Genius Club.

Chapter 223 The Last Man in the East China Sea
Then.

How can one get to the Rhine Sky City?

Are there special flights?

Or is there an elevator somewhere you don’t know about?
Lin Xian looked around...

"Ok?"

He saw again the gathering crowd and lights in the distance.

He saw that place at the birth point just now.

It looked like a flat ground, and from a distance, there were at least a hundred people gathered there, as if they were having a party.

Moreover, that place was the only place with lights within the field of vision, so it was extremely conspicuous; the little boy that Lin Xian met halfway just now also ran towards that direction and the group of people after they parted.

The reason why Lin Xian made a doubtful sound...

Because where the crowd and lights gathered, a huge hot air balloon slowly rose!
Lin Xian had only seen hot air balloons in movies and on TV, and had never seen one in real life.

This is a flying device that uses hot air or helium to rise into the air.

However, due to the lack of sufficient turning ability and horizontal movement function, most hot air balloons can only go with the wind... Therefore, they are not very practical in daily life and are more often used for extreme sports or sightseeing.

And now.

A hot air balloon rises specially at the foot of the Sky City.

Needless to say, it must be the means of transportation to the sky city.

“I didn’t expect the mode of transportation to be so primitive.”

Can a hot air balloon alone safely fly to Rhine Sky City?
Lin Xian had doubts.

But he still took a step and ran towards the crowd, trying to see if he could catch a ride... no, a ride on the wind.

however.

Because of my previous random running, this distance is too far.

Lin Xian watched the hot air balloon gradually become fuller and swelled, and then slowly rose into the sky...

When Lin Xian finally arrived at the crowd gathering, the huge hot air balloon had already pulled the narrow manned basket below up to a height of several dozen meters and was still slowly accelerating.

Lin Xian looked up.

Find……

This is not a hot air balloon in the traditional sense, but a helium balloon.

Generally speaking, hot air balloons are filled with air, and then a large flame spray gun is used to heat the air inside and reduce its density to achieve air buoyancy.

Helium balloons are different.

It does not have any heating device and does not need any heating device.

The density of helium itself is lower than that of air, so you only need to fill a huge balloon with helium and seal it, and it will provide huge air buoyancy by itself, without the need for any other facilities.

but……

The Rhine Sky City is estimated to be only about two or three thousand meters in height. Isn't it a bit of an overreaction to use a helium balloon to launch it?

This distance is more than enough for a traditional hot air balloon to take off.

Could it be that……

The actual height of this Rhine Sky City is higher than I expected?

Lin Xian recalled the geography knowledge he learned in junior high school.

It feels like if the height were any higher, it would actually be a bit unrealistic.

He remembered that it was written in the geography book that the temperature would drop by about 1000 degrees Celsius for every 6 meters increase in altitude, so an altitude of two or three thousand meters was most suitable for the residents of the Sky City to live in, so it would not be too cold.

Moreover, as the altitude increases, the air pressure will also decrease synchronously. Not only will the boiling point of water decrease, causing a lot of unnecessary trouble in life, but the thin oxygen will also make it easy to cause altitude sickness.

of course.

This is all about looking at the world from the perspective of 2023.

Now, there is no doubt that Rhine Sky City has mastered controlled nuclear fusion. They have inexhaustible energy and heat. Problems such as temperature and air pressure are not big problems at all and can be easily solved.

Therefore, it is possible that I really misjudged the height of Rhine Sky City.

however.

soon.

Lin Xian noticed another unusual thing——

He saw that the "passenger" standing in the manned basket under the huge helium balloon... was fully armed at this moment!

He was wrapped tightly and thickly, as if he was wearing a simple sealed space suit.

This analogy is not an exaggeration.

The "passenger" was bulging all over, just like the little man in the Michelin tire advertisement. The most important thing was that he had a big space helmet on his head, which really made him look like an astronaut.

This made Lin Xian even more confused...

Helium balloon + space suit, what on earth is this guy going to do?
Isn't he going to the Castle in the Sky? Why is there so much trouble and exaggeration?

Lin Xian decided to find someone to ask.

He kept scanning the crowd...

soon.

