Did the world end today?

Chapter 119 The Starship Age

Chapter 119 The Starship Age
Lin Xu stared intently at the Milky Way before him, the clearly visible stars giving him a strong sense of unreality.

He had nothing beneath him and nothing binding him.

My body rose and fell slightly with my breathing.

This is me.
Floating in space?
Are you kidding me? ?

If I really am floating in space, how am I still alive?
Lin Xu stared wide-eyed, looking around, and at that very moment, a gentle voice rang out.

Good morning, Comrade Lin Xu.

"It's 8:01 AM Sol time now, a new day has begun."

"Would you like me to arrange your day's schedule?"

As the sound faded, the starry sky gradually disappeared.

Only then did Lin Xu realize that the starry sky above him was just a holographic projection, and that he was in a room that was slightly spacious but rather ordinary.
-

No, it's not just ordinary.

Although in terms of layout, this place is no different from the kind of "room" I am familiar with.

But even with just a glance, Lin Xu could spot the biggest difference.

There are no beds here.

Some are simply circular, differently colored areas laid flat on the ground.

And I am suspended in the air above the area of the different colors.

Almost instantly, Lin Xu realized what was happening.

I am no longer on Earth.

This is Mars!

Because the so-called SOL time is the Martian sidereal day time!

His eyes widened in shock, and then he asked:
"Where am I? Where are we?"

As soon as the words were spoken, that gentle voice rang out once more.

"This is the geosynchronous orbit of Deimos above the Martian equator, at an altitude of 23460 kilometers and 1760 kilometers from Deimos."

"You seem to be experiencing memory problems. Do you need medical or psychological support?"

"unnecessary."

Lin Xu took a deep breath, grabbed a "restraint strap" that was also suspended in the air but connected to the cabin wall, and gently pulled, his whole body floated out of the circular area.

As he left the circular area, his body slowly fell.

Is this a realistic gravity simulation?
Lin Xu tentatively lifted his foot in surprise, but then he realized that the gravity simulation did not come from real "gravity" or "centrifugal force", but from the downward pressure provided by the thin "spacesuit" he was wearing.

Or, to put it another way, magnetism.

Are you kidding me?
Large-scale use of magnetism to counteract weightlessness?
From a cost perspective, this is a choice that is not worth the effort.

How could such a technological path possibly exist?

Lin Xu had a million questions in his mind, and just then, he reached out and touched a smooth, glass-like surface on the bulkhead.

Is this a porthole?
"Open the porthole!"

Lin Xu spoke up.

The voice, clearly from an AI assistant, immediately rang out.

"Understood, open the porthole."

"Report basic information to me, including the condition of this spacecraft, as well as my identity, background, and other relevant information!"

Lin Xu gave another order.

Having grown accustomed to the hectic pace of the "previous world" where not a second could be wasted, Lin Xu, even as a newcomer, had no intention of wasting any time here.

He will not repeat the mistakes of the last world.

He needed to understand his situation and his identity as soon as possible in order to begin the subsequent plans.

Upon receiving his instructions, the voice of the artificial intelligence rang out once again.

"As I told you before, we are currently in a Mars-synchronous orbit around Phobos, and this spacecraft is the large-scale integrated scientific research and transportation spacecraft, Zhuque-1."

"You are the control system engineer for this spacecraft. You came to Mars with the spacecraft four months ago to carry out a deep space exploration mission."

"Our goal is to assist the Mars Zhurong Base in establishing a complete astronomical exploration and testing system in the orbit of Phobos, to build a sustainable Mars base, and to attempt to establish an autonomous production and construction system on Mars that can realize the construction, launch, and recovery of large spacecraft."

“We call this plan ‘Project Skyfire’.”

"It embodies humanity's romantic aspirations for deep space exploration and is also the first spark that ignited the galaxy."

The voice of the artificial intelligence was still ringing out, but at this moment, Lin Xu's attention was completely drawn to the scene outside the porthole.

The orange-red planet hanging in the dark sky resembled a rough-polished agate, gleaming with a mottled, rust-like luster under the sunlight.

From their altitude, they could clearly see the poles covered by ice caps, while the dark plains near the Martian equator were being slowly swallowed by a massive dust storm.

The edges of the storm gradually blurred, obscuring the outline of Mars into a hazy red halo.

Before him, Deimos, the moon known to humankind as the "god of fear," floated silently.

Its surface is rugged like broken bones, and the shadows of the crater stretch out as long, thin spikes in the slanting sunlight.

There was no atmosphere, no sound, only eternal silence.

