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墨書 Inktalez
The question made me realize for the first time how insensitive I was to the outside world. I remained silent for a full minute, while Mentor Lian Hongbo patiently waited for my response. He thought I was contemplating and weighing my options, but in the end, I replied, "W-what?"
Mentor Lian Hongbo smiled and patted me, saying, "Go discuss it with your father. If your family agrees, both of us will board the ship."
Before this moment, I admit I had never considered that one day I would be invited to space. Fortunately, at that time, Mentor Lian Hongbo and I didn't have many tasks, giving me ample time to think about this choice. My hesitation stemmed from a single reason: fear.
It was fear—fear that someone who hardly ever flew on planes would now be asked to board a spacecraft. I left our office to find General Long, hoping he could explain that if my boarding was necessary, then I would have no choice but to go along with it.
As I walked toward the command center, I saw convoy after convoy of military vehicles heading in the same direction as me. Each vehicle carried a load covered in military green tarps, and the dust they kicked up made it nearly impossible to see the road ahead.
I was pushed into a corner of the road by these massive military trucks, walking along the low guardrail above. The sound of tires rolling over the pavement mixed with engine noises floated past my left ear in waves. My thoughts of escape were interrupted by a sharp pain in my tooth; due to excessive pressure from my teeth grinding together, I felt a twinge of pain from a cavity on my right side. The pain resonated like a chord through the nerves connecting to my brain, as if another part of me was warning: avoiding this won't solve anything. I understood this logic well enough, but as I looked down at my feet stepping one after another, my increasingly conflicted emotions made me sigh involuntarily.
Once I became accustomed to this feeling, a vehicle stopped not far in front of a sign. I looked up to see the door open and an official who had previously come to pick us up step out, greeting me with, "Is there something on your mind walking alone here, Fengqi?"
I then noticed the text on the sign: Special Vehicle Access Only—Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out.
Suddenly feeling embarrassed, it made sense why I hadn't seen anyone else along the way. Amidst my awkwardness, I stepped forward and politely shook hands with the official. "I haven't introduced myself yet; I'm Han Li, Chief Scientific and Technical Advisor to General Long," I said. "It's not quite appropriate to walk alone here; why don't you get in the car?"
"Sure, I'm actually looking for General Long," I replied.
Once inside the vehicle, Han Li scrutinized me and asked, "Is there something troubling you? You look rather pale."
"Not really; I've just been having trouble sleeping lately," I attempted to change the subject. "What are all these military vehicles transporting? Is it okay to share?"
"Right now, the entire base's operations are coordinating with our Armed Airship launch plan; these supplies are related to 'Beijing T-1'," Han Li explained. "I just returned from the shipping location; now the Armed Airship is basically ready—it's just our logistical arrangements that are pending."
Shouldn't matters regarding the Armed Airship be handled at the launch center? I felt puzzled because my logic seemed reasonable; people say airships should ascend like rockets and then fly into space, so they should be at an aerospace launch center. As I pondered this, I glanced outside at a team of Europeans discussing something in an open area—it seemed like everyone was taking a brief break.
"Did you see that? The whole world is working hard because this concerns our human destiny," Han Li said as he followed my gaze. It seemed he guessed what was on my mind. "They don't know what they're facing; they only know that launching the Armed Airship is their limit. But that's far from enough; what can truly save us are people like you—those who believe in the impossible for us. We can only provide a foundation for you; where humanity goes next is truly decided by you and Academician Lian Hongbo and those who board with faith."
I looked at Han Li with admiration; he appeared to be a man in his thirties—tall and graceful. "I never thought about these things," I remarked.
"That's not true," Han Li said sharply as if urging me with his keen gaze—a unique resoluteness typical of soldiers. "You've always been thinking about it; it's just that you've chosen to ignore it."
"I'm afraid," I admitted. "I'm just a student."
At that moment, Han Li pressed his index finger against the center of my chest. Confused, I looked at him as his eyes bore down on me like a righteous judgment—a piercing light cutting through my heart.
