Chapter 18: Speech

　　Just thirty minutes from the takeoff time, a team of heavily armed soldiers walked in, led by a middle-aged man with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, who walked to the center of the hall and clapped his hands while saying loudly, "Attention all!"

　　This shout drew the attention of the entire hall in the middle of the hall. Seeing everyone's attention on this side, he received a document from the hands of a major beside him, held it in his hands and shook it, saying, "Everyone here has received this transfer order, this mission belongs to the top secret, what concept is this, I'm sure everyone here has an understanding of it, so I won't emphasize on it here, but... ..."

　　Saying this, the Lieutenant Colonel's gaze as sharp as a blade swept through the crowd, as if he wanted to see through every single person below.

　　"I will also emphasize one last time! This time's mission only has a start time, and that's the moment you all boarded the airplane, while the end time..."

　　Saying this, the lieutenant colonel turned up the volume a few points and continued, "Unknown!"

　　Unknown?

　　As soon as these two words came out, there was a burst of whispers from below, obviously not understanding what this meant for a moment.

　　However, the lieutenant colonel did not pay attention to the voices below, but continued, "That's right! It's the unknown, the duration of this mission could be weeks, months, or of course, it could be years, decades, or even a lifetime."

　　After the lieutenant colonel finished speaking, he stood still and did not say any more, and after about thirty seconds had passed, when the voices below gradually calmed down, he opened his mouth to, "So, for the last time, I'll ask once more, if there's any who want to quit!"

　　Seeing that the team below did not answer, the lieutenant colonel spoke, "Good! Very good! You are all good, I, Zhang, admire you all!"

　　Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face, and he continued, "This time, it is likely that you will be isolated for the rest of your lives, staying in a place with poor living conditions and lack of recreational facilities for decades or even for the rest of your lives... Do you all really have the determination and courage to do so?"

　　Saying this, he raised his hand and made a pause gesture, saying, "Don't be in a hurry to answer first, think about it again and answer me after five minutes."

　　After saying this, he turned around and walked towards the direction he came from, suddenly, his footsteps lurched, he turned around and looked at the team of experts and professors from the major universities, slowly said, "In fact, I'm most worried about you guys, you're not soldiers, you're citizens, and you can completely refuse this mission without any burden on your heart, I know that all of you bookworms have a stubbornness, and you won't listen to persuasion, but still Think about it, this is a mission, not an academic exchange abroad, there can be no option to quit in the middle, I hope that all of you will not regret for your full-bloodedness now in the future!"

"Old Li, look, those two are back." Just at this moment, Old Huang suddenly pointed over the passageway and said.

　　Over the passageway, those two women who had just been suspected to be intelligence officers reentered the hall under the leadership of a warrior, walking towards where they had just been sitting.

　　"So fast? It seems that people's resumes are clean, so I was overly concerned, but what do they do?"

　　"I reckon this is our intelligence officer, specially here to keep an eye on us, this mission is top secret, but if anyone leaks it, the consequences will not be ordinary!"

　　"Forget it, whatever, it's not like we haven't seen it before." Old Li crossed his legs, full of concern.

　　Back then, he and Old Huang both participated in the improvement of J-20 and the development of J-40, this level of mission is not the first time to participate, naturally there is nothing to consider.

　　"Alas? Big sister, what do you do, how did you get selected here at such a young age, look at all of us, which one of us isn't an old man of 50 or 60 years old."

　　At this time, Old Huang, who was sitting on the side, inquired towards the two women.

　　"The two of us are the service staff of the State Guesthouse, and I don't know why a top secret mission would pick us."

　　"I don't know either, but the country had a need, so I came, not thinking that much."

　　"So it's the service staff of the State Guesthouse, no wonder, it seems that I was really overly concerned." Old Li thought.

　　Not only would the state guesthouse attendants know these little tricks, some of them were even specially trained in acquiring various information, delivering or various words.

　　Just as Old Li was rambling on, a strong sound of footsteps came and pulled him back to the real world, he looked up and saw that the Lieutenant Colonel returned to the hall with a dirt-colored sealed cowhide bag.

　　"Thinking about it? Any want to go back? This is the last inquiry! Take advantage of it."

　　The lieutenant colonel slowly scanned the crowd, finally resting his eyes on the group of college professors and asked loudly.

　　"Report! I have something to say!" At this moment, a voice came from the ranks of the professors, the Lieutenant Colonel followed the voice and looked, it was a middle-aged man wearing a gray sweater and black rubber-framed glasses, at this moment, he raised his hand from the ranks of the professors and said loudly.

　　"Have you decided to quit?" The lieutenant colonel looked at him and asked indifferently.

　　"No, I decided to stay!"

　　"Then what are you going to say?"

　　"On October 6, 1949, a great man returned from the other side of the ocean, after all his hardships and tribulations, and similarly, in June of 1951, an equally great scientist was involved in a top-secret mission, a mission that, likewise, had no closing time!"

　　His voice was generous and impassioned, taking people back to those grueling but passionate years.

　　"They were like us, they were not soldiers, they could have just as easily refused! They didn't have to go to the middle of that Great Gobi to remain incognito for more than ten years, they could even enjoy favorable treatment abroad, but they all came back without hesitation!"

　　"To put it unceremoniously, the reason we are able to stand here now and enjoy such a peaceful and restful environment is because they didn't choose to refuse back then!"

　　Saying this, the middle-aged man looked at the lieutenant colonel and exclaimed, "Although I don't know where we're going and what kind of mission we're going to carry out, I'm sure that this will definitely be a choice that we'll be proud of for the rest of our lives!"

　　Saying this, he slowly scanned the crowd and then spoke, "There isn't a single person among us who will quit! There is no reason why we cannot do what our predecessors were able to do back then! I hope that decades from now, when I'm too old to walk, when I lie on my bed and tell stories with my children and grandchildren, it will only be for the sake of speaking of my choice filled with pride and excitement, rather than shedding tears due to the remorse of rejection!"

　　"Exactly! We won't quit, even if we can't come back for the rest of our lives!"

　　"A man is born to honor his country, how can he back out now!"

　　Loud cheers and applause ensued in the high school's professors' group for a long time.