Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Chapter 65 300 Warriors

After a 3-hour flight, the Z-20 finally landed.

The six people from Jiangning were immediately struck by the aerospace city built in the desert upon landing.

The most eye-catching feature is the manned launch tower, which is not exactly towering into the clouds.

The air here is dry and clear, with clear skies for more than 300 days a year and excellent visibility. The launch site and test facility in the distance are clearly visible, and the clear blue sky and distinct clouds behind it make it look like a painting.

The plane was parked on a wide concrete road, one end leading straight to the tower and the other end connecting to the assembly workshop.

The person who came to greet us was a middle-aged man with a tall and steady figure, a strong and deep facial contour, dark skin, a few light frost marks on his forehead, and fine and steady lines around his eyes.

Zhou Yunci stepped forward to introduce the two parties.

Jiang Ning and the others then learned that the other party's name was Qin Zhengguo, who was the chief engineer and commander-in-chief of this aerospace city.

After the meeting, Jiang Ning and his companions took the lead and quickly stepped forward to shake hands. They dared not show any disrespect to such a great talent of the nation.

Qin Zhengguo said in a calm voice, "Gentlemen, there's no need to be so polite. Everyone has their own expertise, and you are all working hard and researching in your respective fields, serving the country in the same way. You deserve our respect."

His palms were broad and dry, bearing the weight of years spent hunched over a desk and staring intently at the control screen. His handshake was gentle and measured, not arrogant, but possessing a mountain-like composure.

His gaze slowly swept over Jiang Ning and his group, his eyes calm and sharp, revealing the rigor and prudence unique to aerospace professionals.

The long winds of the Gobi Desert swept by gently, stirring up fine dust. In the distance, steel towers stood silently between heaven and earth, their cold, hard steel outlines contrasting against the boundless blue sky, vast and magnificent.

Qin Zhengguo stepped to the side and raised his hand, leading the group forward. His tone was calm and composed: "I already know your mission. You must be tired from your journey. Please come with me to the aerospace city living area to rest for a while."

As he spoke, Qin Zhengguo pointed to the space rocket that was ready to launch and said with a smile, "There happens to be a launch mission today. If you're not in a hurry, you can watch for a while. I guarantee you'll have a feast for the eyes."

Sun Fumin was pleasantly surprised upon hearing this.

Su Mian, Lu Xue, and Zhang Jimin also showed slight changes in their expressions. However, this plan did not seem to be part of Political Commissar Zhou's original plan. The four of them were only interested, but they were all very polite and did not speak directly.

Instead, he glanced quietly at Political Commissar Zhou, then at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning's expression also changed slightly, much like watching a rocket launch up close. However, he had previously stated that he would follow Political Commissar Zhou's orders and would not overstep his bounds this time.

Political Commissar Zhou noticed the expressions of the five members of the Huitian Group out of the corner of his eye, and sighed inwardly. He could agree to it out of courtesy.

However, the schedule was tight and the time was all planned out, so I had to make a tough decision.

Zhou Yunci: "We appreciate Engineer Qin's kindness, but the mission is urgent and we dare not linger. If there are any more launch missions in the future, please let us know in advance. Taiqing Mountain is not far from here. We will definitely come to watch after the mission is completed."

Qin Zhengguo felt a pang of regret upon hearing this, but his excuse for staying back at the Tianzu to watch the launch scene was merely that.

He had heard about Jiang Ning's abilities and wanted to stay a little longer to chat and see if he had any ideas on how to help the base in the next step.

However, Zhou Yunci also hinted to him that he should complete the task at hand first, and Jiang Ning should have plenty of time later, at which point he could invite him.

After hearing Political Commissar Zhou's words, Jiang Ning felt a pang of regret, but he knew it was time for him to speak up.

Jiang Ning: "Thank you for your kindness, Engineer Qin. Time is tight and the task is heavy. I'll definitely visit you next time I have some free time. Please take us to see the volunteers first!"

"All right!"

After hearing this, Qin Zhengguo no longer declined, nor did he lead everyone to the living area to rest for a while.

