Extremely Urgent

"Yes!" Zhu Pete knew the situation was urgent as well. He immediately slammed the door and rushed out, then pulled out his communicator and began organizing people.

Although external communications had been cut off, communications within the base still worked.

At that moment, Yue Yuan pressed a button in his office, picked up the phone, and said decisively, "Man Yuemei, maximum alert. Level One Readiness."

"Minister Yue? What happened?" A woman's puzzled voice came over the line.

"An order!"

Yue Yuan did not answer. Instead, he said sternly, "Man, take all Security Department soldiers and immediately maintain order at every critical location in the base. Ensure that the civilians evacuate into the lower-level buildings in an orderly manner."

Callisto was humanity's foremost outpost, and it held such a great secret. Thus, practically everyone who could come to Callisto was not especially vicious. At the very least, they had no criminal records.

Of course, when disaster struck, anything could happen. As the ancients said, harsh lands bred unruly people. What they truly meant was that people would do anything to survive.

Therefore, in the face of such a massive upheaval, Yue Yuan made preparations in advance. He added, "Anyone who disrupts order may be dealt with using force. If they still refuse to comply, leave them to fend for themselves in the upper-level buildings."

Leave them to fend for themselves upstairs?

"Understood. I guarantee the mission will be completed." The person on the other end of the line was startled by those words, instantly realizing the severity of the situation.

"Mm, wait." Yue Yuan pondered for a moment, then added, "One more thing. Assign some soldiers to prioritize guiding scientists, researchers, doctors, and experts from all fields into the spacecraft first. Arrange the other civilians afterward."

"Understood!"

At Callisto Base, the majority of people already knew that the spacecraft existed. This included the earliest builders, as well as the large numbers of experts from various fields and countless researchers who had arrived later.

The rest were wealthy second- or third-generation heirs, passing suppliers and their attendants, as well as ordinary people who worked here normally. There might even be spies among them. Callisto was a massive base, so there were quite a few people like that. However, they generally never set foot in the lowest-level buildings, so few of them knew.

But this time, they would definitely all find out.

But at this point, Yue Yuan could not be bothered with any of that.

After hanging up on the Security Department, Yue Yuan called Pi Te again.

As soon as the call connected, Yue Yuan immediately added, "Pi Te, have your people focus on moving all life-support equipment, starch, water-resource production and processing equipment, and the like into the spacecraft."

"Major General, we don't have enough manpower," Pi Te replied.

"Are you stupid? If there aren't enough people, recruit them on the spot! Aren't there workers at the processing plants? Didn't you understand what Dr. Gan said just now? What time do you think this is? Do I have to teach you everything?" Yue Yuan snapped.

"Understood!"

Pi Te shuddered on the other end of the line. Having followed Yue Yuan for so many years, he had rarely heard Yue Yuan speak in such a tone. It seemed the situation truly was extremely urgent.

After hanging up on Pi Te, Yue Yuan turned to the people before him and said after a moment of thought, "Dr. Gan De, everyone, since things have come to this, quickly pack the necessary items and head into the spacecraft first."

"At such a perilous time, how can we evacuate first?" someone said.

"Heh!" Yue Yuan was nearly angered into laughter. How could experts say something like that?

Perhaps their specialties were different, and they had not yet grasped the situation. Yue Yuan comforted himself with that thought, then suppressed his impatience and said, "This is not an evacuation. We have nowhere to evacuate to. Besides, you can't help much by staying here now—"

"How can we not help?"

It was Gan De who spoke. He had calmed down considerably by now. "Has Major General Yue considered how to persuade everyone in the base to move into the deepest levels, or even into the damaged spacecraft?"

Of course, I'll use a base-wide broadcast. It's not like I haven't done this before, Yue Yuan thought. But just as he was about to say it, something stirred in his mind, and he understood Gan De's meaning.

He was indeed the Base Chief, and he was confident that he could handle things properly. But if these scientists from various fields joined him at such a time, things would surely go more smoothly, and they would be more persuasive.

Gan De in particular carried considerable prestige. When it came to explaining why a star that should never have undergone a Supernova Explosion had suddenly exploded, having him there made a tremendous difference.

Yue Yuan was a man of action, decisive in everything he did. Since there was a better option, he chose it without hesitation.

He immediately holstered his sidearm, took more than a dozen Security Department soldiers with him, gathered everyone else, and hurried to the Propaganda Department office to begin a live video broadcast.

Yue Yuan understood that once news of their Hometown in the rear being gone was released, some quick-witted profiteers would inevitably try to take advantage of the situation. There might even be people who incited emotions in an attempt to seize the initiative.

Therefore, he had to keep the base's armed forces firmly under his control.

Because at a time like this, a riot could not be allowed to happen.

Fortunately, the disaster had come suddenly. People inside the base, who had no means of external observation, had not yet received the news. There were no signs of such trouble for now, but it never hurt to prepare in advance.

This was where Callisto Base normally released its news. After Yue Yuan led the group there, he immediately had the staff adjust the equipment and point the cameras at himself and the people behind him.

Yue Yuan stood at the very front. Behind him stood scientists from various fields, including Gan De, Yu Nanfeng, Xu Zhenyi, and Zhao Youqin, while the remaining Security Department soldiers stood guard around the room.

The video feed connected to screens throughout the base. Once it went live, every screen that had been showing other content switched over.

The screens suddenly displayed Yue Yuan and the several scientists behind him. Then Yue Yuan began to speak.

"Everyone, I am Yue Yuan, Base Chief of Callisto Base. I believe you are all familiar with the people behind me. They are astronomer Gan De, optics PhD Zhao Youqin, engineering PhD Yu Nanfeng—"

"Now, I must deliver grave news. Just moments ago, through the Astronomical Telescopes and Radio Telescopes at every station, as well as our final communications with Yinghuo Base, Guanghan Palace Base, and Earth, we confirmed the following.

"Alpha Centauri A and B, as well as Proxima Centauri, in the Southern Gate Two Trinary Star System—the star system closest to us—along with the Sun that sustains our lives, have all suddenly undergone Supernova Explosions. This is abnormal, but we do not know why. They simply erupted without warning. These were the last images we received."

As Yue Yuan spoke, one corner of the screen changed to show the signs of the Sun's eruption until the signal was lost, along with footage of the Centaurus Trinary Star System.

"At this very moment, I must tell you with great sorrow that our home, Earth, as well as Guanghan Palace and Yinghuo Base, have already been destroyed by the Sun's eruption. The most intense Gamma Ray Burst is heading toward us. Fortunately, Jupiter's obstruction allowed us to escape disaster."

"However, according to Dr. Gan De's calculations, the upper levels of Callisto Base remain in danger. Therefore, I once again urge everyone to cooperate with the Security Department soldiers and evacuate in an orderly manner into the base's lower-level buildings, where you can avoid a disaster that may threaten your lives."

"I know this news is shocking, and some civilians may find it impossible to believe. But when ironclad observation results stand before us, we have no choice but to face reality. At this critical moment, please pull yourselves together, follow the base's arrangements, and evacuate in an orderly manner to the safe zones."