Alive Is Good

Zhonghua Family's infrastructure was the best in the world.

And Callisto Base was undoubtedly a facility that brought together Zhonghua Family's most advanced construction technologies. It was no exaggeration to call it the pinnacle of human architectural achievement.

Yet this pinnacle of engineering had been easily shattered by the aftershock of the explosion. The first shockwave, the most destructive one, and the matter ejected at one-tenth the speed of light had both been blocked by Jupiter. This was merely the aftermath, and Callisto's valleys and rock formations had provided cover as well.

Before a disaster on a cosmic scale, the buildings humanity took pride in were like anthills, collapsing at the slightest touch.

The entire upper level had collapsed. The construction materials and steel that had once protected the people now became part of the magma, ravaging the levels below.

This was the base's second line of defense. During the shelter preparations, large quantities of heat-resistant materials had been moved here, either to reinforce the partitions or to be embedded into every opening.

This was the emergency plan drawn up by the Expert Group based on the latest data.

Drawing on the base's terrain and the Supernova Explosion data provided by astronomical experts, they had piled coolants such as Liquid Nitrogen on the topmost level. The level below had been filled with heat-resistant materials to form thickened partitions, while the next level down had been fitted with numerous temporary load-bearing beams, columns, and supports.

Magma seepage had been anticipated.

According to the plan, the aftershock was highly likely to melt vast stretches of Callisto's surface rock into magma, which would then seep into the base. Or the extreme heat of the aftershock could melt the outermost layer of the base directly, allowing the surrounding magma to pour inside.

If the base's outer layer was destroyed and magma seeped in, the topmost level would slow and weaken it. If that worked, the magma would cool somewhat in the process. Then, on the level below, it would be blocked by various insulating materials.

The next level down was plainly reinforced to prevent collapse, so that people would not be buried alive beneath it. After all, the influx of external magma would inevitably increase the load on the base.

However, because Callisto's Gravitational Acceleration was only about one-eighth of Earth's, the experts were quite confident in the base's load-bearing capacity.

Yue Yuan stared fixedly at screen after screen. At last, after a long and agonizing wait, he finally let out a long breath.

They had stopped it!

The second level's thermal defenses had blocked most of the magma. The small amount that seeped into the third level no longer posed much danger; once it hit the floor, it began to darken and solidify into pitch-black Volcanic Mud.

"Switch the video feed outside. Let everyone know we made it," Yue Yuan said to the operator, releasing his hand at last. His knuckles had gone white from clenching it.

Then he hopped forward, picked up a microphone from the equipment console, pressed the button to connect it to the external loudspeaker system, and took a deep breath. "Comrades, friends, we succeeded! We survived!"

Woohoo!

At Yue Yuan's announcement, cheers erupted from every corner of the base.

At the same time, countless television screens began showing clips—from the moment the magma started seeping in to the moment it finally stopped and stabilized.

Tears filled people's eyes.

Now, all the slander against the Great Relocation Movement had vanished like smoke. It was as though people no longer remembered a single word of their earlier criticism; in an instant, they had all become firm supporters of the Great Relocation.

People watched the harrowing scenes on the screens. Though they already knew the outcome, the sight of magma rampaging through the base still left them shaken.

They had survived. They really had survived!

This had been the supernova's final force, and the strongest force to strike Callisto Base. Having endured this shockwave, the survivors could truly be said to have lived.

According to the experts' predictions, once they withstood this impact, they only needed to wait for the aftershock to weaken completely and for the magma to cool before they could dig their way out.

Yes, dig their way out.

The survivors were now buried beneath the base, but much of the large excavation equipment remained intact. Digging their way back out would not be a problem at all.

As for what they would do after getting out, ordinary people had not thought that far ahead.

"Major General, what do we do next?" Zhu Pete came up beside Yue Yuan and asked.

He admired Yue Yuan more and more. Without Yue Yuan's series of decisive decisions, at least half the people in this enormous base would have died—perhaps all of them would have been swallowed by lava.

There were still a few stubborn fools who had refused to leave the upper levels and died as a result, but there were only around a hundred of them. In Zhu Pete's view, they had brought it upon themselves.

"What next..." Yue Yuan took a deep breath but did not answer directly.

Yes, what would they do next?

The question made Yue Yuan think of many things, just as people tended to let their thoughts wander once they relaxed.

If Yue Yuan had answered immediately, he would have said that the next concern was still survival, and everything they needed to do was connected to survival.

But at that moment, too many questions surged into his mind.

For instance, why had the Sun been destroyed?

Why had the Centaurus Trinary Star System been destroyed?

Why had all three stars been destroyed instead of just one?

Besides those two Star Systems, had other Star Systems also been destroyed?

What connection was there between them?

Why?

The questions flooded through his mind, but Yue Yuan quickly set them aside for the moment, because they could not possibly be answered right away.

So it still came back to survival.

They had temporarily escaped the immediate danger of being reduced to ashes, but how more than eighty thousand people would survive in the days ahead was a question they had no choice but to confront.

In the short term: food, clothing, shelter, and transportation!

In the long term: the continuation of humanity!

In the short term, the disaster had come too suddenly. Though planned measures had saved most people's lives, the loss of supplies had been unavoidable. Thus, in the coming days, the primary contradiction at Callisto Base would be between scarce resources and the necessities of daily life.

In the long term, the disaster had also come too suddenly, leaving only a little over eighty thousand survivors. Clearly, such a small population could not sustain the entire Technology Tree. This could lead to technological regression in the future: they would be unable to make good things, unable to repair broken things, and then they would all die out.

With a soft sigh, Yue Yuan exhaled, then turned to Zhu Pete. "Notify the heads of every department, the elites in every field, and representatives of the technicians. They are to be at the Temporary Conference Room at eight tomorrow morning sharp. For now, everyone should go back and rest."

Over the past few days, everyone had worked around the clock for nearly a week and was exhausted. Now that they could finally catch their breath, they truly needed to get some sleep.

Only by restoring their bodies would they have enough energy to deal with the difficulties ahead.

Yue Yuan noticed that several staff members in the Temporary Command Center had already drifted into sleep without realizing it, their minds suddenly relaxing.

They were too tired.

Yue Yuan himself had been forcing himself to hold on with bloodshot eyes, but he still could not rest. He knew that if everyone went to sleep, that would be dangerous.

People's hearts were hard to predict. Yue Yuan could not see into them, so after everyone returned to rest, he headed for the Security Department.

After the Great Relocation, the Security Department had been stationed inside the damaged spacecraft, below the base's lowest level, while the Temporary Command Center was located on the current topmost level.

This had been Yue Yuan's arrangement, and its purpose was self-evident.

At a time like this, placing the Security Department inside the damaged spacecraft would reassure the soldiers, while placing the Temporary Command Center at the top, closest to danger, would inspire public trust.