Chapter 167: Call_1

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The twelfth Spring Festival of the Crisis Era was busier than ever.

Because of the existence of intelligent signals from Mars, everyone was free from the pressure of the Trisolarans, and the entire world seemed to have shed its burdens.

Although living standards were still declining, people had hope, and everyone felt that the sacrifices they were making now were worthwhile.

Even with declining living standards, the Spring Festival was taken seriously. People were willing to buy things they normally wouldn't, and spend money they usually saved.

Streets and alleys were filled with laughter and cheerful voices. For this period, it seemed everyone had forgotten the pressures of life and the hardships of making a living, focusing only on truly enjoying life.

For Jiang Yu's family, this Spring Festival was more festive than in previous years, because Jiang Yu was home.

Though it was just one more person, Hu Huilan was more willing to spend money when purchasing New Year's goods.

On New Year's Eve, Jiang Wenhuan also had someone to drink with him and play chess.

This year's Spring Festival Gala had a segment that everyone was looking forward to. Around ten o'clock, Central Television would have a live video call with the astronauts on the "Mars Explorer," deep in space.

When ten o'clock arrived, Jiang Yu and Jiang Wenhuan stopped playing chess to watch the video call.

During the connection with the "Mars Explorer," touching background music began to play, and the host said in an emotional voice:

"The universe is vast, the stars shine brightly, and in the expanse of space, there lie humanity's aspirations and our beautiful wish to soar into the heavens!

"Since ancient times, China has been a great nation of astronomy, with figures like Zu Chongzhi, Guo Shoujing, and Zhang Heng, who have all left a brilliant mark on the history of our civilization.

"Entering the new era, our motherland's space program has been achieving historic feats at a minimal cost.

"Manned spaceflight, construction of large integrated space stations, building of space elevators, establishing Space City.

"It is the space dream of the Chinese people, and our broad vision when facing the vastness of the universe, that has made these exhilarating projects possible.

"Today, on this special day, two of our compatriots are far out in space, steadfast in their mission for our space dream.

"Let us send our warmest wishes to these two most honorable individuals!"

At that moment, communication with the "Mars Explorer" was finally established, and upon seeing You Haoming and Mi Jingtiao, the audience immediately erupted into warm applause.

The signal was not great; the picture was jittery, and because of the great distance, there was a noticeable delay.

Words spoken here would not be heard on the other end for several seconds.

Although the "Mars Explorer" was only a little over ten million kilometers out, the Earth continues in its orbit, vastly increasing the distance between them.

At the gala, the host first asked some trivial questions like whether they had prepared themselves a New Year's Eve dinner.

Then they inquired about their upcoming voyage plans. You Haoming said, "We will dock with the first supply module in seventeen days, and then we'll carry out an acceleration!

"After this acceleration, the spacecraft's speed will reach 30,000 kilometers per hour.

"At this speed, if we were on Earth, we could circle the globe in an hour and twenty minutes."

In the end, the host sent sincere wishes for their successful completion of the mission.

Watching the TV, Jiang Yu sighed, "The 'Mars Explorer' was launched in a bit of a rush, it always feels like a friend has set off on a long journey, making me a bit concerned."

Jiang Wenhuan sipped his tea and said, "Some unexpected events simply don't give you time to prepare.

"This is a step that we would have had to take sooner or later; stepping out is a great thing."

Jiang Yu smiled and nodded, and father and son continued their chess game.

Early the next day, quite a few people called Jiang Yu to wish him a happy new year.

When Bo Xiangdong called, Jiang Yu asked him, "Any new discoveries?"

After interrogating Du Sheng in America, Jiang Yu had Bo Xiangdong follow the leads obtained from Du Sheng to look for flaws in the "Poison Apple Project."

Bo Xiangdong sighed, "Right now, there's not a single clue."

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He paused and said, "Actually, the simplest way to verify is to wait until the group of people who have used the Trisolarans' technology grow up, and then throw them into space to observe their reactions.

