The Distorted Sun

"I really wasn't trying to mess with you on purpose..."

"I was in such a rush when I left that I just grabbed it and went."

"I'll buy you a bottle of Oriental Leaf later and pour it in for you, okay?"

Walking up the stone steps of Purple Mountain Observatory, Lin Xu spoke with slight embarrassment.

"No need!"

Jiang Xingye rolled her eyes at Lin Xu.

"Nobody said I had to drink it... Just remember next time: if you bring a cup, make sure you bring water too, got it?"

"Lesson learned, lesson learned."

Lin Xu nodded repeatedly. The two of them continued up the mountain and soon reached the summit of Three Forts Peak.

Having spent too much energy, Lin Xu panted as he drank ice water sold at the scenic area. Jiang Xingye, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed.

"I told you that you don't exercise enough. With that tiny body of yours, tsk tsk..."

"Can you even handle it, you skinny little runt?"

"...My metabolism is just fast. That means I'm healthy."

Lin Xu stubbornly straightened up, though he quietly pondered to himself.

He really needed to start exercising.

It seemed that ever since he had started university, his physical fitness had been declining at an alarming rate.

And with all those years of overtime at the company, his stamina had dropped by far more than just a little.

How could this go on?

There were still twenty years until the apocalypse. It would be a real joke if he died first before the apocalypse even arrived...

Noticing his expression, Jiang Xingye laughed soundlessly.

She turned to look down the mountain, then said,

"Honestly, the scenery here is pretty nice."

"It's the second-highest peak nearby, after all. The view is really open."

"It's a shame North Peak won't be accessible anymore."

"Hey, do you know what they're building there?"

"A deep-space observation station."

Lin Xu answered casually.

"Not bad. You know quite a lot."

"Or did you do your homework beforehand because you knew you'd be hanging out with me today?"

"...You could say I did some homework in advance."

Lin Xu wiped his mouth and tossed the empty water bottle into a nearby trash can.

Come on, if I didn't even know that, why would I come here?

Did you think I really came out on a date with you?

He walked over to Jiang Xingye's side and looked toward North Peak in the distance.

There, a large number of construction machines had already entered the site. Enormous tower cranes stood on the mountainside like swords piercing the heavens, and beneath the sheaths of those swords were huge, gleaming reflector mirrors.

Judging from the scale, this deep-space observation station would likely occupy the entire upper half of North Peak.

By any measure, it was a massive project.

—But it was also a little strange.

Purple Mountain Observatory had, in fact, been "abandoned" for a long time.

Most of the institution's facilities had either been deployed in Xuyi or in the far northwest.

So why had the authorities suddenly decided to construct another large-scale deep-space observation station here?

The geography here was not ideal, nor did it offer any advantage in observation conditions.

On top of that, electromagnetic waves from the city would interfere with the reception of cosmic signals.

Building a deep-space observation station here... it just felt somewhat pointless.

Thinking of this, Lin Xu asked Jiang Xingye,

"By the way, have you seen any reports about this deep-space observation station?"

"Why did the country choose this location? It doesn't seem very reasonable, does it?"

"...You ask a girl out and this is what you want to talk about?"

Jiang Xingye's eyes shifted playfully. Lin Xu spread his hands and said,

"I talk about whatever comes to mind."

"...Fine. I happen to be interested too."

Jiang Xingye paused slightly before answering,

"I actually did see some news about this deep-space observation station. I heard there was quite a bit of opposition when the project was first proposed."

"But in the end, they still chose this site."

"It seemed to be because of the needs of the Zhurong Project?"

"Weren't there rumors back then that Zhurong had discovered something on Mars, which was why they decided to build this deep-space observation station?"

"It caused quite a stir. Every clickbait account wanted a piece of it—alien civilizations, a second home for humanity, all that stuff..."

"But then, gradually, there was no more news. Yet they still built the thing."

"I still occasionally come across short videos about it. They say it emits radiation and that nearby residents protested."

"Come to think of it, it's pretty funny—what kind of people live around Zhongshan? They haven't protested, so what right do you people have to protest?"

"...True enough."

Lin Xu nodded with a laugh.

He had only mentioned it casually to Jiang Xingye, yet she had seen even more rumors than he had.

Zhurong discovered something on Mars, so they were building a deep-space observation station on Purple Mountain?

It sounded utterly fantastical, but considering the things he had seen in Bracelet World...