Instead, he led everyone directly to an open space. From a distance, a square formation of about 300 people was already standing neatly in the open space.

This number surprised everyone in the Huitian Group.

On the way here, Zhou Yunci had already mentioned that a group of people would choose to abandon their posts and stay put, but no one expected there would be so many.

Jiang Ning remained calm, only pursing his lips without uttering a word.

Sun Fumin and the other three looked grim; they all knew what this meant.

If they accept the mysterious bead representing themselves, once Jiang Ning leaves, and then once the next world reversal occurs, this group will be completely trapped here.

To be precise, it's not that it's impossible to leave, but there will only be one day. No matter how far you go, you will be stranded again as the world goes backward.

Similarly, their entire lives will be frozen here. They will grow younger day by day, but they will never again experience schooling and childhood like ordinary people.

"Team Leader Jiang..."

After arriving at the front of the formation, Lu Xue gently tugged at Jiang Ning's arm.

Jiang Ning turned to look at her, only to see Lu Xue hesitant to speak.

Looking at the others, Sun Fumin's eyes darted around, Zhang Jimin's face was grave, and only Su Mian had a calm expression like himself.

"Xiaoxue, come back!" Su Mian, carrying her luggage, stepped forward and pulled Lu Xue back.

Lu Xue's face flushed, and she wanted to say something, but seeing Su Mian shake her head, she said no more.

Zhou Yunci and Qin Zhengguo saw all of this but didn't say anything.

"Attention!" Zhou Yunci shouted.

Two hundred soldiers in the formation, fully equipped and armed, and one hundred men and women in special base uniforms straightened their backs upon hearing the call.

"I won't say anything more; on behalf of myself, I salute you!"

As Zhou Yunci spoke, he stood with his feet together and raised his hand in a military salute.

After the ceremony, Zhou Yunci said, "Check your belongings one last time. Once you break down, there will be no second chance."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three hundred people took off their backpacks, opened them, and pulled out a list from their pockets, quickly checking it.

Jiang Ning stood silently at the front of the crowd and saw a soldier first check his weapons. There was a knife, a pistol, and two rifles. He wasn't a military enthusiast and didn't immediately recognize what kind of guns the soldier was carrying. He only saw that after the soldier finished checking, he quickly reached for the ammunition clips on his waist.

He then took out various small grenades and other combat supplies from his combat pack, and finally checked his combat uniform and personal belongings.

"This is a special forces soldier..."

Jiang Ning thought to himself, "The combat equipment is complete, we're armed to the teeth."

Lu Xue looked at an elderly woman with white hair and beard in the crowd. Judging from her age, she was probably her grandmother. The woman was also carefully checking the contents of her backpack.

None of them were high-tech gadgets; it was just a laptop, several different models of solid-state drives, a whole box of CPUs and a whole box of RAM, a book, and a picture frame.

Sun Fumin looked around and found that most of the soldiers were carrying weapons, while most of the researchers were carrying research products. Everyone's items seemed to have a specific purpose. If there was anything in common, they all carried a mobile phone.

Sun Fumin thought to himself, "This phone might be their last source of emotional support! No matter how backward the world goes, as long as they haven't gone back to their mother's womb, at least they can have some entertainment."

Su Mian didn't bother to look at the group of people; she just kept her head down and quickly wrote something down on her phone.

Zhang Jimin watched for a while, then picked up a DSLR camera hanging around his neck and started taking pictures non-stop, recording the scene.

Zhou Yunci and Qin Zhengguo stood at the front, their faces grave and their gazes complex, without uttering a word.

Finally, everyone had finished checking, and no one had forgotten to bring any items.

"Master Jiang, I've prepared everything. It's your turn to cast your spell..."

Zhou Yunci turned to look at Jiang Ning, his expression strange.

The long-dull drill ground suddenly erupted into laughter from some of the older members of the research team because of the appearance of the name "Jiang Daxian" and the words of Political Commissar Zhou.

This smile seemed to trigger a chain reaction, with even 200 soldiers joining in with smiles.