Chapter 108 Nuclear Bomb
The moment Xu Yanbo received the call, a car drove to the hospital to pick up Lu Mingfei. At the same time, Liu Peiqiang also drove to the BJ Space Center to report.
The United Government has sent the news of the moon's impending fall to people all over the world through television broadcasts or messages.
Lu Mingfei saw through the car window that the streets outside were already showing signs of chaos. People were running around like headless flies, with fear and despair written all over their faces. Some people were holding their phones tightly, slumped on the side of the road, tears streaming down their faces, while others were hugging their families and crying bitterly, trying to find the last bit of warmth in this endless fear.
A couple kissed passionately on a street corner, tearing off each other's clothes, wanting to have one more shot at this last moment. Further away, a group of thugs rushed towards the store frantically, smashed the glass windows, and looted the supplies inside. The roadside supply stations were also looted. The sounds of looting and crying were intertwined, like a doomsday carnival.
The evil of human nature was fully exposed at this moment. Lu Mingfei sat in the car with cold and calm eyes, his breathing was steady, and his face was expressionless, as if all this had nothing to do with him. However, deep in his heart, a heavy feeling of depression was slowly growing.
"Brother, after seeing this scene, are you thinking that it would be good for humanity to be destroyed like this..." Lu Mingze suddenly appeared beside Lu Mingfei, leaning on the car window and looking at everything outside with a dazed look. His light golden eyes reflected a doomsday scene that was gradually getting out of control.
The driver in front didn't notice Lu Mingze's appearance at all, and was still nervously looking at the road where rear-end collisions kept happening.
The road was crowded with vehicles and horns honked one after another. The driver gripped the steering wheel tightly, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. He tried his best to break out of the chaos and try to send Lu Mingfei to the airport as soon as possible.
Lu Mingfei's gaze was still fixed on the window. His deep eyes reflected the chaos and despair in the night. He did not respond to Lu Mingze's words, but said in a low and slightly hoarse voice, "Do you think... can humans survive this disaster?"
"I'm sorry, brother. I was too naive..." Lu Mingze turned his head, a hint of self-mockery and sadness flashed in his eyes. "I thought humans could solve the solar crisis. Now, the sun hasn't exploded yet, but the moon is about to destroy the world first. I shouldn't put such a heavy burden on you."
"Let's go home. My strength has almost recovered. I can take you home now. I still have a lot of money in the original world, and the sun doesn't explode that quickly. As compensation, I will take you to eat, drink and have fun all over the world. When the sun explodes, it will be nice for the two of us to wear sunglasses and give the sun the middle finger together."
Lu Mingze withdrew his gaze from the window and turned to look at Lu Mingfei with a smile. His smile revealed a different kind of madness and contempt. He just looked at Lu Mingfei, expecting a response.
"General Lu, are you asking me?" the driver suddenly spoke, with a hint of panic and determination in his voice.
"I don't know whether humanity can survive this crisis, but I will still try my best to do what I can. I only know how to drive, so my responsibility now is to get you to the airport as quickly as possible. I believe that big shots like you will be able to think of a way, and I believe the United Government will find a way." The driver couldn't see or hear what Lu Mingze said, so he thought Lu Mingfei was asking him a question. His answer was a little hasty but his tone was firm.
“Really…” Lu Mingfei murmured softly, as if responding, or as if whispering to himself.
His eyes still did not leave the window. The chaos and panic were playing out before his eyes like a silent movie.
At this moment, sirens suddenly sounded ahead, and several police cars roared over. The red and blue lights cut through the night, illuminating the entire street. Several fully armed policemen got out of the car, holding shields and batons, and quickly evacuated the chaotic crowd.
"Everyone calm down! Believe in the government! Believe in hope!" A man in police uniform, holding a loudspeaker, his voice hoarse but firm, kept shouting to the panicked crowd around him.
The appearance of the police car temporarily calmed the situation, and the originally out-of-control street regained some order in just a few minutes. The looters gradually dispersed, and the crowded crowd also began to slowly disperse.
"How long will it take to get to the airport?" Lu Mingfei finally withdrew his gaze from the window and asked lightly, but there was still some thoughtfulness in his eyes.
"Ten minutes... we'll be there!" The driver stepped on the accelerator and the speed increased again. Every sharp turn in the traffic made more cold sweat appear on his forehead.
"Brother, time is running out, let's go. Otherwise we will really die..." Lu Mingze leaned closer again, his voice soft but with a hint of urgency, "We can live a few more decades if we go back, why bother?"
"Stop the car!" Lu Mingfei suddenly ordered in a low voice, his voice as cold as a sharp blade.
The driver was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and slowly stopped the car on the side of the road. Lu Mingfei pushed open the car door quickly and walked to the driver's seat, asked the driver to sit in the passenger seat, then sat in the driver's seat himself and gripped the steering wheel.
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, a golden light flashed in his eyes, and his Word Spirit·Mirror Pupil was instantly activated. In an instant, all the parts of the car seemed to be integrated with his nerves, and every mechanical structure was clearly reflected in his mind.
