Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 281: The Long March of Us 280

Some camp among the cherry blossoms when they are in full bloom.

Some taste tea and hold hands when fireworks burst in the air.

Some chew on ham sausages while staring at the rocket launch tower.

And when they chew on ham sausages, they discuss strange things.

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing sat side by side on the trunk, discussing the few metal frames on the sides of the rocket body.

"Hey, there are a few racks plugged into the rocket body there, what are they for?"

"Seems like there’s white smoke coming out, could it be circulating cooling liquid?"

"Or injecting fuel? Isn’t the fuel itself liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen? Since it needs to be kept below -253°C, wouldn’t it be more efficient to inject it just before launch?"

"I don’t know about that..."

Li Zheng snickered and said, "Can you not handle it? Just this?"

"I can only look up information online," Lin Yujing bit off another piece of her ham sausage resentfully, "My mom doesn’t tell me anything..."

"Ha, my dad never hides any of his knife work," boasted Li Zheng as he made slicing motions with his hand. "Fast, accurate, and steady, that’s the essence of our Li family swordsmanship."

Lin Yujing stiffened, then sighed lightly and said, "Scum Chap, you don’t have to make conversation like this."

Li Zheng gave an awkward laugh, "I’m just trying to keep you from getting nervous, you don’t look so good."

"My mom is probably more nervous than I am…" Lin Yujing turned to put down her food and leaned against the edge of the trunk, "It’s okay, Scum Chap, let’s just wait quietly."

Li Zheng then turned around and pulled out his game console: "We’re waiting anyway, fancy a round of racing?"

"No thanks, you play."

"..." With a sigh, Li Zheng put away the game console and took out his math problems, "Then I’ll study."

After quietly waiting (and studying) for over half an hour, there suddenly came a broadcast from the launch center.

Due to the echo, it was unclear what was being said, but one could assume they were confirming the launch and starting the countdown, asking everyone on-site to leave.

Lin Yujing stood up abruptly.

Li Zheng also put down his math problems and turned on his phone to open the live stream link.

The live stream was split into two screens, the left showed a wide shot of the launch tower, and the right showed the busy scene of the engineers at the launch center.

There were no news narrations in the entire live stream, only a subtitle that read[Live: Yellow River-2B Launch Imminent].

This atmosphere undoubtedly added a bit more tension.

As for Lin Yujing, she stared at the rocket body, seemingly unable to speak smoothly anymore.

"I... I’m scared..."

As she spoke, she unconsciously leaned towards Li Zheng.

Seeing her move closer, Li Zheng quickly turned and pulled out his game console again: "Then shouldn’t you play a round of racing?"

Lin Yujing’s approach came to an abrupt halt, and she turned to fiercely grab her backpack to hold it in her arms, staring at the launch tower without speaking.

Soon after, another broadcast came from the launch center, still unintelligible.

But for the first time, a sound came through the live stream—

[Attention all units, 3 minutes, get ready!]

At that moment, Li Zheng’s heart leaped.

Lin Yujing gave a short cry and immediately grabbed Li Zheng’s arm.

"So soon..." Li Zheng swallowed hard, his own hand resting on Lin Yujing’s hand, "It’s okay, it’s okay, this is a moment of greatness."

As he spoke, clouds of white smoke suddenly billowed from the connections between the metal frames and the rocket, then dispersed left and right.

It was as if a mother had opened her arms to embrace her child.

"Scared..." Lin Yujing leaned even closer to Li Zheng’s side.

Feeling her soft arm, Li Zheng’s scalp tingled.

It was as if his Governor and Conception vessels had been opened instantaneously.

From a proper sitting posture, his right hand, which was resting on his thigh, inexplicably lifted, and with much determination, finally timidly reached around from behind Lin Yujing to rest on her right shoulder.

He could feel Lin Yujing shudder, but she didn’t resist. Instead, she leaned even more heavily against his shoulder.

Naturally, Li Zheng embraced her.

Neither of them looked at the other, nor did they speak again.

In their eyes, there was only the Yellow River-2 in front of them.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the phone’s live stream sounded again.

[40 seconds!]

They hugged each other a bit tighter.

[30 seconds!]

Li Zheng felt his thigh being pinched hard.

[20 seconds!]

Now his waist was getting pinched!

[10!]

[9!]

[8!]

Li Zheng’s own hand also unconsciously grew tighter and tighter.

[7!]

[6!]

[5!]

Hold your breath!

[4!]

[3!]

[2!]

[1!]

[Ignition!]

At that command, a thin red line lit up beneath the rocket.

Then, the red line suddenly exploded, like a small sun bursting forth into existence.

The roar arrived then, and the faces of the two were lit up with fiery red from the fierce flames.

In another instant, the small sun suddenly burst into a blinding light, quickly becoming a large sun.

In that blinding light, the Yellow River-2 rose into the sky.

