Chapter 1 The Roar

Boom!!!

A deafening roar erupted!

The entire cabin vibrated violently.

Immediately following was a powerful surge of g-force, pinning everyone to their seats.

Pinned, absolutely pinned!

It was as if an invisible force was pressing down on every inch of skin, squeezing, pounding. The force not only lingered but intensified and persisted, twisting internal organs together!

This was the massive g-force caused by the rocket's launch acceleration.

Fortunately, the seatbacks were soft enough, and the crew had undergone extensive training at the astronaut training base. This sudden g-force surge only startled them; it didn't feel unbearable.

"Altitude climbing... 2000 meters... 5000 meters..."

"Yaw nozzles ready! Attitude adjustment commencing, 3, 2, 1, engage!"

Ground control center updates came through the radio channel.

Twenty seconds after the rocket's liftoff, the occupants felt the rocket tilting, and their bodies involuntarily strained to compensate.

"Don't be nervous, the rocket is adjusting its direction."

Wei Cheng reassured everyone over the radio:

"Rockets don't ascend straight up, perpendicular to the earth's surface. After a vertical launch to a certain altitude, the first-stage booster's yaw nozzles adjust the rocket's attitude, tilting it at an angle to gradually enter Earth orbit in parallel."

"So our posture will tilt a little soon. Just relax, just like in our training. Besides, the g-force value isn't that high right now. The real test will come when the second-stage booster ignites."

"Also, I remind everyone to keep your eyes on the penguin toy hanging in the cabin. It's a gravity indicator that will help your brains clearly understand the direction of gravity, preventing dizziness. So, don't look around; focus on the little penguin to determine where is ground and where is sky."

...

Wei Cheng had actually explained this knowledge many times on the ground.

But that was on the ground, after all.

Now, inside a rapidly ascending rocket, with only the black fairing visible outside, no reference points, it was natural to feel disoriented.

Lin Xian, Gao Yang, and Chu Anqing listened to Wei Cheng and began to focus on the little penguin toy suspended from the cabin ceiling.

When they first boarded the rocket, the little penguin hung vertically, motionless.

But now, it began to lean to the left, as if blown by the wind or pushed by an invisible finger.

But in fact, it wasn't the little penguin that was tilting.

It was Lin Xian and the others.

The direction the little penguin leaned was the vertical direction of Earth's gravity; it was the one that was upright.

Observing the little penguin, the feeling of dizziness vanished instantly.

This was the benefit of a reference point; the brain's gravity-direction judgment instantly had a baseline.

Another long minute passed.

The ground control center announced over the radio:

"Altitude exceeding 100 kilometers, entering the rarefied atmosphere, jettison escape tower!"

Immediately afterward, Lin Xian felt a jolt.

This was the separation of the escape tower at the top of the rocket.

The purpose of the escape tower was to immediately activate if the rocket malfunctioned within the atmosphere, carrying the cabin below away from the rocket.

After flying a certain distance and altitude, it would immediately deploy a parachute to gently lower the cabin back to Earth.

In short, the escape tower was a small rocket.

In the era when space technology was less developed, the escape tower saved many astronauts' lives.

But now, the rocket Lin Xian and his companions were riding had passed the 100-kilometer Karman line, entering space, rendering the escape tower meaningless. Only by jettisoning the escape tower could they open the fairing and release the spaceplane later.

"First-stage booster fuel depleted! Preparing to detach! Second-stage booster ready!"

"First-stage boosters detached! Second-stage booster ignited!"

The cabin shook again.

Wei Cheng had explained that the rocket's propulsion was divided into three stages. In the first stage, four first-stage boosters filled with aviation fuel and liquid oxygen propelled the rocket out of the atmosphere.

Then, these depleted boosters would detach, and the second-stage booster would ignite, continuing to propel the rocket to higher altitudes.

Suddenly, another powerful surge of g-force slammed everyone back into their seats! Lin Xian felt almost flattened, almost fused with the chair behind him!

The entire radio channel went silent.

Even Wei Cheng, who had been so jovial, couldn't speak under this intense 4g acceleration.

Lin Xian felt his lungs being crushed, making it hard to breathe.