"Unfortunately, the parents of these children are all rich or noble, so we hardly have the capability."

Jiang Yu sighed helplessly, "Let's talk about it after the New Year."

"Great!" Bo Xiangdong laughed, "Your operation in America immediately made the technology of the 'Poison Apple Project' untouchable, which was indeed heartening."

Jiang Yu also laughed, "Take a good rest for now, we'll be busy once we start working again!"

Yet he knew in his heart that until they could find evidence of the "Poison Apple Project" harming humanity, they could never relax.

Once the generation that had undergone Genetic Modification grew up, it would be tough to stop the tide of genetic modification.

Jiang Yu shook his head as if trying to drive this problem out of his mind.

During the holiday, it's best not to think about these issues.

On the third day of the New Year, Jiang Yu went to pay a New Year visit to the retired Chief Ji.

Since retiring, Chief Ji had become much kinder, and because he no longer dyed his hair, his white hair made him look a decade older.

As soon as Jiang Yu entered, Chief Ji pointed at him with his index finger, "You! You're such a little troublemaker, handling such a big issue without even discussing it with 'your family'."

Jiang Yu understood that Chief Ji was referring to the autonomous event in Moon City, and by "family," he naturally meant the Star Defense Department.

Jiang Yu scratched his head, "I didn't want to cause any trouble for anyone!"

Chief Ji laughed and shook his head, "Don't worry, from the top down, we will still unconditionally support the Wallfacer Project."

Suddenly, he sighed, "Now, I'm starting to feel fortunate that you were chosen to be a Wallfacer."

It's true what they say: an old ginger is spicier. Chief Ji had already figured out the purpose behind Jiang Yu's actions.

One had to admit, the other Wallfacers hadn't thought as far ahead as Jiang Yu had, and their Wallfacer projects were inevitably not as forward-looking as his.

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As planned, the "Mars Explorer" spacecraft successfully docked with Supply Capsule No. 1, replenishing sufficient fuel and supplies.

33 million kilometers from Moon City, the "Mars Explorer" underwent a mid-journey acceleration.

This acceleration lasted three minutes, producing only half the thrust of the departure from the Moon but consuming 10 tons of liquid hydrogen and 24 tons of liquid oxygen.

Such substantial fuel consumption can be attributed to the size of the "Mars Explorer."

Its main body was over 8 meters in diameter, with a max diameter of 26.6 meters and a length of 38.3 meters, like a steel skyscraper flying through space.

Supply Capsule No. 2 for the "Mars Stairway Project" was at a flight path of 56 million kilometers.

After the second resupply, the "Mars Explorer" had enough fuel to enter Mars Orbit.

Even if this supply run went less than smoothly, the "Mars Explorer" still had sufficient fuel and supplies, such as food, to reach the location of Supply Capsule No. 3.

At this point, the "Mars Explorer" had reached a velocity of about 30,000 kilometers per hour, but the lack of suitable reference objects around made it impossible for the astronauts to feel exactly how fast they were going.

They could have used the sun as a reference, but it was too big and too far away to notice the movement of the spacecraft.

Besides the sun, there was only the starry sky, like a black curtain, but it too wasn't suitable as a reference.

When Earth and Moon became smaller and smaller in the viewport and finally disappeared from sight, the astronauts all had the illusion that the spacecraft was motionless.

Even astronauts who had served aboard space stations for years experienced psychological pressure, as their previous work environment seemed now only a step away from Earth, in comparison.

At that moment, the astronauts realized just how vast and empty space was, so empty that it could invoke despair and make one unconsciously start to miss everything on Earth.

To relieve everyone's psychological stress, Commander You Haoming organized daily sessions where everyone would loudly recite poetry or share amusing anecdotes they had encountered.

Gradually, everyone felt that it was nice to be able to rely on companions in this empty universe.