"You mean, this big pillar will spit out fire and then send that spaceship into the sky?" K asked in surprise, "Why not just fly up?"
Li Liang said helplessly: "Because it's not a spaceship, it's a space shuttle, and its power can't fly into space."
"I understand," Old Tang grinned, "You're kidding."
Li Liang said expressionlessly: "I'm not kidding."
"This is an ancient aerospace technology," Dr. Sisen praised. "I have only seen it in records. I have to say that the courage of the ancients is admirable."
At this time.
The motorcade stopped one after another, and many members of the Mayfly jumped out of the car, looking up at the giant thing in front of them and letting out waves of admiration.
Someone shouted: "Such a big sculpture."
The person next to me mocked: "Huh, look at your uneducated look. This is a landing gear. We are underground and the spacecraft has to take off vertically."
The man retorted: "Fart, who hasn't seen a spaceship? I personally shot down a Zoss spaceship the day before yesterday. That thing can take off and land vertically, and it needs your mother's landing gear."
Finally, someone closed the coffin and concluded: "Stop arguing, this is called art."
Balentine walked through the crowd and walked to the off-road vehicle. He raised his head and asked, "Boss, what is this?"
K adjusted his sunglasses and said casually: "This is a rocket..." He repeated Li Liang's explanation just now.
Balentine turned to look at Li Liang: "Mr. Li Liang, are you saying that this pillar will spit out fire and then send the spaceship into the sky?"
"Um."
"Why don't you just fly up?"
"..." Li Liang took a deep breath, "Because it's a space shuttle and can't fly up."
"That's it..." Balentine suddenly realized.
moment.
Morris, who looked confused and had been wrapped up in the team for no reason, approached cautiously, pulled Balentine, and asked in a low voice: "What is this?"
"This is a rocket," Ballentine introduced solemnly.
"Ah?" Morris turned to look at Li Liang in shock, "Boss, you mean..."
"roll."
Li Liang was too lazy to pay attention to the repeaters. He sat back in the passenger seat and waved to K: "Drive forward and drive to the guardrail."
K gestured to the people getting out of the car behind him to continue moving forward, then sat back in the car and waited for Sorge, Old Tang, and Dr. Xisen to get in the car before starting the off-road vehicle again.
The tunnel exit was at least three kilometers away from the rocket. As it approached, everyone felt a strong sense of oppression.
Although the rocket is far less tall than the skyscrapers in Zhongjing, this space is not open, but a cylinder with a diameter of more than ten kilometers.
Giant objects standing in a relatively "narrow" space often make people feel sublime involuntarily.
Li Liang understands this deeply.
A thousand years ago, many Buddhist grottoes used this principle. After passing through a small door that is one person wide, the field of vision is suddenly occupied by a huge Buddha statue, and people will immediately feel their own insignificance.
Two minutes later.
The SUV stopped in front of the guardrail.
Li Liang got out of the car and approached, looking down.
In fact, the reason why locals like K and Old Tang couldn't see the function of this "giant pillar" at all is because the exit from the tunnel entrance is not at the deepest point, but at one-third of the height of the rocket.
Li Liang realized this problem when he first saw the rocket. Looking down at it, he instantly saw the launch platform below, the space shuttle, and the trumpet-shaped nozzle of the booster.
Dr. Xisen came to his side, also looked down, and said softly: "According to records, due to the difficulty of manufacturing, high cost, and the mixing of people and goods, this aerospace technology has not been used many times. It is said that the biggest advantage is The peak overload during takeoff is much lower than that of the launch vehicles at that time.”
"Does it mean that the gravity acceleration experienced by people during takeoff is smaller?" Li Liang hesitated.
"Yes, if I remember correctly, there are only about 3 G," Dr. Xisen smiled. "People with better physical fitness can endure it with a little training."
Li Liang asked curiously: "The spaceships of this era don't have overloading problems?"
"Maybe it's because Xi'an invented the anti-gravity engine. I don't know the principle, but when riding, you really can't feel the acceleration of gravity."
Li Liang nodded.
Dr. Sisson is a biologist and computer scientist, and his knowledge of the history of the space shuttle is extensive.
"Ah..." Old Tang was lying on the guardrail, staring down with a pale face, "Are you kidding me, the fire came from that speaker?"
More and more people were lying on the guardrail, discussing among themselves.
Li Liang raised his head and stared at the "technological antique" in front of him.
This is a standard space shuttle. The huge yellow column in the middle is the external storage tank, which contains liquid fuel. Hanging parallel to both sides are solid rocket boosters. The space shuttle, also called an orbiter, carries the external storage tank. superior.
A thousand years ago, he read popular science books about the space shuttle, but now he only remembers some nouns and general meanings, and has completely forgotten the more professional content.
Fortunately, there is no need to take this thing to the sky, otherwise no one here would put it aside. More importantly, does he know that the probability of something happening to this kind of space shuttle is not small. The explosion of NASA's Challenger shocked the world.
