Chapter 161 Geocentric Model

The navigator took a quick look and let out a sigh of relief, then immediately said to Section Leader Zhao Chengming:

"Please rest assured, Comrade Section Leader, those are just a flock of birds. Because they are packed too tightly together, they appear as a dense, unified mass. They will disperse shortly, so there is no need to worry at all, Comrade Section Leader."

However, after taking another look, Zhao Chengming remained somewhat concerned and asked:

"Won't those birds cause any trouble? Is there any way to disperse them?"

The navigator replied:

"Comrade Section Leader can rest easy. Their flight altitude is well below the flight path. Everything on the route is currently completely safe."

After watching for a moment, Zhao Chengming instructed:

"Regardless, keep monitoring. If any unexpected situation arises, measures must be taken immediately."

The navigator promptly responded:

"Understood, Comrade Section Leader."

Soon, the screen displayed that Zhang Desen's spacecraft had begun entering the atmosphere, gradually approaching the plasma sheath blackout zone. As the spacecraft drew closer to this zone, the signal began to fade and eventually disappeared.

Zhao Chengming turned to the navigator and asked:

"There shouldn't be any unexpected accidents inside the plasma sheath, should there?"

The navigator thought for a moment and said:

"Given Captain Zhang Desen's capabilities, no difficulty can actually pose a threat to him. So please rest assured, Comrade Section Leader. Besides, the Captain has traveled back and forth between Earth and space numerous times, so his experience is exceptionally rich."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chengming nodded:

"Very well, continue the observation."

However, what they did not anticipate was that General Feng Yucai, waiting outside, was anxiously searching for someone. He soon approached a soldier of the United Retinue Guard and asked:

"Have you seen my daughter?"

The retinue soldier replied:

"I am sorry, General Feng. I have not seen your daughter."

Upon hearing this, General Feng Yucai could only mutter:

"Ah, I see. Where on earth could she have gone? Sigh, I suppose I have simply spoiled her too much."

Following this, General Feng Yucai asked around everywhere, but the reply was invariably the same: no one had seen her.

Yet, even as General Feng Yucai was frantically searching for his daughter, inside the Liu Family Firm's Helizhou Branch cargo yard at the Helizhou Airport, soldiers of the United Retinue Guard had already lined up in formation, awaiting the landing of Zhang Desen's spacecraft. Meanwhile, the "Craters" spacecraft, parked on the edge of the airfield, had all of its surveillance systems fully activated.

Suddenly, a soldier of the United Retinue Guard on the field shouted:

"Halt! Who goes there? Stop right now, or we will open fire!"

Hearing this, the other United Retinue Guard soldiers swiftly raised their Hanyang-style rifles and aimed at the intruder. The person who had become their target immediately called out:

"Oh, I am just here to move some cargo."

It must be said that the intruder's voice was rather shrill and didn't sound at all like a man's voice. It sounded somewhat strange.

However, this was hardly the time to ponder such details. A company commander of the United Retinue Guard stepped forward and said:

"Comrade, do you not know the rules here? You are definitely not one of us. If you were, you would know that unauthorized entry is strictly prohibited under any circumstances. Since you have now laid eyes on secrets belonging here, you must submit to an investigation. Enough nonsense! Put your hands behind your head and squat down—now!"

Yet the target stubbornly retorted:

"Hmph, you are bullying me! Why do you have so many secrets? Look at my sword..."

With that, the target abruptly drew her matching sword and attempted to resist. Without hesitation, the United Retinue Guard company commander fired a shot with a modified Mauser C96 pistol produced by the United Industrial Park, instantly shattering the sword in her hand. The company commander then shouted furiously:

"Put your hands behind your head and squat down immediately, or the next bullet goes straight through your head! Move, now!!!"

To everyone's surprise, the target burst into tears. Although she complied by putting her hands behind her head and squatting down, she wailed loudly:

"You are all bullying me! We clearly came here with good intentions to help, but you pushed us aside. And now you're forcing me like this, you're all a bunch of bullies! Waaah!!!"

The United Retinue Guard company commander immediately fired another warning shot to her left and roared angrily:

"If you have the nerve to trespass, don't put on an act! Keep your hands behind your head and stay quiet instantly, or we won't ask any questions and will take you down right here. Hurry up, behave yourself!!!"

Startled, the intruder finally stopped crying aloud, though her face remained streaked with tears.

What they did not know, however, was that just as the United Retinue Guard company commander fired his weapon, General Feng Yucai, waiting outside, heard the gunshot as well. At that exact moment, Zhou Yongli, the returning commander of the United Retinue Guard's Third Special Operations Section, was arriving with his men to enter the gate. Seizing the opportunity, General Feng Yucai immediately stepped forward and asked:

"By the way, what was that gunfire inside just now?"

