"... This is the situation I have at the moment."
At the meeting in the capital, Chief Engineer Ji personally brought the detection data from lunar orbit and explained it to the others at the meeting.
"We can now confirm that, as some people have claimed, rockets and other spacecraft have indeed appeared out of thin air in the lunar orbit. With our current technological capabilities, it's difficult to provide a satisfactory explanation for this..."
Chief Engineer Ji had previously attempted to use his professional knowledge to explain why a spacecraft with an initial velocity close to zero would appear in low Earth orbit and lunar orbit.
However, after much deliberation with his team of researchers, the only relatively reasonable explanation they came up with was—
Someone silently launched a small rocket into space via a larger rocket, and then used a reverse propulsion device to slow the small rocket down to near rest.
Then the small rocket itself is activated, making it appear as if it suddenly appeared in space...
This explanation is illogical and makes no sense.
Moreover, there are many aspects that are impossible with current technology, such as how to use a large rocket to transport a small rocket into space, and do so silently and without being detected by anyone?
Therefore, this explanation, in its entirety, is utter nonsense.
But this really is the only relatively reasonable explanation.
The person in charge of chairing the meeting was named Ding Hongbo. He looked at the other scholars participating in the meeting.
These scholars also stated that Chief Engineer Ji's explanation is the most reasonable within the current technological framework; otherwise, it would be impossible to imagine how an almost stationary object could appear in space.
"In other words, the existence of Spacetime Tunnel is highly probable?" Ding Hongbo, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, stared at the documents in front of him, deep in thought.
The other people in the meeting room were also exchanging their opinions.
After a while, Ding Hongbo raised his head again and asked everyone to raise their hands to express their opinions.
"I think this is worth a try. With the moon's orbit changing so drastically, this might be the key to turning the tide."
"I share the same view. According to the scholars, no other country on Earth possesses this technology, so there should be no external forces involved in this matter..."
Ding Hongbo listened quietly.
Most opinions agree that it's worth trying, since there's no harm in failing anyway, so why not give it a shot?
A minority of conservatives believe that this matter should be put on hold and the focus should be placed on the lunar orbital deviation.
Ding Hongbo remained noncommittal regarding the difference in opinions, and did not immediately offer his own opinion after listening to the discussion.
Everyone waited quietly for a while before someone sent a message to the conference room.
After reading it, Ding Hongbo took the initiative to explain to everyone:
"According to the latest intelligence, in addition to our domestic aerospace personnel, many people in the other three major aerospace agencies have also received the same information. Some people, like Chief Engineer Ji, have already begun trying to establish contact with those individuals."
"Furthermore, our intelligence personnel have not found any trace of external forces involved in this incident, so..."
Ding Hongbo looked at Chief Engineer Ji.
Chief Engineer Ji immediately stood up. "I'll contact the other side right away and guarantee the mission will be completed!"
"President, we have received contact from five people in total, including representatives from the European Space Agency and the Moscow RKA. They are all experts or officials in the aerospace field."
Where are the NASA people?
"We couldn't get in touch with them. They're currently focusing all their efforts on negotiations with the European Space Agency and preparing for a return to the moon to explore the deep caves in the Mare Crisium Basin."
The squad leader adjusted his blue light blocking glasses.
Zhang Tianyuan glanced at the five people he had contacted and asked, "Any news about Chief Engineer Ji?"
"Not yet... uh, it's coming!"
"They agreed to send a delegation to contact us."
"Then let's bring them over."
"What about the others?"
"No need, come if you want, don't come if you don't."
"..."
Two hours later.
Moon Spacetime.
The top of a building.
Chief Engineer Ji looked at the group of key personnel around him who were already prepared for the business trip when he suddenly heard a "ding" sound and immediately took out his phone.
His security personnel also gathered around.
Chief Engineer Ji didn't shy away from it and opened the message in front of them.
It contained information on several people, with everything from their photos to their job titles clearly listed.
According to them, these are the people who came to pick us up. Also, to save time, they...
They said they would be using a helicopter, and they asked us to be aware of the air defense system and not to fire accidentally... Finally, they wished us a safe journey.