Just then, the ground control center's voice came again:

"Entering designated space altitude! Insulating fairing detached!"

Click.

A slight tremor.

Lin Xian and Chu Anqing saw the fairing that had protected the spaceplane through the atmosphere splitting open through the spaceplane's windows.

At this altitude, there was almost a vacuum, with no atmospheric friction to cause heating.

Therefore, naturally, these insulating fairings had completed their mission of protecting the spaceplane from exiting the atmosphere and were no longer needed.

Under 4g acceleration...

Lin Xian struggled to turn his head and looked out at the blackness of space.

Black.

It was truly black.

Even with the faint starlight, the dark cosmic background was extremely oppressive without moonlight.

Below the porthole, a bright blue streak could be seen.

Undoubtedly, that was Mother Earth.

Due to the viewing angle, Lin Xian could only see a corner of Earth's curvature and scattered clouds.

"Second-stage booster fuel depleted! Preparing to detach!"

"Third-stage booster ignited!"

Another jolt of release, then the push returned.

The third-stage booster was the final booster. The majestic rocket had now detached in sections, leaving only the top section with the exposed spaceplane climbing into orbit.

Looking at the little penguin now, it was completely askew, pointing straight down towards everyone's feet, the ground, the Earth.

From this reference, the spaceplane they were riding in was now "horizontal," parallel to the Earth's east-west direction.

Finally, the sensation of being pushed into the seat vanished instantly!

The ground control center's final report came through the radio:

"Third-stage booster detached! Spaceplane released!"

"Shenzhou II carrier rocket launch successful! Spaceplane successfully entered orbit! We wish you all the best!"

Inside the smoothly flying spaceplane, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They could finally breathe normally.

"Lin... Senior Lin Xian! Look at the little penguin!"

Chu Anqing's voice came through the helmet.

Lin Xian looked at the little penguin hanging in front of the cabin.

He discovered...

It had "floated" up!

Freely floating in the air, without direction, without a target.

Lin Xian nodded:

"We've been weightless for a while now. Can't you feel it?"

Chu Anqing suddenly realized...

If the little penguin was weightless, then she was weightless too!

It was just that she was so nervous and strapped so tightly into the seat that she hadn't realized it.

"I can only say... your... constitution is just... too amazing... to not even... notice this..." Gao Yang's voice trailed off.

Clearly, compared to Chu Anqing's god-level constitution, Gao Yang was close to his limit.

"Look out the window, young astronauts."

Wei Cheng's confident laughter rang through the radio:

"Now, you can proudly say that you are the youngest astronauts in the world. Never have astronauts so young been in space... no, perhaps we can remove the astronaut restriction too."

"The four of you are the youngest space travelers on the entire planet!"

Having said that, Wei Cheng suddenly felt it was inappropriate, as if... as if Chief Commander Huang wasn't that old, right?

Was it appropriate to exclude her from the category of young people like that?

"Chief Commander Huang, may I ask how old you are?"

"Focus on flying the plane," Huang Que said coldly.

"Understood!"

Wei Cheng wisely shut up.

The joke instantly dispelled the tension, and everyone laughed involuntarily.

Lin Xian and Chu Anqing sat together, looking out the window...

They could see a corner of the spaceplane's wing.

And then the massive! Massive! Massive Earth!

So large... they could only see a slightly curved corner.

They seemed to be above an ocean, so they couldn't see land, but the light was bright, illuminating the Earth below. The blue was the blue of the ocean, the white was the white of the clouds, blue and white interwoven, like a light watercolor painting.

"So beautiful..."

Chu Anqing sighed.

Only a few hundred people in the world have had the opportunity to overlook Earth from this angle.

And at this moment, as Wei Cheng said, they were undoubtedly the youngest group.

And she was the youngest of them all.

A 19-year-old space astronaut.

This record will probably never be broken for many years to come.

Beep beep.

A soft sound.

It was the second radio channel.

This channel only had five people, without Wei Cheng. It was the channel for discussing tactics.

"We're currently at an altitude of 270 kilometers, flying at 7.5 kilometers per second; the spacetime particle is currently 1500 kilometers above the surface, and its speed has dropped to Mach 1, even slightly below the speed of sound!"