Occasionally, a faint reflection flashes across its surface, like some ancient signal, but it vanishes in an instant.

And beneath their feet, Phobos was sweeping across the curved surface of Mars at an astonishing speed.

Lin Xu raised his head slightly and looked into the deep sky.

The Earth was there, just an inconspicuous little blue dot of light.

Their light is colder than that of Mars, yet gentler.

A massive "machinery," or rather an "array of aircraft," is hovering along the line connecting itself to Earth.

As the solar panels unfolded, Lin Xu saw a spaceship that seemed to have just arrived at the "docking area" slowly approaching the larger central space station and attempting to dock with it.

Seemingly sensing the direction Lin Xu's gaze was fixed on, the artificial intelligence explained softly, "That's our Yinghuo Palace space station, the largest space station in Mars' geosynchronous orbit."

"The smaller one in the distance is the Ares space station of the Western Alliance."

"The two large space stations have collaborated to establish a relatively complete operational mechanism for deep space exploration, which we..."

"and many more."

Lin Xu interrupted the artificial intelligence and then asked:

"Western Alliance? What is that?"

"The Atlantic Democratic Front Alliance is a transatlantic alliance of nations."

"Its organizational nature is similar to that of the European Union in history, but it is larger in scale."

"Comrade Lin Xu, it seems you have encountered some problems."

"If you don't want to call for medical assistance immediately, would you like me to cancel your schedule for today and let you rest for another day?"

"unnecessary."

Lin Xu shook his head decisively, then looked at the electronic clock displayed on the wall.

8 points.

I have been in this world for 6 minutes now.

That means there are 54 minutes left until the end of the world.
-

No, that calculation is incorrect!

Humanity's doomsday does indeed have 54 minutes left, but what if it were on Mars?
Lin Xu clearly remembered that in the previous world, the video of "Deimos being torn apart" sent back by Jiang Xingye was delivered two minutes before the white light arrived.

Considering the distance between the Earth and the fire at that time, and also taking into account the time it takes for electromagnetic waves to travel at the speed of light...
People here only have a maximum of 40 minutes.

Depend on!
How can the time be getting shorter and shorter?

Lin Xu instantly felt the urgency. After a moment's thought, he asked:
"Who is the captain of this spaceship?"

"I need to see him immediately; I have important information to report!"

"Understood, I will report to the captain immediately."

The voice of artificial intelligence immediately came through.

This surprised Lin Xu somewhat.

He originally thought that if an ordinary "control system engineer" like himself wanted to meet the highest commander of this spacecraft, he would have to go through a long process and even face many obstacles.

But the AI's response was so decisive.

And just a dozen seconds later, the captain's holographic projection appeared in the cabin where Lin Xu was.

It was a face that Lin Xu was not familiar with.

Resolute, cold, and exuding an aura of ruthless decisiveness.

His eyes were bright and deep, as if they could see through everything.

The man spoke:
"Comrade Lin Xu, please report."

Lin Xu took a deep breath and then laid out the information that he had already repeated countless times.

Butterflies, pollen, killer bees, chaos of the four fundamental forces
The Zhurong, Doomsday, Mars, the tearing apart of Deimos
He told everything.

He didn't know if this information was useful.

Because this is a completely new world, and in this world, he is just a newcomer.

He didn't know if this information was useful, or even if it was a secret to the people of the world.

If this information is already publicly available, or if it is information that I could have obtained normally with my authority on the "Zhuque-1" ship, then I would not be able to use this information to obtain new permissions.

If we could start over...
It's too slow.

With approximately 32 minutes remaining in the countdown, Lin Xu finally explained everything.

The man on the holographic projection fell silent.

After a moment, he spoke:
"Come to Conference Room 1 on the main bridge, we're waiting for you."

"understand!"

Lin Xu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He knew that, at least, his remarks had indeed attracted attention.

Stepping out of the room, he followed the guidance of the artificial intelligence and walked towards the main bridge.

The porthole projected an image of the cosmos, and only then did he realize that it wasn't actually "glass," but a realistic image projected using holographic projection technology.

In the distance, the newly arrived spaceship had already docked with the Mars Palace space station.

They traveled hundreds of millions of kilometers just to get here.

What they wanted to build was a massive "observation array".

What they want to become are the guardians of this universe.

In this desolate depths of space, humanity's existence is so insignificant.

Yet they are so stubborn.

Mars, however, remains silent.

The automatic doors opened, and Lin Xu walked into the conference room.

This time, he saw a familiar face.

White ink.

Lin Xu's eyes lit up instantly.

Bai Mo then spoke up:
"sit down."