Chapter 423 - 418: Venus 1

Chapter 423: Chapter 418: Venus 1

Being on a military base, there were naturally plenty of soldiers watching from a distance. Although it was hard to see the details of the Evolvers’ duel—their speeds were simply too fast for the naked eye—it was still an absolutely stunning sight.

They weren’t strangers to Evolvers; there were even Evolver soldiers who collaborated with them on military operations. But none had ever been as impressive as what they saw today.

Ice, fire, sound, and even localized mutation Abilities, coupled with Major General Huang’s overwhelming, boss-level suppressive power, gave the soldiers a relatively up-close experience of just how powerful Evolvers could be.

Unlike the soldiers who were just watching the spectacle, the other Evolvers were truly and utterly convinced.

Huang Jiutian’s title as Hua Country’s number one Evolver was well-deserved. If he were ranked on a global scale, no one would dare claim to be number one if he claimed to be number two.

Of course, that was excluding the Dawn Association.

In reality, the major world powers had all basically excluded the Dawn Association from their comparisons.

...

Efficiency was the name of the game these days, and for Hua Country, which was already a front-runner in the aerospace field, this meant their efficiency was now astonishingly high.

Over the next three days, the other member nations of the World Alliance also sent their own specialists to the site.

Regardless of the situation in their own countries, they couldn’t afford to be left behind. Some of the smaller nations just wanted to follow the lead of the major powers. The important thing was to participate; at the very least, they could become a familiar face, which might help if they wanted to share in the technology later on.

Through a completed military fiber-optic cable connection, various parties in the Capital, as well as key agencies and military zones across the country, were all watching, anticipating the upcoming launch.

「May 12th, early morning.」

In the assembly warehouse, staff were bustling about.

"Check the control components! Check the circuit status! Reconfirm the battery levels and the functionality of the solar panels one more time!"

The Commander-in-Chief was personally overseeing the site, questioning every single step. His hard hat covered a shiny, bald head.

"Old Liu, have the functional component fixtures been checked? What about the connection mechanism parts..."

"Checked. The instruments are all fine. As for the connection mechanism, there was a minor issue with the fairing settings, but it’s been resolved. The other separation rings are all operating smoothly, and the mutual supply function has been enabled."

"Excellent. Go supervise the stage-by-stage inspection now!"

"Right!"

Old Liu, his salt-and-pepper hair peeking out from under his hard hat, replied before returning to his post.

With Evolvers also taking part, the work progressed rather quickly.

At 10:00 AM, the check on the carrier rocket’s center of mass and center of thrust was complete.

At 1:00 PM, the action team was finalized, simplifying in-mission operations and confirming the one-touch solar panel deployment and one-touch engine switch.

At 5:00 PM, the overall structural reinforcement and the installation of the launch mount were complete.

By nightfall, the massive carrier rocket, along with the experimental Venus 1 satellite inside it, had been erected on the mobile launch platform.

Even late into the night, many technicians didn’t rest. They performed whatever checks they could, only heading back to sleep in the dead of night to ensure they were full of energy for the next day’s work.

「May 13th, 6:00 AM.」

"CLANK... CLANK... CLANK... WHIRRR... RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE..."

Amidst the mechanical sounds, the doors of the launch platform’s hangar slowly opened.

The colossal launch platform began to move slowly outward, its load-bearing wheels turning as a large number of technicians followed along, escorting the star of the show toward the launchpad.

A short while later, the launch platform was secured in position, signaling that the launch had entered its final preparation stage.

Around 7:30 AM, the Commander-in-Chief arrived at the launch command center, where all staff members had already taken their positions.

The experts and observers from various countries had all arrived as well.

At that moment, the Capital began receiving the live feed via the fiber-optic cable. The Special Security Team Headquarters and various government agencies were all tuning in to the impending launch in their own ways.

Despite the bustle on site, when Huang Jiutian appeared leading a tall, radiant figure, everyone present turned to look.

A robe of soft light, a face of dim light, and a pair of dazzling, nebular eyes that trailed long, thin streams of light.

The newcomer’s identity was obvious: it was Holy Spirit Shadow, here to observe on behalf of Dawn, and indeed the most suitable observer for the task.

As one of the most famous Dawn Guardians, Holy Spirit was known to all.

This wasn’t a social occasion, so a simple nod of acknowledgment between them was sufficient. They then stood together at the back, watching the busy activity in the command hall.

"Major General Huang, for me, it would be more suitable to watch from outside."

Holy Spirit had only come in to show his face out of politeness. With his incredible Visual Sense, looking directly at the sky outside was better than watching a screen.

"Of course. I’ll accompany you to the observation deck."

After a brief word of explanation to those around them, Jiutian led Holy Spirit out of the hall. They went up the emergency stairs and soon reached the observation deck.

The two of them gazed at the launch platform in the distance, now in position, the carrier rocket fixed upon it and pointing toward the sky.

"Shadow, the depth of contact is constantly increasing. Based on the Association’s observations, when will we reach the next stage?"

With no outsiders present, Jiutian’s conversation with Holy Spirit became much more casual.

"Maybe a dozen days or so..."

Jiutian was startled. He looked up at Holy Spirit’s face and asked with a frown.

"Didn’t the last prediction say we had nearly a month? How has it been cut by almost half in just a few days?"

Holy Spirit’s hand emerged from the wide sleeve of his light-woven robe. He drew a line of light in the air, and patches of blurry, abstract, conceptual light and color manifested before them.

