Reborn Before the Apocalypse: My Backing is the Nation

Chapter 123 Focusing on the Present

At that moment, the spacious control hall was filled with shouts, cheers, and applause, almost lifting the roof off.

The heaviness and oppression of the past ten days erupted completely and without reservation the moment the clock struck midnight.

We destroyed that underground chamber!

The harvester civilization remained, and the "harvesting machine" that harvested our data and lives has been destroyed by us!
Our country and our people can continue to thrive on this planet where we have lived and multiplied for hundreds of thousands of years!

The enormous commotion continued for a long time. Eventually, this commotion coalesced into a single name.

Jiangyang! Jiangyang!
Countless people chanted this name together.

Looking at those burning faces, Jiang Yang slowly felt a sense of sadness in his heart.

Did I really save the world?

No, it is not.

not me.

The true saviors of the world are astronauts like Tong Zheng, Zhao Jianguo, and Li Hui; the workers and engineers who worked tirelessly on the front lines of industry, producing nearly 300 rockets in just five days; the managers who provided logistics and production coordination for this entire production system; the scientists who worked on the front lines of scientific research; and countless ordinary people...

It is the combined strength of these tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people that ultimately led to this achievement.

They are not the ones being saved.

It wasn't that I, as a hero, descended from the sky to save everyone; it was that everyone saved themselves.

Today, astronauts perish on the moon, while I am here receiving cheers and praise from people.

Jiang Yang raised his head, his gaze seemingly extending through the thick ceiling and rock layers to the distant deep space, to that desolate and lifeless planet.

"Team Leader Tong, Team Leader Zhao, and also Li Hui, Qian Liang, Wei Han... may you rest in peace."

Memories of his past lives with them flashed through his mind, and Jiang Yang's eyes welled up with tears. He struggled to hold them back.

The cheers gradually subsided. Sun Changhe approached Jiang Yang.

"Our people, our soldiers, have never been afraid of sacrifice."

The only thing we fear is that the sacrifices are worthless.

And you made all our efforts, contributions, and sacrifices worthwhile.

The heroes, if they could see from heaven, would only be grateful to you.

……

The sun is shining and the breeze is gentle.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, 64 tombstones have been erected in a newly built cemetery.

As Jiang Yang slowly walked past these tombstones, photos of Tong Zheng, Zhao Jianguo, Li Hui, and others came into view one by one.

In the photos, they either have resolute gazes or smiles, as if they are all looking at the world before them where humanity still exists.

Jiang Yang knew that their remains were not buried in this tomb. Because their remains were either shattered to pieces in the rocket launch explosion or turned to dust in the light of the hydrogen bomb.

At this moment, only their name tags, shoulder boards, and uniforms are buried there.

Jiang Yang, Zhou Yu, Sun Changhe, Gu Changshan, and others each held a large bouquet of flowers. Every time they passed a tomb, they would put down a bouquet of flowers and then bow deeply.

Behind these people, many more lined up in neat rows, laying flowers as they expressed their condolences.

Soon, the martyrs' tombs were surrounded by flowers.

"Attention, all—salute!"

Together with everyone else, Jiang Yang raised his right arm and offered his highest respect to the 64 tombstones. After the ceremony, Sun Changhe quietly said, "The astronauts were not the only ones who sacrificed their lives during the ten-day industrial mobilization."

Every industry, every front, factories, research institutes, data centers, control centers, logistics and transportation...

He whispered the names of various industries: "According to statistics, a total of 35669 people have died on the job."

Jiang Yang remained silent.

"Based on the principle of burying them nearby so that it is convenient for relatives to pay their respects, most of them were placed locally and scattered in thousands of cemeteries."

The government regularly sends people to maintain their tombs.

At the same time, the state will take full responsibility for the heroes' funeral arrangements, ensuring they have no worries about their livelihood. Those who made outstanding contributions during the mobilization will also receive appropriate recognition from the state.

Jiang Yang nodded.

This is the last thing we can do for them.

After discussing the follow-up resettlement work, Sun Changhe looked at Jiang Yang again, his expression becoming serious and solemn.

"Comrade Jiang Yang, Comrade Zhou Yu, now, on behalf of the nation and civilization, I have some things to discuss with you."

Jiang Yang nodded in agreement.

This is only to be expected.

Zhou Yu was somewhat surprised: "Including me too?"

"Correct."

The three of them moved together and came to the pavilion next to the cemetery.

Sun Changhe asked first, "Comrade Jiang Yang, we have now survived the first apocalyptic crisis. Has your time loop ability changed?"

As early as midnight on the tenth day of the apocalypse, Jiang Yang noticed a strange change in his mind, and some new information was generated out of thin air.

“Something has changed. Now, my ability to circulate is ‘blocked’.”

"blockade?"

Sun Changhe's gaze suddenly sharpened.

This is a massive change that could affect the fate of civilization.

"If you die now, will the loop not start again?"

"Based on my personal perception, yes. If I die, I will truly die. But... I also perceive that when the next apocalypse brings me to my death, the cycle will restart, and the cycle length will increase."

When the Reaper civilization's second harvest arrives, I will be reborn 100 days before the apocalypse, instead of 10 days.

call……

Sun Changhe let out a soft breath and nodded slowly: "This gives us more time to prepare. So, do you know when the second harvest will arrive?"

Jiang Yang shook his head: "I don't know. Hmm... Have the government experts done any research or made any judgments about this situation? What about who gave me this ability, what is their purpose and reason, and so on?"

"We have no valuable judgment. It could be an experiment, an occasional act of kindness, a game, or even something else entirely. It's also possible that this ability was bestowed upon you by the Reaper civilization itself."

Although we obtained those alien characters from the underground cavity of the moon and deciphered the information, the question remains: who can guarantee that this information is necessarily true?

Perhaps the Reaper civilization simply wanted to make this game more realistic?
But none of that really matters.

Sun Changhe looked calmly at Jiang Yang: "We can temporarily set aside those things that are beyond our level of civilization and focus only on the present."

(End of this chapter)