Disaster Without Warning

Without any warning, the large optical telescope in Jupiter Orbit suddenly discovered an anomaly in the Starry Sky.

During their observations, the Observatory staff first noticed a significant increase in brightness at a certain point in the Starry Sky. The duty personnel immediately sent remote commands to the telescope, instructing it to adjust its position and aim at the area with the unusual light source, while also quickly calculating its location.

That location was so familiar to Humanity that the Observatory staff recognized it instantly.

It was the Centaurus Three-Star System, a triple star system composed of Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri.

"What's going on with this brightness? It's still increasing, so fast, the telescope is going to be blinded." An anxious shout echoed through the Observatory. They had never encountered such a situation before.

Yes, the optical telescope was on the verge of being blinded.

Just as the observer finished speaking, the Observatory lost contact with the optical telescope.

Immediately after, a series of alarms sounded throughout the Observatory.

"This sound..."

"It's the Gamma Ray Detection alarm."

The duty personnel were not slacking off; just by the sound, he could tell that this was a situation that only occurred when dense Gamma Rays were detected.

The Gamma Ray Detection system was connected to two Gamma Ray telescopes, one in the Callisto orbit and the other in the Jupiter orbit, both specifically designed to detect cosmic rays.

Now that a surge in Gamma Ray radiation was detected, it could be confirmed that the source of the rays came from the Universe. Combined with the positional information determined before the optical telescope lost contact, the point of incident could be identified as the Centaurus Trinary Star System.

What happened there?

The duty personnel didn't have time to think further and sent the message to Callisto Base. Then, as he hesitated whether to leave his post to report to his superiors, the detector's fluctuations suddenly increased exponentially, and then no signal could be received anymore.

At the same time.

Callisto Base.

Yue Yuan was surrounded by seven or eight people. Besides Zhu Pete, his ever-present assistant, everyone else was an expert.

There were experts in Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and even a Government Official who rushed over, clearly having heard the news and hurrying here.

"Base Chief, this is bad. All external communications are down. We can't reach Yinghuo Base, nor Guanghan Palace, nor Ea..." The Government Official, hopping and skipping as he ran, looked as if the sky was falling. However, as soon as he stepped into Yue Yuan's office, he choked, likely not expecting so many people to be here.

The gravity on Callisto was slightly lower than on the Moon, so everyone hopped when they ran, as if walking in water.

In fact, Yue Yuan had received far more information than anyone present, so he knew the situation was far more serious than imagined.

Just moments ago, he had received a message from Yinghuo Base. The message was very short and cut off before it could be fully transmitted.

Due to their orbital positions, Mars and Jupiter were currently on the same side, relatively close. Therefore, communications from Earth to Callisto Base were usually sent through the nearest Yinghuo Base.

The message was divided into several parts, with intervals of about a few minutes between each. The content was as follows:

[Callisto, Callisto, this is Yinghuo Base. Received message from Earth. Xihe Solar Probe observed a sharp increase in solar radiation for unknown reasons. Recommend preparing for solar flare activity in advance.]

[Callisto Base, this is Yinghuo Base. According to the latest news, the Sun may experience increased activity for a short period due to unknown reasons, with an enhanced Solar Wind, potentially causing interstellar communication disruption. Please make corresponding preparations.]

[Callisto Base, this is Yinghuo Base. The Sun is violently erupting for unknown reasons. Gamma Ray levels have broken historical highs...]

[Oh God, it's over, the Sun... the Sun sizzle crackle sizzle]

In the intervals between receiving messages from Yinghuo Base, Callisto Base also received an image message from Earth.

The image, processed by the computer, showed:

The surface of the Sun suddenly distorted, as if a section was missing, and then it ejected a flame hundreds of millions of kilometers long, resembling a solar prominence magnified hundreds of times. The prominence continued to grow, looking as if a giant had taken a bite out of the Sun's surface. Countless fiery currents surged upwards, followed by the flames receding. The Sun's luminosity suddenly surged, the image turned into a blinding white, and then abruptly ended.

At this point, Yue Yuan didn't care about anything else. He concisely conveyed the information he had received, keeping it as brief as possible while retaining all important details. Then, he scanned everyone present with a serious expression and said, "What do you think?"

Everyone present began to discuss heatedly. Most of them were experts in their respective fields and naturally understood the gravity of the situation. They were likely already thinking of the worst-case scenarios, but no one spoke up first.

"Things are different now. Don't hold back," Yue Yuan immediately urged when he saw this.

As soon as Yue Yuan finished speaking, a voice, accompanied by the sound of a door opening, reached everyone's ears: "Supernova explosion!"

Yue Yuan looked up and saw a man about fifty years old, dressed in casual clothes, with sparse black hair on his head where streaks of white were clearly visible. He knew him well. This man was Gan De, the resident astronomer and astrophysicist at Callisto Base, responsible for the base's major astronomical telescopes.

His late arrival was likely due to observing the anomaly in the Centaurus Triple Star System.

As Base Chief, Yue Yuan knew that the discovery of the anomaly in the Centaurus Triple Star System actually occurred later than the time Yinghuo Base sent its information.

If it were the other way around, Callisto Base would have sent a warning to Yinghuo Base about the anomaly in the Centaurus Triple Star System first, rather than the other way around.

Gan De, who usually appeared very calm and composed, was visibly agitated. Thinking Yue Yuan hadn't heard him, he squeezed through the crowd and continued, "Supernova explosion! A supernova explosion has occurred in the Centaurus Trinary Star System. According to the data transmitted back by our probes sent to the outer planets of the Solar System, it wasn't one, but all three! The anomalous luminosity transmitted sequentially from Alpha Centauri A, Alpha Centauri B, and Proxima Centauri has been confirmed..."

"How is that possible? Alpha Centauri A and B, maybe, but Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf! How could it undergo a supernova explosion?" someone murmured.

"Under normal circumstances, it's impossible. Not to mention Proxima Centauri, even Alpha Centauri A and B wouldn't normally undergo a supernova explosion. So, this is abnormal," Gan De explained patiently, despite his anxiety.

He continued, "This will be a disaster. The Centaurus Trinary Star System is only 1.3 parsecs away from our Solar System. It's too close. Earth's magnetic field cannot withstand this extremely powerful Gamma Ray Burst at all. Moreover, external communications are likely already cut off. We can't transmit information back to Earth. Now, we can only pray that they receive the information sent back by those few probes as soon as possible..."

Gan De's voice gradually faded as he spoke. He knew that even if the information was discovered, there would be barely enough time for some people to hide underground. Most people, along with all life on Earth, would not escape their fate.

Gan De thought this way because he had just arrived and was unaware that the Sun had also experienced a similar disaster.