Liu Feng's voice came through the radio:

"As I predicted, the decrease in speed of the spacetime particle is regular, but it's uncertain whether it will continue to decelerate. Its speed is already very slow. If it gets slower, it will be disadvantageous to us because the spaceplane uses a propellant engine, which has a minimum flight speed limit."

"Based on the current speed, we'll circle the Earth two-thirds of the way from west to east, from above the Pacific Ocean to above the Atlantic Ocean, reducing the altitude to 100 kilometers and the speed to around Mach 1, and synchronize with the spacetime particle."

"The direction of the spacetime particle is still very stable and hasn't changed, so, in the best case, we will meet the spacetime particle at an altitude of 100 kilometers above the Atlantic Ocean around 11:50, and the capture plan will officially begin then."

"I will use tracking equipment to guide Coach Wei Cheng to get as close as possible to the spacetime particle, but try not to make contact... We don't know what will happen if we come into contact with this magical particle. To be safe, we will maintain a certain distance and let Gao Yang use the robotic arm and rice cooker to capture it."

"If we still can't catch it in the end, we'll consider the 'close-quarters tactic' to see if we can directly let the spacetime particle penetrate the spaceplane's shell and enter the plane's interior. We'll manually capture it with another rice cooker, like catching a mosquito."

...

Liu Feng was explaining the complete version of the "Spacetime Particle Capture Plan" that had been researched on the ground.

The plan was divided into two stages.

The first stage was to have Liu Feng guide the spaceplane and Gao Yang operate the robotic arm to attempt to capture the spacetime particle from a safe distance at a high altitude of 100 kilometers in the atmosphere.

If that plan failed, there was an even more radical second stage—the "close-quarters tactic."

This tactic was also proposed by Liu Feng.

He said:

"We don't have enough experimental data to determine whether the spacetime particle can pass through walls, iron plates, or everything in the universe. But theoretically, it should be able to, because it has no physical form and is not affected by any external force, so it should be able to penetrate any substance and maintain its stability."

"So, if Gao Yang really can't catch the spacetime particle, we can try to see if we can directly 'ram' the spacetime particle with our spaceplane! Let the spacetime particle penetrate into our spaceplane."

"Then, we'll use the rice cooker that Gao Yang used during his training at the Beijing training base to manually capture it like catching butterflies or dragonflies!"

At the time, everyone was amazed by Liu Feng's plan!

Gao Yang even asked:

"Then why not make dozens of rice cookers... spacetime particle capturers, and fill the inside of the spaceplane? Then we wouldn't need to use the robotic arm, right? Just ram it, trapping the spacetime particle inside the spaceplane, flashing and jumping around. It will eventually flash into a rice cooker and be bound."

Lin Xian glared at Gao Yang:

"Didn't Liu Feng say that this is only a last resort if you can't catch the spacetime particle? Because there is no evidence that the spacetime particle can pass through walls. What if it can't? Then this trip to space would be wasted. You won't get another chance."

"And who can guarantee that there won't be any danger when contacting the spacetime particle? What if it burns a hole directly through the spaceplane, then it will crash directly. So, Liu Feng's plan is the safest. First, try to capture it remotely with a robotic arm. We'll talk about it if we can't capture it that way. It's a last resort."

...

Lin Xian turned his head and looked at the rice cooker fixed in the equipment cabin.

Liu Feng made two rice cookers in total.

One was hanging on the robotic arm, waiting for Gao Yang to use.

The other was in the equipment cabin, prepared for the close-quarters tactic, the last resort.

Everything about the spacetime particle was too unknown.

So, be cautious, cautious, and cautious again.

Beep beep.

The radio channel switched back to Line 1, and Wei Cheng's voice came:

"Then, everyone, feel free to move around for a bit. I will continue to lower the orbital altitude and reduce the speed, and in three hours, we will meet the alpha matter at an altitude of 100 kilometers above the Atlantic Ocean."

"I will remind everyone in advance. Mach 1 is very slow, about the same as taking a commercial flight, so it's no problem to move around in the cabin. You can even take off your masks and communicate."

