Chapter 466 Ignition and Launch

Ten seconds left in the countdown.

The lights in the control center were dimmed, leaving only the cold glow of the screens.

He Yuzhu's hand rested on the launch button, but he didn't press it. This button was merely decorative—control of the anti-gravity system had been transferred to the ship's onboard computer, and the ground only provided monitoring. But his thumb still pressed against the plastic casing of the red button, leaving a white mark.

Lin Jianguo stared at the power curve, his lips moving but no sound coming out.

"Nine."

Qian Zhiyuan clenched his fists and placed them on his knees. He dared not look at the screen, only at his fists on his knees.

"eight."

Ma Yuejin squatted behind the anti-gravity control console, still clutching the multimeter probes in his hand, his fingertips red from the metal clips, but he didn't let go.

"seven."

The fusion reactor's power curve jumped from 30% to 51%, paused, and then jumped to 73%. Qian Zhiyuan looked up sharply. "73% ahead of schedule—" He Yuzhu didn't speak. He lifted his thumb from the red button, hovered it in the air, and then pressed it down again. It had no practical effect, but he had pressed it. The power curve jumped over 100% and stabilized at 98%.

Ma Yuejin stood up from behind the console, but lost his balance and braced himself against the table.

"six."

The blue halo around the hull turned white. Not brighter, but the color faded. The surveillance camera captured the hull as a blinding incandescence, making He Yuzhu squint. The Kunlun began to rise, very slowly. One hundred and twenty meters, one hundred and fifty meters, two hundred meters. The numbers on the speedometer jumped very slowly, slower than a car starting to move.

Qin Huairu stood outside the control room, separated by glass. Her hand didn't touch it; she crossed her arms, her fingers tucked into her sleeves. He Nianhua stood beside her, her hat clutched tightly in her hand, crumpled into a ball.

"five."

The main engine ignited. Orange flames shot from the stern, mingling with the anti-gravity white light. The camera lens automatically lowered its exposure, and the image darkened for a moment. The ship accelerated—300 meters, 500 meters, 800 meters. A short, sharp electrical noise came through the communication channel—Tan Wei took a breath, but didn't speak.

Old Sun pressed the earpiece. "--Communication is normal--" His voice trembled.

"Four."

"three."

"two."

"one."

The fusion reactor power jumped to 100%. The anti-gravity system automatically shut down, and the white light disappeared. The orange-red flames of the main engine lengthened, and the ship tilted at a slight angle. Lin Jianguo tapped a key on the keyboard, the attitude control engine fired a few times, and the ship straightened. The altitude jumped from 1,000 meters to 2,000 meters, then to 5,000 meters.

He Yuzhu's thumb slid off the red button and missed.

"Main engine shutdown," Lin Jianguo reported, his voice a beat faster than usual. "Inertial flight, altitude 20,000 meters."

Someone in the control center cleared their throat. Not clapping, but clearing their throat.

Qian Zhiyuan removed his hands from his knees, leaving four white marks on his trousers with his fingernails.

Ma Yuejin squatted back down and inserted the multimeter probes back into the toolbox.

On the large screen, the radar echo signal strength began to decrease. The controller reported the numbers: "30,000 meters, signal strength decreased by 40%." "40,000 meters, decreased by 70%." "50,000 meters—"

The echo disappeared.

The screen is clean.

The temperature in the control center hadn't changed, but someone shrank back slightly. He Yuzhu's hand remained on the control panel, his fingertips pressing against the metal surface, without moving.

"Signal lost." The telemetry operator's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed in the quiet room.

Old Sun gripped the headphone cord tightly, his fingers digging a groove into it. He looked at He Yuzhu, who didn't look at him, staring at the blank screen. "Let's try quantum computing."

"Channel is encrypted." Lin Jianguo's fingers tapped the keyboard twice before finding the right key. He mistyped the first time, backspaced, deleted it, and typed again. "Link established—awaiting response."

Five seconds. Ten seconds.

Lin Jianguo swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Tan Wei's voice came through the loudspeaker, shorter than usual, with a strained quality after a bout of panting. "Control center—" He paused, perhaps checking the instruments, or perhaps trying to calm himself. "Kunlun has entered orbit. All normal."

He Yuzhu released his fingers from the control panel.

Old Sun took off his headphones and tapped them on the table, seemingly on something. Qian Zhiyuan closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Ma Yuejin's legs felt a little weak when he stood up, and his knees cracked.

Qin Huairu pressed her palm against the glass door outside the control center. The cold glass made her flinch, but she didn't pull away. He Nianhua stood beside her, her head resting on Qin Huairu's arm, her cotton hat lying on the ground, untouched.

He Yuzhu picked up the microphone. "Kunlun, ground control received."

Tan Wei's voice came through the loudspeaker, clearer than before. "Control Center, Tan Wei reporting on behalf of all astronauts. All systems are functioning normally. Cabin temperature 22 degrees Celsius, humidity normal. Preparing to deploy solar panels."

On the large screen, the sails on both sides of the ship began to unfold. Slowly, the left sail moved first, then the right, like a butterfly adjusting its posture. Once fully unfolded, the ship's point of light in the star map brightened.

Lin Jianguo reports: "The windsurfing board has been fully deployed. The charging current meets the requirements."

He Yuzhu put down the microphone and looked at the dot of light on the big screen. The radar signal hadn't recovered, but the signal strength bar for the quantum communication link was full. Old Sun whispered something behind him, very softly, but He Yuzhu heard it. "Damn, it's connected."

He Yuzhu did not turn around.

Qin Huairu watched He Yuzhu's back from outside the glass door. He didn't turn around, but she saw his shoulders slump slightly, as if he were letting out a breath he had been holding for a long time.

Yang Xiaobing stood in the last row of the audience, arms crossed. In his pocket was a piece of paper, folded four times, its edges frayed—his handwritten astronaut application form, which he had retrieved from the personnel department the day he failed the selection. He reached into his pocket, felt the paper, squeezed it, but didn't take it out. The light on the screen continued to move, slowly and steadily. He unwrapped the paper and pulled his hand out of his pocket.

He Yushui held Chen Xinghai in her arms; the child was already asleep, a trace of drool at the corner of his mouth. Chen Zhihong stood behind her, one hand on her shoulder, the other holding a small red flag, which hung limply, as there was no wind.

He Yuzhu picked up the red phone and dialed the number.

"The Kunlun is in orbit. All is normal."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Okay." Then the call ended.

Tan Wei's voice came through the loudspeaker again. This time he wasn't panting, and his voice was a little more relaxed. "Control center, the view of Earth from here—" He paused. "So blue."

Old Sun looked at the microphone but didn't pick it up. The people next to him watched him.

Old Sun cleared his throat and leaned closer to the microphone. "Okay. Remember to come back."

Tan Wei did not reply.

Lin Jianguo stared at the communication link status—signal strength at full strength, bit error rate zero. He looked up, without looking at anyone, and said something.

He said he remembered.

He Yuzhu turned off the hands-free receiver on the red phone. The control center fell silent, save for the low hum of the server fans. On the large screen, the Kunlun's dot of light slowly moved along the edge of the star map.