Night is falling.

The Space Launch Center is lit up at the moment.

In this day when most people have begun to plan the holidays and look forward to the arrival of the New Year, there is no trace of the New Year's flavor here.

The ground crew is busy shuttling on the take-off runway, under the command of the engineer, doing the final inspection of the launch site and the hardware facilities on the Xiangrui.

The launch plan has been set, and the ignition is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.

According to the observational data provided by the meteorological department, this is the most suitable time to carry out the launch mission.

Not only the astronauts, but all the staff of the launch center have made good use of the "time difference" for this moment to ensure that they are in the best condition to work in their respective positions.

Astronauts prepare indoors.

The air is quiet.

There are only 3 hours left before the launch, and in 1 hour, they will start boarding.

With a long breath that broke the silent air, Nie Yun spoke.

"Are you ready?"

A smile broke into the corner of Nie Han's mouth, and he stretched out his fist and knocked it on his chest.

"It's been ready for a long time."

Perhaps because she was infected by her optimism, a smile couldn't help but appear on Nie Yun's always tense face.

However, the smile only lasted for a few seconds.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

“…… I still suggest that you think about it again, this launch mission is different from the last time, and the danger factor is very high. Once on the moon, only we know what awaits us there. ”

Nie Han laughed and teased: "What's the use of talking about this now?" It can't be replaced. ”

Nie Yun reminded: "There are substitutes. ”

Nie Han said without hesitation: "Don't even think about it." ”

Growing up together since childhood, Nie Yun really understands her too well, and seeing that she has no intention of wavering, he no longer persuades her.

In fact, originally because of blood relationship, it was impossible for the two of them to go to heaven together, and in fact, it was true, and Nie Yun was the only one who was originally selected as the pilot of the Xiangrui.

However, when choosing the second astronaut, Nie Han took the initiative to ask his superiors for help, hoping to participate in this mission. After considering her excellent performance in the pilot corps, as well as the opinions of her immediate family, her superiors finally approved her application.

Nie Yun didn't think this was a good thing.

Because if there is really an accident, it will be too cruel for the parents who are left on the ground......

In addition to the brother and sister, there is also a person sitting here.

His identity is a little different from the two, he is not a formal astronaut transferred from the Air Force to the astronaut brigade, but a researcher at the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a cooperative unit of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study. It wasn't until after the launch of the moon landing project that he voluntarily signed up and passed multiple rounds of selection before finally joining the project.

Prior to that, he had only received two months of professional training, and it was not until the commander in command of the launch mission told him to leave a suicide note that he realized the seriousness of the problem......

Noticing his repeated clenching of his fists and releasing them, Nie Han opened his mouth to talk to him.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Startled by the sudden sound of talking, the man who came back to his senses stammered a little.

Liu ...... Liu Zhengwen. ”

"Nervous?"

"Hmm...... Sort of. ”

A reluctant smile appeared on his face, Liu Zhengwen took a deep breath and stared at the fist resting on his knee for a long time before he spoke, "I thought I was ready before, but sure enough...... I'm still scared of death. ”

Nie Yun was silent for a while, and then said, "Everyone is afraid of death, there is nothing to be ashamed of." ”

"Are you scared too?"

Nie Yun nodded, but shook his head again, leaving behind an incomprehensible sentence.

"Fear and fear are two different things."

Just then, a bell rang outside the lounge.

Following the pre-boarding process, it was time for them to go to the locker room and, with the help of the staff, change into in-cabin spacesuits.

Standing up from the chair, Nie Yun walked up to the silent Liu Zhengwen and reached out to pat his arm.

"Take it easy, there are so many people praying for us."

"We can do it."

……

Martial law has been imposed on the vicinity of the launch center by troops stationed in the area, and barriers have been set up on the roads in the vicinity to prohibit all vehicles and personnel from entering the area. Military and police personnel patrolling the vicinity also responded to the evacuation of some idlers who sneaked into the vicinity with camera equipment to shoot without permission, and took measures such as public security detention to deal with them.

The entire launch center is like a fortress, not even a fly can fly into it.

And at the same time, inside the launch center.

The CCTV broadcast vehicle, which had obtained the permit, had already parked next to the launch site.

The camera focused on the three pilots walking from the side of the runway to the gangway, and the excited reporter lady was talking loudly into the interview microphone in her hand.

“…… Now walking past the runway are the three astronauts who are about to board the Xiangrui, and in less than a minute, the second launch of the Xiangrui will begin. According to the instructions of the staff of the Jinling Space Launch Center, the end point of this launch mission will be the orbit around the moon, and our astronauts will imprint the footprints of our Chinese nation on the land of the moon! And our astronauts will also be on the moon, bringing us New Year's blessings! ”

After saying a lot of words in one breath, the reporter's sister gasped several times before she recovered.

If all goes well, the footage will be edited and broadcast on the newsroom at noon tomorrow.

And if all else doesn't go well......

As a small person, she couldn't imagine what kind of grief it would be.

At this moment, she can only pray in her heart, hoping that everything is safe.

Next to the leveled runway, a tall gangway moves slowly and connects to the gate of the aerospace aircraft.

Watching the three astronauts board the plane, Lu Zhou, who was standing next to the conning tower, smiled and waved to them.

Standing behind Lu Zhou, Director Li still had a strained face, staring at Lu Zhou's back without moving, and even the gangway not far away had begun to separate from the hatch, and he didn't plan to relax his vigilance.

This guy really did what he said he would, and he had been following him every step of the way since an hour ago. Behind the strands, even the gap between going to the toilet is not missed.

At most, stand a little farther away......

Seeing his nervous look, Lu Zhou sighed.

“…… Later, I thought about it. ”

didn't understand what Lu Zhou was talking about, Director Li was stunned, and subconsciously asked, "What did you think?" ”

Lu Zhou smiled maliciously and said, "You said that this lunar module can only seat two people, and when the time comes, when the lunar module is lowered, you have to leave a pilot on the spacecraft." ”

“…… So? ”

"It's boring to stay on it alone, or let's go up together, and we can get together to fight the landlord."

Seeing that Director Li's eyes were bulging, Lu Zhou, who was worried about his high blood pressure, hurriedly added.

"I'm just kidding...... Let's go to the ground headquarters, we're about to start. ”

After that, without waiting for Director Li to answer, Lu Zhou pulled him and walked in the direction of the conning tower.