Chapter 48: The Unreachable Cool God (End)
In recent years, various countries have been committed to aerospace research. Due to national conditions, China started later, but with national development and construction, it has caught up and achieved certain accomplishments.
Compared to man-made disasters, natural disasters remain a problem concerning human survival that must be overcome.
Although the probability of a planetary impact on Earth is much lower than other natural disasters such as storms, tsunamis, and earthquakes, the threat and harm it would cause would be doubled. Especially since this asteroid is quite large; if it were to actually pierce the atmosphere and enter the Earth, the Earth would suffer unforeseeable damage.
To protect the Earth, there is currently only one way to save itādestroy the asteroid before it arrives.
More than a decade ago, the United States had already tested the destruction of an asteroid heading towards Earth in space, and it succeeded. This event was widely reported globally at the time. Therefore, today, many countries place their hopes on the United States.
However, the United States’ success back then, besides the precise calculation and positioning of the asteroid’s trajectory, was due to the fact that the operation was conducted in outer space, a certain distance from Earth, and the asteroid was less than 200 meters in diameter.
But now the situation is urgent. The asteroid is too large and too fast. The rockets carrying the warheads simply can’t be delivered in time, and any rocket launch requires lengthy, precise calculations. Hasty actions would be even more dangerous.
While the United States was flustered, China didn’t hesitate.
The Chinese people believe in being prepared for danger in times of peace. Even if potential dangers are invisible, precautions must be taken. This prudence proved useful now. The scientists’ current task is to quickly calculate the asteroid’s speed and the speed of the rocket carrying the antimatter warhead.
That’s right, an antimatter warhead.
Supported by countless theoretical knowledge and data, after four years of tireless day-and-night research, the first antimatter warhead was created by Huo Xian. Or rather, it was an antimatter warhead that was safely stored.
The research of antimatter warheads wasn’t particularly difficult, but their storage was a problem that stumped scientists worldwide. More than half a year ago, Huo Xian solved this problem.
Logically, Huo Xian, as the designer of the antimatter warhead, his task was to complete the weapon design; how it was used afterward was the job of specialized personnel. However, he was invited to join the calculation teamāor rather, to serve as a safety guarantee.
After all, Huo Xian had single-handedly built the entire antimatter warhead research and storage team. His calculation ability was terrifying. Currently, supercomputers alone couldn’t precisely lock onto the target, so besides Huo Xian, there was another calculation team performing manual calculations to ensure the precise timing of the antimatter warhead launch.
Three days later, all the data was clear, ready for execution.
ā¦
“We will succeed.” In front of the monitoring screen, Hua Jin clasped Yu Zi’an’s hand, giving him assurance.
Yu Zi’an’s face still looked pale. He clasped Hua Jin’s hand back, his grip rather strong, even hurting Hua Jin, but Hua Jin said nothing.
Huo Xian stood not far behind them, communicating with Huo Yuan: [The original owner didn’t have memories of this asteroid because he died earlier. Yu Zi’anā¦ is reacting strangely.]
After a while, Huo Yuan said: [This planet is a vibrant planet, and the future timeline is clear. The asteroid won’t strike, but if the US or Western countries intervene, it might cause asteroid fragments to pierce the atmosphere and impact the Earth. The power wouldn’t be great, but it could trigger a series of natural disasters.]
[You mean, Yu Zi’an has actually experienced this, but what he experienced was the period when the asteroid had already been destroyed and impacted Earth as ‘meteors’?] Huo Xian narrowed his eyes.
[This explains why Yu Zi’an dedicated himself to researching portable life rafts. In case of an accident, the life rafts would be most effective.] Huo Yuan’s reasoning was sound.
The facts were indeed as Huo Yuan had guessed, but what he didn’t guess was that in Yu Zi’an’s own worldline, he also died in that “meteor shower”ācollapsing buildings, exploding gas pipelinesā¦ He was killed by flying glass shards.
