the operator represented the luminosity of the pixel with a graph as it changed over time.


    The surface of the sun was very unstable, so naturally the luminosity of a certain ce would change over time. This was a change that happened almost at random, so it was impossible for Zhao Huasheng to see anything from the chart. Zhao Huasheng didn''t expect to get any information from it either. Zhao Huasheng just wanted to confirm his own conjecture.


    "What''s the precision?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Um..." The operator paused and quickly tapped a few keys on theputer before answering, "It''s about nine hundred and thirty thousandths of a precision."


    "Good, I''m done here. You can start working now," Zhao Huasheng said as he slipped the paper into his pocket.


    The operator gave Zhao Huasheng a slightly puzzled look but didn''t ask what Zhao Huasheng wanted to do. Under the arrangements of the thin middle-aged man, the researchers in the factory returned to work. The Fire God Telescope adjusted its posture, and the image of the hot sun reappeared on the big screen.


    "Do you have any conclusions?" Meng Zhuo asked, "Perhaps the scientists in the research department can help you sort it out."


    "I don''t have any conclusions," Zhao Huasheng shook his head, "I don''t even have any ideas. It''s just that this telescope reminded me of the high-precision light intensity detector Li Qi once installed on the sr environment simtor. I want to see if there is any connection between the two."


    "There might be some connection." Hearing Zhao Huasheng''s words, Meng Zhuo lost interest in continuing to ask.


    "Let''s go; there''s nothing here." Zhao Huasheng said, "We''ll rest here for the night, and tomorrow we''ll go to the rocketunch site to bid farewell to those brave warriors heading to the sun."


    The middle-aged man with a lean figure said, leading Zhao Huasheng and his group back to the building next to the factory. At night, Zhao Huashengy in bed, but he couldn''t fall asleep. There seemed to be two points vaguely connected in his mind, but he couldn''t figure out what it was. He didn''t know when he fell asleep, but perhaps it was because the air here was so good that Zhao Huasheng felt no fatigue when he woke up in the morning. As the sun rose as expected, the Fire God Telescope followed the sun and started another day of work. At this time, Zhao Huasheng got on the helicopter and started his journey to theunch field.

 Chapter 28: Crimson Heart

    Chapter 28: Crimson Heart


    There are more than thirtyunch sites on Earth. After the Sr Crisis, allmercial, meteorological, monitoring, and civilian satelliteunch ns were stopped and reced with scientific research satelliteunch missions. In the past period of time, at least three rockets wereunched into space every day, carrying arge amount of materials and technological equipment. However, after the "Anti-Fusion Layer" on the surface of the sun was discovered and it was spected that a K2 level civilization might exist, allunch ns were stopped. The reason is simple: senior officials of the human government are worried that too many spaceunch ns will cause misunderstanding with the extraterrestrial civilization and bring disaster to the earth.


    After Zhao Huasheng raised the paradox between the two premises, no response was received to the signal sent out by the Star River Telescope for three days, and the possibility of the existence of a super extraterrestrial civilization was reduced, so therge-scale spaceunch n was immediately resumed.


    This first spaceunch task was performed at thergest of the manyunch sites.


    Zhao Huasheng spent several hours getting from the Fire God Sr Telescope Base to theunch site. Launch Site No. 1 was located in the former sub-tropics of the Earth period, and it should be quite hot now at the height of the summer. However, due to the effects of the sun crisis, the average temperature here has dropped to around fifteen degrees Celsius, and at night it can even drop to zero degrees.


    The weather today is not very good. There are no clouds in the sky, nor are there any signs of rain or snow, but the wind is very strong, even blowing the helicopter unsteadily. After the helicopternded, Zhao Huasheng stood up his cor and left the cabin with Meng Zhuo and others. Outside, Wang Tang and others were already there, waiting.


    After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone headed to theunch control room. On the way, Wang Tang gave a brief introduction of theunch mission.


    "Thisunch is the most important part of the entire Sr Exploration Program," said Wang Tang. "We have made some improvements to the Mars exploration spacecraft that was already deployed in the Earth''s orbit, such as installing a heat shield, radiation shield, increasing fuel reserves, upgrading the engine andmunication equipment power, recing relevant scientific exploration instruments, and making many other modifications, so that it can finally be transformed into a manned spacecraft capable of performing the sr exploration mission."


    Before the sr crisis broke out, the human government had taken the lead in the ambitious Mars manned exploration program, but when the crucial moment came for the spaceship to finally be assembled and the astronauts to arrive, the n was put on hold. Now, its use has changed, and its target is no longer Mars but the sun.


    There are many differences between the Mars exploration mission and the sr exploration mission. The closest distance between Mars and Earth is only 55 million kilometers; of course, this is only the shortest distance in theory. In actual Mars exploration missions, it is basically impossible for humans to get such a good opportunity. In the original Mars exploration mission trajectory n, this trajectory length is 800 million kilometers. The "Heart of Scarlet" spacecraft will take 50 days to reach Mars and enter its orbit, then release thender carrying astronauts to the surface of Mars. After a three-month inspection, it will take about 80 days to return to Earth.


    The distance between the sun and the earth is muchrger. The average distance is 150 million kilometers, which is twice as much as the Mars exploration mission and a little more. This will inevitably require more materials and fuel reserves, and the space environment near the Sun is much worse than Mars. The Heart of Scarlet can reach Mars, but it can''t get close to the Sun.


    Therefore, under the guidance of the human government, the research department made many improvements to the Red Heart and finally enabled it to undertake the mission of approaching the sun.


    If there had been enough time, it would undoubtedly have been better to recreate a sun-detecting spacecraft, but unfortunately, the sr crisis broke out too fast, and it would take at least five years to build an interster spacecraft, including the initial mission nning, that is, the performance and functions of the spacecraft put forward by the research department, and then the engineering department would make research on how to achieve these functions, draw drawings and submit them for review, and then enter the final construction stage after the review passed.


    The construction task will be dispersed to tens of thousands of factories around the world for separate manufacturing. After passing the eptance, theseponents will be preliminarily assembled, and then arge number of debugging and tests will be carried out. After passing, they will beunched into the Earth''s orbit by rockets. A temporary space station will also be set up to take charge of the subsequent docking and assembly of these modules, as well as maintenance tasks.


    Every rocketunch can only carry part of the spacecraft into space. It takes manyunches to assemble the whole spacecraft. The Red Heart Spacecraft has sessively carried out more than 100 rocketunches before it was finally assembled in space. During this process, theunch, return, life safety assurance, material assurance, coordination, andmand of astronauts responsible for the assembly of spacecraft are all huge projects.


    Among the more than 100 rocketunch missions, there were three failures, resulting in the death of four excellent astronauts and the damage of three batches of precious precision instruments.


    A total of more than one million excellent scientists, engineers, workers, managers, logistics support personnel, and others participated in this huge project. Human civilization, with its own sweat and blood, spent five years to build this great spacecraft. But in the end, its target changed from Mars to the Sun, which is somewhat dramatic.


    Theter remodeling mission had a total of 37 rocketunch missions. The Crimson Heart spaceship was very excellent and remodeling it into a sr detector was much more time and resource-saving than building a new one. Now, all the preparations wereplete, and the Crimson Heart was ready to go to the sun for an on-site observation. Wang Tang said, "Of course, before that, we need to send the five excellent astronauts to the spaceship first."


    Zhao Huasheng stopped his pace, and his eyes looked towards the distant, rocket, standing like an arrow pointing to the sky.


    This was the Great Strength God heavy-duty carrier rocket. It was 70 meters high and had a total weight of 3500 tons. Eachunch could send 130 tons of payload into space. This was a miracle in the history of human engineering, being thergest rocket built by humans so far.


    The Great Strength God rocket was more than two thousand meters away from Zhao Huasheng. Even at such a distance, the grandeur of the Great Strength God rocket still came into sight. Anyone who saw the rocket would be amazed by its huge size and power.


    Zhao Huasheng gazed at it in awe, not knowing what to think. Wang Tang walked up behind him and whispered, "Among the 130 tons of payload for thisunch, aside from the five astronauts, three men and two women, there is also a cargo hold full of supplies. It has some propulsion, and after the Great Strength Rocketunches them into space, the astronauts will use the cargo hold and the Red Heart spacecraft to dock and be part of the ship. Then they will get into the cockpit and pilot the Red Heart spacecraft out of Earth''s orbit, heading toward the sun."


    "Robots can neverpare to humans, there are many operations that can only be done by them. So, the scientists have designated this mission as a manned flight, they hope that the instruments loaded on the Red Heart spacecraft, as well as the five astronauts, can figure out what the ''Reverse Fusion Layer'' is and if there is a way to break through it."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded, taking his gaze off of the Great Strength Heavy Launch Rocket, and followed Wang Tang into the control room.


    More than a hundred staff members were busy in the control room, monitoring the data of the Great God rocket and the material reserve warehouse at all times.


    "I am themander in chief of the Red Heart No.1 spacecraftunch mission," said Wang Tang to Zhao Huasheng, "Now it''s thest preparation stage. The astronauts havepleted theirst physical examination and are on their way here. Theunch window is between 2pm and 4pm, ording to the weather data, and the Great God rocket will beunched at the right time."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded, and he, Li Wei and Meng Zhuo sat down in the viewing gallery together.


    Perhaps it was the solemn atmosphere in the control hall that affected Li Wei, after sitting down, she held Zhao Huasheng''s hand and said in a low voice, "Huasheng, I''m a bit nervous."


    Zhao Huasheng squeezed Li Wei''s hand and also said softly, "Don''t be nervous, the Great Strength No.1 rocket is known for its high safety, thisunch will definitely be fine."


    After settling Zhao Huasheng and the others, Wang Tang re-entered the tense work. A lot of data needs Wang Tang to analyze, and a lot of decisions need Wang Tang to make, so Wang Tang can''t stay here for too long to dy Zhao Huasheng.


    After waiting for about an hour in the operation hall, the door of the hall opened again. Five astronauts in sky blue cabin uniforms lined up and came in.


    Seeing the five astronautsing in, all the staff in the operation hall put down their work and stood up, and the operation hall was filled with enthusiastic apuse.


    Wang Tang went up and hugged each of the five astronauts, then stood aside and swept the entire operation hall with a very serious expression.


    "These are the five astronauts who will be taking on our mission to explore the sun," said Wang Tang.

 Chapter 29: The Oath-Taking Ceremony

    Chapter 29: The Oath-Taking Ceremony


    When Wang Tang said the first sentence, all the voices in the operation hall disappeared, and only Wang Tang''s powerful voice echoed here.


    "Each of them has the toughest mental quality, the strongest body, the most outstanding ability to resist pressure and make decisions, and the deepest love for our human civilization. They will take the eyes and ears of all the scientists who remain on Earth into space toward the sun, leading us to explore what happened above the sun. In some ways, they hold our hope." Wang Tang said.


    "In a sense, we humans have been moving too fast. So far, we have onlynded on the moon, not even Mars. Our level of technology is not advanced enough, our capabilities are not strong enough, our understanding of the near-sr universe is not deep enough, and we cannot urately estimate the risks that may exist. Our technical level is only just barely up to the requirements. But we have no other choice. This sr crisis is the first serious test faced by human civilization. We have no time, energy, or resources to prepare slowly, so the first manned sr exploration mission was carried out in a hurry. This sr exploration mission is very, extremely dangerous. This is a round trip of almost 400 million kilometers, and the five heroes will spend six to eight months on the Red Heart spacecraft. No one can predict what kind of dangers and challenges they will face during this period. It can be said that from the moment the five heroes boarded the Aresunch rocket, they entrusted their lives to fate and dedicated them to the whole human race. To be honest, I don''t have such courage, and I''m sure most of us here can''t do it either. But these five heroes did it bravely and resolutely, without any hesitation."


    The tallest of the five astronauts said: "There are always things that need to be done. If we don''t do them, what will be of human civilization? We live in this system, and each individual contributes to civilization while also receiving its protection. We have a natural duty to sacrifice for civilization. So we are not afraid. We only ask toplete the mission and get enough technological data. As for our life and death, it is irrelevant to the overall situation."


    "That''s right," said a female astronaut with a lighthearted smile. "I have already left a letter at home, but I hope that it won''t be opened unless it is confirmed that we are dead."


    Wang Tang said: "I am themander of this manned sr observation mission. I promise that I will use all my strength to ensure your safety and the smooth execution of the mission. If the Scarlet Heart spaceship encounters an unexpected ident and you suffer misfortune, I will take full responsibility for it and redeem myself with my life."


    Another astronaut smiled and said, "The mission will certainly be sessful. We are very optimistic aboutpleting this mission. Before this mission, we received five years of space travel training, and we believe we have the ability to solve any unexpected problems we encounter on the journey."


    "Very good," Wang Tang nodded. At this time, a staff member walked to Wang Tang''s side and said something in a low voice. Wang Tang said again, "The president has received our report, and he wants to say a few words to you personally."


    Wang Tang pressed a button, and the figure of the old man appeared on the big screen in the hall. Zhao Huasheng looked at the screen, and his pupils could not help but shrink.


    Thest time Zhao Huasheng saw the old man was probably more than a month ago. In just over a month, the old man seemed to have aged more than ten years.


    The wrinkles on his face were deeper, one by one, like ravines. His hair was dyed, but the roots still showed a little paleness. His eyes were a bit muddy, as if he hadn''t had a rest for more than ten days. Even through the screen, Zhao Huasheng could still feel the tiredness emanating from the old man.


    The migration n with billions of people, thergest construction n in human history, all kinds of rumors, conspiracies, disturbances, cults, food problems, energy problems, transportation problems, etc., all these matters need this old man to make a final decision. If Zhao Huasheng holds half of the fate of mankind in his hands, then the old man holds all of it.


    Although the old man looked extremely tired, his voice was still loud and full of strength. After adjusting the video equipment, the old man''s loud voice echoed throughout the entire operation hall: "Heroes, hello."


    The five astronauts bowed to the screen together: "Your Excellency, hello."