The light was split into two colors, one bright and one dim. The bright side was constantly shifting shape, exhibiting an erosive quality at the intersection of the two colors, tearing away at the large patch of dim light.

"As you can see, Master Jiutian, our Mother of the World is actively tearing open Kaslopa’s World Wall. This has paradoxically caused the outpouring of Kaslopa’s Power of the World to accelerate. Even the Master Sage is helpless to stop it."

"A dozen or so days is the Association’s estimate after factoring in the continued acceleration. Once this satellite launch is complete, the Association will likely inform the World Alliance of the new timeline."

Upon hearing this, Jiutian could only sigh helplessly.

’The major, well-prepared nations of the World Alliance will, at worst, just face a bit more pressure. But some of the world’s smaller countries... I’m afraid they’ll have a much harder time.’

’As far as he knew, Hua Country’s borders were already seeing large numbers of refugees from neighboring countries trying to cross over illegally every day, including even routed soldiers.’

’This put the border soldiers in a difficult position. Most of those people were sallow and emaciated, terrified, their hearts set on just two words: to survive.’

’With the constant threat of Otherworldly Demons appearing at any moment and the omnipresent danger of wild beasts in the forests, any group that managed to reach Hua Country’s border would have suffered casualties. In the worst cases, not even one in ten would make it.’

But the border wasn’t something you could just cross. Although military-supervised zones had been set up for the refugees nearby, it was impossible to get to the truly safe zones in Hua Country’s heartland unless you were of true Hua descent and could prove you had relatives there.

"Oh, right, Master Jiutian, there’s something else you may not know. A descendant of the Chakus Clan has awakened. The true Baron Lion Heart has returned!"

"Hilbert Chakus? He awakened his Magic Power on his own?"

"Yes. The power of the Chakus Clan’s bloodline is even stronger than we imagined."

Holy Spirit replied with genuine sincerity after a moment of recollection.

The topic allowed Jiutian to relax a little. Using his extraordinary eyesight, he could see new activity around the distant launch platform.

In the sky far away, fighter jets continuously streaked past.

A glance at the time showed it was approaching the 9:00 AM launch.

...

Launch Hall.

"SAS system stable. Ground reference frame, radial outward. All equipment functioning optimally. Weather conditions are good. Surrounding airspace has been cleared... All launch conditions are met!"

The staff below reported on the preparations.

Beneath his calm exterior, Commander-in-Chief Chen Hai couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

’All preparations were complete. He knew that countless eyes, including those in the central government, were fixed on this place right now.’

"Begin ignition countdown!"

"Expedition 1 Carrier Rocket ignition countdown: 10... 9... 8... 7... 3... 2... 1, ignition!"

On the launch platform, a BOOM RUMBLE RUMBLE... sound erupted.

Flames spewed from the base of the rocket. The water in the cooling pool below was instantly vaporized, and amidst the thick, billowing steam, the carrier rocket began its slow ascent.

Outside, Holy Spirit and Huang Jiutian tilted their heads up, following the rocket’s trajectory.

The latter clenched his fists, while the former’s gaze was fixed on the light emanating from the carrier rocket. As a combination of Magic Pattern Technique and Quantum Realm technology, the Venus 1 satellite not only emitted the faint glow of a Magic Pattern Technique but also carried a trace of the Master Sage’s Magic Power.

An unknown number of ultra-high-powered Radars across Hua Country were aimed in that direction, all to reduce the frequency and duration of observation interruptions amidst the interference. A few quantum Radars, which used photon imaging, were locked onto the carrier rocket.

Within a dozen or so minutes, the rocket’s stages separated one by one, until only the final satellite remained.

"Venus 1 has entered its designated orbit. Solar panels deployed successfully."

The command hall erupted in cheers in an instant. Even the foreign experts and observers were overjoyed.

Amid their celebrations, expert teams across the country were already beginning preparations for experiments with the new quantum satellite’s coherent state particle stream.

As the satellite activated, a new type of receiver prepared beforehand was also switched on. It and the satellite contained the same set of coherent particles. Through the combination of Magic Patterns and technology, the quantum signal remained highly stable, completely eliminating the risk of losing contact between the ground and the satellite.

For the first time, humanity received images from space transmitted via quantum information.

Jubilation!

Not just in the command hall, but in every location that received the news first—scientists and technicians, soldiers and politicians alike—everyone couldn’t help but celebrate in their own way, whether by pumping their fists, slamming their desks and leaping to their feet, or cheering wildly.

But less than ten minutes later, the unexpected happened. Venus 1 vanished from the "sight" of every Radar on the ground.

The ground research agencies and the launch center fell into a collective, stunned silence. Commander-in-Chief Chen Hai’s vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

’This wasn’t some launch accident in an era of peace!’

Thankfully, Lu Gang flashed to his side and held him steady.

"What about the signal? Is the quantum signal cut off?"

The technician frantically entered commands and found that all directives were still reaching the satellite.

"No! The signal isn’t broken! But Venus 1 has stalled! It’s falling fast! Its altitude is less than twenty thousand kilometers from the ground!!"

"The image data is coming through!!"

"This!! This is...!!!"

...

On the observation deck, the light in Holy Spirit’s nebula-like eyes suddenly flared. Magic Power erupted from his body, pushing Huang Jiutian, who was beside him, several meters away.

The streams of light trailing from the corners of his eyes expanded into bands more than ten meters long, his gaze shooting straight past Earth’s atmosphere!