It really was possible.

Still, if he wanted to know what exactly that "driving force" was, he would probably need to enter the observation station itself to have a chance.

He could not get in right now.

He could only enter through the bracelet.

Lin Xu carefully studied the overall layout of the distant observation station while chatting idly with Jiang Xingye.

Neither of them was particularly fond of moving around. Even simply standing on the mountaintop and enjoying the breeze felt rather pleasant.

Lin Xu memorized the route into the observation station, then took out his phone and looked up information on its facilities and equipment.

Judging by the results, this observation station was truly top-of-the-line.

Not only did it have high-power radio telescopes, but it also possessed a series of high-power microwave and laser transmission devices.

If construction continued according to this design plan, it would become the largest deep-space observation station in southern China, far ahead of all the others.

Breaking into it probably would not be easy.

A facility like this would certainly be protected by security forces of an extremely high standard.

Could the mercenary squad under Skullhead's command break through?

It would probably take a great deal of trial and error...

Lin Xu's thoughts gradually drifted away when Jiang Xingye suddenly cried out beside him.

"Lin Xu! Look at the sky!"

Lin Xu instinctively looked up.

And above his head...

Was an enormous sun halo!

The halo nearly covered the entire sky above Purple Mountain Observatory, even stretching all the way to the distant city skyline!

"Such a huge sun halo..."

Lin Xu was awestruck.

"Our luck is really good."

"Yeah!"

Jiang Xingye said excitedly,

"The weather forecast didn't mention it today either! How could such a huge sun halo appear?"

"The weather forecast isn't accurate with celestial phenomena like this..."

Lin Xu took out his phone and photographed the sun halo. Compared to the human eye, the image captured by the camera sensor was actually much clearer.

Within the largest ring of the halo, Lin Xu could see a small circular ring.

It glowed faintly, like some kind of... angel's halo.

He had to admit, it was beautiful.

"Perfect, perfect, perfect!"

Jiang Xingye said excitedly beside him,

"This is amazing! I knew I'd have good luck if I came out with you!"

"Look at the sun in the middle! It's heart-shaped!"

"Enough with the romance-brain nonsense!"

Lin Xu looked at his phone screen.

Then, to his astonishment, he discovered that the sun really was heart-shaped.

—No, more accurately, the sun's shape was twisting and shifting.

One moment it was heart-shaped, the next it was star-shaped, and eventually it even became a perfectly square shape.

The glow around it seemed to be constrained, forming a bright border. The sun, which had quietly existed for billions of years, now seemed to have become a giant, bizarre light bulb.

"Tsk... This sun halo is probably going to trend online."

"When we scroll through short videos tonight, it'll definitely be everywhere!"

"Good thing I came out with you today, or I wouldn't have been able to see it so clearly!"

"Come on, take a picture of me!"

"Coming, coming."

Lin Xu took the phone Jiang Xingye handed him and crouched down.

But just as he aimed the phone at Jiang Xingye's silhouette beneath the sunlight once more, an unusual premonition suddenly surfaced in his heart.

The feeling vanished in an instant, and he had no time to grasp it.

It was as though it had merely been an ordinary sense of déjà vu.

Lin Xu gently shook his head and looked at his phone screen.

He pressed the button, and the screen flashed.

What remained was a clear photograph of Jiang Xingye together with the enormous sun halo...

At the same time, Guizhou, FAST Sky Eye Observatory.

A gray-haired scholar stared intently at the images that had just been transmitted back. Beside him, a bespectacled man reported in a low voice,

"Confirmed that this is not optical image distortion caused by the atmosphere. It should be classified as an anomalous astronomical phenomenon."

"This is the fourth anomalous celestial event we've observed in four years... but we still have no clue as to its specific cause."

"Mm."

The scholar nodded slowly.

"That's fine. We'll take it slowly."

"How is the feedback from Zhurong?"

"The capital has completed the camera adjustments, but the specific results will not be transmitted back for another forty-six minutes."

"Three minutes have passed since the celestial phenomenon began."

"The adjustment command was sent one minute ago."

"Based on the current Earth-Mars communication time, the command will arrive in roughly thirteen minutes."

"In other words, if the anomalous celestial phenomenon can last for more than twelve minutes... we will have a chance to obtain observation data from two points."

"Twelve minutes."

The scholar lowered his head silently.

"I hope we make it in time..."