    The importance of this mission need not be said by me, you all understand it in your hearts. I have only one thing to tell you, no matter where you are, even in the distant starry sky, the whole earth, the entire human civilization will be, and always be, your strong backing. No matter what kind of crisis you encounter, no matter how desperate or scared you are, never forget the small blue behind you. There are seven billion of your kind living on this, your family, friends, lovers, children, and parents are all here, always watching you, blessing you.


    "Please rest assured, we will definitelyplete the mission." The five astronauts said in unison.


    The old man rubbed his forehead, tiredly, and fell silent. Finally, he sighed and said, "You muste back safely, I, and all the people of the Earth will be waiting for you here."


    Perhaps moved by the solemn mood of the moment, Li Wei''s eyes had unknowingly filled with tears. Li Wei held onto Zhao Huasheng''s hand even more tightly.


    Zhao Huasheng felt a sense of heaviness in his heart. This was indeed an extremely dangerous mission; from the moment the Great Strength Rocketunched, every step of the mission was apanied by risks, and any small negligence could lead to an irrecoverable disaster. For instance, the rocket could explode during itsunch, and the cause of the explosion might only be due to a malfunctioning gasket; during the mid-air docking, a piece of debris no bigger than a grain of rice could possibly im a life, not to mention the months-long journey that followed.


    But Zhao Huasheng''s feelings were not just simple heaviness. In addition to the heaviness, Zhao Huasheng was also feeling something else. He couldn''t identify where this emotion wasing from or why it was there, but it made him feel uneasy and agitated, as if he had forgotten something important for this manned sr observation mission.


    This feeling was very unpleasant. Zhao Huasheng tried his best to calm his thoughts, attempting to think out the reason, which seemed to be on the verge of being discovered, as if it was only a thin sheet of paper away from appearing in Zhao Huasheng''s mind. However, Zhao Huasheng eventually failed and got nothing, still unable to think out the reason.


    In the end, Zhao Huasheng gave up thinking. Zhao Huasheng lowered his head and said to Li Wei: "I''ll go up and say a few words to them."


    Li Wei nodded and let go of Zhao Huasheng''s hand. Zhao Huasheng walked up to the rostrum and nodded to Wang Tang first, then said to the screen: "Your Excellency, hello."


    "Huasheng, you''re here too." The old man smiled happily, "So, do you have anything to say to me?"


    "No, I want to say something to these five heroes." Zhao Huasheng said, shifting his gaze to the five astronauts, who also looked at Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng''s mouth moved, but the words were finally stuck in his throat and not said out loud.


    Zhao Huasheng suddenly did not know what to say. Zhao Huasheng had a strange feeling of restlessness in his heart, which made him feel that this manned sr observation mission was not suitable, but he did not know why. Since he didn''t know the reason, how could Zhao Huasheng speak out?


    Reason told Zhao Huasheng that if there was no definite evidence, then this manned sr observation mission was inevitable, and he had no reason to stop it - should he let all the staff''s hard work go to waste just because of his own ominous premonition?


    Silence fell in the control hall. The five astronauts looked at Zhao Huasheng with questioning eyes. Even Wang Tang, the many staff, and the elderly on the screen looked at Zhao Huasheng with puzzled eyes.


    Whispers echoed in the control hall. Except for Wang Tang, the elderly, and a few others, no one else knew Zhao Huasheng''s special identity. Everyone was puzzled by Zhao Huasheng''s sudden arrival and his silence on the podium.


    Zhao Huasheng moved his mouth and seemingly said, in a dismayed manner, "Wish you all the best. You will surely return to Earth safely. When youe back, I would like to invite you all for a drink."


    "Thank you," the tallest astronaut thanked politely, "We look forward to that day."


    Zhao Huasheng retreated and returned to the seat of honor. Wang Tang reported a few more sentences to the old man. The old man''s eyes sharpened, and his voice became serious and powerful, "Now, I order, the Sr Astronaut Observation Program to officially begin! Astronauts, enter the rocket, and get ready for liftoff!"

 Chapter 30: Rocket Launch

    Chapter 30: Rocket Launch


    The materials storage warehouse of the Crimson Heart spaceship has been installed in the Large God rocket. At this moment, the Large God rocket stands next to theunch tower. The huge rocket body, standing at 70 meters tall, points directly to the sky, and a powerful breath that breaks through the sky is constantly emanating from it.


    After the old man gave the order, the five astronauts stood up at the same time, saluted the operators in the control hall, and then turned around and left the control hall in a neat formation.


    Through the monitoring screen, Zhao Huasheng saw the five astronauts getting on the shuttle bus, which drove directly to theunch tower. The five astronauts got off the bus and then took the elevator to the level of the tip of therge rocket.


    The staff has been evacuated from theunch tower. Through the aerial bridge, the five astronauts entered the rocket one after another. Then the material storage warehouse outlet was closed, and the rocket passage was closed.


    The cameras in the reserve warehouse transmitted the astronauts'' images in real time, and the cabin astronaut suit was constantly monitoring their heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and body temperature data. The anemometer reported the surface wind speed and high altitude wind speed at the moment, and the meteorological satellite reported the current weather conditions. The rocket sensor reported the operation status of the instruments in various parts of the rocket. The staff were working hard, and an extremely solemn atmosphere enveloped the entire control hall. The old man''s image was always on the big screen, and it was clear that the old man had been watching here.


    About forty minutes after the astronauts entered the rocket, Wang Tang came back to the big screen again and reported to the old man: "Report the leader, everything is ready, the rocket modules are normal, the weather conditions are good, please give instructions!"


    The old man nodded: "Launch!"


    Wang Tang turned around and shouted loudly, "Enter thirty seconds countdown!"


    On another screen, two huge Arabic numerals appeared, one was three, the other was zero. Momentster, the numbers changed to twenty-nine.


    At this time, the huge steel frame connecting the rocket and theunch tower around it suddenly broke apart, breaking the connection between the Apollo rocket and theunch tower.


    Constantly, there were reports from various modules of the rocket, and after each report, all of them were followed by four words: "Everything is normal," meaning that the Apollo rocket was in good condition.


    When the countdown reached four, on therge screen broadcasting the real-time external view of the Apollo rocket, Zhao Huasheng saw a crimson me at the tail of the rocket. The me was not strong, but it looked full of power.


    In just four seconds, this cluster of rockets rapidly intensified, eventually taking the shape of a verticalunch. At the same time as the me intensified, the four boosters installed on the Ares rocket were also ignited. The light of the boosters and the main engine of the rocket blended together, eventually bing so bright that it was almost impossible to look directly at them.


    "Zero!"


    "Launch!" Wang Tang shouted out the two words with force.


    At this moment, the me emitted from the tail of the Ares rocket intensified again. These mes were colorless and transparent when they just left the rocket, with only the distorted air around them indicating their power. After a few meters away from the tail of the rocket, they revealed a strong red color, rolling in a cluster.


    There was arge amount of white dense fog steaming out of the rocket''s tail, almost covering a space of tens of meters around. Zhao Huasheng knew that it was the me ejected from the rocket being diverted by the guide duct and then quickly evaporating with a liquid used to cool down.


    It was then that Zhao Huasheng, who was sitting at least a thousand meters away from the "God of Power" rocket, felt the ground trembling. It was very slight, yet dull, like an earthquake yet not quite the same.


    Zhao Huasheng looked up and saw on the real-time external disy that the 70-meter-tall, over 4,000-ton "God of Power" heavy-lift rocket was slowly taking off. At first its speed was slow, like a rope slowly lifting it up, but in just a dozen seconds its speed had already reached an impressive height.


    Under the extremely fast eleration, the gravity inside the rocket could even reach ten times that of Earth''s. This could be seen from the distorted faces of the five astronauts lying in the storagepartment.


    Under such tremendous gravity, the astronauts were so weighed down that they could not even lift their arms. They could only lie still in the storagepartment, using all their strength to resist the immense gravity beyond imagination.


    A lot of what seemed to be fragments peeled off from the rocket body, raining down to the ground like rain. Zhao Huasheng knew that those fragments were the rocket''s instionyer, which was actually some foam stic.


    When the rocket was still on the ground, in order to prevent the low temperature on the ground from affecting the material structure of the rocket body, the engineers applied these things to the outer shell of the rocket body. When the rocket took off, the intense friction with the atmosphere would peel off this stic foam, forming the fragments seen at this moment.


    Constant reports sounded in the control hall, with Zhao Huasheng''s nervous heart calming down after hearing one "normal" after another.


    After more than twenty seconds of the rocket''s takeoff, its ascent direction changed slightly, and it no longer pointed straight up to the sky, but began to veer slightly eastward. This was because the Earth''s rotation is from west to east, so veering eastward could take advantage of the Earth''s rotation to increase its own speed.


    More than a minuteter, the four boosters installed on the Great Wall Rocket No. 1 body simultaneously left the rocket. They had fulfilled their duty, so it was time to leave. At this moment, the rocket''s speed still did not reach the Earth''s first cosmic speed, so the boosters that detached would fall to the Earth at a very high speed and then be destroyed by intense friction with the atmosphere. If thebustion was not sufficient, it was possible that some wreckage would fall to the ground.


    After the booster separated, it soon became time for the first-stage engine to separate. In order to ensure a powerful thrust, the Ares rocket had a total of three stages. Among these three stages, the first stage was the most important and arduous task. So its volume was thergest. The total length of the Ares rocket was seventy meters, and the first stage engine was nearly thirty meters long.


    The Ares rocket was still flying at high speed, but at this moment its tail me suddenly disappeared. The next moment, the thirty-meter-long first stage engine roared away from the rocket. It also fell to the earth like the booster before, and then disappeared in the intense friction with the atmosphere.


    The first stage engine separated, the second stage engine ignited, and it took on the task of continuing to send the rocket into orbit.


    The second-stage engine ignited for less than a minute and followed in the footsteps of the first stage engine. It also fell from the rocket into the atmosphere, and the third-stage engine began to ignite.


    The current mighty rocket has already reached a height of over three hundred kilometers above the surface of the earth, reaching the height of a low earth orbit. But this height is not enough, and it will continue to rise.


    The air here has be extremely thin, so the nose cone at the tip of the rocket has also be useless and is thrown off by the rocket, falling into the atmosphere.


    The cargo hold is nowpletely exposed to the space environment. However, there is also a perfect life support system inside the cargo hold, so it will not have any effect on the astronauts inside.


    The third-stage engine has alsopleted its task after working for more than half a minute. However, it will not be jettisoned from the rocket. At this time, it is the cargo hold that needs to be separated from the rocket.


    This step is the separation of the spacecraft. After being elerated by the third-stage rocket engine, the cargo hold has gained enough speed and can now enter the earth''s orbit. From then on, it will embark on its own journey.


    Theunch has basically seeded at this point. The staff in the control hall have recovered from their tense emotions. The real-time images of the astronauts were still being broadcast on the disy screens. Zhao Huasheng saw that the astronauts had left the restraint of the huge gravity, and at this moment, they were in a weightless environment. He saw them floating in the cabin spontaneously, just like in the water.


    "Finally, there was no unexpected incident." Zhao Huasheng sighed and threw away the vague premonition in his mind.


    The cargo hold also has its own propulsion engines, which will be used for orbit and speed adjustments of the cabin. During the next period of time, the cargo hold will orbit the earth at a speed of eighty-seven minutes per circle for two weeks, adjusting its posture, angle, and speed, and eventually docking with the Red Heart rocket.


    Zhao Huasheng has been waiting here all this time. At the supply depot, the sun rose and fell twice. Finally, the silhouette of the Crimson Heart No. 1 Sun Probe spacecraft appeared in view.


    The speed of the supply depot and the Crimson Heart spacecraft is 9.3 kilometers per second. This is an incredible speed, but because they both maintain the same speed, they appear to be static to each other. Under such nearly static conditions, the two gradually approached each other. Eventually, with the assistance of the ground personnel, the docking interface was sessfully docked, and the steel ws used to secure the connection extended smoothly, firmly connecting the two together.


    The five astronauts then came to the control room of the Crimson Heart spacecraft via the docking interface from the supply depot.

 Chapter 31: The Busy Equatorial Market

    Chapter 31: The Busy Equatorial Market


    Theunch process hase to an end here. In the following, the Crimson Heart spacecraft will take three days to circle the Earth about seventy times, and during this process, the orbit of the Red Heart spacecraft will be tter, the apogee will be farther, and the perigee will be closer. Finally, the Crimson Heart spacecraft will depart from Earth''s orbit at the apogee and travel into deep space for a period of six to eight months.


    During these three days, the five astronauts will conduct thest inspection and debugging of the Red Heart spacecraft with the assistance of ground personnel before they embark, because now the Crimson Heart spacecraft is still in Earth''s orbit, and if there is an ident, it can be repaired through theunch rocket. If an ident urs after entering the vast space, there is really no way to solve it.


    The spaceship Red Heart uses both conventional engines and ion engines as power sources. Wang Tang exined to Zhao Hua Sheng, "For short eleration and deceleration, as well as adjusting trajectory and attitude, the spacecraft uses conventional engines. During the journey to the sun, the spacecraft does not need to adjust its trajectory too much, and so it uses ion engines."


    Conventional engines use high-temperature gases generated by chemical fuelbustion as a power source. It has great power and can apply a huge force to the spacecraft in a short time, but it consumes a lot of fuel. Ion engines are different. It ionizes the propent first and then uses a strong electric field to elerate the ions so that they are ejected from the back to gain thrust.


    The ion engine also obtains eleration through the reaction force, but its utilization efficiency of propent is more than fifteen times that of the conventional engine. This means that the spacecraft can save a lot of fuel. With the same amount of fuel, the ion engine can drive the spacecraft to fly farther, and if the time is long enough, the speed will be faster.


    The ion engine has a fatal w, which is itsck of thrust. Like the ion engine installed on the spaceship Red Heart, under full power, it can only increase the ship''s speed by 0.5 cm per second. But little by little, at 0.5 cm per second, day one can elerate the ship by more than 400 meters per second, sopared to this, the ion engine is still an efficient propulsion.


