Reborn Before the Apocalypse: My Backing is the Nation

Chapter 116: Good or bad
Time slips away quietly.

In the control room, Jiang Yang watched as spaceship after spaceship descended from the vast depths of space to a point more than ten kilometers away from the entrance to the passage. Astronauts in spacesuits emerged from the capsule one after another, and boxes of supplies and provisions landed beside them.

The astronauts quickly gathered the supplies and equipment, and without taking a break, they changed into mechanical spacesuits and dragged one heavy cart after another on foot toward the entrance to the passage.

Communication was cut off once they entered the abnormal area.

Jiang Yang knew that from this moment on, he would no longer be able to contact them proactively.

There is only one way left to obtain their information: direct visual observation through the optical lenses of lunar satellites.

The 13 astronauts cast long shadows in the setting sun. At this moment, they not only had to drag the heavy cart, but also had to turn the handles on their spacesuits from time to time to provide some power for the flow of the temperature-controlled liquid inside the spacesuits.

This is a very physically demanding activity. But Jiang Yang knows that for the astronauts, it is the least of their worries.

Looking at the time, Jiang Yang saw that it was already 2 a.m. on the tenth day of the cycle.

There are 22 hours left until the end of the world.

Suppressing the heaviness in his heart, Jiang Yang focused his attention once again on the images captured by the lunar satellite.

The astronauts trudged through the lunar dust, taking more than two hours to reach the entrance of the passage.

A miniature version of a "minibus," smaller than the common "old people's cars" found on Earth, was quickly assembled and placed at the entrance of the passageway.

It also has a tail-like radiator trailing behind it, and its working mechanism is the same as the official version of the "minibus".

The lunar satellite clearly captured images of one astronaut entering the spacecraft. The remaining astronauts then removed superconducting materials and carefully covered the entire spacecraft, including the wheels, except for the heat sink behind the astronaut.

Then, with the astronauts inside unable to see anything outside, it began to move forward.

Jiang Yang knew that the astronauts were conducting tests according to plan.

The first test is whether the superconducting material we hypothesize can truly resist the suspected negative matter field that permeates this area.

If the test results show that the resistance is irresistible, then this salvation plan will lose its foundation, and the end of this life will be destined for destruction. There is no need for us to struggle anymore; we can simply wait to die.

Jiang Yang will carry this information to the next life to continue searching for other possible solutions.

If the test results show that the material can withstand negative matter fields, then researchers will turn to collecting data on the resistance of superconducting materials to negative matter fields in preparation for subsequent formal actions.

Under satellite imagery, the miniature bus disappeared from view, and the astronauts remaining outside the passageway began their second task without waiting for the results.

The final version of the minibus was disassembled into hundreds of modules. Assembling them, especially under the circumstances of wearing mechanical spacesuits and being unable to communicate, is obviously an extremely complex, difficult, and time-consuming task.

If we wait for the results before assembling, it will be too late.

In the control room, people watched the astronauts working on camera while silently waiting for the test results of the miniature minibus.

According to the original plan, it will stop when it reaches a depth of 4100 meters in the passage and then return.

The mechanical counter displays the astronauts' journey distance, and there are also mechanical structures that can change the direction of the astronauts' power output, causing the wheels to reverse and eventually exit the passage.

Based on its current speed, if all goes well, the astronaut will return within 5 hours after a total journey of 8200 meters.

Time slips away bit by bit.

It was already late at night, but Jiang Yang did not feel sleepy at all.

Like Jiang Yang, everyone waiting in the control hall, whether they were elderly people in their seventies or eighties or young people in their twenties, were all on high alert and showed no signs of fatigue.

Under these circumstances, the clock hands quietly pointed to ten o'clock in the morning.

With 14 hours left until the apocalypse and 20 minutes remaining until the scheduled return of the miniature minibus, Jiang Yang didn't get to wait until the very last moment.

Under satellite imagery, it appeared at the cave entrance without any warning.

The astronauts who had been waiting immediately stood up and surrounded him. The hatch opened, and the astronaut who had been waiting earlier walked out unharmed.

Jiang Yang's heart leaped into his throat, a hint of anticipation rising within him.

The structure of a minibus can be divided into two parts: a body covered with superconducting materials and a radiator not covered with superconducting materials.

The heat sink is too hot, and even if it is covered with superconducting material, it will lose superconductivity.

So, there are three possibilities at this moment.

First, the car body and radiator were completely corroded.

This would prove that superconducting materials do not have the ability to resist the influence of that suspected negative matter field, and that the rescue plan has failed.

Second, the car body and radiator were completely free of corrosion.

This means that the miniature bus did not travel within the range of the negative matter field, and the test failed.

Only the third possibility—that the bus body was not corroded but the radiator was—can truly prove that the minibus did indeed travel within the range of the negative matter field, but actually resisted its influence. Only then would the salvation plan have a reason to continue.

Of course, theoretically there is a fourth possibility, namely that the car body is corroded but the radiator is not, but that is beyond the scope of this discussion.

So……

What will the final result be?
In the control room, hundreds of officials, scientists, engineers, and others waiting for the results were all silent, even their breathing seemed to be deliberately quiet.

Satellite footage showed the astronauts circling the miniature bus for a long time before finally beginning to write on the large, foldable canvas they had brought with them.

"Both the car body and the radiator showed signs of corrosion."

Upon seeing this line of text, Jiang Yang's heart sank.

The astronauts did not stop writing.

The second line of text appeared quickly.

"But the body is relatively light, while the radiator is relatively heavy."

Jiang Yang's pupils narrowed instantly.

Superconducting materials are also affected by negative matter fields, but they are lighter than ordinary materials.
This result is neither the best nor the worst.

However, this makes the situation more complicated.

On the large canvas, the third line of text appeared.

"We have decided to continue with the mission as originally planned."

The final version of the minibus was still being assembled, and the assembly and testing were finally completed around 7 p.m.

The hydrogen bomb had been moved into the vehicle. In addition to one astronaut, the remaining 12 astronauts also entered the vehicle.

The car slowly moved forward and disappeared from the frame.

Jiang Yang knew that his side could no longer obtain any information about them.

(End of this chapter)