Mars, the main control room of the "Bird's Nest" base.

There is one hour left until "Helios" breaks through the critical time point.

The images captured by the astronomical telescope were projected onto a large screen in the main control room.

From the Bering Strait in the far east to the English Channel in the far west, from the edge of the Arctic Ocean to the islands at the Tropic of Capricorn, countless points of light across Eurasia form a magical painting of light.

The points of light on the European continent appear as a regular "circle".

"So beautiful!" Yui exclaimed, completely captivated by the magnificent scene. "This is the first time I've realized how beautiful our planet is from space!"

What do you think she resembles?

Zhang Fan had been staring at the painting of light for over an hour. He knew very well that humans were trying very hard to tell him something through this painting of light.

The painting contains a message, a message that a human desperately wants to tell him how to save humanity.

Zhang Fan knew what the painting was, but he didn't know what humans were trying to tell him; he hadn't yet been able to touch that "key."

"Like a beautiful fairy!" Yui said to Zhang Fan as she sat down next to him.

Zhang Fan had been staring intently at the painting all night, and Yui hadn't dared to make a sound to disturb him. Only now was she able to say a single word to Zhang Fan.

“Indeed, she is a beautiful fairy.” Zhang Fan smiled and said to Yui, “The fairy in the painting is a fairy from Chinese mythology named ‘Chang’e.’ The story of Chang’e flying to the moon is well-known in China.”

"Chang'e flying to the moon?" Yui grabbed Zhang Fan's arm, her eyes sparkling. "Fan-kun, can you tell me her story? I love listening to myths."

“Okay.” Zhang Fan smiled. “I’ll tell you a story.”

"In ancient times, there was a woman named Chang'e. She met a man under the laurel tree, and the two later became husband and wife."

"Chang'e's husband obtained a packet of elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West in Kunlun Mountain. It is said that consuming this elixir grants eternal life and immediate ascension to immortality."

"However, Chang'e's husband couldn't bear to leave his wife, so he entrusted the elixir of immortality to Chang'e for safekeeping. Later, Chang'e's husband led a group of people out hunting, and a man named Peng Meng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be sick and did not go out. Shortly after Chang'e's husband left, he broke into Chang'e's house with a sword and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir of immortality."

"Chang'e knew she was no match for Peng Meng, so in her moment of crisis she took out the elixir of immortality and swallowed it."

"After Chang'e swallowed the elixir of immortality, her body immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew into the sky."

"Because Chang'e missed her husband, she flew down to the moon, which is the closest place to the human world, and became a goddess."

"The story is over."

Yui's eyes sparkled, as if they were filled with little stars.

"And then what?"

"And then? That's it." Zhang Fan thought for a moment; the story of Pigsy after that wasn't pleasant, so he decided not to tell it...

"No, no," Yui shook Zhang Fan's hand and said, "I mean Chang'e's husband. He and his wife were in the sky and on the ground, what happened to him?"

"Him? That's another story."

"I want to hear it! I want to hear it!" Yui shook Zhang Fan's body like a rattle.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you." Zhang Fan couldn't persuade her any further and continued, "Chang'e's husband's name is 'Hou Yi'."

"Legend has it that in ancient times, there were ten suns in the sky, scorching the crops and causing widespread suffering. A hero named Hou Yi, with immense strength, took pity on the suffering people, drew his divine bow, and used his 'Sun-Setting Arrow' to shoot down nine... suns in one go?"

? ? ?

!!

Zhang Fan suddenly stood up from his seat, his heart pounding wildly.

The sun? The sun god?

The Sunset Arrow? It shot down the sun?

"Fan, Fan-kun? What's wrong?" Zhang Fan stood up without warning, startling Yui.

"Baby! You're so smart!" Zhang Fan cupped Yui's face and kissed her. "On behalf of all humanity, I thank you!"

"Ah—" Yui blushed.

Fan Jun has been acting really strange lately; he suddenly starts kissing people all the time.

And so what if you kissed? Why did you say you were kissing on behalf of all humanity?

This was the first time she had ever heard such a domineering, wild, and unreasonable excuse.

"Xiao Feng! Search the database for all data containing the keyword 'Chang'e'!"

Search complete. [Number of related results found.]

"Sort the search results by time and keep only the data from the most recent 10 years."

The sorting has been completed; there are [number] related records.

"Remove data that is not related to the military category."

'Related data has been removed; there are 1037 relevant records remaining.'

"Search for the keyword 'Sun God' and exclude redundant data."

'1036 redundant data items have been excluded. The remaining data item cannot be confirmed or excluded because specific information could not be retrieved.'

The last piece of data was displayed on the large screen in the main control room; the entire piece of data consisted of only four characters:

The Chang'e Project.

Zhang Fan stared blankly at the last piece of data. A lock icon preceded the data, indicating that it had undergone double encryption within the "Phoenix" database.

Is this what you wanted to tell me?

Zhang Fan looked at the light painting of "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" and clicked on the last piece of data.

89 boxes immediately popped up on the main screen.

? ? ?

An 89-bit password? Is that even possible?

Zhang Fan was dumbfounded.

"The password is calculated using the 'Silicon-based Two-Dimensional Sequence Combination Model'."

"The code has been incorporated into the model; the estimated time to decrypt it is 23 hours, 58 minutes, and 36 seconds..."

puff--

Zhang Fan felt like vomiting blood; there were still 23 hours left! He couldn't wait even an hour!

How do I crack this password?!

...

There are 20 minutes left until "Helios" breaks through the critical time point.

In an icy trench in Antarctica, a young soldier polished his bugle until it gleamed, polishing it over and over again.

The veterans around him were all watching and laughing. He was the youngest soldier among them, so the veterans liked to tease him and make him blow this ancient bugle call.

Because the bugler doesn't need to charge...

The soldier's tears kept dripping onto the metallic gleam of the work chant, which he wiped over and over again...

He knew, and he was absolutely certain, that when his call to arms was sounded, the red tide would engulf everything on the other side!

...

Qiongzhou Island, Wenchang Temporary Center.

"Teacher, there are only 20 minutes left. If we take into account the time delay on Mars, he only has a little over 5 minutes left. Can he really enter the password?" Xiao Yimin said, looking at the screen.

“It’s definitely possible!” Yang Jiandong also looked at the screen.

...

Mars, the main control room of the "Bird's Nest" base.

Zhang Fan looked at the hint next to the password box and smiled.

Asking the moon?

Everyone in China should know this, right? It's an 89-bit password.

"Xiaofeng, stop parsing and switch to voice input for the password."

"Waiting for voice input..."

When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the heavens. I wonder what year it is tonight in the celestial palace. I long to ride the wind and return, yet fear the jade towers and crystal palaces, where the cold is unbearable at such heights. Dancing with my shadow, how can it compare to being in the mortal world?

On the Lantern Festival, the whole world heard a beautifully melodious song...

The moon shines through the red pavilion, lowers its light through the embroidered window, illuminating my sleepless night. There should be no resentment, yet why is the moon always full when we are apart? People experience sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon waxes and wanes, and such things have always been imperfect. I only wish that we may all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even from afar.

"Password correct."

The project was codenamed "Project Chang'e".

The Republic of China's "Lunar Shield" system.

'Activated.'