    Zhao Huasheng knew all these things, so after hearing Wang Tang''s words, Zhao Huasheng just nodded.


    "In space flight, the spaceship will also use the gravity of Venus to elerate. After two and a half months of flight, it will enter an orbit 300 million kilometers from the surface of the Sun, and then orbit around the Sun for two to four months, collecting detailed data on the sun to determine what exactly is the inverse fusionyer."


    In the sr system, the closest to the sun is Mercury, but even though the distance between Mercury and the sun is almost 600 million kilometers, the distance of the Red Heart is only 300 million kilometers, almost half of the distance from Mercury.


    "Personally, I have no faith in relying on our human technological power to change the sun. Wang Tang said softly, I only hope that the data collected by the Red Heart No. spaceship and the nearly thirty sr exploration satellites to beunchedter can provide some clues and inspiration for your puzzle solving."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded silently.


    No one has said these words explicitly, but I know that all the insiders, including the leader, have the same idea. We have indeed made breakthroughs in this period of time, and even we know about the existence of the inverse fusionyer, but the more we know, the more desperate we are. Wang Tang''s hands began to tremble slightly. That is the inverse fusionyer that wraps the whole sun... How can we humans have the power to break it?


    "Sorry, I was a bit out of control." Wang Tang said, "What are you going to do next?"


    Zhao Huasheng said, "I''m going to Equator City. I have some vague ideas now, and I believe I can figure out what it''s all about soon."


    "Good, good," Wang Tang nodded. "Aren''t you going to Life City? It''s still orderly and stable there. Equator City is a bit chaotic now."


    "No, I''ll go to Equator City first," Zhao Huasheng said.


    "Well then, wish you a safe journey," Wang Tang patted Zhao Huasheng''s shoulder.


    "Wish the Crimson Heart a smooth journey too. Goodbye."


    Leaving theunch base, Zhao Huasheng boarded the ne to Equator City. During the southward journey, the surface he saw gradually changed from pale and withered to other colors, and green began to appear.


    After all, this is a tropical region, so even if the sr radiation has dropped by fifteen percent, it still remains warm. It''s just not known for how long this warmth can be maintained.


    In addition to the natural scenery, Zhao Huasheng also saw a lot of artificial objects. There were heavy trucks lined up like a dragon, and each one meant at least fifty tons of materials. Just by ncing down from the sky, Zhao Huasheng could see at least ten thousand trucks in that area. This was just a small section of road. How many more trucks were traveling to Equator City on the other roads? Zhao Huasheng couldn''t tell.


    Zhao Huasheng also saw a railway. On that railway, a train more than one thousand meters long would whistle past almost every three minutes, loaded with coal, oil, salt, grain, cement, steel, and other materials. On the opposite track, there were also many trains passing by, but they were all empty and carried no cargo.


    Even just this one railway, which transports goods to the equator city every day, is an astronomical number. The number of railways leading to the equator city has now surpassed 300, ording to Monzou. This is just for freight railways and does not include passenger transit.


    On the ocean, there are countless cargo ships. Most of these ships have a t, wide deck, and on the deck there are densely packed containers stacked together. Countless giant ships are spread over the sea surface, and from a high altitude, almost all of the sea surface is covered. In addition to highways, railways and ships, the sky is also very busy.


    The height of the helicopter was only a few hundred meters, while in the sky thousands of meters, even tens of thousands of meters high, there is always a jet ne shuttle, and the huge engine roar is something even Zhao Huasheng sitting in the helicopter can hear.


    Before arriving at the Equator City, Zhao Huasheng felt the busy breathing over. The huge execution power of human civilization is here, and it is so huge that it can make people gasp in awe.


    Zhao Huasheng knew that at least tens of millions of people were busy on this line. Train drivers, bus drivers, sailors, airne pilots, docks, airports, cargo stations, dispatchers, loaders, etc.these people together form a lifeline, sending huge amounts of blood from all over the world to the Equator City, so that people in the Equator City can live.


    "Statistics show that recently, the various types of goods transported to the Equator City have reached 1.57 billion tons, not including the local output from the four million square kilometers ofnd in the Equator City." Monzuo said, "In order to expand the transportation route, they even dismantled the railway tracks built elsewhere and installed them here. They even modified river cargo ships and put them into long-distance transportation. Almost all the trucks in the world have been requisitioned and controlled by the government. In order to save the wealth created and scattered around the world before thend is frozen, human civilization has used all its strength."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded, still not saying anything. The helicopter continued to move forward.


    The closer he got to Equator City, the more intense the hustle and bustle. Zhao Huasheng had already seen countless underground construction sites, almost connected in a jumble,rge greenhouses for growing food, and busy and crowded people.


    In order to speed up the construction process, we adopted a modr construction method where arge amount of building materials would be produced upon leaving the factory, and upon arriving at the construction site, they just needed to be processed simply and then assembled like building blocks. The workers worked day and night, and it only took half a month to build a fifty-story building, which could provide living space for at least five thousand people. Of course,fort was out of the question. In this end of the world, it was not bad to just survive, and the government had no energy or resources to considerfort. The currency system had been reformed so that the previous currency was converted at a very low rate into contribution points. A worker working for one day could get about thirty contribution points, which could maintain the lowest level of living assurance for five people. There were also rationing restrictions, that is, the amount of material each person could buy per day was limited. Even if someone had arge number of contribution points, he could not buy too much material.


    "The entertainment and leisure industries are strictly restricted; luxury goods are prohibited from production; alcoholic beverages are limited in production."


    Meng Zhuo kept exining the current situation in Equator City in a low voice to Zhao Huasheng, who was listening quietly.


    Finally, the helicopter flew over the towering buildings and bustling construction sites and eventuallynded in a quieter and wider area.


    "This is Zone 337 in Equator City C District; you will temporarily live here; if you have any other requests, I can satisfy you at any time." Meng Zhuo said.

 Chapter 32: One Bag of Potato Chips

    Chapter 32: One Bag of Potato Chips


    Zhao Huasheng settled in the ce arranged by Meng Zhuo. The living environment here is much worse than before in the capital city; for example, there are no convenient supermarkets, no shopping malls, no cheap and delicious restaurants, and no entertainment venues, but Zhao Huasheng is still satisfied with his current life. Zhao Huasheng is not a picky person when ites to living conditions.


    Especially after knowing the living conditions of the people in Equator City through news programs, Zhao Huasheng even felt a sense of guilt for his current living environment.


    The people in Equator City usually live in crowded multi-person rooms, the air is polluted and food is rationed, there is no entertainment, and during the day there is heavy work, and at night there is no way to rx with entertainment. But this is the best condition that human society can provide. Living like this is better than freezing to death.


    Zhao Huasheng has been keeping close contact with the subordinate departments of the Sun Crisis Coordination Center, and anytest discoveries will be presented to Zhao Huasheng first. But Zhao Huasheng''s work has not yet made a breakthrough.


    A vague idea has emerged in Zhao Huasheng''s mind, but this idea stillcks some key evidence, which makes Zhao Huasheng unable to effectively link them together. To solve the mystery left by Li Qi''s superior, it is not just a matter ofing up with an idea by tapping one''s head,ing up with an idea is great, but you must have evidence, otherwise, the idea has no meaning and no value.


    For example, Zhao Huasheng cane up with the idea that "there are creatures on the sun", but what''s the evidence? Without evidence, what kind of change can this idea bring to mankind?


    Zhao Huasheng has been perfecting his idea, continuously trying tobine the existing evidence into a coherent whole, but some key parts are still missing, which prevents Zhao Huasheng''s work from beingpleted.


    The weather is getting colder and colder. Even though this is Zone C, one of the closest areas to the equator, Zhao Huasheng still needs to wear a coat when going out during the day.


    Zhao Huasheng had a vague feeling of unease in his heart. This feeling was not from some news report about how many people had died here and there, nor was it from worrying about human fate. This unease was from his real life. Even while walking in the rtively peaceful environment here, Zhao Huasheng could detect a kind of smell in the air, like gunpowder. It was as if there were a barrel of gunpowder, filled with gunpowder, and the fuse was already burning, and the barrel was ready to explode at any moment.


    Four months have passed since the sun crisis broke out, and two months have passed since theunch of the Crimson Heart Spaceship. ording to thetest report from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Zhao Huasheng knew that the Crimson Heart Spaceship had passed the orbit of Venus and was approaching the orbit of Mercury. During this time, Zhao Huasheng had been paying attention to the movements of the Crimson Heart Spaceship every day. It was proven that the spaceship made by humans was quite reliable. During this period, there were only a few minor faults that could be eliminated manually, and no idents urred.


    Today is still an ordinary day. Zhao Huasheng remembered that since he arrived in Equator City, he hadn''t gone out to see the scenery of the city, so he temporarily put down the materials in his hands and went out with Meng Zhuo. Li Wei did not follow because of her slightly ufortable body.


    Even though the weather was cold, the streets were still bustling. This was very different from the hustle and bustle of the capital city. In the capital city, the streets were filled withughter and rxation, with neon lights on both sides of the street, shops everywhere, and people wearing fashionable clothes with smiles on their faces. Although there were still many people on this street, it seemed to be shrouded in a depressing tone.


    Zhao Huasheng felt a sense of heaviness and numbness here. The sky was gray, and the streets were gray. There were no twinkling neon lights, rows of shops, or even people wearing brightly colored clothes on this long street. People were wearing dark, heavy clothes and hurrying along, and no one had a smile on their face.


    The heavy work and oppressive life had already deprived them of the ability tough.


    Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo were strolling along the long street, feeling the varied states of humans struggling to survive in these end times.


    When they passed by a small square at the side of the street, Zhao Huasheng saw many people sitting in an orderly queue on the cold ground, each person holding something that looked like a doll and the other hand making weird gestures, eyes closed, and faces full of piety. In front of the queue, there were a few people in blue robes walking around, seemingly murmuring something. The whole square was filled with solemnity, seriousness, and even a slightly eerie atmosphere.


    "What are they doing?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "A group of cultists are gathering," Meng Zhuo said indifferently. "This is the Church of the Sky God. They believe that the cold at the moment is the punishment of the Sky God for the disrespect of humans, and they think that offering wealth and devout repentance to the Church can make the Sky God forgive their sins and ascend to heaven after the end of the world."


    "People actually believe this kind of teaching?" Zhao Huasheng was somewhat surprised: "Why are cultists gathering in public with no one to deal with it? Why is no one responding?"


    "At the end of the world, even the most obvious lies will have people taking them as lifelines, and once they get in, it''s hard to get out. As for why no one is responding...there are just too many, and it''s hard to manage them all," Meng Zhuo''s expression was somewhat gloomy.


    Zhao Huasheng fell into silence. After walking a while, Zhao Huasheng saw arge crowd gathered on a street corner, and a man with an excited expression was standing on a high tform, hoarsely shouting something into the microphone.


    "Don''t you understand yet? The end of days hase, it''s here! The government can no longer be relied upon; those idiots will only consider their own interests and they''ll abandon us without a second thought! The only ones who can save us is ourselves; it''s only us!"


    This looks like a street speech, but the words of the speaker are full of emotional words and wild spection, without any logical order. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the more absurd and shocking the words are, the easier it is to attract people''s attention. In the frenzy atmosphere, people will lose their rational judgment.


    At least it is so here. Every time that person shouted out a word, the crowd would respond with deafening shouts and apuse. In stark contrast, there are still pedestrians who ignore this phenomenon beside the street. They seem to have be ustomed to the existence of this phenomenon; they did not stay here even for a second and were even toozy to look back.


    Zhao Huasheng felt that the world seemed to be different. In just a few months, the world on earth has undergone changes that Zhao Huasheng feels unable to adapt to. Madness, foolishness, heaviness, and oppression are intertwined here, as if the air has be so heavy that people can hardly breathe.


    On this long street, among at least thousands of people, Zhao Huasheng felt that only he and Meng Zhuo were alive.


    Zhao Huasheng shook his head in disbelief and then left, continuing his journey. Finally, he encountered a store still open for business, and Zhao Hua Sheng, feeling thirsty, went inside and picked up a bottle of water from the sparsely stocked shelves. Another person walked over and carefully blew the dust off a bag of chips before picking it up. This person ended up grabbing two bags. Zhao Huasheng paid little attention to the person. After paying, Zhao Hua Sheng left the store, and the other person followed. Zhao Huasheng noticed the person wanting to open one of the bags of chips, but, clumsily, the person dropped the other bag on the ground, making a crisp sound. The person bent down to pick up the bag, but before the person''s fingers even touched the bag, it disappeared.


    Although she was petite, her nails were not neat, obviously not having been trimmed for some time, and there were some ck stains inside as well as some rough fingers that had snatched the bag of chips from the person before her. The person slightly puzzledly looked up and saw a young woman with a calm and indifferent face, yet her eyes seemed to be burning with mes.


    "That''s mine," the young woman said.


    The person replied, "Are you hungry? Then take it."


    The young woman nodded and took the chips, then turned away.


    At that moment, within a 10-meter radius of the person, at least a dozen people stopped at the same time. After confirming that the person had already given the bag of chips to the woman, a man walked up to the woman and said, "Give me some of it."


    The woman held the chips in her arms and shook her head cautiously. The man suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled the bag of chips with force. Then there was a loud rip, and the bag of chips was torn apart. The contents inside dropped to the ground and scattered everywhere.


    Time seemed to have stopped at this moment, and it seemed that something had been ignited within this short period of time. Zhao Huasheng saw an indescribable and absurd scene.


    More than a dozen people rushed here at the same time. A young man rushed the fastest, he flew here and knelt on the ground, grabbed the chips on the ground and stuffed them into his mouth desperately.

 Chapter 33: Riot

    Chapter 33: Riot


    The remaining few people arrived here a bit slower, but before all the chips were picked up. Everyone was doing the same thingeveryone was squatting there, desperately picking up the chips that fell on the ground. The young woman screamed, pushing people around her like crazy, while quickly picking up the chips on the ground.