He discovered three unexpected yet expected familiar figures!
A Zhuang!

Second pillar!
Three fat guys!

They are Big Face Cat’s three former younger brothers!
Meeting an old friend in a foreign place, Lin Xian couldn't help but laugh.

These three younger brothers were shot to death countless times by myself and Big Face Cat in the first dream; in the second dream, they all turned over a new leaf and worked for Big Face Cat and Boss Li... I really didn't expect to see them again in the third dream.

At this moment, Lin Xian felt that perhaps history really did have a certain inevitability.

Some people and some things are like inevitable historical nodes...

Must exist.

It is bound to happen.

Is this... another completely new law of time and space?

Lin Xian still can't figure it out for the time being.

But now is not the time to think about this. I should go and ask them what are so many people gathering here for.

"A Zhuang!"

Lin Xian stepped forward and greeted him enthusiastically.

A Zhuang, who was a head shorter than Lin Xian but had a sturdy build, withdrew his gaze from the sky and looked Lin Xian up and down:

"Who are you?"

"It's not important." Lin Xian smiled and patted his shoulder. Having seen him so many times before, Lin Xian was not shy at all:
"Where's my brother Face? Where is he?"

Hearing the word "Brother Lian" coming out of Lin Xian's mouth...A Zhuang's expression also relaxed a lot.

And seeing how relaxed and familiar Lin Xian was, he probably was Brother Lian's friend, so A Zhuang didn't put his guard up and pointed at the hot air balloon that had risen hundreds of meters in the sky:

"You're late. Brother Lian has already left."

???

Lin Xian tilted his head in disbelief, looking up at the hot air balloon rising rapidly in the sky:
"Is that guy in the space suit Brother Face? Big Face Cat?"

"Ah, what else?"

"Is he going to Rhine Sky City?"

"That's for sure."

A Zhuang looked at Lin Xian and continued:

"You must have come here knowing all this, right? Pay attention."

After that, he stopped paying attention to Lin Xian and looked up at the sky:

"Hey... I hope Brother Lian can succeed this time, otherwise..."

He bit his lip and didn't continue.

Lin Xian looked at A Zhuang in confusion.

They're already fully armed like that, how could there be any danger?

Forget it. He stopped asking for now and just watched the Big Face Cat perform silently.

Today, I missed Big Face Cat's hot air balloon purely because I wasted time. If Big Face Cat really succeeds in landing in Rhine Sky City later, I will just come early tomorrow to catch a ride.

Lin Xian didn't take it seriously, and just looked up at the small white ball rising rapidly in the sky along with the silent people around him.

Now let’s see…

The Big-Faced Cat has risen to an altitude of at least 2000 meters on a helium balloon. The huge hot air balloon now looks only the size of a fist.

Fortunately, the thousands of daily controlled nuclear fusion engines beneath the sky city are running day and night. While providing enough lift for the Rhine Sky City to stay in the air, they also release light that illuminates half of the sky, allowing everyone on the ground to clearly see the big-faced cat gradually shrinking into a small white dot.

Lin Xian squinted his eyes and watched the big-faced cat's hot air balloon rise higher... higher... higher...

They have all risen to an invisible height.

He approached A Zhuang, who was clenching his fists as if facing a formidable enemy, and whispered:
"It seems... it flew over the head..."

Now the Big Face Cat's altitude is obviously much higher than the Sky City. If it continues to fly, it will have to fly into the stratosphere. It is obviously off course.

"what are you saying?"

A Zhuang turned his head and looked at Lin Xian:

"There is a 10,000-meter-high laser air defense zone around Rhine Sky City. Once you touch it, you will be immediately locked by the laser and evaporated directly... The entire air defense zone is in the shape of a cone, sealing off the Sky City. However, there is only a blind spot at the very top of the cone, in the middle of the city at an altitude of 10,000 meters. If you want to break through the defense of Rhine Sky City, you can only enter from there."

?

Lin Xian felt like he was listening to a fantasy novel:

"Ten thousand meters? Laser defense system? Is this Sky City so heavily guarded?"

"Of course."