Yu Zi’an didn’t know how to prevent the asteroid’s arrival. He could only do his best to save more people during the future “meteor shower,” so he worked hard to develop the life raft. Of course, what he most hoped for was that the antimatter warhead developed by Huo Xian could completely pulverize the asteroid into dust, preventing the Earth from being forced to endure that “meteor shower.”
The whole world was in fear. At this moment, a Chinese rocket carrying the antimatter warhead silently launched into space.
Everyone was waiting, breathlessly waiting. Before seeing the results, no one dared to close their eyes, no one wanted to close their eyes.
Even Huo Yuan couldn’t help but feel nervous. Compared to his unease, Huo Xian was the calmest among all those waiting. So far, Huo Yuan hadn’t noticed his heartbeat exceeding 100 beats per minute.
[Huo Xian, aren’t you worried?] He couldn’t help but ask.
Huo Xian asked back: [Worried about what?] He didn’t need Huo Yuan to answer, continuing: [There’s a Chinese saying, ‘Do what you can, and leave the rest to fate.’ We’ve done everything we could, so there’s nothing more to worry about. Moreover, with the supercomputer and so many top talents gathered in the country, the calculated trajectory and launch time of the asteroid are the most accurate. I don’t think there will be any mistakes.]
[ā¦You’re so confident.] Huo Yuan felt complex emotions.
[At worst, the US will step in, and Yu Zi’an’s life rafts have been widely distributed, so at least there’s a guarantee for personnel safety.] Huo Xian maintained a steady demeanor.
Huo Yuan was persuaded and relaxed.
So, when the United States finally decided to be the savior and launched a rocket carrying nuclear weapons into space, adjusting the angle and position to lock onto the target and prepare to launch, the target disappeared.
That’s right, it disappeared.
It vanished completely, as if not a single speck of dust remained.
The United States: ???
Space agencies around the world: ???
A crisis that should have caused a disaster for humanity disappeared without a trace. When the Chinese official media announced that the crisis had been perfectly resolved, the whole world exploded, especially the US researchers. They immediately realized that China had used an antimatter warhead. After realizing this, they were shocked. China’s discovery of how to store antimatter warheads meant that it possessed the world’s most advanced weapons. So, what was the US?
Huo Xian’s name was also pushed to the forefront for the first time. Now that the antimatter warhead had been successfully developed, there was no need to hide it any longer. Today’s China is strong, prosperous, and thriving, and it should raise its fist and let the whole world see, let the whole world admire and respect it.
The Chinese people were proud of Huo Xian, the scientist who developed and successfully stored the antimatter warhead, and proud of their country. Thanks to Huo Xian, more and more young people love science, love research, and China’s future is bright and promising.
ā¦
Huo Xian remained unmarried his entire life. From the age of 17, he officially started working in the laboratory, until the age of 97. Even when his eyesight was failing and he was frail, he remained focused on his research. He dedicated his entire life to the country’s military and scientific research, and he was called the “Father of Military Technology.”
The day he died, the whole country mourned.
emmmmmā¦
A peaceful death is good, but living to the age of 97 was quite beyond Huo Xian’s expectations. Fortunately, although he lived a long life, he was healthy and without pain in his later years, and his life wasn’t difficult. The only downside was not daring to look in the mirrorā¦ too many wrinkles, although Huo Yuan kept emphasizing that he was still a handsome old man.
Huo Xian felt that his mentality had aged a lot. Fortunately, he was finally liberated and had reached the end.
[Huo Yuan, when are we going to the next world?] Huo Xian couldn’t wait to go to other worlds, to change to a young body and refresh his eyes.
[Wait, wait a moment, I’ll first take all the good stuff from the system.] Huo Yuan’s voice sounded a little excited.
Huo Xian suddenly remembered that Huo Yuan had previously complained to him that Yu Zi’an lived too long. Fortunately, before his death, Yu Zi’an passed away earlier. So, Huo Yuan had now gotten Yu Zi’an’s system?