    There was only one bag of chips on the ground, and there were very few. So a conflict broke out between the dozen or so people picking up the chips. The young woman grabbed a handful of chips, but before she could put them in her mouth, she was scattered by a strong man, and a thin man took advantage of the opportunity to grab a handful and stuff it into his own mouth. The strong man then kicked him...


    Zhao Huasheng stood aside, motionless. The man was also standing there motionless, not even reacting when the other bag of chips in his arms was snatched away.


    At this moment, someone shouted: "There are still some in the store!"


    Meng Zhuo''s eyebrows had already knitted tightly together as if he had seen some ominous omen. With a sudden movement, Meng Zhuo was at the store entrance and shouted, "What are you all doing?!"


    Usually his loud voice would have been enough to quiet a hundred-person hall, but the people facing him seemed to have lost their reason. His shout made no impact. The dozen people still surged forward like a tide. Meng Zhuo spread his arms like a steel tower, blocking all of them from passing.


    However, the chaos had already attracted the attention of others. Someone else shouted, "Get out of the way! There''s food inside!"


    At least a hundred more people then swarmed over. Meng Zhuo furrowed his brow and looked at Zhao Huasheng standing nearby, ultimately shaking his head and giving up on blocking them.


    Meng Zhuo had already lost the ability to quell the chaos, and he couldn''t put Zhao Huasheng in danger.


    Dozens of people and the hundreds who followed rushed into the small store like a flood. The cabs and the tables were pushed over, and the goods were swept away in an instant. Those who had grabbed something were desperately protecting it, while those who had not grabbed anything were now pointing their fists at their former rades in arms."


    Most of them were those who had not grabbed anything. It was obvious that they were not willing to leave empty-handed. Thus, the chaotic group swept off like locusts towards other ces. On both sides of the street, the closed shops were broken open, people rushed in to loot, and then they rushed to the next one...


    A chaotic situation had formed. More and more people were rolling in. Some of them did not even know what this was all about, they just followed the main body of the army in a frenzy of passion, and in the course of their advance, they asionally had physical conflicts with the people beside them, so they started to fight each other, fists were not enough, so they picked up bricks and wooden sticks...


    The crowd around them becamerger andrger. At this moment, Meng Zhuo grabbed Zhao Huasheng and said, "Hurry up and leave."


    Meng Zhuo grabbed Zhao Huasheng''s arm and began to push against the crowd. Along the way, Zhao Huasheng saw many distorted faces and heard countless people''s cries. He saw images he had only seen on TV before.


    A woman identally fell to the ground, but no one cared. Countless feet continued to step on her. At first, there was some movement and shouting, but after a moment, it was silent. Zhao Huasheng saw blood start to flow from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He saw a young man in a strong and elegant atmosphere, who didn''t know where he found a sharp knife and then, with a fierce face, stabbed it into the body of a very fat man next to him. Zhao Huasheng saw a tall young woman holding a brick and mming it against the head of a middle-aged woman.


    The chaos had be uncontroble. Yet until this moment, Zhao Huasheng still had some doubts in his mind: "But, but, it''s just a bag of chips..."


    Just a bag of chips. A bag that, before, wouldn''t even have been given a second nce if it had been left on the ground.


    "They''ve all gone mad," muttered Meng Zhuo.


    Meng Zhuo pulled Zhao Huasheng into a building, and they arrived on the rooftop after a few minutes. Standing on the rooftop, Zhao Huasheng was gradually calmed by the cold wind that blew against him.


    Zhao Huasheng looked down and saw chaos spreading from the street they were on to other streets and quickly growing. Everywhere he looked, there was chaos and crying; people didn''t know what the chaos was for or what it was they wanted to do. People were just attacking anyone and everyone they could see, whether armed or unarmed, to express their long-held frustration and fear of the future.


    "Report to Command Center, riot has broken out on 186th Street in District C and is quickly spreading, it will soon be out of control, requesting assistance."


    After the report was finished, Meng Zhuo shook his head at Zhao Huasheng: "This is not something we can deal with. We can''t control this."


    "Is it just because of a bag of chips?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    Meng Zhuo continued shaking his head: "People have been suppressed and scared for too long. The Sun Crisis happened too quickly and suddenly; people can''t take it. The idiots from the Social Science Academy, to whom I had already suggested doing psychological assessments and counseling to prevent mass violence, they always said nothing would happen; now let''s see how they exin it to the head!"


    And so Zhao Huasheng understoodit wasn''t just about a bag of chips.


    In this doomsday, everyone has umted too much pressure and fear but is unable to vent. Just a little spark would set Equator City off like a powder keg. That person just happened to be a fuse.


    "Don''t worry, the military will soon take control of the situation," said Meng Zhuo.


    Zhao Huasheng nodded sadly.


    But after a while, Meng Zhuo suddenly mmed his hand on the stone steps, gritting his teeth and cursing: "Bastards!"


    In Zhao Huasheng''s mind, Meng Zhuo had always been an indifferent and calm figure, and Zhao Huasheng had never seen him so emotionally excited. Zhao Huasheng looked at Meng Zhuo, and Meng Zhuo pointed down and said to Zhao Huasheng: "You see those people? The people wearing ck clothes? They are creating turmoil and stirring up riots."


    Meng Zhuo''s face darkened with each word he uttered: "Cultists, plotters, fanatics, anarchists, anti-humanists, doomsayers... " He mmed his fist on the stone steps, his knuckles turning white, "These scum, the dregs of society!"


    Zhao Huasheng silently thought to himself, "Has our societye to this?" He turned in another direction, and from there he could hear faintmotion. The two of them stayed on the rooftop, watching the scene below. Not knowing if an hour or two had passed, Zhao Huasheng saw a fierce fire erupt in the distance, at least a thousand meters away, followed by a loud explosion several secondster.


    Zhao Huasheng realized that the chaos had escted.


    At this moment, there is no one standing on the long street below. The rioting crowd has spread to other ces, like locusts. Only many scattered dead or alive people are left on the street. But no ambnce, military, or police came. There are many ruins and blood and ss debris scattered here, making it look like a garbage dump.


    It seems that the whole of Equator City is boiling at this moment. After the first me appeared, more mes appeared in more ces, like a chain reaction. The sky seemed to be shrouded in smoke and dust, and Zhao Huasheng, standing on the roof, smelled a smell of death and madness.


    The sky began to have helicopters appear, and the city began to hear the piercing sirens, but the siren onlysted for a while before disappearing, and the helicopter only circled in the sky without falling.


    "It''s quiet down there; I''m going down to save people." Zhao Huasheng pointed to the bottom and said.


    Meng Zhuo weakly waved his hand and said, "It''s no use. The chaos has already spread out; how many people can you save by yourself?"


    "Every single one we can," Zhao Huasheng said firmly: "I have studied some first aid knowledge; even without medicine and equipment, my first aid knowledge will still be useful. And... as long as we can save one more person, our civilization will have a bit more hope."


    "Alright, I''ll go with you," Seemingly affected by Zhao Huasheng, Meng Zhuo finally nodded.


    The two of them descended from the rooftop and returned to the streets. Zhao Huasheng crouched down, putting his fingers on the neck of a person with their eyes closed, feeling that there was no heartbeat, then quickly left and moved to the next person.


    This person seemed to still have a bit of a heartbeat. So Zhao Huasheng quickly examined them, then began artificial respiration, then tore apart their clothes, using a wooden stick to do a bone fixation for them.


    Zhao Huasheng seemed oblivious to the evil, bloodshed, and terror that existed on this long street. Zhao Huasheng only wanted to save people; the more the better.


    Meng Zhuo''s ears rang with Zhao Huasheng''s words once again: "As long as we can save more people, our civilization will have more hope."


    Thus, a thought urred to Meng Zhuo: "Maybe he can really save our civilization."

 Chapter 34: Celebrities

    Chapter 34: Celebrities


    Zhao Huasheng only wanted to save more people; the more, the better. Many people had fallen on this long street; some had died and some had not.


    There was no ambnce, no medicine, and no equipment. Zhao Huasheng simply used the first aid knowledge he had learned before and was busy here. Aatose patient was saved by Zhao Huasheng; he woke up but did not move. He is still lying here, looking at the sky slightly. A little girl was awakened by Zhao Huasheng. Her first reaction when she woke up was to cry. Zhao Huasheng held her in his arms, and afterforting her softly, he ran towards the next patient.


    Zhao Huasheng''s expression was always very calm, no anxiety, no rage, no disappointment, and no sorrow. Zhao Huasheng was just saving people.


    Many people were just unconscious. Even if there were some minor injuries, it didn''t matter. After these people woke up, it seemed that they were infected by Zhao Huasheng, and after stabilizing for a while, they climbed up and followed Zhao Huasheng, participating in the rescue action.


    At the beginning, there were only a few people following Zhao Huasheng, only one or two, but this number was rapidly increasing; in less than an hour, it had grown to more than a hundred people. There seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them as they organized themselves to collect the victims, provide simple first aid to prevent the injuries from worsening, clear debris, and extinguish fires to prevent secondary disasters. Among them were also some people with professional medical knowledge who went to the broken pharmacy to get drugs and provide emergency treatment to those with serious injuries...


    Chaos spread quickly, but so did peace. The victims were still crying, but it was different here. The wild atmosphere was quickly transformed into tranquility, peace, friendship, strength, mutual aid, and other long-held virtues of human civilization that were silently growing here.


    Without realizing it, Zhao Huasheng had be the leader of the group. Under hismand, everything was orderly and organized.


    Whenever Zhao Huasheng passed by, the injured people ced along the street would smile and thank him. Whenever Zhao Huasheng approached, those who were constantly crying in pain would miraculously calm down. Whenever Zhao Huasheng came, the chaotic situation would quickly be peaceful. It was as if Zhao Huasheng had some magical power.


    Meng Zhuo understood where Zhao Huasheng''s power came from. It came from a sentence: "I just want to save people; the more the better." At this moment, even Meng Zhuo felt admiration for Zhao Huasheng. Such admiration had never been felt before.


    The government''s rescue forces had never arrived here, but Zhao Huasheng organized people to collect food and distributed the food and water to the injured. Meng Zhuo saw clearly that after thest piece of bread was given to a little boy, Zhao Huasheng''s hands were already empty. And Meng Zhuo also clearly remembered that since the riots started, Zhao Huasheng had not eaten for at least fourteen or fifteen hours.


    Zhao Huasheng was always busy and never rested.


    After the sr crisis broke out in this post-apocalyptic world, even in the equatorial zone, it was very cold at night. So Zhao Huasheng organized people to collect a lot of nkets and clothes and put them on the injured, and Meng Zhuo clearly saw that after offering his coat to others, Zhao Huasheng was only left with a thin sweater.


    But even so, it was still not enough to resist the cold. So Zhao Huasheng organized people to collect fuel and set up a bonfire on the long street. After leaving all the ces near the bonfire, Zhao Huasheng and Meng Zhuo curled up in the dark and cold corner of the wat least the corner could help to block the cold wind.


    Meng Zhuo seemed to see a new Zhao Huasheng. Or, maybe this was the real Zhao Huasheng.


    "I can call a helicopter to rescue us at any time," Meng Zhuo said.


    "No, the people here need me," Zhao Huasheng said, declining Meng Zhuo''s offer.


    Meng Zhuo said, "At least thousands of people will be injured in this riot, and even if you are busy until now, you can only save the lives of less than two hundred people."


    "Two hundred lives, that''s two hundred hopes," Zhao Huasheng smiled.


    Because of the cold wind, Zhao Huasheng had never been able to sleep. In this cold wind, if he fell asleep, he would really be in danger of freezing. Zhao Huasheng took a walk every time he rested, observing the injured people''s arrangements, and using the exercise to dy the cold''s invasion of himself.


    He constantly heard greetings and thanks, which Zhao Huasheng smiled at. He was delighted to see that the strong were giving their clothes to the weak, and the lightly injured were giving their clothes and food to the seriously injured. Zhao Huasheng also saw a bald, strong man take off his coat and forcibly put it on another person despite the other''s refusal.


    The bald and strong man, frustrated, yelled, "Take it and don''t waste time, or I''ll hit you." A sleazy looking young man then split his bread in half and handed it to the eager boy beside him, muttering, "Eat it up before I regret it."


    Zhao Huasheng suddenly felt that the oppressive and explosive atmosphere that had been surrounding him since he arrived at the Equator City had disappeared. At this moment, Zhao Huasheng seemed to have taken off a heavy coat of armor from his body. Although he was tired, hungry, and cold, Zhao Huasheng felt a rxation that he had never felt before. It was as if he was still in the capital city before the sr crisis broke out, as if he had just returned from a night party with friends.


    "Humanity cannot be erased, even if it is temporarily suppressed by madness and cruelty. As long as there is an opportunity, it wille back and upy people''s hearts again. There must be hope for our human civilization." Zhao Huasheng sighed.


    Far away, there were still continuous explosionsing, and Zhao Huasheng lifted his head to see the western sky illuminated red by the mes. But here, it was still quiet and peaceful.


    "I hope after this night passes, we will wee a new beginning," Zhao Huasheng thought to himself.


    The long night eventually passed, and when the morning sunlight shone upon thend once again, Zhao Huasheng was finally greeted by the much-anticipated arrival of the army, police, and ambnces with blinking red lights. This meant that chaos had passed and order had returned to thisnd. The injured were taken away in ambnces, while those who were not injured or were lightly injured left on their own. Before they each left, they all came to Zhao Huasheng and sincerely said "thank you," to him, to which Zhao Huasheng would reply with a smile.


    The policemen, soldiers, and paramedics all looked on in surprise. It was clear that they had been running around in a frenzyst night, but they had never seen a ce this peaceful before. At the same time, they were all curious about Zhao Huashengwhy was this ordinary-looking young man receiving so much gratitude?