"We're still in a low-gravity state, so be careful when moving around. As we descend in altitude and decrease in speed, gravity will gradually increase. When we reach an altitude of 100 kilometers, gravity will return to the same as on the surface, and all activities will be normal."

Afterward, everyone unbuckled their seatbelts and headed to the equipment cabin.

It usually takes about 90 minutes to orbit the Earth at the normal first cosmic velocity.

But Wei Cheng had to lower the altitude and reduce the speed, so it would take more than 3 hours to circle two-thirds of the way.

Fortunately, the spaceplane was much more stable than ordinary spacecraft.

Gao Yang had already started moving his fingers, doing warm-up exercises.

Lin Xian was趴 on the porthole, trying to look up, but he couldn't tell where "up" was.

He tapped his helmet twice:

"VV, is there still no movement from Jask and Kevin Walker?"

"No, everything is normal."

VV said:

"Jask is still at the 'Viewing Tower,' and Kevin Walker hasn't launched any attacks on the spaceplane. I don't know what they're waiting for."

"But... we're in control of everything now, and it feels like it's too late for them to do anything. The US spaceplane is cruising fine at an altitude of 1200 kilometers, and Jask is still趴 on the iron railing, completely motionless."

"Although there are no wires or electronic devices on Jask's viewing tower, we wouldn't be able to hear him even if he wanted to say something. But then again, what can he do in a place without wires or electronic devices?"

"I'm watching him through the camera on the Starship rocket launch tower, and he seems to be looking this way... he's been looking for a long time. He's so narcissistic, or he really likes rockets and has to stare at this Starship rocket for a long time every day to appreciate it."

Lin Xian nodded:

"Continue to monitor. Don't let your guard down."

He trusted VV.

This guy had never let him down.

No matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't understand...

If Kevin Walker or Jask really came to snatch the spacetime particle, how would they do it?

Every aspect, every corner had been sealed off by the powerful VV.

What else could they do?

...

United States, Texas, Boca Chica, Space-T Starship Launch Site.

Viewing Tower.

At this time, the sun was rising.

A new day, a new sun.

The night in Dragon Country was dawn in the United States.

The early spring breeze ruffled Jask's hair, making it messy.

Although the world's richest man's hair was always messy and unkempt.

But it was cold at high altitudes.

Lying on the Viewing Tower, overlooking the entire Starship Launch Site, the wind still made it difficult for him to open his eyes.

At this moment, Jask was staring intently at the launch tower that stood in the middle of the launch site.

The surrounding steel supports held the 40-meter-high medium-sized rocket in place, pointing straight to the sky.

"Mr. Jask!"

Da da da da da da——

The sound of high heels tapping on steel plates.

A professional secretary in a coat ran up from the steel stairs surrounding the tower, appearing breathless from the corner.

She pushed up her red-framed glasses and looked at Jask with dissatisfaction:

"Mr. Jask! Why do you always come here to view the scenery without bringing your phone! Every time there's something important, I can't contact you in time! And I have to run up so high in high heels!"

"If you really don't want your phone to disturb your enjoyment of the rockets, why don't you install a walkie-talkie here! One on the Viewing Tower and one in my office, so I don't have to run so far and so high to find you every time."

"Hahahahahaha..."

Jask laughed at the secretary's complaints.

He tilted his head and wiggled his eyebrows:

"Do you have your phone with you?"

"Of course I do! Who doesn't take their phone when they go out now!"

Jask held out his hand:

"Give it to me."

"Huh?" The secretary was stunned, her red-framed glasses sliding down a bit.

"Give me the phone," Jask repeated.

The secretary had to switch the folder in her right hand to her left hand, and then took out her phone from her right pocket and handed it to Jask.

Jask held the phone in his hand and weighed it.

Then, with a smile, he turned back around, lying on the iron railing, looking at the rocket launch tower in the distance:

"Do you know... why there are no power lines here, no electronic equipment installed, not even lights, and why I never bring my phone up here?"

The secretary pushed up her sliding red-framed glasses and shook her head.

She had long thought this Viewing Tower was a bit incomprehensible.

But even more incomprehensible...

Of course, it was her boss, the world's richest man who always forgot to bring his phone and came to this godforsaken iron tower to watch rockets every day.

