Did the world end today?

Chapter 202 Resurrection (A new era begins tomorrow, please vote with monthly tickets!)
67 hours later, at 5 a.m., the countdown to Project Moonsurge began with 30 minutes remaining.

Purple Mountain, on Toutuo Ridge.

Lin Xu and Jiang Xingye sat quietly in a secluded corner, with security personnel subtly forming a circle around them, separating them from other tourists who had also come to the highest peak in Nanjing to watch the upcoming aurora.

The tourists were all excited, and the usually quiet Zijin Mountain was now filled with the sounds of bustling crowds.

There were even people selling steaming hot buns while carrying bags.

Jiang Xingye was drooling with envy. Lin Xu patted Qi Yuan, who was standing in front of him, and said:
"Brother, go buy one."

"buy what?"

Qi Yuan was baffled.

"steamed stuffed bun."

Lin Xu pointed to a man selling steamed buns in the distance with a flashlight, and Qi Yuan exclaimed "Ah!" before turning to look at Qin Feng.

"go Go."

Qin Feng waved his hand.

"If our Jianggong students don't get to eat this bun, then today's aurora viewing will have been a waste."

Jiang Xingye glared at Qin Feng with displeasure, while the latter chuckled and turned back around.

Soon, Qi Yuan returned to the two of them with Baozi.

Jiang Xingye took a satisfied bite and asked, his mouth full:
"Do you remember what we saw when we first came to Toutuo Ridge?"

Lin Xu nodded.

"Of course I remember, how could I not remember?"

At that time, he had not yet established cooperation with the government. He came here to see the access route to the newly built deep space monitoring station.

But of course, that's not what he said to Jiang Xingye.
-
But that's not important either.

The correct answer is not "deep space monitoring station", but "ring of the sun".

Lin Xu took out his phone from his pocket. On the screen was a silhouette photo he had taken of Jiang Xingye during that "date".

Jiang Xingye nodded in satisfaction.

"It's a good thing you didn't forget, otherwise, your doom would have come before the end of humanity."

"cut."

Lin Xu shook his head dismissively.

"Stop threatening me all the time. I'm a man who has died countless times."

"That kind of threat doesn't work on me."

"What kind of threat would work? Make you a virgin for life?"

Jiang Xingye looked at Lin Xu provocatively. Lin Xu's words were choked in his throat. He stammered for a long time, and could only wave his hand and say:
"Fine, you win."

He looked up at the sky; the moon was already setting.

At this point, 76 hours had passed since the launch of Star Traveler 1, and all preparations were complete.

The high-yield nuclear warheads provided by Russia have been deployed, and the mechanical timing device has been activated.

Star Travel 1 has moved far away from the designated detonation point and is now hidden on the other side of the moon.

If observed with a sufficiently sophisticated astronomical telescope at this moment, one could see that tiny black dot beneath the moon's enormous shadow.

It cannot leave the moon, because the moon is its only barrier.

It also cannot return to Earth, because in the face of unpredictable disasters, a hasty return would only lead to greater risks.

Perhaps those two astronauts were already prepared for a "one-way trip"?

However, they should be able to survive.

must be able to.

Lin Xu sighed inwardly. Jiang Xingye swallowed the last bite of his steamed bun and suddenly asked:
Do you know why I asked you about your first time visiting Toutuo Ridge?

"what?"

Lin Xu was stunned for a moment.

"Not because it was our first date?"

Jiang Xingye rolled his eyes.

"Brother, I'm not that love-struck, and I wouldn't talk to you about such boring topics at a time like this."

"The real reason is..."

"Looking back now, that was the first time I experienced a 'high-dimensional reaction'."

That was the first time I received a message from you.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xu immediately turned to look at Jiang Xingye.

What was it like the first time?

"Don't you dare say such mood-ruining things at a time like this."

Jiang Xingye pinched Lin Xu, then said in a serious tone:

"Back to my topic."

"That was the first time I received high-dimensional information, but at the time, I didn't know where that information came from or what it was all about."

"I just suddenly felt like a lot of ideas were popping into my head."

"And one of the most important ideas is..."

"The universe is dead."

Is the universe dead?
Lin Xu stared at Jiang Xingye in astonishment, while the latter continued speaking.

"After this idea popped into my head, I did a lot of research."

"Then I discovered. Yes, the universe is indeed dead."

"Or rather, at the very least, the universe we live in is dying."

"This is true no matter which angle you look at it from."

"According to Clausius's cosmological generalization of the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of an isolated system will tend to its maximum value."

"According to the CMB anisotropy measurements by the Planck satellite, at this point in time, the temperature difference in the cosmic microwave background radiation has dropped to the level of one part per million Kelvin."

"The entire universe will reach a state of complete thermal equilibrium, and all processes such as star formation and black hole evaporation will cease, reaching a state of true thermal death."

"This process may be quite long for humans, but on the timeline of the universe, it is only a fleeting moment."

"This universe has breathed its last breath."

"The human species may just be a group of tiny bacteria that grow on its corpse, surviving on the last nutrients left by the decomposition of the body."

