33 Seconds of Life and Death, A Mysterious Voice in the Universe?

Listening to the voice from the command center through his earpiece, the rocket began to accelerate gradually.

At the same time, Zhao Yunlei felt the pressure on his body slowly increasing.

This pressure was actually lighter than what he endured during routine training, which made him feel his condition was manageable, not too uncomfortable.

But as the rocket rapidly ascended to a distance of thirty to forty kilometers from the ground, Zhao Yunlei suddenly felt violent vibrations from both the rocket and the space shuttle.

The resulting resonant frequency waves made Zhao Yunlei furrow his brow involuntarily.

At that moment, he felt as if his internal organs were about to shatter, and this frequency resonance was still progressing in a curved motion.

This sensation brought him waves of agony, but fortunately, as an astronaut trained by the empire, he received a yearly allotment of Longevity Liquid, which kept his physique from being weak.

Now, gritting his teeth, he could still endure this pain and pressure.

According to scientific research, the human body is highly sensitive to frequencies below 10 hertz; resonance at such frequencies causes the internal organs to vibrate, resulting in great pain.

Of course, these resonances were not the main issue.

The main issue was that this resonance superimposed a heavy load on the internal organs.

As seconds ticked by, the pain surged like waves crashing one after another; these few seconds felt like years to him.

At this moment, Zhao Yunlei clenched his teeth tightly, veins bulging on his neck, and his eyes were bloodshot.

In his mind, there was only his love for the empire and the promise he made to the Emperor before departure—to complete this glorious mission.

The intense pain and his strong will kept him exceptionally alert.

Time passed: one second, two seconds, three seconds... thirty-two seconds, thirty-three seconds.

After enduring thirty-three seconds of pain, Zhao Yunlei, whose mind had grown somewhat dazed, suddenly felt a wave of relief—an unprecedented lightness.

It was like setting down a weight of a thousand jun.

Those deadly thirty-three seconds had nearly made him think he was about to sacrifice himself.

As the rocket stabilized and pierced through the atmosphere, the fairing on the outside of the rocket detached, and a ray of dazzling sunlight shone in.

The blinding light made Zhao Yunlei blink involuntarily.

Yan Chen Space Command Center.

Seeing Zhao Yunlei's face suddenly freeze on the screen, everyone in the command center held their breath.

The sudden loss of Zhao Yunlei's signal told the command center that something had gone wrong during the flight, tightening everyone's hearts.

After all, billions of ordinary people were watching behind the scenes.

At that moment, people all over the world, watching the live broadcast on their televisions, also held their breath, silently praying for Zhao Yunlei in their hearts.

Meanwhile, at the Aerospace Department's Research Center.

The sudden disconnection of Zhao Yunlei's signal threw countless scientists involved in this flight mission into anxious turmoil.

For a time, the research center's staff were in a flurry of activity.

After the deadly thirty-three seconds passed, the signal reconnected successfully. Seeing Zhao Yunlei blink on the frozen screen, the entire world erupted in excitement.

"He just blinked, he blinked! He's alive, he's alive..."

"Thank goodness..."

The Yan Chen Space Command Center was also buzzing with excitement.

Then, everyone heard Zhao Yunlei's voice come through.

"Tenglong-1, Zhao Yunlei reporting to ground command center. Rocket fairing deployment is normal."

"Excellent!!"

Zhao Yunlei's voice was like a clear spring, soothing the worries in everyone's hearts.

As the spacecraft broke free from Yanhuang Star, Zhao Yunlei, seated in the cockpit, saw a beautiful, azure arc through the cabin window.

The beauty of this arc, Zhao Yunlei felt, surpassed everything in the world, ranking first.

At that moment, through the porthole, Zhao Yunlei saw specks of dust drifting by. Controlling his floating body, he moved closer, pressing against the porthole, gazing out at the dark and profound depths of space.

Suddenly, a sense of emptiness and loneliness washed over him.

In this vast universe, humanity was too insignificant, and Yanhuang Star was too insignificant—as tiny as a speck of dust.

Watching the dust slowly drifting past, some as small as grains of rice, others as large as fingernails.

This made him realize that space was not as clean as people imagined.

Next, Zhao Yunlei was to carry out a three-day orbital mission around Yanhuang Star.

As the spacecraft flew around Yanhuang Star, passing over the capital Chang'an, Zhao Yunlei couldn't help but widen his eyes as he looked down at the ground.

Because before coming, he had thought about what he might see with his naked eyes from space on Yanhuang Star, and he had imagined many things.

He thought he would be able to see the towering Mount Tai, the sprawling Taihang Mountains, the winding Great Wall like a dragon, and the flourishing city of Chang'an.

Yet the reality was that even with his eyes stretched wide open, he saw nothing of what he wanted to see.

From his position, he could only make out the continents and the rough outlines of some provinces atop them.

Failing to find what he was looking for, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment.

"Thump... thump... thump... thump..."

On the eighth orbit of the spacecraft, Zhao Yunlei, who had been recording flight data, suddenly heard a series of sounds. This caught him off guard.

He stopped what he was doing, focusing his mind and calming his breath to listen for the sound he had just heard.

Yet, as if the sound had been nothing but an illusion, it did not reappear.

As time passed, the spacecraft moved to the side opposite the sunlight.

Then the sound came again. This time, the moment he heard it, Zhao Yunlei rushed to the porthole, pressing himself against it as he peered outside.

But outside, there was only the cold, silent darkness. Aside from that, there was nothing.

"Thump-thump-thump... thump-thump-thump..."

The sound came once more. This time, it was somewhat rapid, but after only a few seconds, it vanished.

Recalling the sound he had just heard, Zhao Yunlei furrowed his brow, straining to remember it, yet unable to describe it accurately. This left him deeply frustrated.

"Zhao Yunlei, what's happening over there?!"

His sudden movement immediately caught the attention of the ground command center.

"Reporting to Command, I just heard a sound from the spacecraft. It seemed like something was striking the hull from outside, but I didn't detect anything, nor did I see anything present."

"Something striking the hull from outside?!"

Zhao Yunlei's words landed like a stone thrown into a calm lake, sending up a great splash.

"Zhao Yunlei, can you describe the sound you just heard?"

The ground command quickly asked, while nearby, specialized personnel began recording.

This was the Yanhuang Empire's first manned spaceflight. What might happen in space, no one could know.

The butterfly effect triggered by the protagonist had arrived. A new civilization—an opportunity, and a crisis.