As soon as the notification tone from the control panel ended, Chen Hao jumped up from his seat.
"Identity confirmed, what's the next step?" He stared at Nana.
Nana swiped her finger across the panel, bringing up a standard procedure checklist. "Final comprehensive pre-landing check, thirty-seven items in total, covering power, navigation, life support, and landing systems."
"Sounds like a physical exam." Chen Hao scratched his head. "The last physical exam was ten years ago. The doctor said I had fatty liver and suggested I drink less cola."
“You’re still getting two bottles a day.” Carl poked his head out of the equipment compartment.
"That's to keep you alert! Space travel relies on willpower, and cola is the fuel."
“Fuel is fuel, but if the landing gear is leaking oil, you can’t fly even if you drink Coke.” Carl had already put on his tool gloves and was walking towards the maintenance access. “I’m going to check the mechanical structure.”
Chen Hao sat back in the driver's seat and opened the checklist interface. "Okay, you check the hardware, Nana looks at the data, and I'll be the supervisor. Whoever causes a problem is responsible for bringing it back."
“You said last time that the short circuit wasn’t my fault,” Nana said calmly.
"Yes, the circuit diagram was wrong—but I'm the leader now, and leaders don't have to take the blame."
Karl didn't reply and crawled into the lower deck passage. The metal cover clicked shut.
Nana began synchronizing with the ground control tower's frequency, and a series of parameter comparison charts appeared on the screen. "The navigation module has locked the approach trajectory, and the reentry angle deviation is less than 0.3 degrees. It's safe."
"So, we're not going to plunge into the sea?"
"Unless the error is manually corrected."
"Then I'd better not touch it."
He flipped to the next item and pointed to the screen: "The air pressure regulating valve reading is a bit erratic. It was normal just now, but it's down by 0.2 units now."
Nana immediately retrieved the sensor logs. "87% chance of poor contact; on-site inspection recommended."
"Should we call Carl back to fix it?"
“No need.” Nana stood up. “I can remotely restart the calibration program, but if the physical connection is loose, it will still require manual intervention.”
"Let's wait until he finishes the above, and write it down first." Chen Hao marked a yellow dot in the table. "Next, oxygen reserves."
"The current inventory is 89%, and the circulation system is efficient and stable, which is sufficient to support 72 hours."
"What if it gets stuck on the tracks and spins around?"
“We’ll suffocate before we starve,” Nana said.
"That's really depressing," Chen Hao grinned. "I like it."
A knocking sound came from the bottom floor, and a few seconds later Karl's voice came through the intercom: "Landing gear extension test complete, no hydraulic leaks, locking mechanism responding normally. However, there is a slight sticking in the right wing attitude rudder. I have removed the foreign object and re-lubricated it."
"What is the foreign object?" Chen Hao asked.
"A small piece of insulation material, probably loosened during the last passage through the meteorite belt."
"As long as it can be fixed. Otherwise, if the wings don't open during landing, we'll become shooting stars."
“I’m not a shooting star,” Nana corrected. “I’m a core component of the spaceship’s control system.”
"You're much more reliable than Meteor," Chen Hao nodded. "At least you won't smash my roof in the middle of the night."
Carl climbed back to the main control area, took off his gloves, and took the tablet to check the testing progress. "How's the power load?"
“The main battery pack output is stable, and the backup power supply is on standby,” Nana replied. “The delay test of the interface between autonomous driving and manual takeover is 0.14 seconds, which meets the standard.”
"He reacts faster than me." Chen Hao stroked his chin. "It takes me three seconds to press the alarm clock when I wake up in the morning."
"Because you overslept." Carl put the toolbox back in its place. "All external nozzle seals have been checked, and the engine warm-up program can be started at any time."
"So that means the hardware is fine?"
No potential risks have been found so far.
Chen Hao turned to Nana: "What about the data? Is there anything you haven't passed yet?"
Nana quickly scrolled through the page. "Fuel reserves are sufficient, navigation synchronization is complete, and the atmospheric reentry model has been loaded. The only anomaly is the fluctuating pressure valve reading mentioned earlier, but it returned to normal after three repeated tests, and the initial judgment is that it was a transient interference."
"So everything's alright?"
"This can be considered a controllable deviation."