The security personnel immediately relayed Chief Engineer Ji's words to the various key departments that were monitoring the area.
What followed was a long wait.
Another half hour passed.
The crowd was growing impatient.
Just then, the security personnel suddenly received a message:
"An unidentified helicopter has suddenly appeared five kilometers to the east!"
After reporting the news, the security guard immediately turned and looked east.
Chief Engineer Ji and the others also looked over.
Suddenly, a black dot appeared in the distant sky and headed towards them.
Almost at the same time, my phone rang.
Chief Engineer Ji picked it up and looked at it.
"It's them! They said they've set off!"
Security personnel continued to coordinate with various departments to confirm the helicopter's identity until they made contact with the pilot and confirmed his identity before they relaxed.
Soon, the helicopter on the horizon became clearer and clearer.
Until Chief Engineer Ji could see the aircraft's configuration with the naked eye.
"It doesn't seem to be much different from our current helicopters..."
Someone in the delegation said in a low voice.
Everyone speculated:
"This must be a limitation of the laws of physics; perhaps this is the best form for a rotary-wing helicopter?"
Even Chief Engineer Ji looked at the security personnel, as if asking, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Is this really the helicopter?"
A civilization capable of time travel shouldn't be using similar equipment, right?
The security personnel confirmed, "That's them. Our helicopter is escorting them, but..."
As he spoke, he handed his secure phone to Chief Engineer Ji, which displayed a newly sent video.
Suddenly, a dark opening appeared in the air, and a helicopter flew over quickly.
"Like the rocket you mentioned before, this helicopter also appeared suddenly over our city. The newly installed sky surveillance network captured its appearance."
"That must be them."
As the two were talking, a helicopter carrying the flags of the Mutual Aid Society and the United Government, along with the national flag, approached. Everyone on the rooftop quickly stepped back and watched the helicopter slowly descend.
A soldier wearing an exoskeleton opened the hatch, jumped down, and saluted. "Are you the delegation from No. 10 Spacetime?"
"It's me." Chief Engineer Ji stepped out from the crowd and curiously met the eyes of the cabin crew.
The soldier nodded and took a stack of documents from the cockpit. "Please sign these documents; only then can we obtain authorization to pass through the Spacetime Tunnel."
Chief Engineer Ji took the document, glanced at the title, and found that it was a document indicating temporary authorization before distributing a copy to everyone in the team.
All fifteen people quickly signed the authorization forms. After the soldiers collected them one by one, they stepped aside to reveal the boarding gate, indicating that everyone could board.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chief Engineer Ji immediately led his team onto the plane.
Once boarded and seats were assigned, the crew immediately gave everyone a warm blanket.
The group accepted the clothes in surprise, and before they could ask any questions, the soldier explained, "It'll be cold later, so please bear with it. If you have any warm clothes with you, you can put them on now."
cold?
It's July now.
The delegation members were still confused.
The helicopter engine started up again, the rotor began to spin rapidly, and soon everyone felt the helicopter lift off the ground.
On the rooftop, numerous cameras were pointed at the taking-off helicopter, recording every second.
Behind these cameras, Ding Hongbo and the others watched with concern.
On the helicopter.
Wearing a headset Chief Engineer Ji shouted loudly to the soldiers in front of him, "When can we arrive in your timeline?!"
The soldier heard him clearly and shouted back, "Right away!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
Chief Engineer Ji then noticed a sudden darkness, as if something was blocking the helicopter's light. Looking up, he saw a "black cloth" covering the helicopter's windshield...
The black cloth quickly engulfed the helicopter.
In the blink of an eye, the helicopter pilot in front had disappeared into the darkness.
Just as the delegation members were about to scream, they realized that darkness had already descended upon them!
"Ah..."
The rooftop of the building.
"They've disappeared!" The remaining observers were also in a panic.
They witnessed the helicopter fly into darkness.
Don't panic.
"So, they've just returned to their own timeline? That's the same way they made their entrance."
Someone said.
"Let's report the situation on site first."
"Yes, yes."