A Zhuang turned his head and continued to stare at the almost invisible little white dot in the sky:

"So, if you want to break through the defense and enter the Rhine Sky City, you must take a hot air balloon to an altitude of nearly 20,000 meters, then jump off, glide to the exact position to dive down, and open the parachute... Only then can you safely enter the Sky City and land."

This……

Lin Xian blinked, unable to believe it.

What kind of tiger-wolf talk is this?
Ride a helium balloon to an altitude of 20,000 meters and then go paragliding?
Damn, you wouldn’t even dare to do this in “Rampants Republic”!
If you think about it carefully, it’s no wonder that the big-faced cat has to be fully armed and wear a fully sealed space suit.

Because at an altitude of 20,000 meters, the temperature is definitely below minus 30 degrees Celsius. If he doesn't wear thick clothes, he will definitely freeze to death in the biting cold wind. After all, he not only has to stay there, but also jump down against the wind and free fall.

Moreover, the air pressure at an altitude of 20,000 meters is only one-fifth of that on the surface, and the oxygen content is far from enough for breathing. So it is conceivable that the big-faced cat must be carrying an oxygen cylinder or other oxygen supply and constant pressure device on his back.

"too crazy."

Lin Xian sighed sincerely.

Even though he has attempted suicide countless times in his dreams and has experienced many extreme sports that have brought him very close to death, there is still a difference between attempting suicide and seeking death.

He once challenged skydiving from an altitude of 8,000 meters in his dreams, and many times he was smashed into pieces due to various reasons.

He even fell into a coma for unknown reasons many times during the free fall.

It's still so difficult even at an altitude of 8,000 meters.

What's more, the Big-Faced Cat has to jump from a height of 20,000 meters, then glide through free fall to aim at the only gap in the air defense system, dive down, open the parachute in time and slow down the descent.

This is an extremely dangerous challenge, and any slight mistake could result in death!

What is this, Big Face Cat...

Lin Xian sighed.

You are just a big-faced cat, not Batman, why do you have such ability? Are you going to die?

"How do you know for sure that there is an air defense gap in the middle of Rhine Sky City?"

“Because someone has been in there.”

A Zhuang said softly:

"Although... only once, and it ultimately failed. But we did see him go in."

"Is this the only way to enter Rhine Sky City?" Lin Xian asked:
"Isn't there any other safer way?"

A Zhuang shook his head:
"If there is... what have we been busy with for so many years and with so much sacrifice?"

After saying that, A Zhuang stretched out his hand to signal Lin Xian to shut up. Sweat began to appear on his forehead. He squinted his eyes and stared at the hot air balloon that had disappeared from the sky.

For a moment, Lin Xian really couldn't figure out why all this happened.

But looking at the expressions of the people around him, they all clenched their fists without saying a word.

He knew that this was not a suitable time to ask, so he could only follow A Zhuang's gaze and look aimlessly up at the sky.

and so……

Is this actually another form of New Donghai City?
New Donghai City used high walls to prevent them from entering; Rhine Sky City was even more outrageous, flying directly into the sky and setting up a 10,000-meter-high defense network, fundamentally eliminating the possibility of invasion.

but.

Why should a gap be left in the sky above the center of the city?

What is the purpose of doing this?
Lin Xian doesn't believe it's a technical reason...

Rhine Sky City is different from the superficial New East China Sea City. It has already mastered controlled nuclear fusion and is a highly developed future city. Logically speaking, how could it leave an air defense blind spot?
Is it difficult to seal it?
Why do we need to leave a loophole?
……

Ok?
Wait.

Lin Xian thought of all these unusual and abnormal things...

Is it...

That gap!

Is it a [back door] deliberately left for yourself?
But this is too much of an overestimate of oneself!
Who on earth thinks so highly of me?
If Lin Xian remembers correctly, as of 2023, the holder of the world skydiving altitude record should be a vice president of Google.

In 2014, he rode a helium balloon to an altitude of more than 4 meters, then free fell for four minutes before opening his parachute and landing safely.

This is the charm of extreme sports challenges.

This is also the reason why the population is generally sparse abroad.

