Return!

"5!"

"4!"

"..."

"0!"

"Ignition!"

Flames burst from the nozzles.

This time, it was the return capsule atop the lunar lander that had ignited its engines.

Trailing a brilliant arc of flame, the hemispherical craft separated from its massive base, easily broke free of the Moon's gravity, and slowly climbed into space at an angle.

Meanwhile, the Auspicious, cruising in lunar orbit, began slowing down and changing its trajectory to rendezvous with the ascending return capsule.

Three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers away, the staff in the ground control room watched two white dots representing the spacecraft on the big screen. Below the 127-minute orbit, they flew parallel in the same direction for a while, then slowly drew closer and closer, until at last they merged into one...

Immediately afterward, a voice came over the communications channel that lifted everyone's spirits.

"...This is Auspicious. We have successfully retrieved the return capsule. Requesting further instructions."

Standing before the control console, Hou Guang looked solemn as he immediately issued the order. "This is ground control. Upon receiving this order, begin your return journey immediately."

Two seconds later, a reply came through.

"Roger."

After receiving the order from ground control, the blue glow from the five engine nozzles gradually intensified, propelling the Auspicious as it accelerated from the 127-minute orbit into a 3.5-hour orbit, then transferred from there into a 12-hour orbit.

After several hours of gradual acceleration, the Auspicious returned to perilune and finally reached the lunar escape velocity of 2.4 kilometers per second, successfully entering the Earth-Moon transfer orbit.

After flying a little farther along that trajectory, Nie Yun deftly shut down the engines from his seat in the cockpit and switched to cruise mode. Pulled by Earth's gravity, the Auspicious would gradually accelerate along its return leg before successfully entering