Chapter Eighty-Four: Flying to the Moon

All parties engaged in the struggle were caught completely off guard by the sudden catastrophe and suffered heavy blows. The group claiming to hail from Atlantis retreated swiftly into the depths of the sea, surviving beneath the waves. Because their strength remained intact in their underwater refuge, they repeatedly emerged to launch attacks on humans and the dinosaur people inhabiting the land, then slipped back into the ocean, making survival for both humans and dinosaur people even more difficult. However, later, for reasons unknown, the Atlanteans became unusually quiet, choosing to stay hidden beneath the ocean floor.

Humankind, too, suffered devastating losses and descended into chaos. According to the records left by the dinosaur people, the humans lost enormously, fragmenting into smaller groups and concealing themselves to weather the disaster. Yet, those humans understood the enormity of the calamity, and while dispersal was necessary for survival, they reached a consensus: the preservation of high technology was crucial—it was the hope of future generations. Thus, humanity gathered the vast technological apparatuses of each era, along with manuals, scientific knowledge, and the products of their technological achievements, and hid them all in one place, so that their descendants might someday rediscover them and win the war.

To prevent these treasures from falling into enemy hands, they concealed them with utmost secrecy. Once this was accomplished, humanity scattered and went into hiding. No one anticipated that, by sheltering mostly in natural caves and other primitive refuges, they would be cut off from technology for so long that they regressed to a primitive state. Many years passed; the ozone layer recovered, the earth revived, and the humans, now reverted to their original state, emerged and began to evolve anew. Yet even after thousands of years of re-evolution, humanity on the surface still lived in an age of cold weapons—high technology had not been restored.

Seeing this, Zhang Desen could not help but sigh in admiration. So, the humans of this universe once possessed a high-tech civilization; they were not always confined to the era of cold weapons. The thought made him turn to look at Li Longfang. Li Longfang, seeing Zhang Desen glance at him, was puzzled and asked, "What's the matter, Desen?"

Zhang Desen replied, "Nothing, I was just struck by the unpredictability of fate."

He said no more and continued to search through the records. The data showed that the dinosaur people had never found the place where humans hid their technological legacy, leading to many speculations—some even conjectured it was hidden on the moon. But no evidence had ever surfaced, and to this day, there was no answer.

As for the history of the dinosaur people, it was much the same as humanity's. Only a small number survived in high-tech fortresses, thus avoiding complete regression to a primitive state. These were the dinosaur people of the Olmec Empire. The majority, whose fate mirrored that of humanity, were the same kind Zhang Desen saw when he first arrived at this universe's Earth—those who wielded cold weapons and fought among themselves in the Tibetan region.

The dinosaur people of the Olmec Empire had tried to make contact with their kin, but discovered that their counterparts regarded them as monstrous threats, attacking them on sight. Thus, the Olmec Empire remained hidden underground, never daring to emerge openly. Yet, resource shortages forced them to plan for a return to the surface. Humans, with their value as labor, became targets for slavery, though the empire still lacked a leader capable of helping them subjugate mankind.

At this moment, for reasons unknown, Atlantis grew restless again, their forces approaching the coast and causing great anxiety within the Olmec Empire. To create a buffer zone and avoid direct confrontation, Yuri Gotner decided to abandon the coastal base and asked Qian, who had previously worked with them, to help monitor the movements of the Atlanteans in the Pacific. If possible, it would be best to collect some necessary resources as well. Zhang Desen also learned of Yuri Gotner’s meeting with Qian.

Just then, alarms sounded. Through the dinosaur people's satellites, Zhang Desen discovered that the Atlantean combat units near the coast and the Olmec Empire's warships had taken their battle into space.

Li Longfang, unable to make sense of the events, asked, "What’s happening?"

Zhang Desen replied, "Trouble—Atlanteans and dinosaur people have brought their conflict into space. Unbelievable."

Li Longfang pressed, "What do we do now?"

Zhang Desen didn't answer immediately, instead activating the three-dimensional imaging device. Soon, a holographic map appeared.

Li Longfang inquired, "What is this?"

Zhang Desen asked, "Is it the new moon right now?"

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Li Longfang paused, then answered, "Yes, it's the new moon."

Zhang Desen said, "Good. It's daytime in Nan Dian country, and with the new moon, this satellite—being geostationary—remains above the Central Plains. That means the moon is roughly behind the satellite."

Li Longfang was confused. "The moon is behind?"