He stepped on the accelerator to the bottom, and the black car accelerated suddenly like an arrow, and the car body quickly shuttled through the congested traffic, like a nimble fish swimming quickly in a turbulent river.
Every turn and every overtaking was precise and accurate, without any unnecessary movements. The sickle-weasel spread out outside the car like a giant net, transmitting all the surrounding perceptions to him, allowing Lu Mingfei to walk on flat ground in this frenzy.
The journey that would normally take ten minutes only took three minutes with Lu Mingfei driving to reach the airport.
"Go home and be with your family while there is still time, but please believe that we can handle this crisis." When Lu Mingfei got out of the car, his voice was calm with a hint of warmth. He did not look back and walked straight to the airport lobby with a firm and cold figure.
The driver was still thinking about Lu Mingfei's amazing driving skills. When he came to his senses, Lu Mingfei was about to enter the airport. He looked at Lu Mingfei's back, an indescribable respect welling up in his heart. He raised his hand to salute and watched Lu Mingfei disappear at the airport entrance.
Lu Mingfei walked into the airport. The airport staff who met him looked solemn. Although they were polite, everyone's face was filled with tension.
The airport hall was filled with hurried passengers and occasional broadcast reminders, but at this moment, no one could really face the impending disaster with peace of mind.
"General Lu, the plane is ready and can take off at any time!" The airport staff who greeted Lu Mingfei spoke respectfully, leaning forward slightly, with a kind of subconscious nervousness and eagerness, wanting to take Lu Mingfei to the Boeing passenger plane that had been prepared long ago.
Lu Mingfei just nodded, but his eyes did not stay on the Boeing passenger plane. He walked straight through the crowd with steady and firm steps, and came to a hangar at the back of the airport, and glanced at the ground staff in front of the hangar.
"Open the hangar door." Lu Mingfei said to the ground crew beside him.
The ground crew hesitated for a moment, a hint of hesitation flashed across his face: "General, there are fighter jets inside, and the fighter pilots haven't arrived yet. It would be safer for you to take a Boeing passenger plane..."
This airport is for both military and civilian use, so there are fighter jets stationed here.
"Hurry up." Lu Mingfei didn't say another word. His voice was still calm, but it carried an irresistible force.
After receiving such a brief order, the ground crew did not dare to delay any longer and immediately ran to the control console and quickly operated it, and the huge metal door of the hangar slowly opened. With a heavy roar, the huge iron door was pulled open little by little, and the light in the hangar gradually brightened, revealing the fighter jet parked in the center.
The J20C fighter jet showed its streamlined body under the dim light, and its cold and hard shell glowed sharply under the metal light of the hangar. It stood there quietly, like a sleeping beast, waiting to be awakened.
Lu Mingfei walked towards the fighter plane with steady steps. The ground crew behind him was nervously and quickly checking the aircraft equipment, making final preparations for takeoff.
Behind him, the ground crew ran forward nervously, holding a G-suit and helmet in his hands, with hurried but careful steps. The anxiety on his face was obvious: "General, are you sure you want to fly it yourself? The pilot will be here soon..."
"I can do it myself." Lu Mingfei's voice had no hesitation, and his tone was calm as usual, but it made people feel that he could not be refused. He raised his hand to take the helmet and anti-gravity suit, and put them on quickly and skillfully, with one smooth movement, and then walked straight to the cockpit of the fighter.
A gust of cold wind blew in from outside the hangar, stirring up some dust and blowing the corners of his suit. Lu Mingfei climbed up to the cockpit neatly without any hesitation. The dashboards in the cabin lit up one by one in front of his eyes, and the green light reflected on his expressionless face, making his expression even more profound.
After sitting down, he took a deep breath, placed his hands lightly on the controls, and slid his fingers lightly over each switch. As he quickly operated, the fighter's engine began to emit a low humming sound, which gradually became louder and more powerful. As the startup procedure was completed, the data on the dashboard jumped, and everything was operating normally.
He had not driven the world's top fighter jet for a long time since the space elevator incident in 2044. Now the familiar feeling came over him again.
The ground crew behind him watched Lu Mingfei start the fighter jet, their hearts filled with awe. Inside the hangar, the air seemed to vibrate with the roar of the fighter jet's engine. The huge airflow swept up the dust on the ground, making a low roar, as if a sleeping beast had finally awakened and began to gradually glide forward.
The door of the hangar was completely opened, and the outside world was exposed in front of the fighter. Lu Mingfei gently pushed the joystick, and the fighter slowly accelerated, then suddenly rushed towards the runway.
The wind was whistling outside the cockpit, the fighter's tires made a harsh sound as they rubbed against the ground, sparks flew, and accompanied by the roar of a huge engine, the entire fighter left the ground and flew into the sky.
Lu Mingfei gripped the joystick tightly, his eyes focused and stern, and quickly scanned the data on the dashboard. Everything was normal. He moved his fingers slightly on the joystick, and the fighter plane broke through the thick clouds like a sharp arrow and flew high into the sky.
