Chapter 47
In the universe, it seems that there is nothing in all directions, and there seems to be no obstacles or restrictions, and you can go in any direction. But in fact, there are far more things to pay attention to when flying in the universe than flying on the surface of a planet. For ground navigation, as long as the climate is suitable, you can fly anywhere. But what about space navigation?
First of all, you must be careful to avoid massive celestial bodies such as black holes (if you are sucked in, you will be doomed), white dwarfs, and neutron stars, otherwise their gravity will make you deviate from your orbit without knowing it; secondly, stay away from stars, otherwise you will be roasted into charcoal; avoid the meteorite belt, and never sail in such an environment unless you think your life is too long. More than 90% of those who want to prove their superb driving skills and break into the meteorite belt will not come out alive; avoid nebulae, not only because the dense gas and dust block the line of sight and interfere with various detection methods, but also such places basically contain all types of disasters in the universe; stay away from strong magnetic stars, otherwise all the equipment on your spacecraft may suddenly fail at a long distance. Then there will be no way to the sky or the ground, and even sending a distress signal will be impossible, and you can only float in space forever.
However, large celestial bodies are very obvious after all, and it is not difficult to avoid the above dangers. But just when you think everything is safe, it is very likely that a fist-sized meteorite will suddenly penetrate the spacecraft at an extremely fast speed, or a ray from tens of thousands of light years away may instantly destroy all life. Accidents are everywhere.
In addition to avoiding the above-mentioned dangers and considering the origin and destination, the space navigation route also needs to take into account the wormholes that need to be jumped along the way. It is best to use the gravity of the planet to carry out unpowered projectile motion during the navigation process to save energy to the maximum extent. Because in the universe, the most terrible and dangerous thing is not encountering any irresistible natural disasters. Those are all low-probability events. As long as you are prepared in advance, you can avoid 99.9% of the dangers. The truly terrible but also the most common thing is that the spacecraft lacks energy or the power system has an irreparable failure.
Space is always lonely. Even the busiest route may not have a spacecraft passing by for months. Space is so vast that a small spacecraft is like dust in the universe. Even if two spacecraft are on the same route, it is difficult to see each other with the naked eye unless they pass by each other. Therefore, once a spacecraft crashes, the possibility of being rescued is extremely slim.
Therefore, there is a : if a distress signal is received during space travel, rescue must be carried out immediately regardless of the circumstances - even in war.
At the same time, the Interstellar Alliance Law also stipulates that all spacecraft must be equipped with escape pods that meet the specifications. It is said that in order to prevent the death of stowaways, even unmanned cargo ships will reserve a small number of escape pods. But when something really happens, unless the location of the incident is very close to a habitable planet, even if you board the escape pod, the chance of being rescued is very low, and the reason is still the same - the universe is too big.
Zeruo leaned against the bulkhead, his face expressionless.
At this time, there were more than 20 people in this capsule-shaped escape pod with him. Everyone was strapped to their seats by safety belts, but in this completely weightless environment, sitting or standing didn't really make any difference, it was just as uncomfortable. Although the air filter was working non-stop, the air they breathed became turbid. The woman sitting diagonally opposite him retched several times, and Ze Ruo prayed sincerely that she would not really vomit. Even if she covered her mouth and nose with a guide tube, the vomit would be discharged immediately, but the scene was disgusting enough.
This is the seventh day since they boarded the escape capsule. In the first two days, most of them were optimistic. Some of them joked and encouraged each other, and some hoped to be rescued as soon as possible. But on the third day, they found that the escape capsule was pulled by the gravity of an asteroid in the distance and had deviated from the route without knowing it. The escape capsule was not slow when it was ejected by the ejection system in the spacecraft, and there was no object in space to slow down the escape capsule. Therefore, after a few days, they were getting farther and farther away from the route. Although the escape capsule has been automatically sending out distress signals, even if someone received the signal, it is difficult to find them, because the direction from which the signal was sent is the boundless universe.
Someone was weeping with her face covered, and the sobbing made people even more upset, but no one stood up to scold her. Everyone sat there with dull eyes and pale faces, and they were too lazy to even move a finger. Although the supplies carried in the escape pod were enough to sustain their survival for most of the people for half a year, in just a few days, most people's spirits seemed to be broken by despair.
The boy sitting next to Zeruo was the only one who still held out hope. In the past few days, he had been constantly encouraging others, telling jokes, and livening up the atmosphere. After the last person who was willing to respond to him kept silent, the boy spent most of the day lying on the glass, staring outside with his round eyes, and only blinked when his eyes became sore and swollen.
"Don't look at it. No matter how long you look at it, no one will come to save us." The middle-aged man on the other side of the boy whispered, as if he was talking to himself. He did not look at the boy, but stared at his hands on his knees. His face was as pale as a dead person. He emphasized again: "No one will come to save us."