Although compared with the record of Google's vice president's 4-meter skydiving, Big Face Cat's 2-meter skydiving does not seem to be that difficult.

But the degree of difficulty between the two of them is simply too different!

Simply put, the Google vice president only needs to jump from 4 meters and then find the right time to open the parachute.

As for the big-faced cat...

He also needs to control his speed and direction through precise gliding to reach the gap in the air defense, and then find an opportunity to parachute and land.

If it were slightly offset, in a worse position, or at a faster speed, it might directly touch the air defense scanning net and be evaporated by the laser!
Lin Xian believes that Big Face Cat is not the kind of person who seeks trouble and challenges his limits.

For him, this Rhine Sky City...

Why must we go?

suddenly!

There was a cry of surprise from the crowd:
“It jumped! It jumped!” “Big Face jumped!” “It’s gliding!” “Be sure to remember the exact position!”…

Everyone's voices of worry and surprise rose one after another, but Lin Xian could see nothing.

He looked around and found that most people had taken out their binoculars.

Turning around, Erzhuzi and Sanpang were holding binoculars in their hands, looking up.

Lin Xian walked over and patted Erzhuzi on the shoulder:

"Erzhuzi, your sister-in-law is here to see you."

“Where is it!!”

Erzhuzi took away the telescope and looked around!
"What about that? What about the back?"

Lin Xian randomly pointed in a crowded direction, then snatched the telescope from Erzhuzi and looked upwards.

This telescope actually has night vision function.

It happened that the moonlight was very bright today and the sky was cloudless. As the big-faced cat's falling height decreased... a vague white shadow could gradually be found in the telescope.

That should be the big-faced cat.

Here, the blurry shadow is adjusting its posture and spreading its body, as if it is controlling the direction of gliding.

Just when Lin Xian's blood began to boil...

suddenly!

A flash of fire suddenly appeared in the night sky ten thousand meters away!
A small fireball appeared.

Then...

Everything became quiet.

"That is……"

Lin Xian put down the telescope, thinking about what A Zhuang had said before, and the scene of the flames evaporating unexpectedly.

That's it?

It was that simple, the big-faced cat was killed by the anti-aircraft laser?

He looked around.

Sure enough, from everyone's expressions, I got a positive answer.

A Zhuang sighed.

Sanpang also shook his head.

The entire venue, where hundreds of people gathered, was completely silent, and no one spoke.

Lin Xian felt very strange.

This atmosphere is really weird.

It’s sad, but I feel like everyone isn’t that sad.

It's like I'm numb.

It seems like I'm used to this kind of sacrifice.

Everyone's eyes are so empty.

A staggering old man came forward and patted A Zhuang on the shoulder. The black sores on his face were thick and swollen, and there was a foul smell:
"A Zhuang, it's your turn..."

A Zhuang nodded.

Turn around and walk towards the other side of the venue.

There……

There is a helium balloon that is beginning to inflate, and a set of equipment that is exactly the same as the dead big-faced cat.

"No, what are you doing?"

Lin Xian became more and more confused.

Waiting in line to die?

Or did the Face Gang members do something extremely evil and unforgivable, and this is their punishment?
Even if there is a reason that you have to enter Rhine Sky City, you can't always take advantage of the Face Gang!

The boss just died and his body evaporated. Can't he replace him with someone from another gang?
Lin Xian felt uncomfortable with this collective numbness.

He felt unfair for the big-faced cat.

but.

As he turned in a circle and looked around.

But found...

Among the crowd gathered around, there was not even a single young or middle-aged man!
Women, old people, children...

Only there are no men.

He looked again, and there was really not a single man!

"Where are the other men?"

Lin Xian couldn't help but ask.

At this time.

A familiar-looking girl, Li Ningning, stood to the right of Lin Xian and shook her head:

"The three of them..."

"He is the last man in the East China Sea."

……

Lin Xian frowned.

Looking at the silent crowd around him, looking at A Zhuang who was beginning to put on his space suit, looking at the Rhine Sky City with thousands of blue stars twinkling in the sky, looking at the moon in the sky covered by the black hand shadow...

this world.

In the end what happened?
(End of this chapter)