"Dr. Gan."
Perhaps because it had all happened too suddenly, Yue Yuan felt his throat go a little dry. Still, he forced himself to stay calm so his voice would not tremble.
"Dr. Gan, perhaps you don't know yet, but this is far more serious than the disaster in the Centaurus Trinary Star System. It wasn't just the trinary stars—the Sun has undergone the same thing."
Yue Yuan had managed to keep his voice under control, but upon hearing his words, Gan De's eyes widened sharply. Looking as though he thought he had misheard, he trembled as he asked, "Y-you said what? The Sun too..."
Yue Yuan stepped forward and grabbed Gan De by the arm. The instant he did, he could clearly feel Gan De's body trembling.
"Yes. Before you arrived." Yue Yuan met his gaze and answered firmly.
There was no mistake.
Judging from the Sun's characteristics, together with the final messages transmitted from Yinghuo Base and Earth, it was exactly the same as the Centaurus Trinary Star System.
Since Gan De had reached that conclusion about the Centaurus Trinary Star System, the Sun had to be the same.
Logically, none of those four stars, including the Sun, had reached the end of their evolution. A Supernova Explosion should not have occurred at this stage. Proxima Centauri in particular, as a Red Dwarf Star, could live for hundreds of billions of years. Yet it had exploded.
Faced with ironclad data, no matter how absurd it seemed, Yue Yuan could only believe it.
For four stars to erupt so abnormally, it could only mean one thing: this had not happened naturally.
"It's over... It's all over... Earth is finished..." Someone among the crowd muttered to himself.
"The Sun's Supernova Explosion must have been caused by an alien attack."
"A Supernova Explosion... Not just Earth—the entire Solar System is finished. Humanity is finished..."
That was right. A Supernova Explosion was unimaginably violent. At such close range, humanity within the Solar System had no way to resist it. Forget Earth—even Mars would be reduced to ashes.
It would be useless no matter how deep underground they hid. The entire Earth would be blown away. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape, because one Astronomical Unit was simply far too close for a Supernova Explosion.
For a moment, everyone felt all hope drain away.
Yes. It was over.
Even Yue Yuan's spirits sank under that atmosphere. He was nearly ready to wave everyone away, telling them to find somewhere they considered comfortable and wait for death to come.
But just then, Gan De suddenly strode forward to a computer in the office and began rapidly typing away.
When he finished, he looked up at the others, tears glinting in his eyes. "Perhaps... we still have hope."
Hearing that, Yue Yuan was the first to move closer and look at the computer screen. The others crowded around as well.
Displayed on the screen was an orbital diagram of Jupiter and its satellites. Everyone noticed that animated, hazy lines extended from the poles of the enormous Jupiter at its center, enclosing the entire Jovian system.
They were simulated lines of Jupiter's magnetic field.
"Are you saying Jupiter's magnetic field can help us withstand the damage from the Supernova Explosion's powerful Gamma Ray Burst?" Yue Yuan asked.
As he spoke, Gan De continued hammering at the keyboard. Strings of numbers flashed continuously across the screen, while the dotted Magnetic Field Lines marking the range of Jupiter's magnetic field kept changing color.
Soon, Gan De pressed Enter one last time. Staring fixedly at the screen, he said, "Yes... no. It can withstand the Gamma Ray Burst from the Centaurus Trinary Star System, but not the one from the Sun. But Jupiter itself can, because it's large enough—if we're lucky enough."
"Be more specific," Yue Yuan said anxiously.
Gan De was anxious too, so instead of explaining, he asked, "When did Yinghuo Base's signal cut out?"
"Seven minutes ago," Yue Yuan answered immediately.
Upon hearing that, Gan De's hands flew across the keyboard again, and the computer display shifted from the Jovian system to the entire Solar System.
Before long, he entered line after line of data into the model.
As soon as the result came out, Gan De said directly, "Heaven has blessed us. We still have hope—we still have hope. The loss of contact with Yinghuo Base should have occurred during the precursor phase of the Sun's eruption. Based on the current distances between Jupiter, Mars, and the Sun, the strongest Gamma Ray Burst will reach Jupiter in twenty-eight minutes."
"And right now..." Gan De pointed to the relative positions of Jupiter and Callisto, then continued, "Jupiter's magnetic field is shielding us from the Gamma Ray Burst from the Centaurus Trinary Star System. And because Callisto is tidally locked by Jupiter, our base has always faced Jupiter.
Look. Thanks to Jupiter's magnetic field and Callisto's own protection, the damage we receive from the Gamma Ray Burst from the Centaurus Trinary Star System has been greatly reduced. In theory, under the protection of both, we will not suffer fatal effects. That is why we are still alive and able to speak."
Yue Yuan understood. Jupiter was the magical shield, and Callisto was the physical shield.
Gan De did not look at the others' expressions. He continued, pointing at the screen, "The key is the Sun. In theory, even with the tidal lock, Callisto cannot withstand this Gamma Ray Burst at all. Even if Jupiter's tidal lock on Callisto prevents us from being killed by the Gamma Ray Burst as the moon rotates."
"First, because the Sun is simply too close to us. Second, because Callisto has no magnetic field. Fortunately, we are lucky. When the Sun's Gamma Ray Burst arrives, Callisto will happen to be behind Jupiter, and Jupiter will block the deadliest strike for us."
"However, a Supernova Explosion involves more than just a Gamma Ray Burst. There will also be subsequent Mass Ejection. Callisto's orbital period is 16.7 days. By the time the Sun's subsequent mass ejection arrives, we should be at this position."
Gan De added, "I don't know whether our base will be able to withstand it then. After the Sun undergoes a Supernova Explosion, the orbits of the more distant planets in the Solar System are highly likely to be blown off course by the immense energy, perhaps even turning them into Rogue Planets. In such a chaotic system, we cannot predict anything. Even Jupiter's tidal lock on Callisto may be broken apart."
Knowing time was critical, Gan De spoke very quickly.
Yue Yuan understood as well. Since there was still hope, they could not simply sit and wait for death.
He knew that everything had happened too suddenly. The ordinary people inside Callisto Base might not even have realized what was happening.
But now was not the time to worry about that. Having calmed down somewhat, Yue Yuan immediately said to Zhu Pete beside him, "Pi Te, take people and notify every department immediately. Have them move the most important equipment to the lowest level of the base as fast as possible. No—the most important equipment goes into the spacecraft. Especially the technical materials; pack them all up and bring them. Tell them they must hurry."
Before you continue