Recognizing General Feng Yucai, Zhou Yongli had no choice but to answer:

"I am sorry, General Feng, I have just returned myself and was about to go inside to find out what happened. I suspect some intruder must have broken into a restricted area, and our comrades inside are dealing with it."

Upon hearing this, a sudden realization struck General Feng Yucai. Overcome with dread, he let out a heavy sigh and said:

"It's Ling'er. It must be that troublesome girl Ling'er who broke in. Oh, it's all my fault for spoiling her so much."

Hearing this, Zhou Yongli was startled and said anxiously:

"General Feng, if that is truly the case, then Miss Feng must have wandered into somewhere she shouldn't have and seen things she ought not to see. I can only say—"

General Feng Yucai hastily interrupted Zhou Yongli:

"My good young man, please, take me inside. That girl is far too willful and obstinate, and it is entirely my fault for spoiling her. Whatever trouble she has caused, I will make amends to you all. I only ask that you take me in to fetch her immediately, and I will personally come to apologize formally in the future!"

Zhou Yongli replied:

"General Feng, if Miss Feng really is inside and has triggered the gunfire of a Mauser pistol, she must have witnessed—"

General Feng Yucai immediately cut him off:

"No matter what trouble she has stirred up, I will apologize to you on her behalf. Furthermore, ever since the moniker 'Hero in Strange Garb' first appeared, I have always deeply admired Zhang Desen. Even if he harbors secrets now, I am certain they cannot be heinous ones. Take me inside right now; I will guard whatever secrets there are and give you my personal guarantee."

Zhou Yongli pondered for a moment before saying:

"General Feng, this is of the utmost importance..."

However, General Feng Yucai insisted:

"If all else fails, for the sake of my daughter, I will have no choice but to lead my troops inside. My daughter harbors no malice whatsoever..."

Seeing how resolute General Feng Yucai was, Zhou Yongli had little choice but to concede:

"Very well, General. I believe that you are a man of your word. However, I must remind you: because too many secrets are involved, these matters can only be known by you and your daughter. Since our Captain already knows that you were communicating with him via communicator while standing next to Section Leader Zhao, it proves he trusts you. Therefore, General Feng Yucai, only you alone may enter..."

Not waiting for him to finish, General Feng Yucai urged:

"Yes, yes, yes, just let me in!"

When Zhou Yongli led General Feng Yucai to the airport grounds, they arrived just in time to see the United Retinue Guard preparing to apprehend the intruder. General Feng Yucai immediately shouted:

"Stop!"

Stepping forward, General Feng Yucai helped the intruder up. A glance confirmed it was indeed Feng Ling'er in disguise. Aggrieved, Feng Ling'er threw herself into her father's arms and burst into loud sobs.

Seeing this scene, the company commander turned to ask Zhou Yongli for instructions, but Zhou Yongli immediately waved his hand to cut him off and ordered:

"Prepare to welcome the Captain's return, now—hurry!"

Hearing this, the company commander quickly assigned five soldiers to watch over General Feng Yucai and his daughter, while the remaining personnel swiftly resumed their welcoming formation.

Soon, a bright flash of light appeared in the northern sky. Growing brighter and closer by the second, its true form finally became clear. It was none other than the spacecraft piloted by Zhang Desen, descending toward the airfield for landing.

Once the spacecraft landed safely, Zhang Desen and Li Longfang rested for a brief moment before stepping out of the vessel. After listening to Zhou Yongli and the others describe the sequence of events, Zhang Desen walked directly over to General Feng Yucai and his daughter and said:

"General Feng, I originally intended to share certain secrets with you in due time. But don't you think you were a bit too impatient?"

Feng Yucai quickly offered his explanation:

"I apologize to you on behalf of my daughter. I trust that your secrets are by no means malicious or wicked. Therefore, you can rest assured that I will never breathe a word of it to anyone."

Without wasting any more words, Zhang Desen asked directly:

"General Feng, have you ever heard of the geocentric model?"

First, the Earth is located at the center of the universe and remains stationary. Second, every planet moves at a uniform speed in a small circular orbit called an "epicycle," the center of which moves at a uniform speed around the Earth along a larger circular orbit called the "deferent"; however, the Earth is not situated at the exact center of the deferent, but is offset by a certain distance. Third, the epicycle centers of Mercury and Venus lie on the line connecting the Earth and the Sun, completing one revolution on the deferent per year, while the straight lines connecting Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn to the centers of their respective epicycles are always parallel to the Earth-Sun line, with these three planets revolving around their epicycle centers once a year. Fourth, all stars are embedded in a solid celestial shell known as the "firmament." In addition to the aforementioned motions, the Sun, Moon, and planets, together with the "firmament," rotate around the Earth once every day, causing all celestial bodies to rise in the east and set in the west daily.

This itself is an utterly erroneous theory, one that is entirely unrecognized by the modern scientific community and has long since been discarded. Therefore, it is false.