Chapter 481 Crossing the Sea of Fire
"1200 degrees. And it's still rising."
The controller's voice came through the loudspeaker, trembling at the end. The lights in the control center were blindingly white. He Yuzhu stood in front of the command console, the temperature curve on the large screen seeming to be pulled upwards. At the location of the seventeenth heat insulation tile, the red warning light was flashing intermittently, the intervals becoming shorter and shorter.
Ma Yuejin dropped the cigarette in his hand on the ground, but he didn't pick it up.
Lin Jianguo stared at the data, his lips moved slightly, but he didn't utter a sound. The cup of tea beside him had been there since morning, untouched.
"Fourteen thousand," he finally spoke, his voice dry as sandpaper. "It's over."
He Yuzhu didn't speak. His hand was on the edge of the table, his knuckles whiter than his face.
On the large screen, a white patch appeared on the hull of the Kunlun, visible in the thermal image. This was the hull structure exposed directly to the plasma flames after the thermal insulation tiles had fallen off. The edge of the white patch was spreading, like a drop of ink on rice paper.
"1600 degrees. The rate of temperature rise is slowing down." The controller's voice carried a hint of hesitation.
Tan Wei's voice came through the communication channel, his breathing heavy and his words forceful. "On the ground, the ship's vibrations are intensifying. The attitude control system is automatically compensating."
He Yuzhu raised his hand from the edge of the table, paused in front of him, and then placed it on the control panel. He didn't press any buttons—that button was on the Kunlun, thousands of miles away. He simply left his hand there.
"The anti-gravity system is preheating," he said.
The operator behind him paused for a moment. "Dean He, initiate altitude at ten kilometers, now—"
"Warm-up".
The operator bit his lip and pushed the preheating switch. A series of indicator lights changed from red to green.
He Yuzhu stared at the temperature numbers.
One thousand six hundred and fifty. One thousand six hundred and seventy.
"Altitude: 80 kilometers per hour. Speed: Mach 7."
Tan Wei's voice came again, even more urgent than before. "The ground, at the location of tile number seventeen, has an abnormal temperature. The ship's hull is showing signs of burning."
"Kunlun, the ground has activated the anti-gravity emergency plan. Proceed as planned."
Silence. Only the hissing of plasma interference filled the communication channel. Two seconds. Three seconds.
"clear."
He Yuzhu pulled his hand back from the control panel, clenched it into a fist, then relaxed it, then clenched it again. No one saw it.
"1,700. Temperature rise rate: 5 degrees per second."
Lin Jianguo swallowed hard before speaking. "The upper limit of carbon nanotube tolerance is 1,800."
He Yuzhu turned to look at the operator. "Anti-gravity system at full power. Release altitude restriction."
The operator's hand hovered above the power push lever. "Dean He—"
"push."
The power pusher was pushed all the way up. On the large screen, a pale blue halo appeared on the hull of the Kunlun. The blue light was so faint in the orange-red plasma contrail that it was almost swallowed up, but it was there.
"Altitude: 75 kilometers. Speed: Mach 6.5. Deceleration: 0.3G."
The temperature reading stopped at 1,750.
Tan Wei's voice came through the communication channel, his breathing lighter. "The shaking on the ground and the ship has lessened."
"Seventeen hundred and fifty. Stop."
He Yuzhu stared at the number without blinking.
1,750. 1,755. 1,760.
The telemetry operator's lips trembled. "Seventeen hundred and eighty."
Lin Jianguo took a step forward and kicked the chair leg.
The temperature stopped. It stopped at 1790.
Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.
"1780. Starting to descend."
He Yuzhu withdrew his hand from the control panel and wiped it on his trouser leg. His palms were sweaty.
Lin Jianguo stood still, his feet still on the chair leg.
Ma Yuejin squatted down and picked up the cigarette from the ground. The filter was flat, but he didn't throw it away; he held it in his palm.
"Altitude: 50 kilometers per hour. Speed: Mach 4."
One thousand seven hundred and fifty. One thousand seven hundred and three.
Tan Wei's voice came through the communication channel, sounding slightly relieved. "On the ground, the ship's hull temperature has dropped. The structure is intact."
"receive."
He Yuzhu watched as the temperature curve changed from steep to flat, and then began to decline.
"Altitude: 30 kilometers per hour. Speed: Mach 2."
"Twenty. Mach 1."
"10. Mach 0.7. Anti-gravity power begins to decrease."
On the large screen, the outline of the Kunlun gradually became clearer through optical tracking. The blue halo around the hull turned pale blue in the morning sky, no longer glaring. The attitude control nozzles repeatedly ignited, maintaining a horizontal position.
