Chapter 465 Countdown Begins

Before dawn, He Yuzhu had already been standing in the control center for half an hour. The tea in his thermos had gone cold, but he hadn't drunk it. On the large screen, the Kunlun ship hovered a hundred meters above the launch pad, the blue halo of the anti-gravity system appearing and disappearing in the morning mist.

"High-altitude wind shear, 21 meters per second, direction northwest by north, altitude 3,200 meters."

The meteorologist's voice boomed from the walkie-talkie. Seven or eight people in the control center looked up simultaneously, their chairs creaking loudly as they moved. Someone dropped their pencil, which bounced twice on the floor. He Yuzhu didn't turn around, his eyes fixed on the large screen. The wind speed curve abruptly rose at 3,200 meters, like a bent wire.

"When did it appear?" he asked.

"Ten minutes ago, a reconnaissance plane flew through and transmitted data back. The forecast model didn't detect it."

Someone muttered "Damn it" under their breath, but no one knows who it was.

Lin Jianguo ran up from the back row, clutching a stack of calculation papers, his steps faltering as he nearly tripped. He slammed the papers on the table, making a rustling sound. "Dean He, I've calculated it. The anti-gravity system can withstand a crosswind of 25 meters per second. The current wind is 21, which is within the safe range."

He Yuzhu turned to look at him. Lin Jianguo's lips were chapped and peeling, and there was sleep in the corners of his eyes; he clearly hadn't slept all night.

"What about the ship's attitude?"

"When hovering at 100 meters, wind shear will cause a tilt of 0.3 degrees. The attitude engine can correct that." Lin Jianguo took a breath, his voice low. "0.3 degrees, within the algorithm's margin."

Ma Yuejin poked his head out from the anti-gravity control panel, his expression grim. "Dean He, the current fluctuation in coil number seventy-three is quite large. It might be on the verge of breaking through."

He Yuzhu walked over and bent down to look at the instrument panel. The pointer was twitching slightly at the edge of the red zone, the amplitude was small, but it didn't stop.

"What about the spare?"

"The backup one is working fine. Should we switch it or not?" Ma Yuejin's hand was already on the switch for the backup coil.

He Yuzhu stood up straight. The clock on the wall showed eight minutes and thirty-two seconds remaining.

"Don't change it. Monitor it; we'll cut it if it can't hold on any longer."

Ma Yuejin gritted his teeth and withdrew his hand.

Six minutes and fifteen seconds left. Tan Wei's voice came through the communication channel, echoing from his spacesuit helmet.

"Control Center, Kunlun reporting. All systems self-checks complete. Anti-gravity stable. Warp drive ready. Ecological cycle normal."

His voice was flat, but he paused slightly at the last two words, "normal." He Yuzhu noticed it.

"Launch clearance approved. Countdown continues."

He paused for two seconds, whispered "Go," and then released the call button. The person next to him didn't hear him clearly, and Old Sun glanced at him.

"Kunlun understands."

The countdown lasted three minutes and forty seconds. The control center fell silent, save for the hum of the fans and the tapping of keyboards. Qian Zhiyuan crouched beneath the superconducting ring monitoring platform, staring intently at the instruments, motionless.

The countdown was one minute and fifty seconds. Suddenly, Ma Yuejin shouted, "The current in coil number seventy-three has stabilized. The fluctuation has disappeared!"

He Yuzhu did not answer.

Sixty seconds left on the countdown. Tan Wei's voice came again. "Indoor pressure 1.01 atmospheres. Oxygen 21%. Temperature 22 degrees Celsius."

"Turn off your mask."

The clicking sound of a lock came through the communication channel. Seven clicks. He Yuzhu counted in his mind.

"The masks are closed. The cabin is airtight."

Thirty seconds left on the countdown. The communication channel suddenly crackled with a sharp sound, then fell silent. There was no sound at all.

Old Sun turned his head sharply. "The signal's down!"

He Yuzhu gripped the microphone tightly. Everyone in the control center stopped what they were doing and stared at the loudspeaker. Three seconds. Tan Wei's voice came through the loudspeaker, slightly breathless.

"Control center, Kunlun calling. There was interference in the channel just now, but it has been restored. Please confirm the launch command."

He Yuzhu pressed the call button. "Launch command confirmed. Countdown continues."

"Kunlun understands."

Ten seconds left on the countdown. He Yuzhu placed his finger on the launch button. He noticed his finger was trembling and didn't press it on the first try. He took a deep breath and pressed it.

The anti-gravity system activated at full power. On the large screen, the blue halo around the bottom of the Kunlun suddenly brightened, and the ship rose upwards. One hundred meters, one hundred and twenty meters, one hundred and fifty meters. The main engines ignited, and orange-red flames shot out from the stern, intertwining with the blue halo.

"The rate of increase is normal," Lin Jianguo reported.

Three hundred meters, five hundred meters, one thousand meters.

The ship jolted violently the moment it passed through the wind shear layer. The tilt angle displayed on the large screen jumped from 0.1 to 0.5. The attitude engine nozzles flashed a few times, and the angle jumped to 0.6.

"Attitude engine delay correction!" Lin Jianguo's voice shrill.

He Yuzhu clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

0.7.

The alarm light flashed once. He Yuzhu didn't blink.

0.5.

0.3.

0.1.

Zero.

Two seconds. Like two years.

Tan Wei's voice came through, this time without pause. "Control center, Kunlun reporting. Passed through the wind shear layer. Flight attitude normal. Antigravity shut down, main engines at full thrust."

He Yuzhu loosened his grip on the microphone, realizing his palms were sweaty. "Roger that. Kunlun, you have entered your designated orbit."

He put down the receiver, turned around, and picked up the red telephone on the table.

"Tell them that the Kunlun is in orbit and everything is normal."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Then came a "Okay." The sound seemed to come from deep within his chest, low and short.

He Yuzhu put down the phone. He turned around and saw Lin Jianguo squatting on the ground, his face buried in his arms, his shoulders shaking. Ma Yuejin stood next to the control panel, the multimeter he was holding dangling at his side, the probes dragging on the ground.

In the audience, applause and cheers mingled together. He Nianhua threw her cotton hat into the air, and it landed on a stranger's face. The man cursed, but smiled and picked up the hat, returning it to Nianhua. Qin Huairu covered her face, tears welling between her fingers. He Yushui lifted Chen Xinghai above her head, and the child finally cried, but the sound was drowned out by the applause.

He Yuzhu stood in front of the command platform, but did not applaud. He stared at the increasingly smaller dot of light on the big screen.

Old Sun walked over and stood beside him. "Dean He, my heart almost stopped during that wind shear."

"Even if you stop, you have to jump back," He Yuzhu said.

Old Sun smiled and said nothing more.

On the large screen, the Kunlun spacecraft's light disappeared at the edge of the star map.

He Yuzhu picked up the thermos on the table and took a sip. The tea had gone cold and was bitter.