In the earth-shaking tremor, the rocket’s four takeoff boosters spewed forth four enormous flames several stories high. Like four wild flame tails, they burned furiously at all costs, pushing the rocket to soar into the heavens with a primitive force.

Witnessing the scene up close, the ascent speed of Yellow 2 completely defied human intuition; it seemed like a sun had been suddenly flung by a giant, turning the entire bay as bright as day.

But because its speed was so fast, the daylight lasted only briefly. Within a few short seconds, it had climbed into the sky, glorious as the midday sun.

It was only by then that the roaring in their ears began to lessen, but new tremors came from the ground.

This time, it was a vibration brought by humankind.

Li Zheng clearly heard cheers from different viewing points nearby.

He then came to his senses and turned to look at the person in his arms.

Lin Yujing was still staring intently at the rocket, her eyes brimming with tears, trembling non-stop.

"It’s okay, it’s a success," Li Zheng nodded vigorously, "Awesome."

"Wait a bit longer... wait a bit longer..." Lin Yujing tightened her grip on Li Zheng’s hand, "Until it’s in orbit, and the star separates from the rocket, only then is it a success."

Before she finished speaking, the rocket’s nose began to tip towards the east, and its angle of ascent gradually decreased, shifting from a vertical climb to flying tangent to the Earth’s surface.

Visually, the perceptible effect was that the sun had begun to slant.

The physical sensation was…

Being pinched on the thigh again.

"Don’t worry, it’s a normal trajectory adjustment," Li Zheng explained, even though he didn’t understand jack shit, "In order to reach the first cosmic speed and smoothly ascend to an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, rockets all take off on this kind of trajectory."

"But... but..." Lin Yujing shook Li Zheng’s chest vigorously, "I have this feeling... it’s going down..."

Li Zheng certainly felt it too.

Compared to the initial sun-like glow, the tail flame’s color had turned to fiery red by now, and didn’t have the original feeling of four rigid fire trees burning wildly; instead, they merged into a large mass, like an aging star.

"That’s probably because of the distance, atmospheric scattering, and cloud cover..." Li Zheng explained stiffly, "As for the descending illusion, that’s just that, an illusion. Don’t you see the sun also rises in the east and sets in the west? Earth is round, it’s only accelerating towards the horizon from our perspective, that’s why it feels like it’s falling."

As Li Zheng spoke, he picked up his phone. The live broadcast was still ongoing, still without any commentary.

The left screen showed the long-focus camera footage of the rocket – indeed giving the impression of a sun setting.

The right screen displayed the launch center scene, where engineers were still dedicated to their duties, no different from before.

"It’s fine, it’s normal," Li Zheng said, holding up his phone, "Look, the big shots haven’t moved a muscle, it’s all part of the plan."

However, at that moment, the live broadcast suddenly switched to the news studio.

The male news anchor spoke with the same steadiness as he would on a regular program.

"Next, let’s look at a group of international news briefs."

The screen instantly changed to the United Nations Headquarters.

"The United Nations Refugee Agency recently stated..."

At that moment, Li Zheng’s heart seemed to stop.

He abruptly stood up, staring at that red dot, which was nearly impossible to see any longer.

Falling towards the horizon, visibly accelerating... accelerating... accelerating...

Suddenly.

Lin Yujing threw herself into his arms.

Buried in his chest, she quietly began to cry.

As if trying hard to let out a sound she just couldn’t cry out loud.

Li Zheng held her tightly, while still with reddened eyes, staring at Yellow 2, which was already disappearing like a shooting star.

At this moment, the live broadcast switched to another studio, with a different host taking over.

There was a noticeable movement as the host looked down to prepare, lifting his head after a one-second delay in switching the camera.

It was only then that Li Zheng realized that the previous news flash had been prerecorded.

"Hello, viewers."

"What you’re seeing now is the special coverage of the Yellow River-2B launch, brought to you by the news channel."

"Just 7 minutes ago."

"At 20:07 Jijing time."

"The Yellow River-2B rocket,"

"carrying the Jianxing-6,"

"was already ignited and took off from the Wenhai Space Launch Center."

"After a series of maneuvers,"

"254 seconds after takeoff,"

"which is 20:11 Jijing time."

"The second stage main engine of the rocket is suspected to have shut down."

"Now, let’s look back."

"20:07... um... the... that... the takeoff footage..."

Lin Yujing suddenly cried out with a "wow."

Li Zheng gently stroked her, still gazing at the distant, invisible horizon.

Strangely enough,

he didn’t feel like crying.

Instead, his body was filled with strength.

Perhaps it was because he had failed too many times before.

Even if he wanted to feel sorrowful, he couldn’t squeeze out a single tear.

All he could feel was strength.

The desire to strike back at failure.

Yet he had nowhere to vent this power.

...

The launch control center.

The live broadcast camera had already been turned off.