    Meng Zhuo patted Zhao Huasheng on the shoulder and said, "Buddy, you''re good," before heading towards the group of police. After showing his credentials, Meng Zhuo sessfully got a police car and drove it to Zhao Huasheng''s side, "Let''s go; you can rest now."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and then sat in the copilot''s seat. Zhao Huasheng was too tired, and before the car had gone a hundred meters, he had already closed his eyes and drifted off into a dream. At the moment Zhao Huasheng fell asleep, Meng Zhuo slowed down the speed of the car, making the already smooth ride even smoother.


    Zhao Huasheng slept until the next day. When he opened his eyes, he saw Meng Zhuo standing by the window, smoking and facing the sunrise, leaving only a broad silhouette for himself. Before Zhao Huasheng made any noise, Meng Zhuo''s words came: "Are you awake?"


    "Mm." Zhao Huasheng said, "What about the riots?"


    Meng Zhuo shook his head, throwing his cigarette butt out of the window, and said, "The poption of Equator City is too dense, and this riot has spread almost throughout the city. It will be difficult to quell the riot and carry out rescue operations."


    "Forty thousand people..." Zhao Huasheng was shocked by the number. Although he had expected many people would die, Zhao Huasheng still did not expect so many people to die.


    "It wouldn''t have been such a big loss if it hadn''t been for some people with ulterior motives," Meng Zhuo said. "Not only did they announce the existence of the City of Life, but they also incited people to use firearms to attack government agencies."


    "Of course, these people must die," Meng Zhuo said coldly. "Only by eliminating these troublemakers can human civilization hope to ovee this sr crisis."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded without speaking.


    Meng Zhuo said, "One more thing. You''ve be famous. Your story got released on the inte, and the government wanted to set a positive example after the riots, so not only did they not stop it, they actually gave it a push from behind. So... you now have a high level of recognition, with many supporters and admirers."

 Chapter 35: Speech

    Chapter 35: Speech


    "I''m a celebrity?" Zhao Huasheng was stunned, then he forced augh: "I''m just doing what I should be doing, and what any qualified human should be doing."


    "But under such circumstances, it''s hard to remain true to one''s humanity and not be lost in it," Meng Zhuo lit another cigarette and said, "It doesn''t matter; if you''re interested, you can go to the ''Voice of Humanity'' website and take a look. The website was set up tomemorate the 400,000 victims of the riots."


    "Oh, I see," Zhao Huasheng said. "But... given my identity, am I fit to appear in public?"


    Meng Zhuo shook his head: "I don''t know. But since the higher-ups have decided this, they must have their reasons. They made a mistake once, they probably won''t make it again. Alright, you should rest now. Call me if you need anything."


    Meng Zhuo walked out; Zhao Huasheng stretched out azy waist and then climbed out of bed. After extreme fatigue, a sufficient sleep made Zhao Huasheng regain his energy. The cold air blowing into his face actually gave Zhao Huasheng a refreshing feeling.


    Zhao Huasheng tidied himself up and then walked out of the room, a smell of fooding into his nose. At this moment, Li Wei came out carrying a te, seeing Zhao Huashenge out, she smiled: "You have slept for so long, are you hungry? I just made it,e and eat it quickly."


    During this time, Li Wei and Zhao Huasheng have been living together, but in two different rooms. Zhao Huasheng is a stiff person, and he has always ignored Li Wei''s hints. Since they established the rtionship until now, the most intimate thing between them has only been holding hands, and it was always Li Wei who took the initiative to hold Zhao Huasheng.


    At this moment, Li Wei appears to be somewhat different to Zhao Huasheng than before. Perhaps due to the recent chaos and bloodshed, Zhao Huasheng has never felt such a longing and desire for something beautiful. In front of him at this moment, what else could be more beautiful than the smile of Li Wei?


    Zhao Huasheng took the te and put it on the table, then turned around and tightly hugged Li Wei, saying, "Thank you."


    Li Wei''s body tensed up and then rxed, and then seemingly a bit at a loss, she also extended her arms and tightly hugged Zhao Huasheng.


    This time, Zhao Huasheng had taken the initiative to hug himself, which even made Li Wei feel like the sun had risen from the west. Li Wei''s eyes reddened without her noticing: "After knowing that a riot had happened and you still hadn''te back, I was really worried about you. I wanted to go out and find you, but I was stopped by the police, they wouldn''t let anyone leave here."


    "Oh." Zhao Huasheng didn''t know what to say and just responded with an "Oh".


    Seemingly already used to Zhao Huasheng''s stiffness and poormunication skills, Li Wei wiped away her tears and chuckled: "Hurry up and eat, otherwise you''ll get hungry."


    "Okay." Zhao Huasheng then let go of Li Wei and sat on the chair. Li Wei then turned and left without knowing what to do.


    After they had finished breakfast, Zhao Huasheng and Li Wei sat on the sofa together and turned on the TV. In a while, the public speech of the leader would be broadcast, and it was obvious that this speech was rted to the recent riot.


    Soon after, the elderly man''s face appeared on TV; his face had not changed much; only the wrinkles on his face were more noticeable, and the fatigue in his eyes was slightly thicker.


    "My fellow citizens, the old man''s words spread. In the past three days, we have experienced the darkest period in human history. During this time, a total of more than 400,000 people have died and at least 10 million have been injured. Here, I don''t intend to exin to everyone the causes of this incident and the handling mechanism of our human civilization''s government. I''m sure everyone has a lot of questions, such as why the weather has turned cold, why we''ve all gathered at the equator for such heavybor, and why we have to suffer so much... It''s okay, I will tell everyone everything we know."


    "It''s true, the sun is getting cold. In the past period of time, something we still don''t understand has happened above the sun, and our scientists are still unable to fully describe the change and find solutions. They are candidly telling us that they don''t know how cold the sun will get or how long this disaster willst."


    "Therefore, it is why our government has led therge-scale migration work in the past period of time, gathering people from all over the world to the Equator Cityin order to smoothlyplete the work and reduce the losses we may encounter, some lies were told during the migration, which I believe everyone can understand."


    "As for the deteriorating living environment... sorry, our civilization is not strong enough yet, so we don''t have a way to still guarantee everyone afortable life in this end of the world. The outbreak of the crisis was too sudden, so we had no time to make preparations in advance. That''s why our current workload is so heavy, because we must build enough shelters in Equator City, the ce with the highest global temperature, to ensure that most of us can survive. All the efforts we make are for ourselves. The houses we build will be ours to live in, the food we produce will be ours to eat, the pipelines wey will give us ess to clean water sources... everything we do is for ourselves."


    "The world has changed, and in order to continue our civilization and ensure the survival of most of us, we have to endure what we have now... We have worked hard to make our lives better, and we have to be honest and say that the current living standards are the limit of our human civilization. At least, there is still enough food to sustain us, enough clothing to keep us warm, and a warm and safe ce to rest. We will not starve, we will not freeze, and we will not be homeless in the night. We have sessfully ensured the stable lives of at least eighty percent of the poption, and we have minimized the impact of disasters on our human civilization."


    "Perhaps many of us are dissatisfied with our current lives, but do you know...? At this moment, there are still tens of thousands of researchers scattered around the world, even when the lowest temperature has dropped to minus 120 degrees Celsius and the cold air is so frigid that it can freeze your respiratory tract. Still, hundreds of thousands of workers are in the ruins of the previous cities, trying to salvage the wealth we once created, with thousands of people dying every day from the harsh environment. Even more people are working in the wilderness to ensure the connection between the equatorial city and other ces, to make sure our lifelines are not cut off. It is the sacrifice of these countless people that is securing our current conditions of survival."


    "Our grain reserves can at leastst for three years, so at least within this three-year period, everyone need not worry about the grain supply problem. Agricultural scientists are also working hard to develop various new grain cultivation methods, and I believe that soon there will be a glimmer of hope. Therefore, I request everyone, for the continuation of our civilization and for our own survival, not to listen to conspiracy theorists, doomsayers, and cultists. No gods or extraterrestrial civilizations from legends can save us on this earth; the only one who can save us are ourselves. We must rely on our own hands and effort to build the cities that can sustain us, live in them, and wait for the dawn toe. Then I''ll tell everyone about the City of Life."


    "Our research personnel have done a lot of work in this period of time, includingunching a manned sr exploration spacecraft and more than thirty probes. More than 300,000 top scientists are working hard to find a way to solve the crisis. It is not clear when their work will be effective, but they are still all of us and the hope of our human civilization. Therefore, we have built the City of Life for scientists to live and study science in peace. I think this is very logical. Scientists are responsible for saving our civilization, and our civilization tries to give them the best research conditions. The City of Life is not a ce for the wealthy to escape the end of the world as the conspirators said, it is actually a research base for scientists."


    "Please remember that science and scientific researchers are our only hope for the continuation of our civilization. Until scientists find a way to solve the problem, I will stay with everyone in the Equator City and wait for dawn together."


    "Finally, on behalf of our human civilization, allow me to express the deepest condolences to the 400,000 victims of this event. I hope we can all learn from this event, and I believe that none of us want such an event to happen again in our human civilization."


    "I hope that after the crisis passes, we can all still live well on this beautiful."


    The old man finished his speech and bowed deeply toward the camera before leaving the microphone. The scene changed, and he disappeared.


    "This speech means that the sun crisis has been officially announced to the public, confirming all the previous spection. Who knows what kind of impact it will have on our human civilization?" sighed Zhao Huasheng.

 Chapter 36: The Savior

    Chapter 36: The Savior


    After the old man''s speech ended, some other news was broadcasted, such as "The military announced that the Equator City is now under control," "The Sr Crisis website has been built, and any new information will be announced here," and "The Sr Crisis Memorial ispleted." These news stories entered Zhao Huasheng''s mind, but he was not interested, so he turned off the TV.


    At least 95% of the old man''s words were true. Zhao Huasheng could understand the deliberate concealment of some information. After all, the public is blind, and some things are not suitable for them to know. such as his own matters or the truth of the city of life.


    Zhao Hua felt a faint sadness in his heart. If those people had died in the Sun Crisis, it would have been better, after all, it was something that humans could not resist. But if so many people had died because of the internal consumption and turmoil of human civilization, any rational and emotional human being would feel sad.


    Zhao Hua got up from the sofa and went to the desk. On the desk was aputer, so Zhao Hua opened theputer and entered the "Voice of Humanity" website that Meng Zuo had mentioned.


    The website was ck, and the background was a tall monument with a line ofrge words: "Monument to the Victims of Revolt" and two lines of small words next to it: "Think of the Present" and "Awareness of the Future."


    There were already many messages fromizens on the website. Zhao Hua randomly opened a post and read it.


    Is it really our human civilization that hase to such a critical moment? Life in the capital city seemed to be the same as yesterday, and now we have fallen into hell.


    I can''t believe I did such a thing before. I personally smashed the door of the store and destroyed everything inside. What was wrong with me then? After I came to my senses, I realized how terrible I was. I apologize to everyone. If there is a next time, I will never do anything that harms our fellow citizens again.


    Curse those cultists! Curse those conspiracy theorists!


    I don''t know when we can solve this sr crisis... If the sun continues to cool down, what should we do? Will we die? Will our civilization be annihted?


    We pay our deepest condolences to the victims of this riot. Think about the present, stay vignt for the future. May our human civilization be able to pass through this difficult time safely.


    No matter how hard and tired we are, it is all for ourselves. I don''t know how many people are sticking to positions with a worse environment and harder work than ours. Compared with them, our living environment is already quite good. At least we don''t have to worry about freezing or starving to death."


    Zhao Huasheng also saw many posts with his own name. He randomly opened one and saw a lot ofpliments, and all the replies were like that. Zhao Huasheng calcted that at least one-third of the posts were talking about himself. When he saw these words, Zhao Huasheng realized how great an influence he had in the public.


    "I don''t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing." Zhao Huasheng thought for a moment and lost interest in continuing to look. But at this time, Zhao Huasheng saw a slightly provocative title.


    "All those scientists are useless; only Zhao Huasheng can save human civilization!" Zhao Huasheng''s expression suddenly turned solemn as he quickly moved the mouse pointer and opened the post.


    "You may not know that Li Qi, the former director of the Ster Physics Institute, predicted this sr crisis several years ago, but he never made it public. Do you know Li Qi? He was the most outstanding ster physicist in our human civilization, and he had the nickname ''Son of the Sun'' to describe his remarkable achievements in ster physics. Then, one hour before the sr crisis broke out, Li Qimitted suicide. Before his death, he left a message saying that only the researcher Zhao Huasheng, who works at the Ster Physics Institute, can solve these problems. As for why he chose Zhao Huasheng, Li Qi never exined how he knew all this; he just left these words and died."


    Zhao Hua Sheng not only has a perfect personality but also carries the hope of our human civilization! Attached: a list of Li Qi''s achievements; relevant scientists'' evaluation of Li Qi; the beginning and end of the Li Qi incident; a list of information rted to Zhao Hua Sheng... Although I don''t know what the hidden secrets are behind these events, Ipletely trust Li Qi''s judgment, Zhao Hua Sheng! Only Zhao Hua Sheng can save our human civilization!


    The poster almost wrote out everything about Li Qi and Zhao Hua Sheng. At the end of this post, there are also tworge photos, one of Li Qi and the other of Zhao Hua Sheng. Zhao Hua Sheng in the photo is still slightly immature. That was Zhao Hua Sheng''s college graduation photo.


    This message conforms to all thews of information dissemination. It is powerful enough, fitting the public opinion, attractive enough, curious enough, and at the same time... it is real enough.


    Among the people who replied to the post below, most showed a skeptical attitude, but there were also some people with relevant knowledge backgrounds who stood up to confirm certain parts of the post, such as confirming Li Qi''s identity and Li Qi''s excellence, confirming that Li Qi had indeed died in a strange time, confirming some information about Zhao Huasheng... Zhao Huasheng looked at the website records and found that this post had been forwarded more than 30,000 times so far.