Zhang Desen explained, "Yes, look—on this digital map, you can see the battle between Atlanteans and dinosaur people now stretches into space. The dinosaur people have dispatched ships to protect this satellite, possibly to install defensive weapons in response to the Atlanteans' reappearance. We're quite lucky!"

Li Longfang exclaimed, "That's bad! We’re still here—they’ll discover us. Let’s hurry back!"

Zhang Desen replied, "How? Returning to the surface means passing between both armies, and both sides have units approaching the satellite. Flying back now is suicide—not a good option. Staying is even worse; the dinosaur people will arrive soon."

Li Longfang declared, "Then I'll go out and draw them away. Young master, find an opportunity to return."

Zhang Desen said, "With what will you distract them?"

Li Longfang answered, "With the spacewalking device you just used!"

Zhang Desen replied, "Thanks, but actually, there's no need..."

Li Longfang asked, "Then..."

Zhang Desen said, "I asked you earlier if it was the new moon, didn't I?"

Li Longfang confirmed, "Yes!"

Zhang Desen said, "What we need to do now is fly out from the satellite’s far side, then head for the moon—to hide there for a while. When the danger passes, we’ll return to Earth."

Li Longfang asked, "To the moon? Will the Lord of the Lunar Palace help us?"

Zhang Desen paused, then smiled, "No need to worry about that—let’s just go."

Li Longfang said, "Alright. I’ve never been to the moon; I’d love to see what the Palace of Guanghan looks like."

Zhang Desen replied, somewhat helplessly,

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"Enough, there’s only barren ground up there. Never mind; we’ll see when we arrive. First, I’ll send a delayed return message and the information we just learned back to Earth. Then, we’ll set out for the moon."

"Understood!"

As some dinosaur ships approached the satellite rapidly, Zhang Desen split the copied information into two parts and quickly transmitted it wirelessly. One message was sent to the ship in the Western Capital, and another to the Liu Family Trading House in Dali, informing them of his and Li Longfang's decision to reroute to the moon and the reasons for it.

Since neither the dinosaur people nor the Atlanteans knew of this wireless communication, and their own transmissions were in chaos, Zhang Desen wasn’t worried about interception and didn’t bother encrypting the messages much.

Soon, Zhang Desen finished sending the information. After hastily eating a much-delayed lunch with Li Longfang, they took their seats at the controls, started the ship, and set off toward the passage on the satellite’s far side.

Though the passages were many, the digital map obtained at the mountain base guided them, preventing any wrong turns. Moreover, after Zhang Desen installed the data collection device at the satellite's central processor, the satellite’s functions all served him. So even after leaving the satellite, he could still use its systems to detect the enemy and avoid them.

After some time, Zhang Desen finally piloted the ship through an exit on the satellite’s far side, away from Earth.

He said to Li Longfang, "Alright, we're out. Just in time for nightfall."

Li Longfang asked, "Desen, I never noticed—is it daytime now? Why is it so dark?"

Zhang Desen answered, "This is space. I’ll explain after we’re safe—now’s not the time. Hey! Don’t use the fire starter!"

Seeing Li Longfang ready to strike a flame, Zhang Desen quickly intervened. Li Longfang put it away.

Zhang Desen then activated the space navigation equipment, located the moon’s exact position, and piloted the rescue ship toward the moon, which lay an average of 380,000 kilometers from Earth.

Now back in space, Zhang Desen switched the radar to medium range and increased speed toward the moon, worried that any delay might lead to discovery and pursuit—a risk he couldn’t afford.

After a period of flight, a planet full of craters and plains gradually loomed before Zhang Desen and Li Longfang—the natural satellite of Earth, the moon.

As Li Longfang gazed in wonder at the moon, Zhang Desen said, "Longfang, we’ve arrived."

Li Longfang, staring at the moon so close at hand, could hardly believe it. "What? Is this really the jade disk we see at night? Why does it look like a pockmarked face? Am I seeing things?"

Zhang Desen replied, again a bit helpless, "No mistake. We’re about to enter lunar orbit. Help me choose a landing site. I plan to start searching from Plato Crater—keep an eye out for..."

But before Zhang Desen finished, the ship’s radio suddenly received a mysterious message. A voice said,

"Fellow humans, come quickly to Tycho Crater!"

Before Zhang Desen could review the signal, alarms blared—a glance at the radar revealed several unidentified flying objects rapidly closing in from behind.