Including the "live" broadcast earlier, it was merely a loop of a standard status video.

The place was dead silent.

Only reports continued to loop every half minute.

"3117, tracking normal."

"Optical radar, normal."

"Telemetry, tracking normal."

Everyone was staring at the screens in front of them, devoid of any superfluous expression.

They were still mechanically carrying out their duties.

Even though they knew,

the endpoint of this journey was destined to be the Pacific Ocean.

Suddenly, a faint cry like a thin thread broke the silence in the hall.

A female engineer covered her mouth tightly with her left hand, while her right hand was still operating something on the computer.

She could only contain herself to keep the sadness from spreading.

Shen Tinglan, dressed in a grey short-sleeve work uniform like everyone else, after consulting with the man beside her, turned on the loudspeaker.

"Orbital team, take note, record and analyze the trajectory, start predicting the crash zone."

"Meteorological team, gather meteorological data for the potential area, and determine the salvage range as soon as possible."

"Accident analysis will be conducted later. Prioritize providing data for salvage operations."

Shen Tinglan’s usual style managed to stabilize the emotions of the technical staff, who each picked up their handsets to conduct the necessary post-event communication.

Half an hour later, the chief commander announced that the Yellow River-2B Carrier Rocket launch had failed.

August 8th was permanently etched into the depths of everyone’s soul.

Chen Wei, along with others, left the command center in a daze, silently making his way to the collaboration building.

Passing by the canteen, he saw that it was brightly lit but completely empty.

The tables were set with an abundant meal.

This was the extra meal prepared by the launch team for them, which was supposed to be a celebration feast...

Chen Wei’s face stiffened, and suddenly, he crouched on the ground, covering his face.

Tears slid through his fingers, yet he didn’t know what to say.

"Chen Wei," a brother from the launch team’s signal group sighed and bent down to pat him, "It’s just bad luck... Brother, really, it’s just bad luck..."

"It’s not... it’s not..." Chen Wei covered his face and desperately waved his hands, "There must be a problem with some part... I didn’t detect it... I fucking didn’t detect it... I fucking..."

Chen Wei pounded the ground hard with his fist, making a thudding sound.

In the midst of his grief and anger, a calm female voice came from behind.

"It’s not your turn to take responsibility; you don’t even have a professional title," Shen Tinglan waved the documents in her hand and slapped Chen Wei’s head hard, "Get up, we have a meeting."

...

21:30, the meeting room of the collaboration building.

All three parties’ leaders and all related personnel were in place.

The chief commander in the center didn’t say much but gently raised a sheet of white paper in his hand.

"This is a text message that the leaders sent just now."

"I’ll read it to everyone."

"As the dust settles, the grieving soldiers return."

"The remnant game is tough to manage, our mission unfulfilled."

"At times like this, many things don’t matter."

"Belief."

"I only want you to have belief."

"The belief in certain victory."

"No matter how extreme the adversity, it cannot break down a team with belief."

"Your ancestors, your martyrs, they solidified a great history with their belief."

"Now, it’s your turn."

The chief commander said this and slammed the paper down, raising his arm and bellowing out.

"Comrades."

"Our Long March."

"Has just begun!"

"Before the next launch succeeds."

"Whoever fucking sheds another tear."

"Can fucking roll out of here!"

"Now tell me."

"Do you have the determination to achieve a Reset!!"

Instantaneously.

The roar of the grief-stricken soldiers echoed throughout the room.

"Yes!!!!"

A few kilometers away.

Lin Yujing had already dried her tears in Li Zheng’s embrace.

The two of them sat silently on the ground, nestled together, looking toward the Pacific Ocean that was completely out of sight.

Li Zheng looked down at his sticky chest and then handed a piece of paper to Lin Yujing.

Pfft!

Lin Yujing blew out a huge glob of snot.

She crumpled the tissue into a ball and stuffed it back into Li Zheng’s chest, sighing softly, "Mom can’t come home again..."

"It’s the engine," Li Zheng didn’t talk about that, just stared into the distance, "Something about the engine, or perhaps several parts of it, with such big strides in progress and fully adopting new technologies, the foundation is ultimately too weak."

"Ah..."

Facing this unsolvable problem, Lin Yujing could only sigh as well.

But Li Zheng asked, "Didn’t Chen Wei say that even with Aunt Shen’s connections, we couldn’t possibly get an internship there?"

"That’s probably true..." Lin Yujing sighed blankly, "Stop thinking about such unrealistic things..."

"No, it’s quite realistic." Li Zheng quietly took out his phone, "Do you know why my dad is so deferential to my mom?"

"???"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Before Lin Yujing could react, Li Zheng had already dialed a number.

"Mom."

"Living this long, suddenly I have something to ask you."

"Which department are you in at the ministry again?"

"... Resources Allocation and Management Department."

"Good, then it’s easy to handle."