doomsday exile

April 4, 4 a.m.

Mars Quantum Teleportation Test Site.

The sixth test was not smooth, and there were new difficulties, technical aspects.

At this time, the huge test group will be divided into two parts, and the personnel related to technical problems will work overtime to catch up, and the other groups will get a few hours of rest, leaving only the on-duty personnel.

In these cubicle offices where the lights are off, the desks are messy, and there are dried water glasses and empty bottles of nutritional supplements.

The intelligent cleaning robot made a humming low sound, followed the open door, and dexterously walked among the obstacles.

Yan Long passed by, and he took a look inside.

Many of the dark "obstacles" on the ground are actually people. They couldn't lie down on the sofa, so they just wrapped up a blanket and slept on the floor. When the computer terminal was sleeping, the breathing light flickered on and off beside their hands and heads. , the air is filled with the smell of tea, coffee and nutritional supplements.

And smelly socks, smelly shoes, dirty clothes...

The smell was so strong that the ventilation system failed to save the freshness of the air.

The room next door was relatively empty, and half of the people sleeping on the ground were gone, probably because they had gone to take a shower.

Going a little further is the public area, where there are water dispensers, coffee machines, microwave ovens, food machines, etc. A person fell asleep lying on the table, and the completion indicator light of the simple food processor was flashing.

Yan Long patted the drowsy man on the shoulder, then reached out to take out the plate of food.

Tomato scrambled eggs and rice.

The appearance is a bit poor, but the smell is very good.

The sleeper raised his head following the scent before opening his eyes, then closed his eyes, picked up a spoon and stuffed a mouthful of rice into his mouth, chewing twice before he seemed to regain his sanity.

"Hey, the food processing machine here can make seven different flavors of rice bowls, fried noodles, and fried rice noodles, but mechanically seasoning and processing are really soulless. The texture and taste are exactly the same every time, just like instant noodles. After smelling the fragrance and taking a few bites, I was disappointed... Oh, it's Yan Long!"

The dozing person was Zhu Zhu. When he turned around and saw Yan Long, he immediately lost interest in complaining.

——Biological AI does not eat and cannot empathize.

"Didn't you take half a day off to go back to the dormitory?" Yan Long adjusted his gloves and helped Zhu Zhu get a glass of water.

"Thank you, um, I video-chatted with my family. They have been arranged to enter the underground shelter in a few days, but they don't want to go. They asked a lot of things but I can't explain." Zhu Zhu said here, with a depressed expression, " They don't quite understand why living in the interior is dangerous."

"No news?"

In fact, a day ago, a strong earthquake broke out in South America, and more than [-] aftershocks occurred within seven hours, causing heavy casualties.

The tsunami hit the world.

People along the coast fled in haste inland.

The Americas, Asia, and Europe have all issued corresponding warnings that there will be strong earthquakes within a month.

"...It happened too fast, and everyone was not ready." Zhu Zhu held his water glass, frowning.

Not to mention other places, there have been many chaos in China, and there are always people who want to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune or vent their anger.

For ordinary people, the world seems to have become unfamiliar overnight. They have tried their best to take things seriously, but things have developed more terrifyingly than they thought—someone has announced on the Internet, and spaceships from various countries have gradually The liftoff thing.

There was a lot of movement in this matter, and it was impossible to hide it.

In particular, the Eden Space Station of the Earth Federation, whose figure in low-Earth orbit was captured by an astronomical telescope, could not be an ordinary detector of that size.

There are many rumors on the Internet, "all the rich people have run away", "the heads of state are not on the earth, and now all the public speeches are robots", etc. These true and false news impact people's spirits, Panic spread like a plague.

Work and school are suspended, and the stock market is closed.

Many multinational companies announced layoffs of all overseas branch staff, because of force majeure, there is no compensation, only a letter of notification.

This has put more small companies attached to these companies into a desperate situation. Although they have not declared bankruptcy, they are almost the same as bankruptcy.

Some people can't accept that half a lifetime of hard work has come to naught, and commit suicide by jumping off a building.

People who lost their property, people who didn't have property... They gathered together and caused chaos again.

As for robbery and murder, there are countless incidents of smashing up shops and seizing items.

"...They don't want to enter the refuge at all, because the old people who usually play chess and square dance don't get places, and they don't want to leave home. They say they will die at home if they die."

Zhu Zhu smiled wryly, he had obviously given some vaccinations on the sidelines before, but when the disaster came, all the things he said before were useless.

"They asked me three questions. One was whether the pension would be paid in the future, and whether there was any bank deposit. The third was that they wanted to take my brother's girlfriend over. If it was impossible, they would send my brother to that city. All right, otherwise the two young men won't see each other in the future, and it's definitely going to be a dead end... They don't understand the end of the day, but whether the son can find someone to marry is more important than the sky falling!"

Zhu Zhu waved the spoon angrily.

