Chapter Eighty-Eight: Arrival at Tycho Crater

At that moment, he said to Longfang Li:

"Longfang, a solar flare has erupted."

Longfang Li said in astonishment:

"A solar flare?"

No wonder he was surprised. Earlier, on the far side of the Moon, Zha Dewsen had also explained to him what a solar flare was.

A solar flare is the most violent kind of eruption that can occur in a localized region of the Sun's atmosphere. In a very short time, it releases enormous energy, causing sudden heating in that region and emitting every kind of electromagnetic radiation, accompanied by a sudden surge in particle radiation.

Its danger lies in the fact that, when it erupts, it throws out vast numbers of high-energy particles and tremendous radiation. When those particles reach the vicinity of Earth's orbit, they pose a serious threat to the safety of astronauts and instruments aboard spacecraft.

When the flare's radiation draws near Earth, its violent collisions with atmospheric molecules can destroy the ionosphere, making it unable to reflect radio waves. Television and radio broadcasts that rely on shortwave communication will be disrupted, even severed; the stream of high-energy charged particles emitted by the flare, interacting with the upper atmosphere, can also produce auroras and interfere with Earth's magnetic field, triggering magnetic storms.

Beyond that, solar flares also affect weather, hydrology, and other fields in varying degrees.

At this time, Zha Dewsen said:

"In short, it will destroy the electronic systems on our ship. Of course, it will do the same to all of them. I only hope this flare is not the kind that can drag modern civilization all the way back to the Stone Age."

Longfang Li asked:

"What do we do now?"

Then, once again, that mysterious signal came through, and it said:

"Fellow humans, come quickly to Tycho Crater Base. The base's main entrance is in a cave in the central mountain range of Tycho Crater."

After hearing this, Zha Dewsen said:

"Stick to the original plan. Take advantage of the chaos and fly to Tycho Crater's central mountain range. As long as we can hide in some cave, and with this side facing away from the Sun, we should be able to survive this disaster. By then, all the ships of the Terrans and the Atlanteans will lose function for at least a while, and then we can seize the chance to return to Earth."

"Good, excellent!"

Of course, the Terran and Atlantean combat units were also in utter disarray. The key was that this solar flare had arrived far too suddenly, catching everyone off guard. All the ships were racing against time; space fighters had no time to return to their motherships and were instead hurtling straight toward Earth.

Their judgment was not without reason. Their ships were fast. If they could land on Earth, then even if their instruments and equipment were completely wrecked, there would still be hope of survival. But in space, if rescue did not come in time, they could face situations such as oxygen supply being cut off.

So they all swarmed desperately toward Earth, trying to get back inside the atmosphere before the flare reached its peak. Naturally, many traffic accidents occurred as well, but no one had the leisure to bother with such trivial matters.

Zha Dewsen was racing against time too. Taking advantage of the confusion, he finally found an opening and rushed to Tycho Crater, the crater on the Moon with the strongest reflected light. He quickly flew to the central mountain range and began searching for a cave around it. At last, he was not disappointed: on the western side at the foot of the central peak, he found a huge cavern.

Without looking carefully, Zha Dewsen simply flew the ship straight inside.

...

Meanwhile, in the Terran seaside base, Yuri Gottner, the supreme leader of the Orlmed Empire of the Terrans, had already finished making arrangements for the relocation of the base. Looking at Gase Olli before him, he asked:

"How long will this solar flare last?"

Gase Olli replied:

"Not long. Its effects will not last beyond tomorrow at most. On the contrary, it has temporarily halted our fighting with Atlantis, and we can fully proceed according to the original plan to launch an attack on the Ge Kuer base."

Yuri Gottner said:

"And can the safety of our brothers in space who failed to return to Earth in time be guaranteed?"

Gase Olli said:

"Rest assured, my lord. I have already made the arrangements. At the very least, most of them can be rescued safely. Leave this to me; there will be absolutely no problem."

Yuri Gottner asked:

"Will the underground base be affected?"

Gase Olli replied:

"No."

Yuri Gottner said:

"Then once this solar flare is over, I will personally lead the assault to destroy the Ge Kuer base according to the original plan. You will be responsible for rescue and aftercare. We must restore their combat capability as quickly as possible. The Atlanteans seem to have already planned to attack surface civilization again. We must ensure that we have enough troops to meet the challenge. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

After speaking, Yuri Gottner fell into contemplation. Although he had arranged everything, all that remained was to wait for the solar flare's effects to subside before beginning the attack on the Ge Kuer base and cutting out the internal chaos. He only hoped that nothing unexpected would happen.

...

At the same time, in the command room of the Ge Kuer base, Goba Xiaofu listened to his adjutant More Ross's report on the latest situation at the Mountain Base and elsewhere, and was utterly shocked. He had never expected the situation to develop to this extent, and so he asked:

"Adjutant, will this solar flare cripple our base?"

More Ross replied:

"Report, sir. Although our base is not yet fully completed, I believe we must move all high-tech instruments and equipment underground as quickly as possible in order to maximize their safety and keep them from being affected by the solar flare."

Goba Xiaofu said:

"You are right..."

More Ross said:

"I have already sent people to handle it. My apologies for not reporting to you in advance."