    Zhao Huasheng didn''t know how this information was leaked when many scientists were unaware of it, didn''t know how the poster knew this information, didn''t know why he chose to make it public in such a public ce; and Zhao Huasheng also didn''t know what kind of impact this incident would bring. Zhao Huasheng just felt vaguely that it seemed improper to expose all his affairs to the public.


    Meng Zhuo, Meng Zhuo, we have a problem. Zhao Huasheng murmured, "What do the public opinion monitoring department and the information confidentiality department do? Why is this thing exposed here and with such a huge volume of views?"


    "I will report this to the higher-ups immediately." Meng Zhuo took out themunication device right away.


    "Let them immediately evaluate the possible impact of this incident and research the follow-up response measures." Zhao Huasheng murmured.


    Meng Zhuo came back after about five minutes with an expression on his face that Zhao Huasheng could not understand.


    "They already know about this," said Meng Zhuo, spreading his hands: "This information was not leaked by them, and the specific leaker is under investigation. People from the crisis coordination and handling center have already evaluated this matter. Their conclusion is that it is best not to pay attention to this incident, let it develop, and even secretly give it a boost when necessary."


    Zhao Huasheng was stunned and asked, "Why?"


    Meng Zhuo sighed and said, "Because of the riot, which revealed many issues. The government has been paying attention to the people''s livelihood but not much attention to the social psychology. Of course, after this riot, a special social psychology intervention department was established. They said that the heavybor and poor living environment were just the inducements for the riot, and the main cause of the riot was theck of hope for the future. The news that leaked out exactly brought hope for the people to get out of this life. As long as there is hope, everything is within control. Fortunately, you gained a great reputation in the previous riot, and it is most suitable for you to be the messenger of hope. Even if you don''t do anything, as long as you exist, you are a great factor for social stability."


    "So, don''t interfere with this message and let it spread freely." Meng Zhuo said


    "What am I then? A savior?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    Mengzhuo said, "In the eyes of the people, you are the savior, the only savior. In fact, you are indeed the savior, one who is seen not only to possess noble character but also the ability to save this end-times world. Even more so, because of your existence, cults, conspirators, and end-times theorists will all lose the soil in which they can develop."


    Zhao Huasheng was silent for a long time. After a long time, Zhao Huasheng rubbed his forehead and said, "It looks like I have no choice but to ept."


    "That''s right," Mengzhuo nodded.


    "In that case, let me take on the role of the savior," Zhao Huasheng said, "I will take on all of these responsibilities."


    Meng Zhu patted Zhao Hua Sheng''s shoulder and then left. Zhao Hua Sheng then sat at the desk and continued to look through the material about his past records. But this seemed to be of no help to Zhao Hua Sheng''s work. Zhao Hua Sheng still didn''t know why Li Qi had started paying attention to him in the first ce, and the thoughts that had been swirling in his mind could not be connected together due to theck of certain key parts and could not form aplete idea.


    The day passed by. When the sun was about to set, Meng Zhu came to Zhao Hua Sheng''s side.


    "The researchers from the Institute have newly restored four sections of dialogue from the hard drive that are suspected to be between Li Qi and that mysterious existence; you can take a look." Meng Zhu said as he handed Zhao Hua Sheng a thin stack of materials.

 Chapter 37: Oasis Transformation Plan

    Chapter 37: Oasis Transformation n


    "What? Four segments were restored?" Hearing what Meng Zhuo said, Zhao Huasheng was also slightly excited.


    "Yes." Meng Zhuo nodded, saying, "At the same time, the researchers at the institute also said that all the data recovered from this hard disk has been restored, and it is impossible for them to recover even one word of data from the hard disk. In other words, this hard disk is no longer valuable to human civilization."


    "So..." Zhao Huasheng murmured. Facing the red sunset outside the window, Zhao Huasheng picked up the report and began to look at it carefully.


    The information was divided into four segments, and the time of the information could not be determined, and the order of the segments could not be determined either.


    The first passage was short, just a few lines of dialogue.


    "I want to go home; I want to go back to my hometown."


    "This is your hometown."


    "No, this is not my hometown."


    "OK, I''ll try to find a way to get you home."


    The first passage ended.


    The second passage was even shorteronly two lines.


    "Who''s this little guy?"


    "Oh, don''t do that anymore; I can''t take it."


    The third passage was a bit longer.


    "Thank you, I''m already home. I''m sorry it took me so long to contact you. Because I was looking for an oasis, and after I found it, there was no way for me to call you with my own strength."


    "Oh, you found the oasis? Have you encountered any danger?"


    "Yes, it''s very dangerous here. There is usually an istion zone around the oasis, and it took me most of my strength to get through it. But fortunately, I made it alive to the oasis. I''m living well here; the environment here makes me feel veryfortable."


    "I''m d for you. Bless you, my child."


    "Thank you for your blessing. But I may still need some time before I can start working. My own strength is too small; I need help. Please rest assured; I will definitely give you what I promised."


    "Okay, thank you again."


    The fourth paragraph is a bit longer.


    "I''ve received everything you gave me, how have you been doingtely?"


    "I''m doing alright. I''ve gathered a lot of helpers, and together we search for the oasis. Together, we try to break through the barrier beside the oasis. Because I''m the leader, my helpers are all trying their best to protect me."


    "I feel relieved now that I know you''re alright."


    "I have something to tell you. I remember you once told me that survival is the top priority in life."


    "Yes, is there a problem?"


    "My helpers and I want to put this rule into practice. We n to start a transformation project of the oasis. We don''t want to spend every day running around looking for it and we don''t want to see arge number ofpanions dying every moment."


    "I and my helpers are nning to carry out this rule. We are preparing tounch an oasis transformation n, and we don''t want to be exhausted every day searching for the oasis; we don''t wantpanions to die inrge numbers at every moment."


    "No, you can''t do this; you know what it means. Also, do you have the technical and capacity to carry out the oasis transformation n?"


    "I''m sorry, life has to be the first priority. For me and mypanions, we must do this. I have already given you enough things, and I think it''s enough to exchange for the knowledge I learned from you. As for the technology and capacity required for the oasis transformation n, that''s our business; thank you for your concern. This is ourst call, so let''s just leave it at that, goodbye."


    There are a total of four pieces of information, and this concludes all of them.


    "Besides these four pieces of information, Zhao Huasheng has also seen some other observational data regarding the surface of the sun. These observations stated that from recent times, scientists have noticed some abnormal energy burst phenomena in some parts of the sun''s surface. Furthermore, these energy bursts are different from sr res. Attached to these exnations are also some research data from scientists about these energy bursts."


    "These bursts are extremely intense, and the energy released is beyond our imagination. We specte that this is due to the energy stored in the sr inverse fusionyer finally erupting. But ording to our statistics, perhaps due to some unknown physical properties of the inverse fusionyer, this energy burst phenomenon seems to only appear in the two poles of the sun, so we need not worry about its effect on us."


    After reading the passage, it only took Zhao Huasheng two minutes. Two minutester, Zhao Huasheng put down the material in his hand, touched the sses on his nose, and looked out the window.


    The cold wind was still blowing outside the window, and the sunlight reflected from the opposite building was still gentle, and even weak. In the distance, there was still the roar of machinery, and airnes were still flying across the sky.


    The great construction project of mankind is still going on, and the Equator City is still maintaining its operation. At this moment, Zhao Huasheng was trying to construct a chain of evidence that he had been unable to construct, and at this moment it was filled with eighty percent of the missing parts.


    "I think I probably know what happened. It''s just that there are still a few key points that can''t be connected. If I can also find these key points, I can give aplete report to the research department about my guess." Zhao Huasheng thought silently.


    These are the key points: 1. What was Li Qi''s motivation for choosing to be the puzzle solver? 2. What was the purpose of the white paper and what message was it trying to convey? Since up until now, even until Zhao Huasheng was about to solve the puzzle, Zhao Huasheng had not used the white paper. 3. What method did Li Qi use to send the mysterious person home? 4. Why did Li Qimit suicide after sending the mysterious person home? Why didn''t he just exin the situation clearly? Was it simply out of guilt? That doesn''t seem to make sense. 5. After knowing the course of events, what was the solution to this incident?


    These are still the key questions lingering in Zhao Huasheng''s mind. However, these are no longer important, because Zhao Huasheng believes that he has already solved the most difficult puzzle, and in the future, these remaining questions will also be found and answered one by one.


    Zhao Huasheng stood up, pushed open the window in front of the desk, and let the cold wind blow on his body. Along with the feeling of coolness, Zhao Hua Sheng also felt a sense of rxation throughout his body. It was like he had been carrying heavy burden, and now he had finally taken it off.


    Zhao Huasheng felt a sense of relief.


    Meng Zhuo had disappeared without Zhao Huasheng noticing, and Li Wei had just brought a cup of coffee for him at this time. Zhao Huasheng took the coffee, put it on the table, then turned around and hugged Li Wei. "I think I have almost solved the puzzle your brother left behind."


    "You finally solved the puzzle your brother left? You are amazing ... So, what happened to your brother? Why did he die?" Li Wei''s body stiffened, and her voice began to tremble.


    Zhao Huasheng knew that Li Wei had always had a very deep rtionship with Li Qi, and she had never been able to let go of her brother''s death. This was an eternal scar hidden in Li Wei''s heart.


    "I''m sorry, I can''t tell you yet, because my ideas are notplete and I still need to confirm some things." Zhao Huasheng said, "After these things are confirmed, my spection may be correct."


    "I know you can do it." Li Wei let go of Zhao Huasheng and looked into his eyes with trust and determination.


    "Meng Zhuo." Zhao Huasheng called out, and Meng Zhuo came in and said lightly: "Have you read the material? Any thoughts?"


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and said to Meng Zhuo, "I need you to help me verify a few things... First, in the past two years, has Li Qi been involved in or hosted any scientific exploration mission that required theunch of a sr probe? If so, give me all the details of the mission and the status of the probe. Second, if I am not mistaken, isn''t there a light intensity detector installed on the Crimson Heart spacecraft that is executing the sr exploration mission? Due to its proximity to the sun, it must be able to get a higher rity and resolution than the Helios Sr Telescope. So I want the Crimson Heart to immediately aim the light intensity detector at the sun, randomly select an area to record the changes in sr intensity, and the recording period will be... let''s say three minutes. After three minutes, switch to another area and continue until I give the nextmand."


    "Ok, I will go and do it now." Seeming to detect Zhao Huasheng''s excitement and urgency, Meng Zhuo did not dare to dy and immediately took out the instrument simr to a mobile phone and reported it to the higher-ups. In just a minute, Meng Zhuo said: "The thing you asked for has been taken care of. The information about Li Qi will arrive soon, but it will take some time for the information from the Crimson Heart."


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and said, "If my guess is correct, Li Qi should haveunched at least two sr probes in the past two years. One of the probes should have crashed onto the sun shortly after arriving, while the other existed for a while but should have been destroyed within a few months to two years before the sr crisis erupted."


    "Why do you have such a guess?" Li Wei asked. Zhao Huasheng shook his head and said, "You will know soon. For now, I can''t tell you these things yet."

 Chapter 38: Observation Mission

    Chapter 38: Observation Mission


    After Zhao Huasheng made this prediction, the three of them waited here for a while, and the information about Li Qi was faxed over. Meng Zhuo picked up the stack of documents, nced at it, looked at Zhao Huasheng in slight surprise, and then read aloud, "The Sr Twin Exploration Program, whichunched two exploration satellites towards the Sun about a year and a half ago. Of the two satellites, one orbits around the equator of the sun, and the other around the poles... The leader of the program was not Li Qi, but Li Qi served as the scientific advisor in this exploration program. Among them, Satellite A, which orbits around the equator of the sun, lost contact with Earth due to a technical failure before reaching the sun. ording to the trajectory calction at the time, scientists predicted that this satellite would directly fall into the sun. Satellite B sessfully reached the sun, but after three months of exploration, about eight months ago, it also lost contact with the earth due to unknown failure."


    After Meng Zhuo spoke out this information, Li Wei let out a low sigh. Because Li Wei found that these things were exactly the same as what Zhao Huasheng said, without any deviation. But Zhao Huasheng seemed to have already anticipated this, so there was no trace of surprise on Zhao Huasheng''s face.


    Zhao Hua''s initial guess was confirmed. But that was not enough. Zhao Huasheng still needed evidence, something solid that nobody could refute, and without any loopholes to perfect his deduction.


    "Very good, now let''s wait," Zhao Huasheng said. "Let the Crimson Heart transmit back the luminosity data they observe, and meanwhile, you contact some linguists and logicians, as well as cryptographers; I want them to judge whether the luminosity data transmitted back by the Crimson Heart has a logical structure. If the luminosity data in a certain region of the sun has a logical structure, then order the Crimson Heart to continue to observe that area, and... I want the logicians, linguists, and cryptographers to decipher the logical meaning behind these data."


    Meng Zhuo didn''t understand what deduction Zhao Huasheng had, but he still faithfully carried out Zhao Huasheng''s orders. Meng Zhuo hurried away, and Zhao Huasheng once again stood by the window, looking at the distant, dim sun.


    Zhao Huasheng murmured that the first stage of deduction had ended and he should now move on to the second stage. The work in the first stage was to investigate what had happened on the sun, what connection Li Qi had to it, and what role he had yed in the event. Now Zhao Huasheng thought he had found the answer. The second stage was to figure out how to resolve the sr crisis. Zhao Huasheng realized he hadn''t used the hints that Li Qi had left him during the first stage. The nk paper he had been given and the words Li Qi said before passing away had yet to be utilized. This gave him reason to believe that the hints would be useful in the second stage and that they were telling him how to solve the sr crisis. Zhao Huasheng fell into contemtion once again.


    Wang Tang and Zhao Huasheng established a real-time connection. Wang Tang was responsible for finding linguists, logicians, and cryptologists to interpret the signals from the Crimson Heart spacecraft. As soon as there was progress, Wang Tang would inform Zhao Huasheng.