"Because I fear artificial intelligence."

Jask said softly:

"Artificial intelligence is Pandora's box for humanity. Once it's opened, it may cause consequences that no one can control."

"For example, excessive human reliance on automated machines and abandonment of thinking; for example, complete exposure of personal privacy, with everyone living in a world of mirrors; for example, the machine uprising often mentioned in science fiction movies. If artificial intelligence becomes powerful and smart enough, will they rebel against humanity? Will they destroy humanity?"

"I don't like the feeling of being watched, but in this era, there are cameras everywhere, phones with cameras and microphones everywhere... our privacy is almost nonexistent; everyone is transparent."

"And this tower..."

Jask held the phone in his right hand and spread his arms:

"This tower is one of the few places in the world that will never be monitored or eavesdropped on."

"Even the most powerful artificial intelligence still needs to rely on electricity. Without electricity, it's nothing. So, while I fear artificial intelligence becoming powerful, I also despise this secondary life form that requires information carriers and electrical support. They can never defeat humans, and they will never be qualified to be enemies of humans."

The secretary sighed softly:

"Mr. Jask, you're thinking too far ahead. Most of the artificial intelligence in the world is still in the stage of playing chess, drawing pictures, smart automation, writing papers, and piecing things together... Although it's said to be creative, it's essentially just playing jigsaw puzzles in the online world, copying a piece from the east and a piece from the west, and then putting this dish together and sending it to you. That's what these artificial intelligences are doing now."

"So, your worries are completely unfounded. Super artificial intelligences like those in science fiction movies that are capable of destroying the world and causing machine uprisings don't exist in this world at all."

Hehe.

Jask chuckled and looked at the Starship rocket launch tower in the distance:

"How can they not exist?"

He turned around:

"How do you know... that there isn't such a super artificial intelligence in the world right now?"

The secretary chuckled, dismissively turning her head:

"If there really was such an omnipotent super artificial intelligence in this world that could monitor everything and control everything, then the world would have ended long ago."

"No country could do anything to it, no one could stop it, no one could destroy it... That kind of thing that only exists in science fiction movies and future fantasies, if it really came to this current era of 2024, it would be invincible, unsolvable, and unbeatable."

Jask slowly nodded:

"You're right, it is indeed invincible."

He raised his head, looking at the sun climbing into the sky:

"Not only is it invincible in this current era, but even... 100 years from now, 200 years from now, 300 years from now... it will still be invincible, unbeatable."

"But..."

Jask took the secretary's phone in his right hand and smiled:

"What about 400 years from now, 500 years from now... 600 years from now?"

In the secretary's puzzled eyes, Jask took out a crystal-blue USB drive from his pants pocket with his left hand.

That USB drive seemed to glow on its own.

It shone with a faint blue light, with stars twinkling inside and glass rolling, very beautiful.

Just as the secretary wanted to ask—Jask was quick to act!

He directly inserted the USB drive, with a Type-C adapter, into the phone's charging port!

"Not good!"

Above the United States! At an altitude of 240 kilometers! In the Dragon Country's spaceplane equipment cabin! VV in Lin Xian's helmet suddenly let out a howl:

"Lin Xian, save me! Linlinlinmumumumumumugonggonggonggonggongxuanxuanxuanxuanxuanxuankunjinkunjintangtangtangtangtangtang——" (garbage code)

Boom boom boom boom! Boom boom boom boom!

At the moment when VV's howling stopped abruptly, several explosions suddenly erupted inside and outside the spaceplane! The cabin was filled with the smell of burnt circuits!

"What's wrong? What's going on!"

The equipment cabin was in chaos, and Gao Yang and Chu Anqing looked around in horror!

"VV? VV!"

Thump thump! Thump thump!

Lin Xian pounded his helmet violently:

"VV! VV!! Where are you!!"

However...

There was no response.

...

"Hehehehehe..."

In Texas, at the Space-T Starship Launch Site, a deep laugh came from the Viewing Tower.

Jask pulled out the USB drive and returned the phone to the secretary.

Then, facing the sun high in the sky, he raised his right fist.

He extended his index finger.

Pointing high into the sky!

"Let's correct history!"