At the moment the fighter plane broke through the clouds, he saw the burning moon through the cabin. The huge outline was clearly visible, and the cracks on the surface were like porcelain about to break. The burning fragments were falling from the sky like the flames of hell.
These fragments, with destructive power, cut through the sky and fell towards the earth.
The J20C started its terrifying supersonic cruise. Lu Mingfei held the joystick tightly with both hands and looked down through the cockpit glass. The blurry ground scenes flew by quickly.
There was a constant dull sound of air impact coming from the outside of the fuselage, accompanied by the roar of the engine, like some kind of wild beast roaring in the depths. The thin clouds in the sky were quickly cut in half beside the wings of the fighter plane, and the skyline looked so distant and cold.
A few hours later, the J20C streaked across the sky like a black lightning, gradually approaching the sky above Paris. The atmosphere in the city was so depressing that it made people breathless. The Eiffel Tower in the distance was still standing, but at this moment it was eclipsed in the darkness.
After the fighter plane landed smoothly, Lu Mingfei quickly stepped out of the cockpit, but without any pause, he walked towards the gate of the Paris Flight Control Center.
When he pushed open the heavy door, the chaos in the flight control center made him immediately realize the urgency of the situation. Noisy alarm sounds were incessant, red alarms on the electronic screen kept flashing, all kinds of data were scrolling frantically, and the staff had serious expressions as they shuttled back and forth between various operating tables. The tense atmosphere made the entire space depressing and suffocating.
"What's the situation!" Lu Mingfei asked hurriedly as soon as he stepped into the room.
Xu Yanbo, who was still in the flight control center, raised his head immediately after hearing the voice, and his eyes quickly caught sight of Lu Mingfei's figure. He seemed to have suddenly found his backbone, his tense body relaxed a little, and he took a few steps forward, his face full of anxiety and powerlessness.
"The moon is expected to break through the Roche limit in 215 hours, and the Earth will be torn to pieces by then," said Xu Yanbo.
"Why did the planetary engine explode!" Lu Mingfei asked with a frown.
The person in charge of the flight control center stood aside, his face full of fatigue and sweat on his forehead. Despite this, he still tried to stay calm and explained in a professional tone: "Someone overwrote the operating system of the Moon-Chasing Engine, commanding the engine to use up seven years of fuel in one go, causing the engine to overload and explode. This attack method... is exactly the same as the method used in the space elevator attack. We tried to use 550W to regain control of the engine but failed."
"Who on earth is it!" When Lu Mingfei heard that this attack was the same as the one fourteen years ago, he was really angry. This meant that all his investigations into the previous attack over the years were in vain.
"Can't we start the planetary engine in advance to avoid the moon?" Lu Mingfei continued to ask.
"The moon is still there." The person in charge of the flight control center wiped the sweat from his forehead, his tired eyes filled with helplessness and heaviness. "If we forcefully start the planetary engine now, the Earth will be torn in half. Moreover, one-third of our planetary engine has not yet been built."
"Is there any solution now?" Lu Mingfei's voice was almost a growl.
When they heard Lu Mingfei's question, everyone in the flight control center fell silent, their eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
At this moment, Lu Mingfei's cell phone suddenly rang, breaking the suffocating silence. The familiar ringtone seemed so abrupt at this moment. He looked down and saw the name displayed on the screen was Zhou Zhezhi.
"Xiaolu, do you remember the backup plan we proposed earlier..." Zhou Zhezhi's voice came from the other end of the phone. Despite the distance between them, he was still terrifyingly calm, as if he had seen through everything, with an unquestionable firmness. "Now, this is the only way to resolve this crisis."
When Lu Mingfei heard Zhou Zhezhi's words, he remembered another solution to the moon problem that China had once proposed.
That is to install a nuclear bomb array on the moon, control the detonation timing and propagation direction, and take advantage of the relatively uniform nature of the moon's rock to make the nuclear weapon energy waves resonate at the same frequency, forming a critical nuclear fusion environment similar to that inside a planetary engine in a small area. That is, to form an explosion center with a diameter of 30 meters in the upper lunar mantle region 300 kilometers below the lunar surface.
When the explosion center area reaches the critical conditions of nuclear fusion, the temperature and pressure of ammonia, carbon, oxygen, silicon and other elements in the lunar soil will rise rapidly, reaching conditions similar to the fusion reaction inside a planetary engine. The moon will quickly release huge amounts of energy in this violent reaction and eventually disintegrate into countless dust and asteroids.
This plan was not passed at the beginning because other countries were unwilling to donate nuclear bombs. Now only this plan can enable mankind to survive this crisis.
"We will hold an emergency meeting to persuade other countries to donate their nuclear bombs." Zhou Zhezhi's voice was still calm, but every word was full of determination. "Time is running out. You Rangers must act immediately and send China's nuclear bombs to the Navigator Space Station via the space elevator."
"I understand." Lu Mingfei responded in a low and firm voice, and then hung up the phone without any hesitation.
(End of this chapter)