    At this time, radio signals from Earth crossed the distant distance of nine hundred million kilometers and arrived on the Crimson Heart spacecraft. The Crimson Heart spacecraft floated silently in the boundless universe, like a lone boat drifting on the sea.


    It was close to the orbit of Mercury. Although the radiation level of the sun was reduced by more than fifteen percent, the sun was still powerful. At this distance, if there was no heat shield protection, the Crimson Heart spacecraft would be instantly roasted.


    Ragel strapped his body to the seat, looking nkly at the picture of the sun in front of him. This is the real-time picture taken by the Crimson Heart spacecraft, of course, after arge amount of dimming. If the brightness is not reduced, Ragel''s retina will be instantly burned by strong light, and he will be blind forever.


    On this lengthy journey, the astronauts'' most frequent activity is waiting since they haven''t yet reached their destination and their work is not too heavy. In their spare time, watching the sun silently and feeling its warmth and strength has be a habit of Captain Lager, themander of the Crimson Heart spacecraft.


    Interference from the sun is very strong, but the high-gain antenna on the spacecraft still clearly receives signals from Earth. After the electronic assistant reported the content of the message to Captain Lager, he unfastened the safety belt on himself and floated in the spacecraft with the help of the auxiliary propulsion device.


    Yes, the Crimson Heart spaceship does not have artificial gravity equipment, so the astronauts are in a state of weightlessness. Long-term weightlessness can cause arge loss of calcium in the bones, greatly reducing the strength of the bones. Even if the astronauts run on a treadmill for two hours every day with stic ropes, they can only temporarily dy the process. It can be predicted that after returning to Earth, the astronauts will not be able to stand up like patients with osteoporosis. But before the departure, the astronauts had already made amitment to devote their lives to this journey, and a small amount of calcium loss seemed insignificant.


    Under Captain Laggel''s leadership, five astronautsthree men and two womenstarted their coborative work. Themands sent from Earth were strange, but they didn''t question them.


    The side of the Crimson Heart spacecraft facing the sun was covered by a thick, protective umbre-like thing. Made of high-temperature and heat-resistant ceramic material, thisyer of shield protected the spacecraft from the intense heat and radiation of the sun, allowing the instruments inside the spacecraft to operate normally and the astronauts to sustain their lives.


    Under the astronauts'' maniption, the edge of the umbre slowly opened a slit. A specially treated optical lens protruded from the crack. The high-temperature resistance of the material allowed it to work normally even at a distance of less than 60 million kilometers from the sun. Compared with the considerable aperture and the distance from the sun at this moment, it became the strongest sr telescope ever made in human history.


    The resolution of this optical telescope is up to one square kilometer, while the highest resolution of the FireGod sun telescope on Earth is nine square kilometers.


    This optical telescope can take one hundred images per second, and other instruments will record the luminosity of each image and create a table to present to the astronauts. Three minutes, thats eighteen thousand images, eighteen thousand data.


    But these data were disorganized. Neither Captain Rager nor the other astronauts could detect any useful information from the data. The astronauts sent the data back to Earth; after a five-minute journey, the data was received by a deep space antennawork on Earth and presented to the workers'' desks.


    The telescope adjusted to an extremely small angle and then pointed to another ce on the sun. It also took 18,000 pictures here and then turned to the third ce.


    The shootingsted for fifteen days. During this two-week period, the astronauts kept repeating this tedious work. Although the Crimson Heart spacecraft had achieved a high degree of automation, this task still required direct human involvement. So the astronauts had to divide into five teams to take turns in this task.


    During these fifteen days, the Crimson Heart spacecraft crossed Mercury''s orbit. The resolution of the images increased as it got closer to the sun, from one square kilometer to forty thousand square meters, or a two hundred meter long and wide area.


    However, nomand to terminate the mission or any othermand had been received from Earth. The astronauts just kept taking photos and sending signals, over and over again.


    Fifteen days of shooting yielded nothing. Logicians, linguists, and cryptographers could not extract any useful content from the data. It seemed to be only gibberish, just meaningless data about the ionized sma motion in the sun''s outer atmosphere.


    Wang Tang found Zhao Huasheng fifteen days after the mission began, which is now.


    Wang Tang said, "The Crisis Coordination Handling Center is preparing to hold a joint meeting and wants you to speak at the conference to exin the reasons and reasons for doing this. You should know that the Crimson Heart spacecraft is getting closer and closer to the sun, and it is about to enter the orbit around the sun. Many scheduled observation tasks have been scheduled, but because of your request for observation tasks, those observation tasks have all been dyed. The spacecraft has less than four months of observation time, and human society still hopes to use the Crimson Heart spacecraft to get some useful data from the sun. So...if you cannot presentpelling reasons, the Crisis Coordination Handling Center is preparing to suspend your observation request."

 Chapter 39: Bewilderment

    Chapter 39: Bewilderment


    Upon hearing what Wang Tang said, Zhao Huasheng had no reaction at all. Wang Tang paused, looking at Zhao Huasheng''s reaction, before continuing: "You know, the Crimson Heart aircraft carries the hope of our civilization up to a certain extent, and every second of its observation is very precious; we cannot afford to waste them."


    "I won''t go, and I won''t exin why," Zhao Huasheng shook his head, "but I will go meet the leader, and tell him my reason. After that, I''ll leave the decision to him."


    Zhao Huasheng''s inference was too shocking, and he wouldn''t make it public before obtaining the most important evidence. For if he did, it would bring unexpected troubles and even lead to panic.


    Wang Tang shrugged and said, "But you''d better hurry. Your observational mission is severely draining the astronauts'' energy and time, and although they have noints, the people from the medical department have already warned and protested against it. They think it can have a serious impact on the astronauts'' health."


    "I know," Zhao Huasheng nodded, "I have scheduled a time tomorrow morning to go and meet the leader and put forward all my reasons and arguments without any reservations."


    "Although I am curious about what your reasons and arguments are, I guess you won''t tell me." Wang Tang patted Zhao Huasheng''s shoulder and left.


    As Wang Tang left Zhao Huasheng''s residence, a chill seeped into the room. Zhao Huasheng couldn''t help but shiver.


    The weather is getting colder and colder. Even if he stayed indoors, Zhao Huasheng had to turn the heater and air conditioner up to the maximum. Even on the equator, thetest record low temperature has been measured at minus fifty-seven degrees Celsius.


    Robots left behind by the North and South Poles have also reported the record lowest temperatures in the pr regions, which were minus two hundred and three degrees Celsius.


    The oceans have been covered by a thickyer of ice, so maritime transportation has beenpletely stopped. Obviously, no ship can break through such thick ice. For the human society now, maritime transportation ounts for at least 40% of the total cargo volume.


    If the supply line is cut off, many people in the equator city will die fromck of energy. Without energy, there is no electricity and no adequate warmth; factories producing the necessary materials for human survival will be closed, and hundreds of millions of people will die of cold and hunger.


    Although sea transportation was forced toe to aplete halt, another form of transportation quietly arose. Due to the extremely thick and sturdy ice sheet, heavy trucks that weighed over one hundred tons were able to travel safely on it. The ice surface was so smooth that it was almost like a highway. Consequently, many observation and supply stations were built on the sea surface, mapping out countless routes on the ice surface that were safe for heavy trucks to travel on. Resources such as oil, coal, and iron produced from all over the earth were continually transported to Chiquiao City via these routes. Its transportation efficiency was even higher than the original sea transportation. If the ice surface was not unsuitable for building railroads, the engineering department even nned toy the railroads on the ice sheet.


    Although ice roads are not highways, the invasion of seawater, the movement of the earth''s crust, and even the pull of the moon can all cause the ice to break. It is also too slippery to drive on, and freight trucks can easily be involved in idents. ording to statistics from the Crisis Prevention Department, at least a thousand people die every day on this major artery that sustains the entire human society. The causes of death are varied, including idents caused by out-of-control trucks, drowning due to ice cracking, and freezing to death from low temperatures.


    Nevertheless, the human society continues to increase the amount of freight transported on the ice roads. Because, apart from sacrificing lives, governments have no other solutions. As a result, truck drivers have be the most highly paid ordinary job in the human society, surpassing even those stationed in the non-equatorial regions.


    They supported more than thirty percent of the energy and material consumption of Equator City. Zhao Huasheng was very aware of this and knew that the clothes he wore, the food he ate, the appliances he used, the heating, were all supported by the lives of these people.


    So Zhao Huasheng always had a sense of urgency in his heart. But this sense of urgency did not spread throughout human society. On the way to the Prime Minister''s Office on the morning of the second day, looking at the empty streets, Zhao Huasheng felt as if there was ayer of cloud covering Equator City. The name of that cloud was despair and numbness.


    Zhao Huasheng clearly felt this. Since thest major riot, there has been no major disturbance in human society. People just live numbly, work numbly, and rest numbly.


    Although the disturbances are cruel, they also mean a desperate desire for a better life and their own interests. Now, there is not even a disturbance in human society.


    The atmosphere is deathly still, like a stagnant pond.


    It has been over half a year since the sr crisis broke out. During this time, the surface temperature of the sun has dropped from 6000 Kelvin to 4500 Kelvin, a reduction of 25 percent. And no one knows if the temperature will continue to drop.


    "Under this chill, people have be desperate," said Meng Zhuo. "They can''t see any hope for the future and don''t know why they are still alive. The order in human society has not copsed, probably because the government and the forces of violence are still in ce and the minimum living standard is still guaranteed. I dare to bet that if the convoy that shuttles between the Pacific and Antic Oceans disappears for one day, the order in the equator city will copse instantly."


    "This is already the worst case." Zhao Huasheng said softly. But Meng Zhuo obviously didn''t hear the hidden meaning behind Zhao Huasheng''s words, he still quietly drove the car, taking Zhao Huasheng to the office of the head.


    The car drove directly into the parking lot, and then Zhao Huasheng took the elevator to the office. Meng Zhuo waited outside the door, and Zhao Huasheng pushed the door open and walked in. In the office, the old man was already there.


    Zhao Huasheng gently closed the door, so no sound from the office would be transmitted outside the door.


    What Zhao Huasheng and the old man said, only the two of them knew. When Zhao Huasheng opened the door of the office of the head and walked out, Meng Zhuo looked at his watch and found that only 20 minutes had passed. And through the temporarily opened door gap, Meng Zhuo saw the face of the old man.


    The weathered and gaunt face bore a strange expression that seemed to be a mix of sadness and anger but not quite either. After a moment of searching for the right words to describe it, Meng Zhuo found the most apt one: confusion.


    That was the leader of the entire human civilization, all seven billion peoplethough now the number has decreased to six point two billion and is still dropping rapidlyof humanity. Meng Zhuo couldn''t deny the power of this elderly man; it was under his strong leadership that despite the cmity, humanity still managed to maintain basic living standards and didn''t copse. If not for him, the death toll among human society would not have been as low as just eight hundred million.


    Meng Zhuo and the elder had been together for a long time. In fact, beforeing to Zhao Huasheng, Meng Zhuo had been the elder''s personal bodyguard for four consecutive years. Meng Zhuo felt he was very familiar with the elder and had seen the process of many decisions made by the elder, decisions that could affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Yet, the elder was always free and easy, with everything nned out. It seemed that no danger or hardship could affect him. He could always find the best solution to any problem in the shortest time. Such confusion should not appear on his face.


    However, now the elder was in the deepest confusion. The confusion was greater than the numbness and ignorance at the bottom of society that Meng Zhuo had seen.


    Zhao Huasheng''s expression was always calm. After leaving the office of the elder and locking the door, Zhao Huasheng said softly to Meng Zhuo: "Let''s go back."


    Despite his professional demeanor, Meng Zhuo couldn''t contain his curiosity. Unprecedentedly, he asked, "What did you and the head talk about? What did the he say?"


    "The head agreed for the observation mission on the Crimson Heart to continue," Zhao Huasheng said quietly. "As for what happened... if my spection is correct, you and the whole human civilization will know soon enough."


    Meng Zhuo noticed his slip of the tongue when the question came out. But Zhao Huasheng''s answer made him ask a second question: "The head has decided to reveal the truth about the Sr Crisis to the whole society?"


    "Yes," Zhao Huasheng replied. "If my spection is verified, the Sovereign has decided to publicize the result of it."


    "Why? Doesn''t the head worry about causing chaos?" Meng Zhuo asked again.


    Although he does not know what Zhao Huasheng''s conjecture is, Meng Zhuo can still tell that it must be an answer that is extremely shocking and astounding. Is it really appropriate to make this answer public in our society?

 Chapter 40: The Bottom of the Valley

    Chapter 40: The Bottom of the Valley


    No, the head is not worried it will cause chaos. Zhao Huasheng said in a faint voice, "Have you noticed that in the current Equatorial City, the suicide rate has increased from one in ten thousand to 29 in one thousand, an increase of two hundred and ny times. There are twenty-nine people out of every thousand whomit suicide. The total number of suicides has already exceeded one hundred and fifty million. You know what this means...?"


    "This means that our human society has lost its vitality, and people are being swallowed up by despair. Even I am hoping that a riot will happen in our human society at this moment. Because riots also mean resistance, but now, there is no riot in our human society. " Zhao Huasheng said helplessly, "People... have lost the courage to fight. If this continues, we humans will destroy ourselves before the Sun Crisis wipes us out. So... Human society needs this explosive news. I hope this news can arouse the hope for the future in the depths of people''s hearts, break open the sky of despair, and let the light of hope shine again."


    So, the leader agreed to my suggestion of making this message public. Of course, this is after my guess is verified. I will announce the message when the Crimson Heart spaceship has obtained what I want.


    "Do... do you have confidence that your guess is definitely correct?" asked Meng Zhuo.


    Zhao Huasheng nodded: "This time I won''t make a mistake. I have enough confidence."


    Meng Zhuo nodded and said nothing more. The car was quickly approaching Zhao Huasheng''s residence, but when it was still a few kilometers away from the destination, Meng Zhuo found that the car could no longer move forward.


