Chapter 293
Seven Cities Cannot Agree for Moonbeam
The first set of pulses transmitted back from the seven-city narrowband network was very chaotic.
The space city sent "received" three times in a row, the sea city only sent a string of local numbers, the mountain city replied "pause", and the other two cities seemed to be cut off by noise, with only intermittent verification sounds remaining.
Nantianmen immediately noticed the chaos.
"If opinions differ among people, the last person to be in charge should be the one who is closest to the person on the scene to make the decision."
Xu Wangshu raised his hand and crossed out the sentence.
"The second box has had its historical default removed, and old rules will no longer be authorized due to inconsistencies."
The system paused for half a second, then changed its wording: "To avoid a total loss of life on site, the operation can be centrally managed by ground control."
This time, even Wen Qingyue replied with a single word in the narrow channel: No.
The signal was weak, as if it were coming from a distant underwater location. She then sent back a sentence broken down into seven characters: The ground cannot agree on behalf of the far side of the moon; it can only offer optional mechanical solutions.
Lin Jibai looked at the line of words and suddenly felt like laughing.
Wen Qingyue remained aloof, still prioritizing efficiency, but this time she didn't seize the overall authority. Perhaps she had simply learned about boundaries from her previous failures, or perhaps she still believed that decentralization would slow down the rescue. But at the threshold of Nantianmen, a simple "no" was enough.
The seven cities began sending out their respective plans.
The Space City provided a counterweight wheel speed chart; Haicheng provided data on cryogenic spring materials; Shancheng proposed using discarded supports for reverse backstop; Hucheng only sent the lower limit of body temperature warning from the local hospital; and the node in Lin Xiaoman's ward was interrupted by a DreamNet eavesdropping alarm: Nantianmen was trying to rewrite "sister asking brother to come back" as "family recall authority".
Lin Xiaoman did not let those words pass through the door.
She only sent a message: Brother, coming back is your choice, not my order.
Lin Jibai stared at the row of eight yards, and the empty space on his chest relaxed a little.
Stability level is 18, no increase.
But he didn't continue falling.
Qin Lan broke down the seven-city plan, not combining them into a single master plan. Each city was responsible for only one set of mechanical parameters: spring, rotation speed, anti-reverse mechanism, temperature control, and recovery. Xu Wangshu labeled the source and limitations. Luo Xu checked whether each parameter would trigger the observer's guarantee. Lu Chenggong checked whether the Nine-Day Fragment had been reactivated.
"The ninth one is listening," he said.
The fragment did not emit light, but hung above the broken mountain like a closed eye. It awaited someone to synthesize the scattered plans into a unified command; once synthesized, the Houyi sequence would be required to execute the general will of humanity.
Lu Chengong separated the broken string even further.
Zhou Heng leaned against the oxygen supply tube and whispered, "You'll be dying of slowness like this."
"Possibly," Qin Lan said, "that's why we need to keep track of it."
Two hours and thirty-six minutes remain for the return flight's temperature control. Lin Wangchuan's body temperature continued to drop under the thermal blanket, and Luo Xu's breathing began to become shallow. The Yutu lander's battery had fifteen minutes left. Every number was compelling one to choose the fastest route.
The quickest way is to let one person in.
Nantianmen doesn't need to lie; it only needs to display the countdown.
Lin Jibai began preparing for the hand projection. Qin Lan secured the retraction rope to the outside of his wrist; the rope wasn't a symbol of trust, but a forced pull-back device. Xu Wangshu, holding the record board, checked item by item whether he knew the consequences of entering the door.
"Knowing that there might be a loss of hand projection."
"Know."
"Knowing that the old files might be inherited and captured again."
"Know."
"I know Qin Lan has the right to forcibly pull you back before you tell her to stop."
"I know, and I agree."
The South Heavenly Gate prompts: "Agreeing to be forcibly pulled back is equivalent to authorizing others to handle your body."
Lin Jibai snatched the pen and added a sentence at the end: "Limited to this time only, limited to 28 seconds only, limited to exit only, and may not transfer identity, position, memory, or long-term permissions."
Xu Wangshu nodded: "It's feasible."
The white light inside the door finally revealed its true structure. Behind the third handle were three small holes, corresponding to unlocking, resetting the count, and confirming from the outside. The old rules made the three holes a single unit, so as long as one hand was holding the handle, all three holes would be sampled simultaneously.
What Qin Lan had to do was to make Lin Jibai only tighten the mechanical lock and not touch the sampling hole.
Seven different "No Stop" responses came from the ground. These weren't agreements, but rather indications that they didn't currently demand the cessation of this external program.
The mountain city retains the right to suspend [the operation].
The space city has only confirmed the parameters so far.
Lin Xiaoman didn't say "keep going" or "wait for you."
She only sent a countdown timer for recycling.
Twenty-eight.
Lin Jibai's right hand reached into the South Heavenly Gate.