"Good." Chen Hao picked up his pen and checked the last item on the checklist. "All thirty-seven items passed. Our ship is cleaner than a brand new one."
“It has indeed been repaired twenty-three more times than when it left the factory,” Nana said.
"The more I repair, the stronger I become, just like leveling up in a game." Chen Hao stood up and stretched his shoulders. "I feel like a qualified captain now."
“It took you five minutes to fasten your seatbelt the first time,” Carl said.
"That's to ensure it's secure! Don't you understand the importance of meticulousness?!"
"You even inserted the latch into the vent."
"It was just an accident! The important thing is that I can aim every time now! I'm improving!"
Nana suddenly raised her hand, signaling for quiet.
A new alert flashed on the screen and then disappeared.
"What's going on?" Chen Hao asked, leaning closer.
“The subsystem self-test triggered a false alarm.” Nana pulled up the log, “It indicated that the port side thermal shield sensor was offline, but the actual data was still being transmitted.”
"Is it another software glitch?"
"91% probability. Similar situations have occurred four times in similar models, all of which were caused by cache overflow leading to temporary disconnection."
"Then you'd better clear it quickly, lest you re-enter the atmosphere and the system suddenly says 'Sorry, I'm stuck'."
Nana began the reboot cleanup process. Carl frowned when the progress bar was halfway through.
"Wait, is there a problem with the heat shield itself?"
“The outer shell is intact, with no cracks or deformation.” Nana pulled up the structural scan image, “but the wear rate of the outer coating has reached 68%, which is close to the limit.”
"Can it withstand another heatwave?"
"Theoretical calculations show that the remaining heat-resistant layer can withstand the standard reentry process and is safe within the error range."
"Just 'theoretically'?" Chen Hao's voice rose a beat.
“All flights are theoretically safe,” Carl said, “provided nothing goes wrong.”
"Your words are even colder than Nana's."
"I am stating the facts."
"The fact is that we can only trust this system now." Chen Hao stared at the screen. "If the heat shield really falls, we'll be burned to ashes in the sky, and even our ashes will be scattered into interstellar space."
“The probability is less than three in a thousand.” Nana closed the cleanup window. “The cache has been reset, and the sensor status has returned to normal.”
"That's good." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's continue."
The last step is to check the status of the emergency escape pod. Although no one expects to use it at this time, the procedure cannot be skipped.
"Life support is on standby, thruster ignition test successful, navigation independent power supply normal." Nana finished reading, "All projects completed."
Chen Hao read through the entire checklist from beginning to end, and then heavily marked the last green checkmark.
"Absolutely foolproof," he said.
Carl stood by the window, looking at the increasingly large blue planet outside. "It looks smaller than I remember."
“It’s because we’ve gotten older.” Chen Hao walked over to him. “When we were kids, we thought the Earth was huge, and every few steps felt like an adventure. Now we can see half the sphere at a glance.”
"It could also be because we're too close."
“Or the universe really is expanding,” Nana interjected. “Data shows that the radius of the observable universe increases by about 1.2 light-years every million years.”
"Can't you just shut up and act like a normal person?" Chen Hao sighed.
"I don't have a disguise function."
"You just need to have a sense of humor."
"According to the database records, I just told three corny jokes."
"That's depressing, not humorous."
The three remained silent for a moment. The instruments ticked, the cabin lights were soft, and the outline of their home planet slowly rotated outside the window.
Chen Hao placed his hand on the control stick guard. "Once the command arrives, we'll have to rely on ourselves."
“The ground will only provide the flight path and permission,” Carl said. “The last ten kilometers will require manual attitude control.”
“I know,” Chen Hao nodded. “I’ve practiced with simulators.”
"You crashed your simulator seventeen times."
"That's because the system isn't suited to my operating style!"
"You always brake too late."
"I want to experience extreme descent! Don't you understand art?!"
“The landing isn’t a performance,” Nana said. “The goal is to touch down alive.”
"That's right." Chen Hao's playful expression turned serious. "We can't afford to make a mistake this time."
A short beep suddenly sounded on the communication channel.
The three of them looked up at the same time.
The traffic light changed from yellow to green, and a new information box popped up.
Nana glanced at it and read aloud:
"SSV-097, identity verification successful. Cleared to enter outer standby orbit. Please prepare to receive landing instructions."
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