At this time, Tam came closer. Due to its short stature, it could not see below. It could only look up at the space shuttle and said, "Oh, what is this?"
Old Tang said seriously: "Mr. Tam, this is a rocket."
"Shut up," Li Liang glared.
Stop it now, you good river frog people, don't let them fall into the ditch and become a repeater.
He explained quickly and said seriously: "...In other words, this big pillar will spit out fire, and then send the spaceship into the sky."
"Oh, it's a very thoughtful design," Tam chuckled, "and also very courageous."
"Civilizations in other basic worlds don't have rockets?"
"Oh, because the elements and methods that make up life are different, carbon-based civilizations have analogous value. I have been to four basic worlds dominated by carbon-based civilizations. Among them, the Vulcan civilization and the Pangbotan civilization were the first to arrive when I arrived. At that time, they had reached Type 3 civilization. I have not researched their technological history. There is also the Tower Star civilization, which belongs to Type 1 civilization. They have not yet explored the universe. The last one is the earth." Tam spread his hands, "I like carbon-based organisms very much. , It’s a pity that you account for a very small proportion among the many fundamental worlds.”
Li Liang nodded. He remembered that the trumpet Saron also said the same. In the spiritual world, there are very few carbon-based creatures.
Glancing around, he found that only Tam got out of the car. The other consultants obviously had little interest in human technology, especially the Pulsar Exile Seventh. Perhaps the space shuttle was equivalent to a second kick in its eyes.
Far away from the crowd, Sorge stood beside the off-road vehicle, frowning.
Li Liang walked up to Sorge and asked, "No news from Shui Ye?"
Before leaving, to prevent being tracked, everyone threw away their ordinary bracelets. Only Sorge wore a secret bracelet provided by Activision, which could communicate with Mizuno point-to-point.
"No, maybe the war situation is not optimistic," Sorge frowned, "Also, this place is very strange."
Li Liang's heart became heavy, and he said after a while: "The existence of this place itself is unreasonable."
"Yes," Sorge shook his bracelet, "The signal has always been very good."
To be honest, Li Liang was a little numb to the weirdness of these bases and didn't bother to delve deeper. He shook his head and said, "Let's go first and wait."
"good."
Li Liang turned around and shook his finger at K.
K put on his sunglasses and shouted: "Get in the car and get ready to go!"
moment.
Everyone took their places and the convoy started again.
The open-top off-road vehicle still led the way, speeding close to the guardrail, making a huge circle around the rocket, and came to the other side opposite the tunnel entrance.
During this period, Li Liang kept looking down, and finally saw no vehicles or airships, only the mechanical equipment at the bottom of the umbilical tower for conventional rocket takeoff, a large pool, and a launch pad.
As expected, there is a tunnel on the other side.
K turned the direction and stepped on the accelerator to the bottom.
The off-road vehicle accelerated suddenly and rushed into the tunnel with the convoy.
Although they were far away from the core area of the base, everyone was still nervous.
No one knows what the exit is like, if it is also a dock...
Fortunately, it didn't take long this time before the tunnel began to trend upwards, and the exit was obviously at a higher place.
In the brightly lit tunnel, the roar of more than a dozen engines resounded.
More than ten minutes later.
Li Liang felt reassured because there was a curve in the tunnel and it was spiraling upward.
The curve was sharp and K had to reduce his speed.
The unchanging turns quickly became irritating, so Li Liang simply closed his eyes.
In Ling's field of vision, there is nothing above, and occasionally there are scattered spirits, like a void.
At this time.
The speed of the vehicle dropped sharply.
He opened his eyes and found that the car had finally reached the highest point and was climbing a straight slope. The height of the dome was rapidly decreasing, and he could already see the dome completely intersecting with the ground at the end.
It turns out that the exit is so user-friendly. There must be a gate at the end. After opening, the car can drive directly onto the ground.
A few hundred meters away from the end, K stopped the car, pointed to one side of the wall and said, "Is that the lookout entrance?"
Li Liang looked around and saw a simple ladder made of U-shaped metal bars on the wall, leading to a closed door at the top.
"Go down and have a look," Li Liang jumped out of the car, took the lead, and climbed up the ladder.
Since the height difference here was already very small, he climbed to the highest point in a few minutes. He stretched out his hand and pushed the metal plate above his head. Unexpectedly, the metal plate was barely concealed. A gap was pushed open, and the dust fell down. His face.
Holding back the choking dust, he pushed open the metal flap and immediately saw dim light coming from above.
He was stunned for a moment, then slowly poked his head in, and found that it seemed to be inside an irregular room. There was no door, only a floor-to-ceiling window, and outside the window... there was an endless wasteland.
As expected, this place is already outside the Zhongjing Sky Screen.
Li Liang lowered his head and shouted: "It's a room." Then he threw the gun in his hand into the room.
Bang.