Finally someone was willing to talk to him. Although what he said was discouraging, the boy immediately replied cheerfully: "Don't give up hope, uncle! If you can't wait today, there's still tomorrow. If you can't wait tomorrow, there's still the day after tomorrow. In short, you will definitely be rescued. Isn't it stipulated in the Alliance Law? As long as we receive the signal, we will come to rescue."
"How can we save them?" The middle-aged man didn't know how many times he had refuted the teenager. He said, "We don't even know where we are, let alone others. Without precise location coordinates, who can see us? Who can find us?"
He didn't know why he insisted on refuting the boy's words. Maybe he couldn't stand the fact that there was still one person among them who didn't fall into complete despair. Maybe it was because admitting that reality was so cruel and brutal would make his heart calmer. If you hold on to a glimmer of hope and have it shattered again and again, what kind of torment would that be?
The boy pursed his lips and said nothing, with a hint of stubbornness on his face. He knew he couldn't convince others, but he couldn't be like others and just wait to die.
Ze Ruo watched coldly for a few days. He expected the reactions of others, but the boy surprised him a little. He looked carefully. The boy had green and messy hair like weeds, which was a little long so he tied it casually behind his head. His eyebrows were thick and straight like swords. Because he was very thin, his eyes looked big, and because he was very black, his teeth looked dazzlingly white. He was wearing a blue work suit made of thick and rough fabric, which was washed white and didn't fit him well. If the loose cuffs were not rolled up, they could cover his entire hands.
Zeruo looked him up and down, and suddenly asked, "Do you really think anyone will come?"
"Huh!" The boy looked frightened, staring at Zeruo and yelling, "Brother, so you can talk!"
"Brother..." The boy's familiar address made Zeruo blush a little, but he was more concerned about his question not being answered, so he asked again: "Do you really think someone will come?"
"Of course!" the boy said without hesitation. His firm tone made several pale-faced people look up at him.
"How do you know?" Zeruo asked.
"Intuition!" said the boy.
Zeruo: “…” His face turned completely dark, and he turned his head away and ignored him.
"Haha, actually it's because I've been lucky since I was a child!" The boy scratched his hair, making it even more messy, and said with a smug smile: "I was thrown into a stinky ditch when I was born, but my dad got lost and went to a place that no one usually goes to, so he picked me up. After my dad passed away, I couldn't go to school because I had no money, but I found a usable learning machine in the garbage dump, and I started to study by myself. When I took the unified examination, I almost didn't make it to the examination room in time because of a car accident, and a kind patrolman sent me there immediately. After the exam, I filled in the wrong serial number of the school I wanted, but I was actually admitted to the First Military Academy! So I will definitely be rescued if I encounter a spaceship crash this time! I'm lucky!"
——Except for the fact that you were lucky to be admitted to the First Military Academy, everything else was obviously miserable, okay! How did you come to the conclusion that you were lucky?
Everyone who was attracted by their topic looked dead in the eyes when they heard what they said. They tried hard not to complain. Even though they were on the verge of death, they still felt a little sympathy for the boy.
Zeruo was speechless for a long while before he said, "You really have a hard time."
“Hahaha, it’s okay!” The boy seemed to take this as a compliment, and said embarrassedly while touching the back of his head. Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly stretched out his hand and said, “By the way, my name is Xiaohu, Mu Xiaohu, what’s your name, brother?”
Zeruo hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and gently shook it, and said, "Zeruo."
"Oh, then we will be friends from now on!" Mu Xiaohu said happily.
As if he couldn't stand their happiness, the middle-aged man said, "Forget it. What future do we have?"
Zeruo and Mu Xiaohu ignored the middle-aged man. Mu Xiaohu pulled his new friend and chattered happily. Although he could only get one or two very cold responses occasionally, he seemed to be encouraged and his enthusiasm for the conversation became even higher. Zeruo really didn't understand where so much energy came from in his body. Just when the middle-aged man couldn't help but speak sarcastically again, Mu Xiaohu suddenly smiled , revealing a bright white little tiger tooth, and said happily: "See! I told you I'm lucky!"
Zeruo was stunned for a moment, then he looked in the direction Mu Xiaohu pointed.
Outside the window, in the dark space in the distance, a tiny light was getting closer and closer, and then I could see that it was three lights arranged in an equilateral triangle; then, I saw the graceful curve of the ship behind the lights; after a while, I saw a firebird with its wings spread out, ready to fly, printed on the hull.
Zeruo's pupils shrank, and he lightly tapped his fingers on his thigh. An extremely short and heavily encrypted message was sent out.
【Find the target! Repeat, find the target! 】