"The end of the world will happen eventually, either in 20 years or in the more distant future."

"It's hopeless, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Lin Xu's eyes were heavy.

If this is the higher-dimensional information Jiang Xingye obtained...
Then what is the meaning of the efforts made by oneself, the world, and countless other worlds of humanity?
He wanted to refute it, but he didn't know where to begin.

Not far ahead, the revelers had already begun singing. Their cheerful songs contrasted sharply with the somber topic Jiang Xingye was discussing, making Lin Xu feel even colder all over.

Just then, Jiang Xingye suddenly grabbed his hand.

Lin Xu felt the icy temperature of her hands.

She had just swallowed two steaming hot buns.

Lin Xu immediately realized that Jiang Xingye mentioned this information not because of any so-called "feelings triggered by the scene".

Rather, it was because, not long ago, she received information from a higher dimension once again.

"Are you ok?"

Lin Xu shook Jiang Xingye's hand, and the latter nodded and stood up.

Then, pointing to the moon in the distance, she said:
"Just now, at the very moment I saw this moon."

"I heard a voice."

"That voice...it's your voice."

"It is clearer than ever."

It said something to me.

"This universe will be resurrected."

"On this day, on this night, just four minutes from now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xu glanced at his watch.

At this moment, there are 4 minutes left before the scheduled detonation time of Project Lunar Surge.

Jiang Xingye had already stood on the high rock, which was the highest point of the entire Toutuo Ridge.

She reached out her hand to Lin Xu, who then pulled her hand and helped her climb onto the rock.

The two stood side by side, and the autumn wind blew, ruffling Jiang Xingye's hair.

She suddenly hugged Lin Xu—or more accurately, she turned and fell into his arms.

Lin Xu put his arm around Jiang Xingye's shoulder.

At this moment, the final countdown from the Project Moonsurge project team began to play in his headphones.

"Nuclear bomb is functioning normally, countdown 180 seconds."

"Expected to detonate in 180 seconds."

"The ground monitoring team is operating normally."

"Each monitoring experimental group, report the status."

"ATLAS is functioning normally."

"Geneva, LHC is operating normally."

“CERN is working normally and is monitoring the generation of cross-sectional data. No abnormal fluctuations have been detected so far.”

"Deharing, the distribution of entangled quantum pairs is working normally, and communication is normal."

The barrage of reports ended.

Ultimately, the series of reports concluded with a presentation from the astronauts aboard Star Trek 1.

"This is Star Travel One, everyone. Everything is normal."

"Prepare to cut off relay communication."

Goodbye, Magpie Bridge.

"See you on the ground later."

Lin Xu looked at his watch again.

At this moment, time had reached its final second.

In an instant.

In the sky, a streak of eerie green light burst forth from the edge of the moon.

Like silk being torn apart by an invisible hand, the halo spread rapidly.

Violet ripples surged across the sky, turning fiery orange-red in just seconds.

From the ground, it looked as if the moon had suddenly burst into flames.

The aurora does not dance in Earth's atmosphere, but hangs directly behind the moon.

A deafening cheer erupted from the crowd in front of Lin Xu.

But he turned a deaf ear.

He simply held Jiang Xingye tightly in his arms, quietly watching the still-lasting aurora.

Those light bands were clearly sharper than the real aurora, and at their edges, they even shimmered with a metallic edge.

Occasionally, lightning-like forks appear and stretch across the entire moon. At the most spectacular moment, the entire lunar surface seems to be ablaze, with such intense light that it even casts a pale purple shadow on the ground.

Lin Xu's body couldn't help but tremble.

He didn't know whether such a violent plasma storm was as safe as he thought.

Will humans survive?
Astronauts on Star Travel 1
Will they survive?
6 minutes have passed.

The aurora began to dissipate.

In the distance, in the direction where the moon sets, the sun is rising.

A more dazzling red light on the horizon overshadowed the aurora borealis.

The crowd erupted in even louder cheers, but this moment was still not perfect.
-
It wasn't until 11 minutes after the aurora appeared.

Earth-Moon communication has been restored.

The voice of the Star Travel One astronaut came through Lin Xu's earphones.

"Everyone, we have successfully avoided the plasma storm."

"The mission is going smoothly so far, and I feel good."

"Star Travel One sends greetings to the people of China and the world."

"Next, we will enter the Tiangong space station to carry out the next scientific research and monitoring mission."

"Finally, let us raise a glass to celebrate this new era!"

Four hours later, the effects of the plasma storm completely dissipated.

The Meridian Interplanetary Scintillation Monitoring Telescope, the Planck satellite, the Atacama Space Telescope, and the ACBAR Microwave Telescope Array simultaneously transmitted the latest observation results.

In their observations, the cosmic microwave background radiation, which had been dormant for 267 billion years, suddenly experienced an extremely subtle pulsation.

This nuclear bomb was like an electric shock for defibrillation.

As electric currents surged within this colossal "corpse" of the universe, its heart, dormant for 267 billion years, came alive.
The first pulsation occurred.

this universe.

It is being revived.

(End of this chapter)