This massive rocket reminded Jiang Ling of various PowerPoint presentations from the last century. Compared to those technologically radical proposals, which posited nuclear propulsion as a dynamic axis, the "Buzhou Mountain" project was clearly overly conservative. She initially believed the top decision-makers were mired in a weapons-only approach, but recent information gave her ample reason to believe the plan would succeed.
Of course, even without the information that could be disclosed internally, Jiang Ling's simple patriotism made her willing to believe - believe that all the plans of the motherland can be realized!
The group stayed at the launch site for about half a day. The return route was not the same as the one they took when they came in, but they made a small circle to the west, as if they were avoiding somewhere.
After returning to Donghai Station, Jiang Ling finally finished the leftover Set 17 from the night before with the newly ordered Set 21. Then, she came to the meeting point scheduled yesterday with the dog-pen-handled review she had written on the way, and found the other six people in her group.
There were five men and one woman among them, half from the mobile forces of the newly formed army, and the other half from the remnants of the air force left over from before the war. Among the three pilots was an awakened one, who left a deep impression on Jiang Ling.
His name is Gu Shenzhou, and he is 53 years old this year.
Gu Shenzhou now looked like a middle-aged man. It was hard to believe he had shot down 16 intelligent fighter planes during World War III. His forehead was high, and his hairline had receded. He looked more like a slightly overweight programmer than a pilot.
Logically, this ace of aces should have evacuated with the main force long ago, but he still carried out the most difficult mission in the final moments of the Fourth World War—launching and guiding a drone to intercept an incoming lunar missile. His vehicle was severely damaged in the nuclear explosion, and he was forced to land in farmland approximately 50 kilometers west of Jinling, a plain covered with biological mines. He endured two years of solitary survival in the heavily irradiated area before being rescued by a risky search team.
That experience wouldn't have been pleasant for anyone, but fortunately, the process of becoming an Awakened One had shaped his perception of the world, and he had already put those terrible and painful memories aside. Now, he sat quietly on a cargo box that was as tall as a person, watching the five curious children below tinker with the exoskeleton.
Jiang Ling walked around from behind the cargo box to the right side of Gu Shenzhou, leaned his shoulders against the wall of the cargo box, crossed his arms and said, "Old Gu, are you not interested in that set?"
"It's okay, but I've been flying for 30 years and I don't need this little time," he replied.
"Flying in zero gravity is different from flying in the atmosphere."
"It's not that different. The former is even easier. At least you don't have to worry about air resistance and loss of power. Flying isn't that mysterious. All the myths online are just rumors based on scarce information. There's no fundamental difference between fighter jets and birds. Even from the perspective of energy conversion efficiency, man-made aircraft can't compare to animals... You see, it's really simple. It only took me three days to adapt to zero gravity. As for the exoskeleton, I'm confident I can get used to it quickly. Besides, do you know that thing in the world that has never failed?"
"I've heard of this. It's the ground, right?"
"Yes, and no." He pushed himself up with his hands and jumped down from the cargo box like a lively and active teenager. "What I want to talk about is another kind. They are called the first-class merit of living."
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