Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 16: Is it really possible to go back?
The commotion on Earth even reached the Moon.

After all, ASEAN broadcast the order for the mobilization of the entire military across the entire region. Even if you were on Mars, you could receive the message every few days, let alone on the moon.

Ge Hongbo and two teammates are resting inside the landing module. Lunar walking is extremely physically demanding.

A trip to the moon is not as simple as just leaving a flag and returning. The window of opportunity for a return journey between Earth and the moon is carefully calculated. They need to wait on the moon for nearly sixty hours and use this time to complete various tasks.

Temperatures are extremely low during the lunar polar night, remaining at around -200 degrees Celsius year-round. Even the most advanced spacesuits on Earth would struggle to withstand such conditions for long.

Fortunately, the group set up solar power equipment in time, and now they can hide in the landing module.

Inevitably, they started discussing the ASEAN mobilization on Earth.

"Now it seems that many people think we've discovered something here, but there's nothing here at all?"

"Where there's ice, there's water. If we dig hard for a bit, we might just unearth some kind of moon people, flying around while banging drums and gongs," Deng Qing joked, then looked somewhat wistful.

Having only been in space for a few days, it was clearly an astronaut's lifelong dream to be the first to set foot on the moon, representing the entire East. But upon hearing news from his hometown, he felt a deep longing for that land.

"I really want to go back. Hey Lao Ge, do you think you'd still know how to fly a plane now?"

Hearing his teammate's question, Ge Hongbo smiled and said, "There's no such thing as 'can't' or 'can't.' I'll step up whenever the country needs me."

"Sigh, the entire army has been mobilized. I wonder what the ground will be like when we get back."

Wang Ping said with some worry, "I'm very concerned about what would happen if war broke out..."

"What's there to worry about? Even if there's a war, our motherland has the ability to bring us back, unless Earth suddenly disappears tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Deng Qing slapped his forehead: "What was it again? Die on Mars? Then we'd die on the moon."

"Shut your mouth, you jinx!" Ge Hongbo said with a laugh.

Wang Ping smiled as he watched his two teammates tease him, explaining, "I'm not worried about not being able to go back; I'm just afraid that I won't be there when the country needs me."

"What are you talking about?" Ge Hongbo denied. "Our task is also very important now. Get some rest, and we'll go out to collect samples later."

The two nodded, said no more, and closed their eyes to recover their strength as much as possible.

Ge Hongbo shifted his position and looked out the porthole. The basin, which had been dark for millions of years, was illuminated in a small area by the lights of the landing module. The crater at the edge of his vision merged with the dark deep space. There was no sun or moon in the sky, nor the hometown that few people deeply cherished. Only countless stars twinkled with cold light.

He turned off the team microphone, looked at the dark universe, and tapped his fingers lightly to the beat, hidden under his heavy spacesuit.

"The mountains know me—the rivers know me—"

"Our motherland will not forget—will not forget me—"

……

The atmosphere at the space center was relatively calm, and all plans were proceeding in an orderly manner. After He Ping left, the chief commander did receive relevant orders to formulate a return plan for the personnel in space as soon as possible.

How many of us are still in heaven?

"Three on the moon, four on space stations."

"Where's the latest weather forecast for the landing site? Bring it here so I can take another look."

Several ongoing space missions were compiled, and the chief commander carefully reviewed the contents of each plan, and then glanced at the recently planned launch missions.

"The lunar landing mission will proceed as planned. The seedling cultivation mission will be immediately interrupted. We will prepare to land tomorrow in the return capsule. As for the physiological experiments... they need to wait a few more days in the air. We need to inform them to trust the ground. We will be ready before the next return window."

"Inspect the return capsule as soon as possible!"

The sudden change in plans kept the entire command center busy, but thanks to adequate contingency plans for various unexpected situations, it could only be said that things were orderly despite the busyness.

The commander rubbed his temples and inquired about the situation of his colleagues: "How many astronauts are still stranded in space in the west?"

"Four."

"What do they plan to do?" The assistant, who had been standing by, was silent for a moment before speaking. "They believe that outer space is actually safer during astronomical disasters. Not only do they not plan to bring those people back, but some wealthy people want to go up there on rockets, and some even want to enter our space station."

"?"

"The diplomatic authorities have blocked the news, and negotiations are still ongoing."

The commander-in-chief shook his head and ignored the messages.

Soon, another emergency forced him to disregard everything else.

"The return capsule of spacecraft No. 1 has malfunctioned! The connection section is stuck and it cannot detach from the space station!"

The commander-in-chief put aside his irrelevant thoughts and quickly stepped forward to ask, "Can it be repaired?"

The young woman responsible for delivering the message looked a bit anxious: "We're trying! But... a quick fix is ​​unlikely!"

Unexpected events are the norm in space missions. The success of the recent projects is not only due to the efforts of all aerospace personnel, but also to a part of luck.

The commander-in-chief remained calm and issued the order: "Have the comrades keep their emotions in check. Group one will land in the second return capsule first, and Group two will wait in place. We will launch the backup spacecraft as soon as possible!"

At the space station 200 kilometers above the ground, the four astronauts did not have much anxiety.

"Alright, you two get ready as soon as possible. We were going to stay here for a few more days anyway, but since your mission is interrupted, we can stay here and observe for you for a while longer."

The return journey is scheduled for tomorrow, but that doesn't mean we'll start entering the return capsule tomorrow. After the return capsule leaves the space station, it will first return to its original orbit and undergo a period of orbital flight to lock in a suitable landing window.

Time was actually very tight, and the two who were about to return hugged the two astronauts who needed to stay behind.

"Hang in there for a few more days, we'll be waiting for you at home."

……

The news was quickly relayed to the Binhai Base, in the project office of the Daily Sun project.

What's your opinion on North America's belief that the effects of catastrophes can be avoided in space?

This question stumped Su Xun.

The Great Spiritual Energy Ring—also known as the Gale Layer—teares apart any matter that attempts to break through the atmosphere. In the years immediately following the apocalypse in the previous life, no one knew what had happened in outer space above the Gale Layer.

By the time high-level superhumans were able to pass through the gale layer, those space stations and similar entities had already crashed, most likely disappearing into the gale.

However, it's unknown whether they can escape the effects of the catastrophe. Once they go up, they certainly won't be able to come down. Even if these people are spared from turning into zombies, they won't be able to return to the ground under the conditions of raging gales.

Shao Xuezhen nodded seriously: "In that case, we agree to let these wealthy people go to the space station."

"Huh? Why?"

"Since it's already a worthless resource, we might as well take it out and make a deal now."

"Let these people pay for the rocket launch, sit in the return capsule, and come up to relieve our people. They can stay on it if they want."

"This... is good."

A group of capitalists were scrambling to buy tickets to send themselves to their graves—they even paid for the trains themselves. Su Xun found it all quite amusing.

If they survive the zombification by staying on the ground, these people might be able to live. But once they go outside the Gale Layer, they will definitely die.

"Well, just paying money isn't enough. If we want the opportunity to go to our space station, we also need them to provide some of the resources and technology we'll need in the future!"

Seeing that his own family members were also such scoundrels, Su Xun felt quite relieved.

"Show me the list of those wealthy people later. I'll see if I recognize any of them and send it to them first."

The old man and the young man exchanged a glance, revealing a mutual appreciation.

(End of this chapter)