Goba Xiaofu said:

"It is fine. You handled it very well. By the way, go check whether Dadu Kuuer escaped before the Mountain Base was destroyed, and make preparations to receive him."

However, More Ross said:

"Sir, according to intelligence from our mole in the seaside base, Dadu Kuuer was first captured by that alien, and then handed over by that alien to Yuri Gottner."

Goba Xiaofu said in astonishment:

"What? That alien actually took the initiative to hand over a prisoner to Yuri Gottner?"

More Ross said:

"Yes. It is said the handover took place within the Mountain Base itself."

Goba Xiaofu roared furiously:

"Yuri Gottner, you bastard!"

More Ross then added:

"Sir, reports now indicate that the Atlanteans have once again left the sea. Should we continue producing the doomsday weapon?"

In fact, after learning that the Atlanteans had launched another attack on land civilization, More Ross had some doubts about the doomsday weapon's production. Since such a weapon would have little impact beneath the sea, doing this would ultimately only let the Atlanteans reap the benefit. Still, Goba Xiaofu said:

"Produce it, of course we must produce it, otherwise where would we get the leverage? If it were not for that alien, would we have come to this point? Perhaps this entire affair was planned jointly by Yuri Gottner and that alien. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that both that alien and Yuri Gottner appeared in the Mountain Base at the same time? They are colluding with outsiders, plotting to harm their own people. I will expose him."

More Ross asked:

"Should we send someone now to investigate what has become of Dadu Kuuer?"

Goba Xiaofu said:

"Yes. He is my friend just as you are. I must find a way to save him."

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, in the cave in Tycho Crater on the Moon, after Zha Dewsen flew inside, he had intended to continue straight to the deepest part of the cave. But suddenly, he came to a hover in midair and no longer flew deeper in, which left Longfang Li, at the rear turret, somewhat puzzled. He could not help asking:

"Dewsen, why have we stopped hovering?"

Zha Dewsen answered somewhat jokingly:

"We may have arrived at the Moon Palace, Comrade Longfang Li. What a historic discovery!"

Longfang Li said in surprise:

"What?"

Zha Dewsen said:

"I am only joking. Use the monitor beside you to connect to the camera up front and have a look."

"All right."

Longfang Li opened the monitor and linked it to the camera at the front of the ship. At a glance, he was startled and said, somewhat unbelievingly:

"Dewsen, this huge iron gate is..."

Zha Dewsen thought for a moment, then said to him:

"Longfang, do you still remember the intelligence we obtained earlier from the Terrans' satellite?"

Longfang Li asked:

"Which one do you mean?"

Zha Dewsen said:

"That the humans of the super-ancient era once left behind some advanced technology, so that later generations of humankind might retain a spark of hope and rise again."

Longfang Li suddenly understood and said:

"Oh, yes. But the Terrans have never been able to find those things. They have always regarded them as legends."

Zha Dewsen said:

"Yes. But I think we may have stumbled upon them by accident."

Longfang Li suddenly said excitedly:

"What? You mean..."

"Yes!"

Some things need no further words.

Of course, since this was only a guess, Zha Dewsen and the others first landed the ship and began making preparations so they could investigate the mysterious base before them.

Meanwhile, on Earth, after reaching an agreement with the Terrans, Councilor Qian seemed unable to decide whom he should trust, and he felt restless and uneasy.

For now, the Terrans had given him his first task: to help them gather grain and other resources, which they would send a ship to collect.

For Qian, this was a mutually beneficial deal, so he wanted to perform well. Besides, the price the Terrans offered was rather good, and he did not wish to lose such gains for nothing.

At this moment, he summoned one of his allies, Wang Yong of the Revenue Office. As soon as Wang Yong arrived at the councilor's residence, he came to pay his respects and bowed:

"This student, Wang Yong, pays his respects to Your Lordship."

Seeing him, Qian was very pleased after all; Wang Yong was one of his prized pupils, and so he said:

"No need for formalities. Rise."

Then Qian explained the matter to him. But he did not reveal everything, because there were some things he did not yet want to expose, including plans to support the crown prince, with whom he was on good terms, so that the prince might ascend the throne early. He only said that there was a business deal requiring a large quantity of grain, fodder, and other supplies, and that help would be needed, with handsome returns in compensation.

After hearing this, Wang Yong immediately said:

"Your Lordship, this is no difficult matter. Right now, the Liao State is advancing south, and the countries along its border, such as Dangxia, Haijin, and Luge, are all at a life-or-death crossroads. If any of these states falls, Liao will inevitably invade our country from the south. Therefore, the court is stockpiling grain and supplies on a massive scale in preparation for war. I can certainly help Your Lordship divert a portion of it. If that does not suffice, we can simply, in the name of the court, have Elder Liu from the Liu Trading Company lend a hand. That would surely double the effect with half the effort. The only concern is Li Youfu in the Ministry of Revenue, who is a disciple of Prime Minister Zhang. I fear he may make trouble."

Qian said:

"Do not worry. Go ahead and do it with confidence. If Li Youfu suspects you and gives you trouble, just say that you are helping a country capable of aiding us in resisting Liao's southern invasion and that it needs grain and supplies. If he causes a scene, I will handle it myself. You need not worry."

Wang Yong said:

"Yes, Your Lordship. I shall go and make the arrangements at once."

Qian said:

"Good. Go."