Reborn Before the Apocalypse: My Backing is the Nation

Chapter 84 Consent Exploration
The first things to reach the moon were various nuclear bombs.

Just like when lunar rovers were sent to the moon, they slowly descended to the Earth's surface under the spray of square steel plates.

Three more nuclear missile deliveries failed.

Two large hydrogen bombs were lost, one small nuclear bomb was lost, and all ten medium nuclear bombs arrived safely.

At this moment, the astronauts have a total of 32 small nuclear bombs and ten medium nuclear bombs at their disposal.

The square steel plate sprayers responsible for "lifting" them had already been launched dozens of meters away. But they couldn't be discarded; they still had a use.

Remove the engine unit, pull out the telescopic handles, and turn them over so that the four wheels on the back touch the ground. They then become a simple handcart that can be used to transport goods.

The astronauts then used these small carts to transport these nuclear bomb boxes one by one back to the temporary camp. They also brought back a total of more than 20 supply and ammunition boxes that successfully reached the moon later.

The first items to be divided among the astronauts were nine comprehensive supply boxes.

Each astronaut pulled a cart, carrying a comprehensive supplies box to the front of their spacecraft. After unpacking, they carried bottles of gas, drinking water, food, and various consumables into the spacecraft.

After closing the hatch, the astronauts connected the oxygen tanks to the gas storage port and pressed the gas release button, restoring the spacecraft to a pressure equivalent to one atmosphere.

After a long period of busy work, the astronauts were already starving and thirsty. They took out food bags, heated the semi-solid food inside briefly, and then squeezed it into their mouths.

After eating and drinking their fill and replenishing their supplies, the astronauts rested briefly before exiting the capsule again and gathering in front of the ammunition boxes.

It is now 10 PM on the ninth day of this cycle, with 26 hours left until the end of the world.

These 26 hours represent the entirety of the time that astronauts, and indeed all of humanity, spend exploring this unique region of the moon.

The ammunition box was opened, and nine specially made submachine guns were placed in the hands of the astronauts.

The nine men stood in a row, aimed at the towering gray-black rock wall in front of them, and suddenly pulled the trigger.

In the silent vacuum, only the clearly perceptible vibrations and the large amounts of flying lunar rock fragments dozens of meters away indicated the firing of bullets.

Besides the submachine guns, there were hand grenades.

One grenade after another was thrown out, exploding into silent bursts of fire under the setting sun.

After verifying its usability, the astronauts slung submachine guns over their shoulders, took magazines and grenades, and resolutely headed towards the special area about one kilometer away.

With a few hops and skips, the one-kilometer distance was quickly covered.

Ahead lay a desolate world, thick with moon dust, just like behind them.

But after taking a step, Zhao Jianguo suddenly heard a buzzing sound in his earpiece, like a bad signal or interference.

He turned to look at his comrades and saw that they were also looking at each other.

Clearly, people have noticed these changes.

"Ten meters forward."

Nine astronauts lined up and moved forward ten meters at the same time, then stopped simultaneously.

The buzzing sound in my ears had disappeared, along with the breathing sounds, mechanical friction sounds, and other noises coming from inside my comrades' spacesuits.

The heavens and the universe seemed to fall into complete silence at that moment.

Can you hear me?

Zhao Jianguo looked at his comrades and saw through their helmets that their mouths were moving, but his ears remained silent.

He then knew that communications had been cut off.

He made a gesture, turned around and walked back, and his comrades all followed.

After about ten meters, the noise returned to my ears.

"Communications restored." "Reporting to Earth, this is Number 1. Previously, a total of nine of us entered the special area, and communications were cut off for unknown reasons."

I now request to re-enter and conduct exploration in a communication-free environment.

"Received, exploration approved."

"Yes."

Zhao Jianguo took a deep breath, raised his left arm, opened a cover, and pushed it flat, revealing a small drawing board on his left arm.

I gently drew a few lines on it with my right fingers, and the corresponding lines appeared immediately.

With a swipe of his palm, all the lines disappeared, restoring the area to its previous empty state.

The same applies to my comrades.

Having verified that the drawing board functioned correctly, Zhao Jianguo said in a deep voice, "Let's go."

"Yes."

The nine people lined up again, separated according to the original plan, each about 100 meters apart, stretching a total length of 800 meters, and moved forward side by side.

At this moment, each astronaut can see their comrades on the left and right, but cannot hear their voices or communicate with them.

At that moment, four lunar probe satellites, located tens of kilometers above the sky, took turns passing over this special area, clearly capturing the astronauts' movements. However, they were also unable to send any instructions to the astronauts or receive any information from them.

In complete silence, the nine people slowly advanced while searching with their naked eyes.

Based on the lunar seismic wave measurements and neutrino telescope positioning data previously brought back by Jiang Yang, it has been confirmed that the underground cavity exists within a circular area with a radius of approximately 3 kilometers.

The possible passage is also located in this area.

At this moment, we are 2 kilometers away from the edge of that area.

The road ahead gradually became rugged.

Although this area is a plain in a broad sense, it is still undulating in detail, with low hills, broken moon rocks, and ravines everywhere.

This forces astronauts to constantly adjust their distance and position, and sometimes they even have to "cross mountains and valleys".

The astronauts did not conduct a very thorough search of this area.

It took about an hour for people to reach the edge of that core area.

From this moment on, the search will enter detailed mode.

The distance between the astronauts suddenly shrank to 10 meters, like a fishing net with its mesh suddenly narrowing, and they began to carefully sift through this "pond".

From this moment on, no anomaly can be overlooked. Because any anomaly, no matter how small, may hold the hope for the continuation of the nation and civilization.

Time passed bit by bit.

When thirsty, it drinks some water from the tube near its mouth; when hungry, it drinks some nutrient solution.

When the temperature gets too cold or too hot, some energy is manually applied to the liquid circulation equipment; when the carbon dioxide content is too high, the core of the chemical adsorption device in the gas circulation equipment is replaced.

They even relieve themselves inside their spacesuits.

Looking at the mechanical clock, Zhao Jianguo saw that his side had been searching for 13 hours.

According to the plan, they should return to camp for some supplies.

But at that moment, he froze, having just raised his head.

A huge cave suddenly appeared before him beneath the cliff face.

(End of this chapter)