Chapter 268 Countdown to Disaster
“…Recently, the unmanned probe spacecraft ‘Seeker 1’ carrying the yearning for the starry sky has successfully reached a position 21 billion kilometers away from us.”
“Although the nuclear power battery it carries can only work for another 42 years, it can still maintain contact with us during this time, continuously sending back the scenery in space!”
“I believe that although this is a small step for our country, it will be a giant leap for the world!”
"..."
"—beep!"
The TV that was still broadcasting the news was suddenly turned off, and this also caused dissatisfaction among the viewers.
"Dad, what are you doing! You put an end to one of your son's great developments, and that's something the whole world should celebrate!"
Although the spectators were so clamoring, seeing his father's gradually gloomy expression, he immediately ran back to his room without looking back.
I just heard him yelling "I remember I still have homework to do!" Then even when I heard the sound of the door being locked, I didn't know if I was really doing my homework inside.
And the father looked at his son's naughty appearance, and could only sigh helplessly. Then he turned his eyes to the newspaper on the table, and looked at the various news about "space exploration" on it, showing a serious expression.
He sat down at the table and began to flip through the newspaper page by page, frowning from time to time because of the various celebratory reports on it.
"It's very good at concealing information... Even after so long, haven't you revealed the slightest clue?"
This person seemed to know some inside information. After reading those newspapers, he got up directly, left a note of "make dinner by yourself", put on his coat and hurried out.
On the street, as always, there are people who are rushing off work, and there are also students returning home from school. Among the crowd of "going back", a retrograde like him seems a bit out of place.
But I saw him make a phone call, as if he was asking someone to meet, and then walked for a long time, and finally came to a hidden tavern.
Not long after he sat down, another person also wearing a coat hurried over here, and then sat directly in front of him.
"...Phew, teacher, you should know that the work I do is strictly confidential, and your identity is... quite special. For the sake of your students' future, can you stop looking for me in the future?"
This person is full of complaints as soon as he sits down, but from the words, it can be heard that they are actually very familiar.
The man called "teacher" didn't care about this person's tone, but said seriously:
"You shouldn't have come, but you still say it, which shows that my 'teacher' still has some weight in your heart."
"Of course, after all, you are a well-known 'scientist of alien civilization'-a planet-disgusting scholar. If you have something to ask, students must naturally come."
The man who hadn't used his name for a long time flashed a look of recalling the past when he was called out, but he quickly became firm again.
I saw him directly said: "Just chatting, I must have something important to discuss with you. Ever since the Institute of Astronomy dismissed me, I have been brooding over that discovery."
"But twenty years have passed, and I haven't seen any relevant reports, nor have I heard any information. I want to know, does the institute really pay attention to the discovery I mentioned?"
"...In fact, your discovery did attract the attention of the entire institute at the beginning. This incident even alarmed some big shots, and made the people in the institute work overtime for a long time..."
"But you also know that the transmission of information takes time, since the institute took the initiative to reply—"
"—What!?" The planet-disturbing scholar who heard this passage stood up suddenly, and his voice was even a little distorted because of the huge inconceivable.
"Before I left, didn't I repeatedly tell you not to reply to any messages, just to be a quiet listener?! Why should I reply to those 'alien civilization' messages?!"
Other people in the tavern all looked over because of the strange star scholar, which also made him realize that he was too excited and had to sit down again.
Before he could continue to ask, his student replied helplessly:
"This is the only clue to communicate with alien civilizations. Of course, it is impossible to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No matter how you say it, the first contact is necessary, which will affect our strategy..."
"Confused! Really confused!" The star-confusing scholar was full of grief, "How dare you assume that the other party must have come with good intentions? Our strength, our country, and our civilization are far from enough to deal with a space attack. !"
"...Teacher, calm down first, I know you think your 'dark forest' theory is correct, and I agree with your research, but you see, if the institute wants to get more funding, it must have enough Big discovery..."
The student persuaded the star-wielding scholar again, but the star-wielding scholar was already stamping on the spot in a hurry, and asked directly, regardless of the strange eyes of the people around him:
"When was your earliest response?"
"About 15 years ago? That's when you left, teacher..."
But I saw that the Huo Xing scholar rushed home after listening to the time, and didn't hear what the student said at all.
On the way, he was still thinking in his mind: "The string of alien signals from about five light-years away was discovered by me 20 years ago, but it took another five years for the Astronomical Institute to choose to respond..."
"If the information transmission time is also counted as five years, then the blow should have come as early as five years ago. Why didn't it? Is my theory wrong?"
"...No, no, it takes time to prepare weapons. The strike has not yet appeared, maybe I still have time..."
The Huo Xing scholar ran back home, but failed to notice that some of those who were supposed to be off work seemed to have received some urgent news, and ran back in a hurry. The target was the unique landmark in the distance—the astronomical observatory.
At this time, the people in the Astronomical Institute were in a mess, countless people were nervously calculating something, sweating all over their heads.
A staff member who had just been called back from get off work was a little confused when he saw the situation, so he quickly arrested one person and asked what was going on.
After hearing the reason, the staff member was also shocked into a cold sweat and joined the intense work.
Because he heard an incredible answer:
"The latest information sent back by 'Seeker 1' shows that a light beam full of huge energy is approaching, and the target is...our star!"
Also at this time, the "Seeker 1", which was advancing 21 billion kilometers away, was unfortunately hit by a thick beam of light, and disappeared in the light in an instant.
Disaster countdown: 19 hours.
(end of this chapter)