"The rise and fall of a nation is everyone's responsibility," Han Li stated solemnly. "When destiny descends, it won't change because of your identity; please trust your initial judgment."
Seeing that I didn't respond, Han Li fell silent for a moment before finally asking as we were about to get out of the car: "Do you know where we're going?"
"I don't know; you asked me to get in," I replied with a wry smile.
"True enough," Han Li chuckled as he opened the car door and turned back to say, "'Beijing T-1' level Fusion-Powered Armed Airship—interested?"
"Ah?!" I jolted, nearly hitting my head on the car roof—I had always thought that the bases of such national heavyweights would be in very secretive locations, yet their construction was right beside me! In an instant, I suddenly understood why there were a steady stream of supply vehicles here and why this base had a special motor road leading to a certain place.
I trembled as I got out of the car; Han Li's fingers seemed to cast some kind of spell over me, leaving my mind in a whirl. In the end, I did not seek out General Long, but instead followed Han Li to the launch base, eager to catch a glimpse of the "Beijing T-1" class Fusion-Powered Armed Airship.
"Don't limit yourself with so-called identities, Tan Fengqi," I quietly followed behind Han Li, who seemed to sense my gaze and spoke without turning his head as we walked down a descending corridor. "If we must put it that way, then you, an ordinary PhD Student from a double first-class university, will be authorized to witness one of our country's absolute secrets—the Cosmic Airship."
As soon as I entered this base, I noticed an issue: according to the information I gathered within the base, the entire military facility covered about 1.3 million square meters. However, during my time here, I could clearly feel that the area available for activities was far less than that figure. Now I finally understood the reason: Han Li and others brought me to a massive semicircular automatic door. After authorization, I was astonished to find that the thickness of this door was nearly as thick as two of my palms. The sound of the automatic door moving was imposing, with a heavy metallic clang echoing through the entrance—this base was indeed extraordinary; half of its land had been devoted to the construction of the Cosmic Airship.
I initially thought that this large door was enough to shock me, but when I followed everyone inside and came face-to-face with the legendary "Beijing T-1" class Fusion-Powered Armed Airship, I found myself momentarily speechless. If the entrance to this construction base was impressive, then standing before it left me utterly dumbfounded; all I could think of was an idiom stuck in my throat: towering into the clouds.
"Confirm the supplies; this is the last batch, so don't make any mistakes. I'll keep an eye on the child," Han Li said. To my surprise, he still referred to me as a "child." When he turned around, I realized I was looking at this colossal object with the same wide-eyed wonder as a child encountering exam questions for the first time. Its outline resembled that of an oval whale; I could barely make out the tail fins of the Cosmic Airship, which were angled at forty-five degrees. As my perspective shifted, its black cast iron and steel components glimmered under the base's lights; I saw a crane lifting what looked like a cannon-like piece of equipment while four flying drones hovered above it, scanning a gap on the side of the Cosmic Airship with blue light as if calculating the optimal angle for installation. In disbelief, I took step after step forward and noticed a sign on the wall indicating that we were on level B1; astonishingly, that crane had started lifting from level three!
A wave of fear washed over me—it must have been an instinctive reaction ingrained in our genes; humans always feel fear when confronted with such colossal objects. I shivered slightly and realized that I had unknowingly taken several steps forward. Turning back to look for Han Li, I found him standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly admiring the stark contrast between my figure and the Cosmic Airship.
"Although I'm involved in research, I'm still a civil servant at heart, so I'd like to say something that might inspire you," Han Li remarked. "Look at this; we humans are always capable of creating miracles."
"I really can't believe it," I exclaimed. "Can I go inside and see the internal facilities?"
"There's no rush; since you want to board, you'll need to familiarize yourself sooner or later," Han Li replied. "The reason I'm bringing you here is just to solidify your foundational mindset. It's not brainwashing... well, maybe it is somewhat, but Fengqi, this is what fate has assigned us—to serve humanity."
I lifted my head and saw sparks flying from various robots welding on the massive structure; their positions flickered in and out of view as if they were sketching words for me as an observer. Contemplating deeply, I murmured aloud: "For humanity."
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