I hope that my family members are safe and comfort their emotions, but what I face is trivial matters that have nothing to do with survival.

The two sides can't get on with each other, and they still can't talk about it.

Zhu Zhu wiped his face, then ate the rice dejectedly.

"By the way, where's Lu Di?"

"...Learn the Martian course."

Yan Long thought while answering, since when did everyone default that they are inseparable?Seeing that he was alone, he would ask Lu Di where he was going.

He felt that the ditch was not wide enough, but everyone around him had acquiesced in the existence of the ditch, and there was no doubt?

It's amazing.

"Ding."

Yan Long looked down at the computer terminal hanging on the glove.

Letter from Kunlun base.

The sender is Sui Ren.

This is the first time Yan Long has received a letter from "brothers and sisters".

Suirun's letter was very short, without beautiful rhetoric, but it was written in a straightforward manner that she was going to perform a mission, and she would lift off with the Kunlun spacecraft on an unknown journey in a few days. This is a farewell letter.

"...Professor Tu said, maybe we will meet again, on Mars, or other planets, but in short, it is not the earth. I was born in a very short time. I have not seen many scenery of this planet with my own eyes. I will leave it. According to human I should feel bad about it, but I don't feel it, I feel like a soldier leaving home to go to war."

Yan Long stopped when he read this, and slowly pondered this passage.

If it was him, what would he think?

Sorrow is unrealistic, and the emotions of nostalgia for this planet are superfluous. When things come to an end, as a soldier, I will indeed yearn for the star sea, but deep down I have a stronger emotion, hoping to get rid of Delta.

If you can't win, it doesn't mean you don't think about it.

There is no practical way, just keep making plans.

Unable to separate himself to deal with this threat, he squeezed out time between experiments.

On the surface, Yan Long obeyed the order and seriously persuaded Lu Di to shift his energy to other places. In fact, he himself never gave up targeting Delta.

Data analysis listed folders one after another. In the Mars quantum experiment team, they also silently learned the knowledge they thought was useful, pondered how to apply the new knowledge to the battle, and recalled every detail of the Antarctic encounter.

When you get tired of thinking, open the database and draw a picture of Lu Di's clothes design to change your mind.

Who says you won't meet Delta again in the future?

Opportunities always belong to those who are prepared, and they cannot relax at any time.

"...The Kunlun has entered the final stage of simulation and debugging. It is said that there are a hundred risks of crashing when accelerating. In a sense, I am equivalent to the bones and brains of the Kunlun. My enemy is the invisible universe. Law, wait for me to make a mistake.

When I enter space, all kinds of threats and risks double, just like sailing in the dark sea without borders, every minute and every second, I must be alert to the "stray bullets" on the "battlefield".If this is the battle I'm running into, I'm only the one with the shield. "

After reading the letter, Yan Long replied with a sentence at the end: "People under the protection of your shield and bones will one day create weapons for you to use. The enemies are endless, even invisible, but what we want to do Just two words, alive."

Live, and protect more people to live.

A researcher like Zhu Zhu doesn't have extra brain cells to think about his parents' pension, and Yan Long doesn't have extra time to think about how ordinary people outside can adapt to life in a post-apocalyptic shelter or a spaceship, because there are bigger problems to let go of. in front of them.

They are used to solving things that others cannot solve.

Knowing this, I don’t have any pride in my heart, I just do my best.

Yan Long turned off the computer terminal, greeted Zhu Zhu who was cooking rice, and continued walking.

The mechanical design department is brightly lit.

"Sorry, I want the carrier data that failed earlier."

Yan Long's voice only made the group of researchers with dark circles on their faces raise their heads, and then most of them continued to work or quarrel with their heads down as if they had not "accepted" any information.

"Is the supercomputer free? I want to run the data again!"

"No, the joints broke twice in a row. We haven't considered the variables enough. These formulas can't be used."

"There is no more time for experimentation, so we can only change the design plan... All changes!"

Yan Long used his advantage to pass through the quarreling crowd.

He saw the new blueprints.

The mechanical carrier looks like a flat bat-winged creature with a slender tail trailing behind it.

Yan Long has a vague premonition that this is the quantum aircraft he and Lu Di will use to go to Mars.

***

ten days later.

"Countdown, 30, 29..."

Lu Di listened to the countdown in his ear, and suddenly asked Yan Long: "Are you nervous?"

"Fortunately, the three simulation experiments were all successful. Are you worried? I don't feel your emotions."

"No," Lu Di rubbed his head subconsciously, "After all, you are on a business trip, so I just want to know what you are thinking at such an important moment?"

Yan Long was silent for a second, then said: "I was thinking about Ji Li not writing to me when he was on a business trip."

"what?"

"3, 2, Quantum transmission starts!"

The author has something to say: Yan Long: I don’t care about it on the surface, and I really didn’t think about it, but I was reminded by Sui Run’s letter

Yan Long: Ji Li left without saying hello!