"Five kilometers. Mach 0.3."
One kilometer. Mach 0.1.
"Landing preparations. Buffer zones deployed."
Tan Wei's voice counted down over the communication channel. "Ten, nine, eight—"
He Yuzhu didn't repeat it. He watched the height numbers on the big screen jump around, his lips pursed.
"Three, two, one. Touch the ground."
On the large screen, the Kunlun landed on the air force base runway. The buffer supports scraped three white streaks on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The ship swayed slightly, then stabilized.
"Landing successful. Attitude zero degrees, horizontal deviation 0.3 meters."
There was a two-second silence in the control center.
Ma Yuejin squatted in the corner, burying his face in his arms, his shoulders trembling. Qian Zhiyuan's pen fell to the ground, but he didn't pick it up. Old Sun took off his headphones, which were hanging around his neck, but he didn't remove them.
Lin Jianguo moved his feet off the chair leg, walked to He Yuzhu's side, and seemed to want to say something, but didn't.
He Yuzhu picked up the microphone. "Kunlun, ground. Welcome home."
Tan Wei's voice came through the communication channel; his breathing was still there, but with a smile. "Ground, Kunlun received. All astronauts are in good condition, and the hull is intact. Only one of the heat-insulating tiles has come loose."
He Yuzhu held the microphone, his lips twitching slightly, but not in a smile. "Next time, glue it on firmly."
"You said the same thing last time."
Someone in the control center laughed briefly, then stopped immediately.
He Yuzhu walked out of the control center. The motion-activated lights in the corridor turned on, and his leather shoes clicked on the terrazzo floor. Old Sun chased after him, calling out "Director He" from behind, but he didn't stop.
The jeep was parked at the entrance. He got into the passenger seat, and the driver asked, "To the runway?" He nodded.
The car drove across the runway. Outside the car window, the Kunlun came closer, transforming from a blurry outline into a concrete behemoth. The gap in the heat-insulating tile on the hull was blackened in the morning light, revealing the gray-white composite material at the edges.
The car stopped. He Yuzhu jumped out.
Tan Wei stood on the platform below the cabin door, his legs a little weak, holding onto the gangway railing. Seeing He Yuzhu, he straightened up and walked down the gangway. Each step was slow, his boots making a dull thud on the metal steps.
He stopped in front of He Yuzhu and gave a military salute.
"Commander Tan Wei of the Kunlun has completed his mission and requests to return to the unit."
He Yuzhu stood there, looking at him. Tan Wei's hand was still raised.
"allow."
Tan Wei lowered his hand, his lips twitched, and this time he genuinely smiled.
Wang Hao poked his head out of the cabin door and called down, "Director He, where's the millet porridge?"
"In the cafeteria."
"Enough?"
"Enough is enough."
Wang Hao retreated. Zhao Mingyuan followed behind Wang Hao, carrying a metal box with a red "Biological Sample" label on it. He carefully descended the gangway, watching the steps with each step.
He Yuzhu turned around. Yang Xiaobing walked over from the jeep, his coat unbuttoned, clutching a telegram in his hand.
"Director He, what about Antarctica?" His voice was low. "When the Kunlun returned, the US base conducted a high-power electromagnetic pulse test. The signal was aimed at China."
He Yuzhu took the telegram, glanced at it, folded it, and put it in his pocket. "Frequency?"
"Broadband. Covering communication and radar bands. Like an interference test."
"They know the Kunlun is coming back today," He Yuzhu said softly.
Yang Xiaobing did not respond.
He Yuzhu turned to look at the Kunlun. The gaps in the heat-insulating tiles on the hull were particularly clear in the morning light. Tan Wei was helping another astronaut down the gangway; both of them walked very slowly. Ground crew members were running around the hull, with fire trucks, ambulances, and command vehicles lined up in a row, their red and white bodies covered in dew.
"Project Sky Shield will be reviewed next week," He Yuzhu said. "The budget is 20 million, not a penny less."
Yang Xiaobing nodded.
Old Sun came running from the direction of the control center, panting, holding another telegram in his hand. "Director He, the budget for Project Sky Shield in the Sea..."
"Tell them, twenty million. Not a penny less."
Old Sun paused for a moment, then took back the telegram, turned around, and left.
He Yuzhu stood by the runway, looking at the Kunlun. The morning light shone from the east, casting a long shadow of the ship onto the runway.
He turned around and got into the jeep.
"Back to control center."
The car started. In the rearview mirror, the Kunlun was getting smaller and smaller.