The gun hit the ground, but there was no reaction.
Li Liang was relieved, climbed up the ladder, and looked around.
The roof of this room is very low, the metal walls and the roof are extremely irregular, and the ground is covered with thick dust, as if it has not seen the light of day for hundreds of years.
There is nothing but earth.
Maybe K was right. This was a lookout. In this way, the shape of the room could be easily explained. It was probably disguised as a stone.
Half-crouching in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, he stared at the wasteland outside the window.
The viewing angle of this lookout is average, the sky cannot be seen, and the distance to Zhongjing cannot be estimated. Of course, it may be very close, but the view is obscured by a sandstorm.
Thumb, thump, thump...
K and Sorge climbed up.
"It's a lookout." K looked around and squatted in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. "What direction is it facing?"
On the side, Sorge frowned and said: "The visibility in the wilderness is so poor, what's the point of setting up a lookout?"
Li Liang shook his head and glanced at the sky.
Sudden.
He tensed up and instinctively crouched down. K and Sorge reacted faster and had already drawn their guns.
In the yellow sand sky, a black soft-bodied creature was erratic and meandering.
"What?" K asked softly.
Li Liang waved his hand, picked up the gun from the ground, and loaded it with his backhand.
A few seconds later.
The three finally saw the true face of the "soft-bodied creature".
It was "smoke" composed of some kind of black crystal blocks. As the strong wind kept gathering and dispersing, the distance got closer and closer. Li Liang saw more details. Those crystal blocks were not irregular, but were constantly forming. Complex structures fall apart and are reconstructed again.
at last.
Just more than ten meters away from the floor-to-ceiling window, the black mist condensed instantly and turned into... an armed drone, which was no different from the drone of the Xiacheng District Guard Robot Force.
Li Liang took a deep breath.
It turns out that Xi'an's drone can transform.
The drone was facing the floor-to-ceiling window, swinging its four tentacles, and the six compound eyes on its spherical body rapidly expanded and contracted.
Li Liang's heart immediately rose to his throat.
There is no use running, now I can only gamble...the drone is "blind".
really.
The six compound eyes soon stopped extending and contracting. However, the drone seemed a little confused and slowly approached, finally sticking to the floor-to-ceiling window.
In the darkness, the three of them held their breath and raised their guns.
Time seems to have become extremely long.
Li Liang knew very well that at this time, Xi'an could no longer give him a chance to rely on his authority. As long as the drone crashed through this thin layer of glass, all the gun in his hand could do was to resist a little and retain some dignity. .
The moment the sweat on his temples reached his chin.
Suddenly, a loud "Boom!" came from behind.
Then, Old Tang shouted: "Damn it, the roof is so low!"
next moment.
The drone suddenly shrank back.
grass!
Li Liang roared angrily and was about to pull the trigger immediately.
The moment before he fired, Sorge reached out and pressed his gun.
Out of his instinctive trust in the group, Li Liang did not fire in the end.
The drone hovered in mid-air, waving its tentacles, and once again disintegrated into a group of black crystals, drifting away with the strong wind.
Li Liang, K, and Sorge turned around at the same time and looked at Old Tang.
At this moment, Old Tang witnessed the departure of the drone, his face turned pale with fear, and he stammered: "Next time, I will knock on the door first."
K wiped the sweat from his forehead, lit a cigarette, and cursed: "Fuck Xian."
Li Liang sat on the ground and agreed very much.
"We'd better wait a moment," Sorge stared out of the floor-to-ceiling window. "We can't underestimate Xi'an's artificial intelligence. That machine is probably still hidden nearby."
"Yes," Li Liang nodded and said to Old Tang: "Tell everyone to repair where they are and have something to eat. You can also bring us some water."
"I'm going down first," Sorge looked down at the bracelet, "There's no signal here."
"good."
moment.
Only Li Liang and K were left at the lookout.
"I damn near shot," Li Liang said angrily.
K exhaled a puff of smoke and coughed with laughter: "It's your own fault. Don't forget, it was the two of us who personally brought such a big baby back."
Li Liang smiled bitterly and shook his head.
The room fell silent.
for a long time.
Li Liang asked: "The drone chased Zhongjing, is Mizuno..."
K didn't answer, silently lit a cigarette and handed it to him.
At this time, a rapid thumping sound sounded from behind.
Li Liang turned around subconsciously.
Old Tang stuck his head out and said in a panic: "Quick, there's news from Mizuno." After saying that, he immediately climbed down.
"What?"
Li Liang rushed to the door of the turning board. He didn't bother to climb down anymore. He stretched his head directly and shouted to Sorge: "What's the news?"
I saw Sorge slowly raising his head, his face showing unprecedented anger.
A group composed of countless personalities with extremely long lives said in an almost hoarse voice:
"The goblin vanguard passed through the Gate of Spiritual Reason, the entire garrison was wiped out, and the Zhenjie Fort... fell."