Soon, Huo Yuan appeared again, his tone listless: [I feel like I’ve been deceived, that guy doesn’t have anything good.]
[There must be one or two things?] Huo Xian asked with a smile.
Huo Yuan forced himself to cheer up: [Let me read them out to you: Jade Bone Regenerating Pill Ć3 (for beauty and rejuvenation); Intelligence Pill Ć1 (described as increasing intelligence, but actually for alertness and mental clarity); Spiritual Spring Ć1 (a small spring, producing 200 ml of spiritual spring water daily. Persistent drinking improves hearing and eyesight, removes impurities from the body). This one is somewhat decent.]
Huo Xian twitched the corner of his mouth upon hearing this. That’s only one more item than his “one or two things.”
[Forget it, something is better than nothing.] Huo Yuan comforted himself.
Huo Xian smiled: [It’s okay, I don’t rely on props for my tasks.] After a pause, he asked again: [What about that system?] Wasn’t it eaten?
[I threw it to the world’s laws. Although it tried to steal your luck before, which was despicable, but considering it was a first offense, and it used all its accumulated resources to cultivate Yu Zi’an, who made many contributions to the world, I won’t hold it against it.] Huo Yuan said magnanimously. Moreover, he had collected all the system’s treasures; the system had to start over, and with the laws supervising it, it dared not do evil again.
[Hey, Huo Xian, task points are starting to be calculated!] Huo Yuan suddenly said nervously and excitedly.
At the mention of this, Huo Xian immediately became energetic. Before he could ask, Huo Yuan put the settlement panel in front of him. The phantom also appeared, standing side-by-side with him, looking anxious.
Huo Xian forgot how long it had been since he’d seen his consciousness body image, and for a moment, he was a little dazed, and evenā¦ a little distracted.
Although Huo Yuan wasn’t strictly a “person,” Huo Yuan was the only consciousness body who had accompanied him through a long life. He watched Huo Yuan grow from a babbling child, becoming quirky, occasionally a little dark, fond of complainingā¦
“Huo Xian, look, look, points, pointsā¦” Huo Yuan excitedly shouted.
Huo Xian, who had been distracted, finally shifted his gaze back to the screen.
[Task Evaluation: S (Perfect)
Task 1 Reward: 2000 (+2000) points
Task 2 Reward: 1000 (+1000) points
Additional Reward (Host Reward): Law of Consciousness
Note: Tasker’s initial world point reward is doubled.]
Huo Yuan originally saw the two reward points, a total of 6000 points, and hadn’t had time to be happy that his point deficit had been filled. When he saw the words “Law of Consciousness,” he was surprised.
“What is the Law of Consciousness?” Huo Xian was also a little puzzled and asked.
Huo Yuan explained: “The Law of Consciousness is a reward given to the host by the world’s laws. It can strengthen the host’s consciousness body. The stronger the consciousness body, the longer it exists. If you accumulate enough Law of Consciousness, you can freely go to higher-dimensional worlds in the future.”
Huo Xian thoughtfully made a sound of “å (en).”
But then Huo Yuan became dissatisfied again: “Why is the reward for the host so little? It’s even voluntary from the world’s laws; doesn’t the official give any rewards?” This was his first task, his first time binding with a host, and he didn’t know that the official was so stingy.
“Should I give some feedback?” Huo Xian, as the tasker’s host, also had a virtual screen, but besides applying for unbinding from the tasker, he could only use the feedback and reporting functions. Nothing else.
Huo Yuan nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes. The host works so hard to help us complete tasks, why should they bind with us task workers without rewards?”
Feedback naturally wouldn’t get a response so quickly. Huo Xian closed the virtual screen and looked at Huo Yuan. Huo Yuan originally owed 5900 points, and now the task reward was 6000 points. In other words, Huo Yuan’s points were now positive. Did this mean he could see Huo Yuan’s physical form in the next world?
Thinking of this, Huo Xian couldn’t help but be a little distracted.
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