Wandering Spacetime.
It is nighttime, and the helicopter is flying over an ice field.
Chief Engineer Ji shivered, gazing at the icy, snowy landscape outside. He felt no cold in his body, but his heart was ice-cold. He hugged the blanket tightly to himself and looked away.
Is it winter here?
The soldier opposite chuckled, "Pretty much, the weather hasn't been good for a while."
Where are we going now?
"Go to the underground city; they have a branch office of the Mutual Aid Society there."
Chief Engineer Ji was about to speak when the researcher next to him suddenly patted him, gesturing for him to look out the window.
Chief Engineer Ji immediately turned his head and looked out the porthole.
A towering, tower-like building suddenly appeared in the cold moonlight, covered in ice and snow, with wisps of condensed white mist swirling around its height, inspiring awe and fear.
"You guys..." Chief Engineer Ji froze, "Your buildings over here are quite tall, aren't they?"
As he spoke, his eyebrows twitched, as he tried his best to suppress his emotions.
"That's Planetary Engine," the soldier explained.
" Planetary Engine?"
"Yes, we use it to propel the Earth."
"Promote... promote what again?"
"Earth."
"..."
Five minutes later.
The helicopter landed next to the breakwater outside the Planetary Engine.
Chief Engineer Ji and the others changed into protective suits brought by the soldiers and were finally able to leave the helicopter.
It wasn't until they followed the soldiers to the enormous gate that Chief Engineer Ji and the other members of the delegation found it hard to believe that the massive building, unprecedented in their time and space, was actually a nuclear fusion engine.
And it was just one of the ordinary ones.
After passing through the gate and taking a large elevator fifteen kilometers deep, the group finally arrived in the underground city with the soldiers.
Without having time to take another look at the situation in the underground city, Chief Engineer Ji and the others were taken directly to the command hall of the aerospace work area.
Zhang Tianyuan and his aerospace team were already waiting for him here.
After a brief handshake, President Zhang noticed that Chief Engineer Ji looked somewhat dazed. This was understandable; anyone would be flustered after experiencing so much in one day.
"Our meeting was somewhat rushed this time, mainly because the matter concerning your timeline can no longer be delayed."
Zhang Tianyuan said.
Chief Engineer Ji felt as if he had grasped the backbone, pulling himself out of his confusion. He realized that he had come here to solve the problem of the moon's orbital deviation!
He immediately perked up, picked up a USB drive from the side, and said, "This is the latest lunar orbit data we've obtained. Could you please take a look..."
Zhang Tianyuan accepted the USB drive, indicating that there was no need to rush. "As you probably know, we have already been exploring the moon."
"Yes, you previously deployed three rovers to the Mare Crisium Basin on the moon."
"Yes, that's where the alien weapons were located."
As he spoke, Zhang Tianyuan gestured for Chief Engineer Ji to look at the large screen behind him, which displayed a replay of the explorations of the three lunar rovers.
"In a permanently shadowed area within the Mare Crisium Basin, there exists a cave at least twenty kilometers deep. We attempted to send lunar rovers in to explore it, but they were all repelled by some force."
"Kicked out?"
Chief Engineer Ji and the others watched the recording on the screen. They saw that the lunar rover had just descended to an altitude of about 20 kilometers when it was destroyed by an oncoming object.
"This is?"
"The alien weapon I mentioned to you before, the Swarm. It's been drilling holes in the moon all these years."
"The shift in the moon's orbit?"
"It was caused by that."
"Then, if we eliminate it, will this disaster end?" Chief Engineer Ji immediately asked.
"That's one way to put it, but we're not yet sure what methods we can use to quickly eliminate it."
The movie used an electromagnetic pulse bomb, but the Mutual Aid Society doesn't have one right now.
As for other weapons, judging from the movie, the Swarm can withstand the laser cannons of a spaceship without taking any damage.
Therefore, conventional missiles can be put to rest; only nuclear weapons are likely to be effective.
However, using a nuclear weapon directly at the lunar core could damage the core of the lunar spacecraft...
We have a plan now.
What do you think of the moon outside?