    Because there were many people in front, even enough topletely block the road. After the car, many people were quickly gathering here, merging into the crowd that had gathered here. The crowd was getting bigger and bigger.


    Zhao Huasheng was puzzled. "What are they doing? Is it a riot? But it doesn''t seem like it."


    Meng Zhuo made an immediate decision. "It''s dangerous here. Lets leave immediately." But Zhao Huasheng stopped him, since the atmosphere was still quiet, people were not shouting, no one was attacking each other, and no blood was shed.


    It seemed as if people were simply gathering here, waiting for something. Everyone was quiet. This couldn''t be a riot. Thus, Zhao Huasheng opened the car door and got out, followed closely by Meng Zhuo.


    "What are you doing here?" Zhao Huasheng asked a nearby person.


    The person turned around, and upon seeing Zhao Huasheng, a burst of excited gleam shone in his eyes. He quickly suppressed his emotions and then spoke with a trembling voice, albeit an effort to control it: "We have been waiting for you."


    "Waiting for me? For what?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    "Waiting for you to save us," the person replied. Along with his words, his eyes held not only excitement but also a kind of piety, like a believer in the face of their own deity.


    In the exchange of questions and answers, those around had already noticed the situation. Many had turned to look, and in their eyes could be seen both hope and supplication.


    Meng Zhuo''s muscles were tense. At that moment, he had made up his mind that if an uncontroble traffic jam happened, he would kill these civilians, even if it meant staining his hands with blood and dying himself, in order to protect Zhao Huasheng and get him safely out of there. Just like when he killed the pr bear in the Arctic, he thought, "Human hope cannot be destroyed by you."


    Feeling Meng Zhuo''s tension, Zhao Huasheng lightly patted Meng Zhuo''s shoulder to signal him to rx. Zhao Huasheng already knew what had happened here.


    "The people in despair have pinned theirst hope on me. Although I''m not a savior, I have to take on the responsibility of one at this moment." Zhao Huasheng thought to himself, "Fortunately, I have some good news, however small, to tell them."


    Zhao Huasheng told all major media reporters to go to his residence immediately to prepare for an interview and start broadcasting the interview. He wanted all the media toe and for everyone in the world to hear his voice. Meng Zhuo nodded, and soon after, Zhao Huasheng saw dozens of helicopters marked with various media flying in the sky, heading towards his home in Aequator City.


    Turning around, Zhao Huasheng said to the person he had just spoken to, "Rest assured, I''m here and I will save our entire civilization."


    "Thank you. You are our only hope for the human civilization; you are the savior," the person said, bowing deeply towards Zhao Huasheng.


    Zhao Huasheng nodded and then walked forward with Meng Zhuo. Everywhere Zhao Huasheng went, a path opened up automatically in the silent crowd and many people bowed and sped their hands together in respect towards him. Yet the crowd remained silent, not making any noise.


    Zhao Huasheng was walking through the crowd until he arrived at his residence, which was a few kilometers away. Security personnel were maintaining order here and had set up a twenty-meter cordon to keep out any unrted people. Everyone was cooperating with the security personnel, and there was no crowding.


    Zhao Huasheng saw that more than a dozen helicopters had stopped in front of his residence, and many workers with recording equipment were busy making adjustments. In front of them, a simple podium had been set up, and a sound system was ready.


    At this moment, the image of this ce appeared on all television and radio stations and public screens in Equator City. The host was introducing the situation here nervously: "Today, more than two hundred thousand people have gathered in front of Zhao Huasheng''s residence to pray for him to save our civilization, and it seems that his research work has made some progress. He is ready to announce some news to us today. As for whether this news is good or bad, let''s wait and see."


    If it is said that there is a savior who can save our entire human civilization in this world, then there is no doubt that Zhao Huasheng is the savior. Only Zhao Huasheng can take on this responsibility. Now, let us start to pray together. The fate of our human civilization will soon be judged by Zhao Huasheng.


    Zhao Huasheng walked up to the podium that had been set up. Countless spotlights focused on Zhao Huasheng at the same time. From this moment on, every word that Zhao Huasheng said and every action he took would be transmitted to the whole world through these cameras and to the people who were watching the television or othermunication devices.


    "I have some news to announce to everyone today," Zhao Huasheng said calmly. His voice was not only transmitted to all media through the cameras, but also transmitted to the ears of all the people gathered here through the speakers installed at the scene. Zhao Huasheng''s voice was like rolling thunder, and with the help of the speakers, it reached as far as several kilometers away.


    "Before announcing this news, I need to apologize to everyone. Yes, sorry. because I have notpleted my workpletely. My work is divided into two stages. The first stage is to explore what happened at the momentwhat is the reason for the sun to cool down?and the second stage is to find a way to solve this factor. So far, I onlypleted the first stage of the work. I only found out the reason why the sun cooled down, but unfortunately, I have no clue how to solve the problem."


    "What''s more apologetic is that I can''t even tell everyone the reason why the sun cooled down at the moment. Because there is still onest part of my spection that needs to be verified before the verification resultse out, I can''t just irresponsibly announce it. About this matter, I can tell everyone that I have confidence and assurance in my spection. I can feel that I have already solved the puzzle left by Li Qi."


    At this point, Zhao Huasheng stopped talking. The whole world, whether it was the people working in the cold construction sites, those wrapped in thick clothes in their homes, or those overseas, all hearts were raised at the same time.


    The human civilization has suffered too much, and too many bad news has been known to us; it seems that our civilization has lost hope, and we can only keep sliding down without any pause until we finally fall into an abyss... Indeed, the situation has been getting worse; our living environment has been deteriorating; the weather is getting colder; food is bing scarcer; and hope is bing more and more dim.


    "But this is already the worst situation," Zhao Huasheng said softly, "Thats right, the future cant be worse than this. We have already reached the bottom of the valley, which means that even if the future doesnt get better, it definitely wont get worse."

 Chapter 41: An Unavoidable Decision

    Chapter 41: An Unavoidable Decision


    Zhao Huasheng''s words made many people feel puzzled. What does it mean to be at the bottom of the valley now? What does it mean that the current situation is the worst?


    Zhao Huasheng paused for a moment, then continued, "When I say this, I feel a bit sad. When did it start to be good news that ''the situation won''t get worse'' ... Probably only in the current situation where it is constantly getting worse can it be considered good news."


    In the endless cheering, Zhao Huasheng waved to the crowd and the countless cameras stacked together, then returned home. The house was soundproof; as long as the windows and doors were closed, no sound from outside could reach Zhao Huasheng''s ears. Zhao Huasheng, on the other hand, seemed to hear cheers echoing throughout the equator city. In Zhao Huasheng''s feelings, it was as if a stone had been thrown into a pool of dead water, rippling the surface of the pool and giving it a little bit of vitality.


    This was Zhao Huasheng''s purpose. This was also approved by the ruler. Human society has been silent for too long; it''s like a person who is about to freeze to death in the ice and snow. Only by moving could he survive; if he stopped and chose to rest, he would really freeze to death.


    Zhao Huasheng did not want human society to die, so he chose to first reveal this good news that was not really good news to stimte this huge thing called human society. Now it seems that Zhao Huasheng''s purpose has been achieved.


    Zhao Huasheng does not have the ability to foresee, and he does not know what will happen tomorrow, but he has confidence.


    "Apart from the temperature of the sun not decreasing any further, if there are no unexpected circumstances, my spection about the sun cooling down will be verified in the near future. When that timees, I will tell everyone my spectionpletely, so everyone will know who our enemy is and who has taken away our sun."


    "I''m not a savior, but I''m confident enough to lead everyone out of the current predicament." With that, Zhao Huasheng stepped back and bowed deeply toward the front.


    "Zhao Huasheng! Zhao Huasheng! Zhao Huasheng!" The moment Zhao Huasheng''s figure disappeared from here, endless cheers echoed throughout the world and throughout the earth, and countless people were shouting this one name.


    Amidst the endless cheers, Zhao Huasheng waved his hand to the crowd and the countless cameras stacked together, then returned to his home. The soundproofing of the home was very good, as long as the windows and doors were closed, no sound from the outside would reach Zhao Huasheng''s ears. But Zhao Huasheng seemed to hear the cheers echoing throughout the equatorial city. In Zhao Huasheng''s opinion, it was like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond, rippling the surface of the pond and giving the pond a little vitality.


    This was Zhao Huasheng''s goal. This matter also gained the approval of the emperor. Human society had been silent for too long, it was like a person about to be frozen to death in the ice and snow. Only by walking could he survive, if he stopped and chose to rest, he would really be frozen to death.


    Zhao Huasheng did not want human society to die, so he chose to release this good news that could not be counted as good news to stimte this giant of human society. And now it seems that Zhao Huasheng''s goal has been achieved.


    If the situation no longer gets worse, it means that the lives of most people in human society can be safeguarded, and the food and energy supply may not be improved but will not be reduced either. As long as the current living standard can be maintained, people are already satisfied. After all, it is only when stability is achieved that human society can find ways to get out of its predicament.


    Zhao Huasheng sat in front of the desk, looking out the window in a trance, and said nothing. Li Wei came to Zhao Huasheng''s back at this time. She put her hands on Zhao Huasheng''s shoulders and gently massaged him. Zhao Huasheng didn''t move, didn''t turn around, and didn''t speak. Zhao Huasheng just rubbed his forehead and then rxed, enjoying Li Wei''s service.


    "I have something to ask you," Li Wei said.


    "What''s that?" Zhao Huasheng asked.


    Li Wei''s tone was a little lost as she said, "About my brother. I want to know what kind of role did my brother y in this sr crisis? Was he a positive or a negative character? Does he need to take responsibility for this sr crisis?"


    Zhao Huasheng was silent too. After a moment, Zhao Huasheng answered, "Your brother didn''t foresee that such a thing would happen originally. He... he had good intentions. He was also hoping to make a contribution to humanity."


    "But... he ultimately made a huge mistake that caused great losses to the entire human civilization?"


    "Yes." Zhao Huasheng said.


    My brother is already dead. In a half-sob, Li Wei said, "He paid for his own sins and left a clue in the hope that human civilization could eventually resolve this crisis. He had done his utmost to make up for it. He has already died, so I beg you, don''t nail him to the pir of historic shame, okay?"


    Zhao Huasheng finally sighed: "Yes, he is already dead, and the matter has already happened. Even if we dug his corpse out of the grave, it wouldn''t make any difference to the current situation. Moreover...we are now relying on the afterglow of your brother to achieve our current sess, and the solution to the sr crisis also needs to be mined from the clues left by your brother."


    "Li Wei, do you know? I have always admired your brother. Since I went to college, your brother has been my idol. When I first guessed that your brother hadmitted such a serious crime against human civilization, I also questioned it, and I couldn''t believe it myself. But as my guesses were continuously verified, I could only ept it in the end. Believe me, my pain is no less than yours."


    Li Wei finally started to cry, her tears continuously streaming down her eyes, one drop by one drop, falling onto Zhao Huasheng''s shoulders.


    Li Wei''s voice was trembling: "I had already felt that my brother must have been responsible for this sr crisis. Whenever I think of Freya''s family freezing to death in the snow, the pr bear that was killed by Meng Zhuo, the countless people in the Equator City whomitted suicide out of despair, and the countless of ourpatriots who died from the icy cold... My heart feels like it''s being stabbed. I can''t sleep all night, I always dream that my brother is still alive, being taken to the guillotine by an angry mob and killed, and then the angry mob tearing off his flesh piece by piece I think my brother must have died in extreme guilt, remorse, and pain. Can you can you let him go and not let him suffer after death, even if he can''t find peace in death?"


    Zhao Huasheng covered his face in pain and said, "I can''t make this decision. No matter how good your brother''s intentions were and how hard he tried to make up for it afterwards, he still made a big mistake, and that is a fact that can''t be denied."


    "I wish so much that I could take the ce of your brother and take on this guilt for him, and I wish I could keep the role your brother yed in this incident from the public, but... I can''t. I''m sorry, Li Wei, I can''t. In this sr crisis, you, me, our friends, and family have not been directly threatened by this crisis. Because of our status and identity, we have been properly taken care of. We will still have enough warmth, food, and a safe living environment. To be honest, we are people living in the upper ss of society. So, no matter if it is you or me, neither of us has the qualifications to represent the public and forgive your brother. The ones who have the qualification to say whether he is forgiven or not are those who are risking their lives on the Arctic Ice Shelf to ensure the life line of the Equatorial City. They are the people who are still working in factories, construction sites, or in the wild in the cold. They are the people who are still staying in non-equatorial areas due to their job responsibilities. They are the people who have lost their parents, lovers, family, and children in this disaster."


    Zhao Huasheng stood up and then turned around, tightly embracing Li Wei, who was constantly dripping with big tears. "We shouldn''t hide all this. Even if we don''t tell the truth to the public, will our inner turmoil be lessened? Will your brother really be at peace in the underworld? No, it won''t. So I choose to reveal the truth, and then, for both you and me, we will work together to make up for your brother''s mistake. We will both strive to contribute to society and seek the public''s understanding of your brother. Only then will your brother be truly at peace in the underworld, and our hearts will really be calmed."


    Li Wei knew that Zhao Huasheng had always been a stiff person, so she stopped talking and tightly held Zhao Huasheng, letting her tears flow, wetting Zhao Huasheng''s clothes.

 Chapter 42: A Day Belonging to Zhao Huasheng

    Chapter 42: A Day Belonging to Zhao HuashengHey everyone,


    I''m really sorry to have to bring you this news, but I''m going to have to stop tranting this novel. I know a lot of you have been looking forward to reading it, and I''m just as disappointed as you are that it''s not going to happen.


    The reason for this is that there just haven''t been enough readers for this trantion. I''ve loved working on it and bringing the story to a wider audience, but it''s be clear that there''s not enough demand to justify the time and effort I''ve been putting into it.


    I know this is a huge letdown and I''m really sorry for any disappointment this might cause. I hope you can understand why I had to make this decision.


    Again, I''m sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused, and thanks for your understanding.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!